Republicans only ever pretended to believe in democracy and the founding principles of our country while they were sure of maintaining white male power. Now that power is increasingly likely to be shared with women and people of color, all of a sudden, well, to blazes with democracy. Hold on to power at all costs, through all means, however crooked.
Obama as president was some people's worst nightmare. It's no coincidence that the current gibbering insanity of many white people, especially older white males, follows immediately after Obama's presidency. Do you remember how many people used to complain about Obama's "lecturing tone"? His tone was no different from that of any other presidential president. But black people aren't supposed to sound more knowledgeable than whites, are they.
The gloves are now off, and our democracy hanging on by a thread. We have only the courts to save us--hence the Republicans' refusal throughout Obama's term to appoint Obama's appointees, and now Trump/McConnell's push to appoint the most appalling, ignorant, social conservatives in huge numbers, and at great speed.
This is how countries die, and it all happened because of voter apathy and ignorance. If you could have shown up to the polls at any point in any election--federal, state, local--over the past several years, but didn't, well, this is just as much your doing as it is the doing of the stereotypical flyover country white Trump voter.
14
When when I was in 5th grade, right after WW2 ended, our teacher read us the great epic poem “Horatius at the bridge”, when Romans unite to save their city. Just as all Americans were on the same page during the war. Not the case now. This part of the poem is apt
For Romans in Rome’s quarrel
Spared neither land nor gold,
Nor son nor wife, nor limb nor life, 255
In the brave days of old.
Then none was for a party—
Then all were for the state;
Then the great man helped the poor,
And the poor man loved the great; 260
Then lands were fairly portioned!
Then spoils were fairly sold:
The Romans were like brothers
In the brave days of old.
7
Realignment to permanent conservative rule has been the Republican strategic vision since long before the advent of President Trump. Thus, Mr. Blow is right. The president is a useful if irritating, means to an end.
which, itself, has little to do with him.
2
The GOP attempt to hijack the country for the ultra-wealthy is certainly nothing new. Mitt Romney certainly made this clear in his surreptitiously recorded speech during the 2012 election season. With the Trump regime and its billionaire backers, it is now simply more blatant than ever before. The Democrats need to respond strongly with with get-out-the-vote drives, at minimum in every state where there is a reasonable chance of displacing Republican Congressmen, never mind that it is "only" the midterms. The 2018 election is most important for the future of this country. Failing to displace enough Republicans in Congress and in state government, we can all simply forget about living in a representative democracy.
12
Last week, President Obama was quoted in Politico that the only political organizations that believe in zero-sum negotiation (winner gets everything) are Putin's Russia and the Republican Party. It is increasingly obvious that the Republican Party is doing everything it can to create a one party state in our country. As has been pointed out by other readers, the law is irrelevant. The Republican Party us funded by Sheldon Adelson, the Koch brothers and others who control the agenda. To those people democracy is not necessary, control of the media and the economy is paramount. Your job will be to obey and not to think or protest. When this country is finished, they will take their capital elsewhere.
7
Obama was an excellent president, but reading about the speed at which Trump is nominating Federal judges, and their relative youth, reminds me of what I felt at the time. Why was Obama so slow to act, when Democrats were in the majority in both chambers of Congress?
Let's make sure that when Democrats next have the opportunity to do the right thing ( in January 2021, fingers crossed ) the new Democratic president will already have a long list of highly qualified, and very young, potential appointees. Right away. Fill EVERY vacancy in the first few months, and encourage the oldest to retire, however fine they are.
We can't afford to not be fast right out of the gate.
8
This has been in the works for a long time. We have our own oligarchs and they are now bearing down on us to end democracy in the United States. Trump is their embarrassing loud offensive orange hood ornament, but he is theirs and he is getting their job done. If it weren't for that White Power Base, they couldn't do it. We are paying for our original sin.
12
We the people can defeat this.
I have voted Republican. Never again.
Put all our efforts into Democratic turnout.
12
What is most sickening about this is the man in the WH, our most incompetent president ever, doesn't even care. He has never shown any values or political leanings before and he doesn't now. He loves chaos and all the attention it draws. It matters not one whit if he was against conservatives and for liberals. Just so he's the center of attention and better yet, destroying it all.
This man is a true danger to our country. He will do his best to destroy all and i will go as far as to say even if he in the end destroys himself. (Keep those nuclear codes far from his stubby fingers.)
11
The justification for a second revolution against mad King trump is beginning to rival that against mad King George. Trump thinks he is above the law and is supported by the jackals of the GOP. Nixon’s southern strategy chickens are coming home to roost. Or would it be a second Civil War? Republicans can end this madness by putting country above party. Evangelical loony tunes Pence when describing his personal definition did not even mention being an American among his priorities.
7
I find Blow's columns becoming more and more predictable with each passing week. There is a very shrewd insight from the world of sales. "Stop talking as soon as you have made the sale."
Undoubtedly the overwhelming majority of your readers, myself included, have long since come to the conclusion that Trump is awful and it would be great to see him out. Repeated efforts to further convince us are a waste. Please, put some focus elsewhere for awhile.
1
did... did you read the article?
7
Why do I always picture Richard as someone who chews his food with his mouth open?
A paranoid liberal manifesto. I wonder if Mr. Blow has room in his self-defined moral universe for any opinion not consistent with his own. And seriously, hasn't this column appeared a zillion times before ?
1
Yes. There are just some folks who really and truly do not understand that these guys would be ordering summary executions if they could get away with it. And no, I am not paranoid I just remmber the shadow of Joseph McCarthy better than you do.
9
All of those who pretend to be Christian bear in mind that the Biblical admonishment is to love thy neighbor as thy self--- not thy Narcissistic self.
I too want to impose some standards for voting: 1) if you can walk by a homeless person and not say "That could be me" you should not vote,
2) if you do not think our education system, including universities, needs to be better funded you have no sense of tomorrow and you should not vote,
3) if you think that America's military needs are above discussion and evaluation you have no brains and should not vote.
The Koch brothers are in failing health but the damage they will do will last unless we beat their destructive behavior at the polls. I am beyond asking Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan and Mick Mulvaney and Steven Miller to
have a heart. My feelings have settled to one sense, "I really hate you and what you are doing to my country."
Liberal leaders dig deep---if you do not the best of America will get taken from us and absorbed into quarterly returns for mega corporation.
Gary Cohn--- How is that tax reduction working out for the average
worker. At the risk of being redundant, our country is being run by a pack of thugs.
4
Not only is this column absolutely spot on, but I would go as far as saying that it is arguably the most important piece written since the 2016 election. Just as in science we seek as far as possible one explanation to fit all the data, so too, what is written in this column explains everything that we have seen in politics for the last 12 months.
8
So how should Democrats defeat Trump and Republicans? Trump's support rests on three pillars: 1) "Make America White Again" anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim policies; 2) "Drain the Swamp" anti-establishment proposals, mainly rhetoric at this point; and 3) The great economy he inherited from Obama, which Democrats were too afraid to brag about because some were left behind.
In each area, Democrats need a strategy that they communicate about regularly. For example, Trump brilliantly communicated his "Contract with the American voter" as a short brochure. Where is the Democratic equivalent?
Democrats should make the argument that immigrants are a net win for the economy (e.g., innovation, creating demand, paying taxes, shoring-up Social Security and Medicare demographics) and are as law-abiding as native-born.
Democrats can co-opt his "drain the swamp" agenda unilaterally without Constitutional action by requiring 10 years of tax returns from its candidates, limiting donations from corporations, imposing term limits (withdrawing support beyond those limits), and requiring independent physical and mental examination of its Presidential candidates.
Democrats also need to circulate presentations and materials explaining how the economy had basically recovered by 2013-2014 (e.g., jobs regained pre-crisis levels by May 2014) to make sure they own it. This is the Obama Boom; brand it!
5
“After the 2010 election, state lawmakers nationwide started introducing hundreds of harsh measures making it harder to vote. The new laws range from strict photo ID requirements to early voting cutbacks to registration restrictions.”
This is in response to the fact that a person of color won the highest office in the land and used that power to benefit the masses, minorities, and women. This was a shock to the core of the white male power structure. The GOP and its allies are ensuring that should never happen again. That why a deeply unqualified wealthy reality TV star won. His promise was simple to his base. America's wealth, power, and influence will be held by white hands only. Everything else is smoke and mirrors.
2
Look at these elitist white men praising themselves for pulling the wool over too many of our eyes. Who is watching? Thank you Mr. Blow for making me look at a country in deep trouble: ours.
5
This predated Trump. Remember Alberto Gonzales and the attempt to punish US Attorneys who didn't pursue the GOP fraudulent voter fraud agenda?
2
For all those getting fired up and vowing to replace Trump in 2020.........what makes you so sure there is going to be a presidential election in 2020? I say this only half in jest.
3
I don't see how Mr. Blow can characterize Trump and his cohort as "conservative"!. Everything I know about the dictionary definition of the word is denied by the budget-busting, civil-rights-denying, military-pomp-worshipping crew at both ends of Pensylvania Ave.
1
I believe that Charles Blow is missing the big picture in the following way. American demographics are changing. Even with all the changes Mr. Blow mentions... and they are all true, he doesn't mention that America will have a non-white majority by mid-century.
Republicans have shown that they don't need a majority to rule. That's why they don't give a whiff about what the majority of people think; it's irrelevant to them. The next step is to start declaring election results that go against them as null and void. If Trump loses the 2020 election, do you really think he will accept defeat? And if he doesn't will a Republican majority in Congress certify the Electoral College results.
4
Thanks for your dedication to the truth Mr. Blow!
1
Where some would direct criticism at Trump, I often direct it at the Republicans. All the Republican Congressional leaders in Congress are solidly with him, as are those in Congress who choose (and could easily remove) those leaders, as is the overwhelming majority of the party's rank and file.
There are a few Republicans of lower rank who are honorable, but they are very few, and not effective.
7
Charles you are absolutely spot on! My question is what can we do right now to try to stop or at least road block this madness? My representatives are tired of hearing my voice and receiving my emails, even as this freight train runs over all of us?!
3
I'm glad you're catching up, David.
This is the thing: the conservatives play aggressively for all the marbles. Then they change the rules, so their gains can't be reversed when power changes hands.
Then they blame the opposition for causing the suffering which gradually emerges, the results of what they themselves did. Intellectual honesty or moral scruples? Not a trace.
American citizens are too _________ to trace accountability over time, let alone successfully intervene on their own behalf.
3
Thank you, Mr. Blow, for discussing this issue. While Trump's shenanigans keep us off balance, the hard right Republican party actually steers the ship of state on its dangerous trajectory toward an abyss that is unfathomable.
3
To summarize, Republicans have put on us on a path that will end democracy and install a dictatorship. Sounds crazy? Consider the very real likelihood that in 2020 Trump will lose a close election. If he does, he certainly will not accept defeat. He's already practiced his pitch "the election was rigged". He will declare the results null and void. If the Republicans are in full control of Congress, they will support his claim and will fail to certify the Electoral College results. (Read the Constitution; Congress can change the outcome of the Electoral vote.) Therefore I believe that whether our democracy ends in 2020 will hinge on the 2018 mid term election. If the Democrats gain a majority in the House then maybe, just maybe, we avert installing a permanent white male dictatorship. We've never been down this road of a sitting President refusing to give up power, but it seems to happen every year in some country around the world. We need to stop thinking that we are special and this can't happen here. The hand-writing is on the wall. The Republicans have been moving step-by-step over the past 20 years to disenfranchise non-white voters and to gerrymander their way to white majority rule. They accomplished the first-step; the second step is to permanently secure the Presidency.
- from a pessimistic old white male
10
Demographics will soon shift towards a society less dominated by white men .
It’s inevitable , its the course of nature .
All these machinations by ultra right GOP will eventually fail or will be modified by the new American society .
Whatever are the autocratic plans of this intransigent administration will fade away , once the new young Americans will cast their vote to upset this absurd government.
We need to be hopeful and have faith In the young people who will be the pillars of this Great Country.
2
Your demographic argument assume that we will still have a democracy intact where the person who wins the most votes wins the election. Gerrymandering and voter suppression has already eroded this.
3
The details change some, and are fascinating, but the basic Republican goal has been the same for at least 40 years: hoard as much wealth and power as possible in the hands of a small group who are trusted to run society by the word-view of the same group that established the post-WW2 order, dominated by oil, armaments, and banking executives. In just the last 40 years, they've hoarded nearly all growth in the pockets of ~10,000 families. The US economy has roughly doubled in real-dollar per-capita terms, and the vast majority of us haven't gotten a cent of this 2nd America we've built.
The only way forward is for the Democrats to unite on a simple program, easily conveyed, to reverse that hoarding. My suggestion is 9 words:
Lift the Cap, Lower the Rate, Boost the Benefits.
Meaning apply the combined Social Security & Medicare payroll tax of ~15% to ALL income, earned and unearned--stop capping it at ~$120k of earned income only. Then lower the rate to ~10%, giving a pretty big tax cut to 90% of workers. Then boost the benefits, extending Medicare to all, making SS a livable retirement income (allowing millions to retire, freeing up jobs for younger workers), and subsidizing job training and other education.
If every Democrat agreed to this program and refused to discuss anything else for the next 3 years, this country could be transformed as thoroughly as it was under FDR. If they'd done that 2 years ago, or 18 years ago, think where we could be today.
44
Yes, and well said. As we are now a country which governs by slogans, rather than by the fundamental strength of a democracy which is thoughtful, longview compromise, your 9 words are exactly what the Democratic Party should rally around (and they have the added benefit of having the depth of real, constructive policy supporting them). The Republicans have been playing jenga for decades; they are colonizing their own country. The irony is that they are eviscerating the country they so desperately want to own and control.
4
The Republican Party has been on a quest to roll back democracy since the presidency of Ronald Reagan. Mr. Trump is merely the apotheosis of this movement. Whether or not he is successful depends on the people.
3
First off, the pre - 2016 republican party is dead. We see that from the analysis in this article, which Mr. Blow, as always has well presented.
Today's republican party stands only in name. They no longer stand for principles, or the values the party would promote. Words like "gerrymandering" were never heard of. It is now often in the news.
No matter what Mr. Trump wants to introduce, one would expect the Congress to question or even say "NO". We do not see that spirit of the Check and Balance. The republican party members seem content, because, they have a president to support them and vice versa.
As we speak, we just do not know where the Democratic party is in all of what is going on. They are spending more time on immigration, and do not have a clear agenda, vision or strategy for even the mid term elections. The party is already coming up with names for the 2020 presidential elections. The priorities are all mixed up.
Perhaps, it is time, for an alternative party to come into being, with new blood. A new party that can stay focused to take into account with all what is happening in the country today, and help preserve our democracy.
3
Let's not forget about recant tax cuts bill. It gives much more money to the already obscenely rich, that - thanks to this influx - would be able to spend even more for next election campaigns. This way both wealth and political power are shifted even more to 0.1 %, i.e. Trump and friends .Another effect of this move is a prospect of further cuts to our already weak safety net. Very smart and providential, indeed.
3
As Marx noted : the ideas of the rulers are the ruling ideas . Trump is idea free. We now have chaos with the Koch brothers filling in for the Marx Brothers.
Tomorrow to pastures new and fields of green as the great Milton noted.
3
Gerrymandering ... how does a political party gain power in the first place in order to subsequently gerrymander electoral districts? Presumably prior to a political party gaining power the opposition party had previously gerrymandered in it's own interest. Hence, how does a political party gain power in the face of a gerrymandered system? Is this whole gerrymandering issue simply blown out of proportion in an effort to undermine a political party that currently enjoys success?
It's beyond "tectonic;" it's a quiet coup in the making that is undermining our Constitutional democracy and replacing it with an autocracy. If the Democrats do not, at the very least, takr back the House of Representatives this November, it may be too late. With the overt daily hammering away of the FBI and Justice Department by Donald Trump and the covert undermining of the electoral process by Republicans aided and avetted by Russia, we may be on the path to a Putin-style oligarchy.
7
it may be harder to vote but it is still not illegal. if the groups mentioned in the article and their supporters really want to change things then they need to make the extra effort to register and then vote. the democrats have a horrible record of turning out even their registered voters. until democratic voters turn out in percentages that rival their republican adversaries things are not going to get better.
3
It all comes down to the choice between capitalism or democracy. Democracy will always lead to progressive politics, weighing fairness to all as the most important value.
The U.S. was founded on ambivalence, with slavery the confounding force. If something makes one group fabulously wealthy, with servants and slaves to take care of their every whim, then they were willing to overlook the plight of the servants.
Our history has been a constant battle between these two forces.
But if we are now nothing more than a dead man walking (quite plausible) the last two nails in our coffin were Citizen's United (giving unlimited power to the rich, and to corporations...who are recognized, in the words of Mitt Romney, "as people, my friends") and Russian use of the internet via trolls and bots.
By the way, the Russians trolls and bots are to be seen in the comments section of every online news source that isn't well moderated...almost all of them. Just look for someone who is still plying a Hillary vs. Bernie meme....I have yet to meet a real Bernie supporter who didn't vote for Hillary in the general election.
6
The interconnections of power between conservative business, media, and religious elites who view this presidency as a fantastic coup are multifarious, and intertwined. They may despise their dear leader personally, but he is certainly wonderful for their bottom lines, and he is precipitously lurching the US in the direction they've been driving for decades, of authoritarian oligarchy and fundamentalist theocracy. They could not care less whether the political or economic systems are fair because the only thing that matters is winning.
Democracy just doesn’t work for them. Too much competition.
This is why none of the behavioral contradictions matter. The radical right will force their opponents to follow the rules and hold them accountable to their own consciences, yet feel no compunction to do the same because they hold all the cards at this point, have suffered little or no consequences, and assume their luck will continue. Morals are for suckers.
Karl Rove’s permanent republican majority has arrived. There are plenty of rubes out there buying the GOP poison under the mistaken belief they will benefit from their contempt of the “other”. The IOKIYAR’s of the Bush years are fully onboard with absolutely anything djt can dredge up, from liars, thieves, garden-variety-racists, and misogynists to outright Nazis. (I’ve stopped calling them white supremacists, as a spade is a spade, in my book.)
Clawing us out of the abyss will take all hands on deck for many years.
6
Thank you, Mr. Blow, for drawing together all of the undemocratic behaviors of the GOP.
Maybe we shouldn't call this tectonic realignment, but Republic Apartheid.
3
Please, please, please stop using the word behoove. This is not the 18th century. Certainly, Charles, gifted writer that you are, you can find a better way to express yourself.
I love the word behoove. Why must a person with a good vocabulary dumb himself down?
1
I love that word.....behoove. It's timeless.
1
Democratic ineptitude and weakness bear much blame. They abandoned state legislatures and governor posts to Republicans, which in turn allowed Republicans free rein to gerrymander congressional districts. They played by the old rules in the Senate and let Republicans use customary "courtesies" to obstruct dozens of Obama judicial appointments. They watered down Obamacare to try to win illusory Republican votes, and ended up creating a law more vulnerable to the inevitable Republican efforts to destroy the entire plan.
The greatest Democratic culprit may have been Obama himself. He refused to accept that, as President, he was also leader of the party and had a responsibility to ensure the party's ability to resist Republican undermining of the Democratic electorate. Indeed, almost to the end he deluded himself into believing that through rational argument he could achieve some kind of bipartisanship, even though the Republicans publicly announced on day one that their sole objective would be to obstruct his government. He never understood that the current Republican Party is not a governing party, but some kind of ideological cult that channels the worst instincts of American culture and society and is immune to rational discourse.
8
What we're witnessing is a bloodless coup. Trump is a distraction. His shenanigans are designed to distractus from attacks on our democracy. Every Republic falls and it's always because the wealthy hijack the government and start enacting policies that are good for the oligarchy at the expense of everyone else.
The question is what are we going to do about it. Is it too late to take our country back. What happens during the next few elections will decide our fate. Only this time, people won't have the wild west to escape too when life at the bottom becomes unbearable.
6
As horrible as this is, it also overlooks the havoc the administration is wreaking at federal agencies. He's stealing a page from an old, Heritage Foundation playbook to slow and disrupt the federal workforce by reassigning professionals to jobs far from their area of expertise, and often from where they live. Many are leaving. The rest are finding it more difficult to do their jobs. The result is a nation that's using its tax dollars to pay for a hollowed-out government that Trump and his cronies are forcing to be less efficient and less effective. It may take decades for us to recover.
5
Also key to this strategy is encouraging Democratic myopia so we split hairs ("I just can't vote for HRC") and ignore an evil one million times worse. Republicans will vote for the Devil to gain power. We can't get over imperfection.
5
Regarding gerrymandering, Let's redraw congressional districts using an algorithm that only takes population into account. The districts would be centered on mass (i.e. populatiion) without considering any other demographic features. The districts would be as rectangular as possible approaching a square as much as possible.
Deal? That's what I thought. So much for your phony gerrymandering issue.
I think that Trump is either crazy like a fox or the witting or unwitting instrument of the GOP and its desire to turn the clock back to the 1950s, those halcyon days when no heed was taken regarding race, gender, sexual orientation, immigration status but for the wants and needs of white males. His outrageous words and deeds are a distraction for the undermining of American democracy, from the FBI to the Justice Department, to voting rights, to the criminal justice system, to civil rights and more. The deep state may indeed not be a paranoid thought, but it is the opposite of what is posited by Trump, Bannon and their ilk. They and the GOP intend to subvert all of the institutions I mentioned to reinstall white men as supreme, with what they deem to be appropriate ultra conservative views. Even obstruction of justice is part of their arsensal and goes unquestioned in this corrupt and
venal administration so long as it serves the GOP and Trump.
2
This is all painfully and depressingly true, Mr. Blow. This is why I have been forecasting continued Republican dominance for many years to come. All those articles about Democrats gaining majorities in the House and Senate in 2018 are pipe dreams.
This game is indeed for all the marbles, and the evil Republicans are playing to win, by hook (gerrymandering and suppression) or crook (Russian interference and subsequent obstruction of justice). The Democrats just don't seem to realize this or are too incompetent to do anything about it.
4
Charles Blow inadvertently admits that Dems want to bring in immigrants who will vote for them. Yes, he forgot the word “illegal”. Immigrants who come through legal channels don't overwhelmingly vote for Dems.
A picture will save a thousand words. A table of white males discussing women health issues. The picture in this article with predominantly white males applauding an attempt to take healthcare from millions. Any woman or person of color who endorses this administration is suicidal.
6
You sure love to hate the straw men you build Mr. Blow. Perhaps you can explain something to me Mr. Blow? Why is it whenever "progressives" compare the US to other "more enlightened" nations those nations are invariably very much majority white. Never to nations in Africa, or South America. Never to nations with a minority white population. Can you explain that to me Mr. Blow?
They also realize that this is their last best chance to implement there long sought after agenda. That is the biggest factor in their urgency to implement it.
2
Not just trump who is vile and evil.
It is the Republicans, each and every one. Congress as well as the state and local level.
All good Americans need to get out and vote these destructive-to-democracy Republicans out of office.
11
This is a dangerous tectonic shift, indeed, and I'm hoping that progressives get our act together and deactivate the circular firing squad (whiny self-righteous attacks about who's cooler, more liberal, more leftist -- stop this nonsense already!) and get this country moving forward, however painfully slowly, again and ASAP. The window is closing.
11
Actually, Charles, its about putting the nail in the coffin of anything resembling a Democratic system. We are now, under the Curse in the White House, a failing Democracy. We are hitting the buttons on virtually every criteria defining fascism.
Trump is a puppet for Putin, and, in effect, the Oligarchs that create, I suppose, a "Deep State" that is international in scope and that is, in effect, pursuing a kind of slow genocide of colored peoples, liberals, environmentalists, and, of course, ultimately themselves since we all share the climate.
In that sense, then, Trump is nothing, if not a cancer on all the world holds dear. Being rich will not save you if there is no air to breath or water to drink or food to eat.
9
Jim Crow 2.0
5
All true Charles and a horrible rogues gallery. I have hope that young people are so disgusted by this chicannery they will do the unthinkable and vote. I, also, see signs that women are more organized and ready to vote & get others to the polls. Let's hope it is enough to blunt this until someone of merit is back in the white house.
7
I used to think both republicans and democrats had the best interests of the nation at heart, but just different opinions on what should be done. Now I know that raw greed is what really powers our politics and it is worse that ever. It amazes me how little true regard there is for the average working american. Nobody even talks about the truly poor anymore. Soon, nobody may even talk about people who need to work for a living...suckers!
11
Yes, Blow's columns have become a redundant list of ad hominem attacks, that's a given. He promised to never say "Trump" again but he can't help himself. Please stop.
3
All true. Now, Democrats, please keep in mind that if you re-take the House, Senate and presidency again that the victory isn't permanent. You haven't finally achieved the utopia of a one-party rule by the Dems. You better do something to solve the actual problems of actual people, or once again we will be back here with Republican majorities in both the legislative and executive branches and furious at the general direction of the country. Remember, many of us thought George W. Bush was the worst president ever. I think we've broken the "worst" standard now. Do we want to keep breaking it or move forward positively?
14
The op-eds by Blow are unfortunately way too predictable. I recall during the Democratic primary Blow giving unabashed support of HRC over Bernie. The nomination of HRC undoubtedly helped lead to the current WH occupant. Instead of examining how Democrats can expand their appeal, such as adopting "some" stricter immigration enforcement, and a more genuine anti-Wall St platform (aka Sanders), Blow only provides the extremely predictable (and of course correct) critical coverage of the current White House occupant.
3
He is a means to an end, a necessarily piece of the big picture. This is about a tectonic realignment.
That was Blow's penultimate sentence. This reader expects more of the Time's editors.
Actually, Leigh, it is just part of Blow's penultimate sentence. It starts with "This is why...[wanders along to]...Trump: He is...a necessarily piece...".
In all fairness to The Times editors, maybe colons are the new exclamation points - hence, "Trump: He". And, maybe adverbs are doing double duty as adjectives.
Okay, Albert. Thanks.
Trump is a means to a conservative end, something needed in America for too many years.
Glad the GOP doesn't have a diversity problem. I see blue ties, red ties, bow ties and orange ties.
5
It's kleptocracy chess on a global scale. Trump is a distracting bishop, or knight, or castle who dazzles us with his moves. The disenfranchised working classes are the loyal pawns to be sacrificed. The royalty is a collusion between the Kings and Queens on both sides of the board…global corporations hiding in the background whose goal is not to defeat each other but to take the whole board for themselves by destroying democratic law, the rest be damned. There are a few of us who know that the board is on fire.
11
Get out and vote. Every election, every office. If women, minorities, Bernie Bros, environmentalists, SJWs, etc. turn out and vote, we'll be fine -- we'll be great.
If they let themselves get distracted by invented "scandals" (Emailgate! Benghazigate! Vince Fostergate! Humagate/Weinergate!), or talk themselves into thinking that Democrats and Republicans are the same, then we are lost. Whole country -- trashed. Doomed. Kaput.
17
Yep. When I hear someone say, "Oh, Democrats and Republicans are all the same," I feel my teeth start to grind together. No, they are not all same and anyone who asserts that they are has clearly not been paying attention.
Simply, American apartheid.
4
Yes, the photo at the top of Blow's column looks so much like those we saw during the last desperate years of the apartheid government in South Africa.
1
The realignment is the fascists solidifying their position. They might be able to build a thousand year Reich.
6
Is violent revolution possible, or in any way advisable? Or is it necessary to try, regardless? Back in the heyday of the SDS and the Black Panthers, things were nowhere near as bad as they are now.
Maybe not now, but if things don't get better in November?
7
You are too kind, Mr. Blow. Trump is not "a useful and temporary tool" of the far right; he is a useful idiot.
6
America lost a cyberwar to Russia in 2016, the result of which was the election of Trump. What you have recounted Mr Blow is the damage done. Defeat is hard to face; but every delay in facing the hard facts makes matters worse. This is no time for parades. It is time to put this vicious, corrupt mob away.
12
This op-ed should have been rejected by the moderator for abuse and name-calling. It reminds one of a child calling another names on the playground.
I'm not even a supporter or admirer of Trump. I would just like to see his flaws discussed civilly, as adults are supposed to do.
Mr. Blow is not going to convince anyone this way. If he's satisfied talking only to his friends. he should realize that they are going to continue to lose elections this way.
5
So much long-term damage will be done by Republicans by the time the mid-terms roll around. That's why all Democratic hopes are on Mueller's investigation, and Republicans are doing everything they can - without regard to justice or integrity - to tear down Mueller.
There have been only a few times in American history when so much was riding on the actions of one man: Washington, maybe Jefferson, surely Lincoln, maybe Teddy Roosevelt (for his anti-trust actions), maybe FDR. In 2018, if he stops the horrific, democracy-threatening Trump presidency in its tracks, Mueller may add himself to that list.
7
You left out Truman, JFK, LBJ and Obama.
Its good that writers like Mr. Blow are finally seeing the outlines of what has been obvious for decades. In the early 1970's, the Republican party codified a plan for the takeover of the political system in this country. The plan was called The New American Century and they have been patiently enacting one provision after another for nearly fifty years. The drift we all see toward a more conservative society is not some kind of natural realignment written in the stars, it is the result of the execution of a master plan. The executors of this plan did not foresee a Donald Trump but they have learned to accept him as a useful idiot to speed up the enactment of their plan. In a nutshell, the plan is for a peaceful corporate takeover of all three branches of government and a restructuring of democratic institutions so that they can never again threaten the viability of the rule of the rich. This movement has often been identified as a white male reaction to progressive politics, and while that demographic is benefiting from most of the new legislation, it is not the ultimate goal of the movement. The ultimate goal is to reshape the American culture and electorate into a wealth friendly universe of workers who will accept low wages and few benefits as an immutable fact of nature. This new workforce will not be able to conceive of an alternative reality and they will be life long Republican voters who will inoculate the wealthy from the occasional protests of the socialist left.
12
Are we to believe that Buffet, Gates, Bezo, Soros, Bloomberg, Steyer,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,are closet Republicans?
2
They are class traitors like FDR, who the rich soundly hated. Bless them.
