America’s Democratic Decline Really Matters

48 comments on “America’s Democratic Decline Really Matters ”

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1. Bazza64 1

   4 July 2021 at 12:33 pm

   Australia might be the only true democracy if NZ goes for the co-governance model under the He Puapua recommendations. Yes very worrying moves all round the globe especially the Trump “the election was stolen” rubbish. Can’t believe so many people still think it’s true.
   • Sanctuary 1.1

     6 July 2021 at 7:59 am

     This is interesting first comment, because it really provides a perfect illustration of Advantages point. Here we have a poster believing fake news put about by a right wing opposition party fast losing it's constitutional role as the loyal opposition and becoming instead an insurgency fuelled by conspiracy theories and being a repository for fake news and right wing culture wars.

     Why is National pushing a deluded and paranoid conspiracy theory around a trumped up minor report? Well, on one level it is simple race baiting from a party shut out of main stream support and so desperately trying to build instead a heteroclite alliance around a racist agenda and a communicant manufactured culture war.

     But National's racist agenda does not exist within a contextless political environment. It's caucus is culturally heavily informed by US style evangelicalism and the paranoid style of the endless US culture wars, where "critical race theory' is the latest bogey man tool for racist white exceptionalism. Thus, it is a party already primed for paranoia and race war and keen on appealing to a NZ political right increasingly buying into US rejection of reality in favour of fantastical confections. How else can we explain the current rhetoric of National (and ACT) except in terms of an infection of Trumpist Crypto-fascism?

     The contagion of American democratic decline is already here in my view, as illustrated by any number of right wing commentators. Our right is now parroting the values of the US right. As Hannah Arendt tells us, the followers of far-right leaders (like Seymour and increasingly Collins) actually don't mind being lied to, because they expect politicians to cheat. They just want their guys to lie more effectively. They also want to be in on it, but even if they discover they've been lied to, they will just pretend to have known all along, and it will only renew their admiration for the tactical savvy of their cheating, lying leaders. Not to mention their contempt for the stupid, conned masses. Above all, to recall Karl Rove's point, beliefs create realities, they don't reflect them. "The true goal of totalitarian propaganda," Arendt said, "is not persuasion but organisation". It orchestrates and puts into motion the believers, whether they believe or not.

     And we are starting to see that here from the right in NZ, in spades.
2. Sabine 2

   4 July 2021 at 12:54 pm

   Never mind NZ. lol
3. Byd0nz 3

   4 July 2021 at 1:24 pm

   America's decline can only be good for the billions of people around the globe who have suffered by the actions of that Pariah State.
   • Andre 3.1

     4 July 2021 at 2:01 pm

     If US actions worldwide were shitty while it was still some semblance of a democracy, it will seem a feeble piker's effort compared to what they will do if the slide to corporocrat autocracy continues.

     Although, given your apparent enthusiasm for the shitty actions of the likes of Xi and Putin, maybe you'll think it's an improvement.
     • Byd0nz 3.1.1

       4 July 2021 at 2:19 pm

       Poor response.
     • Adrian Thornton 3.1.2

       4 July 2021 at 8:59 pm

       Well I guess if you lived in one of the numerous countries that the USA is either threatening, bombing, interfering with, sanctioning, bullying, occupying etc you would think it was an improvement too, well you would if you had any empathy…however judging by your past comments, if any of these things are happening at the behest of US or western corporate imperialism with the encouragement and blessing of liberal media, then you cheer for it like a good boy as well.

       US seen as bigger threat to democracy than Russia or China, global poll finds

       https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/05/us-threat-democracy-russia-china-global-poll

       [Adrian, please address the comment without attacking the commenter, thanks – Incognito]
       • Incognito 3.1.2.1

         4 July 2021 at 9:14 pm

         See my Moderation note @ 8:59 pm.
       • Adrian Thornton 3.1.2.2

         4 July 2021 at 9:30 pm

         Yes that is fine, but how about adding that proviso on to andre's comment as well…

         “Although, given your apparent enthusiasm for the shitty actions of the likes of Xi and Putin, maybe you’ll think it’s an improvement.”
         • Incognito 3.1.2.2.1

           4 July 2021 at 10:12 pm

           Thanks Adrian, I appreciate that.

