Bravo. Biden brands MAGA Republicans, extremists, semi-fascists

 After nearly two years in office, Biden's messaging has been rightly criticized for being unfocused and uninspiring. There was no overarching theme that Democrats could win brand opponents with unpopular positions on various public policy and governing methods. That changed on August 25 during a fundraiser and a rally in Maryland. It was about time. This was welcome for those urging him to go on the attack with sharp, easy-to-grasp rhetoric.   His delivery looked like he had some fire in his belly, giving a chance for those in his audience to agree and participate. Biden tagged Trump loyal Republicans as extreme MAGA  Republicans and semi-fascists. While he had used "extreme MAGA Republicans" in May, it had faded, and he revived it on the rally platform on August 25 and joined it by describing their ideology as "semi-fascist." He was leaving room for those Republicans repulsed by Trump and his loyalists and independents to support his more moderate agenda with bi-partisan appeal and a continuation of the democratic system we have enjoyed for centuries. In short, punchy words, Biden touted his implementation of popular public policy issues that appealed across the partisan divide but also was aimed at some in his base who had shown a lack of luster support,  including younger and senior voters, among others. Polls had begun to reveal the Democratic base saving democracy and making Roe v Wade the law of the land their top issue. In very recent special elections where Democrats beat Republicans, it became apparent that this approach appealed to dissident Republicans and independents, as well as his base in swing states and districts..

Biden also used 'fear" to rev up the crowd to support Democrat mid-term candidates for Congress..  He turned the Dobbs/end Roe v Wade abortion issue against the "extreme MAGA Republicans" by charging they wanted to pass federal legislation to ban abortion in all states, including nearly half of them who still honored the provisions of Roe v Wade. He would veto, he said, any such legislation passed by Congress.  

He also used "fear" to brand the MAGA Republicans as semi-fascists. He is not the first to do this. Some others in the media, Joe Scarborough for one, who called the MAGA crowd fascists, and others had evoked the Nazi image. Neither attack negative brands had caught on because they were both inflammatory and not an exact fit. There were elements, however, which did look like the fascists of the 1930s, including anti-semitism, use of violence to effect change, an attempt to use active military and militias to shape domestic politics,  and a cult-like loyalty pledged to a leader, Donald Trump, instead of loyalty to the rule of law and the Constitution. In addition, there is a national effort to put the mechanism of voting in the hands of one party loyalists, the MAGA GOP, using lies and deception that the 2020 elections were stolen. Some also intimated that the kind of democracy we have had for 250 years should be replaced. By what? An autocracy, a dictatorship? A voting system run by Trump loyalists? Replacing the Refs - States United Democracy Center  Trump often expressed his admiration for those models of modern fascism: Putin, Hungary's Viktor Orban, Turkey's Erdogan? All of them fit Merriam-Webster's definition of fascism: "a political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition and a tendency toward or actual exercise of strong autocratic or dictatorial control" The case for calling those three leaders fascists was made by the late Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in her book, Fascism, a Warning. Fascism: A Warning by Madeleine K. Albright | Goodreads The extreme MAGA Republicans are not there yet, but there are elements in that group that aspire to implementation of aspects of a similar ideology.  

My observation of fascist governments is that "freedom" is only for the dear leaders' supporters to do and say as the leader approves. The usual way to oust fascist leaders who have control of all governmental power centers is by violent or velvet overthrow.   Free and fair elections are no longer able to change regimes because who votes, how they vote, and how the votes are counted are also controlled by fascists. It is an ideology, but its application is similar to other dictators who tout communism or a particular theology. 

Three major events have given Biden the gifts and inspiration to make the remarks: 1)Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade, 2) the January 6 committee showing video of the violent attack on the Capitol again and again and revealing the role Trump and his close advisors played; 3)  a list of both bi-partisan and partisan legislation that broke through a log jam in a closely divided Congress. By contrast, the GOP had pinned hopes on the turnout of their base in the midterms motivated by fear and hate. Their top campaign issues in the primary season were inflation,   immigration, and violent crime while/ opposing any common sense gun legislation. More subtle was the party's hyping and cultural and racial divisiveness by supporting book banning in schools, whitewashing America's slavery past in teaching history,  opposing gay and transgender rights, and implementing the most extreme agenda of anti-abortion laws. 

Often some GOP candidates claim they are acting politically under the banner of Christian nationalism, and some even to turn the US into a Christian nation using the power of political action. That mindset is held mostly by evangelical Christians, who constitute 25% of the population per a Pew Poll. The Roe v Wade overturns, 40 years in the making by the Christian evangelical movement, is now causing a political backlash which will most likely be the one issue that shapes the outcome of the 2022 midterms and the makeup of Congress.

There is a very good reason why our country's founders forbade the establishment of a state religion. It did not work well in the Colonial era and the original colonies that joined together to form our more perfect union were very diverse.  

WATCH: Biden calls for Democrats to vote in midterm elections, slams' semi-fascism' in GOP | PBS NewsHour

WATCH: President Joe Biden joins Wes Moore for DNC rally Thursday at local school - YouTube

Biden calls MAGA' most extreme' group in American history (nypost.com)

Replacing the Refs - States United Democracy Center   One of the most troubling views of the extreme right movement in the US is that they want to replace our form of democracy based on the rule of law with a democracy ruled by a person who agrees with them.   The laws passed with approval by their representatives chosen in free and fair elections serve as the referee when there are disagreements. Put in sports terms, imagine a football game without referees, where the team owner sitting in the home team owner's box calls who committed the fouls as he defines them, levies, and enforces the penalties. It only works without a brawl if everyone in the stands and on the field is on the same team, as it is in Hungary, where over 90 percent are of the same ethnic/racial, religious, and language group, yet many on the  US right fawn over the autocracy of their president, Viktor Orban, a modern-day version of a fascist. It takes years and often violence to end a dictator's regime. What usually brings down a dictator is corruption since there is no one to stop avarice, lies, and greed. A dictator's control of media keeps corruption from the public eye until it is exposed by those who object to the unfairness of it al..Autocrats and dictators control the police and military and use them to suppress opposition by force and fear..   Sometimes failure on the battlefield causes a revolt or a conquering force to take over. (Hitler). Often they use force and fear to maintain that rule. Transitions to another ruler are, at best velvet, more likely violent,  after street demonstrations, military coups, and civil war. 