1
Since the Supreme Court will be stuck with the Three Stooges, Thomas, Alito and Gorsuch, for years to come, it's going to require some heavy lifting by the Democrats in the legislative branch i.e. winning elections to stop the realignment.
12
Those who single out gerrymandering forget that there is a bigger underlying structural problem -- we have a system that far over-represents small, rural states. If voting power were equal Congress would be Democratic right now. While the problem is worst in the Senate, it is also the case that very small states have disproportionate impact in the House since every state gets at least one representative. The collective misallocation of voting power then ripples through to the Electoral College. At a time when cities are Democratic and rural areas Republican this structural unfairness hurts our democracy.
11
A state having ONE representative to the House causes a misallocation of power?
What do you propose? To leave an entire state's population without representation?
I urge you to read your constitution. The founders devised ways to protect the minority from an overbearing majority. The Electoral College ensures that the small states will not be ignored by candidates running for president. In fact that's one of the reasons why Clinton lost, she ignored at least four states. With the Electoral College California and New York with a small group of states would control this entire country and the election. This country is for all its citizens not just a few who feel privileged.
The structural fairness of the failed US Constitution extends to the State level, also. Many state capitals are in backwater towns that deprive metropolises of their rightful position at the apex of the political pyramid. New York City isn't the capital of New York. LA or Frisco isn't the capital of California. Austin? Colombia? Lincoln? Springfield? The only thing rural areas contribute to our country is food, water, raw materials and fuel. They shouldn't be given political power, too. This is all democracy thwarted.
Indeed the "Great Experiment" is in jeporday!
3
2018.
Walk over burning coals to Vote.
Vote or Die.
10
We should have stormed Congress when that odious troll McConnell blocked Merrick Garland. Period.
Now we're headed toward Gilead.
13
The word "conservative" has been corrupted, as has the word "liberal". A better word to describe the far right agenda is "authoritarianism, nazism or fascism".
I don't think the majority of the German people were really voting for Hitler's real agenda when they voted in the government that made him Chancellor. They were looking for economic relief from the stupidity of the Treaty of Versailles that ended WWI (and teed up WWII).
I don't think many Americans who vote for Republican candidates are really voting for gender or racial inequality, an unjust judicial system. environmental suicide or the end of our Republic. They, too, are looking for economic relief.
Yes, they are being duped, just as the German people were. And yes, the results may be just as catastrophic.
More reporting needs to be focused on these issues. No, they are not as juicy as the sex stuff-that's what the Republican hardliners are betting on. A free press and exchange of ideas is our best weapon. Right now, they can't stop that.
10
Yes, Mr Blow. This IS the big picture, what so many of my "progressive" friends have failed to understand. They are focusing their wrath and energy on the orange clown and missing the point of the whole "conservative" agenda. Thank you for bringing this up in the Times
13
The white power structure that has run this country for lo these many years is fearful of losing its position. It stokes the white wanna-bes, e.g.; neo-Nazis, white-supremacists, to violence, knowing that the wanna-bes are their tools, that will never get the power they seek, because those in power will not relinquish it. The treason of trump is coincidental with the white power structure actions, treason predicated on trump's personal need for money, and Vladimir's desire to make Russia great again.
3
What's the major problem folks? Take another look at the picture: 41 people (I counted fast, maybe missed one or two)--40 men and 1 woman..... all of them White! How can that possibly be representative of our society? Answer: it can't.
6
It's apartheid in the postmodern moment; diminish the rights and political power of people of color, albeit with never using vile, racist justifications, and if anyone call you on it, scream, "Fake News!"
3
The overriding question for "those who think" ask- is: How do Americans continue to vote against their own interests? It is a question that cannot be answered intellectually; it is an emotional intelligence [sic] that paves the way to actively participate in one's demise. Never realizing (62 Million Ones) have been groomed to believe the worst of "those others" while neglecting the reality the 'groomers' include You as one of those 'others'.
Last year's election was the culmination of years and years of effort with the right Candidate (the quintessential Useful Idiot). After Republicans got over their fear of looking bad through Trump's sewer-reflecting pool- he became their greatest asset: "Anything we say and do- he'll come around".
Voters (Red-State Voters with the electoral college numbers) wanted a MAN made in *their* image: They got him (and the backing of their faulty Congressional Representatives). These folks aren't really satisfied with the performance; just the White-Face-Paint of the performer.
2
But those Clinton emails!
Emails, I tell you!
5
It is a mistake to underestimate Trump’s power and influence. Not a thinker or tactical genius, Trump can be taken as a ight-weight who some feel can be used for their purposes. They use his charisma to charm the lower classes into following him where they wish. This was the plan in Germany in the 1930’s when industrialist threw their weight behind Hitler feeling he was a fool they could use to make a fortune and extend their power. They did make a fortune, but there were unintended consequences which came from their belief that a loud-mouth racist could be controlled. Trump spent many years getting himself to where he is today. He has surrounded himself with many like-minded individuals creating a “Greater Trump”. He has already changed how we view and what we expect form a president; what else will he change?
5
I don't know why this is so surprising to Dems and Liberals. Was no one paying attention to the Born Agains, etc. who stared their main goal was not to support Trump but to change the Supreme Court? Refusing hearings for Obama's SC nominee was right before your eyes. This was right upfront. Elections have consequences as we are now becoming aware.
3
What we have here, is a "Rutherford B. Hayes style backlash to Reconstruction."
A similar compromise, in that the GOP has sold-out to their corporate overlords.
The price?
They must grin-and-bear their Russian puppet, in exchange for him being an unthinking rubber-stamp. A rubber-stamp without the understanding of either policy or procedure to do much more than sign on the dotted line that Ryan's pointing towards.
The GOP is SAD. However, their 63,000,000 willfully ignorant voters are sadder, still. Because they will be around forever, long after the rubber-stamp has dried up.
2
Fetishizing Trump enables self-identified "resisters" to avoid the systemic issues concerning which Republicans have been triumphing for years. When I think of the "Resistance," I think of self-sacrificing men, women and children who fought successfully. I don't think of those who adopt a self-aggrandizing label then proceed to lose most of the special elections and take refuge in winning a few state seats. Both the "never Trump" and the "Resist" movements are losing energy and effectiveness in my view. The Administration is only becoming more professional day by day, despite last week's horrors. How good to read a column which describes the profound battles which need to be fought and won by the opponents of white male power-broking.
1
Can Trump appoint judges to courts where either he or Trump Holdings have outstanding lawsuits? I know he had hundreds of lawsuits out there at one time but that number whittled down some, but there must still be dozens out there.
He couldn't be allowed to pack the courts with his appointees in the hope of favorable outcomes to lawsuits placed against Trump or Trump Holdings? This sounds like actions that should violate federal laws greater than even conflict of interest which he fluffs off like a jaywalking charge.
3
You don't have to answer the citizenship question. In fact I would never answer it though I'm born and raised in the US.
At any rate the census doesn't sound like it's going to happen. The person in charge of it is another trump toady and there is no money allocated for it.
So I have to ask my fellow Americans: How long are we going to stand by and let this go on? Today, Donald Trump has decided to funnel money YOU paid into medicare to his cronies in the private sector who will supposedly "work" on the Infrastructure.
How much longer are we going to stand by and wring our hands? A hostile force has taken over our nation.
4
"At any rate the census doesn't sound like it's going to happen."
The census is not a voluntary act and process. It is mandated by the US Constitution for the allotment of Representatives and federal funds.
Yes, President Trump is vile. That’s a given.
Not even an arrempt at objectivity could be seen by some as cause for worry. Unfortunately most only realize it after it’s too late. Since my dad, I’ve come to respect people’s right to decide for themselves.
Let's not forget the passage a tax bill that will enrich the 1% while exacerbating economic inequality.
2
So what do we do?? We know this is happening, but how do we stop it? I am a democrat and I am involved in my party and getting out the vote as well as other important causes. I am worried for my children and future grandchildren.
4
With regard to the courts, wouldn't the Democrats do the same if they controlled the White House and both houses of Congress. Shoudn't they? In fact would not the party be up in arms if they didn't. Elections do count. As for Gerrymandering, I like the idea of nationwide voting and abolition of the Electoral College. As for voter suppression I am still agnositic. I find it hard to accept that requiring some kind of ID in 2018 is such a barrier.
I am not American so may I be given my opportunity to respond. Trump is delivering what the GOP and Mr Trump promised. I have never bought into 18th and 19th century economics and I believe in democratic socialism. I believe in democracy more than I believe in socialism and Trump is president with GOP legislatures and judiciary. I hope Trump works for you but after your southern wall a Northern Wall would be most appreciated.
5
Today's Toronto Star lead. Mr Trudeau isfar less pessimistic than I am. I think the way we do things in Canada is the existential threat to Trump and the GOP vision of America.
https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2018/02/12/canada-does-not-treat-us-r...
1
And they're playing the long game on impeachment/removal of Trump. Forget the possible use of the 25th Amendment before 2/2019. Before then, Pence will serve up to 3 years and can run once for a total of 7 years. After then, he serves for 2 years and can run twice for a total of 10 years. And don't tell me that that will not happen; we have Trump.
1
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. ... That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
Take the sum of Mr. Blows points and you have a political party in control of our government that has, as a matter of policy, made our government become "destructive of these ends."
Either the Party must change or the government it controls will be overthrown by the people it was set up to serve. And that is how it should be.
2018 cannot come soon enough. As Mr. Blow points out, this is much bigger than Trump alone. The age of democracy in our republic may be sun setting while the age of Plutocracy is consolidating its power under the false mantra: "Making America Great Again."
2
And people thought Karl Rove was joking when he said he wanted to create "a permanent Republican majority".
The Republican party has no morals, no integrity, and no respect for our institutions, our government, for democracy, or the rule of law. There is no depth or depravity they won't sink to to get what they want. These people are evil, and I say that without hyperbole. They have done more damage to the United States than a terrorist attack ever could.
5
Yes, I agree. The Republican Party is the enemy of the United States.
1
Blow basically has three complaints.
1. Politicization of the Courts - Newsflash. The Courts are part of the political process. This has been the case ever since the Constitution directed Presidents to nominate Justices and yet require the Senate to consent. If you don't think that liberals play this same game, just check out the 9th circuit and how often they are overturned by the Supreme Court.
2. Voter Requirements - Again, the Constitution speaks to this. Article 1, Section 4: "The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof." Democrats may not like the voting prescriptions of some red states. But that does not make them any less valid.
3. Gerrymandering - Again, see Article 1, Section 4. Gerrymandering goes back a long time ... and was named after an MA governor, Elbridge Gerry from the 1700's. No matter how you slice up districts, you are making a conscious choice. Liberals are basically arguing for a right to proportional democracy - where the number of seats won by a given party should roughly equal the percentage of voters from that party in a state. But neither the Constitution nor statute provides this right. Rather, the Constitution provides for representative Democracy - meaning one representative per a given number of voters. But that's a different thing. It's exactly this inventing of rights out of thin air that make liberals so unprincipled.
2
we are in an all out culture war. To Republicans, mammon is their God And whatever makes them richer and more powerful is their end game.
The breathtaking hypocrisy we see on a daily basis reminds one of the plantation owners going to church on Sunday after spending the week beating and debasing their fellow human beings.
The women's movement is one way to level the playing field. Bannon is right. #Metoo will bring down Trumpski and his his corrupt administration.
2
You hit it out of the park, Mr. Blow. Add I would add are the utterly destructive policies of the GOP with respect to the economy, the environment, and foreign policy. We're likely heading for a repeat of 1929, followed by even more devastating droughts and hurricanes--unless those idiots get us all blown up first.
3
Neither of the two **corporate* parties is innocent of gerrymandering. The notion put forth is tacit support of the failed two-party system. The Green Party hasn't gerrymandered, nor the Libertarian, nor any of the other viable third-parties. And its not gerrymandering that has broken democracy, it is the party members who have seen fit to practice it.
Just look at that picture with Tom Price, the Secretary of Corporate Jet Travel and Insider Trading, leading the applause surrounded by all white men who are grinning and hooting. Every woman in America should burn that image into their brain when they go into the polling booth this November. Want unequal pay, want government to make personal decisions for you, look the other way at the creeps that harass you at work, cut family medical benefits? Then vote Republican. They will do that. Believe me, believe me.
7
Trump is a rodeo clown.
A rodeo clown distracts the crowd with attention-getting antics while the veterinarian euthanizes injured animals.
Koch Brothers, et al wouldn't let DJT in the servants' gate if they hadn't made him President.
2
"Believe the men and discount the women." Hillary Clinton should sue Donald Trump for plagiarism because he stole this move straight from her playbook! Just ask the many women whom Bill Clinton sexually harassed or worse for their take on Hillary's actions when her political future was still tied to his.
2
Yes. Three-Card-Monte on steroids.
Spot on, Charles. This is exactly WHY they keep this vile, empty suit, erratic aberration trump in the WH. They are very, very busy pushing their regressive plans on America. Get out and VOTE, it’s our only hope-really.
1
Trump did not abuse any women, he cheated on them. He is and and will always be a cheater; he is just now learning how to abuse people with his new power.
Economy is doing well, employment among all groups is up, taxes are lower, inflation is low, crime is down, ISIS is being crushed, Europe, Asia, and Americas are all in peacetime,
Yet, our liberal progressive friends are unhappy.
Why?
1
I wished this paper covered these issues with the fervor and ubiquity that it covers Woody Allen's very old accusations or every tremor and twist of #Metoo.
Educated, mostly white, women may claim we are in a new day. But it will look very much like yesteryear when women, esp poorer women, won't have access to safe termination of pregnancies or healthcare, not to mention due process. But as long as Hollywood film sets are safe from sexism (yeah right), and Oprah is making feel-good speeches, we are on the road to progress.
2
As if Democrats have not been forcing illegal immigrants down our throats. As if Bill Clinton signing NAFTA and destroying over 10 million jobs did not make people very angry? As if Bill Clinton bringing China into the WTO (World Trade Organization) did not make people extremely upset after that destroyed another 10 million jobs on top of the previous 10 million?
None of this Trump stuff would have ever happened if Dems had supported labor instead of supporting “free trade” which is actually just a code word for easy access to labor camps in third world countries.
And Dems want more free trade and more illegals. It is nuts.
1
But, Blow, it's about "all the marbles" on both sides, sir.
What your ilk and the Conservative ilk fail to see is that the country is already locked in tectonics of major proportion....one is to the left and the other to the right. Eventually the fault line will crumble and our experiment in representative democracy will be over.
Whom will we have to blame? The gang of pundits on the left and the horde on the right who never learned from that wondrous TV show, "Let's Make A Deal."
2
This is a strategy that in the end keeps a wealthy, white, male minority in power for just a little bit longer. The demographics do not bode well for Republicans; unless they start reproducing at an astonishing rate the country will be majority non-white at mid-century, plus or minus a few years. And they are not converting a lot of young folks to their cause, certainly not with their retrograde attitudes about virtually everything that animates young voters: climate change, economic inequality, and personal liberty exercised through tolerance and a welcoming attitude to diversity.
All this cruelty and retrenchment keeps their hands on the levers of power for a few more years, followed by an even uglier conflict as the sheer number of people who revile their approach to governing simply overwhelms the obstacles they are erecting. Seems kind of short-sighted and stupid.
Exactly! We have been focusing on all the daily Trump Twitter and the rest of the despicable behavior and wonder why Republicans are not questioning his actions.
They have a strategy clearly delineated in Mr. Blow’s article. Republicans, their donors and the hypocrites in the religious right’s smokescreen is sending us back to the dark ages... aristocratic, autocratic, racist and misogynist!
1
These coordinated plots and intentions make the Republican party and anyone who willingly supports them traitors.
" titanic moves by the right to literally realign society for the long haul: stacking the courts with virulent conservatives, suppressing voter access, reducing the inflow of immigrants who might lean Democratic, gerrymandering districts, punishing states that lean Democratic in presidential elections and returning to a failed drug policy that disproportionately jails black and brown people."
Now that these treasonous Republicans control both houses and the executive branch, our democratic processes are no longer protecting us from these actions. In fact, Republicans are warping our constitution in order to do their dirty deeds. What to do, what to do.......
1
Now that Trump has been in office one year- it is high time The New York Times hunker down and show us what has happened to each Federal department. I wish to see a list:
1.Department of the Interior; what is its mandate; who now runs it and what is happening under new management.
2. Food and Drug Administration...
3. Environmental Protection Agency...
4.Housing and Urban Development...
5.State Department...
6. Health and Human Services...
7. Department of Education...
8. Justice Department...
These are the heart of our daily lives and Mr. Blows piece is the warning shot that must be taken seriously. However, without seeing this in black and white- we are just wandering in the proverbial wilderness.
5
Democrats have themselves to blame since they don't show up to vote. You made your bed.
How does a professional opiner-indeed one who self-describes as a social justice crusader-turn up his nose at “propaganda”? Mr. Blow’s work as a propagandist ( https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/propaganda ) at the NYT is more than click-bait, right? He wants to change people and things.
Voter ID is perfectly rationale: How can a person 18 or older, live in the United States without some way to establish their identity? Under 18, no ID for compulsory education? Driver’s license, library card, utility bill, rent / lease, government issued ID, etc. I think one would have to actually work quite hard to “leave no trace” of a verifiable identity.
However, it might be time to start a national voter database. A person would simply be given the same in processing for voting. Modeled after a military standard of ID cards: http://www.cac.mil/ This would be FREE. Go see a recruiter.
Additionally, for High School seniors, and all college students, ensure for graduation /admission (including GED programs) proof of Selective Service registration. A change in the law should-MUST-be done to include women https://www.sss.gov/Registration-Info/Who-Registration Simply issue Selective Service Registration Cards FREE. The law currently includes illegal aliens too, but they would be marked as “non-voter”.
The goal as I see it: Have every single person who can vote registered. As a matter of law. Now you do not have to vote, but you have to register to vote.
2
We are governed by a crass and vocal minority and they have stacked the deck in their favor.
Charles, thanks for looking beyond the buffoon in chief to the real underlying problem, which is the GOPs attempt to remake America in their image. But also remember that all of these sub-buffoons were elected so some fairly large percentage of the US population is in favor of, or more likley is just completely ignorant of, the direction the GOP is taking the country
1
Reduce the flow of immigrants who are Democratic leaning - what a sin!
1
America has always been about greed and tribal politics, but now it is about the fall of an empire and the naked grabbing of power for the 1%.
Well, that and the fact that, and as all empires fall, they tend to gravitate to center around great wealth and really, really stupid ego wrapped leaders.
Maybe it is human nature itself that is on trial here. Maybe we are just like the mobs of baboons who fight and kill and scramble about the forest floor...nothing to be seen here. Our constitutions have no bill of rights for the poor and the powerless, on the economic jobs plane. There is no right to medical care, no right to housing, no right to food. Just like in the jungle.
I have no faith in the future, no faith in our political system. When money became speech, and corporations became people, the barbarians tore down the gates and and we, the poor, were left to litter the byways with our homeless camps.
Who are the greater terrorists...ISIS, or Republicans in a gerrymandered district doing what they can to remove the voting voice of the poor? At least Putin only does that sporadically.
Hugh
1
The progressive old-guard--Schumer and Pelosi, to be sure, but also Warren, Sanders, etc.--need to pull their heads out of the sand. It's past time for them to sacrifice the positions of power that they've genuinely earned (but to which they wrongly now feel entitled). They must yield the mantle to younger, moderate progressives with the charisma, the vision, the organizing moxie and the staying power to disrupt the White Right's program to turn back the clock. Young leaders who can do qualitatively better than shrill rejoinders that turn off so many, better than lame milquetoast slogans like #ABetterDeal...
With your skill with words, Mr. Blow, it would be a great public service were you to concentrate your insight into 3 to 5 hashtags that will go viral, capturing and locking mindshare onto the danger you call out here, so that people stop losing focus in the face of one outrageous Trumpian distraction after another. Maybe enlist some of your progressive colleagues at NYT, WaPo, MSNBC, Politico and the like...
1
Best written article Ive seen in the NYT in a while. Just shows that complex issues dont need to be pages long. please pass that along to the many "budding" novelists at NYT.
1
The lid is about to blow on voter suppression efforts and the other blatant Republican tactics. When Trump became the GOP candidate and then the president, he exposed what had at least cosmetically hidden in the past: the bigotry, misogyny, Islamophobia, homophobia, anti-immigrant, and other biases. All and sundry from the white suprematists to the wife beaters and the holy hollering evangelicals jumped on board Trump train, and they haven't decamped yet. They're stuck.
The rest of us aren't. The resistance simmers under the surface, breaking out in occasional protests. Trump supporters gradually peel off when a tipping point for an individual is reached. It may be the porn star payoff; it may be the support for the child molester or for the Neo-Nazis or for the spouse abuser. It may simply be the entire package which stinks more each day.
The Republican plan -- besides all the voter suppression, lies and smears about the Mueller investigation, and attacks on Pelosi -- is to shout "tax cuts!" and "look over there" while doggedly ignoring the next scandal and the next one that come from Trump and his circle.
On Friday, discovery will end for two racial redistricting cases in Georgia. The courts so far have supported the law. We have to keep calm and carry on.
3
I like the ring of it: Trump, a useful tool of the Republicans and a useful fool of the Russians. Who knew he could multitask!
3
The tectinic realignment is temporary. The Blue Wave is coming in November. Demographics is slowly but surely changing the USAs racial composition. Trumps base is dying off, and with it the poltics of fear. A new dawn is coming, dont be afraid, keep the faith...and oh yes VOTE BLUE IN 2018.
4
This is really about the GOP and the Trumpists attempt to destroy our democracy from within. They have always hated the idea of black, brown and poor people having any power. So never forget the GOP and the Trumpists ultimate goal is a white plutocracy where inherited wealth allows the .0001 percent to rule with an iron fist. If white woman take a beating every now and then it's not so bad as long as they support their men. The only question is can real patriots vote them all out of office before we loose the right to vote and they change America forever.
2
What the Republicans are achieving -- through the anti-democratic means Mr. Blow cites -- is permanent minority rule.
By any definition minority rule is tyranny -- the real kind -- not the phony kind Republicans dishonestly blather about whenever they lose an election.
2
Our current situation is a bit like a dark comedic bank heist movie in which some obnoxious clown creates an over-the-top whacko distraction while the truly despicable group of thieves get away with all the money and valuables from The First and Only National Paradoxical Bank For Trade Unions, Planned Parenthood, Seniors, and Dreamers.
2
the so called rule of law in this country does not include rich white people - they have rigged the system to do whatever they want.
3
Excellent Summary Mr. Blow. Ignore the circus in the white house, pay attention that this group of Republicans is slowly (and with little fanfare) ending the American idea. Period.
Cheers,
SSG
3
This grand desire also helps explain Trump's and the GOP's reflex to side with men in questions of abuse. Women are to be marginalized and minimized at all turns, because President Groper and his shameless band of cowards know that no group is more of an existential threat to their continued power than women.
"Grab 'em by the P, kick 'em when they down, they won't get up", they all must think.
Well I have a feeling that in November women will be standing tall, and will be doing some grabbing of their own - not below the waist, but the throats of old white guys who know they're taking their last political breaths.
2
Hurry, Bob. Hurry, November...pray that there's something left to restore!
2
Trumpand the Republicans will suspend the 2018 vote. You watch.
1
WHEN will we be rid of these men? Of this horrible GOP? Never in my life have I been so shamed to be a US citizen.
4
When Jim Crow clamped down, with violence and oppression, on African Americans, what did white Americans do? As African Americans began to claim constitutional rights one inch at a time, whites fled cities, pulled their children out of public schools, built gated communities, redlined, and gentrified their way to the separate and unequal world we have today.
Notice how quiet the beneficiaries of white supremacy are--in the workplace, in communities, in cities. Notice how silent they are as they watch benignly while trump shores up a country that bars, deports, and incarcerates brown and black people. That, I believe, is the real news story.
4
Yes Mr. Blow, we have a kleptocracy aimed at looting America's wealth and potential for the benefit of those at the top of the heap. The terrible irony of this blatant takeover is that so many of those who will end up on the bottom of the heap are its biggest supporters.
Mr. Blow's jeremiads against injustice are unlikely to move, or even reach those who most need to hear his message. We are confronting more than a political divide, but a broad based culture war in which liberal outrage only encourages reactionary entrenchment. Our lamentations at the emerging Right Wing Reich only seem to gratify Red State Regressives.
Those of us who came of age in the '60' and '70's were the beneficiaries of a post FDR era of big, benevolent government. Our parents' generation had been unified by a World War and a depression. Americans were, in the face of those great challenges, on the same page. Since the 1980's we have become disunited for lack of shared challenge. Our allegiances have become fragmented and self interested. We are divided and being conquered.
1
Mensheviks outnumbered Bolsheviks.
Slaves outnumbered whites in antebellum Mississippi and South Carolina.
Majorities are hardly necessary to get and hold power.
The Hunger Games have begun.
One only need to look at the photo. All white, and all men for the most part. (1 visible woman, and perhaps 2 hidden behind Price & Ryan).
Is this the 1950"s?
Hopefully, this is the year that women vote to get these guys out of office, and elect people who care about all Americans.
2
Essentially the GOP is trying to create a sort of soft Apartheid. (Maybe not so soft.)
2
Why is it so hard to use the word “treason” for the actions of the Republicans?
Virtually all of them have pledged, with their signatures, to Grover Norquist’s goal to destroy the government by driving it into bankruptcy. They have doubled down on this strategy with the new tax law. They have stated that their objective is a one-party government. They allow rightwing judges to lie during their confirmation hearings and deny that they are partisan, even though that is exactly how they conduct themselves when in office. To quote Ian Fleming, “One is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action.” How should we count the 20 or so justices named to the Court (not to mention the myriad who have been named to lower courts) who claimed to be strict constructionists or originalists as a cloak for rightwing activism?
It would be bad enough if it were only Fox News, but the motives and goals of these Republican scoundrels are barely questioned by the NY Times, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times, and are reported with false equivalency; they are certainly not cited as traitors. Could it be that, with possible exception of the Sulzberger family, it is because these papers are all owned by billionaires? If billionaires are to make up most of the coming junta, isn’t it in their interest to abandon their journalistic responsibility?
When (if) we get to our own version of the Nuremberg Trials, will these people finally be referred to as traitors?
2
In a word, Charles, Fascism. I know Americans are loathe to use that term in a serious conversation, but there really is no better word to describe a government which is nothing but a corporate oligarchy married to a one-party rule state.
3
If the 2018 mid terms do not take some power away from the Republicans, we're in deep trouble, even worse than now. If people are that blind to the truth as delineated by Mr. Blow, because they do not read and only watch FOX or listen to Limbaugh and have no curiosity about the real world, that is when the autocrats tear down a former democracy. The very soul of the country is at stake.
This is precisely why Jefferson spoke of replenishing the tree of liberty with blood every so often. If all law and government has been corrupted, then we have lost our freedom. Congress has been ignoring the wishes of the people it represents for decades. All private campaign financing must be made illegal to try and get our country back from cosmically corrupt far right billionaires and their stooges in office.Ig your senator or congressman or state politician lies to you or serves interests against yours, vote them out after one term. We must use our one vote wisely. it's the only power we have, other than general strikes and boycotts. Why do we just keep TAKING IT? We must make "them", the corrupt liars, feel pain. They dish it out to us daily.
We, the people, are being betrayed. It's easy if your life is comfortable to look the other way. What do you do when non violence no longer works?Do you really like to be mocked and laughed at by heinous liars? Or maybe you like a bad marriage, too much trouble to improve your ONE life!
1
This column is truth, thank you for it, Mr. Blow. We need to be riled up over the sale of our country to oppressors here and abroad. We have a cat’s paw squatting in our White House, a person too narcissistic and ignorant to realize he’s of no value to either the GOP or the Russians after his wrecking ball days are over (speed the plow, Mr. Mueller).
Then again, we still have President Obama. I urge everyone to watch the Letterman interview with him. It changed my rage to determination, and made me see that the only way forward is to get in the middle of things and cause a huge expansion of positive change. We got here by letting the ship of state get becalmed. We can no longer float on the surface. There are new Dem challengers to the more-becalmed Dems who have been in office for years, and there are some Dems who deserve to keep their posts. Let the sieving begin.
What I would love to see from our media are discussions about Dem policies, actual platform discussions, instead of more horror stories about the GOP. Forget trump’s base. Hillary called it: they are deplorable, and we won’t change their minds. But we will overcome them by supporting Dem candidates who are future-oriented. Don’t think of it as defeating the atavism of a minority of voters, think about it as winning our beautiful and precious country back. We ARE, after all, the majority of voters, and we clearly see what the result is going to be if we don’t take our power back.
1
Wake up America. There is only one issue that matters. Do we or don't we want a fascist America where the plutocrats or corporatists and kleptocrats feast on our hopes for the future and our liberty.
The best examples of the of the tyranny of the minority is Germany 1933 -1945 and the USA 2011 to the present. There is one window still open and that is the midterm elections. You can vote for fascism or vote Democratic and end the takeover of the judiciary and oust many of the fascists in Congress. Vote as if your life and freedom depends on it, because it does.
3
Another great piece. Basic bullet points for any Dem candidate to coopt. But are they? Im not seeing it. The WH and the Repubs are basically writing the speeches and policy counter points for the current Dem leadership, and/or new candidates. But Im not seeing them taking advantage. What is the DNC doing?
What is Pelosi doing? Schumer? They pop out of their gopher holes, squeal for a day, maybe two then disappear.
The only counter Trump advertising I'm seeing are from Tom Steyer...but hes focused on impeachment, and thats not how we win back any seats...its gonna be thru strong, sound counter policy attacks by showing the real destruction being done.
The Dems need to get it together and soon...like yesterday!
1
Barring a major democratic wave election in November it will continue to have been a successful one, Mueller won’t stop them, Mueller will expose them but they have already positioned themselves to stonewall his findings, the only thing that will stop and possibly finesse this right wing tsunami is some serious turnout in November
2
As is often the case with Mr. Blow's writing, this piece provided an 'Aha!' moment for me. I've been wrestling with the baffling phenomenon of Republicans cozying up to a president whom they despise. What would possibly compel them to support a leader for whom they have no respect and who keeps the ground constantly shifting beneath their feet?