           If Andre is so stupid to think that my Moderation note was only for you and that he can attack other commenters, e.g., you, here with impunity then he will get what he deserves. However, I’m pretty confident that Andre and you can have a go at each other’s comments without making it (too) personal 😉

           BTW, please don’t tell me how to moderate here, thanks 🙂
       • Brigid 3.1.2.3

         5 July 2021 at 12:25 pm

         If only Andre could list instances of America, China and Russia threatening, bombing, interfering with, sanctioning, bullying, stealing from or occupying countries across the world….

         The comparison would be interesting.
         • Phil 3.1.2.3.1

           5 July 2021 at 4:40 pm

           Crimea, Chechnya, and Tibet enter the chat

           But seriously, it's a bit dull and not especially useful to go down this road. Superpowers have sought to influence the domestic affairs of outside nations/entities to their own benefit for as long as organised political entities with central power structures have existed.

           If you want to say the US is the worst offender then I think you have to recognise that it is predominantly a refection of their role as sole-superpower for most of the last 50 years, rather than anything inherently nefarious in how this particular superpower operates.
           • RedLogix 3.1.2.3.1.1

             6 July 2021 at 5:23 am

             Very nicely expressed Phil.

             And what's more when you compare the track record of the USA as the dominant superpower since WW2 (setting aside for the sake of argument the intense struggle that was the Cold War) – with all the empires of history that came before them, it's clear their influence in total has been beneficial. And especially when you compare them to the authoritarian, mass-murdering counterfactual regimes that Stalin and Mao might have imposed.

             This in no way absolves them from their mistakes, and there is no question that this US-led, post WW2 era is fast coming to an end. But the evidence is unequivocal, that this same period as also seen an unprecedented surge in human development almost everywhere. Thus as we move from this US dominated phase into whatever comes next, we might want to start thinking about what we've learned so far, and what features of our evolving globalisation project we might want to retain and what we might want to refine.

             For instance, should we retain the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, or ditch it for something Xi Xinping or Putin might prefer?
   • RedLogix 3.2

     4 July 2021 at 2:01 pm

     Yet here we live in a world that's measurably more developed and better for billions of people than ever in our collective history.

     Comparing this remarkable achievement with an un-examined ideal that you have in your head is pathological.
     • Adrian Thornton 3.2.1

       4 July 2021 at 9:27 pm

       "Yet here we live in a world that's measurably more developed and better for billions of people than ever in our collective history."…..no what is pathalogical Redlogix is what the criminal short term vision your beloved modern age free market ideologies have wrought upon this planet…so we get to live better for 100-200 max, nice for us, but by doing so we have completely fucked up the whole balance of the entire planet for every generation that comes after (including all your great granchildren I might add)..the selfishness and incredible short termism of your statement says volumes..possibly it is you who could do a wee bit of self examination?
       • RedLogix 3.2.1.1

         5 July 2021 at 7:36 am

         Perfections are without limit. But allowing the ideal to become the enemy of what has already been achieved is a dead-end. It's a state of mind where nothing becomes worth doing because everything falls short of an endless list of unfalsifiable, unachievable utopia's. A friend of mine many decades ago called it the 'lazy perfectionist syndrome' – it was always possible to find a reason to denigrate something because it was never going to be good enough.

         By contrast I came across this yesterday on the wall of the woman who leads our process engineering team and I had to look it up:

         The Cult of Done Manifesto

         1. There are three states of being. Not knowing, action and completion.
         2. Accept that everything is a draft. It helps to get it done.
         3. There is no editing stage.
         4. Pretending you know what you’re doing is almost the same as knowing what you are doing, so just accept that you know what you’re doing even if you don’t and do it.
         5. Banish procrastination. If you wait more than a week to get an idea done, abandon it.
         6. The point of being done is not to finish but to get other things done.
         7. Once you’re done you can throw it away.
         8. Laugh at perfection. It’s boring and keeps you from being done.
         9. People without dirty hands are wrong. Doing something makes you right.
         10. Failure counts as done. So do mistakes.
         11. Destruction is a variant of done.
         12. If you have an idea and publish it on the internet, that counts as a ghost of done.
         13. Done is the engine of more.
         • Incognito 3.2.1.1.1

           5 July 2021 at 8:05 am

           Hmmm, “completely fucked up” vs. “[p]erfections are without limit”; two commenters talking past each other.
         • roblogic 3.2.1.1.2

           6 July 2021 at 12:42 am

           RE: "Cult of done"

           A bias toward action and change is important, to keep moving forward in life. But self-reflection (QA) also matters, before running off half-cocked.
           • RedLogix 3.2.1.1.2.1

             6 July 2021 at 5:06 am

             Nope. Still better to get something done, even poorly done, than to sit around navel gazing. At least that way you get to find out what really does and doesn't work and you can adjust course informed by real world experience.