There are reasons why the U.S. does not have a theologically based Constitution and why a state religion is forbidden by the First Amendment. Those who claim we were founded by Christians as the reason for this ought not repeat history. It did not work well when we were a bunch of colonies. There was a great deal of diversity then as there is now and there was no single consensus on the issue of which one or none should be proclaimed as the religion. Those colonies who tried to impose their religion on others also experience turmoil, strife, and divisiveness, and mother England was still reeling from a history of religious-based wars at home and abroad.  

The alternative view of Christian nationalism from a non-evangelical Christian was explained in an op-ed that traced the movement's beginning to the Ku Klux Klan, who used the burning cross to terrorize black people to be subservient to the white folk.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/reverend-nathan-empsall-says-rejecting-christian-nationalism-is-what-jesus-would-do?source=articles&via=rss

Thank the Pilgrims who began America's quest for religious freedom. Updated November 27, 2020

A version of this was published in the Sky Hi News, 11/20-21/2018

https://www.skyhinews.com/news/opinion/opinion-muftic-thank-the-pilgrims-who-began-americas-quest-for-religious-freedom/

Summary:

The Pilgrims got the ball rolling, but it was only the beginning. They saw freedom of religion as freedom from a government-run religion that persecuted them. It was not freedom for others...but after the colonies provided a rocky start of hanging heretics and hunting witches, the Constitution gave all of us freedom of religion. The application of that First Amendment is still a work in progress.

________________________________________________________________________________
This Thanksgiving, we should thank the Pilgrims who have become an icon of what made the New World so unique in the civilizations that preceded them. They left England and the old world to seek freedom to practice their own religion, free from a government-backed state religion that oppressed them. It was a beginning. There was a rocky road ahead to laws guaranteeing religious freedom for everyone, not just one group.

 Some colonies adopted laws with limited forms of freedom of religion while others established state-sponsored religions hung heretics, and launched witch hunts. Pennsylvania and Virginia had enacted their own laws effectively protecting freedom of religion. The Constitution authors adopted those concepts in the First Amendment, ""Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." Congress later passed civil rights and hate crimes legislation that protected religious practitioners and punished those who interfered with their practice.

 Biden: MAGA is the 'most extreme political organization' in recent U.S. history - POL

Using the definitions above for what is fascism, is Donald Trump a fascist himself? It is not that he did not try.  I would put him in the "aspiring" category, which is a good reason why he should not be given a second term to succeed. His calling neo nazi marchers chanting "Jews will not replace us" in Charlottesville fine people at least shows tolerance of such sentiment. He attempted to use overwhelming mounted federal employees and trick active military to appear to clear demonstrators  to make way for a photo op in Lafayette Square caused General Milley to object to the use of active military to support a domestic political agenda and eventually to write a damning resignation letter (not delivered). His activities on January 6, 2021, was not the first time he condoned the use of violence to get a political outcome, but at the very least he was a central figure that inspired and refused to stop the Capitol rioters. That he threatened to primary anyone not loyal to him personally before the 2022 midterms and the cult-like devotion on his core followers continue even after he left office is a matter of public record and reporting. That he believes he was above the law even after he left office is what the Mar-a-Lago has dramatized.(Those documents are mine, not the government's, etc).  To take control of two of the three power centers, the judiciary and executive branch, he tried to replace the Attorney General with a yes person  after Bill Barr resigned, and he began the process of replacing thousands of career civil servants with loyalists in the Schedule K scheme. After the fake elector and bullying Georgia officials failed to overturn the 2020 election, the "stop the steal" mantra became his rationale to try to get election officials replaced and elected and filled with Trump loyalists and election deniers even after the left office.

Ticked the deep state is out to get Trump, a scofflaw?

Ticked the deep state is out to get Trump, a scofflaw? May I make a rude observation? He asks for it, then claims he is a victim and turns his victimization into epic fundraising. Trump has a history of raising his third finger to rules and laws throughout his life.  At risk now is setting a precedent that any president in the future does not need to abide by laws...a phrase often used is the president above the law. In the question of Mar-a-Lago, which law is at issue, the affidavit made it clear that the statute in question was not if he mishandled material marked classified.  When Trump claims he has the power to declassify any classified information as president, even if he does not go through the steps required to do it, that is irrelevant because that is not what the DOJ is contesting. Per the affidavit, what the DOJ was possibly charging was violations of the espionage act, whether the documents he stole and hid away contained information that endangered national security because they included names of human intelligence agents and information about how the FBI and national security officials do their work. If any foreign spies got their hands on such sensitive information due to, his actions would be the most explosive outcome. The damage assessment is in progress.   The other charges involved could include obstruction of justice and lying to comply with months of requests by the National Archives and finally by the FBI to return them, classified or not, per the requirement of the statutes.  

  Trump has a reputation and history of seeing how far he could go and what he could get away with whenever rules, laws, ethics, and shady practices were involved. USA Today compiled a list of a history of over 4 thousand civil lawsuits and criminal/civic fraud in his lifetime.   If Trump observed the rule of law and the rules under which he operated and did not defy, skirt, and ignore them to feather his own financial nest and power positions,  he would not be the target of so many lawsuits and criminal investigations. His legal entanglements never changed his behavior, and he turned it into a money maker. 

 In the days when he was in private business, he lost suits, was fined, paid restitution, and racked up substantial legal fees. He was famous for stiffing those who provided services for which they were not paid and being sued. It was the cost of doing business his way. Now in public life, those costs in defending himself are being borne by political supporters. He arranged for the RNC to pay $1.6 million in legal fees and raised over $250  million from his devoted followers on the lie since debunked that the election was stolen. Little went to attempts to overturn the election and a non-existent "legal defense fund" in a PAC. Still, much went to a fund that paid for some of his personal lifestyle expenses and income. After the Mar-a-Largo raid, he raised a million a day for the same non-existent legal defense fund.    The Trump  Save America PAC  has over $99 million in its coffers.

