A Twitter follower asked: I suspect this particular lie sprang from pure delusion. For me, though, what matters more are the historical patterns, and why 40% of voters—including many who know Trump is lying—line up behind him. We know that lying is a fascist tool. We know that disinformation is used strategically by tyrants. We also …
Wishful Thinking, Deliberate Lies, or Complete Lunacy? Read More »
Yesterday 37,077 new Covid-19 cases were reported. Also yesterday, Trump administration filed this Supreme Court brieft to end the Affordable Care and take away health care from millions of Americans. Timothy Snyder calls it Sadopopulism, and explains why modern fascists deliberately hurt their own constituents. Twentieth century fascists wanted power, but they were content not …
Q: If you’re a would-be fascist and you’re losing, what do you do? A: Two of the tricks in Trump’s (limited) bag are: “Get the fighters fighting” and “ignite a cultural war.” Here’s how you accomplish both with one Tweet: (Destruction of federal government property is already illegal: 18 USC § 1361) On the face …
I spent 15 hours on Tuesday in the Fulton County (Atlanta) Voter Protection “boiler room,” which is basically a group of lawyers handling problems coming from polling places. The Associated Press called it “chaos in Georgia.” It was beyond insane. Some people were in line for 8 hours. Here’s the short version from the viewpoint …
This week has been the most chaotic week of the Trump presidency—and that’s saying a lot. Professor Heather Cox Richardson puts out an excellent newsletter summarizing the day’s news from the perspective of a political historian. She said this last night: There are peaceful protesters and there are chaos agents. The truth about the chaos agents …
After reading this post, Walker asked: Spoiler: A surprising number of people prefer a “strongman” to rule-of-law democracy. Let’s start with a definition of liberal democracy. I like Lincoln’s definition: “A majority held in restraint by constitutional checks and balances , and always changing with deliberate changes of popular opinion and sentiments is the only …
Lady in Blue has a few legal questions: I’ll answer them. For me, though, the real questions are why Trump is trying to cause so much trouble and what he hopes to accomplish. First: Can Trump override the governors? A: No. If the citizens of a state think that their governor is infringing their first …
Part I is here. Recall: Where we left off: The hierarchical leaders who want the freedom to lie and steal and cheat have a problem: Persuading their victims to vote for them. One way the GOP gets votes is by nurturing and stoking racial grievances. They get certain people to vote against their economic interests …
David Frum appeared on MSNBC and said, Trump “is weak, he is heading for a historic political defeat–one that will likely take the Republican Senate down with him. He is terrified all the time. His bravado is a carapace around his fear.“ Trump’s brand is built around winning. In his world—where cheating and breaking rules …
When Your Brand is Built On Winning, What Happens When You Lose? Read More »
Trump has no interest in controlling the pandemic. He wants to control the narrative. To answer this question, I will weave together: The purpose of government The limits of Sadopopulism, and Trump’s lifelong formula: what matters is the appearance of success. Let’s look at two opposing theories about the purpose of government: Democratic and Hierarchical. …