             This isn't license to do idiotic things, and you still get to wear the consequences of blindly following bad ideologies. But ideas are both cheap and a legion, yet useful, successful ones are quite rare and there's only one way to sort them out.
   • Sacha 3.3

     4 July 2021 at 3:59 pm

     America's decline can only be good for the billions of people around the globe who have suffered by the actions of that Pariah State.

     Doesn't it depend on what replaces that?
     • Byd0nz 3.3.1

       4 July 2021 at 4:26 pm

       A world system based on a United world without money.

       Young people at some time will embrace this concept as a replacement for money systems that have created a divided world where the corruption of money has led to poverty for great number of people and toward climate problems that will be faced by the young of any future generations. The corruption of American hegemony has caused millions

       To die and billions of the planets people to suffer.
       • Sacha 3.3.1.1

         4 July 2021 at 4:39 pm

         Isn't it more likely that other big powers like China and the EU just fill the vacuum with a different flavour of the same?
         • Byd0nz 3.3.1.1.1

           4 July 2021 at 4:58 pm

           Your probably right, a world without money well may be a long way off, as we are still in the primitive stage of evolution.
           • Sacha 3.3.1.1.1.1

             4 July 2021 at 5:17 pm

             I hope our future is more bonobo than chimp.
4. Adrian Thornton 4

   4 July 2021 at 5:48 pm

   As Usual Advantage doesn’t mention that the USA is still the largest sponsor of authoritarian states around the world, is the single biggest international disrupter of the democratic process in the world, all this long before Trump was president and still is today after Trump is gone…those are just undisputable facts…the democracies of world have more to fear from the USA than any other country…by far.

   US seen as bigger threat to democracy than Russia or China, global poll finds

   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/05/us-threat-democracy-russia-china-global-poll

   List of authoritarian regimes supported by the United States

   https://everipedia.org/wiki/lang_en/List_of_authoritarian_regimes_supported_by_the_United_States

   And btw it was the Democratic party that was the party that undermined democracy when they conspired against Sanders in 2016.

   Wikileaks Proves Primary Was Rigged: DNC Undermined Democracy

   https://observer.com/2016/07/wikileaks-proves-primary-was-rigged-dnc-undermined-democracy/

   The reason people don’t trust the media isn’t because of Trump FFS, it is because most MSM can’t be trusted on important matters, and anyone with their eyes open knows this instinctively ..and especially on the question of foreign policy..just look at that piece of shit fact free piece RNZ just spewed up on China for an example…from the same playbook that the Russiagate conspiracy so obviously used.

   Media trust hits new low

   58% think that "most news organizations are more concerned with supporting an ideology or political position than with informing the public."

   https://www.axios.com/media-trust-crisis-2bf0ec1c-00c0-4901-9069-e26b21c283a9.html

   Judge Finds Rachel Maddow Hyperbolic and Unreliable

   https://www.outkick.com/rachel-maddow-tucker-judge/

   And finally and most importantly, the reason why there are so many authoritarian countries on the rise is because mainly the USA, but with willing help from the UK and their allies are intent on undermining and destroying any and all serious Left wing projects that pop up anywhere in the world, including within their own boarders. Thereby leaving only a shift to the Right as an ‘safety valve’ for dissent and marginalized citizens who would traditionally be looking Left…Brazil being a prime recent example of this.

   The radical Centre are the biggest threat to world peace today.
5. Tiger Mountain 5

   5 July 2021 at 8:12 am

   Ironic to see posters on The Standard that could not even bring themselves to support Bernie Sanders “Not me–Us!” Presidential campaign, lamenting the state of US bourgeois democracy!
   • Incognito 5.1

     5 July 2021 at 8:31 am

     Instead of moaning and telling Authors what to write (about) or not, why don’t you write a Guest Post and submit it? Are you one of those many lazy arm-chair critics who only whinge and whine but who does not pull finger when prompted?

