With every post I read, the more I feel like I'm living in a sitcom- this CAN'T be real, can it? And yet it is. I'm grateful that you keep reminding us of basic facts- 2+2=4, there are 24 hours ina. day. The reminders of basic facts helps me stay grounded and keep fighting instead of giving up and watching the poopfest the US has become in less than 3 months. Thank you.
Not a sitcom, The Twilight Zone. Rod Serling is scheduled to come out at any moment, take a puff off his cigarette and declare "Submitted for your perusal, a nation turned upside down...in the Twilight Zone".
Re the 3rd term - You think Anus Aurantius is kidding? There is supposedly a loophole to the 22nd Amendment, whereas he would prearrange to be picked as the VP, have the figurehead President resign, allowing him to take over. Considering the current state of our SC, do not call me shocked if this happened.
This is exactly what Medvedev and Putin did in regard to being President and Prime Minister. I think people forget Putin was Prime Minister for a time a Russia. During that time Medvedev was only a figurehead President.
He doesn't even need that. All he needs to do is declare a "National Emergency" and cancel the election. He doesn't need a third term when he can just extend this one indefinitely.
Or, he may simply repeal the 22nd Amendment, deeming it as the infringement to people's democratic rights. Or, introduce a new amendment which would allow the third term, providing that the first two were non-consecutive. The choices are endless under a dictatorship.
The nation is now being gaslit 24/7. This is what its like to live with a malignant narcissicist, having one as president just means the entire nation is now being abused. Its not fun for anyone whose brain is not broken.
Since '20 I have had a very strong feeling that the Republicans intended to take permanent control of government by any means. These are not the same kind of people who have participated in government in the past. These are the extreme right wing religionists backed by corporate power. They have no limits. They don't believe the rules apply to them. I don't think that those members of government who have been in government in the past take the threat seriously. I see our "status quo " as a fairly lazy, selfish bunch. They have been content to raise money on promises and plans they knew they couldn't keep. So, here we are.
I think when they start to run out of food, in the next 10 years or so, things might start crashing. It's the only way out I see.
Thank you Doctor! This is excellent and your discovery of ‘Schrodinger’s Authoritarianism’ is a great frame to view current events through. The best explanation of ‘sanewashing’ ever!
“The Doctor calls this “Schrödinger's Authoritarianism”—simultaneously a joke and a serious proposition until the moment of observation, when it collapses into whichever form is most expedient for evading accountability.”
The 22nd amendment was ratified in 1951. It's certainly supreme law of the land, and indisputable. But the two term limit isn't really foundational. It was perhaps traditional, before FDR.
The landslide was not the general election. It was the primary. Republicans didn't want Mike Pence boilerplate Republicanism. They wanted the rapist, the felon, the vile insurrectionist who sent a mob to assassinate Mike Pence because he refused Trump's order to overturn an election.
Esper told us Trump 1.0 ordered the shooting of protesters. This time around, they will do it because they need violence to justify a disproportionately violent authoritarian response.
They will say and do worse things. There may eventually be protests. And the regime will likely murder some of them, instantly making the regime illegitimate. For a brief moment there will be an opportunity for the entire country to unify against that in extraordinarily large numbers. The regime will then be finished.
But if there's any question about it, if we've been successfully "divided and conquered" rather than finding "strength in union" - then there's a good chance that violent bloody civil war is the result.
“Schrödinger's Authoritarianism” is a great phrase. This cognitive (and linguistic) dissonance seems to be a characteristic of authoritarian figures. It’s one of the ways of detaching yourself from the content of what you are saying. Boris Johnson, for example, makes full use of this in the UK: “Johnson actively performs insincerity. He uses absurd turns of phrase, comedic gestures and the knowing look down the camera to strip his words of meaning. No one can hold him to what he has said, because anything can be dismissed as a joke.” (Robert Saunders) Ironically, the phrase “I'm not joking” can also, if needed, be flipped to “Relax, folks, it was just a joke,” especially if accompanied by a wink or a “knowing look.” As you say, the “dangerous farce” is that so many people buy into this and can flip without compunction from “It’s OK, he’s only joking” to “I knew all along, he means what he says.”
I don't think I can say it better than Steph ~ Thank you SO much for your thoughts on the cognitive dissonance that is gripping our country. Having read "It Can't Happen Here" many years ago, I never really expected to see such a scenario in my country, and yet. . . Thank you again!
