NBC News is reporting that some on the Mueller team say his findings paint a picture of a campaign whose members were manipulated by a sophisticated Russian intelligence operation. This is exactly what Professor Timothy Snyder has been saying all along. In this video, taped on May 8, 2018, prof. Snyder explains why the word “collusion” …
Some of my Twitter followers feel we’re facing something new in America. “It’s never been this bad before,” they say. I wrote a thread to offer some historical perspective, and to remind people about slavery. And Jim Crow. And women as chattel. Let’s take a look backwards—then consider how we move forward. When Friedrich Trump, …
Let’s suppose the unthinkable happens: Trump badgers our democratic institutions until they crumble, the 2020 election is mere ritual, nothing checks Trump’s power, and Trump makes himself an autocrat. What then? I’ll show you how Chile got out from under an actual dictatorship and restored democracy. I’m using Chile as an example because my husband’s …
I was honored (and flattered) when the University of Chicago, Harris School of Public Policy, asked for my views on saving democracy. I wrote out my answers, and they’ve posted it to their website. You can view it here. Or, if you prefer, my answers are here: Why are challenges to democracy so important to …
The Trump administration is backing the full repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Joy Reid says: Maybe it isn’t spite. Maybe it’s what Yale prof. @TimothyDSnyder calls Sadopopulism. “What the heck is that?” you ask? Snyder talks about sadopopulism here. Sadopopulism explains how oligarchs—those who seek to have both power and wealth—stay in power. It works …
Subtitle: How Democracies Die—and How They Are Saved [View here as a Twitter thread] The Constitutional showdown this week is over who gets to decide whether the president is guilty of crimes: AG William Barr or Congress. Since before Barr published his 4-page summary, I’ve been talking about why I think Mueller wouldn’t indict, even …
[View here as a Twitter thread] Barr released a four-page summary of Mueller’s report. It’s short, easy to read, and here. From P. 2: “The investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.” That quotation comes from the Special Counsel (Mueller). …
[View as a Twitter thread] @QueenieG2017asked me to predict where we’re heading, and talk about strategies: We have a two part problem (1) work through the current authoritarian moment and (2) find a better way of dealing with the 1/3 of the population that will never feel comfortable in a liberal democracy. By “authoritarian moment” …
What is our best outcome, and how do we get there? Read More »
[View as a Twitter thread] DC asks this: Recall that the GOP has been taken over by RWAs. RWAs have personality characteristics that enable them to seize power beyond their numbers. (If you missed my thread how the GOP became authoritarian, it’s here.) Reason #1: RWAs tend to fall in line. RWAs “favor obedience and …
[View as a Twitter thread] Elliot Broidy is in the news again. Let’s begin the Elliot Broidy story on April 9, 2018 when the FBI raided Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen’s office and seized material. A few days later on April 13, Elliot Broidy made news when it was reported that Michael Cohen had brokered …
