(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Threat [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-11-19 First-is Trump a fascist- even though he seems to lack a systematic ideology and is driven by greed. The assumptions are incorrect- Trump does have a systematic ideology- not dissimilar to millions of Republicans- and while driven partially by greed- what he craves most now is power. Further, Project 2025 provides a more than adequate framework for him to do serous damage to democracy- in a very short period of time. Critics who point to his bungling and incompetence would do well to focus on his foreign policy- he is more than capable of sparking WWW III. And if you don't believe me- ask James Mattis- one of his former Secretary's of Defense. Or Bob Woodward- or hundreds of others that know him well. Second- will the response to Trump II rouse the same level of opposition as Trump I ? I don't know. What I do know is that the level of sacrifice to preserve democracy will be far greater. The point of my writing so far- has not been to encourage despondency, but to shatter the illusions created by denial. Nor is it to create faux comfort by an avalanche of words to somehow minimize the feeling of dread. In 2016- I knew the threat posed by Trump- but I knew his limitations and the system's strengths. And I hoped Americans would eventually unite in significant enough numbers to defeat him. But they really didn't. Sure he lost the 2020 election- but the margins were slim given he was clearly an absolute demagogue- but Covid and its effects may have tipped the scales against him. Mark this- it took a pandemic and millions of deaths to stop him. In 2024- I also know the threat he poses. But I see an individual focused on seizing and maintaining power -and being open about it-in a way that he masked in 2016. I see someone emboldened by his own rhetoric. I see numerous people around him that want to actualize his agenda and operate in fear and obeisance. And I see close to half of Americans wondering about the other half. A deeply polarized country ripped apart by invasive and toxic social and conventional media. I see foreign influence in its elections run amok. Most Americans take for granted the freedoms they have. I see a Supreme Court highly compromised and out of touch. And I see the opposition with no new/good ideas to stop this. This is in part because the opposition is committed to democratic processes. Also, many are willing to sacrifice only so far. They cling to the idea that the other half will wake up and come to their senses. They know that indifference will be the death knell of democracy- but they know the "enemy" is to a large degree our collective selves. And they exist in a kind of isolation- particularly with their neighbors- harboring the illusion they are strong alone- when in fact they are pitifully weak. Harris spent a billion dollars- far more than Trump during the election. In 2016- Clinton also outspent Trump. And while the influence of money in electoral politics is highly destructive-some thing much worse is afoot. For me- I can analyze what happen in historical perspective- but I can't explain the Trump support without resorting to judgment- an assessment of a a willful or non-willful negligence that relates more to moral competence than political ignorance. At the moment I can't shake this. I feel it. I hear and see it. I find its arguments predictable. I have known it for a long time. I take no comfort in moral superiority- but morality is the core issue. If my emotional response is correct- democracy maybe doomed. Except that 250,000 votes in a country of 333 million shouldn't be enough to destroy US democracy. So that 50% that I am in- must strongly oppose, thwart and sacrifice- not only to save the other 50% from themselves- but to save themselves. They are the targets. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/11/19/2287292/-The-Threat?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/