Being crazy can and often does make a person dangerous, but it also typically weakens a person’s ability to lead and control others. Does Thiel have a bro-base as Musk does (did?), one that’s ready to accept his gayness and Jesus lingo? If so, how big is it? The point is that I do not see him as a real player in the fascist ecosystem outside of being an active funder of it (which is bad but not the same thing as being a leader).
The above principle also applies to Trump now. Sure, he’s been nuts for a long time now (in a way that appeals specifically to morons), but his dementia is something different: it shows weakness and incapacity, something that worshipers of a strongman cannot accept.
The beautiful thing is that the people are resisting and the resistance is throwing sand in the gears of the bulldozers. We’re going to continue resisting and throwing sand in the gears as we keep that little flame alive.
Which court is reversing the dismantling of the Department of Education? Which is reversing the dismantling of the EPA?
U.S. District Chief Judge James Boasberg would disagree with you.
“The Trump administration has launched a concerted drive to undermine American elections. These moves are unprecedented and in some cases illegal. They began with the pardon of the January 6 defendants who sought to overturn the 2020 results. They include affirmative attacks on democratic institutions, the repeal and withdrawal of voter protections, and symbolic or demonstrative moves. A clear pattern suggests a growing effort.”
Uh-huh. You let me know when they get those answers.
Before you respond, understand that I’m not going to continue to go back and forth with you. I’ll let you have the last word.
Trump cannot legally run for President again. Explain why he would need his base beyond the midterms. He doesn’t care one bit if his policies ruin their lives once the midterms are over. He has only ever cared about what they can do for him. Once they can’t do anything for him, he doesn’t need them. I suspect he knows this.
If you think Miller is an ineffective idiot, that’s how you underestimate him. Read this and still see if you think he is ineffective.
If Trump and his minions are doing “immense damage” (your words), and considering that was their primary goal, then they are succeeding. Who has suggested that Trump and Hitler had the same exact goals? And whose to say that, considering the immense damage done in the first year of his Presidency, that the next 3 years aren’t going to be far worse. Trump is just getting warmed up, my friend, and despite a few victories from the opposition here and there, nobody is really stopping him.
There aren’t going to be any Constitutional Amendments. Passing a budget is nearly impossible these days, let alone a change to the Constitution.
Trump has his own playbook, he’s not trying to be Hitler. But is certainly inspired by Hitler to do his own brand of damage. As far as that pretending part goes, Trump routinely says he won in a landslide and has the vast majority of Americans supporting him. If that’s not pretending, I’m not sure what is.
That’s equivalent to saying that a sustainable fascist movement won’t be built, which is the premise of the OP. Presumably the base would be needed for that, whether Trump becomes a dictator or someone else (e.g., Vance) takes over from what Trump is doing now.
The article is long, so please quote where it gives evidence that Miller is effective in building sustainable fascism. I understand that the man is evil and destructive and contributing to the depredations of the Trump regime. I can concede that he’s effective at being an antagonistic asshole in his current position!
Lots of people. Lots of people have been afraid of Trump eliminating elections, becoming dictator, etc. It’s the whole point of the OP.
He’s not. He’s close to incapacitation right now. Of course, his inner circle will try to use him as a meat puppet for as long as they can get away with it.
He’s stopping himself. He’s no longer really trying to do anything in particular. His attacks on the American people, polity, and economy are random and uncoordinated.
On this we completely agree. It’s probably revolution or nothing at this point (I’m not saying it’s going to happen immediately).
I don’t think he ever had a playbook for his second regime. If anything, he’s now just getting in the way of Miller et al. making plays from their own book. (Oh sure, I think Miller has his own incoherent scribblings. He’s a master in his own mind.)
Authoritarian rulers regularly invoke the will or spirit of the Volk, the people, the movement, etc., and treat those in opposition as a tiny, annoying minority. If you’ve watched Hitler’s speeches, you will understand this. Trump and his idiots like Noem, Hegseth, etc., however, have imbibed too much of the Pwn da Libz brew and think that power comes from continuously antagonizing and baiting half the country. I’ll repeat: Hitler didn’t do this.
Opposition to Marxism. Modern fascists try to use socialism as a boogeyman to scare people. This is particularly true in the US.
Opposition to (parliamentary) democracy. You will see this in attempts to make it difficult for people to vote, often under the guise of “preventing voting fraud” even when they cannot produce evidence of fraud.
Opposition to political and cultural liberalism. Fascists will often claim that liberalism undermines traditional values and morality.
Totalitarian ambitions. Fascists want to control all political power and will tell you that only they can set things right.
Conservative economic programs. Historically, very few fascist movements were left or left-centrist, and when they were they were small and short-lived.
Corporatism. Historically the ultimate aim was to destroy labor movements and suppress political dissent. A favorite tool of modern-day fascists is deregulation that results in profits to businesses at the expense of consumers.
Imperialism. ‘Nuff said.
Military values. Historically fascists favoured military values such as courage, unquestioning obedience to authority, discipline, and physical strength. They also adapted the outward trappings of military organizations, such as paramilitary uniforms and Roman salutes. We see this today in self-styled “militias.”
Volksgemeinschaft. A German word referring to a racially unified and hierarchically organized group in which the interests of individuals are strictly subordinate to those of the nation. They literally tell you that they want to put you under their control, and chances are very good that you won’t be invited to the ruling committee.
Leadership principle. The belief that the party and the state should have a single leader with absolute power. Beware claims along the lines of “We need a strong leader with the common sense to fix things.”
The “new man.” Fascists aimed to transform the ordinary man into the “new man,” a “virile” being who would put decadent bourgeoisie, cerebral elites, and “feminine” liberals to shame.
