"As Republicans prepare for a possible return to power amid rising hopes of winning the House and the Senate in the November elections, they are laying the groundwork for a spate of investigations of the Democrats. That includes making Hunter Biden and his business dealings a central target of their investigative and oversight efforts." - Denver Post, p. A8, GOP Prepares for Revenge'
The Far Right's latest challenge to global common sense and democracy is now history with Marine Le Pen's loss Sunday to Emmanuel Macron in the French election. See e.g.
France’s Macron wins second term as president, holding off Le Pen’s far-right threat
At stake was continued membership in NATO and likely any further trans-Atlantic cooperation in the Ukraine conflict, as well as issues from immigration to inflation. But a collective exhale could be heard as Macron won vs. the radical autocrat Le Pen - an unabashed Putin & Trump- lover. However, as a WaPo editorial noted, Macron’s win was a "negative" one. reflecting not so much voter enthusiasm for but voter rejection of Le Pen. Look I get negative voting, but hey - it's better than the alternative! There's a role for it in the currently callaloo mix of political disinfo, conspiracy ideation and hysteria.
Le Pen, like Trump and Hungary's Viktor Orban, is a nationalist and autocrat who was sullied by her Putin adoration and long-standing anti-immigrant bigotry. Sensible French voters could see the writing on the wall and the wolf ...errrr autocrat, at the door, and knew the dire repercussions if they let her in. They chose not to allow her into power, so voted Macron- not out of any devotion to the latter but rather preservation of French freedom and European cohesion.
But hold strain, this is only a first trial. Another test for democracy (vs. autocracy) - perhaps even bigger - will arrive with the American midterms on Nov. 8th. It's wake up time, though too many Americans don't want to hear it. Inflation is torching their bank accounts and new Covid subvariants are emerging. But they need to hear it - and see it- with vastly more on the line including probability of a Trump resurrection after insurrection in 2024 - should Reeps take the House. Granted Americans are in a malaise and misery over inflation. But this is not the time for a national pity party leading to awful choices of autocrats over democracy in eight months. Especially, even absent a pity party, too many believe the "opposition" offers the better chance for improved economics, governance or both.
As an antidote, many on the fence may need a timely reminder who the good guys are. They ought to pay attention to Mallory McMorrow who blasted a Reepo Michigan state Senator's lie that she desired to “groom and sexualize kindergartners.”. This was in a powerful speech last week. This is how damned low the Reep vermin are prepared to go to incite their base to the polls in November and grab unearned power. As Jennifer Rubin wrote in her Sunday Washington Post column:
"The attack on McMorrow echoed common rhetoric among MAGA cultists, including the despicable attack on Ketanji Brown Jackson from Republican senators that the soon-to-be justice is “soft” on child pornographers. But McMorrow refused to let it slide."
The "pedo" trope - along with the Biden "soft on Putin" bunkum and inflation blaming, are both being used by the GOP autocrats (and their media) in cynical and sometimes subtle ways for a power grab.. It's no secret, after all, that they yearn to get back to power, specially in the House. To that end they hope there are enough distracted, dumb or somnolent voters to hand it to them. There they can have a stone liar (Kevin McCarthy) as Speaker to allow an array of misbegotten, baseless "investigations" and even an effort to "impeach" Joe Biden. Among the related efforts is one to slime all of Biden's nominees with the pedo slander, as reported by New Yorker reporter Jane Mayer, e.g.
The Slime Machine Targeting Dozens of Biden Nominees | The New Yorker
The autocrats are at the door, and American brains are getting soft and sapped - from inflation to the horrors of Ukraine- and let's not forget new Covid subvariants lurking (BA.2, BA 2.12, BA 2.12.1 etc.) . Too many (especially independents) are becoming more and more vulnerable to the GOP cult ploys, even as the next CPAC is planned in Hungary next month. Why? Why Hungary? Well because it is the cradle of the new "soft autocracy" that Republicans are drooling over, because they believe it will fly with stressed out, fatigued Americans.
As quoted in the WSJ (April 23-24, p. A4) the GOP claims "the Democrats are out of touch with the electorate" and Americans are buying this claptrap. The autocratic spinners - who worship the ground Hungary's Viktor Orban tramples- believes voters are also tired of democracy. Else, why vote for this bunch of a reprobates at all?
The tweet heard around the world - from Rob Reiner last week: "A Vote for Republicans is a vote to destroy democracy" is still making waves. Some originally believed it was histrionic, but realized on reflection it isn't. It shocked Lawrence O'Donnell, but he quickly had to admit it was true, despite being simple, e.g.
Lawrence: 'Is A Vote For Republicans A Vote To Destroy Democracy?’ - YouTube
Any citizen of normal intelligence and familiar with recent history would have to concur. Never mind we may not wish the tweet to be true, it is today - in this era of Trump, Josh Hawley, Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz, and Marjorie Taylor Green.
Orban’s recent victory in Hungary has provided the go- to template for Republicans to impose an autocratic state on the U.S. With 90% of the vote processed, Mr. Orban in March had won a majority of the votes, according to official results, and the coalition led by his nationalist Fidesz party was on track to win 135 of 199 seats in parliament. His opponent, a staunchly conservative small-town mayor, Peter Marki-Zay, failed to win even his own district. The main reason for Orban prevailing?; The opposition was split into too many separate parties, and earlier gerrymandering of districts benefited Orban.
Now the GOP-Trump cult is convinced it can also win using Orban's template. Basically to exploit voters' inflation pain and their ongoing misery and malaise from the pandemic to vote against their own interests and our democratic system. In the words of former Obama administration Attorney General Eric Holder:
“The insurrection, the gerrymandering, the voter suppression, the attacks on professional election officials—all of this puts our democracy at risk to a degree we have not seen since the Civil War. That’s how serious this is.”