     BTW, you may want to re-familiarise yourself with this: https://thestandard.org.nz/about/#you_must and this, as well:

     • Abusing the sysop or post writers on their own site – including telling us how to run our site or what we should write. This is viewed as self-evident stupidity, and should be added as a category to the Darwin Awards.

     https://thestandard.org.nz/policy/#banning
     • Tiger Mountain 5.1.1

       5 July 2021 at 9:24 am

       Bill we miss you…

       I did not tell anyone to do anything. I made a rather bland observation. And gave an opinion. Perhaps I erred in not adding a qualifier “some” “this” or “one or two” or “several”.

       I say what I want in regular posts, and I too am deeply concerned about the state of US democratic forms and processes–because as the article says if the erstwhile self proclaimed global champion of democracy, the United States, own federal and state electoral processes are in a perilous state, things are not looking good.

       If some of the Republican voter suppression moves hold, it will be unlawful to hand queuing voters water–and why are they queuing rather than mailing in votes?–exactly.
       • Incognito 5.1.1.1

         5 July 2021 at 1:34 pm

         There are ways of saying things and making “a rather bland observation” that won’t raise an eyebrow. For example,

         “I’d really love it if somebody were to write a post to support Bernie Sanders “Not me–Us!” Presidential campaign, lamenting the state of US bourgeois democracy!”.

         Please remember that others might misconstrue your wording and run straight into a grumpy Moderator, which is why I reminded everyone of the site’s rules 😉

         HTH
   • Incognito 5.2

     5 July 2021 at 9:03 am

     Here’s just a taster of what has been written on this site:

     https://thestandard.org.nz/tag/bernie-sanders/

     https://thestandard.org.nz/category/government-and-politics/politicans/bernie-sanders/
6. tc 6

   5 July 2021 at 8:12 am

   We're also seeing sexual preference coming under pressure.

   UEFA's rainbow logo of inclusivity for the euro 2020 tournamnent has been banned in some countries from display, banners confiscated from supporters etc etc.

   A symptom of failing democracy already IMO as some countries set themselves apart.
7. Foreign Waka 7

   5 July 2021 at 8:33 am

   Democracy as a concept is only ever supported if you have the majority agreeing that the system is working for them. The way we understand it only exists for a "short while" and we had longer spells of monarchy and a range of dictatorships that lasted for a longest time. And we shouldn't be fooled, we have not really achieved democracy but rather it is a work in progress.

   In a way NZ government is implementing divisions of culture and "entitlements", this does not put NZ on the map as a maturing democracy but looks more like a vote buying exercise and somewhat a backward step into tribalism. As always this is about resources and money. And we have learned that collateral damage, meaning those who are left behind socially on the way of achieving a goal has never featured prominently, regardless of race or origin.

   Democracy only functions when all members of society know and feel that they have a stake in the way politics is being delivered. This depends on consensus and a conscientious undertaking of government agents to bring opposing sides together.

   Looking at parliamentary speeches and behaviours, its just self serving claptrap and telling people Greek oracles to fob them off and get particular agendas put through. Democracy? Hmmm, I am not convinced.

   https://www.jstor.org/stable/2764122?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
   • Incognito 7.1

     5 July 2021 at 8:43 am

     In a way NZ government is implementing divisions of culture and "entitlements", this does not put NZ on the map as a maturing democracy but looks more like a vote buying exercise and somewhat a backward step into tribalism. [my italics]

     Do you have any examples or are you just scaremongering and jumping the gun?
8. Jenny how to get there 8

   5 July 2021 at 9:27 pm

   Q. Why do people vote for demagogues?

   [Content deleted because it contained too many links that triggered Auto-Moderation]

   A. People vote for demagogues in desperation

   People vote for demagogues out of exasperation
   • Jenny how to get there 8.1

     5 July 2021 at 11:45 pm

     If must never be forgotten that Trump followed Obama who promised to deliver "change' but didn't.