Collective Incoherence, I like that description. That tent covers millions of people.
DT may be setting up to execute the Putin Medvedev swap play with JD. That is one possibility to maintain his grip on power. Regardless, Congress would need to amend the constitution to make that work.
One thing you can bet on is DT definitely making an overt power play to stay in control of the regime. There is no doubt about it. Plan accordingly.
Thank you for the article. Well done! Nice quote from Teddy R. I'm in the arena on this one. I called my Indiana reps yesterday and contacted the governor, to inform them that two term presidents don't get to run again b/c it would violate the 22nd and the 12th Amendments, dammit! (I was very calm.) Just like they wouldn't want a 3 term Biden or Harris presidency...
Get in the arena, folks. It ain't hard. I mostly use 5calls.org...
Love the Schrodinger’s cat metaphor! Also fits nicely with the quantum politics of fascist entanglement. Such as Putin’s and Krasnov’s perfectly correlated attributes. And with populist-plutocrat duality. Such as the grifting Krasnov’s populism charade as he simultaneously banks billions…
You know - and I’m not totally sure about the details but I think it’s mostly true - nothing stops him from running in primaries, and getting nominated, and running in the majority of states and winning the popular vote for the second time.
And then . . . The Constitution is supposed to stop him?
I’m positing something essentially independent of that. I’m asking “what if they walked it right up to the line and won another election?” It’s not my country so I’m not confident in my knowledge of your laws - whether they’re being enforced or not. But I think there’s not much stopping your Republican Party from bringing it to that point in 2028. I’m asking whether your Constitution and the legal structure around it are sufficient to stop the “will of the people” in that instance.
This has been the GOP M.O. since 1980. Constitutional constraints cast aside as mere nuisances to be disposed of in the service of gaining power.
King Krasnov has taken this M.O. to the nth degree. I don't think he intends a "third term". I believe he intends to just extend this one indefinitely.
With every post I read, the more I feel like I'm living in a sitcom- this CAN'T be real, can it? And yet it is. I'm grateful that you keep reminding us of basic facts- 2+2=4, there are 24 hours ina. day. The reminders of basic facts helps me stay grounded and keep fighting instead of giving up and watching the poopfest the US has become in less than 3 months. Thank you.
Not a sitcom, The Twilight Zone. Rod Serling is scheduled to come out at any moment, take a puff off his cigarette and declare "Submitted for your perusal, a nation turned upside down...in the Twilight Zone".
Re the 3rd term - You think Anus Aurantius is kidding? There is supposedly a loophole to the 22nd Amendment, whereas he would prearrange to be picked as the VP, have the figurehead President resign, allowing him to take over. Considering the current state of our SC, do not call me shocked if this happened.
I suspected all along this is why Peter Theils lapdog Vance is VP.
Ditto.
This is exactly what Medvedev and Putin did in regard to being President and Prime Minister. I think people forget Putin was Prime Minister for a time a Russia. During that time Medvedev was only a figurehead President.
He doesn't even need that. All he needs to do is declare a "National Emergency" and cancel the election. He doesn't need a third term when he can just extend this one indefinitely.
Or, he may simply repeal the 22nd Amendment, deeming it as the infringement to people's democratic rights. Or, introduce a new amendment which would allow the third term, providing that the first two were non-consecutive. The choices are endless under a dictatorship.
The nation is now being gaslit 24/7. This is what its like to live with a malignant narcissicist, having one as president just means the entire nation is now being abused. Its not fun for anyone whose brain is not broken.
We've been gaslit since at least 1980, if not 1968, or even 1953.
Since '20 I have had a very strong feeling that the Republicans intended to take permanent control of government by any means. These are not the same kind of people who have participated in government in the past. These are the extreme right wing religionists backed by corporate power. They have no limits. They don't believe the rules apply to them. I don't think that those members of government who have been in government in the past take the threat seriously. I see our "status quo " as a fairly lazy, selfish bunch. They have been content to raise money on promises and plans they knew they couldn't keep. So, here we are.
I think when they start to run out of food, in the next 10 years or so, things might start crashing. It's the only way out I see.
I've been feeling that way since 1980. Four years earlier than Orwell predicted.