This column provides the answer, and it feels exactly right. The Republican leadership is edging our nation toward oligarchy. Mr. Trump is surely not alone in taking a sledgehammer to the pillars of democracy, and at this point the momentum is established and progress--if we can call it that--is underway to destroy our very republic.
I would like to think that we ordinary citizens could summon enough outrage and energy to push back against this realignment, but I worry that we have as much chance as we might against a threatening tectonic shift.
5
The Republican manipulation of our democratic safeguards isn’t so much intended to displace our healthy institutions, as it is to disrupt them. They are digging a trench line, fortified with barbed wire, mines, and barriers to repel any Democratic counter attacks to follow. They are fully expecting that the policies and the court stuffing they can manage over this administration will be labor intensive and expensive to overturn. And they are right. The Democrats will have so many fronts to engage that it could easily exhaust its electorate.
I take as an example the protracted battles communities have to wage when they wake up to the down side of the oil, gas, and coal extractive industries operating in their locales. The fouled water, the poisoned land, the depleted soils, the ravaged ecology, the injuries and deaths. Compensation, reclamation, restoration can take decades, if and when it comes, because the perpetrators have put in place the legislative and judiciary means to forestall action. Buying a friendly legislature and courts can go a long way to making things stick.
I remember after the Bush II years, there was a Democratic bumper sticker during the 2008 election season saying that it would take Hillary two terms to clean up the mess. Granted, she never got the chance, but Obama, who did intend to clean up, came up against the Republican trench line, and found that his broom was nowhere near good enough for the job.
2
Nothing new here. In 2001 when Jim Jeffords of Vermont left the GOP to caucus as an independent with Democrats, it flipped control of the Senate to the Democrats.
Arlen Specter, the a Republican, proposed a constitutional amendment to prohibit a Senate member from switching sides if it meant control of the chamber would flip.
But, I thought the MSM meme was that the GOP was a means to TRUMP'S ends, especially keeping his skirt clean on the Russia investigation.
1
On the bright side, we are identfying major weaknesses to our "rule of law" and "checks and balances" that theoretically can help us improve our democracy.
But given the speed of this damage, and the seemingly slow and uphill battle to regain, we may never get the chance.... and young americans will pay a steep price for the abuse of power that has become standard operating procedure for the GOP led machine.
2
"Trump is simply a useful and temporary tool in this endeavor." I agree with this statement, with and without the clauses and qualifiers.
2
Or is it a rear-guard action? These shenanigans aren't evidence of strength. They're signs of weakness.
And Republicans can get away with it only because people have been asleep at the wheel. Or worse, the most passionate among us seem more prone to personality cults than to sober policy analysis.
(There's no other way to explain the messianic faith in Bernie, or more baffling, Jill Stein or the faux populist rhetoric of revolutions and #theresistance. We don't need a left-wing emperor. We need good legislation, competent civil servants and a boring execution-oriented Congress. Politics should be dully focused on improving life in this country.)
So: vote! Run for local office! There's nothing inevitable about Republican-led white supremacy. We have the power to stop it. But we shouldn't wait for presidential messiah to make it stop.
When I read the litany of terrible things that are aligning to undermine democracy I ask, "What can I do to stop this?" Besides voting, to get the bums out, what, now, can I do? An article with concrete suggestions would be very welcome.
1
The article in the The New Yorker by David Remnick sums it up nicely.
The "BlueNami" is very real and the "Patriarchy versus Matriarchy" is also going to play massively in the 2018 and the 2020 elections.
I believe the comments in the article by Bannon are apocryphally prescient. Trump and his "Stanley Kowalski" sidekicks have woken up a pink hatted behemoth that could literally send the GOP into the hinterlands for a very long time.
Mr. Blow you are a breath of fresh air amongst all the muck and mire of so-called journalistic reporting. Donald Trump received far more free publicity simply because of his antics, and all the while becoming a familiar sight and a familiar word to those who give little or no thought to consequences.
As Christ said on the cross "Father forgive them for they know not what they do"
1
Most certainly the greatest damage to our democracy was enacted by the Roberts Court with their Citizens United decision. This action opened the sluice gates of dark corporate money (corporations are citizens said Roberts).
REDMAP gerrymandering was launched after the 2008 election by the Republicans under the leadership of Karl Rove. The plan involves systematic capture of state legislatures and governorship financed by Citizen's United dark money for the sole purpose of sophisticated computer-driven gerrymandering that suppresses voting by likely Democrats. REDMAP's effect on the 2012 election is plain," reads a post-election Republican Committee report. "Pennsylvanians cast 83,000 more votes for Democratic U.S. House candidates . . . but elected a 13-5 Republican majority to represent them in Washington; Michiganders cast over 240,000 more votes for Democratic congressional candidates than Republicans, but still elected a 9-5 Republican delegation to Congress.” Republicans cannot win in open and fair elections.
Our democracy is dying and the stolen 2016 election is proof. Only massive voter turnout can overcome the distorted electoral process as conceived and deliberately executed by the Republican Party. This process has turned the Congress into a service agency for theae wealthy oligarchy that now owns and controls the GOP. the White House and the Supreme Court.
2
The missing piece here is who is funding this game for all the marbles, and the obvious answer is the far right mega donor class protected by Citizens United, such as the Mercers, Kochs and Adelsons of this world. The long game is indeed the consolidation of power in the hands of a hard right transnational autocratic oligarch class. The article on the deterioration of democracy in Hungary in the Times recently showed the blueprint for how its done: first attack the free press and independent judiciary, undermine the electoral process, sow dissension by promoting "fake news" and exploit tensions related to immigration and economic inequality. We are well on our way in the same process here in the US. Time is short before the damage is too extensive to be reversed.
1
One word--Exactly!
1
From FDR through Obama I cannot recall paying much attention to administrative appointments, except for the scandals that interrupted an administration - think Nixon, Reagan, Clinton - because for the most part the individual in the White House for all of the pressured time spent there mostly were concerned about all of America's citizens. But that has endured a 180 degree switch. The American people, in total, are secondary to the president's own ego. And with that ego many of his appointments are misapplied simply because most among his administration and staff are extensions of his own image. There are exceptions like Jim Mattis but for the most part placing people in important administrative positions that mimic the president's own image was a definite "no no" in many of the administrations prior to this one. Those administrations appointed people who at least knew something about governing.
The old power organizing structure - the nation-state, has given way to the oligarch class, a class that transcends national borders. Russian influence in elections (and Trump/Republican cooperation) isn't about the Russian state per se, it's about their oligarchs and the West's joining political forces to legally redirect the wealth created by any society into their own pockets.
Charles, and let's not forget Trump's homage to the NRA and a bill circulating through the Senate that will allow open carry throughout all 50 states. So we will be comforted to know that wherever we go there will be tens of thousands of armed civilians willing to take out the bad guy at a moments notice or maybe get into an argument and settle it the old west way. The possibilities for death by gun are endless but we will be happy to know the 2nd amendment is still preserved along with liberty, but life and happiness not so much.
1
Living in Texas, I know full well how the modern GOP retains control in government - despite the majority of the state having more Democrats than Republicans. Mr. Blow's column is an example of how the Democrats are failing to communicate a cohesive and central idea to the masses.
Democrats in TX, like in the rest of America, live mainly in the cities. Many of them are unaware, uneducated, and/or indifferent to civics 101 + voting. Turnout for city, county, state, and even national elections is abysmal. The majority of voters here, including Democrats, mainly focus on the economy and their household income/wealth. Concerns for misogyny, Federal appointments and nominations, or the 2020 Census are far down their list.
The Democrat Party is failing to realize this messaging and apathy problem. Although I voted for Hillary in Nov 2016 and align with her center-right policies, Bernie Sanders had the better and more electable solid-left platform "for the 99%". Put forth young and charismatic leaders with a resonating campaign, and the voters will find a way to the ballot box - GOP tectonic shift tactics notwithstanding.
Strange. The original Tea Party was a response to voter suppression. Today, the remnants of the recent Tea Party are the suppressors.
The original Tea Party moved the Colonies towards revolution. What kind of a revolution will overcome voter suppression today?
Wow. I’m white and middle class and never realized I had it so good. Thanks for the edification.
The sense of political urgency here is admirable & accurate.
It would appear that The People still have the power. There is still free speech & press.
If the opposition took their civics a bit more seriously the backslide might be a bit less relentless.
The reactionaries can't claim any moral or political high ground after this administration, nor do they control all the wealth & corporate influence anymore, although the petro-military-industrial monstrosity still runs America & its policies.
The 'Oakie from Muskogie' redstate evangelical conservative culture-warriors have revealed themselves to irredeemably sleazy, backward, dangerous & dishonest. Their attacks on mythical hippies, 'welfare queens', 'eco-terrorists', 'secular progressives' are hopelessly dated & disingenuous.
Progressivism will be what progressives make of their ideology, but at this point, the activists are reactionary. iIt took them decades of propagandizing, rabble-rousing & Newt Gingrich to advance their cause, while progressive ambitions seemed to generally fall apart.
Either the opposition gets a lot more strategic, inspired & organized for a long war to realign the hearts of Americans, or they wait for the red-state generation to just die out by attrition.
2
I don’t know what is more frightening, the Republicans in power or the people who voted them in. The carnival has come to town and the carnies are fleecing us – not just our wallets, but our minds. Under the tutelage of an uber flim-flam man, the Republicans have had an epiphany: that there is no limit to the depth of stupidity of the American voter. By allowing Trump to push the boundaries of all propriety, morality, and veracity – and recognizing that their supporters don’t care – the GOP has become emboldened. They know that for the average voter all it takes is the most superficial glitter of side-show democracy to pull them into the tent: hand-over-heart national anthems, belief in the Christian God, applause when the President speaks, and white privilege. Give the rubes cheap trinket prizes, sleight-of-hand tax-breaks, and they will line up around the block.
The GOP has discovered the dirty secret no one wants to admit: our democracy is a grand old red-white-and blue myth, a bag of bluster, an ideal, an abstraction anchored in the Enlightenment notion that voters are rational and thus will produce a rational product. But as the GOP knows – NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH.
The GOP knows that in an era of technologically-induced cognitive distortion, where the truth is always negotiable, that brain-based Enlightenment democracy is an anachronism, just a shimmering mirage, and that inside every American rube beats an easily-manipulated emotional heart.
1
There was a group in the 19th century who saw all this coming and were trying to make sense out of the emergence of money as the dominating factor in all of society to the detriment of everything and everyone else as Europe emerged out of feudalism, and were able to accomplish quite a bit through publishing and organizing, passing labor and reform laws in Britain and elsewhere and even extracting concessions from such dictators as Kaiser Wilhelm in Germany.
Today we contemptuously refer to them as Marxists.
This is brand new GOP , this is Trumpist GOP. Trump-Bannon had a plan to change the face of America as has been known for decades,. The new GOP is doing the same thing. They are dismantling our government institutions. They are ruing our democracy. They are undermining our American values. Our leadership in the world is minimized. We are giving up free trade policy. Our POTUS loves all the dictators in the world. Our president wants to rule as a dictator authoritarian ruler like Putin, Duterte, Saddam, Asad and Idi Amin. He employed his family members in the administration. He is using the office of presidency to expand his business. He criticizes the minorities for all the problems. He is heating up the economy. Now he wants a military parade with tanks and rockets. These are all signs of a dictator.
1
What's needed is someone who can dumb this down so that people who don't follow politics can understand what is happening. This messenger should be someone who acknowledges that "always believe the women" is not a reasonable stance and not all conservative values are destructive.
Democrats need a real communicator, not an old wise man talking about healthcare in Denmark or anybody who can be demonized for living in San Francisco. Someone like Joe Biden but 30 years younger.
Democrats and Independents have long known about the Republican propensity to amass power and stifle its opponents (of class, race,
sexual orientation, etc).
If only we voted like we really understood these threats, we could win elections and change our country for the better.
I don't understand it. We have the numbers. And we mostly have a shared vision.
But we don't vote consistently when and where it really counts, in
our local and state elections. And that's how our fellow citizens,
who happen to vote Republican, have made the critical inroads that have allowed them to steamroll us, and to threaten our democracy.
74
So true. However, I have nearly given up on trying to get folks to vote in state and local elections--even after explaining in detail why it is important to do so.
2
This isn't realignment. This is occupation and colonial exploitation of the United States by some of the worst people in the world. The fact that they are technically American doesn't make much difference. They are outside the norms of American political behavior, and there's no way they will ever have the consent of the governed.
I think that every ruling by a Trump-appointed judge, and every action by Trump and his appointees, is illegitimate on its face. There's no procedural mechanism that can grant these scoundrels legitimate political authority. Every minute they remain in power is an atrocity, and once we get them out we have to dig up the roots and make sure they can never come back.
88
Any ideas on getting them out other than the critical get out the vote campaigns?
1
Trump was placed in office by the Electoral College not by the majority of the American population. He is a TV producer-created character. So, lets give him his own TV show instead. He can be America’s TV President - he can grandstand, tweet, strut, blame all he wants and will have high ratings (his main goal) for his histrionics every week on prime time (he’d prefer this anyway - pretending to be President (which he does now) but without the headaches or real work). Then the popularly elected president, Hillary (if you think she’s worse or even the same, you have not been paying attention nor have read about her at all (real research, not talking head blather)) can take her elected seat and we can finally have someone competant governing our country (and one that has long history working for women, children, families, minorities, the poor, and men).
3
No this isn't about realignment, this is about locking-in rules that support minority rule.
If and when the majority of Americans register and vote in local, state and national elections their wishes will be recognized. As long as 33% of the voters turn out as the majority of voters in an election, the pursuit of the interests of that minority will be served.
The solution is conceptually easy but needs to be implemented election after election for 6-8 years, register (yourself and others) and vote.
And don't forget the interests of the minority are also well served by an outdated Electoral College system -- time for it to go!
1
Mr. Blow: You forgot to mention the undemocratic Electoral College. Without it we would have had Hillary..............
4
Electoral College been around since way back and now, this past election, it has somehow become undemocratic? Yea, right....go read your history books.
Joe, I know the electoral college has been around since the constitution was written. I've read the constitution. Have you? There was a time when only men who owned land could vote. That doesn't mean it is democratic. Democracy is one person, one vote. And this is not the first time the electoral college has elected someone who did not receive the majority vote.
1
Everyone talks about gerrymandering. Gerrymandering would be much more difficult if Congress hadn't stopped adding House seats in 1911? If the same ratio of House Seats to District Population was maintained there would now be roughly a thousand more House Seats due to roughly a 339% increase in population.
4
And a new Capital building to house them.
A slow coup.
6
So, using this article as a guide, it appears that both parties think of Trump as an idiot. The difference is that the Republicans think of him as a useful one while the Democrats think of him as just an idiot.
9
One party thinks he is a useful idiot, the other thinks he is a dangerous idiot. And they both think the voters are plain idiots.
Everything Charles Blow says is true, but he misses an important insight to understanding gerrymandering.
After the 2010 Census, the boundaries of the Congressional District where I live were redrawn to accommodate the addition of 1 more Congressional District. With one 4-year exception, my C.D. elected a Democratic Member from 1960 to 2010, a damned good run for any party. But, in the Republican blow-out of 2010, the Democratic who ran--a person well-known in Washington electoral politics for 30 years--lost the election by a handful of votes. After the 2010 Census, Democrats and the GOP negotiated boundaries that ensured that favored child of Democrats would win a seat in the newly created and more left-leaning District. Democratic negotiators ensured this with a trade-off: an area from the solidly Democratic district were included in the boundaries of the new District and areas with incontrovertibly right-wing voters were sent to the old District, swelling GOP votes in the old Congressional District. With the stroke of a pen, a largely reliable Democratic district became a reliably GOP. Democrats' chances of recapturing that seat are now marginal until demographics change.
My point is this: this new District was carved out to ensure the election of the well-known, but losing Democrat in the new District. My District was thrown to the GOP to ensure the wishes of the party's elders were fulfilled.
It takes 2 to Tango. The GOP cannot do it alone.
6
With what Mr. Blow has outlined here, It seems to me this is the type of injustice if left unchecked eventually leads to civil war. I am not exaggerating.
13
Tyranny is what leads to civil war. And a government that is less and less responsive to its people is by definition a tyranny.
Charles is correct: the GOP is hard at work. Not so much to install white men as to install a particular few of them: the Mercers, the Koch bros, the Wilks bros, Adelson ... a few very narrow-minded religious-right billionaires. These wacko weirdos have the GOP bought and paid for.
The Dems are beholden to billionaires too, and are reluctant to displease them. But there still is some light at play there. Their billionaire backers aren’t eager to address the vanishing of the middle class, but they are not theocratic zealots, and their control of the Dems still can be challenged.
8
“This is about a tectonic realignment”
May I respectfully suggest that, under the circumstances, this is deeply misleading terminology?
The phrase has historically been used to indicate a change in the makeup and leanings of the electorate, and/or of the populace – a shift in the expression of the democratic will of We the People.
This is exactly the opposite.
It is a takeover, a misappropriation, a theft, a putsch, an overthrow, a sedition, a mutiny, a subversion, a usurpation, a coup d’état, a suppression and repression of the clear will of the citizenry, an arrogation of the powers that our Constitution, and all of our country’s founding and historical principles, have vested in We the People.
Let us be careful to call this precisely what it is:
It is treason.
16
The assassination of JFK was a coup d'état, what we are witnessing now is just the repression that it started writ large. It looks like one party went to a gun fight without a gun. Nature doesn't reward the unfit.
Thankfully for our democracy, Trump's track record with regard to those trying to "use" him for their own ends usually winds up badly for them. Trump is redefining the term "conservative" to mean morally agnostic, fiscally profligate, accommodating to our enemies and against law and order.
Given Trump's history, supporters are more likely to end up in the same bad place as those who bought into Trump's glimmering Atlantic City casinos, his phony football team or his phony "university".
Trump is only in it for himself and he's going to hurt his backers eventually.
4
All of them who are aligned with this administration and these plans are un-American and anti-democratic. Everything they're doing will need to be undone when we take back control of the US Congress and the majority of statehouses. We must then implement plans to ensure that no republican can ever again be elected to any office or appointed to any position until the republican party is completely rebuilt. This will take at least 2 generations so prepare your children now to understand that any vote for any republican is a vote for the end of democracy as our founders envisioned it.
Oh, and when we do take back power, we must impeach every judge as fruit of the poisonous tree, including Gorsuch as they were all appointed by a traitor and confirmed by criminals in Congress. Then we must pass a constitutional amendment ending all public money in elections.
6
"We" aren't ever going to take back the Congress and the statehouses because "we" have no plan and no guts. "You" should start getting used to living in a conservative paradise where low paid workers sing all day long or they are disappeared. Maybe it won't be as bad as watching the cowards we elected refuse to fight on our behalf.
While Charles Blow is of course right, the problem is that the analysis is incomplete.
One of the things it's missing is that a lot of lefty types whiled away the sunlit hours shrieking at the lamestream media for failing them because they refused to pay attention to the lamestream media, shrieking at Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi and other women in terms and tones suspiciously like those of Trumpists, shrieking about how they'd only ever help St. Bernie and the Glorious Stein, and shrieking about how they'd never go vote for them Corrupt Democrats.
Well, congrats, boys: here we are. And while gerrymandering and voter suppression are real, they also serve as excellent alibis for our own failures.
Until we face up to that, get a clue about political realities, do some work and go vote, well, don't count on any Blue Wave. Won't surprise me much if come next November, the same people are still blaming Nancy Pelosi for their loss.
3
"The big game" was lost long before this administration. It was lost when the Republicans blocked most of Pres Obama's judicial nominees; it was lost when the Democrats acquiesced to two illegal invasions/occupations/war, as well as torture, indefinite imprisonment, etc.; it was lost when Bill Clinton embraced predatory Capitalism - 'Welfare Reform' and the attendant, necessary, Prison Industrial Complex it spawned - as the American Way and sold out workers and the middle-class; the 'Big Game' was lost when we accepted R Reagan as a 'Saint' and Jimmy Carter as a 'Sinner'.
The current POTUS and Congress are mere surface lesion of the 'tectonic realignment' of the past near 40 years.
3
It was lost when they shot JFK in the head for actually doing his job. No President after that has been very interested in representing the people against the military industrial complex. I can't imagine why.
Yes, and it's horrible. I repeat the plea to look into Dr. Wolin's ideas about "inverted totalitarianism" that identifies the role of corporate takeover in this country. The politicians are merely the bribed stooges in this tectonic realignment. Follow the money!
3
Thank you for writing this. Trump is a problem, but also a distraction from what has been going on in secret meetings and behind the scenes for decades now. We must get everyone registered and to the polls this November, but we must also be prepared for a massive resistance by the GOP at those polls. If we fail, we can expect that the game is over as we have known it.
We must also focus on what will come next, which surely will include violence on our shores, on our streets, in our own towns and neighborhoods. This violence will be sanctioned by the administration if it is perpetrated by white males. To that end, Congress has approved a budget for a private army. They say it is to fund Erik Prince's Blackwater in Afghanistan, but once funded, what's to prevent them from being called home? The GOP needs a way to undermine the American military, should our military decide to disagree with the administration.
I haven't seen an article yet in the Times about how citizens of WY are protesting the building of detention camps there by the feds. I'm on my knees begging the NYTimes to publish as much information daily about all of these efforts--judiciary appointments, voter suppression, gerrymandering, destroying health care and safety nets for many, targeting people of color, women, LGBT. The GOP vision includes the ludicrous "Christian" idea that we live in an end time, and they seek to hasten it with war and environmental degradation.
Communication is key to stopping them.
1
Tsultrim, thank you for bringing up Prince's private army – paid for with our tax dollars but accountable only to him. What could possibly go wrong, with Betsy DeVos's brother at the helm?
Yes, we need to get everyone registered and to the polls, but we also need to somehow make sure that voting machines are legit (paper ballots would be far preferable), that there's no foreign or domestic rigging, and that the votes are accurately counted. A monumental order, seeing as how there's nothing Rs won't do to maintain power.
The game is already over. There is no coming back from where we are. Its now time to get used to it.
And this is why anyone who voted for Trump, cast a protest ballot, or didn't bother to vote is responsible for whatever damage is done to this nation for the next 3-4 decades.
Elections, as always, have consequences.
5
A wise person once said anything worth having is worth cheating for. Obviously.
this is all true, of course, however one must read beyond the politics of the day and look at the source of much of this madness. Read Dark Money by Jane Mayer, that book will make you wonder where the heck is the moral compass of these 'so called' conservatives.
5
I never thought that conservatives had a moral compass. Do I still have to read it?
15 or so years ago my late father, in the midst of reading the Times (which he did every day of his adult life), suddenly intoned "the country is doomed". One of those articles about Americans being able to name all the characters on the Simpsons but no Supreme Court justices etc. had caused his reaction. He felt that a country steeped in ignorance, apathy and civic illiteracy could not sustain a working democracy. I thought he was being hyperbolic. Now I want to tell him "Dad, you were right".
10
Another good article that backs away fr Trump and reminds us of what's going on in the background....A lot of the awful stuff up front just keeps our minds distracted...
1
These bums have to go. Vote Democratic in 2018! Vote Democratic in every election from Drain Commission to County Commissioner to State legislature, Governor, U.S. House of Representatives, Senator and President.
3
The commitment to diversity captured in the photograph says it all. This is where the years of obstruction pay off. The Republican party is a cult of greed and power.
4
This has been the long term dream of the Rs - and they've been at it since the early 70s - see "The Powell Doctrine" - designed by Louis Powell at the behest of the wealthy and corporate elite after Johnson beat Goldwater in thr 1968 landslide. This provoked a strategic, long term, heavily invested vision by the far right to take control of the nation. They've been at it ever since. Think and act strategically, long term and make heavy investments. The Rs have done all this. It's a shame they've done this for reasons that have nothing to do with the well being of America or our people or the well being our society and the natural world. It's really about the money, and the power and rule to keep money flowing mainly to wealthy white men. Total control with complete disregard for anyone but their "kind."
The Dems - asleep at the wheel for 4 decades. No vision, no strategy, no long term thinking or investing. Just "give me money for the this candidate or that election." Bernie is the only one in decades to even come close to what's needed. But we know how the traditional Dems treated him.
So - will the Dems learn a lesson and get moving, offer a compelling, unique and distinct vision and strategy for the new era, or just continue to be rolled by the Rs? Charles is right about Trump - a bit player for the white men behind the curtain. Feed his sick twisted ego with all the bull he wants and he will roll over and do tricks for you all day long.
3
The plan is called "The New American Century".
There's only one way to destroy the free press (the goal of every dictator): stack the courts. There's only one way to ensure the entrenchment of gerrymandering: stack the courts. There's only one way to silence female victims of outrageous assault: stack the courts. And lastly, there is only one way to uphold the great misfire of the Constitution, known as The Electoral College: stack the courts. This clown lost by nearly 3 million votes (and if you throw in Johnson and Stein, 11 million more voted for someone other than the assaulter- in-Chief). Democracy? Nope. Corporatism has replaced it.
4
The Republicans are cynical and power obsessed
Politicians who are disinterested in improving our democracy. They are truly enemies to American ideals.
Why? Are they afraid their policies would be unpopular in a truly functioning democracy? Their lack of morality and dishonesty are truly frightening.
3
The wealthy are bribing the elected, and in return the elected are handing over the government to the avaricious rich to do with as they please, at the same time fueling the evangelical storm-troopers with lies and hatred against the normal decent person.
We have the criminal neo-fascists taking over the country. This is frightening.
David Cay Johnston's book 'It's Worse Than You Thought' is eye opening explanation of what Trump and his minions are doing to the country.
1
Its not worse than I thought. I always knew it was going to be this bad and so did a lot of other people. But none of them were rich so no one listened.
This is all simple ethno-tribal competition. The majority white population, many of which voted for Trump, grew fearful of the continuous drumbeat by the media telling them they were soon going to be minorities in their own country. They voted for a man who promised to make sure that wouldn't happen. The minorities in this country, are tired of being the minority and want to be in the majority and are pushing for this to happen. Mr. Blow is merely preaching ethno-tribalism as well, but one that works in his ethno-tribal favor. For when has he ever posted an article here that didn't do this? Please post one if you can find one.
Trump is vile and the plutocratic friendly Republicans seem vulnerable in 2018. A problem for the Democrats is first of all the idea that the Mueller investigation is going to do anything to help their cause in the election. Especially since the Mueller investigation isn't going to show any progress against Trump. Grassley in the Senate has made a very efficient right wing justice factory with Trump. If the Ds take over the Senate that will be halted. Gerrymandering will not be as effective this year because of all the Rs that are retiring from the House. That along with the fact the Rs made a stupid mistake thinking they could punish blue states with a tax increase. Many Rs are from blue states. Trump's idiotic behavior has made him a national embarrassment and many people who voted for him will not vote for the Rs in the 2018 election.
It is about time that a Journalist write about the scarier part of this Administration. The Republicans are out to destroy our Democracy and Trump is but their distraction while they accomplish their dasterdly deeds behind closed doors .
There ought to be a way to get them all out of office before November. Unfortunately we have to wait and voters have been known to have short memories. And we are stuck with four bad actors and one not to be relied upon to make commonsense legal decisions on the Supreme Court. These would be Roberts (Citizens United anyone), Gorsuch, Thompson, Alito and Kennedy, the tie breaker. It is apparent that life time appointments do not keep politics out of their decisions. Maybe it is time to change life time appointments for the Supreme Court.
And if there was ever a case for Term Limits for Senators and House members, the time is now.
We have had two illegitimate Presidents thanks to the Electoral College. It is time for that to go as well.
At this point in time the voters are left with a very corrupt political system.
To quote Trump "it is time to clean up the Swamp".
74
The Electoral College is legitimate in that it is prescribed in the US Constitution. Therefore its process is legitimate. Your problem is that it worked as designed by the founders.
Or make the electoral college function as it was intended to. Todays electoral college is a pointless rubber stamp of state election results and only serves to highlight the bias built into the "empty state" rule. The original elector college was NOT a rubber stamp. It was the real election and it was expected that the electors would argue and have the freedom to vote any way they wanted regardless of the expressed wishes of the voters of their state. Both of the illegitimate elections you mentioned could have been avoided if the electoral college functioned in the way it was originally intended. There are no laws that can be enforced that would stop the electoral college from functioning this way again. All it would take is an explanation and defense, by our leaders and the media, of what the electoral college was originally designed to do. So don't hold your breath.
2
NY
It worked as the founders intended indeed. That is the problem. It is a 230 year old solution to a problem that ended 150 years ago. The fact that the founders created a method for changing their original document renders your point moot.
5
I think history shows that democracies do poorly in and for decades after economic contractions. The Great Depression resulted in political instabilities in the US and elsewhere. The result was a world war that killed almost 100 million people after two major countries in Europe were taken over by authoritarian regimes. Even after the war we had continued authoritarian and anti-Constitutional troubles in the US, with Senator McCarthy, the HUAC, and J. Edgar Hoover. Things didn't really begin to settle down again for democracies until the mid 1950's, about 20 years after the 1929 stock market crash.
The Great Recession, which started in 2007, was milder and shorter. So far the attacks on democracy have been milder. Let's hope they will also be shorter.
These efforts by the GOP, to use unfair means to hold onto political power, are the desperate measures of a shrinking party.
Republicans primarily are rural, Evangelical voters, and those are shrinking groups. Meanwhile the US is changing all around them.
Only through stacking the political deck, does the GOP have any future.
4
The genesis of this "conservative" movement, its philosophical founders, and the devious methods it has employed to slowly undermine majority rule is meticulously documented in Nancy MacLean's Democracy in Chains: The History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America. (Penguin 2017).
By using their own words and manifestos , Duke University historian MacLean reveals what this small, arrogant cadre of radical ideologues intends for this country, and it isn't good.
4
You've got to hand it to the Republicans, they actually act like a political party. Obama came to office with 70% approval ratings and a solid congressional majority. What was his excuse for not filling judicial vacancies? How is it that Trump, a man with ratings at 38% and a paltry 51 vote majority in the Senate, is somehow able to fill most of them in less than a year? We waited years for Barack Obama and William Holder to appoint a U.S. Attorney for North Texas. When they finally did, she lasted a year; maybe two before she was "promoted" to ICE. Why did they even bother appointing her in the first place? The office promptly lapsed back into its usual state of semi-permanent vacancy. It took Trump all of 8 months to appoint a new one. Let's face it, Donald Trump is the bitter fruit of a sclerotic Democratic Party that nominated an over-rated has-been from 90s to succeed a politically incompetent and over-rated Democratic President.
