"We must save ourselves": America's crippling cynicism helps Donald Trump

[marmar]

"We must save ourselves": America's crippling cynicism helps Donald Trump
"Millions of Americans don’t feel our democracy can deliver for them"

By Chauncey DeVega
Senior Writer
Published January 22, 2025 5:45AM (EST)


(Salon) It was dangerously cold outside on Monday, which necessitated that Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony be held inside the Capitol Rotunda. Four years ago on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump’s MAGA followers attacked the Capitol with the goal of keeping him in office and nullifying the results of the 2020 election. They carried the Confederate Battle Flag. During the Civil War, that symbol of white supremacy and treason never flew inside of the Capitol. Four years later, Trump would stand in the Capitol building and take his oath of office as the country’s first elected autocrat who has promised to rule as a dictator on “day one.”

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Ultimately, the Resistance, in whatever form it is going to take, will have to use new approaches (which will necessarily mean (re)learning lessons from successful pro-democracy movements both here and abroad, such as the Black Freedom Struggle and the civil rights movement) to confront and hopefully slow down Trumpism and American fascism’s advance.

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In an attempt to gain some perspective as we navigate Trump’s return to power and the rise of MAGA America, I recently spoke with Virginia Kase Solomón, president and CEO of Common Cause, a nonpartisan government watchdog organization driving systemic change and holding power accountable through grassroots advocacy and legislative action. Since 1970, Common Cause has championed government accountability, ethics and the removal of big money from our nation’s political system. Today, the organization represents over 1.5 million members and 23 state offices.

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Using the exact same strategies from the last time Trump was in power will likely not be effective given how he has expanded his base of support, has professionalized and expanded his attack on democracy, the country’s institutions and the rule of law and has the Supreme Court, almost literally, in his back pocket.

The next four years will look a lot different than the last Trump administration. However, the president is still fundamentally the same person he was when he was elected in 2016, even if he has a more professional operation around him. We can learn a lot from the first term and shouldn’t repeat the mistakes of the past as we work through these next four years.

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Much media attention and that of the engaged public has been focused on Project 2025 for example. But Project 2025 is just one part of a much larger revolutionary project by the American right to remake society in their vision. What are some of the other initiatives and projects that you and your colleagues are monitoring?

While all eyes are on Trump and the imminent threats of Project 2025 and Agenda 47’s egregious policies, we must not lose sight of the democracy denialist threats playing out in state legislatures and city halls across the country. These hyper-local policies will have massive implications for our democratic processes. ..................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2025/01/22/we-must-save-ourselves-americas-crippling-cynicism-helps-donald/

[JohnSJ]

1. Unless there is enough anger in this country, the situation will get far worse. Too many people are still patronizing

platforms run by these power-hungry unelected billionaire fascists where much of their revenue comes from to push their agenda to the masses.

[Midnight Writer]

2. The worse government functions, the more people will vote for anti-government politicians.

And the more anti-government politicians in office the worse government will function.

We are in a downward spiral, engineered by the super-wealthy.