The lawsuits and criminal and civil fraud charges arise from his stiffing suppliers, lenders, insurers, and service providers, and civil and criminal fraud, misusing charity foundations,  avoiding tax-paying, and then getting gullible supporters to write a check to help out when he gets caught or accused. Sometimes he wins in court, and other times he loses. Recent estimates are his net worth is $3 billion.    He brought that modus operandi into the White House, and we now see it writ large in the Mar-a-Lago documents seizure by the FBI. What is most disturbing is that most of his supporters do not give a whit and look for ways to rationalize their own anti-government, anti-rule of law attitudes, and political loyalty, as well.  .  It says much about the character of his supporters and their own moral standards, gullibility, and priorities.

 USA TODAY Network: Dive into Donald Trump's thousands of lawsuits - USA TODAY   

The GOP Is Paying for Way More of Trump's Legal Expenses Than Was Previously Reported – Rolling Stone

 Trump Raised $250 Million Since Election To Challenge Outcome—Here's Where Most Of The Money Will Actually Go (forbes.com).

Trump rakes in millions off FBI search at Mar-a-Lago - The Washington Post  

What Is Donald Trump's Net Worth? (investopedia.com)

USA TODAY exclusive: Hundreds allege Donald Trump doesn't pay his bills

https://www.npr.org/2022/08/24/1118946905/trump-pac-money-fec

Democrats still need to link voters angry over Roe v Wade to House elections

Update 9/14/22:  Sen. Lindsey Graham has just handed blue states a legislative litmus test for Democrats to use to put GOP House candidates on the spot on the issue of abortion.  It is a gift to Democrats   Lindsey Graham’s national 15-week abortion ban probably won’t help Republicans in the midterms - Vox   The flip side of this is for voters to ask if the candidate would support making Roe v Wade the law of the land?

Thanks to that old partisan technique of drawing district borders to make as many congressional districts "safe" for one party, there are few districts left that can swing one way or the other.   There are enough swing districts, however, still in the contention that both parties have a chance to control the House.    The keys to winning a swing district are two: public policy issues that motivate greater than average turnout and the "quality" of the candidates. For Democrats, the determination of winning swing states will be the position of the candidates on the codification of Roe v Wade and fear of a Trumpist takeover of the government, the end of democracy. Those are their top two issues per a very recent NBC poll.  For the Trump GOP, it is the economy, stupid, and absolute loyalty to Trump and Trumpism.   Where Democrats are falling short so far is connecting the young and suburban voters with their opposition to the overturn of Roe v Wade to their own district congressional and state legislative candidates. One way to make a link is to ask, "how will the candidate vote if elected to make Roe v Wade the federal law of the land".   Putting that question directly to candidates for Congress should be very revealing and pertinent to the position to which they are being elected. It is more than "what side are you on" on abortion rights. It is easy to demagogue that answer.  

 NY Times compilation of Democratic party ads re: choice   Recent polls show 57% of all Americans opposed the overturning of Roe v Wade and 52% of states with restrictive laws on women's choice.  PP_2022.07.06_Roe-v-Wade_REPORT.pdf (pewresearch.org)     Saving democracy is the single top issue for 21%; jobs, economy, and cost of living combined are still top.  Since Roe v Wade overturned, Democrats, closed the enthusiasm gap signaling the issue is will motivate Democratic turnout in November.     NBC August Poll shows increase concern for democracy   https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/after-redistricting-heres-how-each-party-could-win-house     

 The strategy Democrats take also will vary from state to state. Where to put the campaign money and attention is important.  Wasting money on a lost cause district is not wise, but in a swing district, efforts count more.  Tying the issue of Roe v Wade legislation connected with political party affiliation is also helpful because, given the usual diminished attention to individual congressional campaigns and the prohibitive expense of TV advertising, voters tend to vote straight tickets for congressional and down-ballot candidates if they are uncertain who they are and what policy positions they favor.  The fewer Senate and state-wide races will get the media exposure since the cost is spread out statewide with more moderates, unaffiliated, and swing voters voting in general elections than in primaries. Due to more and more states using non-partisan commissions to draw boundaries in 2022, gerrymandering is not as determining a factor as it has been in the past in the midwest. States in the south, having their state legislatures draw the district boundaries, are the most gerrymandered, but in the West, with wider use of the independent commissions to draw boundaries (as in Colorado), the outcome was little change.  For example, in southern states, only 10 percent of congressional districts are swing,  lower than the national average. Still, in the midwest, there are more swing districts than there were before this year's redistricting (a process after each census year),  enough to offset the southern states' gerrymandering efforts by Republicans.  Both parties have a path to winning a majority in the House this year per the Brennan Center. .https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/after-redistricting-heres-how-each-party-could-win-house     

 

2022: battle for election integrity begins at the county clerk level, update 9/14-29/22

Post-November 8 midterms, Arizona narrowly elected Democrats to some. major positions, but the election denier stench lingered as one county refused to certify the election while unable to prove evidence of fraud. The secretary of state is suing the county. This county is taking loyalty to MAGA to the stupid, crazy, and dangerous extreme. It is a Republican heavily dominated county, and if successful not even those who voted GOP would have their votes counted, resulting in flipping a house seat from red to blue, setting a precedent for others to destroy the foundation of democracy, free and fair elections. Arizona secretary of state sues after Republican officials refuse to certify county election results | US midterm elections 2022 | The Guardian   (also posted separately on the blog 11/29/22)

This Aug 20 posting is edited from the original and also reposted in its entirety on 9/14/22

Update: 9/14/22 The federal investigation comes down to the Colorado county clerk level: FBI seizes MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell's phone in connection with Tina Peters investigation - Colorado Newsline

In Colorado, one county clerk, Tina Peters, took it upon herself to give the codes/passwords to the machines to another Trump ally, and records were moved and locked in a room inaccessible to others. For that, she not only violated rules and laws governing elections but she has also been charged with crimes. Tina Peters indicted by Mesa County grand jury on felony charges (coloradosun.com).