3
You must know that judges have to be approved by the Senate and you must know that Mitch McConnell slow walked the whole process in hopes that a Republican President would be elected. He got his wish!
You must know that in January of 2009 when President Obama took office, the Senate Majority Leader was Democrat Harry Reid whose caucus had a 59 seat majority. Mitch McConnell couldn't "slow-walk" anything. Trouble was that Harry Reid couldn't "fast-walk" anything either because to do that he needed a White House and Justice Department that was actively making nominations. You will recall that then Majority Leader Reid publicly excoriated the Obama Administration for failing in its duty to forward nominees to the Senate. It was Reid that called-out the Obama Administration for its incompetence! Sorry - but the cruel truth is that the wave of right-wing appointments is the fault of President Obama's political naivete and incompetence.
I am grateful to Don Juan Trump. He has brought the face of vileness and outrageousness to a party that has been taking a hammer to our democracy for years. The Democrats have been too beholden to the same Oligarchs who bankroll the Republicans
to raise alarms and too inept to push back even if they were so inclined. And what has John Q. Public been doing all this time? Watching the Apprentice, working five jobs and shopping till they drop. As ever throughout history keep the masses distracted while you rob them of their freedoms. And sadly many are too tired, too down and out, or too fleckless to care. So goes democracy.
9
If there is any answer to this situation spoken so clearly by Mr. Blow it lies in the people taking the government into their own hands at a local level, but the way is hard and uphill do to gerrymandering and the rigging of the voting system. The GOP and its base fears the demographic shifts occurring in this country. It is the root of their actions. Until the people most effected by these GOP tactics , the disenfranchised, the poor and discriminated against take this action in hand with the collaboration of everyone with a conscience the fight will only be difficult and the results more uncertain.
4
Democrats are not examining their opposition with the correct lens. To focus on what conservatives are, they need to understand WHO they are. Everything the Republicans do becomes clear when you realize that they are not a "political" party with coherent policy: They are white supremacists.
White Supremacy does not require fiscal coherence: deficit spenders or deficit hawks, either will do. It does not require a basis of "morality" or even "character." trump, the most morally degenerate man that ever walked into the White House, has the backing of the evangelical wing of the White Supremacist Party.
White Supremacy only requires power, and the will to use the State's prerogative of "legal violence." The White Supremacist Party is using its' federal agents even now, to arrest, to detain, to prosecute, to destroy. Their leader has made it plain that he wants only white immigrants, so as to maintain a white majority for as long as he can.
Wake up, folks.
5
Over the past few decades the Democrats associated themselves with
groups that organized themselves around their identities such as African Americans, Latinos, etc.
They were African Americans first and Americans second. Now, some whites are doing the same thing.
As they used to say: “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.”
Why are there only 435
Reapportionment acts 1911 & 1942
Repeal them in 2021
The problem with the house and the electoral college is the corruption of the constitution by fixing the number of representatives at 435 in the 1911 reapportionment act and compounding it in 1942 by making the reapportionment self executing. Change this and the house will once again represent the popular will. As it stands now this reapportionment act of violates the 14th amendment, one person one vote. For a conservative view read the Federalist Papers # 55 & 56.
Grow the House
The number of Congressional districts was set in 1911 and cemented into place over the next two censuses. Why? Because the building in which the chamber is located in was designed and built in the 18th century. George Washington laid the corner stone in 1793. Keep the existing structure for ceremonies, but build a new house for a vastly increased number of representatives.
No need to open the constitution for an amendment or convention. A change in a statue is the only thing required. Most of the disconnect between the people and the congress would be resolved. Gerrymandering would be greatly reduced in effectiveness.
3
A question for those who oppose both the radical anti-democracy agenda of the Republican party and the extra-legal tactics used is whether the opponents lose by adopting Republican tactics. Is maintaining "ethical purity" in means even if the ends are not accomplished still the right course in Trump's America?
1
Words fail me at this point. The GOP efforts to sabotage the cornerstone of our republic, the vote, can only be called treasonous. They have become a party that stands against everything the Founders envisioned. How can they call themselves Americans when they invite Russia to influence our elections, arrange voting districts to nullify Democratic votes, and use the "election fraud" lie to exclude US citizens from having a voice at the polls?
Was this what Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Adams, Franklin, Hamilton, Mason, and Morris had in mind when they were dreaming of their new nation?
4
I'm hearing about problems with electronic voting machines too - being manipulated. These were instituted by, of course, Republicans.
4
Has this issue been decided by the Supreme Court: are the number of Congressional Representatives in each state based on the number of residents or on the number of its citizens? that question is likely why the Justice Dept. wants to add "citizenship" to the 2020 census, as Mr. Blow and The Atlantic suggest.
1
Still an uncritical advocate of custom and convention, eh? Seems odd, in a way.
"...the purely propagandistic Fox News..." as stated in Mr. Blow's first sentence is the biggest threat we face. Here in central Pennsylvania most of my friends are Republicans and they are tuned in exclusively to Fox and are not aware of the dangers we face. What is needed is more emphasis on Fox, lead with more vigor by legitimate news sources
3
Trump presides over a conflagration. Alternatives to a burning house are not important while the house is burning. Put out the fire and remove the cause of fire is primary.
If Trump’s a criminal are his appointments valid. If the GOP is hell bent on destroying democracy can any democracy survive while the GOP continues to devote itself to the destruction? Stacking the courts, gerrymandering and voter denial, undermining the FBI NSA and DOJ, subverting Constitutional requirements for a Presidents duties and term of office are established norms of the Republican Party, and these norms are anti-democracy.
6
Thank you. Finally someone put this situation into perspective!!!
When I read the Times I cross substitute GOP for Trump. I see McConnell and the rest. Trump is a salacious refection of GOP values/policy.
9
The NYT, Wash Post, Mother Jones, ACLU, the Brennan Center, and the Atlantic are all left of center to far left sources. As Obama pointed out we should all consume a diverse list of media to become better informed citizens.
.
7
Finally, another voice suggesting that readers expand their horizons! Thank you, blue smoke. Reading only left-leaning sources doesn't make sense. Reading only right-leaning sources is equally flawed. Let's open up some minds.
@bluesmoke: Speaking from personal experience, as well as what I’m able to surmise from the sources offered by people who comment here, we read an eclectic variety of sources, from Breitbart to Mother Jones. To take Mr. Blow’s sources as an indication of bias is just silly because can you name a single right wing/fascist source that even considers the issues raised?
To the booth, to the streets if you want to bring down the Trump/conservative regime. Beating your gums will achieve absolutely nothing.
5
@ RWF, Verona "To the booth, to the streets if you want to bring down the Trump/conservative regime"
Yes.
267 days til Election Day.
Get registered, vote.
Make sure everyone you know gets registered and votes.
If you're already registered, make sure your registration is recorded as still current -- in some jurisdictions, they are now purging the voting lists for "inactive" voters (where "inactive" can mean just skipping one year).
Check the current laws for voting requirements, especially for IDs; note that in many (red, of course) states, student IDs are NOT acceptable forms of identification (but of course firearms IDs are).
Expired IDs, any that show a different residence than the address on record for you, any with even a different spelling of your name, may be used as an excuse to prevent your voting.
We can take our country back – but nobody’s going to just give it to us.
There are more of us (way more) than there are of them, but that’s meaningful only if we act upon it; we have power only if we exercise it.
What, you really thought the billionaires and haters would just let us move our country into the 21st century without putting up a huge fight, with every dollar (and every thug) at their disposal?
Nailed it. And the Republicans have played it masterfully with Trump being the perfect tool. Look over there at all the craziness, and as you lose your mind and cool, we will pull the rug out from under you. Suckas!
A few learnings for concerned citizens if we are going to stop this madness, some which Mr. Blow alludes to... 1) outrage at this point has little impact, spend your energy and communications on the shadow effort. 2) Dems need to articulate a much better path for the future than they’ve been doing; a good starting point would be clearly stating values and let policy / tactics flow from there. 3) not to state the obvious but the Republicans are sick and have lost any moral authority... it’s time for the Dems to claim the title of the party of ‘real Americans.’ And the ones who really care about prosperity, fiscal responsibility, liberty, freedom, among many other things. 4) ensure the Mueller investigation continues as long as needed and, if not... by any means necessary.
11
You are right on all four points. And outrage is a natural response, but we must breathe out slowly, and keep calm. Outrage weakens us. What you call the shadow effort is simply people on the ground working to save our democracy. That means preparing our communities, for one thing, such as educating our police departments so that the bad ones are weeded out and the fair ones are well trained, and supporting local efforts to feed, house, clothe and care for all our citizens. We need to make sure we all still have access to the internet and communication. And we need to be prepared for the onslaught of violence the GOP has already shown it will not just overlook, but fund and support. We need to reach out to our Republican neighbors who are now feeling nervous and shaking their heads, the ones sorry to see their friends of decades deported suddenly, who realize they don't want racism perpetrated, do want women to be strong and supported fairly, and so on.
Keep up your excellent truth-telling work, Charles Blow. This morning I'm too depressed to comment.
6
The Democrats will have to bring out the heavy artillery to thwart this onslaught of Republican meanness. Hopefully the voters that enabled this idiocy will come to their senses and realize how badly many will be hurt with the implementation of their agenda. Democrats need to aggressively put forth their ideas and convince the entire electorate (not just their base) that what is best for the US is to vote the Republicans out of office.
4
The Koch brothers have finally found the ultimate hatchet man to come in and deal the final blows to democracy in America. While they apparently squeamishly dislike the off-the-charts vulgarity, they are just fine with the criminal disregard of the rule of law.
What the Koch brothers need to do is heed this excellent article and put two and two together: all those institutions being corrupted? They're going Trump, not Koch. There's only room for one dictator, and once his grip is total, it might not be so easy to get rid of him.
You got your fiendish tax cuts - can't you give the signal to impeach before he settles in permanently?
6
Not to mention the increasingly skewed wealth concentrations and unrestricted political campaign moneys, that, at some point, to agree with Mr. Blow, could push past the tipping point and any possibility of return to balance. In other words, GAME OVER.
We are not at the end of history, and every democracy in past eras perished, and so will ours. The question is when and how. We should try to keep our republic for as long as possible, if we can.
4
I believe the true problem is that people don't vote in EVERY election. They also don't keep their political representatives on their toes.
Last night I watched a replay of the Philadelphia Eagles championship parade. The passion of the fans was something to behold.
But I kept telling my wife, "where's this same admirable passion on Election Day, both primary and general?" It evaporates. It's said that people get the government they deserve, but those of us who've served in uniform and vote in every election do not deserve this.
Get out and vote people! Call your legislators, let them know you exist. Otherwise, they'll keep treating you like dirt.
21
I do not believe this is a tectonic realignment...this is a lock-down.
4
Read yesterday's article about Hungary - sound familiar?
11
What did you think "take our country back" and "make America great again" was referring to?
It was code for bringing us back to when white men ran the show, women did what they were told, and people of color knew their place.
17
Point proven. When is the last time anyone has heard the "we want/take our country back phrase" ???
I regard myself as a sort of political refugee in Germany, because ever since the great retaking of their country by the rich and powerful started in the 80's, the Republican party has distinguished itself as vile, un-American, thoroughly repugnant. I had had enough in 1990. The problem is that the country itself looks like the Repugnant party: vile, angry, divided, stinkingly unequal, completely irrational. I'm still hoping that my family's five votes in Pennsylvania in November will help, but if there is no Democratic sweep, I'm outta here. I renounce my citizenship despite the punitive fees and never look back, except in anger...
6
There are a lot of people who can't leave. We need you to think of others, not just yourself, and stay to help counter what's happening.
Every time we are tempted think this kind of war against democracy can't happen in America just remember that America was built on slavery and genocide and the same kind of people who made that happen are now running our country.
20
When the Trump era is over, whether before its four year run or after, the country - the whole country - needs a Marshall plan for politics. We need to create laws where previously none were needed, such as:
-Mandatory public tax returns for office seekers.
-Mandatory security clearances for WH jobs.
- Stronger vetting for all WH jobs, in particular Cabinet-level ones.
-laws against lying to the American people.
-laws against legislating by Twitter.
-laws against blatant nepotism.
And bills that fix our aging political infrastructure such as:
-Voting districts that have to abide by County or City lines tp avoid extreme gerrymandering by either major political party.
-Mandatory citizenship for any immigrant willing to join the military and fight for the USA, provided no previous criminal record is found.
A Congress willing to address:
-Single-Payer healthcare for all.
-Repeal of the recent #taxScam
-A reining in of Congressional witch hunts like Benghazi and the Nunes-led House Intel Memo fiasco. Our tax dollars should never again be used for such nonsense.
And a reinstatement of The Fairness Doctrine.
It's a tall order, but if we don't realign our politics, the next time a mobster gets into the WH it will be game over for our Democracy. If it isn't already...
16
Barry –let's also add an amendment to the constitution regarding qualifications for President – like the need for extreme vetting, and automatic impeachment for violations of oath of office, e.g., making money off of one's position.
1
Keep up your good work.....informing the public. Thank you.
5
BINGO!! Thank you Mr. Blow. We are currently locked in the grasp of an end game that has been in play for at least 40 years, although I would suggest it started at the end of WWII.
When the uber rich radical right realized that achieving their fascist oligarch vision could not be achieved through convincing the public of their once considered “wacky” beliefs they began to build a fifth column movement.
The movement entailed hundreds of millions over time, funding of “think tanks” i.e. the Heritage Foundation, Cato Insititute. They created and funded media outlets to spew their dogma, from AM radio to cable. They funded departments at universities to teach their belief in a future more akin to the philosophy of the Antebellum South than a modern egalitarian society.
They created organizations dedicated to strict (regressive) interpretation of the Constitution to pack the courts at every level.
You outlined many other aspects of this movement Mr. Blow. It is indeed a “vast right wing conspiracy.”
10
The only reason Donald Trump won was because the Democratic Party was so in thrall to the Clintons that it couldn’t select a candidate who was actually likeable and electable. Joe Biden would have won in a landslide and we wouldn’t have to read these woe is us editorials in the NYT everyday. Place blame where blame is due.
1
It's time to stop blaming and looking backwards. We are confronting something monumental here and time is past for bickering.
1
We can only hope the Dems will play the same game when they take power, and even more viciously and shamelessly.
1
Mr. Blow, you've scared me completely. Keep writing. We'll keep reading. Thank you.
5
"This is about a tectonic realignment." Believe it. The self-interested bigots and plutocrats are rejoicing in their version of white supremacy and corporate socialism for the few while the many are left to die on the vine (Newt's phrase form long ago). If enough people ignore it we will live in a nation that will make China look positively like the bastion of democracy
2
The American people don't like the conservative agenda and so all their machinations will be wasted.
1
We must keep it simple, for our 'citizens' want it that way. The 'Make America Great Again' is about as stupid-simple as we can get. It really means nothing. And, if you argue that it means a return to good manufacturing jobs for more Americans, then, I would say you are delusional.
Let's keep a list of the most egregious statements and actions of this administration and the Republican party. I know it will be long, but, short, concise, talking points is exactly what we need. It must be simple.
The rich are very happy; that's the real tectonic realignment. The top 1% of the world is taking over. The wealth and property and power they have is criminal in it's breadth and depth. Democracies lay in shambles.
Yes, it is the economy, stupid. The local economy, the economy of the individual. That is the message that can 'win'. Real life message.
You cannot speak devoutly of Jesus and then fight like hell for mammon. This is a hypocrisy we can show. The tax cuts. The President-billionaire that's proud, no, a 'genius', for not paying taxes. The shame of him calling McCain less than a hero. The 'grabbing' of women. The list seems endless.
Keep it simple. And truthful. The 'independents' of America are uncommitted to much, except themselves. So, tell them, then tell them again of the immorality and dishonor of this administration. And then, but only then, tell them our positions; maybe then they'll listen.
6
At last somebody spells out the clearly developing pattern that was visible even you were trapped in a capsule in orbit. That pattern was clearly visible since at least 2014, and its realization was the real thing that was at stake in the choice between voting for the Democrats during the last General Elections, and voting for the Republicans during those elections.
In my opinion, Mrs. Clinton's campaign was remiss in not putting enough emphasis on that, while allowing the Republicans to sell the public a cat-in-a-bag with its "Make America Great Again" nonsense. America is and was already great, but if the Republicans were allowed to enact their agenda (which they now are, thanks to all those who went and made the perfect the enemy of the good), the packing of the courts, the suppression of the vote, etc, is clearly what would be the outcome. That was known then. It should be clear now. And instead of the news media keeping the public alert, most of them choose to masturbate their time away prattling about Mr. Trump's tweets.
Just remember: the economic damage Mr. Trump and the Republicans do could be undone quickly; the damage to the country's institutions will take generations to fix.
Focus, people.
12
Of course Trump is a terrible, horrible person. But he is popular because he is also championing issues which are popular with a large swath of Americans. Namely White Christians (defined by culture not religious fervor) with a job. Why are they willing to put up with Trump's antics? Because by championing the rights of the downtrodden, poor, minority, Muslims and immigrants; the Democrats have become to be seen as the enemy of those white employed Christians. Until Democrats once again become the voice of the working man against the rich bosses they will not have the broad support they need to regain power. They need a new message and spokesperson AND FAST
4
I think Trump was opposed by the GOP and they didn't want him as president for one reason. They were not ready to move forward with the entirety of their plans yet. Trump is overtly authoritarian which they like but they were in the mode of doing their destruction of democracy slowly and incrementally. Now with Trump, they are forced to make this the time when they attempt to subvert law enforcement, and more precisely, make law enforcement their tool to suppress opposition to their policies. They'll make all opposition candidates criminals, just like Russia. However, the GOP are not happy about having to attempt their authoritarian take over of our republic at this time because if they lose Trump the base will rebel and he is an unstable idiot, so some kind of melt down is likely. If it happens before they consolidate power then the whole thing may fail, and they don't like that uncertainty.
To be fair to Trump and the GOP, a great many US citizens seem to desire a slaves life rather than freedom. Apparently they feel that the outcomes of their lives would better under an authoritarian dictator rather than having to live with the outcomes of their own decisions. I suspect that is at least a common theme among Trumps base, that when they have no decision to make, then their lives will be good. Cult members often think that way, it is the advantage of a cult, individual thought is not necessary.
4
Mobilize to vote and support voter access! Please. The Trumpets will win and destroy our democracy.
3
Most important news you can read, right here. Trump will be discarded soon enough, the wooden and malleable Pence will take over (perhaps). He follows orders much better than DJT. He will complete the silent putsch. Time for us to really focus our work to reignite our electorate and clean house.
1
I agree completely with your assessment about what is going on in the right wing cabal. I also agree with your assessment of Trump's utter unfitness for office. I have read several accounts of what is being done to our judicial system by the conservatives. In fact, I don't need to read about it because it is so obvious. McConnell may be a devil, but he isn't stupid, even if his tool is.
What I need is to find a ray of hope that will allow me to stay positive enough not to just give up.
3
Bill Maher has called it a slow moving Republican coup. It's no longer slow moving. This party is transforming into a totalitarian regime
11
There is only one political sentiment of which the American majority is capable: "this stinks; I want something else." Everything the Democrats would champion falls into the category of what has been before, part of what then smelled stale enough to reject. It will take time for the stunningly novel form of the GOP oppression to grow old. Sorry, but that's the nature of the wound. There might not be enough time for anything good to come forth in the inevitable reaction.
If you want to see what's coming to America (and I don't see any way it can be stopped), read Patrick Kingsley's prescient February 10 article in the New York Times: "As West Fears the Rise of Autocrats, Hungary Shows What's Possible." https://tinyurl.com/ycqvzw5r
1
Well, yeah....
Why do we think that the GOP has put up with Trump, keeps backing him even as he demonstrates corruption, ineptitude, vile opinions and foolish remarks? Why are they willing to sell out of fiscal responsibility in the short term? To keep and consolidate power.
When we realize that the goal is to manipulate every aspect of our democracy to assure long term power, and the goal of long term power is to undo not only the Civil Rights era, not only the New Deal, but the advances from the earlier Teddy Roosevelt, we understand that putting up with the idiot makes sense.
The GOP longs for the day of the Robber Baron, and are well on their way of achieving it.
There are structures of our democracy that have always been exploitable, but until now no party has worked so assiduously to exploit them. But McConnell has shaped the Supreme Court with an unprecedented power grab; the party has worked to assure the capture of state houses assures the gerrymander will help the GOP; they have used the demographics of states to assure that acreage has more sway on the vote than population using both districting and the electoral college to solidify minority power.
We KNOW all this. We just don't have a strong opposition party to stop it. Democracy will die as much from weak Democrats as from a strong GOP.
Finally Blow you have rang the Bell on what is really going on. For all of the daily planned distractions, by Trump,the cake is still being baked by the G.O.P. Older White Males can see the handwriting on the wall that if something is not done drastically and soon they will lose their position of power in America. People ask when is there going to be an event that finally will be so abhorrent that it will sink Trump? The picture accompanying Mister Blows column says it all and should not be ignored. The saying all is fair in love and war comes to mind when thinking about how The party of Lincoln has embraced Trump. Trump is their champion willing to battle to maintain White Male dominance of America and if they have to put up with his oafish ways so be it. General Kelly by his recent actions has shown he is of like mind as his boss. The Democratic party hasn't got a majority white male vote in a half a century and judging by the love of Trump's base for its leader nothing is going to change that anytime soon. Trumps message of Make America Great Again was heard by many as Make America White Again. The Browning of America scares the heck out of those guys in the picture and they are willing to make a pact with the devil to protect them. What I find as striking is how females of any color can't look at the picture and see their standing in the party of Lincoln? The Honorable General Kelly knew about his wife beating aide and determined his paper pushing skills Trumped out.
Regarding realignment, historians will judge the most crucial shortcoming of the Obama administration will be the failure to pursue a Constitutional crisis over the nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court.
1
Democracy is dead in America, not broken. The electorate is demoralized, knowing that the President suborned treason in his obsession to destroy poor ole Billlary in 2016, and knows that a player like Trump who wants what he wants will get it. Brats rule in Trump's government so allegations of the menfolk abusing women come as no surprise. Soon the rule of law will be completely supplanted by the rule of Trump. Get ready.
2
You have omitted the most insidious tactic of all. The so-called Tax Cut. It will starve the Treasury of revenue and the cuts to entitlements will slowly kill the least fortunate among us. Many of the rest of us many never notice or wake up way too late. This is how fascism takes hold. Money is the GOP version of the "final solution." It is easy to demonize the victims in such an environment.
5
Excellent piece drawing attention to the big picture power grab
much of which has already transpired.
Keep up the good work!
2
I know this and you know this and the New York Times knows this, but shout as loud as we three might, is it enough to make enough voters know these things?
Influenced heavily by America's Henry David Thoreau, Mahatma Gandhi wrote in 1907: "Cast your whole vote; not a strip of paper merely, but your whole influence." In other words, RESIST as if you cared every day as you do on election day. Your Facebook page should be an ongoing yell of justifiable accusation at the charlatan Trump attacking Democracy to replace it with Republican authoritarianism.
It's a matter of Homeland Security: "If you see something, say something."
3
The end of our republic, as we have known it for over 200 years, is appearing on the horizon, and moving swiftly.
When the president is a megalomaniac, and the congress is incompetent, and the judicial is extremely partial, then the end is near.
I'm grateful I'm in my 80's and will not see the total destruction, but I weep for our children.
2
The Dems in Congress exhibit incompetence, but the Republicans aren’t incompetent: they are bought out by a few wealthy wackos that pay for their re-election by media blitz, scurrilous disinformation, and inflammation of bigotry.
1
We have been watching this administration do exactly what Mr. Blow is stating. That is why we need to go to law school, run for office, counteract that at every turn and hold these corporations responsible. We are not asleep and our job is to ensure no one else is asleep for the next fifty years because we are going to lie with this hate for decades. Stand up now the issues and get out to vote for the right candidates wo represent us All The People.
2
Trump is the ultimate TOOL. In more ways than one.
Thanks, GOP. November.
1
Along with the schemes enumerated by Mr. Blow in his fourth paragraph, there's also the well-funded plan to call a Constitutional Convention so as to remake the constitution - and the country - more to their liking. And profit.
(Google "Right-wing plan for constitutional convention," "Koch brothers constitutional convention," for many articles on the subject.)
We need to get money out of our elections and institute term limits. The obscenely rich and greedy will be much less likely to spend money buying a senator or congress person who won't be there for the long term, and those running for office will be more likely to do so for altruistic reasons.
2
But the Democrats' "all scandal, all the time" approach is making it worse.
There's no doubt that the real problem with the "G.O.P.'s visions of a tectonic realignment" is the fact that it really doesn't represent America -- especially if you're not a conservative white male of a certain means.
Just one look at the Trump administration, or even the photograph accompanying this article is proof enough of that.
What's happening to this country now, is a steady march backwards to a time when white men ruled over everything; whether that involved racial, religious and gender equality, women's reproductive rights, economic prosperity, or the right to vote.
And in just the space of only one year, this president, his backers and this crony Congress have wrought more havoc and injustice on our country than any other president in American history.
Mr. Blow has been good enough to cite several example here of the dangers now facing us as a free and democratic society.
Now is the time for all Americans to come to the aid of their country. Get out the vote!
1
It is imperative that every American Citizen actively participates in actions that enable people to get to the polls and vote in 2018. Trump is the puppet of a large, ominous elitist, racist, misogynistic legion who are motivated by greed and power. They have no interest in preserving or improving the foundations of the American Democracy. They have no interest in creating productive jobs, improving health care and educational opportunities for the American People. It is the American People who must stop this. Now it not the time for apathy, it is time for action. And that goes for EVERY current elected official. Stop spending your all your time and effort asking your constituents for money. Step up to the plate & ACT & SPEAK OUT. If you can't or won't do the job, Americans elected you to do, WE THE PEOPLE must vote every one of you out of office. WE THE PEOPLE must make no exceptions. WE THE PEOPLE must encourage our brothers and sisters to elect leaders who will represent our best interests... leaders who embrace, honor and respect the diversity of this great nation... leader who will act to empower and improve the lives of many hard working Americans.
1
Great Nations rise and fall.
Golden Ages don't last.
Civilization is but a thin veneer.
History is now, it's not just the past.
November 2018 may be the last chance to save our Republic.
3
It may be worth noting here that Russian President Putin often dispatches his political opponents by accusing them of various crimes where they are convicted in Putin-controlled courts, become felons and thus are not allowed to run for office. As Tammany Hall's Boss Tweed said, “What are you gonna do about it?”
This is an issue that I kept fearing during the election while the Berniebros were off falling for Russian propaganda against Clinton. The fears of the Supreame Court and others that the Republicans in Congress had not been filling and stole from Obama.
1
It's not just that they are quietly doing what they've been wanting to do for years, it's that they obstructed allowing what was supposed to occur in the last administration. They cheated at keeping a supreme court justice nominee (who was purposely chosen for being centrist and acceptable to Republicans) from being confirmed. And, as Charles M. Blow points out, there were many more than that who were obstructed from being seated.
This, to me, this is as disturbing (if not more so) than their display of abandoning their proclaimed principles. It shows that they will cheat to get all those marbles while insisting that their opponents play by the rules. Where are the conservative values in that?
1
Charles, your outrage would be much more credible if you applied it to equally to all parties. You have yet to address that Team Clinton ran the entire DNC before she even declared as a candidate. Wasn't this also an attack on our democracy?
1
D. Cassidy – no.
To repeat: Political parties are not government-run organizations. Anyone can start a party, and make their own rules.
1
Dear Charles,
WRT your statement "congressional cohort and the purely propagandistic Fox News are treating that investigation as an existential threat and actively working to discredit not only Mueller but the entire F.B.I." Don't you think that this reflect our democracy. Should we only accept what Morning Joe is Propoganding, and or your dear friend Don at CNN. The hate that the formers spewing toward this president is shameful, to say the least.
1
Apparently, this is all OK with a lot of people, either because they are asleep, uniformed, or in agreement. There is nothing anyone can do about it. This is the way things are in this country, except now it is all out in the open. Hypocrisy does not exist. You can change your mind everyday. It's all OK. You can be a racist and at the same time say you're not a racist. You can say you have moral values at the same time you are beating your wife. Mr. Trump is the perfect example of the duality involved in living a less than honorable life that he says is Great. It's all about power and doing what you want without regard for the welfare of others. It's basically anti social behavior, the result of deep seated and exaggerated beliefs about the importance of self. It is very juvenile and moronic. As the power in this country continues its movement in to fewer and fewer hands, people will eventually wise up and rebel. This is where things are headed. It's all out of control. Unlike many, I do not share the belief that the next election will resolve anything. It is magical thinking to believe otherwise. More than anything, it will be just another nail in the coffin. Sadly, things will have to get much worse before anything changes for the better.
1
the blame lies with each person who voted for Trump and the Republicans
They Republicans are apparently all in. It looks like they believe this is their last and only chance to seize eternal control of everything. A strange desperation which colors their every action has rendered decency and honesty irrelevant. Their opportunism is so immoral that it beggars the imagination.
These are some of the things they have trampled or cast aside in their craven rush to seize power: the Constitution; the Bill of Rights; a conspiracy by Russia to undermine our democracy; racism; a dangerously unfit president; the well being of the nation, its citizens, and the other nations of the world.
2
Yes, Mr. Blow, Trump is indeed a "tool" by any definition. This golem of the Republican party is given the space to express his feeling of power, his misogyny, his racism, his...everything because he is indeed going along with the ultra-capitalist, autocratic plan. Just do away with the masses having any real power, and what do you have? A kingdom run by kings.
Thank you for informing us about the significance of the judiciary goings-on. It seems to be the final nail on the coffin for true democracy. Pure evil.
