This could be scary! or is it a manufactured conspiracy nonsense based on fear?

[beecee]

Michael Pascoe is an Aussie financial journalist and commentator, keynote speaker and facilitator......

https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2021/10/01/michael-pascoe-us-democracy-threat/

COVID-19 is not our biggest problem. Neither is China. Or even climate change. (As a species we know what we have to do and we can do it, if we want to.)

No, the biggest threat is one that would make those three challenges worse: The death of American democracy – the US sliding into an autocracy, becoming a crony capitalist, para-fascist state.

It may seem an incredible claim, but there’s a solid and frightening argument that the outlook for American democracy has deteriorated since Joe Biden was sworn in as President on January 20 and is going to get worse.

While we’ve been consumed by what we thought were the Big Three issues – does anyone remember what we filled news bulletins with before COVID? – half of American politics has gone to hell and promises to take the country with it.

The Trump mob has taken control of the Republican Party.

Trump capos are busily removing honest officials and corrupting legislatures to win control of the voting process in 2024.

The Trump propaganda machine is back in full swing – cue the Murdochs’ Tucker Carlson. Trump is back winning the opinion polls.

 

more interesting scenarios at link........................

[iNow]

Far right extremism and fascist tendencies are certainly on the rise, and the GOP is gladly helping it along to win power through primary votes. I’m not suggesting the left is perfect, just that democracy is under threat and roughly half the country seems glad to push it over a cliff in the name of freedom. 

[Peterkin]

23 minutes ago, beecee said:

It may seem an incredible claim, but there’s a solid and frightening argument that the outlook for American democracy has deteriorated since Joe Biden was sworn in as President on January 20 and is going to get worse.

There is nothing incredible about it. There have been warnings since the early 20th century.  https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/sinclair-lewis-on-fascism/ but that's not exactly a unique vision, either - Does not all despotism dress in the symbols most revered by its target population? Many recent observers observers have commented on the danger https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/312505 ,  https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2020/06/22/american-fascism-it-has-happened-here/ , https://monthlyreview.org/product/the-coming-of-the-american-behemoth/ . Whatever you think of the authors of those books, they didn't get the material out of thin air; it's maybe worth examining the basis of their theories.

Democracy was never strongly established in America (I realize that's a contentious statement, but consider the four constitutional amendments it took over a hundred years, and the amount of strife and struggle that led to those amendments, before it had universal suffrage - and how many disgruntled losers those struggles left behind) and it has had some formidable opposition, as well as mighty champions. In the last several decades -  the balance of power seems to me to have been steadily shifting to the opposition; the champions are scattered and without armies to back them. Most worrying is the unconcern of what appears - admittedly, from a distance - the main body of the polity.

Quote

Here is an article from 2016 that laid it out quite plainly.

I think what's forming, though it has many of the earmarks, is not fascism in the traditional European sense, but something new, something uniquely American. Whether that makes it more or less dangerous to the rest of the world, I don't know. It will be - it already is and has been for some time - very bad for a large segment of Americans.

[beecee]

3 hours ago, Peterkin said:

There is nothing incredible about it.

Of course it would be incredible.....certainly not impossible, but never the less incredible. Trump's election was incredible, at least in the eyes of most of the rest of the world.

4 hours ago, Peterkin said:

Democracy was never strongly established in America (I realize that's a contentious statement,

Contentious to say the least. Doesn't say much for the rest of the world's democratic systems then.

4 hours ago, Peterkin said:

I think what's forming, though it has many of the earmarks, is not fascism in the traditional European sense, but something new, something uniquely American. Whether that makes it more or less dangerous to the rest of the world, I don't know. It will be - it already is and has been for some time - very bad for a large segment of Americans.

What I find "uniquely American" is their seemingly adoration and acceptance of their NRA and non existent gun laws and their seemingly abhorance against universal health schemes. Not sure if that's dangerous, but certainly hard to understand when we read things in the paper with regards to people having to sell their houses etc, to afford proper health, medical and hospital care. While we have certain right wing politicians in our country, that would dismantle and scrap our own excellent universal system, they just as certainly would never attempt it, as the populace both leftish and rightish would throw them out on their ears at the following elections, and maybe even sooner.  

I cannot see Americans electing Trump again, but then I'm not an American and am not really privvy to the ground roots thinking, over there. Can only hope thatthey never make that mistake again.

[dimreepr]

11 hours ago, Peterkin said:

I think what's forming, though it has many of the earmarks, is not fascism in the traditional European sense, but something new, something uniquely American. Whether that makes it more or less dangerous to the rest of the world, I don't know. It will be - it already is and has been for some time - very bad for a large segment of Americans.

You may as well say "uniquely duck" in the traditional European sense... 

Something new evolved past tradition, in most cases... 

[TheVat]

12 hours ago, iNow said:

Far right extremism and fascist tendencies are certainly on the rise, and the GOP is gladly helping it along to win power through primary votes. I’m not suggesting the left is perfect, just that democracy is under threat and roughly half the country seems glad to push it over a cliff in the name of freedom. 

White freedom.   A lot of the legislative agenda in Red states is either about vote suppression of minority groups or about giving legislatures power to nullify elections by either statewide fiat or removing county election officials and replacing them en masse.

As the saying goes,  you know your party's  policies suck when you have to cheat to win elections.   

I think the battlefield on which democracy is saved will be the courts,  where all these terrible laws are challenged.   

[Peterkin]

17 minutes ago, TheVat said:

I think the battlefield on which democracy is saved will be the courts,  where all these terrible laws are challenged.   

That's problematic at the moment, because of the recent solidification (?concretion) of the GOP at all levels. One important question is the available time-frame for effective change. This is an interesting article. I also think a huge danger is the people's naive faith in a (rather ambiguous) document that most of them have never actually read.

[iNow]

26 minutes ago, TheVat said:

the battlefield on which democracy is saved will be the courts

1 minute ago, Peterkin said:

That's problematic at the moment, because of the recent solidification (?concretion) of the GOP at all levels

This issue applies also at the very courts TheVat referenced as a solid majority of those judges have been installed with brutal swiftness and ruthless efficiency by McConnell et.al, and they are in large part quite ideologically aligned with the right... Trump himself installed 3 (THREE!!!) new justices to the SCOTUS. 

Democracy is the worst form of government, except all the others... and I do find myself in hell, so feel the need to keep going. 

[Peterkin]

29 minutes ago, iNow said:

This issue applies also at the very courts TheVat referenced

Hence the article I referenced, regarding the pattern of Supreme Court decisions.

The whole issue of Supreme Court and the process of appointing its members is somewhat contentious. A great deal of harm can be done, both at the state and federal level, before the balance is restored.

[iNow]

Right. I was more attempting to add that it’s in the lower courts where this particular rubber is really meeting roads. 

[TheVat]

The mitigating factor (I hope) is that Trump appointed federal judges who would turn out to harbor a belief in the rule of law and have professional scruples, and then turn around and toss some Trumpist nonsense out of their courtroom.  That's happened enough times to make me think that donning the mantle of office in a federal district court can have a bracing effect even on staunch conservatives.*   Another factor is that the Trump admin left many posts unfilled in the DOJ, which means that Garland can now start filling them with competent public servants instead of cultists. 

 

*That happens with the Supremes, too.  Justices like Anthony Kennedy took their professional duties quite seriously and moved away from their partisan pasts.