Star Member Cyrano (12,897 posts)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215467664
American democracy could be nearing its end
The Republicans have declared full war on democracy. In every state they control, they are passing voter suppression laws. And they're also passing laws to nullify legal votes and allow their state legislators to decide who won elections. They have no intention of playing by any so-called "rules."
And even in states where they don't control the legislatures, they control enough voting districts to make a difference in the overall outcome.
This is fascism, pure and simple. They have decided that they're going to control the entire federal government after 2024 and I really don't see the Democrats doing much about it. Manchin, and perhaps Sinema, are preventing us from killing the filibuster and leveling the voting playing field. As far as I'm concerned, the only way these two will be forced to change their minds is if they're caught in compromising photos with a goat in a motel room, or some such.
What I'm trying to say here is that we can have the hugest Democratic voter turnout in history, yet still have this election stolen from us.
I hope I'm wrong about all this, but here's my fear. I knew a concentration camp survivor who passed away about 10 years ago. The one thing she repeated to me most often was, "We didn't see it coming." Those words haunt me because there are millions of Americans who believe "It can't happen here." My response to that is "Wake the **** up. It's happening."
Star Member FoxNewsSucks (3,821 posts)
2. You are exactly right.
Republiqons have been working toward their goal for decades. It will soon be a done deal, and I really thing our only chance is that the arrogance and impatience of them and their billionaire/corporate owners will cause them to make some small mistake.
Moostache (8,764 posts)
4. I hate to sound alarmist, but you are correct.
The Democrats need to bring Sinema and Manchin to heel now, or the game is lost.
The Senate is either evil and doing McConnell's bidding, or it is gridlocked and doing nothing...for going on 10+ years now.
The House is powerless. Its basically a circus of people wanting to be Senators, clown car escapees and nutbags garnering attention but not doing a damn thing. Nancy Pelosi has delivered dozens of bills that are languishing or dead in the Senate, so having the House has resulted in squat...even 2 Impeachments have been bamboozled and ended in acquittals for the guiltiest son of a bitch in recorded history.
The Presidency cannot act without a functional Senate.
This whole thing is crumbling before our eyes and yet the alarms seem to be on snooze still...
TheRealNorth (3,456 posts)
22. Concentration camps for the political elite/activists...
Ghettos for the poor and colored folks, until a "Final Solution" is come to.
To paraphrase Taylor Swift and Bonnie Iver- I think I have seen this film before, and I didn't like the ending.
tirebiter (1,677 posts)
8. We can still vote
Deal with the fear by being fearless to organize voters. The Democratic Party per se is, IMO, the best vehicle of hope for the most peaceful method to stop the anti democracy crowd.
Star Member Cyrano (12,897 posts)
10. I wish I could agree with you, tirebiter
But we're dealing with people who will win no matter what it takes. Too many of us are still living under the delusion that "enough votes will defeat them."
Please, please recognize what we're up against. We are kids with sticks fighting one of the most organized, evil entities America has ever seen on our home shores. They don't just want to win. They want us dead. And if I'm right, we won't be around for me to tell you "I told you so."
Star Member Crunchy Frog (23,881 posts)
11. That's why I intend for me and my family to be in another country
before the next presidential election.
I want to view things from a healthy distance when/if the shit hits the fan.
Star Member CrispyQ (29,704 posts)
12. 2020 was just one battle in a decades long line of battles.
Our side has been slow to recognize the change in the Republican Party. We've been slow to recognize this is war. A war for our country. Old guard dems, especially, have been slow to acknowledge that some of their colleagues they've served with for many, many years, are now fascists. Or at the very least, enablers of fascists.
I'd like to know what we are going to do about the shitshow down in AZ? So the DOJ gave them a warning. A month ago. And now the show is travelling to GA. I'm beginning to think that our side doesn't know what to do. We're still playing by a rule book that the other side has thrown into the trash & we haven't figured out how to proceed, other than business as usual. Well, that is going to lose us our representative government. I hope the dems don't think that getting us through/over Covid is enough to win the next election. It isn't. New voters are fickle. They're also unrealistic in their expectations. Getting them to the polls for a mid-term is going to be lots of hard work, & the repubs will have enthusiasm on their side.