A fundamental danger to democracy is electing someone to the office who administers the voting process and systems who is so partisan that he/she cannot be trusted to play it fair and square and by the book. The laws and rules governing the administration are the referees, and they work so long as they are respected and followed. In sports, imagine a football game without referees, where the team owner sitting in the home team owner's box calls who committed the fouls as he defines them, levies, and enforces the penalties. It only works without a brawl if everyone in the stands and on the field is on the same team The county clerks are the local referees on the field..

How  and where Trump-dominated Republicans are attempting nationwide to replace the election referees in 2022 with their partisans is spelled out in  https://statesuniteddemocracy.org/resources/replacingtherefs/ The attempt to seize voting machines, so only one party has access to them, throw out legally cast ballots, consider all mail-in votes to be fraudulent, and make it inconvenient for people to vote were nationwide tactics used by the Trump-dominated GOP in 2020 that relied on the "stop the steal" slogan to give steam to its agenda of one-party control of the voting process.

We are learning more and more about how the GOP tried to sabotage the vote count in 2020. Per the Washington Post, a firm was hired in November 2020 by Trump allies, including Sidney Powell, conspiring to overturn the election to hack into voting machines in three swing states: Georgia, Michigan, and Nevada and they succeeded. Trump-allied lawyers pursued voting machine data in multiple states, records reveal - The Washington Post The files were shared and downloaded by a variety of those allies. Copied voting systems files were shared with Trump supporters, election deniers - The Washington Post The Trumpist twist was to claim Dominion voting systems had been rigged, yet the actual computer security breach was done by Trumpists who hired a company to do it.

 For those not familiar with Grand County, the Grand County Dems have really upped their game in a county that is becoming less and less ruby red. Of particular interest to me are two races, one for Grand County Clerk and the other for Colorado's Secretary of State. They are the key to fair and free elections, and the tone of both Democratic candidates in their remarks, as reported in the newspaper, was on target. Playing by the rules in the process is the antidote to election deniers. Local and state elections like these are where the battle for democracy is taking place all over the country.

Colorado, a nearly solid blue state, has a nationally known secretary of state, Jena Griswold, a Democrat who has carried out the spirit and intent of a GOP constructed mail-in voting system that has layers of bi-partisan eyes on the process to ensure its integrity.   Griswold, as Secretary of State, has made it more convenient and accessible for everyone to vote. She has succeeded in making Colorado a state with one of the highest voter participation numbers in the nation and the state has had record-breaking turnout. She did this by increasing the number of drop boxes by 65 percent, expanding in-person voting, extending accessibility to those on public college campuses and in tribal lands, and instituting automatic voter registration that led to more than 250 thousand eligible Coloradan voters.   She also launched a statewide system so every voter can track their ballot making it easier for all to vote and to vote with confidence.    Making it easier for all to vote, to vote by mail or in person, using paper ballots throughout the system, and putting bi-partisan eyes on the entire process is in step with Democrats' agenda.  In parts of the US, suppression of opposition voter access has been a common practice of the GOP. They have blanketly condemned vote by mail, saying it opens the process to fraud, though the track record in Colorado puts a lie to that line of attack.  Part of the reason is the safeguards written into the Colorado system, and paper ballots make it very easy to audit and find any fraudulent activities.

 The Democratic party candidate for Grand County Clerk, Abby Loberg, is a retired civics teacher and long-time resident of the county. She does not need a refresher course on what democracy is about and why it should be honored, respected, and preserved. She is no party hack. Abby Loberg's GOP opponent's position on whether the 2020 election was stolen is not known, but the GOP candidate is known to be very partisan. She needs to be challenged to reveal her views regarding whether she is part of the "stop the steal" believers and how she would administer elections differently if she believes it.

Overlooked in Biden's "inflation" law victory: money for the Colorado River crisis

 There is a great deal of handwringing over the lack of water and the federal government reducing usage.  These reports overlook money to deal with the crisis in the environmental legislation Biden signed yesterday.  I live in the headwaters of the Colorado River and have watched our fabled trout streams at risk in this historic drought. Our local newspaper reported that there was $ 4 billion in the bill Biden signed.  Assuming the money in the bill survived the final version, this is an aspect of the story that needs to be verified.  I will update this posting.  Note: all Republicans voted against it.

https://www.skyhinews.com/news/environment/inflation-climate-bill-includes-4-billion-for-buying-water-to-save-the-colorado-river-basin/

While democracy is on the ballot Nov.8, it may not be Democrats' winning issue

 While whether we think continuing our democracy is an issue that ought to be the most important issue at stake on November 8, midterms because it is fundamental to how we will be governed and who has a say in any public policy issues in the future, it may not be the Democrats' winning issue. A powerful single issue that will mobilize a wider and more passionate turnout on behalf of Democratic Party candidates up and down the midterm ballot is the extreme restriction of women's rights to control their destiny and reproduction choices, the overturn of Roe v Wade by the Supreme court and the criminalization of women for violating the most extreme legislation by over half of the states. The Democratic Party sees this as their best opportunity to keep the House and Senate blue to pass legislation that would put into a law that protects a woman's right to choose similar to the standards observed for 50 years in Roe v Wade. Democrats smell blog. They have begun focusing their advertising in swing states to bring to the attention the GOP candidates who are supporting the most extreme legislation, NY Times compilation of Democratic party ads re: choice   Recent polls show 57% of all Americans opposed the overturning of Roe v Wade and 52% of states with restrictive laws on women's choice.  PP_2022.07.06_Roe-v-Wade_REPORT.pdf (pewresearch.org)        Democracy is the single top issue for 21%; jobs, economy, and cost of living combined are still top.  Since Roe v Wade overturned, Democrats, close the enthusiasm gap signaling the issue is will motivate Democratic turnout in November.     NBC August Poll shows increase concern for democracy

 Particularly angering to women is criminalizing a woman and a maturing child who seeks relief from being forced to carry a fetus to birth that is the result of rape and incest. They also resent that some government entity has made the decision for them that if their life is at risk because of a pregnancy, their life is not important;" Pro-life" is an extremely narrow view of what life is when it only applies to the fetus' that has not reached viability, but that is the radical position of those behind the end of Roe v Wade and supporting the resulting legislation in over half of the states..   It is not just women who are affected. The choice of dads and family members of whether they have a say about such choices in the case of incest and rape of their minor daughters is also taken away from them and given to the government.  