     This should be a warning to our government who promised to solve the housing crisis, but haven't.

     https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-campaign-obama-change-idUSBRE8A01B420121101
     • Jenny how to get there 8.1.1

       6 July 2021 at 1:02 am

       ‘

       The ‘Fuck You’ vote

       USA:

       America Is Stabbing Itself in the Back

       William J Astore, Countercurrent.org, 18/06/2021

       …… lies, large and small, along with systemic corruption in Washington are precisely why so many Americans have been driven to despair. Small wonder that, in 2016, those “deplorables” reached out in desperation to a figure who wasn’t a product of Washington’s mendacious Beltway culture. Desperate times engender desperate acts, including anointing a failed casino owner and consummate con man as America’s MAGA-cap-wearing savior…..

       https://countercurrents.org/2021/06/america-is-stabbing-itself-in-the-back/

       NZ:

       No Right Turn

       July 02, 2021

       Political Dishonesty

       Politicians frequently ask why voters think they're all dishonest liars. Perhaps its because they act like it:
       The government offered to pay millions of dollars to Rio Tinto just months after promising in the election campaign it would not give a direct subsidy.

       […]

       While campaigning in Southland ahead of the 2020 election Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said: "We have said we do not believe we should be giving a direct government subsidy to Rio Tinto, so that's not what we will be doing."

       Three months later, the government wrote to Rio Tinto, which owns 80 percent of New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (NZAS), with an offer of a payment to begin the very next month, in January this year.

       "To achieve a managed exit for the smelter and in consideration of our respective interests, the New Zealand government will provide a Transmission Transition payment to NZAS of [blanked out]," it said.

       "This payment would start from January 2021 until December 2024."

       Ardern made a commitment to voters. Her government then proceeded to violate that commitment. And quibbling over the definition of a "subsidy" just makes them look even more dishonest. This behaviour corrodes political trust, and (probably of more interest to politicians) political support….

       …..You can only fool people for so long before they get sick of it, and vote for someone else (or not vote at all) just as a "fuck you".

       http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2021/07/political-dishonesty.html

       USA:

       Michael Moore: People will vote for Donald Trump as a giant "F**k you" — and he’ll win

       PUBLISHED OCTOBER 26, 2016

       Despite most indicators showing Donald Trump well behind his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the key states he needs to win the Nov. 8 presidential election, populist filmmaker Michael Moore has long argued that the Republican nominee has more support than people may think…..

       https://www.salon.com/2016/10/26/michael-moore-people-will-vote-for-donald-trump-as-a-giant-fk-you-and-hell-win/
       • Incognito 8.1.1.1

         6 July 2021 at 7:42 am

         Are you doing a news roundup and are you some kind of news aggregator who is too lazy to put some thought and analysis in their comments? What is the point of this?
         • Jenny How to get there 8.1.1.1.1

           6 July 2021 at 9:43 pm

           Incognito

           6 July 2021 at 7:42 am

           ……What is the point of this?

           The point is, “America’s Democratic Decline Really Matters ” .

           If we agree that “America’s Democratic Decline Really Matters ”,

           Then we need to understand what caused America's democratic decline. The point of understanding it, is to avoid a similar decline in democracy happening here, or in other democratic countries.

           P.S. I probably should have included the last paragraph of the No Right Turn post 'Political Dishonesty' on how our politicians can avoid voters losing faith in our democratic system, (which gives demagogues like Trump a foot in).

           No Right Turn

           July 02, 2021

           Political Dishonesty

           …..Politicians are the only people with the power to change this dynamic. And they change it by being honest. Not just in keeping their commitments, but also telling us when the circumstances change and they can't (or don't want to). That's hard work, and politicians think explaining is losing. But not explaining is losing too, just in a different way.,

           Idiot/Savant, No Right Turn, 7/02/2021

           No Right Turn: Political dishonesty
           • Incognito 8.1.1.1.1.1

             6 July 2021 at 10:09 pm

             You probably should copy & paste less and put more critical analysis of your own into your comments.

             From this site’s Policy:

             • Similarly pasting long materials from other sites, especially copyrighted materials, is not permitted. Just link and selectively quote. Repeated offences is really dumb.
           • Jenny how to get there 8.1.1.1.1.2

             7 July 2021 at 6:42 pm

             Don't want to be an American idiot

             …..all accross the alien-nation
         • Jenny How to get there 8.1.1.1.2

           6 July 2021 at 9:48 pm

           Incognito

           6 July 2021 at 7:42 am

           …..are you some kind of news aggregator who is too lazy to put some thought and analysis in their comments?