Struggle against decadence. Fascists will define a group of people that are misleading you, that are stealing from you, that are destroying your future. Modern targets are educated “elites” that earn their living through well-paid white collar work rather than “honest” blue collar work that is less well paid.
Extreme nationalism. Fascist ideologues taught that national identity was the foundation of individual identity and should not be corrupted by foreign influences, especially if they were left-wing. Interestingly, modern-day fascist movements are often funded by rich foreigners with the goal to destabilize other countries that they wish to control.
Anti-urbanism. The “elites” live in cities rather than in suburban settings where everyday man lives.
Sexism and misogyny. Fascist movements tend to have strategies around controlling women’s bodies, ideas that women must subjugate themselves to their husbands, and that the primary role of women is to have and care for babies.
I would be interested to know which ones you don’t think apply to our current situation.
I am broadly more convinced by your position than Aeschines’ but while there is no doubt Trump’s regime has all these goals and characteristics, the issue is perhaps whether it is going to succeed in them, not whether it wants to do so.
Having said that, I think the regime is more likely to succeed in those goals than Aeschines accepts.
I’m not sure anyone can answer that, at this point. The question really is, are people too apathetic to fight back in any numbers that actually matter. I’m afraid that this may be the case.
And every day is something new. Yesterday, we pirated an oil tanker. Today, Trump threatened to defund the entire state of Indiana from Federal funding when they dared to defy him.
And while there was a Republican who appeared ready to fight in regard to the survivors of the boat who were killed during a second strike, today he had a change of heart.
“Alabama Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, is dropping his end of a bipartisan probe into the military’s Sept. 2 strike that killed two survivors in the Caribbean, his spokesperson said Wednesday.”
Thinking this regime is powerless and withering away is not in line with reality, IMO.
The implied logic is, “This is too good to be true and too many people are saying it; ergo it’s not true.”
I’ll give Trump credit: he has massive stamina and will to power for someone who is old and not in very great shape. He has a real talent for making the most of he still has. The reason people have been saying, however, that he is going downhill for awhile is that he has. I mean, he’s fucking 79 now. This is the age when people can seem okay one day and die the next. My mom went into assisted living at age 80, seemed to be doing a lot better at times (doing physical therapy, hitting the gym) but died last year after eight months of being in this pretty nice place and many trips to the ER. Trump genuinely seems to be about to go over a similar cliff. He’s in very rough shape and should not be president. No one his age should be, IMO. Quite frankly, it’s ridiculous. (And don’t even get me started on Biden.)
Yeah, it’s called voting. That will happen and these fuckers will be voted out unless elections are rigged, canceled, etc. That’s what Hitler did and Trump has failed to do.
Yeah, it’s one ridiculous and shameless abuse of power after another, but it’s not adding up to anything that will allow the same dumbfucks to retain power.
Trump has shown that our political system doesn’t have adequate protections against a president who decides to go apeshit. The impeachment and 25th amendment processes are useless. We need something better.
You are arguing beside the point, again and again. Trump deteriorating and his support decaying are different things from the regime becoming powerless and withering away. These assholes will have the mechanisms of power at their disposal until Trump is gone, and it’s all going to suck until he is gone. I am willing to place a big bet, however, if only because of health alone, that he will not make it until 2029. Further, as I’ve said now about 20 times in the past couple days, Trump is failing to establish a long-term Reich.
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are both in their 80s and still touring. Mick is in pretty good shape, Keith has likely ingested enough drugs to kill a small country. “People are saying” isn’t a convincing argument when Trump uses it, and it isn’t here either. Sure, I’ll agree with you that we need younger people running the country, but Trump’s stamina is something to behold. In his mind, he still has 20 years to increase his wealth, and a positive attitude is everything.
And David Bowie died at age 69. The point, however, is that after a certain age, people can deteriorate and die very quickly. I have a friend who is 80 who seemed more or less fine (to me, who only talks with him over the phone and online “meetings”, though I have talked with him mostly every week for years) a few months ago, and now he’s had a pacemaker installed and is suspected of having had TIAs and he mumbles and repeats himself and seems a lot different. Have you seen video of Trump lately? The man is a shambling, slurring corpse.
There are plenty of doctors looking at this guy and rendering their opinions. It’s not pretty. And even Trump himself has had to start admitting that he has “minor” health problems, which of course implies that he has multiple potentially fatal health problems.
Are you not paying attention to what is happening in Texas. From my earlier link that was too long for you to read:
The Trump administration has launched a concerted drive to undermine American elections. These moves are unprecedented and in some cases illegal. They began with the pardon of the January 6 defendants who sought to overturn the 2020 results. They include affirmative attacks on democratic institutions, the repeal and withdrawal of voter protections, and symbolic or demonstrative moves. A clear pattern suggests a growing effort. As the 2026 midterms approach, that effort will likely gather momentum.
So, we don’t have adequate protections to prevent him from going apeshit, but he won’t retain power because something.
And I appreciate your predictions as sincere, but they don’t have the most successful track record.
Yes, things are bad, but they are not adding up to a fascist takeover.
Yep, something called death from illness and/or old age. In the near future. Or from incapacity related to aging and dementia. Or from not being able to run in 2028, as you pointed out. Etc.
It’s true I got the last election wrong. Mea culpa. I gave this country too much credit.
Your evidence is essentially anecdotal. I have a friend that died at 16. That has nothing to do with Trump. Sure, his mind may be going, but that doesn’t appear to be slowing him down. And he has people like Stephen Miller and many others to handle the heavy lifting. He also pretty much has corporate America in his pocket. They aren’t standing up to him. They are doing anything he wants them to do. Even the press is no longer doing their job. As long as Trump is still standing and still has the ability to speak, even if it becomes less coherant over time, his supporters have his back 100%.