Republicans are relying on cultural, racial, and inflation issues to offset the fallout from Roe v Wade overturn and their extremist state legislation to win back the House and control the levers of the election process.   The key to opinions about inflation is whether gas prices at the pump go up and go down. The worse it is, the more the GOP benefits.  Members of my family, GOP voters, are now reporting the cost of gas to fill their tanks is going down in our area  That is true in the US in general; though it is not a given, it will continue that way into November. Nonetheless, it is shaky ground for a politician to rely on either side of the partisan aisle. Gas prices are falling — Here's why it's happening and whether it can continue (cnbc.com). 

Democracy is on the ballot this November updated 8/13/2022, 9/24/2022

update: 9/24/22  Biden: 'Democracy itself is on the ballot' in Nov. (usatoday.com)

This posting is being continuously updated and edited given the unfolding newsworthy events related to the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago

 This is a critical choice on the ballot in November. It may not be in the form of an initiative or referendum, but who gets elected will have much to do with whether to replace this system of democracy we have now with an autocracy. Instead of a government of, by and for the people, some within the Trump camp appear to want a government of a single party or strong man, by a single party or strong man, and for the single party or strong man.  They rose as a body in applause at the CPAC convention of conservatives at remarks by the dictator of Hungary, and a FOX media personality has become his champion.

Raising the alarm that Democracy is on the ballot in November 2022  is shaped by recent polling,  being aware of the action Trump has already taken to expand his personal power, demanding loyalty to himself instead of to the rule of law,  and knowing that many of his followers and he himself have already expressed a fondness for autocracy.  When Trump was in office, he began the process of consolidating control over the three branches of government and the Republican party and would complete doing it if he got a second term. 

  One thing is certain Trump is still the leader of the GOP,  His takeover of what was the grand old party of small government and low taxes and slow change conservatives is no more, replaced by the far right, radical ideology of Trumpism.  It is not improving the wheels of democracy and observing the rule of law,  but throwing the whole system out in favor of something else that resembles an autocracy.26% of Americans Are Highly 'Right-Wing Authoritarian,' New Poll Finds (businessinsider.com), defined as  "desire to submit to some authority, aggression that is directed against whomever the authority says should be targeted, and a desire to have everybody follow the norms and social conventions that the authority says should be followed," Those that tend to believe the 2020 election was stolen (70% of the current GOP) align those who favor authoritarianism, That is nearly as extreme as one can get except for 10% for those Americans who support violence to get their way.

Trump and Trumpism still control the GOP.  In this summer's primaries, nearly all candidates who received Trump's endorsement won and will face Democrats in the fall.  Trump's threats to primary anyone not loyal to him, including for legislatures and state positions, were real and worked.  In the Mar-a-Lago FBI raid incident, even those toying with the idea of running in 2024 came to Trump's defense.

Donald Trump. had also expressed admiration for the modus of governing of such autocrats as Putin of Russia and the president of Hungary. I may use "dictatorship" in place of the more common term "autocracy," a word that sounds less inflammatory, even though it means virtually the same thing, the rule of a person instead of the rule of a law. If Trump's loyalist candidates win the critical swing states in 2022, that is the show of strength that will propel him to be on the ballot in 2024.  He is already positioning himself, even before the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago the second week in August 2022. To stop this country's march to dictatorship, the midterms give voters a chance to vote Trump and his loyalists out.  We still have a democracy that gives voters the power to do it.  

 That voters in the future will still have the ability to express their preferences through the ballot box is not a sure thing. The election system is also under attack. The target of Trump's GOP is the mechanism of the election process. This year's midterm elections are especially crucial because the results of state and local elections put in office those with the most power to determine that future. They are the ones who control the machinery of elections in every state: the state attorney generals, the secretaries of state, and the county clerks.  State legislatures and control of the US Senate and the House of Representatives are also on the ballot, but who controls the election process can determine their ability to win the seat.   

.There is a concerted effort by the GOP to replace " by the book county clerks" and election officials with Trump loyalists who believe election integrity means only they alone should control what votes are counted and certify only elections their candidates win. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jun/30/republican-recruit-poll-workers-election-integrity  .That makes elections of state attorney generals, secretaries of state who oversee state and county elections,  and county clerks themselves who are fundamentally the keystones of ensuring fair and free elections necessary in democracies.   The election of those officials this November will determine who administers and counts the votes in the next presidential year, 2024, 

If saying democracy is on the ballot in November 2022 sounds uber alarmist, look at what has happened in the past six years.  Trump has begun to amass power in his own hands and throughout the three branches of government, executive, legislative, and judicial.  Extreme and radical supporters of Trumpism have found that democracy throws obstacles to getting their way.  Democracy does not work for them, so they look for another model of government that will. They fawn over Putin and Hungary's Viktor Orban,  Orban's US boosters on cable TV  celebrate how he controls the legislature, the press, the judiciary, and the administrators to keep racial/Christian purity in his country that is already 97% of that racial/religious group. 