           My analysis is this;

           Short answer; I concur with No Left Turn, that lying to the electorate leads to voter apathy and even retaliation against institutional (beltway) politicians.

           This retaliation can even lead to a voter revolt where electors vote for disgusting and unfit demagogues in revenge for the lack of any transformative change especially at a time when it is sorely needed.

           I have noted above that Trump was preceded by Obama who promised the American people "Hope" and "Change" but delivered little of either.
9. SPC 9

   6 July 2021 at 7:19 am

   What real democracy has ever expected people to vote on a working day?
10. vto 10

    6 July 2021 at 7:42 pm

    .
    how many hundreds shot in the US over the july 4 holiday weekend just now?

    the place is gone

    it is all over bar the shouting

    best hunker down

    …

    as you said Advantage "Recovery is less than likely now"
    • RedLogix 10.1

      7 July 2021 at 12:06 am

      The USA is going through one of it's periodic re-shuffling of the political deck of cards – it's done this before and will again. Usually takes about 5 – 7 years of varying degrees of mess and we aren't even half-way through in my view.
11. Jenny how to get there 11

    13 July 2021 at 9:52 pm

    War Is Peace, Freedom Is Slavery, Ignorance Is Strength (and Hate is Love)

    After previously distancing himself from them…,

    In his latest Fox interview Trump embraced the violent thuggery of the December 6 rioters

    Trump embraces Capitol rioters, rewrites Jan. 6 history during Fox appearance
    “They were peaceful people, these were great people … the love in the air, I’ve never seen anything like it”

    By BRETT BACHMAN PUBLISHED JULY 11, 2021 3:18PM

    …Rather than a violent insurrection, Trump instead sought to recast the day as one of “peace” and “love” following his “mild-mannered” speech. </span&gt

    ;”There was such love at that rally,” he said, “They were peaceful people, these were great people, the crowd was unbelievable and I mentioned the word love, the love in the air I’ve never seen anything like it.”

    …..Trump describes Ashli Babbitt, who was part of a mob that was trying to lynch the VP, as an “innocent, wonderful, incredible woman”

    ………Trump also parroted his supporters’ calls for the officer who shot Babbitt to be identified &mdash; after an investigation found the shooting was justified and prosecutors declined to file any charges in the case.
    “Who is the person who shot an innocent, wonderful, incredible woman?” Trump bellowed. “Who shot Ashli Babbitt? People want to know. And why?”

    https://www.salon.com/2021/07/11/trump-embraces-capitol-rioters-rewrites-jan-6-history-during-fox-appearance/</blockquote&gt;

    All this is going on against a backdrop of a Republican sponsored voter suppression campaign.

    The ground work is being laid for an undemocratic and violent seizure of power by an emboldened far right, sanctioned by compliant Republican Party senators and House members.

    The only remedy is for Joe Biden to come through for the American people. This will require Biden to go against his corporate sponsors interests.
    By supporting Free Medicare For All and the Green New Deal Biden can undercut Trump’s far right supporters.
    Nothing less will do it.

    If Biden doesn’t come through for the American people, America will be in for a far right tyranny. Who knows where that will end up?

    The whole world may be in peril.
    • Jenny how to get there 11.1

      14 July 2021 at 5:29 pm

      “Biden You Coward Fight For Us”
      Signs held by protesters outside the Whitehouse.

      US President Joe Biden is on the record of opposing single payer healthcare.Bernie Sanders who campaigned on single payer was cheered by a Fox live audience.Sanders broke records for fund raising though most of his donations were small about $20 average.Clinton, Biden and Obama got their support from the superpacs. The DNC couldn’t understand where Bernie Sanders was getting his support and feared it, as being outside their control.

      Obama campaigned on hope and change, Americans were thirsting for change, but received little from the Obama administration.
      Exit polls have shown that millions of swing voters who voted for Obama switched their vote to Trump.

      Trump lost the election to Biden, but not by that much.

      The new Republican Party remade in Trump’s image intend to gain power by hook or by crook. The result will be the imposition of the most repressive right wing regime in US history.
      To beat Far Right politics the Republican Party need to be delivered a crushing electoral defeat, a defeat so big as to make the Republican Party distance themselves from this form of politics.

