This is all spot on. I would also like to add that every time a Republican leader talks about unity, the media should immediately point out that THE most important step they could take in that direction is to LOUDLY denounce the election conspiracy theories and STRONGLY promote the fact that this was a fair and legitimate election and Joe Biden won. Until the Republicans stop de-legitimizing this election there can be no unity.
I've seen a lot made of the way the Rs have phrased their calls for unity in the language of an abusive relationship. "Let it alone or you'll regret it" or "If you do that, they're gonna be mad"
It definitely echoes the kind of threats we've heard from Donald for the last few years - a little bit mob boss, a little bit abusive partner.
But inside all these statements, you can also hear the Rs as the abused.
I'm not excusing a bit of it.
They should have stood up to this a long time ago. They should have held to the morals and principles and character they've been whinging about for decades instead of bowing to a fascist. But they didn't. They accepted the date and stayed with the bad boyfriend because he took them out to fancy restaurants and bought them jewelry.
I can't imagine they don't know how bad he is. I can't conceive of a universe where Kevin McCarthy and these other establishment Rs actually wanted to overthrow the election. Which means they were trusting that the dems would save them from what they were doing. The dems were the safety net for their failings.
They're a fundamental threat to democracy, no question, but I've met enough people in abusive relationships that I can't stop hearing how broken the Republican party is by their five year affair with this man.
As a parent I will tell you that the very worst thing one can do is to downplay an issue and hope it will go away. It takes courage, fortitude and patience to face, name and then take on unpleasant or difficult issues. And even more courage, fortitude and patience to work through to a solution. But all of this work just gets harder the longer the issues go unaddressed and become ingrained. I hope your commission becomes a reality. I also hope that it includes some GOP members who have shown at least the inklings of a moral spine these past 4 years. And I hope it includes none of the cynical, grasping GOP members who can not be trusted to work in good faith. It would be so nice to see the government create something that is deliberate and thoughtful and effective.
Brilliant analysis as always, Dan. The discussion around Trumpism and the extremist fringes of it is important. But it always concerns me that the true risk of Trumpism is being ignored. The attack on the Capitol in many ways provided very tangible evidence of just how insidious it is. While it was a fringe extremist element that caused the most harm, thousands streamed over the fallen barricades and participated, no matter how much they absolve themselves or responsibility. A mob is constituted by weight of numbers, and the sheer size of that mob in its totality is what made it so dangerous. So, while there are millions that buy into Trumpism and pose no physical threat individually for their beliefs, the '75 million that believe the election was stolen' is a bloc that is being used by the GOP to justify all sorts of things. How anyone can deprogram 75 million who have developed a fundamental misunderstanding of democracy is one giant problem for any government going forward - especially in a country that still believes in 'American Exceptionalism'.
The only way this country, this democracy can be saved is with massive voter registration...I don't see a way around 70 million people who will not stop believing the massive fraud, which is THEIR LIVES.
Thanks Dan! Perhaps, VP Harris will be the balance to help President Biden find the way through the mass of stuff that needs doing so that all you mention can and will be addressed.
You are the second person I've seen today to use the word "lynching." Apt. Y'all at Crooked may need to set up a proposed legislative writing shop like ALEC to help Dems accomplish what must be done. Steady on.
It's major that McConnell seems to be going along with impeachment. McCarthy, get out of the way, Mitch wants to 'build back better'...hahahaha I can't stand him, but it's a smart move because it will rid them of trump forever. And if he decides to run third party all the better.
I agree with everything you wrote, except my version is laced with expletives. Two things:
1. Not only are you correct about "opening the door for the next demagogue" but think about how this looks to our beleaguered allies around the world. As in "well, they elected Biden but who the heck knows what will happen in 4 years? How dependable is that electorate in its support for democracy?"
2. How do you feel about Biden's concern re: impeachment trial at the beginning of his term? Less in terms of optics (and unity) and more in terms of agenda?
Thanks so much for your clear, thoughtful analysis Dan. We appreciate it!
I really worry that we are going into circular firing squad mode. The idea that big things went wrong and we are going to have to do big things to punish Trump scares the hell out of me. 20,000 Americans died in five days last week. Spending half a day, every day for weeks if not months, trying to convict Trump of not being fit for office is a bloody waste of time. It hurts that he will get a million dollars a year to fly to his golf courses but we are going into a recession on top of people dying. Get out of Biden's way. He should tell them to give him a hundred days of full attention and then see. Nevermind should be the response when we see that the John Lewis voting rights act will not have been passed, let alone any progressive legislation. Possibly we will all have another $2,000, big whup. Let's just pray we will have the judges we need and he will have a team in place.
Two typos though. In this sentence "We know less about what happened during than Trump Administration than any administration in modern political history." That first "than" should be "the" or "this".
Also in this sentence "Dislike of ambitious snake oil salesman Cruz and Hawley is the one thing that unites Democrats and Republicans." do you mean "salesmen" or do you just refer to Cruz as a snake and not Senator Hawley as well.
This is all spot on. I would also like to add that every time a Republican leader talks about unity, the media should immediately point out that THE most important step they could take in that direction is to LOUDLY denounce the election conspiracy theories and STRONGLY promote the fact that this was a fair and legitimate election and Joe Biden won. Until the Republicans stop de-legitimizing this election there can be no unity.