3
Charles is correct in saying that it is the Republican Party that is un-American and pro authoritarian. They have been at it for years and have finally succeeded in destroying the middle class that has been the life blood of this nation. They are parasites and like all parasites they end up killing their prey and then dying themselves.
In the short term, the hope is that the 40+% of the population that does not vote can be persuaded to register and vote the parasitic GOP out of office. The backup short term rests on the shoulders of Mueller's team who most likely have a trove of incriminating evidence on the lead clown. However, with the stacked courts and puppy dog Congress the vile one will stay in power.
The long term solution if the short term fails, is to remember that the parasite dies shortly after his prey does and it is possible that this country will have enough resilience to rise from the ashes like the phoenix to a better world without rich elite parasites in our midst.
1
Man's depravity is apparently bottomless. How profoundly embarrassing and depressing: Conservatives -- let's face it, who are mostly rich white men -- come right from the tragic pages of Shakespeare. These cats play hardball, unashamedly; for the winning is all: Money, power, pleasure, dominance: Yes, I shall have it in great abundance, for me and my spawn, they proudly proclaim.
Perhaps at least a little neurotically, as a white man, I feel doubly ashamed by my brothers. Cain, where is thy brother? Am I my brother's keeper, Lord? Conservatives say no. For it's all about me: first, last, and in the middle.
1
“This is a big game for all the marbles” my deep concern which is putting it mildly is what are all the marbles. We have whitnessed some extreme anti democratic policy’s from the administration and show no willingness to understand the dangers ahead.
At some point left unchallenged we will have put America near the end of our Democratic experiment and the next step might just be our last.
Yes we have forgotten and yes it can happen here.
At 81, post- Stroke, I am too irrelevant to be important, but "President"
Trump does Not care enough to Know...or know enough to Care. In his
Chronic Sociopathic Personality Disorder, his main Goal is to maintain
the Absolute Center Of Attention. Control is the Goal. I don't care about
My own situation....but I Grieve for the Future of our Children..
Sometimes the sanest reaction to an insane situation....is Insanity.
1
If you want to be heartened, and you want to fight this war the right way, and become empowered, and encourage your fellow citizens, read "Daring Democracy" and then get going. Everyone, and I mean, everyone, who cares about this beautiful experiment called America must participate if it is to survive and everyone is to prosper. It is NOT hopeless! That is what the oligarchs want you to feel. Do NOT give them what they want.
You can get a used copy on amazon for $7.50:
https://smile.amazon.com/Daring-Democracy-Igniting-Meaning-Connection/dp...
And tonight, CBS "60 Minutes" reported that the House just voted to allow licensed concealed weapons (guns) to be like a drivers license that will allow gun owners to cross state lines and enter states like New York and Californnia which outlaw concealed weapons.
Just what the NRA has always wanted. The Senate is next.
Where will We the People be?
3
This photo says a thousand words. White men-not a woman or person of color to be seen. I guess this says it all. I wish I did not see evil when I look at this but I do. This group of men have one goal in mind-the destruction of what this country once stood for-the dream is dashed. They are winning in their race to the bottom with the wretched Trump as their hood ornament.
2
Exactly right Mr. Blow. Trump is merely the latest in a long series of representatives for the true "deep state," the institutions, think tanks, media, and their associates who have worked for decades to deliver the nation's government to the ultra-rich. Americans have been distracted so long by war, identity politics, bogus scandals, and the game show drama of winners and losers, they've lost sight of, "the big game for all the marbles." Unless we wake up soon, the game is lost.
1
Like I've been saying for a long time, I'm much more afraid of Republicans than I am of ISIS. The ability of Republicans to do lasting damage to America far exceeds anything ISIS is remotely capable of. Charles - I agree Fox News is pure right-wing propaganda. In the future, I wish you and everyone at The Times would put quotation marks around News, since Fox "News" has nothing to do with news.
2
Yes about Fox, but let's remember it's been decades, DECADES of the right-wing drumbeat via talk radio. And the R's reap the rewards.
Another great piece by Mr Blow
Through all this it’s become clear that the more racist, nationalist and misogynistic Trump becomes the more white men and women support him.
We can keep on blaming Trump, but when do we look at ourselves?
2
Thank you, Charles, for bringing up gerrymandering, thus giving me yet another opportunity to propose a way certain to make American democracy truly small "d" democratic. Apportion every state's population by alphabetical grouping rather than by artificial and, now blatantly illegal, imaginary lines on a map.
Alphabetical apportionment would upend the stranglehold the oligarchy of America has on both parties but especially the Republicans. They would have to bribe every member of Congress, not just those in safe jurisdictions, making their shenanigans much more open and obvious. Every representative from every state would essentially be an at-large position, making them pay attention to the overall welfare and betterment of every citizen, not just those of a narrowly carved out few.
This along with the elimination of the Electoral College would assure a democratic America for centuries to come. Unless changes to bring about this or something similar are made, democracy in America will not last to the middle of this century.
80
This might be more democratic, in ways you describe, but it would quash opportunities for minorities to gain representation. Every state with a majority population would likely have a Congressional delegation that was determined by that population. The conditions under which that would not happen for the state as a whole, i.e., when it would offer a fair chance at minority representation, would also apply if Congressional districts were more sensibly drawn.
1
Well maybe the Smiths and Jones would have a broader view than the GOP, but how many votes would go to the Ortegas and the Wongs?
2
That seems like an arbitrary way to split up votes. In my state it would randomly mix voters from conservative, rural areas of the state with wealthy progressives and recent immigrants -- meaning that no group has fair representation. Candidates couldn't focus on local needs, and money would be even more important in winning an election because all candidates would have to campaign throughout the entire state. If you are in a state with over 50 representatives, they would all be advertising in the samer markets, which would be overwhelming and confusing.
If we don't want local districts then the second option is party lists of candidates -- you vote for the party, and if the party gets enough for say 10 candidates to win, the first 10 people on its list go to Congress. That is the approach used in many countries, but it puts a heavy emphasis on party rather than individual.
As a math teacher, I wonder about the option of simply giving a ratio of area to perimeter for each district. If the district can't have lots of irregular edges and long thin corridors because those add to much perimeter, the ability to gerrymander is significantly reduced. It is the degree of gerrymandering today that is the biggest issue.
1
Thank you, Mr. Blow. One hopes at least a few on the Left wake up to what's really going on. instead of just stewing endlessly in their cauldron of trumpHate.
This is why I advocate registering to vote now for those who haven't.
You don't wait until the last minute to do so.
It is also why I advocate learning as much about the persons one is voting for on that ballot as possible.
That includes judges, especially judges who we vote for.
It is important for any focus group to send out details about how judges have ruled in cases they have presided over.
Many are honest, but some only use their judgeship as a stepping stone into politics which affect us all.
One thing I hope the Trump presidency will teach us is that we all have a duty to be proactive citizens and to do our due diligence to protect ourselves.
VOTE!
It cost us nothing but a little time.
2
In the meantime, I am heartened by the "end run" around the government in Elon Musk's successful rocket deployment and the news that Jeff Bezos also is contemplating a rocket venture. Why I am excited is that these "end runs" display some of the best out-of-the-box thinking, and that is what is needed to solve the stodginess and meanness now evident in the corruption of this government. We will eliminate racism. We will make significant and lasting dents in poverty. We will accommodate the needs of all migrants who come to us. We will encourage our citizens to improve their own skills without the need to damn their neighbor's rise. We will change and become a better people. We will not wait for government to do it because we now have leaders that care only about those reflected in their mirrors. Our government is stagnant and smelly from lack of soul; let those Americans with the capacity and vision to move us forward do so with our heartiest blessings.
"... I am heartened by the "end run" around the government in Elon Musk's successful rocket deployment and the news that Jeff Bezos also is contemplating a rocket venture."
Can we round up the avaricious rich and load them onto the rockets and ship them to outer space? Free shipping if over a thousand?
1
And who signs the checks to do all this: The Kock Bros, the Mercers, the DeVos, Eric Prince, the Ricketts, .... not enough to be billionaires many times over, they want permanent control. Right now the Kochs are working to destroy workers' rights to paid sick leave.
3
Candace Byers, one wonders if those billionaires ever contemplate their mortality. I wonder how much money it would take to live forever. What is their point, really?
Correction: they have permanent control. And you'd better worry about having criticized these sacred cows.
1
In a Dystopian version of what is happening, they simply make it illegal to vote Democrat, thereby ensuring every Democrat voter cannot vote. That is the danger to democracy of restricting felons from voting. Lest you think I am being too paranoid, think back to the 1950s and anti American activities. Be warned..
4
Tectonic realignment? Where has Blow been? This has been going on for 8 years! In 2009 the Dems had a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, a 78 vote majority in the House & control of a majority of states. That all collapsed in 2010. A wave election brought a loss of 63 House seats, six Senate seats as well as massive loses at the state level. The GOP gained control of the Legislatures in North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, & won 29 governorships. These defeats didn't happen because of gerrymandering (or voter suppression), because Dems had control of the politics before 2010. In order for the GOP to use its power to entrench its majorities, it had to win those majorities in the first place. That happened because GOP poured resources into a workmanlike effort to win control over state politics, while Dems were obsessed with winning & holding the White House. Terrible mistake. Talk about putting the cart before the donkey! Governorships are now in Republican hands not just in battleground states like Michigan, Ohio & Wisconsin but also in blue states like Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. What do governorships and Senate seats have in common? They can't be gerrymandered. If Blow would take off the blinders he would see that the DP has lost touch not just with the working class, but with a much broader segment of American voters. When a party loses a statewide election, it’s always the product of a larger political failure.
4
Dear Mr Blow - respectfully, you are, partly, wrong. We should and we must stop our obsessive focus on Trump's outrage or chaos du jour. At least part of it is probably an act - like a magician who draws your attention away from the action to conjure his/her illusion. What is happening "below the radar" - and you point out a lot, but not all of it - it the real tragedy, and the game changer if Republicans and their allies are successful. But there is more; Trump and the Republicans are raping the environment, they are plundering education and they are pillaging consumer regulation and on and on. While we who oppose these fundamental changes in government and the judiciary are successfully distracted by the frippery of Trump's bombast, we are not as effective as we can be - we must be - in combatting them. This is the big game for all the marbles, as you say, so let's focus on what is important and win the game that counts!
1
This is a political cancer that's been ripening on the vine for decades. It accelerated when Clinton became President in 1993, after-which we saw every possible attempt, short of assassination, to bring him down. Bush moved back some of the progress made by Clinton, but once Obama got elected, the GOP rocket left the launchpad. On Day 1, McConnell announces the GOP will oppose everything proposed by Obama. They did that for eight years while moving full steam ahead with a voter suppression and disenfranchisement strategy across the country. McConnell refused hearings and a vote on Merrick Garland. Scott Walker, Governor of Wisconsin, recently decided if a GOP member of the state legislature vacates a seat, he won't allow an election to fill the seat for fear of a Dem winning. Today the GOP embraces a President who is openly, unabashedly racist and who works directly with a foreign adversary for the purpose of paying his debt and rigging our elections so the GOP retains rule.
This isn't-nor has it been-just about White Supremacy. It's about Republican Supremacy. It always has been. Their goal is the short and long-term, systematic deligitimization of democratic politicians and voters. So far it appears to be working. Between Gerrymandering and voter suppression/intimidation, etc., it may be past the point where the democrats can win the house. The mid-terms rely pretty-much on [all] women coming out in huge numbers. I suggest reading the new book: How Democracies Die.
5
"This isn't-nor has it been-just about White Supremacy. It's about Republican Supremacy. "
It's about White Republican Men Supremacy.
1
1. Mr. Blow admits that Democrats are seeking immigrants (non-Americans) in order to give themselves an electoral advantage. They are, and have been, using foreign influence to shape American elections. This is why they oppose immigration enforcement and favor incentives to illegal immigration, enticing people to come here and live in the shadows as second-class citizens--then dependent on legislative fixes from the Democrats. Nothing could be more cruel, more cynical, or more Machiavellian.
2. Requiring ID to vote is no more suppression than requiring ID to drive or fly is a restriction on our freedom of movement. The evidence is overwhelming that ID laws have not suppressed voting. Often voting participation increases in the aftermath of voter ID laws. Democrats claim they are passionate about the sanctity of voting, but resist the most obvious means of ensuring the integrity of voting. I wonder why.
3. During the last half of the 20th Century the Democratic Party dominated redistricting and was able to extract the most advantage from gerrymandering. During this entire period, liberals like Mr. Blow and the NY Times editorial board, never considered gerrymandering a crisis, but now that Republicans have the advantage, they consider it an existential threat to our Democracy. Thanks for another heaping of liberal hypocrisy.
2
Voting is a right, driving or flying is a privilege. And yes the Republicans have suppressed and are suppressing voting rights.
2
No. Mr. Blow. respectfully you shouldn't focus on Trump's vileness or faults or hypocrisy. None of those matter to his base. For those, they love him.
Focus on the lies he's telling them. That he is their champion, that he's making sacrifices for them, that he cares about them now and for the future. That's way they ignore everything else. The swindle is deep, cruel, and ruthless, and unless they see itl they don't give a flyer what you say.
1
While it is ludicrous to accept Donald J. Trump's hypocritical calls for "due process" as legitimate, it is also wrong to imply that all charges of sexual abuse are to be accepted as true. Due process is vital to our nation's supposed interest in fundamental fairness, even if the advocate is President Trump.
False charges happen. They occur in divorce cases or because someone wishes to retaliate, to get even, to get attention, to pick up a financial windfall if they're believed. Some charges are made by people with mental/emotional problems. Some charges may be made in error, in misreading someone's actions.
It was disappointing for many observers that his Senate colleagues pushed him out the door without benefit of a hearing -- of some form of "due process." Others not famous or wealthy have been fired, their reputations and finances ruined through biased procedures or the absence of process.
If Americans can't applaud President Trump, they must still demand fairness for those accused -- including President Trump.
Doug Giebel, Big Sandy, Montana
This tectonic realignment means that the majority of us will be indefinitely ruled by the minority. Everyone alive in this country today will be ruled by this minority, for decades.
Our votes will continue to count for less. Right wing federal court and Supreme Court judges will continue to rule in favor of actions stripping us of our Constitutional rights. If you believe this will not happen, recall that Korematsu v US was a 7-2 decision, stripping tens of thousands of native born Japanese Americans of their rights and forcing them into internment camps.
Absent a means to realistically split this nation, what does history tell us when these circumstances prevail for decades? It tells us that people who live under tyrannical regimes, if they are able to do so, leave. We will emigrate to nations which respect the rule of law and the rights of all citizens.
We in blue states value education, believe in equal rights and opportunities for all citizens, believe in science, believe that it is wrong to target racial and ethnic minorities and the LGBTQ community. Our red states neighbors -- and the right-wing judges Trump appoints -- believe in none of these things. We now know they want a vision of America that literally sickens us here in blue states.
Many thousands of us have already left. Tens of thousands more will follow in the next several years. We have no interest in having our blue state tax dollars subsidize the rest of a racist, hateful, ignorant nation.
4
Trump is the canary in the coal mine. Why?
Democracy is failing the average American--because it is failing to keep a rapacious capitalism in check.
It is not preventing huge financial corporations from ripping us off.
It is not preventing whack-os from running for office.
It is not protecting citizens from elected officials who want to suppress constitutional rights (beyond gun-control).
It is not preventing the draining of public funds that are needed for thriving communities.
It is not preventing elected official from using their gov. jobs for their own gains.
Our democracy, as it is now, is not turning out to be the bright, shiny magic bullet. But everything else is worse.
Why trump and his cronies are trying so hard to obstruct justice instead of working for the people elected by the people to obstruct justice ?
More or more it feels like some criminality is involved !
1
Realignment to a second rate nation is what is in the future. Britain, Spain and Austria, China and the Ottomans all had their moment as World Powers and then collapsed, due to administrative incompetence, greed and pointless wars.
I have always been mystified by the Republicans magical thinking that Militarism and Social Darwinism are going to keep the United States a first rate nation. History shows otherwise.
When the American collapse happens, the 1%ers will get on their Gulfstream V's and jet off to their offshore tax havens, ignore the mess they have made and blame the Democrats.
5
The photo accompanying this column is nauseating -- a crowd of old and middle-aged white men, most of them at least well-to-do or rich, celebrating their efforts to deny medical care to millions of Americans.
The policies of the Republican party are suicidal. A social safety net is crucial to maintaining the stability of a nation going through rapid social and economic changes, such as the accelerating automation of business and industry. Too much of this and eventually you have Venezuela. Or worse, revolutionary France. The ultra-rich have lost their minds. Greed has overcome their instinct for self-preservation.
2
Gerrymandering was started by democrats and continues to be practiced by the Democratic party. They've just been losing lately so haven't had the opportunity to create districts. The bias and arrogance evident in this piece is representative of the Democratic party and is why Trump is president.
Donald Trump -- with the knack of a street hustler at gathering a crowd and generating enthusiasm for any product he is trying to sell -- has been a very handy tool of Republicans in building an America of mostly wealthy, mostly white and mostly male conservatives for whom democracy is a dirty word.
Let’s face it, the one-track, anti-abortion message of Christian evangelicals could take the Republicans only so far. The pasty-faced salesmen of corporate welfare, tax cuts for the rich and trickle-down droplets of nothing for working people are extremely boring. They produce yawns instead of cheers.
In the march towards single-party autocracy, the plotting, but plodding, archconservative Republicans and the spotlight-craving kleptomaniac, Donald Trump, formed a symbiotic partnership.
Trump was taught or instinctively knew that voter suppression and compliant, conservative judges are the key.
That’s the big game which is afoot, and the bad guys are winning because they were smart enough to get a head start.
1
If we don't vote the party of robber barons out of office we deserve what we get. Personally, I'd like to see us join the 22 nations worldwide that compel their citizens to vote in elections. Australians who don't vote, for example, are fined. Compulsory voting would, of course, undermine Republican voter suppression laws, which is why it will never happen here.
1
It's the super wealthy. Koch, Mercers, and others enacting a plan that's been happening for years. The SCOTUS has followed their bidding to a tee.
1
I still can't understand what Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan get out this that is worth selling their souls for to hurt this country.
1
Mr. Blow makes a compelling case that the Republican leadership seeks to strengthen its dominance on both the state and federal levels. He implies that, in doing so, they plan to serve the interests of the country's conservative elite, presumably including both the corporate community and rightwing intellectuals.
Their scheme cannot succeed, however, unless they also maintain the support of Trump's base, millions of voters with no real connection to the conservative wing of this unwieldy coalition. The president won his narrow victory, after all, by promising to jettison the discredited tax and trade policies of Reagan Republicans. He lied, of course, as the tax law demonstrates. Even if this act of betrayal does not alienate his base, will its members readily transfer allegiance to a conservative successor when the useful idiot leaves office?
Currently, even with control of both elective branches of government, the GOP has managed to pass only one major piece of legislation during Trump's first year in office. Neither Ryan nor his predecessor has enjoyed much success in controlling the self-styled freedom caucus, the one part of the party that still seems to take seriously the GOP's commitment to fiscal austerity.
American political history has repeatedly confirmed the tendency of dominant parties to splinter. Trump's GOP poses a real danger to the well-being of the republic, but not because they threaten to create a one-party state.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Period. It's as simple as that.
I would like to think that if the Trump campaign can be proved to have colluded with Russia to put Trump in office, every horror detailed in this column can be undone, starting with the removal of the odious Neil Gorsuch from the Supreme Court.
If there was collusion, every decision and appointment made by the Trump administration would be "fruit of the poisoned tree". We'd need more than impeachment, we'd need complete erasure.
Mr. Blow has put his finger on what has been going on. But a big part of the problem has been the tendency of Democrats to play the political game on the Republican side of the field--to let the GOP normalize terms like "chain migration," to increase deportations (as Obama did) in a deluded effort to win GOP support for comprehensive immigration reform; to allow the Tea Party, which began as a Fox News AstroTurf movement, to represent itself as the spontaneous uprising of Americans being crushed by the rescue of the economy and the strengthening of the health care system; to (as Jeh Johnson did on Meet the Press yesterday) give John Kelly a free pass despite his racist statements and sexist actions; to foolishly shut the government down seemingly for no other reason than to weaken their own hand: to not, in short, face political reality. The list if Democratic capitulation
Everyone can wring hands all they want, but until the opposition party, the Democrats, come up with a coherent message and a straightforward, understandable five-point plan, all of this insight and ink spilled will be for naught. And some new, charismatic leadership might be helpful, too. I'm talking to you Nancy and Chuck....
1
An awful lot of hope for ridding the country of the criminals and traitors of this administration rests on Bob Muller's shoulders. It's reasonable to believe that the reason Mueller's investigation is taking so long is because he's discovering more and more crimes committed by more and more people, some connected to Russia, some not.
It's going to take more than Mueller's investigation. The investigation and Mueller is under threat from the crooks he's investigating.
We need a unified voice including the few brave Republicans left to rescue what's left of our decency as a country.
1
There is an express purpose for trump. It is exactly to distract people from what the Republicans are trying to do to this country. That has been obvious from day one. Not only do they give trump a pass on his bad behavior they actually aid and abet on a weekly basis. Wake up America!! This is not a drill!
This is why you should not hope Trump impeached. He creates inefficiency to implementing a truly odorous agenda. He is the Republican weak link and currently our best friend in government. But with sufficient participation this November the situation can be much improved. Vote and help someone else vote.
2
Yes, the attempt is a 'tectonic realignment' and it is not going to work.
Why? Because all this darkness, this take over of our democracy that has been hidden from view for far too long, is seeping out of the woodwork now in plain view.
Attitude winning over Aptitude got Donald this seat of president. Yes, we have been too complacent for too long. GOP, We are all wide awake and the 'pitchforks are rising'.
Our power, We the People lies in our state elections. You will witness an historical turn out , one for the history books. It will be a long journey taking Our government back to the middle. Donald and the posse who blindly follows, we are committed and are in it for the long-haul.
1
Even if Democrats gained more seats, the Republicans control the discussion of what allegedly matters in the country. With Fox News and an army of bots, we are busying ourselves with their priorities: immigration, deregulation, anti-environmentalism.
With trillions to spend, we are again engaged in an arms race, in a lunatic re-nuclearization of our planet. We are back to coal, back to oil, back to climate change denial. Everything destructive and self-defeating, everything that diminishes life on this planet for the many, with goodies for the few, that's what the GOP has set up as our national goals.
You see you seem to see something nefarious in appointing judges that agree with the philosophy of the selecting parties. I suppose you would instead expect to see conservatives seek to fill these posts with liberals? I guess that would make about as much sense as expecting Democrats to appoint conservative judges.
A futile attempt by Anglo Saxons to retain control even as they are losing it.
Blow has it exactly right. Indignant liberals consistently focus on the latest outrageous garbage spewed forth by Trump-- while ignoring or remaining blissfully uncognizant of what Blow aptly terms the "tectonic realignment" now taking shape in America. One day very soon liberal America is going to wake up and realize it's now living in a hyper-conservative dystopia. By then institutionalized repression and authoritarian, theocratic, corporate-controlled government will be so entrenched that there will be no chance of undoing the damage in our lifetimes-- perhaps ever. "How did this happen?!" has got to be number one on the list of Famous Last Words, especially when delivered in a despairing wail. Wake up, America! It's not too late to save this country from its impending horrible fate, but very soon it will be-- and then Night will come.
Nothing impresses me more about what a pack of lies are told about "equal protection of the law" than the 50 different ways of cheating people of equal representation at the federal level.
The US tells the whole truth about absolutely nothing it does.
An open question to America's great legal scholars:
If judges have been appointed by a president who has been impeached for criminal behavior in office, can his/her appointees be removed from their positions? Can those appointments be dovetailed into an impeachment as appointments made by — well, a gang leader — of a political party that has devolved — by any sane description — into an organized crime family? Can a U.S. Supreme Court, with its endelesly conservative 5-4 decisions, recognize the criminality — the treasonous behavior — of a party bent on destroying our fragile democracy for the sake of personal enrichment and power? Can that court deliberate and decide to return the government to those who understand the essence of true governance?
This question arises from witnessing the takeover by corporate shills in cabinet posts determined to undermine and even destroy the very departments they were charged to nurture and protect. Long before Trump was elected through a malfunctioning Electoral College, an ultra-conservative Republican agenda of taking control of the nation's electoral offices — and, too, the appointment processes at state and local levels — has been under way.
From the institutionalized Jim Crow policies of the Deep South to the use of uncontrolled campaign financing through mysterious Political Action Committees, and Citizens United, 18th century fears of rule-by-monarchs, have resulted in a takeover by "small-government" racist despots.
2
As has been expressed before, the termites are quickly and quietly eating away at the very internal foundational structures of America's constitutional democracy that are taken for granted in our high tech hyper stimulated society....And,Trump, using his not so slight of underhandedness delivers a devastating array of daily absurdities that fully engage the media in his elaborate and,breathtakingly puerile main stage event.
2
There are three areas in which the damage wrought during this administration is larger and more permanent than Donald Trump. Mr. Blow outlines one of those here--the quiet undermining of the basic structures and values of our government behind the scenes, the stacking of the deck. The second is the numbing of the American psyche in response to the horrors we can see. One can only maintain outrage for so long before sheer psychic exhaustion sets in, and what was unthinkable yesterday is, today, just one more bad thing. And third, and most serious, the planet is at risk. If that is not protected, the rest won't matter. These people are monsters.
1
All depressingly true. Even so, the thrust of history is with equality, and Time is the ferocious and unstoppable enemy of Republicans.
What an enlightening column. This is why our American democracy is on its death bed. It is obviously more than Trump. The eight years of Republican obstruction during Obama’s presidency, denyind him to appoint the new Supreme Court Justice, the voter suppression, gerrymandering, closing their eyes on meddling by a foreign adversary in our election, and the new tax law, all are part of this terryfying scenario planned and executed by the Republicans.
2
Charles,
If anyone is going to lead the charge, its you. So let's begin by stop calling them the GOP. There is nothing Grand or Ole about this Party. No, it is something caustic to this country's very soul, its democracy.
Yet it this party remains undefined.
It's a plutocracy buoyed by a base tragically immersed in the fear of immigration. It's their come from behind victory and self righteousness of entitlement that spurs their nationalist fervor even higher.
Real Republicans write columns in this paper, and often they are more outraged than we are. This is not the fiscal conservationism they avow, and more so, not the democracy they also seek.
I think these two forces, the sane left and right, need to begin real dialogue, even if just academic, about what to do about this unnamed party in power.
I think it starts with naming them. We all see very clearly now "The Tea Party" was just a sham.
1
One party in power. We’re watching our democracy collapse. Republicans show is repeatedly they’re not interested in how and why Russia meddled, nor are they interested in stopping further meddling. They’re cozy with the oligarchs and the Mercers and the Kochs. Power, money, might. If Democrats don’t pull off sweeping wins in November, I think we will be witness to the end of the US as we’ve known it.
1
Wait. So Mr. Blow is surprised that Republicans are attempting to advance their agenda, when they control both houses of congress and the White House for the first time in over a decade?
What did Mr. Blow expect? That Republicans would continue the policies of Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi?
Really?
1
Glad to see someone recognizing that the GOP is playing the long game to ensure themselves a lock onto political and judicial power, to free themselves to reshape the United States in the image of what they want to see: rich, white, protestant men in charge calling the shots for everyone else. Stack the deck so they can reward the wealthy, enrich the corporations, force LGBTQ people back into the closet and other minorities pushed back again to the back of the bus. Women's bodies and reproductive choices are controlled the same men who want to push them out of the boardroom and back to scrubbing the bathroom, all while barefoot and pregnant. The poor and unemployed can just starve and the elderly and the sick and disabled can just die. Meet the new Gilead, we're all to be their handmaids.
1
Oh, it would behoove us?--- to focus on the rw’s titanic moves to realign society? What in the world do you think has been painfully obvious?
Such a hard hitting column, and so specific---but leaves out campaign finance. Too dull? Or what?
Today's corporate mega donors use our Founders' words --Freedom, liberty, individuality, small govt. But the US revolution rejected an elite class dominating lawmaking for its own gain---and our loss.
Re all the problems you list, our richest donors tether lawmakers we elect, define norms, limiting policy. Our system blocks any reform that defies the profit motive. Richard Painter, Bush’s ethics lawyer, in a past NYT op ed said our politics “is a protection racket----if politicians don’t play ball, their donors threaten to run somebody against them in a primary who will”.
That’s why we’re the only modern nation where health care and education are major profit centers.
Polls show majority opinion actually differs from the rich megadonors on most issues---taxes, health care, jobs, regulations, guns, education/retirement costs. But we can’t compete to influence policy affecting our lives.
Charles, are you aware that EU countries ban the paid political ads the flood our media and manipulate voters, costing billions? Abroad they limit private donations, use public funds set aside, and free media time. Also use independent commissions to draw voting districts. How basic is that for any democracy? What’s your opinion, Charles?
Even with all the Republicans are doing it will not stop the demographics. Women , those under 45, non whites are all growing in per cent of the vote. The Republicans can only delay the inevitable.
Even with all of these measures in place, the Republicans seal the deal by rigging the final election results.
It occurs to me that while we compose these considered responses, wealthy corporate types are using algorithms to tailor their message to every individual voter in the country (remember Cambridge Analytica.)
Many voters do not read this newspaper. They may have local, financial, religious or xenophobic concerns, which can be manipulated. Algorithms target each American where he or she lives. We are in grave danger of being programmed to vote for the oligarch's choice.
2
Spot-on:
"In short, conservatives are using every possible means to permanently lock in power, wealth and influence for the existing, predominantly white and predominantly male power structure."
The GOP is working relentlessly toward the creation of a corporate-theocratic one-party apartheid state, and has been for decades. That's their goal, full stop. That is their "solution" to a more cosmopolitan and diverse America.
While they're only about one-quarter of the populace, they are fundamentally aligned toward that goal. The three-quarters of the country that's not part of their agenda needs to mobilize in the midterms and beyond, lest the GOP's war on democracy succeed.
1
Well written. Very scary stuff. I agree with all of it, *except* putting racism as a core motivation for the GOP/Republicans. If racism were at the core, there would be no African-American republicans at all.
