The caption symbolizes how Republicans are violating the Constitution and Democracy
Articles of Impeachment
2019-12-10 Democrats announced articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. A core theme of the articles is that the president and his collaborators acted to undermine the sanctity of the 2020 elections by extorting another country, Ukraine, to interfere in the upcoming election. The core warning is that because Trump enlisted the aid of another country, Russia, to interfere in the 2016 election, he will continue this behavior.
The other core theme is that he has blatantly used unprecedented statements and measures to ignore all congressional oversight, and has further declared that according to Article 2 of the constitution he can do anything he wants. Not only has he declared he can do anything he wants, but that he is also beyond any kind of investigation.
Donald Trump is a threat to the Constitution and to Democracy
Certainly everyone is talking about this in the media and elsewhere, but it’s sort of a distraction.
What is Being Said
Democrats and the media have made no secret that Republicans are ignoring and/or distorting all facts, and actively repeating Russian talking points. Republicans have put up no real defense other than to say none of the evidence is evidence, that the entire process is invalid, is just an attempt to overthrow the results of the 2016 election.
It is generally accepted that once the case goes to the Senate, Republicans will vote along party lines to acquit Trump, probably not even a censure because the Republican’s position is that Trump did nothing wrong. If Trump is acquitted, effectively Republicans have decided for the country that their president cannot be held accountable for anything.
Pundits scratch their heads and wonder why the Republicans continue to support Trump, no matter what. They speculate that Republicans are just afraid to cross Trump because he can undermine their ability to get elected again.
What is Not Being Said
But what if the pundits are wrong, what if that’s not why Republicans are loyal to Trump. There is an alternative interpretation.
What if what Republicans really want, is a president who can do anything he wants, who is not only unaccountable to congress but beyond investigation. A president who can now do anything he wants to win an election, and guarantee his loyal acolytes to win elections too.
So what do Republicans really get? They get a One-Party State.
While Democrats have many reasons to impeach Trump, with overwhelming evidence warning of the dangers of a President who cannot be held accountable, who has unchecked powers they are missing the bigger picture of a political party that cannot be held accountable, that has unchecked powers.
What if the reality is
The Republican Party is a bigger threat to the Constitution and to Democracy
This is indeed the elephant in the room no-one is talking about.
The One-Party State
History has ample examples of One-Party States, and these come from both the left and the right.
Examples of One-Party States
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Left |
Right |
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USSR |
Nazi Germany |
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China |
Fascist Italy |
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Today, Russia is no longer Communist and is reportedly a Democracy with free elections, but is functionally a One-Party State, operationally a Kleptocracy. We have countries like Saudi Arabia that are officially Monarchies, but unlike England, they are functionally a One-Party State.
How Democracies Die
Germany was declared a federal republic at the beginning of the German Revolution in November 1918, with 18 federated states in 1925. On 11 August 1919 President Friedrich Ebert signed the democratic Weimar Constitution. — Wikipedia
Soon after this
Adolf Hitler's rise to power began in Germany in September 1919 when Hitler joined the political party then known as the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei – DAP (German Workers' Party). — Wikipedia
And then what happened
Hitler's "rise" can be considered to have ended in March 1933, after the Reichstag adopted the Enabling Act of 1933 in that month. President Paul von Hindenburg had already appointed Hitler as Chancellor on 30 January 1933 after a series of parliamentary elections and associated backroom intrigues. The Enabling Act—when used ruthlessly and with authority—virtually assured that Hitler could thereafter constitutionally exercise dictatorial power without legal objection. — Wikipedia
I use the example of Hitler and the Nazis because this is more similar to the current situation in America than the USSR, China, or Italy.
Six Steps to One-Party State
Hitler and the Nazis used the following play-book to create a One-Party State (from the video)
- Win the Capitalists Support
- Usurp State Government
- Take Over the Judicial System
- Legalize Terror and Oppression
- Step of Violent Suppression
- Control the Media
What Evidence Suggests Republicans Want This?
It is not hard to compare the Nazi play-book to the Republican play-book
- Give extraordinary tax breaks to businesses and the wealthy, and taxpayer subsidies to wealthy industries
- Michigan, replace elected officials with managers; increasing gerrymandering in Republican states
- Stack the SCOTUS and other courts with young loyal Republican judges, bending the norms of the Senate to do so
- Separating children from parents, and holding them in cages at the border, where many have died
- William Barr publically issues a thinly veiled threat to lower classes that they should respect law enforcement or lose the protection of law enforcement
- The rise of Fox News and other extreme right media
Why do Republicans Need This
Republicans are certainly desperate: More recently we see headlines like “U.S. intelligence officials briefed senators, aides on Russian attempt to frame Ukraine.” Even though senators have been briefed, the GOP has doubled down on promoting the Russian narrative that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election for the benefit of Hillary Clinton; Russia was innocent of claims it interfered in the election for the benefit of Donald Trump.
In the last few weeks, there has been a stunning amount of testimony and facts from reliable sources, not only outlining Trump’s corruption and criminality but that of his associates, including those Republican elected officials.
Republicans face two choices: win the White House in 2020 or go to jail
Largely Republican corruption and criminality have been sheltered by Attorney General William Barr. He has not just been protecting Trump, but the much wider behavior of Trump’s supporters. If Democrats win the Executive and Senate in 2020 and appoint a new AG, there is going to be a plethora of evidence of indictable behavior. This makes a lot of Republicans very nervous; fearful in fact.
A black POTUS for 8 years scared the dickens out of the Republican base
In the broader picture, the changing demographics of America are fewer white people, fewer evangelicals, fewer conservatives, and certainly fewer rich people; but vastly more concentration of wealth in the fewer rich. The reality is that the idea of President Obama drove home the feeling that if something strategically critical was not done soon, Republicans would face increasingly difficult odds at winning elections for a long time.
In 2020 we will learn if Democracy in the USA can be saved, or if the USA will become a One-Party State.