I've seen a lot made of the way the Rs have phrased their calls for unity in the language of an abusive relationship. "Let it alone or you'll regret it" or "If you do that, they're gonna be mad"
It definitely echoes the kind of threats we've heard from Donald for the last few years - a little bit mob boss, a little bit abusive partner.
But inside all these statements, you can also hear the Rs as the abused.
I'm not excusing a bit of it.
They should have stood up to this a long time ago. They should have held to the morals and principles and character they've been whinging about for decades instead of bowing to a fascist. But they didn't. They accepted the date and stayed with the bad boyfriend because he took them out to fancy restaurants and bought them jewelry.
I can't imagine they don't know how bad he is. I can't conceive of a universe where Kevin McCarthy and these other establishment Rs actually wanted to overthrow the election. Which means they were trusting that the dems would save them from what they were doing. The dems were the safety net for their failings.
They're a fundamental threat to democracy, no question, but I've met enough people in abusive relationships that I can't stop hearing how broken the Republican party is by their five year affair with this man.
As a parent I will tell you that the very worst thing one can do is to downplay an issue and hope it will go away. It takes courage, fortitude and patience to face, name and then take on unpleasant or difficult issues. And even more courage, fortitude and patience to work through to a solution. But all of this work just gets harder the longer the issues go unaddressed and become ingrained. I hope your commission becomes a reality. I also hope that it includes some GOP members who have shown at least the inklings of a moral spine these past 4 years. And I hope it includes none of the cynical, grasping GOP members who can not be trusted to work in good faith. It would be so nice to see the government create something that is deliberate and thoughtful and effective.
Brilliant analysis as always, Dan. The discussion around Trumpism and the extremist fringes of it is important. But it always concerns me that the true risk of Trumpism is being ignored. The attack on the Capitol in many ways provided very tangible evidence of just how insidious it is. While it was a fringe extremist element that caused the most harm, thousands streamed over the fallen barricades and participated, no matter how much they absolve themselves or responsibility. A mob is constituted by weight of numbers, and the sheer size of that mob in its totality is what made it so dangerous. So, while there are millions that buy into Trumpism and pose no physical threat individually for their beliefs, the '75 million that believe the election was stolen' is a bloc that is being used by the GOP to justify all sorts of things. How anyone can deprogram 75 million who have developed a fundamental misunderstanding of democracy is one giant problem for any government going forward - especially in a country that still believes in 'American Exceptionalism'.
The only way this country, this democracy can be saved is with massive voter registration...I don't see a way around 70 million people who will not stop believing the massive fraud, which is THEIR LIVES.
Thanks Dan! Perhaps, VP Harris will be the balance to help President Biden find the way through the mass of stuff that needs doing so that all you mention can and will be addressed.
You are the second person I've seen today to use the word "lynching." Apt. Y'all at Crooked may need to set up a proposed legislative writing shop like ALEC to help Dems accomplish what must be done. Steady on.
It's major that McConnell seems to be going along with impeachment. McCarthy, get out of the way, Mitch wants to 'build back better'...hahahaha I can't stand him, but it's a smart move because it will rid them of trump forever. And if he decides to run third party all the better.
Thank you Dan. Would love suggestions on volunteer, activist and donation opportunities to support this agenda of reforms.
I agree with everything you wrote, except my version is laced with expletives. Two things:
1. Not only are you correct about "opening the door for the next demagogue" but think about how this looks to our beleaguered allies around the world. As in "well, they elected Biden but who the heck knows what will happen in 4 years? How dependable is that electorate in its support for democracy?"
2. How do you feel about Biden's concern re: impeachment trial at the beginning of his term? Less in terms of optics (and unity) and more in terms of agenda?
Thanks so much for your clear, thoughtful analysis Dan. We appreciate it!
The David Plouffe/Steve Schmidt/Michael Bescholoss podcast was downright depressing today. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bottom-of-the-moral-scale-with-michael-beschloss/id1529896611?i=1000504942442
"statehood for D.C., ending the filibuster, court reform, ending gerrymandering, and a massive voter expansion agenda."
How likely are these things to get passed through? And then if we can solve those things what else can we do to stop the spread of misinformation?
Well done, Dan.
I really worry that we are going into circular firing squad mode. The idea that big things went wrong and we are going to have to do big things to punish Trump scares the hell out of me. 20,000 Americans died in five days last week. Spending half a day, every day for weeks if not months, trying to convict Trump of not being fit for office is a bloody waste of time. It hurts that he will get a million dollars a year to fly to his golf courses but we are going into a recession on top of people dying. Get out of Biden's way. He should tell them to give him a hundred days of full attention and then see. Nevermind should be the response when we see that the John Lewis voting rights act will not have been passed, let alone any progressive legislation. Possibly we will all have another $2,000, big whup. Let's just pray we will have the judges we need and he will have a team in place.
Excellent commentary!
I couldn't agree more.
Two typos though. In this sentence "We know less about what happened during than Trump Administration than any administration in modern political history." That first "than" should be "the" or "this".
Also in this sentence "Dislike of ambitious snake oil salesman Cruz and Hawley is the one thing that unites Democrats and Republicans." do you mean "salesmen" or do you just refer to Cruz as a snake and not Senator Hawley as well.
Love the analysis, keep it up!