We must destroy the Republican party. Fairly, but utterly.
Then in 2020, Trump must be crushed at the ballot box. His corrupt administration must be thoroughly investigated, and any criminal acts punished. More importantly, the economic base of Republican plutocracy — Wall Street, monopolist corporations, and idle rich heirs and heiresses — must also be crushed. Monopolies must be broken up, taxes on the rich and corporations dramatically increased, and the size, profitability, and power of Wall Street sharply reduced with cricket bat regulations.
Meanwhile, Democrats must strengthen their own political base by strengthening democratic freedoms. They should make D.C. and Puerto Rico states, establish an inalienable right to vote, make Election Day a holiday, and strengthen and update labor law to spark a new wave of union organizing. Then they must overhaul the economy to cut the middle and working class in on the fruits of the last 40 years of economic growth, actually provide health care for all, and perhaps strengthen the welfare state for parents and children. Only by establishing a new political economy that functions for the great majority of the citizenry — as FDR and the New Deal Democrats did in the 1930s — can Republicans be firmly exiled from political power. For a political party as diseased as the GOP, a generation in the political wilderness is just what the doctor ordered.
“in the political wilderness”?
Such grandmotherly kindness.
Me, I’d relocate them to The Pole of Inaccessibility, 82°06′S 54°58′E; it used to be run by the Soviets, so completely appropriate.
Far side of the Moon is good too.
I wish I was capable of believing the democratic establishment was remotely interested in actual progressive change, rather than like “vocally supporting hot button issues once they’re resolved in court (and not by legislation) while working to defend and prop up the same bankrupt cronyism as republicans.”
I think there are good democrat politicians, sure, but I’m not convinced that anything but a clean sweep of all the greedy codgers and neoliberals will have any change.
Resist.
I’m covering NY-18 and NY-19. We’re going head to head with the pig-fucking Mercers, may their bowels bloodily gush out.
Resist.
I can’t take anyone seriously who claims that, if the Republicans allow Trump to fire Mueller and end the investigation, we can somehow fix this at the ballot box. We’re just barely hanging on as it is, but if the president can get away with purging the already hard-right FBI and turning it into his own personal police force, then things are a hell of lot uglier than the writer of that piece seems to believe. If Trump and his pals do that, if they are permitted to do that, then democracy and law are stone dead in the US.
If Trumpco is anyplace but prison in 2020, then we will have already lost the fight. It’s ludicrous to talk about the 2020 elections as though those will be anything but a sham in that scenario- “Oh sure, the Russians stole the last election with the intent of running the US into the ground and no one important suffered any inconvenience, but this time will be different if we just GOTV!”
Bullshit. I know the reality is damn ugly, but if people don’t face it then it will not change. It’s “nobly save or meanly lose” time, and the “fiery trial” we will be faced with will not be a tough election.
If I prayed, I would pray that Mueller succeeds. As it is, I’m hoping as hard as I can. I don’t want the alternatives. What Ryan Cooper describes is seeking refuge in delusions of a future that will never come. It is capitulation. Think I’m wrong? Then tell me, in what world would Trump and company ever permit another real election, with no law to constrain them? Because I’d like to live there.
Sorry for the repetition, but I’m so godsdamned tired of these kinds of ridiculous fantasies.
Well, I guess I share vucodlak’s general ideas but am more optimistic on two fronts.
First, the midterms are less than a year away and the signs are there for a Dem’ sweep, so there is at least a chance that the “checks and balances” may have something to say.
Of course the Dem’s would then likely no further “left” than Eisenhower was. On the other hand the Trump administration, while dangerous, mean, and venial, are also astonishingly incompetent.
Secondly I think Mueller *is* competent, and careful, and I think he likely already has the goods on Trump and knows where the bodies are buried, and I imagine he has the evidence widely scattered and very secure. I still doubt the “collusion” charge, but surely anyone looking at the Trump organization can see the trappings of organized crime there. I imagine Mueller will simply tell Trump’s associates that if they hinder him, a lot – a *whole* *lot* – of secrets will be revealed. Actually I suspect he already has.
So I have some hope.