Racism and xenophobia are just tools that they use, just like Democrats use racism as a tool: see, for example, positions of my rep Pramila Jayapal of Washington's 7th district.
The awful Steve Bannon was right about this: every time the Democrats use identity politics' racism (e.g. the BLM movement) it helps the GOP/Republicans.
One thing people must learn if they're ever going to fight back effectively against the GOP: racism is bad news. Don't do it, whether the target is African-Americans or European-Americans. The USA is a country of immigrants and diversity, and we need to celebrate that as a source of our strength, and not ever actively drive people apart from each other.
Voter registration and turnout, turnout, turnout are the tools we can use to reclaim our democracy.
I watched "Soylent Green" again this week end. I was struck by the 1973 movie's dystopian view, not because they were turning old people into food. That seemed like a fairly rational but grotesgue use of a remaining resource. What was striking was the enviromnemtal devastation of the land and sea and the urban overcrowding that made it necessary. The bigget threat of the conservative and ignorant GOP is the failure to confront the ecologic disaster that "Soylent Green" depicted in 1973. Mr. Blows fears of loss of our rights from this Techtonic Realignment are nothing compared to the loss of rights and life caused by their ignorance and refusal to deal with the devastation of the planet. Voting rights and gender equality are mear trivialities if you are homeless and starving.
1
And the biggest rig of all for the future...skewing the education system to limit critical thinking that helps citizens make sense about complex issues.
And Pelosi and Schumer are not up to the job of the opposition.
2
Trump is definitely just the tool so that white male Republicans can stay in power. Then, they will change after the Trump presidency and claim moral superiority again. They will act like Trump never existed, which will be good, but it will be hard to wash this stain off America. For the sake of America, I hope it will be just a blip on its history and that it can overcome.
1
It is the responsibility of the Democratic party at all levels to articulate effective opposition which usually requires reasonable and understandable alternatives. No news at all that these predominantly white men are continuing destructive policies that they originated. What is disappointing and will likely prove to be destructive is the absence of a leading and respected voice of not just rebuttal but sanity. The GOP is filling a vacuum and no matter how self-serving, they will continue. Because their goals and strategies as well-known, opposition strategies should, you would think, be in place by now. Give me a Democrat with the eloquence of a Roosevelt, the appeal of a JFK, the folksy grass-roots totally unafraid grit of Ann Richards and the dignity of a Bob Graham and watch some new ideas start creeping into page one of this newspaper and Sunday morning talk shows.
WHY?
Why are Republicans elected on every level of government in large numbers even with gerrymandering when the electorate cuts off their head for the 1%, corporations, despoilers of the land, at the cost oftheir own well- being?
Is it they are fearful of others getting something for nothing? Are they so worried about changing demographics, a new morality on gender identity. abortion, or the global economic change that they vote against their very social and economic welfare in the hope the tide of change will move back to the happy days of the fifties? Wait, the fifties happy days were a myth of gigantic misperception. So WHY?
I don't know but just maybe Trump is so terrible and the Congress so apparently hypocritical about deficits, a phony tax cut, and a trade policy that still tilts toward the SWAMP CREATURES of internationalism ( and I'm not sure that is bad in long run) and a non policy on climate change, along with sexism, immigrant bashing and a general incompetence will end the pox of regression?
Just maybe voters will realize that the warts of dems on issues they find disturbing are a minor compared to the cancer of Trump and a conservative oligarchy taking us back to the Gilded Age.
2
Republicans find it necessary to suppress democracy because they know they can't win on a fair playing field. Their game is to talk up what people in the middle of the country think and then use their victories to serve the needs of their clients, the mega-rich, the merely wealthy and the merchant class generally. Virtually everything they do in aimed at protecting and extending the wealth of those with piles of money and assets.
Add to the list of those making it harder to vote college towns and, by extension, colleges. Generally, modest size college towns don't want students to vote because it could skew local results in a more liberal way. In turn, state supported colleges discourage students from declaring residency, even when working locally and paying taxes, because it could mean lower tuition payments.
This is a glaring example of how principles get bent to serve the needs of those who can bend them. The kids are learning all about democracy and history and being suppressed out of their rights by the very colleges they attend. Instead, being registered and voting should be the number one civics lesson: democracy means very little without active participation.
One other question: why does Paul Ryan always paste that stupid flat grin on his face, as in the photo with this column? You get the feeling he wear the same expression at the funeral of a close relative.
2
I watched "American experience" recently about the 1890's when the people mounted effective campaings against the dire and exploding inequalities. JP Morgan, Carnegie and their 0.01% capos de capis poured money in the presidential election, republican McKinley won 51-46.7% and 271-176 in the electoral college. No wonder we got citizen united, no wonder they want to defund PBS... Old tectonic.
1
This is what southern whites did after losing the Civil War. Today's Republican Party is the true heir of the southern "Redeemers" and they are trying to apply to the entire nation the sort of reactionary measures used during the Jim Crow era. It won't work in the long run, but it will take a lot of time and effort to stop this attempt to turn back the clock.
1
In some other countries, citizens take to the streets to protest corrupt government, there are nationwide strikes and dishonorable and unscrupulous leaders are deposed. Not so in the US. Here, we write comments to newspapers.
I could not agree with Charles Blow more - the focus on Trump frankly delights the Republicans because the headlines are always about the latest Trump insult, lie, misstep, what-have-you. Meanwhile, the Republicans are dismantling everything the Republic has and should stand for.
And, the sad part is that Trump is still riding high with a 80+% approval raring amongst Republicans. There is clearly no wake up call that will change those voters' minds. No proof of collusion with foreign enemies, no amount of corruption, no gross ineptitude, no proof of lies and deception will sway the Republican voter from their laser focused goal or remaking the country to benefit their corporate and 1% masters.
The only hope Democrats and Progressives have in 2018 (and, I fear, 2020) is turnout, turnout, turnout. VOTE! Help register voters. Tell your freinds and family to vote! Drive people to the polls on election day. Write postcards encouraging people to vote. It does no good to bemoan the destruction of the Republic - we need to do something to stop its final destruction - and that is to VOTE!
1
Our run-of-the-mill Trump supporter cannot see the forest for the trees here. They love him because he is as uninformed, reactive, ignorant, and dishonest as they are. I am so tired of hearing "Just give him a chance. He'll be a good president." No I can't and no he won't. Trump and the GOP are using each other for their own ends. When the Trump Era is over--if it ever is--in four or eight years, someone just like him will take over. By that time there will be little or no democracy left. We may well openly be a satellite or province of Russia. Packing the courts with radical conservative judges, suppressing the vote, making abortion criminal, establishing a state religion, privatizing government functions and agencies, and destroying our immigration system are all part of the plan. Charles Blow is right. When are we going to start listening and acting as if our lives depended on it? Wake up and resist; They do.
1
It has become obvious that Trump is allowed his wild chaos in order to divert attention away from Republicans moves to make America super conservative ,
white and male. To them the best time was during the Eisenhower years tho Eisenhower was not a bigot and was honourable.
i have been making these points for four years or more...this is a coordinated takeover, Trump is a tool or ploy, etc. Thanks, Charles.
corrected:
Republicans find it necessary to suppress democracy because they know they can't win on a fair playing field. Their game is to talk up what people in the middle of the country think and then use their victories to serve the needs of their primary clients, the mega-rich, the merely wealthy and the merchant class generally. Virtually everything they do is aimed at protecting and extending the wealth of those with piles of money and assets.
Add to the list of those making it harder to vote college towns and, by extension, colleges. Generally, modest size college towns don't want students to vote because it could skew local results in a more liberal way. In turn, state supported colleges discourage students from declaring residency, even when working locally and paying taxes, because it could mean lower tuition payments. This is a glaring example of how principles get bent to serve those who get the chance to corrupt.
The kids are learning all about democracy and history and being suppressed out of their rights by the very colleges they attend. Instead, being registered and voting should be the number one civics lesson: democracy means very little without active participation. Democracy is dead without eager voters and active citizens.
One question: why does Paul Ryan always paste that stupid flat grin on his face, as in the photo with this column? You get the feeling he'd wear the same expression at the funeral of a close relative. What's he always happy about?
2
The ONLY solution is for Democrats to vote in such large numbers that voter suppression efforts are meaningless. Vote. Vote. Vote!
This is all about the approximate year of 2042, and the browning of
America. I rarely hear this discussed in the news on TV or print.
Tom Steyer is wasting millions of dollars, almost 30 million so far, on
useless TV adds calling for the impeachment of the president.
$3,600,000 dollars could register, get photo ID's, birth certificates, for the
entire state of Alabama for those who are now disenfranchised; AND drive
them the polling booths, and to the DMV to get drivers licences.
This nonsense by the repubs has been going on for years. Enough.
As individuals lets do some real work, real good and help get people the
"papers" they need to vote, and get them out to vote.
1
When then-candidate Trump made his hideous remarks about a Mexican-American Judge being biased, Paul Ryan said that the comment was the definition of racism - but hastened to add that his support would not change, as Trump was likely to enact Ryan's agenda. That mentality got McConnell and other Congressional Republicans to endorse a vile person, and is why Trump is still their guy.
And look at the dividends! Trump placed a Supreme Court vacancy stolen under McConnell's planning. The individual mandate, which made the ACA possible, was killed in the Republicans' tax bill, since they failed repeatedly to construct a viable alternative to Obamacare. Jeff Sessions is driving the Justice Department back to yesteryear, a feat so important that even Sessions is willing to be publicly humiliated for the power.
These were some spectacular triumphs for a political platform so spectacularly backwards-looking. No wonder so many were willing to tie their lot in with Donald's poor character. They're not better themselves.
1
You know, reading this list of facts could easily convince someone that democracy itself is at risk of becoming a quaint notion of the past. And what better way of preserving this fictitious, idyllic past than through force?
No wonder DT admires foreign dictators - no threats to their power base, no messy checks & balances, no pesky reporters digging up uncomfortable details and telling everyone about them.
If you're a rich, white guy you're embarking on a golden age.
1
American power and its originating value system is being diminished globally. That system in time will collapse internally.
Reason; the current Republican administration and its supporting media and have demonstrated proof of an American internal cohesive strength that is nationally self-destructive. This cohesive self-destructiveness was also evident during the Obama Administration with Republican control of congress.
It is supported through a system of belief encapsulated by the expression: “Neo-Liberalism.”
A drawback is that it gives full rein to the dark neurotic psychotic side of human impulse. That impulse is in a sense driven by narcissism. For those who subscribe, there is no compromise. It is like a religious belief.
It is also ethically problematic. Those who adhere become blinded to the suffering of the downtrodden, and the suffering that will follow as we continue to do harm to our planet.
It all spells a very sad future for the country.
www.InquiryAbraham.com
2
Duh! Carl Rove announced years ago the Republican plan was to get total control. Why didn’t people pay more attention? Obama’s presidency (race) made the white/male/Evangelcal folks even more resolute! They slowly, using the media, with new technology a bonus in their quiver, got us to the point where a “Trump” became acceptible as their “poster boy.” And by supporting and enabling him they have turned a political party into a cult! They have created something outside the usual boundries of political/historical analysis. Cult leaders demand total loyalty and worship. Reason doesn’t apply. It doesn’t matter what Trrump says or does - he has the “faith” of his supporters, the former Repulican Party. Cults are by definition unmoved by reason or science. Remember those televised cabinet meetings where one by one the members extoled Trump and swore fealty? I wouldn’t even describe other wannabe autocrats’ supporters as cults. But that’s what we have in power now - because we all were too naive - and lazy - to pay attention to what was unfolding right in front of us. And those who tried to warn us were dismissed as crazies. We - with all its faults - had a great thing going in our evolving democracy. We were on a path envied world over. But we abandoned nurturing and paying attention - doing the hard work of caring for a “seedling” - to satisfy naked greed for wealth and power. Now, we have the cult of Trumpism. It’s time to reframe the analysis. We are in uncharted territory.
1
Short but sweet: Bingo!
I don't really think what is happening in America has a whole lot to do with the things mister Blow mentions - I don't even know what the "patriarchy" is other than a slogan; I'm a man, am I a member? When are the meetings? I think the fundamental issue is the corporate takeover of the country. It's about money, keeping what you've got and getting more. Corporations own politicians and corporations write legislation. The problem with congress is not that there aren't enough women or blacks or Latinos; the problem is that too many members of congress are rich and want to get richer. The way our election are run ensures that the wealthy will always be the majority in government and they will almost always look after the interests of the wealthy. Identity politics is just a tactic, a diversion; divide the country into warring tribes and they won't notice what you are really up to.
1
There is also the late Nov. 2017 plan authored by Calebresi and Hirji to pack the federal courts: http://yalejreg.com/nc/the-administrative-law-angle-of-the-calabresi-hir... . This was proposed at the Federalist Society National Lawyers Convention.
"...proposal recommends at least 61 new circuit judges and 200 new district court judges. It is this recommendation that has gotten the most publicity and outcry, and perhaps deservedly so."
For those with more legal background, the proposal summary is included at the link above.
Here is a more complete list of Trump's federal judicial nominations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_federal_judges_appointed_by_Donald... .
There is good reason to be concerned.
1
Speak, Mr. Blow. Trump is the smoke an mirrors to hide the real dismantling of democracy and the institutions of the U.S. We can laugh at his flapping hair and shake our heads in disgust at his behavior and words, but it is all a distraction, bread and circus to keep us occupied while the Wall Streeters run amok, the courts are packed with ideologues, health and environmental agencies are hollowed, etc.
That said, what are we to do? The powers arrayed against progressives and the desire for advancement for all people seem overwhelming.
Only an economic debacle will save us
Trump's scary because he's primarily ruled by insecurity and impulse; the GOP is scarier because they're ruled by calculation and an endless thirst for power. There is no reasoning with either of them.
3
We need the political and social versions of a telephoto lens, one end looking close to our chest so we can push back against Trump's intemperate personality and querulous grasp of the law. That will give us the picture of the world next us at this moment, the devils in it, and the angels to listen to. The longer end is what Mr. Blow writes about, what lies farther away than the here anow. It's the lifetime of Bar Association rejects now accepted as judges, the longterm effects of I,,igration cutoff, the longterm effects of sciene-denial, pension-losses, and medical benefits withdrawn. The lifetime effects of Education policy, of voter blocking, and of election interference toleration. And the longterm costs of rejecting CIA, NSA, FBI, and State Department expertise and the sunbstitution of conservative ideologies.
Get the picture: Pain and suffering now, a sellout to anti-democratic notions longterm. It's stupid to see this, it's dehumanizing to have people rant and vote. It's humiliating to watch declines in lif expectancy, census work, bankcontrol, treaty alliances, civil liberties legislation, and the progress won so recently for and by women, Latinos, and color minorities. Democracy itself is reeling under conservative state and federal decisions, Only the streets and the ballot box can stop tRump, with help from a free press -- all things Trumpian must be stopped and replaced.
An excellent accounting of Mr. Trump's devastating impact on the country, missing only Mrs. Clinton's accurate description of him as a creep.
1
You (and the Democratic Party) are a little slow coming to this conclusion. State legislative election results in 2010 and 2014 should have set hair on fire throughout the party. Instead we got sheepish looks and a civil war over presidential politics.
We saw it in Germany, we saw it in Japan, we saw it infecting countries like Hungary, Czechoslovakia and elsewhere from the Pacific region throughout all of Europe and the Middle East. And we saw it ended with the first and so far the only use of an Atomic Bomb. Now it has infected the United States of America, the most powerful nation of all. Greed and seizure of power on the one hand, misery and death on the other. Can we put a stop to it before it is too late?
2
Democrats have to turn out in droves this November. If they can take back Congress and state governments they must undo the gerrymandering, not to favor democrats but the voters, make it easier to vote, and oust as many of the judges the illegitimate president has appointed.
"We have met the enemy and them is us" said a cartoon character long ago. "Never underestimate the stupidity of the American people" said a long ago pundit.
Who could not have seen this coming? Donald Trump was a known quantity in New York and and on national television. All of his faults have been on display for years but he was elected anyway by voters who who do not think but emotionally react. All Trump had to tell them was that he would turn the clock back to 1955 and that he hated the same people they did.
The god, guns. and anti-gay crowd was wowed by a thrice married philanderer who has never experienced anything those voters feel they have.
The Republican money men have never cared about any of the social issues so dear to these voters but they have played them like a violin. All the money men care about is low taxes, low levels of regulation, and cheap compliant labor. They have their guy in Trump. The supposed party of fiscal responsibility and family values has no shame and their base voters have no brains.
1
I'm appalled at the way Trump is governing but there's something incredibly hypocritical about this column. If Democrats controlled the Presidency and both house of Congress don't you think they would be trying to stack the judiciary with liberal judges. If they did would Blow be as upset? Nope. By the way how many conservative judges did Obama appoint? If all the illegal immigrants coming to this country were likely to vote Republican would that change the Dems stance on open borders? Yep! Gerrymandering? Democrats are just as guilty as GOP when it comes to gerrymandering. That isn't a myth. Gerrymandering by a party (say, Republicans) creates safe Democratic seats. It's in a Democrat politician's self interest to help the Republicans gerrymander, even though collectively the Democrats suffer. The Democrats don't oppose gerrymandering itself; the only oppose gerrymandering when the other guys do it. In Democrat-controlled states, Dems still gerrymander & show no signs of stopping that practice. Their only real complaint is what it's always been: The Democrats have fewer opportunities to game the system because the Republicans control more & more of the states. Give us a break on the fake outrage & the tectonic realignments. Political parties....both Democrat and Republican do what is ever necessary to maintain power. That's the way the system has always worked for good or bad for the past 242 years. Don't like what the Republicans are doing then win more elections.
1
And let’s not forget that in addition to suppression of democracy via gerrymandering and voter suppression, the government is allowing more and more giant corporations to merge, effectively reducing the public space for information, services, and competition. We not only pay more to get less choice, but these corporations are beholden to those who allowed their creation. It maddens me beyond belief that there seems no way to stop this, but certainly focusing on the myriad ways the American public is being harmed would be a gray place to start.
1
The Republicans have captured a 1000 seats across the country during the last 8 years. The incompetence of the Democrats and their leaders-Obama, Clinton, Pelosi, Schumer-is not even mentioned. Fortunately, two are gone and the others on their way. The insurrection Bernie started will topple this house of fools.
4
Wyoming has fewer than 600,000 residents and two US senators. Combined, North and South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming have a population of less than 3 million people, and 8 senators (7 Republican, and Jon Tester of Montana). There's plenty of space, let's build a few retirement communities and an Apple/Google/Amazon campus and with a little internal immigration we can fix this. Much easier than a constitutional convention, which is what we really need.
7
Mr. Blow is absolutely correct on all of these issues. Yes, the GOP, via the Trump effect, is attempting to set up an apartheid state. But how should the Dems combat these threats in a media environment where the talking heads insist always that 'both sides do it' even when that's not remotely true? By advocating economic policies that will expand the electorate: Single Payer, minimum wage, cancelling student debt, breaking up monopolies, etc. Yes, that will cause issues with the donor class, but there's no choice at this point.
2
Like so many, I find this very discouraging. But I know, and I hope you all know that the elites have failed in the past to spectacular effect.
Oligarchs tend to forget that their greed in the past resulted in revolution. And the more oppressive and greedy they were, the more violent it was. And this, truly, is what I fear. I pray they allow an election this year to right the course, for their own sakes, and that of the country.
We have to show up. At every election. In every town. Every city. Every state. And not take "no" for an answer.
6
You are making the point Bernie Sanders made when he tried to crack the Democratic party's ossified structure: It would do no good to simply elect Bernie President if you don't send enough Democrats to Congress and the Senate. The Republican Party, by whatever means, managed to sweep the entire government, all 4 branches (House, Senate, Supreme Court, President.) Until and unless the Dems can figure out what happened, the Fox Right Republicans will prevail.
If all the Dems have to say to the public has to do with the Russian connection, #MeToo, sad stories about victims whether they are immigrants, women or the homeless or drug addicted, I suspect the Republicans will remain in power.
In purple states like mine, these stories don't play.
We are still trying to figure out up here how Trump came within a hair's breadth of winning this state.
Which is to say, we still do not know what hit us November 8, 2016.
1
Charles Blow is correct. Getting rid of Trump will not fix things. The 2018 Elections, (if there ARE any), will not fix things. The GOP is not fighting Trump because they agree with everything he does. They're in the home stretch of a coup d'etat begun over 40 years ago, and are readying to deliver the coup de grace to everything America supposedly stands for.
In my opinion, every single, solitary GOP voter and many Democrats too agree with this, no matter how much hand-wringing they do, or crocodile tears they shed in the presence of people of color.
They wanted those policies to be enacted no matter what they might say to the faces of the targeted people they may know, which is why they voted these people in.
They should NOT be believed or trusted!
2
Over forty years ago the American Legislative Exchange Council began laying the groundwork for much of what Mr. Blow describes. Now that the Republicans have clearly abandoned any claim to being the party of fiscal responsibility with their staggering increases in debt in a time of a full-employment economy, it seems that ALEC has lost control of its monster.
2
And let's not forget that for years, the goal has been to create a permanent Republican majority.
Additionally population distribution projections are on the GOP side. In 2050, 70% of the population will live in 15 states and thus will be represented by only 30 senators. These 15 states will include the nation's current megacities and democratic strongholds, along with new ones in Texas and Florida ( depending on climate change). Even if Texas and Florida turn blue, they will be dwarfed by red states. Imagine a McConnell-like Majority leader ( too early in the morning ?) with a 70 seat majority.
1
There is no rational justification whatsoever to deprive people of equal representation in the selection of judges and executive branch officers, as well as ratification of treaties with foreign nations. US Senate apportionment is a kick in the teeth to public sanity.
This has been the goal all along and the tide has been rolling mostly in for quite a while! If we don't come out in record shattering numbers later this year and in 2020 and then continue to do so in every upcoming election, the tide will become a tsunami and devour US.
Like climate change, we are approaching a point of no good return.
2
Essential background reading on this is Nancy MacLean's "Democracy in Chains" It is important for every American to understand WHY this is happening. It's not just to win more elections. It's because the super rich who fund these things, the Kochs and others, have concluded decades ago that the changes they want (the end of ALL social welfare programs like Social Security and Medicare, among others), will NEVER be approved of by the great majority of voters. Hence, their first step is to make sure it's built PERMANENTLY into the system that what the voters of this country want will never, ever have any impact. The systematic dismantling of Govt agencies under Trump, voter suppression, gerrymandering, court appointments, are all means to that end. It's a terrifying, evil plan and we have to see it clearly. We may be only a few years from it being too late to stop it.
4
Charles Blow ends his column, saying that "..the most powerful conservatives.. are betraying their... values, ignoring the moral conundrum and continuing to support Trump.." . But it is not obvious that they are betraying anything: their "values" or morality is hardly different from Trump's. When it comes to "..power, wealth and influence for the existing, predominantly white and predominantly male power structures", the most powerful conservatives and Trump are tied at the hip
2
Well said. Its important to remain diligent in the face against any assault on our democracy. Clinton controlling of the DNC through the primaries is another excellent example that should be discussed more to ensure that it doesn't happen again.
What this is about may technically be called a "realignment" but that implies that we are "aligning," "re-" or otherwise our democratic institutions.
That isn't it at all. It is about reducing our democratic institutions to nullities, to permit a robber-baron class to rule for their own exclusive benefit totally without regard to any will of the citizenry.
They seek to end "The Great Experiment" of our Founders in favor of an inherited aristocracy, replacing democracy with plutocracy and authoritarianism.
During the rise of mass communications in the 1920s and 1930s, our government recognized that it posed a threat, as the moneyed interests would control the tools of broadcasting and would use it to their advantage to achieve such an end. They therefore put into place rules governing ownership of broadcast properties and defined the responsibilities of those granted use of the public airwaves to present all sides of contentious political issues.
But these rules have all been rescinded now, and the result is precisely what was feared -- the end of American democracy and the end of government of, by and for the people.
What can be done about it now? I do not know. Despotism seems to be our future unless something is done to stop it, and the subversion of our courts may make this a very difficult task.
1
Thank you, Charles, for bringing this into the light. Every year The Economist publishes a map indicating the state of democracy in the world. The most recent map showed the United States as a "flawed", as opposed to a "full", democracy. Your article adeptly outlines why.
2
This is what the red states want. With the population moving to larger cities in blue states, the majority of electoral votes will be decided by fewer people in the future. That bodes well for demagogues like Trump, McConnell, Ryan, and the Koch brothers to continue colluding to turn this country into a place we won't recognize in 25 years.
1
The only hopeful aspect of what Charles correctly outlines as the GOP-Trump plan is that it is not so much a "realignment" as it is a further and stronger attempt to hold back the forces of democratic movement that have moved us forward inch by inch in recent decades.
Tell it to the elderly followers of Dr. King, that we are in the midst of a "realignment." They will tell you there was never an "alignment" that included them when they were young, only a white "alignment" that excluded them which, over the years in fits and starts, is in the process of being dismantled.
Witness how recently the Courts have struck down several GOP controlled States efforts to further exclude minority and poor Democratic party voters.
My point is not to oppose Charles underlying thesis - that we are in the midst of a fierce fight to support and enhance voters rights. It is to say we must fight to continue the progress (surely insufficient) that has been made in the past decades but do so in the knowledge that whatever temporary setbacks are experienced we have been winning and will continue to win.
Take heart. To paraphrase Zola - Truth (and Justice) are on the march and nothing and no one can stop it!
2
Even though I am appalled by Trump and the Republican agenda, I think that we in the opposition should be honest with ourselves. Republicans win elections because eligible voters with a stake in the outcome don't vote. Let's stop making excuses for them and bring them to the polling booths. The Democratic machines of the past knew how to do it and if we can't do it then we don't know enough to govern.
Excellent article. As commentary bringing together many points, it obviously does not have a heap of new information (if you've been paying any attention), but in a time of endless circus, it reminds us to be mindful. Here is is what is really going to matter.
What the Democrats need to focus on now is 1) agree not to castigate, denigrate or humiliate one another in primaries. 2) do a Ross Perot style flipchart of five things-- simply presented FACTS-- about economic RESULTS under Democrat v Republican Administrations. 3) find five things related to these that they agree on with respect to economic policy and those five facts and drive them home repeatedly, repeatedly, repeatedly. Every Democrat running for office has to stick to the message and not get sidetracked. There is no room for in party fighting. There is no room for a muddy message.... Keep it simple and clear. The Democrats have a good economic record that most Americans don't seem to realize. Let Mueller do his job. He is more than capable. The job of the Democrats now is to be elected.
2
To be clear.... the only way to undo the damage mentioned in the article is to get elected
It's been obvious for some time that "stable genius" Trump is used to gin up his base by attacking recent immigrants, women and people of color while the Republicans who will maintain power long after Trump is gone are achieving that goal by stacking the courts, often with people who have seriously unqualified. And it has precedent. Remember Nixon appointing Harold Carswell and insisting that"mediocre" people deserve representation too. The republicans never change
1
The GOP is and has for some time been a minority party. Its presidential candidates have won the popular vote only once, in 2004, since 1988. So, of course it relies on increasingly radical efforts--even denying a hearing for President Obama's last Supreme Court nominee--to maintain power. Gerrymandering, voter suppression, mass incarceration and denial of voting rights to those who have served their time, are all part of it. The GOP's unrelenting attack on organized labor, which provides voice and power to working people and generally supports the Democratic Party, is also part of it. And these efforts are all funded by big money from plutocrats, like the Koch brothers, who have been facilitated by the Supreme Court's horrendous Citizen's United decision. Small wonder the GOP's interest in defending our elections from foreign interference has been so tepid. The GOP has little use for free elections and voting rights. It's willingness to rig the rules domestically suggests a willingness to accept a hand from hostile foreign powers.
2
To the victor belongs the spoils, right? It was true in Caesar's time, and it's true today. And since our democratic system requires that we abide by the rules, we progressives must be the victors in the next two elections.
Our foe is formidable. He has all three divisions of our goveernment and much wealth. He is moving to disestablish our hard-won social safety net. And pollute beyond repair the planet we are living on.
We must not let a one-time bonus suffice for good wages. Good wages require unions to represent us--just like our representatives in congress should, but don't. Let's vote for representatives who have the good of all of us in mind.
The companies that afforded our grandparents and parents security have disappeared. We have nothing to restore our security but our vote.
And don't be fooled. They are very tricky.
1
Glad to see you woke up. All of this has been in evidence since he first started campaigning. Also in evidence is an intense desire to believe it can’t be happening. I guess when people see their social security and medicare funding used to pay for a third world dictator parade, they’ll begin to get it. The only question-will the recession that will destroy the middle class be noticeable to most people just before or after that parade? It has already sbegun, just look at all of the businesses that have closed and the vacant new high rise high rent property...
One group's contribution to this effort has gone largely unacknowledged, the press, specifically broadcast journalism. Starting in the 70s, local television news began dumbing down reporting, focusing on sensationalist live coverage of crimes and disasters to increase ratings and profits. Twenty years later Fox News in partnership with the GOP was able to leverage a base of these new journalists and a trained audience to further segment American society. Russian hacking was one result as foreign intelligence agencies recognized that Americans no longer had a dependable check on false information. Another has been constantly reducing trust in journalism, as newspapers disappear and Americans increasingly realize something is wrong with what remains of the fourth estate.
1
“A recent request by the Department of Justice to add a question on citizenship to the 2020 census could threaten participation, and as a consequence, affect the allocation of federal money and distribution of congressional seats.”
Oh the horror if illegal immigrants weren't tallied when it comes time to allocate congressional seats (and therefore electoral votes for future presidential elections) or distribute federal largesse derived from the tax dollars of honest U.S. citizens. I'd love to hear Democrats demand that illegal immigrants count as much as native-born, law-abiding citizens in political calculations. My guess is that argument will fall flat with a majority of the people who will actually vote in November.
1
Understanding where the real front line is, is key to winning a war. Blow's excellent piece lists the various battles we are engaged in and, like Riane Eisler's visionary work on the Domination System we're all stuck in, he pulls us from the smoke of battle and shows us the distant, horrifying, wide front line.
