My Europeans friends often wonder how so many Americans can be so effing stupid. Trump is a result of decades of media distortion. Radio is the leading media consumption source and talk radio (in a commuter country) is skewed far far further to the right than even #FauxNews. #Propaganda works, folks!
June 28 & 30 – In Washington D.C. and across Europe, take part in demos with @womensmarch @FamiliesBelong & @DemsAbroad to protest the ongoing human rights violationscreated by @realdonaldtrump racist policies and staff. RSVP: https://t.co/16LjUXKxWR
— Dems Abroad Austria (@DemsAustria) June 27, 2018
“Don’t Be a Sucker” was designed to warn pre-internet moviegoers about the dangers of being taken in by a populist demagogue. It’s seventy five years old, so it barely predates Don the Con. It also perfectly encapsulates a what he is, and always has been, a dyed-in-the-wool conman.
However, the fact that he is a Russian-backed conman puts him in another category. He and his family are not just in it for their personal gain (in the form of Russian hotels, and even possibly huge shares of Rosneft.
Go down this incomplete list of pro-Russia actions Don the Con has taken in direct contravention to American commitments and interests:
This man is not in office for you, people like you, or even people you like. His policies on trade directly harm his own narrow constituency. His rhetoric has consistently targeted minorities and his slogan itself is dredged from the darkest parts of American history. He’s in office for himself and for Putin (to save himself). He came into office in violation of his oath of office on day one. His actions and the actions of a still rising number of convicted flunkies indicate he’s guilty, psychologically duplicitous and fully-compromised. This cannot end well, but it will end. Let your conscience be your guide and most of all …
Don’t be a sucker!
“Donald Trump’s presidency threatens much of what is good about this country.”
Considering the content of this book, the investigation into Trump and his obstruction of justice, and the rumored pardoning of Scooter Libby who was himself convicted for obstruction, perjury and lying to investigators, any supporter or member of the GOP has got to ask themselves just exactly what level of criminality they are comfortable with. You don’t get a pass for merely liking GOP policies, because civic duty now requires collective action to support our system of government and the rule of law. The RNC has made its decision already. They are going to the mats against the Department of Justice.
The Justice Department will win this and you will forever be tainted as siding with autocracy, just as an FYI. You will be outed as not such a fan of democratic processes or even really a fan of civil discourse and civic pride in institutions.
Fidesz makes bogeymen out of people fleeing war, famine, poverty and hopelessness making it’s citizens fear for their Christianity, itself a dying religion. As a result they cede their own liberty, freedom of speech, freedom to assemble and rights to petition the courts for a redress of grievances. This strategy, to wage a campaign based on self-generated fantasies, pushed into the minds of citizens in an environment of limited news resources is the surest way to degrade a democracy. Hungary as a Democracy is at its lowest point since the fall of Communism. But don’t worry! The “Viktator” has a lovely view of it all from his home overlooking his football stadium. Life is grand at the top, that it sits atop a wobbley mountain of corruption is of no importance.
We can see this will end badly, as all authoritarian regimes do. The question is how to the Hungarians organize a diverse opposition to this coalescing of power? Jobbik is a rude and inappropriate joke of a political party. Anti-Semitic fear-mongering is so last millennium but even they oppose Orbán in coalition with the left wing parties. However the election results show this will not have much effect on the FIdesz party’s ability to maul the constitution in the foreseeable future.
How the citizens of Hungary reassert Democratic principles is an open question. The Atlantic recently interview one of the lone independent investigative journalists about the state of affairs there and I recommend it. 
Just was informed by my dad about this:
“In a little-noticed 6-3 vote today, the House Administration Committee voted along party lines to eliminate the Election Assistance Commission, which helps states run elections and is the only federal agency charged with making sure voting machines can’t be hacked. The EAC was created after the disastrous 2000 election in Florida as part of the Help America Vote Act to rectify problems like butterfly ballots and hanging chads. (Republicans have tried to kill the agency for years.) The Committee also voted to eliminate the public-financing system for presidential elections dating back to the 1970s. This cannot be tolerated, especially at a time when our voting systems are still under attack. Its criminal.
This puts the function of the EAC under the Office of Management and Budget, aka, Mike Mulvaney’s plaything.
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