(5-minute read)
On January 6th, 2020 a few thousand MAGA supporters tried to overturn an election at the behest of their leader, then-President Donald Trump. They came close to succeeding. 147 Republicans in congress supported their actions.[1] The MAGA Republican Party calls them patriots.
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It was a watershed, or historic, moment.
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Watershed moment
We’re entering into unchartered territory for our nation. The country is currently dangerously close to becoming (and there are several choices, none of them good): a banana republic, an authoritarian regime, a fascist state, an Oligarchy, some kind of quasi-Christian caliphate.
As a nation what will be our place in the world? What direction will the various political parties take? What do we do? Where are we headed? Where will various religions end up? Where do Christians fit in with the quest for power?
It’s a struggle between good and evil to determine the fundamental fabric that weaves our society. Our civil rights, basic human decency and what President Biden calls the soul of our nation are on the table. We have to try and make the best of a really bad situation.
The main point really is that we aren’t drifting anywhere good. What’s more; It’s going to get worse before it gets better.
The stakes are high.
Big fat checks.
There’s a protest song that has making the rounds for a while by Carsie Blanton that is perhaps truer than we would like it to be The song is titled “RichPeople”. It’s kind of a laid back folksy bluesy jazzy finger snappin’ protest song. Here’s her primary message regarding who is running things.
It was rich people, stacking the deck, rich people with big fat checks, rich people they’re having a ball. Rich people been fucking us all.
We can expect more of that in 2024 especially from the MAGA party led by a convicted billionaire rapist, aka the stinky Orange Jesus (OJ). Stinky. Now, there’s a nice Trumpian nickname. OJ likes catchy names.
Which party has the most billionaire oligarchs backing them do you reckon? I’m going to go with the MAGA Party because Trump treated the rich so well during his administration. After all he had 4 billionaires as a part of his cabinet in addition to all the multimillionaires.[2] The majority of congress are also millionaires. MAGA Republicans win the battle of the richies.[3]
President Biden just has regular old multimillionaires.[4] He does have one standout cabinet member that has zero net worth, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. She’s a native American that according to her bio has known homelessness in her life.[5] She’s an anomaly.
President Biden vacationed at some villa in St. Croix.[6] Over the years he has been a regular visitor there. The villa is owned by guess who… drum roll … a billionaire couple. Those billionaires sure do come in handy when it’s vacation time.
We don’t know anyone that stays at a villa much less owns one.
Carsie ain’t wrong.
Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble.
Ever since Trump and MAGA waddled onto the scene in 2016 and ended up becoming President the country has been in turmoil. Why would 2024 be any different? MAGA has only gotten worse. Trump becomes more unhinged with each passing day. He has become an animated caricature of himself.
Twenty twenty-four will be a year of more of the same deceit, lies, misinformation squared, dysfunction, and violence if MAGA gets its way. If MAGA wins, threats and intimidation will become the law of the land as administered by Stinky.
Speaking of law of the land MAGA state legislatures are still busily passing laws of suppression and hate while MAGA members paralyzed Congress with the second least productive Congress in 100 years.[7] [8] It’s what they do. Their fascist goals haven’t changed.
MAGA continues holding onto two opposing views simultaneously. On the one hand they will claim that America is the greatest country in the world while also maintaining that America isn’t great because Biden is President. Yet if Trump were President right now MAGA would be claiming that America has the best economy in history!
The MAGA litany of everything that is wrong with America hasn’t changed: crime is rampant, our 3 branches of government have failed, people in general are living in dire straits. Putting things in simple language easily understood by MAGA supporters is we’re the greatest but we aren’t.
The only way that MAGA Republicans can save our democracy from the “socialists” is to do away with our democracy. They are only doing it because the socialists made them. They are the physically abusive husband that tells the wife he’s beating that it’s his wife’s fault for making him beat her.
“See what you made me do!”
On the sidelines
In 2020 eighty million eligible voters didn’t vote.[9] That’s roughly 67% of the voting population. People say that their vote doesn’t make a difference and then prove by not voting that it does. If you’ve read this far it’s possible to draw the conclusion that how the people vote really doesn’t matter. Trump getting elected President proves otherwise and shows just how much damage can be done through a group that enables evil.
The vast majority of citizens in the United Staes of America are on the sidelines watching and not directly involved in the election until it’s time to vote. That doesn’t mean that those of us on the sidelines are powerless. My wife and I donate small amounts to people seeking office all around the nation. It may not be much but every little bit counts. I write. I share ideas. It isn’t much I know, but I do it. Rather than make a list of little things that people can do I’m just going to say do what you can even if it’s only to vote on election day.
In the 2024 Presidential election a couple of percentage points in the vote will make the difference. Trump will lose the popular vote again but as happened in 2016 can win in the electoral college. President Biden and the truth only won by less than a percentage point in key states in 2020.
Use your voice wherever you are in the world to support democracy. Reach out.
Whether we like it or not.
We’re all along for the 2024 ride.
https://yadayadayadablahblah.blogspot.com/
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/07/list-republicans-voted-to-reject-election-results
[2] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-cabinet-richest-in-us-history-historians-say/
[3] https://www.budgetandthebees.com/who-is-richer-democrats-or-republicans/
[4] https://www.forbes.com/sites/michelatindera/2021/06/29/the-net-worth-of-joe-bidens-cabinet/?sh=3cd1e18d7749
[5] https://www.forbes.com/sites/michelatindera/2021/06/30/this-biden-cabinet-member-has-an-estimated-net-worth-of-0/?sh=d2692067c4b3
[6] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/31/us/politics/biden-lies-low-in-st-croix-during-holiday-week.html
[7] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/19/us/politics/house-republicans-laws-year.html
[8] https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/22/politics/restrict-voting-bills-introduced-us/index.html
[9] https://www.npr.org/2020/12/15/945031391/poll-despite-record-turnout-80-million-americans-didnt-vote-heres-why