1
This is all true. What's not true, though, is the implication that Liberals would react any differently if we had a president who was deeply flawed as a person but was implementing policies that would ensure liberal ideals would hold sway for decades. Just like the Conservatives, we'd conclude, without openly admitting it, that it was kind of nice to have someone basically abusing the powers of the office to create what we truly believe would be a better country for everyone.
1
Mr. Blow, we've got to get the money out of politics. The devastating effects of Citizens United (2010) and McCutcheon (2014) turned our country into a plutocracy--government by the wealthy.
Disproportionately, the über-wealthy lean right--extreme right--and have, historically, been averse to any progress by ordinary citizens. They have challenged people's rights to attend schools at every and any level; they have fought ferociously against unionization; they have stood in the front ranks, bayonets extended, as American citizens marched for civil rights, for decency, for fair and representative elections. American women continue their battle for true gender equality and control over their bodies. The plutocrats are determined that they remain chattel, to be treated as their male "betters" arbitrarily select--on any given day--without redress.
How many of the Republicans on Capitol Hill--or at the state or local levels--are funded by the Koch Bottles, the Mercers, ALEC or other right-leaning individuals or groups who find that the tide of representative democracy must be stemmed so that they can continue in their unending quest to wrest the American dream from anyone not aligned financially with themselves?
Donald Trump was and is an accident. He was the Right's perfect storm for after Barack Obama's eight years of centrism. Not even the dilatory W. satisfied them. Ronald Reagan presided over the deterioration of unionism, clearing the stage of progressive causes.
Not mentioned is the GOPs astounding financial backing. In last weeks Missouri State House race (a special election) the GOP candidate, a newcomer, had four times the campaign donations than had the Democrat despite having only invested $50 of her own money (the Dem candidate, also a newcomer, put up $22K of his own money) -- and a great deal of her money from the tobacco industry. The Dem candidate did well, but gerrymandering had left him with a sizeable constituency who barely knew him and who no doubt were influenced by the radio and TV ads which only the GOP can afford. The GOP is stacking the deck at all levels of government and, thanks to Citizens United, they have the financial power to keep on doing so.
1
Blow: "This is why many of the most powerful conservatives in this country are betraying their supposed values..."
The "betraying their supposed values" came on the scene with the so-called "southern strategy" that came to political discourse via Goldwater and Nixon. Newt Gingrich helped make the betrayal more acceptable for Republicans.
2
After years of unbridled identity politics, where only the large majority was denied a positive and socially acceptable view of their identity, those vilified people are striking back. Which makes Democrats lose elections that should be impossible to lose against such incompetent opposition.
The biggest surprise here is that the left is so surprised. And completely unwilling to amend their misguided politics.
Thanks Charles for this broader view beyond the current president. Most media give us the impression that things will become normal when he leaves the stage. Instead, these largely unreported steps, many being taken by the Republicans who control government in 31 of the states, are destroying our democracy.
Like the surviving remnants of Stanley Kubrick's doomsday machine, remnants of a once powerful Democratic Party are staggering forward in a misdirected quest that will can only snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Against a backdrop of social chaos and authoritarian threats to our Constitution, the DNC's leadership has managed to marginalize mainstream America voters in pursuit of a minority agenda.
The cost of this nightmare is not measured in lost votes, but in lost freedom. Lost opportunity. Smothered aspiration and lost hope.
We are witnessing a new Cold War -- of rich corporations and their stooges stripping away the wealth and civil rights of working-class Americans. These new oligarchs and plutocrats -- comprised of affluent Republicans and Democrats -- have little incentive to change a system that rewards them.
This can only change by turning America's social and economic cold war hot.
2
Republicans have been working on this plan for well over twenty years. It takes money to implement it and the Koch’s and others have provided that. The SCOTUS decision in Citizens United enabled and empowered this monied elite. Given this consistent laziness of the American voter it doesn’t take much for a driven minority to undermine democratic government. Once past a certain point the snowball of destruction is next to impossible to stop.
Next is the firing of Rod Rosenstein to which the House will do nothing because it is the President’s prerogative. And my friends, that will be the end of the Mueller investigation but more importantly, it will mark the clear end of our Democracy. The voters who stayed home are as guilty as anyone for this travesty of government that we are daily forced to see. Trump’s military parade will come about the same time as our first faux election and he will consider it a triumph for him — as he does everything else. But We, the People are responsible.
The party that puts in their platform and that seriously works to outlaw gerrymandering and defeating Citzens United will get my vote and financial support. Otherwise it’s all tribalism and we all suffer by electing extremists that only care about power and getting re-elected and focus on not getting “primaried” by extreme extremists coming from rear and not on what’s best for our democracy.
1
I would like to see more commentary on the proposition that the reason that the Repubs are pushing "Law and Order" is that the more African American man and women that are arrested and convicted of felonies the fewer democratic voters there will be. This article was the first time that I have seen that explanation, but once stated it appears to be obviously true.
2
Not to mention the realignment of the federal government departments,e.e.
state, energy, consumer protection, etc.
1
Yes, sure, totally agree all this is a yuge problem. However, out the blame squarely where it lies - voter apathy. When people don't vote they get the government they deserve. The problem of course is that it's inflicted on the rest of us...
Good article, but it dosn't mention the scariest threat of all: the dark-money-funded push for Constitutional conventions in Republican-dominated stage legislatures (including my state's.) Drastic curtailment of some basic Constitutional rights, such as the First Amendment, and outright elimination of others, such as the Fourteenth, is on the menu.
I've said all along that Trump admires Russia because he sees it as a blueprint for the US: an authoritarian oligarchy where the super-rich can do as they please (as long as they don't criticize the government) and everyone else does what they have to, cowed into submission by an oppressive surveillance state and government-controlled media and religion. But if the Kochs et al pull off this Constitutional makeover, Russia is going to look like a better pick...
2
Completely agree that a tectonic realignment is occurring.
Seems equally clear that the Democrats are fiddling with DACA and unisex bathrooms while Rome burns. How many votes will the "Dreamers" cast for Democrats in the mid-terms? Pelosi and Schumer are feckless, clueless and hopeless. Dems don't have a chance in November without dynamic, new, younger leaders who can reach out to white, middle-class workers in states like, PA, Ohio and Wisconsin.
1
Mr. Blow, you nailed it in a few paragraphs. And the risk is that by focussing mostly, or even exclusively on Trump, we miss the big picture. The mass media and Democrats have to challenge Trump's Republican abetted rope-a-dope strategy of attracting all attacks upon himself. They need to focus instead on what he and his party are actually doing. And the Dems need to offer a substantive, alternative vision.
1
Unfortunately, this column is old news. Nevertheless, it is news that bears repeating daily since the mainstream media is generally fixated on the "trumped up" or faux scandal of the moment rather than the fact that we are now at the end of any pretense that we live in a democracy. This is a government of the rich and the military for the rich and the military - that is, a form of oligarchy. Moreover, the Democrats are almost as bad. Mark Twain supposedly said, "If voting made any difference, they wouldn't let us do it." I'm not quite there because an HDC administration would have nominated more independent and less ideological judges and would not have dismantled the EPA and Department of Interior. I also don't believe her administration would have been in any way actively xenophobic and racist. But, her love affair with the military, her desire to exercise of American power in places where we shouldn't be and her relationship to the rich would have ensured that there would have been little positive change. Third party anyone?
When will the US learn to call a reactionary a reactionary? There is nothing conservative about Trump's idolatrous collection of wishful thinkers pining for divine intervention to reset the calendar back to the Middle Ages.
Insightful column. But what's missing is a discussion of the role that big business and big donor groups - anti-tax, anti-regulation, anti-union and generally pro Republican - play and the role of money in politics, legislation, and shaping voter views.
2
Charles Blow articulates something that is rarely acknowledged and even less so acted upon by those who oppose Trumpism: the significance of a decades-long and coherent operational societal and public policy ideology and primer that has importantly contributed to bringing us to where we are today.
Perhaps the starting point was 1971. The Powell Memo laid out a coherent and full long-term strategy for business interests to promote and implement a social and political fight to ensure the dominance of the free market system. Also, in 1971 Ralph Winter argued that financial limits on campaign financing violated the First Amendment, which influenced first the Supreme Court’s 1976 Buckley v. Valeo decision and later the Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision. The ‘70s saw the creation of national and state conservative think tanks based on the notion of the marketplace of ideas and the growing influence libertarian thinkers like James Buchanan and Milton Friedman. The ‘80s saw a highly militarized anti-communism and tax breaks for the wealthy and businesses with only lip service for deficits. The ‘90s saw the breakdown of congressional bipartisanship as Republicans brought centralized control to congressional decision making followed by voter suppression and gerrymandering.
Although these and other initiatives may have been enacted in a seemingly ad hoc manner, or through a loosely connected network, they have been successful and probably cannot be easily mitigated.
1
When Obama let the Republicans steal the supreme court seat without even putting up a fight, I realized that what I had first seen during the '70s was coming to pass. The manipulators have overtaken the creators in this country. A slow and steady fix is in, and nothing seems to change it. Let Wall St. take the money, and the Chinese can build everything we need. Back then it was the Japanese, but the principle was the same.
Why didn't Obama fight tooth and nail for that seat? He could have asked the Supreme Court to rule on whether he had the right to nominate the next justice no matter how long it took the Senate to confirm the nomination. Maybe he didn't want to risk the Constitutional crisis that would have ensued when the court split 4 to 4, or when the Senate balked for so long that he as an ex-president, was sending nominees.
The Democrats had better start fighting tooth and nail before Caeser crosses the Rubicon and someone installs an emperor. Things have gotten to the point where the opposition will have to take big risks, and make a long-term plan to reverse the slow and steady power of the tectonic realignment. It might be too late. If feels that way most of the time.
3
I can not think of another time in our nation's history that the party in power has a detailed plan to squelch democracy by using the tools of democracy. Dominate the courts, distort the fundamentals of voting, then change enough laws to lock in majorities to effect permanent change.
After one year under President Trump—a historically unpopular president—we find ourselves at a crossroad. Given the complicity of the Republican Party in this power grab, everything is riding on the outcome of the midterm elections.
Sadly, it is now difficult to have faith in the integrity of our elections. The Russians did not "meddle" in our elections, they attacked it. Trump's response is deny the facts and refuse to impose sanctions that all but five members of Congress—House and Senate—passed. Secretary of State Tillerson predicts the Russians will attack our midterms and "there is little we can do about it."
Back to 2016. First we heard 21 states were attacked, but no voting machines were touched. Now we hear that a "small" number of states had their machines hacked, but no votes were changed. Put that question on hold. There is no mention of how many people were knocked off the voting rolls by the Russian attack, and we know hundreds of thousands—if not millions—of Americans were bounced from the rolls in an election where 75,000 votes over three states made the difference.
This is how democracies die.
256
Brush up on your history and tone down the hyperbole.
Abraham Lincoln imposed martial law, curbed freedom of speech and the press, and suspended the writ of habeas corpus.
FDR tried to pack the Supreme Court with his nominees.
And the Russians knew, a priori, which voters intended to vote for Trump and surgically removed them, and only them, from voter rolls? Those dastardly Russians! Able to read our minds without our realizing it, scary!
As individuals, the only way we can fight back is to boycott republican owned businesses and deprive them of the funds to continue warfare against the voters especially in every red state. Not that difficult but also make sure to vote against the Fascists supported by big money.
4
'Tis not Trump alone who is reigning havoc on our republic. It is the odious chief executive in cahoots with right-wingnut fringe Republicans who are attempting to steer the ship of state so far to the right it will take eons to correct this course.
This strategy is most evident with the selection of Justice Goresuch. Put young to middle-age conservatives in positions with lifetime appointments or the probability of long term tenure. Administrations come and go, but people in these offices last decades. They lay the foundation for building upon a legacy of conservative rule. They make a real difference.
That is why the importance of who controls the majorities of both Houses of Congress is as or more important than who resides in the White House. Beginning this November, it has been long overdue for those who oppose this hard right direction to assert themselves. Become activist citizens, let your voices be heard loud and clear where in counts, at the polls. For those who wish to reverse this tide to the right, you have the ability to do so. Let's see if this tidal wave of resistance to Trump and a Republican Congress is all talk, but no walk. Feet, don't fail me now.
DD
Manhattan
5
Mr. Blow, I hope you are encouraged by the recent elections in Alabama and Virginia and I hope people of color get out and vote even if obstacles are placed in their way. Wasn't it John Lennon who said "the people have the power, they just don't know it". Be encouraged.
2
Excellent article of Trump's abuses of power which continue daily. He is the champion of a cadre of conservative neofascists headed up by Stephen Miller, John Kelly and extreme right wing organizations that are Trump's base. With daily attacks on the rule of law and the wholesale takeover of the FBI, DOJ and Judiciary by Conservative right wing idealogues , we are nearing a tipping point that occurred in Germany in
the 1930s.
There is no sense of morality in this administration or their GOP cohorts in Congress.
Most frightening of all is the Nexus of Russian hacking of voter profiles and DNC communications, Wikileaks disclosures and Cambridge Analytica which the Mercers, Bannon and Trump used to undermine the democratic process together with Russian bots spreading fake news that was anti-Hillary in the online media. To cover this up, GOP is now attacking the FBI that was headed by Republicans and that helped Trump get elected by smearing Hillary.
This not run of the mill politics and goes well beyond Watergate and Iran-Contra as far as GOP led criminal behavior in the Executive Branch. It is a wholesale attack on our democracy.
Keep up the good work Mr. Blow.
230
With Trump in the White House we are just one Reichstag fire away from authoritarian rule. Who ever thought it would come to this?
4
I keep saying it's the realization of The John Birchers - the Next Generation a la Koch. They have bought and continue to buy their influence. And it seems interesting to me that the annual threat to defund public broadcasting from the GOP has seemed to subside while at the same time it seems from I hear and see Koch is sponsoring more of public broadcasting. And of course now they are a sponsor of the Olympics on NBC.
4
Sponsorship by the Koch boys sure has dumbed-down "Nova", the PBS science show, and also the exhibits at the Museum of Natural History, where there are no exhibits at all about the climate changes that took place coincidentally with all the major branching points of the evolutionary tree.
1
What is happening now in the US is not new in human history nor particular to any form of government. Conservatives, weary of any change, throughout history are the party of protecting privilege and whatever moral norms they claim guide them get tossed out the window when they feel their privileged positions are under siege. A minority cannot control government and still follow democratic principles or any rules that may hand the majority levels of power.
In the Roman Republic the Gracchi brothers were what we today would think as progressive politicians, they fought to give land to the dispossessed taking it from wealthy Roman landowners, spend much political capital improving roads and harbors, and tried to make all Italians Roman citizens to dilute the power of the Roman patricians. The reaction from conservatives was vicious. They used the attempt to expand Roman citizenship to inflame a Roman mob who proceeded to kill the first brother. The second was eventually driven to suicide, In the process many of the rules that were supposed to be followed for appointing political positions were ignored to ensure power remained firmly in the hands of conservative patricians. The consequence was a century of turmoil and the eventual replacement of the Republic by the Empire.
In this century the GOP is embarking on a program that if permitted to continue does not augur well for the future of the US as a democratic republic.
20
Well said, but as we work toward fair elections, let’s not forget that this effort must also include campaign finance reform. How can we have representation by the people when institutions like the NRA and the Koch brothers are financing candidates?
46
That "deep state" we keep hearing about is embedded in the far right, and always has been. Democracy does not work for them, so they have engineered a system to undercut it. This started with The Contract with America and is in full play now.
62
When one understands that projection is all they do, one can see right through them.
1
Newt Gingrich numbed the way for the sleazy Trump regime.
1
I seem to recall similar headlines during the Obama years that Democrats were setting themselves up for a generation of progressive leadership. Now the shoe is on the other foot and they don't like it. I am less than impressed, contrary to published reports, this is not the end of the world.
If you look around the world, many of the established parties are being up ended. Britain, Germany, France, others. All seem to agree that this is a catastrophe, that democracy is being threatened, that the end times are near. Well, someone's end times are near, but not everyone's. The question to me is "Why is this happening, and why now in so many places?"
I would suggest that the developed world has been undergoing a major shift as jobs that can be moved to lower cost locations are being moved. The economies of those countries are being subjected to wrenching changes, and the existing political parties are catering to the rich and abandoning the middle and lower classes. One detail they forgot in the process is that while money is very important, the number of people who have it is small. The number of middle and lower class people is large and elections are determined by the number of votes. The people of these countries have reminded the powers that be who really is in charge.
The obvious solution is to take care of the people, make their welfare your primary concern. The alternative is the Roman Solution: An emperor, bread and circuses. That tends to end badly.
13
In a technological civilization, children are a luxury, not an asset. This is a wrenching development many deny.
Bruce,
You say the people have spoke? They most certainly did. They overwhelmingly voted for Clinton, yet Trump is in office. That is the problem. The will of the people is being ignored allowing the minority to rule and establish more control so as to guarantee a continued majority in government despite have minority support. You wrote nothing to counter Mr. Blow's points.
1
"The people of these countries have reminded the powers that be who really is in charge."
Have they? It would seem to me that "the people" have merely succeeded in putting into office a bunch of people who will work even more rapidly and enthusiastically to disempower and debilitate "the people". The real puppet masters are still in charge, unfortunately.
Consider this. The Kochs have given people like Paul Ryan about 1/2 million dollars. The recent round of tax cuts and giveaways to corporations have then given the Kochs at least a billion dollars per year in tax breaks. Talk about a return on investment! 200000%. No other investment pays like the legalized bribery to politicians who take money from the likes of these billionaires.
"The people of these countries have reminded the powers that be who really is in charge."
Uh, huh. Yeah, right!
1
Republican electoral power is rooted in dividing Americans from one another. Republicans have indoctrinated groups of us to dislike and distrust other Americans for 50 years, reaching back at least to Nixon's Southern Strategy .
Remarkably successful, Republicans adopt policies that favor special interests, mainly the ultra-wealthy and cultural conservatives, at the expense of everyone else.
Accordingly, America is in decline. Our government is not capable of adopting policies that most of us favor, so we see 64,000 perish from opioids, declining life expectancy and shameful levels of infant mortality. Economic opportunities go mostly to the already successful, as parents fear that their children will not do (and are not doing) as well. People of color, immigrants, non-Christians and women feel the impact of new insults encouraged by our vile President and his vile team.
This can only be reversed by restoring Democrats to majority control in at least one house of the Congress. The work is not glamorous--registering people to vote, understanding voting requirements, and getting people to the polls on Election Day. If more people vote on Election Day, Democrats win.
But Democrats are easily distracted by things like the Clinton/Sanders feud and internecine squabbles over issues like DACA/immigration. Republicans have the upper hand and will reshape America their way unless Democrats can put aside differences and focus on regaining a fair share of power.
65
Yes, but this must include gaining power in the state governments where Republicans have control.
Meanwhile, they call inclusiveness "identity politics".
Having to answer to such people is bad for one's own mental health.
2
Boy,talk about tunnel vision! The democrat Party has been the party of small interest groups and identity politics for a long time...a real case of confirmation bias!
A major problem with our elections is the low turn out. The Republicans have a much better percentage of voters. Minority voters have a dismal record even though they have the most to lose from a GOP controlled legislature, state house and judicial system.
47
It looks like the Republicans are going to make sure that the turnout for Democrats will even be lower by cleverly crafting ways to obstruct potential Democrats or Independents from voting.
Linda Selvia
1
Mr. Blow has described what most progressives don't understand. Trump is a side show to the great political trend.
It is happening here. The judicial system goes next.
116
Mr. Blow doesn’t mention the bear in the room, Csar Vlad.
Who will ensure our elections are rigged, with the help of the US destroyers in this administration.
1
Please don't call them "conservatives." They are reactionaries, trying to bring us back to the 50s.
And I don't mean the 1950s or even the 1850s. I mean the 1750s, when we had a monarchy and only white property owning Christian men had any power.
157
Please don't call them reactionaries. Their political ideaology qualifies them as the National Socialist Workers Party..the 1930s, variety...
2
Great observation.
The Republican plan has been in plain sight for years for anyone willing to pay attention to politics on the state and national level. While I have have been fearful of the direction the Republicans will take my country, I cannot blame the Republicans. This is who they are. This is what they do. No battle is ever over until they get the results they want.
If the people were concerned about the Republicans, they should have voted in 2016 and in years prior. There was a simple solution to our ills - vote. Unfortunately, too many people chose not to do that or they did not care and that is a tragedy.
57
We did vote, and it should have been sufficient. Remember, we cast 3 million more votes than they did for our presidential candidate. The GOP has made our "democracy" so undemocratic that we practically have to cast a supermajority vote in order to win.
1
The evidence is that they did vote. Not all votes were counted. More voted for Clinton than Trump by a long shot. Trump was not blowing smoke when he said that US elections were rigged. He just neglected to say to whom the benefits accrue.
2
Much needed piece.
I'm worried about our hungry children, our seniors running out of money and those who will run out before age 67, and people paying off college debt at age 65, and those among us who cannot afford to get any post-secondary education, and our health care: our scam of a fee for service so-called system, and our too costly medical scam system, and how about our prescription drugs scammy system.
29
Charles, the one thing to which I object is your using the label "conservatives" to describe right-wing radicals. Conservatism, even if one disagrees with it, is a respectable political philosophy which eschews radical change. Those who attack voting rights and judicial precedent may seek to hide their radicalism by adopting the term 'conservative' but they should not be allowed the cover that the term provides them. The anti-democratic radicalism of the right is not conservatism and should not be echoed in its theft of that name.
77
I agree with the questioning of the label of conservative to those who want to over-through our democratic form of government but what do they call themselves and why don't they speak out against this radicalism more?
8
I agree with the comments of the Storm and Jack Selvia - the traitors to American Democracy are not "Conservative". If Republicans can't police their own as they have shown, then Democrats and the Media need try a new approach. A Third Party although desirable for Democracy is an idea frightens Democrats and Republicans. Create and publicize the evidence and actions of these radicals and thugs are a party of their own. Isolate the worst of them in this party, get moderate Republicans and Democrats to work and cooperate together to truly uphold their Oaths of Office and the Constitution and attack the REAL threat to America.
During the Obama years I read a great deal about how the country was quickly moving towards being "majority - minority". The implication was that the Republican party was doomed by demographics and the inevitable change to be brought about by a legislature stacked against them. That was OK - celebrated even - in these pages. What the Republicans are now doing is simply running the same plays wearing different uniforms.
5
Ah, no, RCH. What the Republicans do is to empower the minority and disempower the majority. That is very different from what Democrats do.
Elections have consequences.
Except that their uniforms sport a certain cross with the tips bent at a certain right angle.
Thank you for covering this. While the focus of the paper today seems to be giddy glee over the latest Trump and White House mishandling of abuse accusations, the Republican party is continuing their plan since the days of Gingrich to destroy democratic government. Not my opinion, their stated plan. Our democracy is being rigged so only Republicans can win and ultra-conservatives judiciary stacked so only ultra-conservative positions will be upheld.
63
All of these measures are an admission on the part of Republicans that they are a minority party and can't win with their message but need to subvert democracy to achieve their goals. How sad.
46
Seems to me that a question on citizenship should be Question One on any census. Basic common sense.
3
Why?
The purpose of a census is to count the number of people, not the number of citizens.
3
The slow rolling coup proceeds as intended.
Checks and balances can't overcome if all three branches of government are purchased by ultra rich.
56
What has become evident over the last several years, and during the Trump era in particular, is that the Republican party doesn't actually value a functioning democracy.
It values power and white nationalism.
If our centuries-old democracy doesn't deliver these two things for Republicans, it has no value to them. And they will be happy to dismantle democracy right before our eyes.
63
Well put and regrettably all too true.
1
Taxation without representation, as we have learned in our history, leads to messy outcomes.
19
All the repressions and realignments were purchased with oligarch dollars over the past 40 years.
37
I can recall an episode of the TV series Maverick in which a fourth in a poker game in which Brett and Bart were playing complained that Diamond Jim Buckley, the third member, was cheating, to which Brett responded: "of course he's cheating; it's his deal." No matter what the Republicans have dealt the country, the fact remains that the have attained and retained power enough to mold America any way they want. It's been their deal. There is, however, a little discussed remedy: stop worrying about candidates in opposition who perfectly match the Democratic ideal and instead develop and groom candidates who can actually win elections.
27
We need candidates which match the electorates they will serve. In more conservative areas, we need more conservative Democrats. This makes it harder for the party to stand for anything, but the reality is that the interests of rural America and urban America are not one.
1
Who needs Putin? Republicans are doing just fine on their own, remaking this country into one-party rule. They don’t even respect the law anymore. When the Pennsylvania Supreme Court told the legislature to redo the voting districts, they just said no. When Trump was told he had to enact further sanctions against Russia, he just said no. When Steve Bannon was subpoenaed by Congress, he just said no. The list goes on and on. What recourse will we ever have if Trump stacks the courts with young, fervent Republican ideologues? Those are the only positions he has ever been interested in filling, and I suspect it doesn’t even have anything to do with Republicanism. It has to do with himself. He wants courts that will rule in his favor whenever there’s a case against him.
329
"Tectonic realignment" is a code phrase for "don't do what the people want". The people want DACA? Forget it. They want courts to be fair for the little guy vs. big corporations? No way. They want more money for infrastructure? They want Social Security and Medicare to be preserved? Nope, sorry, can't afford it, tax cuts for the rich are more important. Republicans want the moneyed elite to be in charge and to be able to largely ignore the little people. This is the modern Republican way, and the rest of us will just have to learn to deal with it.
220
No, We don't. Stand for something or get out of the way.
7
Not just modern....the wealthy have recreated the Gilded Age completely, with the extravagance of wealth on full display to show their power, and the complete disregard for the poverty, struggle, health and safety of the people who work for them here or abroad. The GOP is completely in the thrall of the 1% who like in the Gilded Age hold more wealth than most of the rest of the population put together. Their policies are geared toward that group, and only that group holding onto their full wealth and power at the expense of the health of the nation.
9
The only way to deal with it is to clobber it so hard it never gets up again.
3
Gerrymandering is antidemocratic and should be opposed by all supporters of democracy. In the past both parties have leapt at the chance to tilt elections in their favor. This must stop. The Republicans won't stop–it's their only chance of maintaining control, which is more important to them than democracy. The Democratic Party must avoid the temptation to indulge where they have the opportunity. It must be made a policy of the party to oppose Gerrymandering in all cases. The Democrats must be the party of fair elections.
The duty of voting must be emphasized. Vote not because you think your vote will decide an election but out of duty as a citizen. Part of that duty is to keep up with the issues. The duty to vote is the duty to vote wisely. A citizen should not feel they have an option to sit it out. Democracy requires:
Campaign truth
Everyone's vote is counted
Abide the result
10
And let us not forget the most odious aspect of all that the GOP and Trump have succeeded in engineering: A tax cut for the super wealthy that will likely have negative impacts on a vast majority of the American population, including whatever is left of the American middle class. Only a group of people completely out of touch with the infinite challenges of daily life (or a group of people completely incapable of empathy) could believe that cutting taxes for billionaires, cutting social services for most of us, and raising taxes on the middle + lower classes, will miraculously bring meaningful jobs to the American economy. But this has been the thrust, the underlying grievance, of GOP ideology, since the New Deal. Apparently now that grievance is so important to redress that unpaid for debt for generations to come is now okay for even fiscally conservative ideologues. Oh, the absurdities of tectonic realignment.
31
The GOP has always depended on a poorly informed, religiously conservative, struggling working class to have enough votes to win elections. Trump is just the latest in a long line of cynically pious flag-wavers to use this strategy.
As is once again obvious, it cares nothing about the welfare of most Americans when in office, as it destroys affordable health care and puts in place a tax structure that vacuums up even more wealth for the wealthy.
With the changing demographics of this country the GOP has become increasingly desperate and brazen in it's anti-democratic efforts. Regardless, the long game will not end well for them.
13
Mr. Blow, your piece explains why the Republican party swallowed their natural distaste for the nominee for their party’s White House bid in 2016. His rants against minorities, immigrants and, yes, fear of women, tapped into the natural resentments and concerns of the GOP hierarchy. He was willing to publicly trot out the grievances and deeply-held beliefs of white male elected officials, and essentially did their work for them. His widespread support from Republican primary voters was as welcome as it was unexpected.
This president has stumbled badly since claiming the Oval Office. His Republican mentors have played on his ignorance of governing and policymaking and the president has done their bidding. He is a mere vehicle for channeling their agenda while making him think that these ideas are his.
History does not judge Senators and Congressmen the way it does presidents and their legacy. Today’s enablers will be long gone when the ledger of history calls into account the failings of this president during his time in office. To the Grand Old Patriarchs however, the watchmen of traditional values of American society and the gatekeepers of white male privilege, this presidency is functioning just fine.
17
What people don't understand about this agenda is that its coming at a time when the global economy can no longer sustain enough living-wage jobs for low- and semi-skilled people, who will increasingly be driven towards bankruptcy & destitution if Republican policies become a pretext for dismantling New Deal and Great Society reforms.
Its not clear whether most Republican politicians clearly want to create high levels of inequality, & misery for many workers, or whether they really believe their attempted privatization of basically all government services will succeed--ie. create more customers for their donors in banking and healthcare & other industries so that all the "unshackled" working people won't need a social safety net.
But in the final analysis, what they really believe doesn't matter.
Their policies WILL create inequality & mass misery in the long run, & they won't be able to reverse course because that would mean admitting that their 'free market ideology' is no longer sufficient to provide for the general welfare, given globalization & technological changes. They have no other way to understand the world, & thus no other ideas on how to help ordinary people, even if they wanted to.
And because of their efforts at gerrymandering & voter suppression, along w/ingrained skepticism about 'government solutions' among so many voters, things will likely have to get MUCH WORSE before voters will accept a different approach. And by "much worse", I mean "1932-worse".
11
This is the very heart of our political goings-on.
Once again, Mr. Blow, you have drilled to the center and illuminated it.
We can only hope that the clarity of this vision will aid us all in seeing through the fog of distractions that Trump is so good at generating.
Thank you!!
18
Republicans think strategically while Democrats move from crisis to crisis. That has to change.
20
I agree with everything Mr. Blow writes. It is indeed shocking. Further, the latest budgets show that the Republicans have given up any notions of fiscal responsibility, which is another tectonic shift with dire consequences down the road.