 Back in the US, with its diverse population, the rule of law is under attack by a large number in the GOP who engineered an attempt to sabotage faith in the democratic election system, swallowing and repeating lies the 2020 election was stolen. That there was widespread fraud that would have changed the outcome (evidence of which that was never found or presented after a year and a half of trying) and the approval for Trump trying to overturn the election he lost by a significant margin..  The belief that the 2020 election was stolen without evidence is still held by 70% the  GOP,  even after 60 judges, the FBI, and multiple "forensic" and official audits found no evidence of fraud to the extent that would have changed the outcome. Most Republicans still falsely believe Trump’s stolen election claims. Here are some reasons why. - Poynter When it appeared following the rules and laws did not give them the outcome that they wanted, some resorted to violence and use of terror, with Trump's tacit and active encouragement.  About ten percent of Americans believe use of violence is OK to protect democracy, though what is their definition of democracy varies widely. New poll finds 1 in 10 Americans support violence against government : NPR  

The disturbing part of this is that an estimated majority of those identifying with the GOP still believe the lie the election was stolen for whatever reasons: tribal loyalty, Lies are OK if they advance their support of Donald Trump, who stands for more than just an entertaining orator.  Trump channels through media in words and deeds what they believe, including the fear that some other race would replace them,   single issues like anti-abortion without any exception, and self-interested support of his tax policy that favored the rich and corporate welfare.  Those supporters find in Trump a reflection of their personally held values and character.  That, too, is permitted in a democracy, though fomenting and acting violently in a conspiracy is not protected by the US Constitution and is expressly forbidden..

When the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago to retrieve classified documents.  they must have had evidence Trump had hidden some away and not turned over to the National Archives in spite of months of repeated "pretty please" requests. or a judge would not have approved it.  Within 24 hours of the FBI search, the GOP closed ranks, circled the wagons, and screamed witch hunt.  The search warrant was released to the public, revealing the FBI found classified documents, some extremely secret and sensitive.  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mar-a-lago-search-warrant-released-today-trump-top-secret-classified-documents-espionage-act-2022-08-12/   It has been reported that in June, Trump's lawyers had told the FBI all classified documents had been turned over.  Obviously, someone lied.    Ihttps://www.reuters.com/world/us /trump-lawyer-june-said-classified-material-had-been-returned-ny-times-2022-08-13/t 

It seems the attitude of his supporters is that Trump is unlike everyone else:.He does not need to observe the law because he is president.  (Another characteristic of dictators). The pattern is obvious.  He is a scofflaw, and when he gets caught and accused of running afoul of the law, in every instance, he charges his accusers with political motivations.  His loyal followers and those who need to show their loyalty agree, nodding their heads and chanting in unison.  It serves his purpose of getting his audience to ignore facts and evidence.  It has become such a mantra that it is a predictable response, as it was in this case of the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago.   

Another predictable reaction was for members of those same organizations and their loyal followers, indicted and charged with sedition on January 6, to call for a civil war on social media and to get their guns ready and loaded as if the threat of violence would force the rest of us weak-kneed to collapse and surrender to Trump's will. Is this the future of all elections, more violence and thuggery like we saw on January 6, 2021? Violence and the use of brute military force are considered legitimate uses of power among many in the Trumpist camp and by Trump himself. While definitions of democracy vary depending on the interests of the definer, we certainly have learned what democracy is not in the January 6 committee hearings.  Use of violence is not democratic. MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: The January 6 hearings are teaching us what democracy is not       Law enforcement is now considered by violent militias as the enemy.  MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: Trump fans the flames of violence, yet calls himself the law and order president updated       Immediately, the FBI office in Cincinnati was attacked by an armed man who had also attended the January 6 riot and was devoted to Donald Trump on social media. Flame-throwing media talkers and social media platforms, and even members elected to Congress that give voice and approval to those extremists and exhortation to take up weapons to start a civil war are a real and present danger to the continuation of American democracy. The Constitution was specifically designed to avoid violence in a regime change. The use of violence by those plotting to overturn the results of elections or to grab the reins of power is not considered free speech protected by the First Amendment and can even be and have been charged with the crime of seditious conspiracy if more than one conspires to act on it. (The peacetime charge of treason). The writers of the Constitution provided the alternative to violent regime change, elections, and protections of the election process and protection, civil rights for those who advocated a change of leaders and representatives.  

 It is even more disturbing if reports are true that to get his way, even if it violated the spirit and intent of the Constitution,  Trump wanted to use the active military as his domestic political enforcement arm.  Trump had wanted the active military to crush demonstrators protesting police brutality in the George Floyd death.  That practice is the hallmark of banana republic dictators who used their army to oppress the opposition.  Trump was angry that the active military led by General Mark Milley refused to intervene in domestic political matters protesting police actions. Milley believed the Constitution forbade that. He had sworn to defend the Constitution, not the sitting president,   He was even willing to risk court-martial to protect democracy.     https://www.militarytimes.com/news/2022/08/08/milley-almost-quit-over-trump-wrote-biting-resignation-letter-new-book-reveals/.Trump was reported to fume that Hitler's generals were loyal to Hitler, so why shouldn't "his" generals. (totally ignorant of the historical fact those generals tried to assassinate Hitler in the middle of World War  II. ) Hitler is a frightening role model for anyone in power in a democracy) https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/08/09/trump-kelly-hitler-german-generals/ 

Trump Had Role in Weighing Proposals to Seize Voting Machines - The New York Times (nytimes.com)  and part to the scheme considered and rejected was to have the military do the seizing of voting machines.

 Trump is mostly getting his way in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is now dominated by justices of Trump's choosing. A second term by Trump and his supporters will give him a chance he needs to fill the federal judicial bench with even more of his loyalists, enabling even more to become the kind of leader he wants to be. 

To increase his power,  Trump began to execute his plans to seize control of the federal executive branch bureaucracy while president, Trump used his executive powers to replace 50 thousand federal civil servants with appointees loyal to him instead of being hired, fired, and advanced for merit and sworn to uphold the law and rules.  The scheme refers to Schedule F.  .https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schedule_F_appointment#:~:text=A%20Schedule%20F%20appointment%20was,making%20them%20easy%20to%20fire.