      To beat the Trump Republicans, Biden doesn’t need a landslide, he needs a tidal wave of support so big that it will make even the most corrupt and violent methods of right wing voter suppression unviable. A big enough defeat to deliver a message to the Republicans that this form of politicking is not a winner.

      Business as usual will not cut it.

      In the midst of a global pandemic Biden is still wedded to user pays in healthcare.

      The Real Reason Biden Opposes Medicare for All.
      Why the former Vice President is against a single payer system.

      ……Joe Biden’s campaign chairman is a man by the name of Steve Ricchetti. According to a recent report by The American Prospect:
      “…Ricchetti founded and ran his own lobbying firm with his brother. He personally represented drugmakers Novartis, Eli Lilly and Sanofi (the latter two are among the three major insulin manufacturers), as well as health IT company NaviMedix (now NaviNet) and the American Hospital Association. The hospital lobby, as well as pharmaceutical companies, have been primary opponents of Medicare for All. The Ricchetti firm continues to operate, with Ricchetti’s brother actively lobbying for clients, including in the health-care space.”Not only is Biden surrounding himself with individuals with a personal interest in making sure Medicare for All never gets implemented, he has ensured that at least one of them is an expert in how to make such a position appeal to the American people.

      https://xlauren-mx.medium.com/the-real-reason-biden-opposes-medicare-for-all-d78d4251af07

      In the midst of a global climate crisis Biden is still wedded to the fossil fuel industry.

      ‘Subsidizing the Climate and Ecological Crisis’: Biden Approving Fossil Fuel Permits Faster Than Trump or Obama
      AP’s findings run counter to the president’s campaign vow to end oil and gas extraction on public lands.

      ANDREA GERMANOS
      July 13, 2021

      Flying in the face of the White House’s reference to the climate crisis as an “existential threat” and President Joe Biden’s campaign pledge, his administration has so far approved fossil fuel drilling permits on public and tribal lands at a faster rate than his two immediate predecessors, a new Associated Press analysis has found.

      “We’re not only subsidizing the climate and ecological crisis,” climate activist Greta Thunberg tweeted in response to the new reporting, “we’re speeding it up.”

      https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/13/subsidizing-climate-and-ecological-crisis-biden-approving-fossil-fuel-permits-faster?

      To have any chance of beating the far right, Biden needs to divorce his corporate backers.
12. Jenny how to get there 12

    16 July 2021 at 12:03 pm

    History showed us that a far right movement doesn't need an overwhelming electoral majority to win an election, a movement that indulges in violent intimidation in the streets alongside electoral manipulations and a vacilating and timid liberal administration, will be enought to return Trump to office.

    Alongside his alleged election loss 'Stab in the back' Trump has his modern version of Horst Wessel

    All that is needed now is for Trump's millions of loyal followers to compose a catchy rallying song to their fallyn martyr to intimidate black and Latino voters and Trump’s victory in 2024 is within reach.

    Ashli Babbitt as the 21st-century Horst Wessel: Symbolic martyr to the fascist cause

    Trump's followers are trying to turn Babbitt into their movement's martyr: All she needs now is a hit song

    https://www.salon.com/2021/07/11/ashli-babbitt-as-the-21st-century-horst-wessel-symbolic-martyr-to-the-fascist-cause/

    Stab in the Back Legend

    The ‘stab-in-the-back’ legend (Dolchstosslegende) became popular among right wing nationalists in Weimar Germany after the end of World War One. The Weimar politicians were referred to as “traitors” who had been responsible for the ‘stab-in-the-back’ of the German military. Little could persuade those who expounded the ‘stab-in-the-back’ legend that there was little substance in their arguments and even a post-war Reichstag commission stated that the ‘stab-in-the-back’ legend had little substance in it…..

    https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/modern-world-history-1918-to-1980/weimar-germany/stab-in-the-back-legend/

    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/23/opinion/trump-biden-conspiracy-theory.html
    • Jenny how to get there 12.1

      16 July 2021 at 12:22 pm

      Biden didn't win the 2020 election, Trump lost it.

      All Biden needed to do to beat Trump in 2020 was not be Trump.

      If Biden is to beat Trump in 2024 he has Win on the hustings and the streets on his own merits, based on his record in office. A lacklustre performance and few new progressive inniatives will doom his return to office.

      BAU will no longer be enough to beat the millions in the ascendent far right movement around Trump.

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