Thank you Doctor! This is excellent and your discovery of ‘Schrodinger’s Authoritarianism’ is a great frame to view current events through. The best explanation of ‘sanewashing’ ever!
“The Doctor calls this “Schrödinger's Authoritarianism”—simultaneously a joke and a serious proposition until the moment of observation, when it collapses into whichever form is most expedient for evading accountability.”
The 22nd amendment was ratified in 1951. It's certainly supreme law of the land, and indisputable. But the two term limit isn't really foundational. It was perhaps traditional, before FDR.
The landslide was not the general election. It was the primary. Republicans didn't want Mike Pence boilerplate Republicanism. They wanted the rapist, the felon, the vile insurrectionist who sent a mob to assassinate Mike Pence because he refused Trump's order to overturn an election.
Esper told us Trump 1.0 ordered the shooting of protesters. This time around, they will do it because they need violence to justify a disproportionately violent authoritarian response.
They will say and do worse things. There may eventually be protests. And the regime will likely murder some of them, instantly making the regime illegitimate. For a brief moment there will be an opportunity for the entire country to unify against that in extraordinarily large numbers. The regime will then be finished.
But if there's any question about it, if we've been successfully "divided and conquered" rather than finding "strength in union" - then there's a good chance that violent bloody civil war is the result.
We amended the constitution. So it's foundational—the end. Principles are not meant to age like fine wine. They're just... principles.
“Schrödinger's Authoritarianism” is a great phrase. This cognitive (and linguistic) dissonance seems to be a characteristic of authoritarian figures. It’s one of the ways of detaching yourself from the content of what you are saying. Boris Johnson, for example, makes full use of this in the UK: “Johnson actively performs insincerity. He uses absurd turns of phrase, comedic gestures and the knowing look down the camera to strip his words of meaning. No one can hold him to what he has said, because anything can be dismissed as a joke.” (Robert Saunders) Ironically, the phrase “I'm not joking” can also, if needed, be flipped to “Relax, folks, it was just a joke,” especially if accompanied by a wink or a “knowing look.” As you say, the “dangerous farce” is that so many people buy into this and can flip without compunction from “It’s OK, he’s only joking” to “I knew all along, he means what he says.”
I don't think I can say it better than Steph ~ Thank you SO much for your thoughts on the cognitive dissonance that is gripping our country. Having read "It Can't Happen Here" many years ago, I never really expected to see such a scenario in my country, and yet. . . Thank you again!
Collective Incoherence, I like that description. That tent covers millions of people.
DT may be setting up to execute the Putin Medvedev swap play with JD. That is one possibility to maintain his grip on power. Regardless, Congress would need to amend the constitution to make that work.
One thing you can bet on is DT definitely making an overt power play to stay in control of the regime. There is no doubt about it. Plan accordingly.
Thank you for the article. Well done! Nice quote from Teddy R. I'm in the arena on this one. I called my Indiana reps yesterday and contacted the governor, to inform them that two term presidents don't get to run again b/c it would violate the 22nd and the 12th Amendments, dammit! (I was very calm.) Just like they wouldn't want a 3 term Biden or Harris presidency...
Get in the arena, folks. It ain't hard. I mostly use 5calls.org...
Love the Schrodinger’s cat metaphor! Also fits nicely with the quantum politics of fascist entanglement. Such as Putin’s and Krasnov’s perfectly correlated attributes. And with populist-plutocrat duality. Such as the grifting Krasnov’s populism charade as he simultaneously banks billions…
You know - and I’m not totally sure about the details but I think it’s mostly true - nothing stops him from running in primaries, and getting nominated, and running in the majority of states and winning the popular vote for the second time.
And then . . . The Constitution is supposed to stop him?
Yeah, well, there's this little thing called the 22nd Amendment. I think it means something. Don't you?
I’m positing something essentially independent of that. I’m asking “what if they walked it right up to the line and won another election?” It’s not my country so I’m not confident in my knowledge of your laws - whether they’re being enforced or not. But I think there’s not much stopping your Republican Party from bringing it to that point in 2028. I’m asking whether your Constitution and the legal structure around it are sufficient to stop the “will of the people” in that instance.
This has been the GOP M.O. since 1980. Constitutional constraints cast aside as mere nuisances to be disposed of in the service of gaining power.
King Krasnov has taken this M.O. to the nth degree. I don't think he intends a "third term". I believe he intends to just extend this one indefinitely.