Just about every day you read or hear about some right-winger howling that the 2020 Presidential election was fraudulent. During a recent trip to North Carolina I saw a billboard claiming that Trump had received 120,000,000 votes. HA! HA! A thousand times HA! Joe Biden won the election fair and square – period. No ifs, ands, buts, or whining. Yet polls indicate that around 78% of Republicans believe he didn’t. When Representative Liz Cheney dared to not join the election-fraud stampede, she was all but crucified.
A recent CNN poll suggests that more than half of US residents believe democracy is under attack in this country. How can actions taken by Republicans be anything but an all-out assault on democracy? Governor Abbott caused enough outrage with his abortion bounty law; now he has made it harder to vote in Texas, which of course hurts members of marginalized communities, who tend to vote Democrat. Republicans are sure making it look as though they mean to gain total control of this country, and the Constitution they claim to venerate be damned unless it can serve their own sinister purposes.
The GOP is no longer an actual political party – it is an enormous Donald Trump fan club comprising Qanon, Proud Boy, Boogaloo Boi and Oath Keeper bugnuts; racists, misogynists, toadies of the 1%, anti-science trolls, and other assorted jerks. As if that isn’t bad enough, the Mango Menace’s evil influence has apparently oozed into nations around the globe. In Myanmar, the military-backed party lost in a landslide at around the same time Trump was voted out. Like the Trump chumps, they howled about election fraud; and this past February leaders of the legitimately victorious National League for Democracy were arrested, and the military seized power.
Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump admirer whose administration is alleged to be rife with corruption, utterly botched his country’s handling of the Coronavirus pandemic. Currently he is way behind in the polls for next year’s election, and already he is claiming that electronic voting will rig the election against him. Hmmmmmm – sounds a mite familiar. When leftist Pedro Castillo won Peru’s most recent election, his opponent began screaming about fraud.
We must take this onslaught against democracy in the USA seriously. Anybody who thinks that a coup could never be successful in the United States is whistling in the dark. Nearly a century ago, who would have though that the Weimar Republic would be replaced by one of the most infamous regimes in history? Donald Trump is charismatic, and has millions hypnotized and brainwashed into doing his bidding. Some are even comparing him to Jesus, as with a billboard that appeared briefly in Georgia – and misquoted the Bible. People who are good at appealing and catering to the ignorant masses frequently charm themselves into power, no matter how incompetent their leadership may be. They then use their position to sway hoi polloi into obeying their commands, no matter how vile or foolish.
These are, in the words of the ancient Chinese curse, interesting times. VERY interesting times.
8 Responses to “Sound Off! 9/18/21 Election Follies”
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If Republicans had held a House majority, Liz Cheney (and Adam Kinzinger< and this GOnzales fellow from Ohio) would already have been ejected – stripped not just of their committees but of their seats. And don’t believe they would not havekicked out a few Democrats while they were at it.
I know very well how helpless it makes me feel, not so much when people make these demonstrably false claims, so much, as when so many people believe them. I’m sure they – at least the leaders -know that too and are counting on it. We can’t allow ourselves to be emotionally paralyzed – we need to stay mentally in fightermode and spring every time we see a chance.
Thanks, Freya. GQP is more like a death cult/terrorist org. all the time,w/the blind obedience,gunz,anti-vaxx,anti-masking,etc. FG got 120 million votes!? Anti-math as well. In good news, it seems only @200 have showed up in DC to support the J6 traitors. Lots more media,cops. LOL! Ohio GQP legislature has (surprise!)ignored our ballot initiative to draw fairer districts. and so it goes & we fight on. Take care,all.
So sadly true. I’m sure we all wish there were a simple, straightforward solution.
But personally, I think the GQP is a full-fledged cult.
When 71% of a group believes something easily proven categorically FALSE by the facts, they’ve entered Cult status:
https://www.prri.org/research/dramatic-partisan-differences-on-blame-for-january-6-riots/
I agree with the comments above regarding the GQPiggies.
Ever since the day in 2017, when tRump entered the W.H., all that he did was to infect; the House, train many of the R’s to forget their real tasks of standing for/fighting for the people and to destroy our country’s democracy. It’s a disgrace to see that ever since tRump was voted out, we continue seeing that many of these rotten R’s still bow down and serve him.
I wish there was a way to get these fools to snap out of the trance that tRump has placed them in, but like Nameless mentioned, there isn’t a simple solution for doing it.
All we can hope for is that they’ll be voted out of office the next time they run. It’s an absolute MUST.
Thanks Freya
Colleen…we can blame THE PUSTULE (and rightly so) for giving an outlet to all this hatred and paranoia but the truth is that it’s been there, lurking for a long time. People like us go about our lives believing in our fellow citizens, assuming the best about them and having confidence in the future. Lately, though, I’ve come to see how many of those assumptions might be incorrect.
Does this mean they’re ”corrupting” me, too?
All I know is..we really must remain alert and fight this CULTISM whenever and wherever we can!
And hope for the best.
Indeed.
THANKS….RESIST, DON’T GIVE UP
Thanks Freya…I’ve seen the images of Jim Jones since 2015 (seemed OK at first and got people with influence power to say nice things and….)