 That removal of protections for civil servants overturns years of reform that fueled political bosses' power to develop a cadre of government officials who pledged their allegiance to the boss. It is how every dictator in the world has consolidated power, whether they are flying under the banner of communism or nationalism or racial and religious driven ideology, or just naked lust for power and wealth. The problem: those Trump servants are no longer public servants but owe their future income to the boss so long as they are showing favoritism to fellow Trumpists in providing service. Like big city political machines, but on federal steroids, to get something done in the bureaucracy, it pays to give lip service to the boss. It not only consolidates the enormous power of hiring and firing in the hands of a strong man, it perpetuates compliance with this model of governance in the general public.  When Biden became president, he reversed that order to replace civil servants with political appointees.  Another term would give Trump the ability to complete his control of that branch of government, too.

The GOP is already now firmly in the control of the Trump followers. In this summer's primaries, nearly all candidates who received Trump's endorsement won and will face Democrats in the fall.  Trump's threats to primary anyone not loyal to him, including for legislatures and state positions, were real and worked. Nearly every candidate he endorsed won their GOP primaries this summer.

  The Supreme Court is now dominated by justices of Trump's choosing. A second term by Trump and his supporters will give him a chance he needs to fill the federal judicial bench with even more of his loyalists, enabling even more to become the kind of leader he wants to be. 

The 5-Minute Fix: Ranking Trump’s legal perils - feliciamuftic@gmail.com - Gmail (google.com)

USA TODAY Network: Dive into Donald Trump's thousands of lawsuits - USA TODAY

https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/graphics/2022/08/22/lawsuits-investigations-complicate-2024-trump

Wanted: an army of volunteers in November

Tuesday, November 8, 2022, is the date for the midterm elections, and never truer is the old political bit of wisdom that all politics are local, especially when there is no contest for president and the media attention that wide-reaching importance those national presidential year elections bring. It is also true that democracy's future is on the ballot. The midterms present both opportunities and dangers for those who want their lives to be governed by democracy, its process as we have known for 250 years, abiding and respecting the rule of law and protections of civil fairness to both majorities and minorities. The opportunity is to make a case and give a civics lesson about why it is good for us we have it and what happens if we lose it. The danger is that no one cares enough to stop democracy's end while they still have a chance, and we begin the process to lapse into a government that is neither of, by, and for all of the people but is, by, and for one political party and its leader. 

Midterms have some unique characteristics. The focus is on state and local races, where advertising and coverage of the races depend more on the local coverage than on the national channel TV talkers and reporters.  It is expensive and harder for local and state candidates to get their message across and motivate voters to turn out. Coincidentally, the ones who control who votes, what votes are counted, and guard election integrity are the state and local officials, and the importance of their offices most voters can not name is on those ballots.  The education of voters cannot rely on fancy ads, but it will take an army of volunteers to compensate for the lack of media coverage.

 Let me share some words of wisdom.  

I've spent most of my life, at least fifty years, in local government politics in Denver and even some in the county where I now live. I led get-out-the-vote efforts, went door to door to meet voters, and participated in or organized phone banks and door-to-door canvassing on behalf of candidates, and I was a candidate myself, as well.   Such efforts are the only way to offset the lack of extensive media coverage given to these local elections. Money for advertising and free media interviews and debates do not focus on these local races and what is left is personal contact and lots of volunteer effort to make those contacts and get out the message. However, the tendency of voters not familiar with the names of candidates or the importance of the mundane sounding office to which they aspire is to simply vote on the basis of party affiliation.  Non-presidential years do not give the same sense of urgency to voters to make the effort to vote as in presidential years.  Especially likely low turnout voters are those who do not follow political cable and social media. In general elections, unaffiliated voters can also vote, as is the case in the November general elections.  If a party can turn out these low information-low interested voters, independents, and unaffiliated registered ones who they identified as likely voters for their side, they can exceed expectations even if they are a minority in party registration, Turnout is the key to success and that, too, will depend on how good are the identification of these swing voters and their dedicated core believers.   Identification and getting out the vote both depend on an army of phoners, envelope stuffers, and door-to-door walkers. This technique is no secret. Both political parties know this, and both will be trying to outdo their opponents' campaigns.  

The importance of these local elections and state election officials has never been more critical than it is in 2022. I served as Denver's Clerk and Recorder (the equivalent of a county clerk with many more duties in a combined city/county government) and, as one of my responsibilities,  election commissioner for nearly 8 years.  Never has the administration of elections ever been on the hot seat as it will in 2022.   Critical races are those for county clerks, Secretaries of State, and state Attorneys General.  If you follow the extensive media coverage of events in Georgia and in Michigan, you may get an idea of the importance of these election officials.  There are partisan attempts nationwide to put party loyalists solo in charge of counting votes and the election process. Colorado's unique ballot by mail system was devised and constructed by the Republican-controlled state house and legislature, including extreme measures to thwart fraud. It is a national model of how mail-in balloting can work to provide fair and free elections. We have one of the highest rates of voter participation in the US. GOP  theory was then that mail-in ballots benefitted them. There was a long history of absentee ballots that were tilted in the favor of the Republicans. Bi-partisan and non-partisan eyes shadow and administer the process every step of the way. Subsequent Democrats as attorney general and secretary of state have taken pains to follow those carefully laid out rules and laws. All ballots in Colorado are paper ballots, whether mailed or deposited in boxes or in same-day voting venues. They are the way audits and recounts can easily and accurately be made. It is extremely important who has access to them and their storage. The paper ballots are tallied by computers.  However,   2020  Colorado was a particular case in point of how county clerks, local to a political leader instead of to the laws and rules governing their actions,.circumvented the process of protecting the integrity of an election. Two county clerks faced discipline (and one was even criminally prosecuted) for violating state laws and rules.  What they are accused of doing include giving access codes to voting machines to a non-employee partisan friend and playing keep away with ballots and machines in a locked room because they believed the President told them to do so, even though both acts violated state rules and laws. The earth-shaking spectacle nationwide has been candidates losing elections and then, as a matter of course,  before and soon after the election, claiming fraud that elections were stolen as the reason they lost while producing no evidence.  Some even won but still claimed there was a fraud.  One even claims their fellow party opponent won because of fraud in a party primary.  Hey, if it works for the president (sort of), it can work for them, too). They have a great role model n Donald Trump who has had plenty of time. and the opportunity to dig up evidence that the election was stolen, Even if he failed to do so, he kept his hopes open to run again and raise money to do it. This has resulted in shaking the entire faith of voters in the democratic election system.  Trust in fair elections are the bedrock of any democracy.  County clerks have special tools. They can even increase the turnout or suppress the vote based on the demographics and neighborhoods by increasing or decreasing the numbers and locations of drop boxes and polling places by determining the degree of convenience and access.  The adherence of state attorneys general, secretaries of state, and even district attorneys to state laws, have the power to determine if and what laws they choose to enforce,  It can no longer be taken for granted they will play it by the book given the antics in 2020.  Elections for those positions now take on extra importance in these midterms, and if voters care about fair and honest elections, they need to know their candidates' positions on whether they follow the rules or plan to put one party in charge of a whole untrustworthy process.  Given the little attention these positions get from the media, the volunteer boots on the ground spreading the message become even more important in affecting the outcome up and down the ballot and not just in their own county contests.  