This just in from Bloomberg’s billionaire index via The Guardian: World’s richest 500 see their wealth increase by $1tn this year.
That’s a 23% increase. Anyone here get a 23% increase in their wealth this year?
Salient point in the article:
So there might be some blowback, particularly given the recent tax relief they got. We can hope.
And what if that does not happen? What if the GOP retains the House and Senate, Trump fires Mueller, and the Republicans proceed to march on against Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and welfare? Either the American sheeple will awake and stop this tyranny, or a bloody fucking revolution, coupled with some well-placed ass*ions, will remain as the only possible remaining solution to the madness that is Amerika.
weylguy@7:”And what if that does not happen?”
Well then, if you haven’t worked your ass off to make sure it does, don’t come whining to me.
Although with open heart surgery in my very near future, the possibility that their will be no me to come whining to is not entirely negligible…
There is a definite chicken-and-egg component to this wonderful scenario: While D.C. and Puerto Rico would definitely be Democratic bastions for the foreseeable future in the wake of the Trump administration, the Democrats have to be in power before D.C. and P.R. will ever get full representation in Congress. Their statehood won’t occur without it.
My take on the last three elections is that probably about 40% of the voters are die-hard Republicans, 40% are die-hard Democrats, and the remaining 20% are “change” voters who just want to vote against whoever looks more anti-establishment. The change voters’ motto is “My life sucks, so anything the president can do to destroy the system that makes my life suck is worth betting on.” Obama ran on change and people believed him, so he won (though the change was fairly illusory). Then in 2012, he might have had more trouble if he hadn’t been running against Mitt Romney, who embodied the establishment and then some. In 2016, Trump lied like a rug about how he was going to back the common man against big corporations, but told the truth when he said he was going to blow up the government (every Republican since Reagan has been saying this, but he was the first one who meant it). And his voters thought blowing up the government would help them somehow, because of lies.
In 2020, it’s all going to come down to whether the workers in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania realize how badly they’ve been duped. Fortunately, polls seem to indicate that it’s sinking in. Florida is looking good for us due to the Puerto Rico influx. I also think it’s pretty unlikely we’ll make it to 2020 without either a war or the economy tanking, which will drag his popularity down even more.
A successful impeachment, I fear, would make things worse in the long run. True, it might reduce the chance of a tweet-inspired war or crash, but in many ways Pence would be smarter and tougher to beat than Trump. Also, you will have approximately a third of the country believing their guy was taken out by a deep state coup — not great for the country.
I am scared to death but I have to believe Mueller may get fired but I think NY State can take his Mafioso ass down. He has no Fed protection in States. We still have the judicial system and have to hope my favorite lady Ginsberg keeps living. I think she still runs so I have hope.
Cricket bat regulations? “The length of the bat may be no more than 38 in (965 mm), the width no more than 4.25 in (108 mm), the overall depth no more than 2.64 in (67 mm) and edge no more than 1.56 in (40 mm)…”
@robro #6:
I dunno about wealth but I can work it out for income. A quick calculation based on the Bank of England’s compound inflation calculator and reference to old P60s indicates that I enjoyed a 23% increase in my income over the period 1989-2016.
I think I’ll go out and celebrate.
I’ve often thought that the Fortune 500 should be considered a ‘hit list’.
Ideally the coming blue wave will sweep the Congress, they will impeach tRump (and Pence), reinstate all the Obama actions and tax the hell out of the oligarchs. In reality, I’m afraid that tRump will bail with his golden parachute intact and like Obama did nothing to W and his cronies, all the paid Republican stooges and oligarch thugs will get to walk and keep their loot. Nothing much will change for the rest of us. Jobs won’t come back, education will continue to be expensive and devalued, and our healthcare will keep bankrupting us. Optimist much?
They really aren’t Republicans any more. They are now Roypublicans until any vestiges are gone.
I distinctly remember the post-Watergate elections when Republicans got flushed: maybe there can be a double here. Roypublicans flushed twice as dramatically as that period.
Budgets will bust because of Roypublican voters who eagerly and brayingly and bayingly slurped Drumpfh’s filth and rural communities will collapse. Remaining Drumpfheteers will put on a brave face.