In these times of dark clouds, I am reminded of Winston Churchill's quip: America eventually does the right thing, after exhausting all other possibilities. Let us hope, and VOTE!
7
As a minority party, Republicans have worked harder and smarter to leverage their advantages. For decades, GOP participation at local levels of government has far outnumbered Democrats. While liberals slept complacently, conservatives have steadily taken over the reins of government. The election of Donald Trump has been the wake up call to liberal apathy. It is a rude awakening.
As Mr. Blow points out, Republicans have an agenda and they are moving it forward. The struggle for justice among people of conscience will be a long, hard slog. But it's a fight we must take on -- with patience and determination. There is no other choice.
10
A full year into the Trump presidency and there is finally some attention being given to policy rather than personality.
When you compare the digital ink used on Trump the bizarre personality to GOP policy it's clear the Democrats have failed to offer a coherent alternative vision.
Sure they are better on immigration, but worse on national security surveillance. They are better on the environment, but still opened up vast areas for drilling. They are certainly better with the courts and social issues, but became Wall Streets best friend.
The GOP has the advantage of being an ideologically driven party. It openly supports the ruling class, the financial elites and big corporations, especially fossil fuel. Along the way they toss a few social issues to the masses, like anti-abortion and religious freedom.
But with the exception of Bernie's social democracy efforts, the Democrat's vision is to be a "little better than the GOP," but not fundamentally different. They want to serve the same masters, albeit differently.
The economic and social conditions that we face today won't change with "a little better than" approach. A social democratic ideology would never have promoted he ACA. We would have had single payer. We wouldn't be regulating the banks, they would have been broken up. We would be supporting our schools, not privatizing them. And we would have stopped these wars, not simply redeployed troops.
So who will be the voice for real change in America?
200
Actually I disagree.... Wall Street's interest in the Democrats was investment in Green technology. Dems also recognize that Wall Street does have a role to play in economic stability, if Wall Street and Financial markets are in shambles most businesses go down with that ship, and lending grinds to a halt like it did in the aftermath of the financial collapse. So it was important to rebuild, yet regulate (to the extent the GOP would let them) the financial sector in order to rebuild the overall economy. Since Obama had the Hastert rule "ruling" Congress, a short 9 months to get some kind of health care passed through a filibuster proof Senate with a GOP determined to obstruct EVERYTHING little bit better is the best that can be done when not only compromise but giving up a desired goal to make something positive happen is the only option. We were incrementally but sure-footedly improving the economy, wages, and environment. If Trump had not been elected to a Republican controlled everything, the ACA may have been inched toward a single payer goal. Dems are more likely to go along to get along though, and are reluctant to take the scorched earth tactics of obstruction that the GOP is so famous for. In spite of Trump's hollow complaint of Democratic obstruction, all he has really gotten is Democration objection. To remake the country, we need facts in the news, the plug pulled on the conspiracy ranting right wing media propaganda brainwashing machine, cohesion of voters.
10
Excellent post! Unless the Democrats cease to do the bidding of corporate masters, they're simply the other side of the GOP coin.
2
You obviously did not read the 2016 Democratic Platform and compared it to the Republican Platform. And since when did the Clinton bashers on the left give any attention to policy over personality? They just finished the Republicans work for them in taking down Democratic leadership. What Mr. Blow is describing is that Trump is the voice for real change in America now. It's just not the change you want to see. Enjoy four more years of Trump if you continue your Democrat bashing over opposing the dismantling of American democracy by reactionary Republicans. Democrats are NOT "Republicans light" - for one, they would not allow the tearing down of the New Deal that will soon happen if the tide doesn't turn in the upcoming midterm and presidential elections.
7
Keep it simple. Follow the money. The GOP has the money. Why?--Because the US Supreme Court ruled that US corporations have the same rights as individual citizens to offer virtually unlimited funds to whichever candidates for political office they want. In case you hadn't noticed, it's the financial equivalent of gerrymandering, sanctioned by the Supreme Court; and with that one BIG decision the political playing field was given to the GOP -- to tilt in its own favor. It's un-American to think we're sunk, but we are -- that is, we will be until we get real, honest-to-goodness campaign finance fairness going (maybe in the next century).
7
Key issues for 2018 are the economy and jobs. We have a booming stock market (despite recent volatility), solid GDP growth, many workers seeing more money in their paychecks (even if temporarily), and historically low unemployment. The GOP is winning on these core fronts. Meanwhile, Democrats are left with more sketchy policy topics, as was the GOP plan all along.
Immigration. Can people justifiably argue that illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from American citizens and legal immigrants? (Yes.) Most support the Dreamers, but beyond that, this is a tough issue.
The Environment and Climate Change. Are many people getting sicker from pollution? (Not really.) Do we still have burgers and fish to eat? (Yes.) Are extreme weather events affecting a majority of the population? (Not yet.)
Education. Have most schools been privatized? (No.) Have we been arguing about education reform seemingly forever? (Yes.)
Health insurance. Have Republicans eviscerated Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security yet? (No.) Are a relatively small number of us affected by the GOP efforts to withdraw Obamacare? (Yes.)
Democrats need really *persuasive messages* for purple-state voters. That is everything. What have they got? Mueller, maybe?
If Democrats don’t like the tectonic shifts taking place, then they need to convince swing voters to opt for progressives. If Democrats don’t get elected, then they can’t enact their agenda. And then nothing will change for the better.
6
I have no doubt that the greatest changes or threats being wrought, nay inflicted, upon the U.S. are at the state and local level. I recently received a survey from my (Republican) state representative in which she asked the question: "Do you believe immigrants suspected of crimes should be deported?" (among other noxious questions). I wrote back, that in the U.S.A. the mandate was innocent until proven guilty and that her question more properly should have been written as "convicted of crimes." (even then I don't agree).
Still, the damage has been done and now many of her unthinking, uncritical constituents probably think that just being suspected of a crime is grounds for deportation, or maybe a train trip to a work camp where work will make you free.
4
Thank you for this important piece, Mr. Blow. The progressives need to fight a thirty year war at the minimum. Where is the leader on the national stage making that case, consistently and without mincing words? Even Bernie Sanders resorts to roundabouts and tangents, and I don't see anyone with the vision or the guts.
1
The only way to undo this electoral pathology is to not just register voters but to get them to go to the polls and vote. If the DNC and DCCC and all the other Democratic advocacy groups do nothing between now and November, it should be to focus solely on voter turnout - and voter turnout in every state in every district.
And the Democrats in Congress need to find ways to block the madness of Republicans. It was unnerving to watch Mitch McConnell not allow the vote for a new Supreme Court justice when Justice Scalia died. I kept thinking shouldn't the Democrats - and any allies - and even the President at the time - use all tools available to advance correct functioning of a government? Indeed, they blustered and ranted, but essentially did nothing to make the Republicans pay for their obstruction. And the whole episode made a joke of the notion of an independent judiciary.
269
Rosemary,
How many doors have you knocked on so far? How much research have you done into possible candidates for 2018? Are you joining with your friends in developing plans for this spring's elections, if you have them in Georgia?
Citizens are responsible for the government they want. Yes we all must work for our democracy, a government of the people, for the people, by the people. You and I, and every other citizen are those people of which the government consists and we must work constantly to improve it.
1
Thank you and I agree with all that you have said. We are indeed locally engaged with all the activities you correctly recommend.
2
Indeed! This political episode was to our elections what Mother Nature is to a perfect storm.
Notwithstanding the Russian attack, I believe that many trusted in the notion that most Americans, including the Electoral College, would never vote for Trump and with the polls showing daily that Hillary had an 80%, or higher, chance of winning I think that many Americans just didn’t vote. They stayed home watching the storm unfold and took our democracy for granted.
The damage and clean-up from this election may take longer than we expected, especially if our democratic institutions, those that serve as our insurance policies, are no longer able to, check, balance and protect us against the next “big one”.
3
This is indeed much larger than Trump alone. He is, is in many ways the perfect tool for the sophisticated task described here. As skilled a self-promoter as he is, in our current political culture he is playing the role of patsy—an easy mark not only for foreign powers who flatter him with pageantry, but also for his own party leaders. We need look no further for explanation than to Mitch McConnell who said, “He’ll sign anything we put in front of him.”
The tweets and unstable policy statements coming from the White House advance the strategy as well because they concentrate media attention and public outrage away from the real work being done to dismantle the protections and functions of government.
4
Great observation and a clarion call to roust out the vote. This country ( the one treasured by those not voting Republican) needs to wake up before it's gone.
While you list what "would behoove us to focus on", I am afraid you left out the complicity of the Republican Party by approving of Russian Hacking of our elections: it is all about getting votes by any means possible. Your list is what got the Republican party to the brink of winning (assuming normal turnout). What put the Party over the top was the Russian Hacking. Why would the Republicans not want to replicate that advantage in each election? The evidence now is the Republicans are discrediting the Hacking Probes before both the 2018 and 2020 elections and stay "in bed" with the Russians. By doing this they maintain their advantage. Democrats need to get out and vote.
1
Some people crave rule by an aristocracy - though they may not call it that. Of course many of them are deluded into thinking they are, or could be, part of it, but even when they know they aren't part of the ruling class the idea of living in a patriarchy of wealth and power is irresistibly right.
This group, once called loyalists and Tories, were denied their preferences as the liberal Patriots fought the monarchy and established a free country here in America. Ever since then those loyal to wealth and power have been at work to undermine what was accomplished and reestablish what they believe is rightfully theirs. You can hear it in the language of those who feel themselves part of the oligarchy. Watch as they bend meaning and word to make reasonable sounding propositions that in fact work to elevate them and to further subjugate those whose approval they seek to establish them as superiors.
5
Republicans in different states using precisely the same tactics (vote suppression and others named by Mr. Blow), often passing identical bills in their respective legislatures, are organized and steered by the American Legislative Exchange Council, which is funded by wealthy extreme-right radicals such as the Koch brothers. They've been scoring enormous victories for years, and if Democrats have a plan to counter this synchronized assault on our democracy we have yet to see it.
1
When historians document the fall of the U.S., it's clear where the blame will lie. The traditional ruling class was riled in the post Reconstruction period when the voting franchise was dramatically expanded and they feared for their power. The courts were used to diminish the power being exercised by labor unions and reformers. This time the courts are being used to curtail voting, permit unlimited campaign contributions, and use First Amendment religion clause as a sword, rather than the shield against religion the founders created. The nation eventually came to its senses and ended the onslaught under FDR. Do we have the patriotism to do it again?
6
Alabama is one I don't hear people talking about for Gerrymandering.
Election night for the Senate, they showed Doug Jones won by a 1.7% margin.
They also showed if those same votes were counted for the US House of Representatives, Republicans would have won six districts and Democrats one district.
The operative phrase for the November midterms is "use it or lose it." For whatever reason, apathy, dislike of Hillary, anger that the deck was stacked against Bernie,"sending a message" by voting for a third-party candidate, the fact is too many Democrats wasted their vote in 2016. The result has been catastrophic and the chances that the mistake can be corrected are diminishing. If Democrats don't have a maximum turn out in November many of them may be losing their right to vote permanently and the best chance to halt the power grab by the radical right will have been squandered. There will be efforts by Russian bots to sew division among Democrats but we must remain united. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that November could be democracy's last stand in the United States.
11
As the minority party in this country, the only way for the Republicans to hold on to political power is to use the tactics you mention in your excellent column. If these tactics violate democratic norms, then so be it.
Another reason, as if we needed one, for everyone to get out and vote on November 6th. The future of our country is literally at stake.
1
I believe the thrust of this article is accurate. One assumption is based on facts very short on evidence is the GOP will be around to enjoy the fruits of their labor. John Kasich and a wounded Mitt Romney are all that remains of Trump resistance. Casting of the eyes in search of a GOP leader who can repair the damage yields no one. One reason involves the move to repair means repudiating Trump. His unwavering 35% unlikely to applaud ripping into their hero. Like a fracture in concrete under pressure fissures run in multiple unpredictable patterns. A working definition of the GOP. The Tea Party, traditional GOP and Trumpeteers are mutual combatants on any given day. Putting this Humpty back together rates nil with no leaders to lead.
Doesn't the credit, if you want to call it that, for the number of judges confirmed in Trump's tenure really belong to Mitch McConnell for slow walking the Obama nominees.
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I certainly don't disagree with your assessment Sir, however the more pressing concern is the budget. It just got a massive hole in it to the tune of 1.5 TRILLION dollars and more than likely that number will balloon. ( since republicans are known to put expenses off the books\war and the defense budget is increasing )
Even if Democrats succeed in a blue wave and pass through the myriad of ways there is suppression going on, when they get there the cupboard will be bare. ( the true intent to privatize government itself by republicans )
If Democrats do not get an absolute super majority to withstand the 24\7 filibuster by republicans that will be coming, then again they will appear ineffective, or anything they might get through will be compromised or watered down with even more tax cuts for the wealthy.
All I can is get off your duffs Liberals. This is all of our futures.
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But, as always, do Republicans so overreach that they cause a backlash, even from their own voters?
" ... a means to lock in power". Mostly indirect - but ironclad - methods are cited. I'd suggest that in back of the GOP's plans is a method to lock in power directly, as in true autocracy. Step 1: fire Mueller (every day the GOP led Congress delays enacting protecting legislation, the signal to Trump to fire him gets louder). Step 2: after he's fired, no response by GOP led Congress; i.e. no 'Constitutional Crisis' as Dems allege will happen. Step 3: elections rigged or suspended ('national security' grounds - yes, GOP concedes, a foreign power hacked us, and will hack us so we can't risk any new elections).
I agree completely with your political assessments. I find your racial and gender generalizations as boorish as, well, as boorish as the other side's racial and gender generalizations. I choked on tear gas, had loaded service revolvers pointed at my face by enraged police officers, and was arrested at bloody political demonstrations, all for expressing my revulsion for the "existing....power structure", before you were probably born. I am an angry white man. I am angry at the cruel economic disparity and rank social injustice in our country. I am keen, very keen, to move our nation in the direction so eloquently described by the most inspirational political figure of my lifetime Martin Luther King, who at the moment of his death, was in fact fighting for unionization. He understood that racial (and by extension gender) cheerleading or baiting was a political dead end and only fed the deep reactionary current that has always been present in our otherwise hopeful nation.
Or maybe I should just ask how Sandra Day O'Conner and Clarence Thomas worked out for you in 2000?
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And add to this list, the Mercer family funded "good government" effort in New York State known as Reclaim New York. Their efforts to sow distrust of government gives them an even easier path to maintain their power. See this report for the details.
https://www.wnyc.org/story/trumps-army-battle-new-york
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The ticking clock heard loudly by many of Trump’s core supporters, and the members of Congress who are aiding and abetting him, is the advent of the day when people of color will be the majority in this country, and more so, the day when they will represent the greatest percentage of voter participation in elections, exceeding that of whites.
The varied, nefarious contortions the Republicans are manifesting can, then, be expected to continue and even increase in the coming months and years, as part of a concerted effort to retain the dominance of white voters. What the GOP is not counting on is that many whites are also disgusted with the offensive tactics that party is utilizing to extend their control over election results and policy, and they cannot be counted upon to support such endeavors.
Republicans used to crow about how inclusive their “big tent” was. No more, and even if they did, no one would believe them. Most voters are a lot smarter than the GOP is giving them credit for being, which could mean that many Republicans aren’t, themselves, as bright as they think they would like to think they are.
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Reading this, I am beginning to wonder if the Mueller investigation really needs to look outside the Trump campaign and the Trump Presidency, to examine the ties that the reigning members of the GOP have to Russian interests, and whether or not their offices had contact with the Russians during 2016 and before to rig this election. Trump and his cohorts aren't smart enough or experienced enough for this, but they are. And as if Mr. Blow says Trump is simply a means to an end (let's just say loosely, white supremacy and the monopoly of the rich over the poor) whom they will either retain or discard, then the conspiracy goes far beyond the White House; I too can see no other reason for the GOP to be standing behind him, and feel that 'follow the money' is probably the best tack here, as it usually is, although the weight of racism and class-hatred (of one's own, or of others) in this country may balance those scales.
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Sometimes you can really recover from a bad choice. We're one year in and already lasting damage across the board from the environment to income equality to bigotry to the judiciary are being warped to a virulent, right wing and corporatist agenda.
The long arc of justice a cracking, being bent toward evil.
The real question for me is would Republican efforts to control the voting booth be negated by more eligible people voting? There is such a low percentage of those who can vote, actually voting. The main argument they offer is their vote won't make any difference. I would argue they are shooting themselves in the foot. I don't think the average person on the street pays a whole lot of attention to the issues. For Black voters, for instance, racism is racism. Nothing new there. Been around a long time. Not going to change. Why vote? I would argue it is one thing to be marginalized. Quite another to be made totally invisible. And I believe the vast majority of Democratic effort and money should be focused on identifying who doesn't vote, helping them get registered, and helping them get to the polls. It will be very hard work. But compare that with a bunch of white guys sitting in a room creating Republican leaning voting districts. For them it's like taking candy from a baby. I would love to see the looks on their faces, if on election day, a whole bunch of minorities strolled into those newly created districts. That would even be better than watching Trump in January 2021 taking his last helicopter ride from the grounds of the White House.
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So according to Charles a conservative President's nomination of conservative federal judges is a "secret battle plan"? Why would putting for names for vacant judgeships be astonishing?
The fact that more have been confirmed than Obama's previous nominations can be laid at the feet of Harry Reid, who decided to use the nuclear option later in Obama's term.
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This IS the reason the 2018 mid-term elections are critical. The only way to thwart this tidal wave of backward thinking is to elect individuals who oppose "Trumpism."
The ballot is the weapon of Freedom. This is a call to register and vote for all who believe in the future of Democracy.
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It is also a call to do everything possible to make sure people are allowed to vote, and that there is no interference, foreign or domestic, in the vote-counting.
No pun intended, but the issues are not nearly as black and white as they used to be. Just this weekend, I read two stories in the Times, which taken together highly suggest that a new zeitgeist has been born and is quickly developing. The stories were about the Uber driver that committed suicide and the Roger Cohen story about the voter from Syracuse NY.
As a twenty-one year old college student in NYC, I got a Taxi Driver's license and worked two nights per week to pay for my social activities. Summer 1970, I sublet an apartment on Pierrepont St. in Brooklyn. I drove the taxi for a Brooklyn company 5 nights per week, for three months. I was able to afford living on my own. I doubt if I could do that today. I doubt if anyone could make a living, or make it worth their while driving a cab as a second job.
There are many "used to be" towns surrounding the Great lakes. The demise of certain industries and the overall shift in corporate America's socio political dominance has created a class conflict, changing still. The Trump courts are geared towards accelerating that remodel of American business and culture.
Race, sex and immigration are derivative issues. The recent bull market in stocks made who, wealthy? We had zirp in 2009 after the market crash of 2008. Many middle class families outside of places like New York were hurt by the greatest welfare check in history. That is, the money tree handed to the Banksters and the Casino Operators on Wall St.
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You do not mention corporate America's stranglehold on campaign finance, the funding of professorships, "institutes" and "centers" within universities; the founding, financing and control of innumerable influential think-tanks. You say nothing about the control of TV content through advertising or simply corporate ownership of countless major and minot media outlets. You are right to mention gerrymandering, voter suppression, conservative court-packing, census-rigging, etc. But who is ultimately responsible? Who PAYS for all these shenanigans? Could you write about that?
So a small powerful clique of men push a vastly larger group of men into an untenable position. What could possibly go wrong?
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Yes, this has been obvious for a long time. It was what was so frustrating about the last election. Democrats as well as the press just could not see what was happening and swirled around in the old political world. The threat to our democracy is very real. Trump and the republicans are playing a new asymmetric game — a game for which they also brought in Russia to help and are still using them. Russian propaganda takes it lead from Fox News — it is effective and fundamental component to the GOP play book. In a zero-sum game the republicans put it all on the line. The Russian connection found its way to many in the Republican Party - including Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan. What I find most alarming is that a warped brand of fundamentalist Christianity is driving this, the rules are not “of this world” but are cosmological rules. If you are doing this for God you will fly a plane into the World Trade Center, declare war on Iraq, deny obama his Supreme Court selection, spend 100 million on a Benghazi investigation to destroy a political opponent, conspire with Russia to overthrow an election, destroy the FBI to protect a guilty president....
The rules have changed.
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The rules have not "changed". They have been eliminated entirely. How are we going to take back our country?
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"The threat to our democracy is very real"; as though, "our democracy," is not us. THERE IS NOT THREAT: "We have met the enemy and he is us!" Get that through your head: IT'S YOU!
Then it's time to make some new rules!
2
The photo accompanying this piece says it all. A bunch of self congratulatory white men sitting around cheering their enactment of policy that was no doubt harmful to those that are not white and male. How any of the so called "forgotten white" of the rust belt can look at the picture and moan that they are more discriminated against and persecuted than people of color is beyond me. I guess it's that decades long propaganda brought to us by Fox News that manages to find daily outrages of black santas and happy holidays to convince these people that by becoming a more thoughtful and inclusive society they were losing something of value. Sadly, the non-Fox media was happy to focus on the "forgotten" white man during the whole election cycle - and find any example they could to support their narrative that Ms. Clinton and liberal elites "forgot" and "didn't understand" those people - rather than attack those people for failing to live in 2017. At least I rarely have to hear about the poor white guys who don't have jobs in their desired industry. Turns out retail workers and other are hurting, too. Too bad the media didn't care two years ago.
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Please forgive me for stating the obvious: the American people let this happen. They allowed the conservatives to take control of the local and state governments over the last 30 years. I can't say precisely when, but once the ferocious right-wing propaganda machine kicked into full gear by nurturing FOX News, Limbaugh and think-tanks, the American political consciousness was poisoned. Why was it so easy for GWB to steal the 2000 election? Why was it so easy for Bush to involve us in totally unnecessary wars? Why was it so easy for Congress to ham-string the Obama administration? And, ultimately, why were people convinced that Trump or anyone like him would be competent as president?
This all happened because Americans have been both apathetic and uninvolved in the process. They bought into the notion that government is the enemy.
Now we all get to suffer the consequences which, I fear, are going to lead us to a very bad place.
11
Yes, but. As Blow points out various mechanisms have been used to divest voters of their rights. The final paragraph of Mr. Blow's column is essential. Trump is the front guy, the lightening rod. Behind him are the Koch's , the Mercers, the Mellons, etc. The lessons of J. Mayor's book are not to be forgotten. The John Birch Society's dreams are being realized thanks to Reagan, the Heritage Foundation that used Reagan as its mouthpiece and then the Cato Institute. Social Darwinism is a force to be reckoned with; the Koch brothers created the so-called Tea Party, the Mercers are busy funding undemocratic pathways and embedding their ideals and ideas into the fabric of the United States. In short, Trump is awful as are all his men, but look behind these puppets. Who is really paying for the changes ? The Koch's supported Pence and Walker and who knews who else. Oh, and do not forget Mr. Murdoch whose control of Fox and other media makes him part of this party. Call it tectonic or glaciation; Mr Blow has exactly right view and I am grateful for his column , once again.
From my thankfully distant vantage point it is hard not to see this as a slow moving insurgency aimed at overthrowing the 'government of the people, by the people, for the people' with something more like the Old South or France under the Sun King. Instead of guns they are using ballots and laws but the end result appears much the same. The form is still there but the content is very, very different. Certainly will make the US GRATE again... on almost everybody.
Things like the citizenship question, for example... why ask it at all if the aim is to gather statistics about population? Non-citizens still breath, drink water and occupy transit space. Similarly, the economic health of the nation depends on people being able to finance their personal and business initiatives, not have their hard work stolen by rugged financial systems. But removing laws that protected them in the long haul will cripple the economy -- after all, it is small business, not the megacorps, that drive the economy. Similarly, by militarizing the police to kill with impunity and steal what they want to support their own operations the respect for the law as a force for good evaporates -- becoming thug nation, so to speak.
The American dream is being replaced by a different paradigm -- advancement by right and connection coupled with the outright suppression of the rest. The folks in power may think they are clever but are robbing the energy and ideas that made the US what it is. So ended Rome.
4
"This is much bigger than Trump alone." Finally! Hallelujah! Now, Charles, what's your advice to Democrats? All throughout the West, individualism has cut the influence of parties--not always a bad cut--but without party unity, Dems will not beat the Greedy Obstructionist Party. It's been reported that some Sanders supporters voted for Trump. Susan Sarandon and Vigo Mortensen told TV viewers that they couldn't vote for Clinton: naive, vanity, utopian voters. Who will tell us of a broad program of social and economic justice supported by #Metoo, #BLM, LBGTQ advocates, Dreamer advocates, and advocates of single-payer health insurance? When will their leaders link arms and sing "We shall overcome?" Next December?
1
The poisoning of the judiciary was for me the number one reason to vote Democratic, especially after the Clarence Thomas debacle, the installation of Bush into the WH in 2000, and the Citizens United ruling which codified bribery.
5
Some readers may have missed it, but the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that congressional districts within the state are drawn to provide an unfair electoral advantage to Republicans, i.e. "gerrymandered." Rep. Patrick Meehan's 7th district was an especially egregious example as it spanned several counties but was in one place only as wide as a building. PA is a true 'purple' state that has more registered Democrats than Republicans and barely went for Trump in 2016.
The Republicans appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court who declined to hear the case, saying it was strictly a state matter. So the state house and senate leaders had to submit a new map which they now claim is "compact and constitutional." Governor Tom Wolf has yet to weigh in on it, as are the state's Democratic leaders.
My point is that these trends are not inevitable or irreversible. And PA is a true swing state, one which is becoming more blue with each passing election. The same can be said for Nevada, Florida, and maybe even Arizona (which uses an independent committee to set congressional district boundaries).
I see many of these attempt by Republicans to lock in their power as more of a last-ditch effort to swim against the tide. The long-term demographics are against them, and they know it.
14
But we need to not be complacent and fight as if it is a looming existential threat
1
I'm in Ohio and have some good news to report on gerrymandering. Without getting into the details, under considerable pressure from a citizens' group (I'm a group member), the Republican majority in the statehouse recently agreed to submit a measure for voter approval that would considerably reduce the legislature's ability to gerrymander. I attended a joint state Senate/ House legislative committee on Nov. 1 where determination of voting districts was the topic, and my impression was Republican legislators were surprised at citizen pushback. But they only relented in the face of considerable pressure. If ye want better government, that's what it takes. The battle is not over yet.
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I completely agree with Blow that the Republicans are making a concerted effort on multiple fronts to 'steal all the marbles' for themselves and exclude Democrats from power, even as the Democrats have a majority of the voters. But it's important to emphasize a point that I'm not sure all Americans fully realize: the core problem from which our democracy now suffers is that our constitution empowers districts over people. As long as the two parties' voters are roughly evenly distributed across districts, this isn't a problem. But today, we have a situation where the Democratic majority is heavily concentrated in a small number of cites and a small number of states. This means that the Republicans cannot only control, but dominate, the government despite having fewer votes than Democrats. And this is true even without the exacerbating problem of gerrymandering. Here specifically are the problems to be addressed:
Presidential elections. The electoral college means winning huge majorities in a few big states like California is not as valuable as winning tiny majorities in many smaller states.
Senate. Obviously, the voters in the populous states are underrepresented.
House. Districts are skewed slightly toward smaller states and rural areas, but even more significant, much as in Presidential elections, huge victories in a smaller number of districts are less valuable than narrow victories in a larger number of districts.
Washington DC—a large city with no votes in Congress.
26
There are people who will argue, of course, that representing districts over people was what the founders intended to do—and they are at least partially correct. However, just because the founders wanted to do something, doesn't mean what they wanted to do was good. A democracy cannot be stable if the majority of its voters are disempowered and a minority can dominate the government and enact legislation and appoint executive officials and judges with complete disregard to the wishes and interests of the majority.
Of course we are in no position to amend the constitution to change things. Even if we could get the votes for an amendment (which we can't) we don't have the statesmen who would put aside partisan interests to do what's right for the nation. So I'm afraid we're stuck.
The Republicans now control our destiny. They can act in good faith—or they can proceed along the path they are on to press their advantages and exclude the Democratic majority from power.
I'm afraid this second path leads inevitably to one place: the end of American democracy. The majority will finally get fed up and rebel . . . or will be forced to submit to authoritarian rule by the minority.
5
The GOP's attempts at stacking the courts argue for Democrats to make a maximum effort - to the exclusion of all else - at taking back the Senate in 2018.
If that could be accomplished, they could put an end to the confirmation of any unqualified Trump judges, including any future Supreme Court nominee.
It's sad that it has come to this - that our two political parties feel the need to obstruct each other's ability to govern. But we didn't set this trend in motion, they did - and IMHO, the arc of history is not on their side.
I don't know if the turbulence currently being experienced in the stock market is the beginning of the end of the Trump bubble. But when that bubble does implode, the GOP's main talking point to independents will implode with it.
Democrats need to learn from their mistakes, and do a far superior job of messaging and stage managing their political and legislative campaigns. The Affordable Care Act was such a Pyrrhic victory that we surrendered the House of Representatives in the very next election - in the process ending any legislative momentum supporting the Obama presidency. But it didn't have to be that way.
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A better metaphor for the effort for a conservative realignment is not a tectonic shift but the actions of glaciation. Tectonic plates do shift but most often when they shift there are earthquakes and upheavals. The current changes are much more silent but much more complete in their actions. There is no known limit to the size of an object which a glacier can move.
Also, glaciers carry their detritus and dump it in terminal moraines. In our case, the terminal moraines are the prisons and the streets for the homeless and more sadly still the morgues of America for the increasing population of the opiate-addicted.
Finally, glaciers are formed by snow at the highest elevations pressing down until it forms a sheet of ice up to 1,000 feet thick depending on terrain. In our case, the political contributions rain down from the wealthy in their aeries and crush the voices of those of lesser means.
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A political prose-poem of high quality.
Thank you for caring and sharing.
Your talents, they are glaring.
Not overbearing, nor despairing.
As America you are repairing.
So t'is not wearing, but well-faring.
The Antarctic ice sheet is more than 5,000 feet thick.
Oh, shut up!