It's infuriating that two democratic senators are the roadblock to a piece of legislation that makes voting easier for citizens. What the ****?
Star Member PortTack (19,291 posts)
24. volunteering is exactly what is needed!! We won GA because of the volunteers that were on the
Ground there. The Dems rely heavily on ppl willing to volunteer in any election. They need boots on the ground ppl to register new voters, manage phones, deliver signs, go to public meetings, write editorials for candidates for the local newspaper.
If we are to win again, and win big these originations and candidates need money. Small donors were key to Biden’s win. You don’t have to give a lot...just what you can
Donate to:
The DNC
The DCCC
ACLU
SPLC
Fairfight.org
Nodemleftbehind.org
Democracydocket.org
Anyone of the congressional candidates you like
Donate to senators that are up,for re-election in ‘22
Yes...act accordingly..get up, get out and DO something. Posting on DU does not count!!
Star Member Cyrano (12,897 posts)
26. Yes, PortTack. I agree with everything you say
BUT! And this is THE BIG BUT.
America is not what it was four years ago. At that time, the Republicans were our opponents. Today they are our enemies. -- It's not because of anything we did. It's because Donald Trump gave the worst among them permission to come out of their caves. And the Republicans who are too sane to buy into the insanity are too afraid to oppose it. So any opposition must come from us.
Let me say this as clearly as possible. THEY WANT A SECOND CIVIL WAR. We don't. (Anyone who has ever been to war never wants to see another.) So the question is: How do we avoid it?
I gave the answer above. Manchin's and Sinema's arms must be twisted until they break. The filibuster must be killed. Only then do we stand a chance of heading off the insanity that has taken over America.
With the voting field leveled by the absence of the filibuster, peace, or some form of it, stands a chance.
But let's never forget that Trump unleashed the more monstrous side of many. And they're not going away anytime soon.
zipplewrath (15,936 posts)
13. The fatal flaw
When things like the Senate and the EC were set up, no one knew that someday it would be 50 states. They also never considered that soon, 70% of the population would live in just 15 of those states. The system that we have become, cannot be sustained with just 30% of the population controlling 70% of the Senate.
Population of the 13 colonies:
As the colonies were established throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the population grew immensely, starting at just 2,000 people and growing to over 2 million. (Population as of 1770 shown)
Four of the 13 colonies were located in the area that is still known as New England. These colonies were the Province of New Hampshire (62,396), the Providence of Massachusetts Bay (235,308), the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations ( 58,196), and the Connecticut Colony (183,881). (total 539,781)
There were four colonies known as the middle colonies. There was the Province of New Jersey (117,431), the Province of New York (162,920), the Province of Pennsylvania (240,057), and the Delaware Colony (35,496). (total 555,904)
Finally, there were five southern colonies. This included the Province of Maryland (202,599), the Province of North Carolina (197,200), the Province of South Carolina (124,244), the Province of Georgia (23,375), and the Colony and Dominion of Virginia (447,016). (total 994,434)
The way the elections worked is that the smaller states had equal representation in the Senate. The House was by population, meaning more representatives for the biggest states, Virginia and Mass and Penn. There was no one block of states that had total power, and that's why it was set up that way.
What the Dems want to do is to wipe out that concept and control all the power in key states based on population. Looking at the top 13:
California 39,512,223Texas 28,995,881Florida 21,477,737New York 19,453,561Pennsylvania 12,801,989Illinois 12,671,821Ohio 11,689,100Georgia 10,617,423North Carolina 10,488,084Michigan 9,986,857New Jersey 8,882,190Virginia 8,535,519Washington 7,614,893None are clear red states.
stopdiggin (4,826 posts)
25. I'm a little more optimistic
(although it takes some doing some mornings)
I don't really think that Trump (and Trumpism) are going to be any more popular in two or three years time than they are now. I just don't. And I think the stink that the GOP is painting on themselves right now -- is being noticed -- and will linger. I see less people pulling the trigger for 'R' in the coming years. And that simple fact (plus the fact that politicians really like to get elected) .....