 

The second half of this original post has been moved to its own separate post: Democracy is on the ballot this November   MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: Democracy is on the ballot this November

 

The musings of two 84 year old women in the wake of recent events: is the timing right to check out?

In response to my prior posting about the August CPAC convention,  a college classmate of mine expressed dismay about America's future and, as fellow 84-year-olds, we will be "checking out" at the right time. She wished the best of luck to my grandchildren and her nieces and nephews in the future.  https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2022/08/cpac-cheers-white-nationalist-dictator.html 

Here is my reply (edited and cleaned up a bit).

The vote in Kansas this week  (upholding choice) gave me hope that after we check out,   women's lives will be ok and democracy will survive. The younger generations will dominate in the not- that-distant future.  It is called demographics. In the meantime, it will be all chaos, pain, and conflict as these changes and shifts take place. and as the white old boy order tries to cling to their power as long as they can. That is the era we are in now.

I wonder, though, if I were able to visit the earth twenty years from now, will US  citizens be giving the equivalent of the old Nazi salute to some dear leader, and will women will live the same kind of lives as subservient to men we had in our college days in the 1950s? I remember in those days opinions of women were dismissed then as not credible by the ruling white male majority and were not seen as competent as men.  It is conceivable.  Who would have thought within a short four years that fascism, racism, bigotry, and misogyny would dominate a major, though a minority, political party? Chin up and know we did our part to give women a better, fairer chance to live the kind of lives of their choosing.  We have also passed our legacy of the values of democracy on to our grandchildren and nieces and nephews. I believe most of them share these values.   Felicia

CPAC Cheers a white nationalist dictator: is that what the GOP base has become?

 

Is this what the GOP  base has become? It looks like it if the Conservative Political Action Committee attendees in Texas are typical of the extremists who have taken over the GOP. 

 https://www.newsweek.com/viktor-orban-cpac-standing-ovation-globalists-go-hell-texas-1731042

Viktor Orban of Hungary spoke to CPAC to cheer for opposing mixing of races, anti-same-sex marriage, anti-immigrants, and the kind of democracy as we in America have known it for 250 years. He rose to power on racism, anti-immigrant and touting pure Magyar (Hungarian ethnic) Christianity,  and anti-Semitism.  took over all media and the reigns of power in Hungary.   He has virtually assured his presidency for life by changing the country's constitution. He is a full-throated dictator, politely referred to as an autocrat. This is the member-approved preferred vision of CPAC now.  It is not conservatism; it is revisionist, a throwback, to the 1930s.   He is isolated in Europe so he is looking for allies in the US to justify his takeover of a country that is already 97% ethnic pure. One of his chief advisors just resigned, calling a recent racial purity speech as Nazi. 

 https://www.politico.com/news/2022/08/04/viktor-orban-cpac-00049935

https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2022/07/christian-nationalist-dont-forget-white.html  This recent blog posting brings the issue of white Christian nationalism to current US politics

 From my posting in May 2022:

Such wide acceptance of replacement theory is becoming a threat to democracy itself.  This embrace of Viktor Orban of similar racist policies of anti-immigration and Hungarian ethnic domination also brings with it an association with autocracy as a preferred method of governance instead of democracy. FOX's Tucker Carlson's enthusiasm for the autocratic ruler of Hungary inspired the US conservative pac,  CPAC to hold a conference in Hungary and plans more.  Hungary's Orban opens CPAC by telling conservatives "we need to coordinate the movement" of allies - CBS News    Tread lightly, CPAC.  You, too, will find yourself with not only the racist, anti-semitic white nationalism that is Orban's but saddled with his method of governing, which means no press freedom ( or press only permitted that is approved by Orban) and what we would consider in the US, a corrupt alliance between big business and government with rewards going to friends of Orban. An independent judiciary no longer exists.  Hungary is not like the US. Orban could be as racist and nationalist as he liked since 97% of the country is Magyar (Hungarian) and speaks Hungarian.  There are no large groups of minorities. That is not the US now and in the future. Takeover by someone like Orban appealing to white nationalists has not been. would not be, and will not be a peaceful process.  For US white nationalists, Hungary is a fantasyland.  The late Madeleine Albright, our beloved former secretary of state, tagged Orban as a fascist in her best-selling book, Fascism: A Warning "in 2018  mostly because of his racism and his opposition to "liberal democracy".  ( Fascism: a warning)

Hungary: where editors tell reporters to disregard facts before their eyes | Hungary | The Guardian

Living With Corruption: An Examination of Viktor Orbán’s Hungary — COLUMBIA POLITICAL REVIEW (cpreview.org)