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