Holder isn't alone. Author Ruth Ben-Ghiat in her book Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present, sounded the most immediate warning on the April 4 ALL In, about how too many are sleepwalking into an autocracy. After noting the nature of Orban's rigged, non-competitive "democracy" Chris Hayes asked the author about its relevance to the U.S. scene. She responded the thing to note is Orban did what all autocrats do to preserve power, "he domesticated the media." The other aspect is "His gerrymandering and other trickery to make more districts favorable to his party familiar to people who follow the GOP" thus ensuring no surprises at election time. It's no surprise to GOP monitors because it is the exact same template Repukes are using here in the U.S.
The end result is it "gives Orban not guaranteed success but it makes it difficult for others to prevail."
When asked by Hayes what she thinks of the American Right looking to Orban's Hungary (as at CPAC next month) as their model Ben-Ghiat replied:
"You know the GOP lawmakers falling all over themselves to congratulate him are like kids looking in a toy store screaming 'I want that!', 'I want electoral autocracy.!'
Adding:
"And that's just what they're pursuing, including the anti-LGBTQ, and anti- critical race education policies. And Carlson talks about Orban defending family policies but doesn't mention 300 churches have been closed in Hungary because they're not aligned with Orban. He's prevailing right now because he's the palatable autocrat, not Putin."
When we visited Hungary in Sept. 2015 we could discern the reach and power of Orban even then. On assorted day trips we found Hungarians with whom we spoke were reluctant to discuss any politics, period. Even asking a brief history on how Orban came to power drew blank stares, often hostile ones, and mute responses.
The $64 question now: Why are so many American conservatives fascinated by Orban and his version of autocracy in Hungary? Last Wednesday in a spot on CBS Mornings, Jordan Klepper - who attended the last CPAC - provided answers, e.g.
Watch CBS Mornings: Daily Show's Jordan Klepper visits Hungary - Full show on CBS
This was also after Klepper taking a 'discovery' trip to Hungary - paid for by the CBS' honchos- where he beheld the same sort of brain rot affecting too many Americans at work. I.e. Biden "stole" the 2020 election from Trump and was therefore a "fake president". One delusional, bedazzled Trumper in a cowboy hat told Klepper: "When I see leaders in other countries talking like Trump it inspires me!" Hey, Sparky, do cowpies on an open barbecue pit also inspire you? Sheesh.
Then there was the consensus among the Hungarians interviewed who affirmed they loved both Trump and Orban because they were both "bad boys"- and got the media riled up. In other words, these Hungarians were trolls like the Big Lie believers in the U.S.
When asked by anchor Gayle King about how easily it would be for us to slide from democracy to Orban-style autocracy Klepper didn't hesitate: "Just orchestrate what he has over there: gerrymandering, strict voting limitation laws, strict control of the media - or powerful state propaganda arms to discredit it."
This was reinforced by autocracy specialist Ruth Ben- Ghiat in her ALL In appearance. As she observed, Orban’s victory gives him four more years in power and more opportunities to consolidate his autocracy, while also setting up some enormous fights for Europe. Meanwhile, in his Mother Jones piece 'The Coming Coup' Ari Berman warns:
Georgia is a microcosm of the extreme tactics Republicans are using across the country to entrench power in advance of the midterms. What can appear as a series of seemingly disconnected state-level skirmishes is in fact part of an insidious national strategy that goes far beyond previous efforts to suppress and undermine Democratic influence. Fueled by the Big Lie, this effort picks up where last year’s insurrection left off by putting in place the pieces to steal future elections by systematically taking over every aspect of the voting process.
Over the course of 2021, 19 states passed 34 laws making it harder to vote—the greatest rollback of voting access since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Those changes include more than a dozen GOP-controlled states passing new provisions to interfere with impartial election administration, while Trump and his allies aggressively recruit “Stop the Steal”–inspired candidates to take over key election positions like secretary of state offices and local election boards in major battleground states.
“What we’re seeing is a multifaceted, multilevel attack on American democracy,” says Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, chair of the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State.....
And make no mistake, if Republicans prevail in rigging the 2022 election, they’ll be even more emboldened in 2024, especially if Trump is on the ballot. The lies of a stolen election propagated by Trump—and exploited by Republican lawmakers who know better—are now being used to lay the groundwork to sabotage elections for real.
This also shows the menacing similarity to what Orban is doing in Hungary. It shows clearly, undeniably the path on which the GOP-Trump cult wants to take us and why we now have to imagine the unimaginable: that the Trump cult - if given power - could knock us out of the democratic orbit. There is no longer any doubt: A vote for a Republican IS a vote to destroy democracy. It's not histrionic, it's not hysterical or an exaggeration, it's a goddamned fact and we ignore it at our peril come November.
See Also:
by Amanda Marcotte | April 22, 2022 - 6:37am | permalink
And:
by Mel Gurtov | April 25, 2022 - 6:03am | permalink
Excerpt:
Many of you have no doubt watched a video of Michigan state senator Mallory McMorrow’s forthright response to a far-right colleague’s attempt to paint her as a “groomer” for the LGBTQ community and a supporter of pedophilia.
The larger import of McMorrow’s courageous pushback should not be lost: Democrats need to respond, with controlled anger and potent language, to the deliberate lies and bullying the far right is using these days to win power.
And:
by Bill Berkowitz | April 25, 2022 - 5:56am | permalink
by Amanda Marcotte | April 23, 2022 - 7:50am | permalink
And:
by Thom Hartmann | April 23, 2022 - 7:39am | permalink
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