215 Comments
Dec 29, 2021·edited Dec 29, 2021

I absolutely agree with everything written here. Not necessarily because of my political ideology, but because of history. We’ve seen this happen before in Germany after Hitler came to power in a country reeling from economic depression after WWI. The promises he made, the lies, discrimination and false blame that he placed on others was intentional to divide the country, much like Trump did and continues to do.

Hitler attempted to overthrow the government but failed and was jailed, Trump attempted the same on January 6th and failed too, however unlike Adolph, he’s still free and allowed to continue the coup’ through media and rallies. 2022 must be a year of “accountability,” starting right at the top and working down. It also must be a year of facing and addressing “inequality” in this country that has destroyed the middle class and divided the masses. Trump plays on misery and if we don’t address the economic causes now, like Hitler, Trump will come to power again. God help us all if that happens.

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After seeing the MAGA crowd boo Trump's recent comments on vaccines and their subsequent comments harshly criticizing him, I've started to think that Trump is not the MAGA leader; but merely a guy that sorta figured them out and gets in front of them to look like a leader. (Also, he was very good at "branding" them with their MAGA slogan, red hats, giant flags, "strong" authoritarian leader images, etc.) But this time with these vax comments, he got it totally wrong. I find this MAGA monster more concerning than Trump himself -- they will outlast him and I am afraid that in my lifetime they will get worse and worse. They are irrational, fear-based, and will get behind whoever supports their vision of a white, gun-toting, "masculine," America. After Trump we have plenty of Josh Hawleys, Ted Cruzes, Marjorie Taylor Greenes, Matt Gaetzes, and Jim Jordans ready to "lead" the monster. Unfortunately, there seems to be plenty of "belligerent and narcissistic authoritarian(s)" ready and waiting to lead the MAGAs.

As to January 6th, I think it is the tip of the iceberg. The GOP is currently deep into the execution of their on-going coup -- emplacing local officials, changing voting laws, raising cash, keeping the Big Lie front and center, to keep the gullible base riled up which unfortunately, the media loves. That crazed base and their activities make so much better television than voter registration drives.

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I think the real meaning of Jan 6th is that powerful moneyed interests in America and abroad want their way. They supported his campaign, and there is plenty of evidence that dark money flowed into it. He has authoritarian friends all over the world. He gave trillions in tax breaks to very wealthy entities. At the same time, our intelligence and homeland security seemed to be AWOL when Jan 6th happened. As an ordinary citizen, I felt that something bad was going to happen regarding the election. How could our intelligence officers not have seen it? I have seen stolen elections that were never challenged. Operators like Roger Stone organized thugs to keep protesters in Broward County from demanding that the recount not be stopped. They terrorized the people on the streets. I know that I'm not the only one who knew of these things. There are those who just want to 'win' at all costs. For me, the question now is, where is our defense against this obvious coup? We have real patriots in the very few Republicans who bravely go against Donald Trump and his mob. What can the Jan 6th committee find that will trigger some action? Can President Biden find some patriots in homeland security? Our Military? Who will follow the rule of law and protect us from the mob? Where is our leadership?

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Yes, we need to deliver a "democracy and economy that work for everyone." And we also need a criminal justice system that holds the rich and powerful to account. Jan 6 is compelling evidence that it does not - at least, it hasn't so far.

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Professor, What’s makes me fearful is that none of these people have been arrested for the most heinous crime ever committed at our capital! If the government is so afraid to do so with mountains and mountains of damning evidence in emails and on video, I believe our country cannot be protected at all from these domestic terrorists. This was a deadly coup attempt!

Rather than repeat most of what Laurie B wrote below, I’ll just say…add it all to this.

I disagree with you on this point; it is racism, xenophobia and nationalism and ignorance that cause people to think a buffoon like Trump makes sense. If feeling left out were the case, we would have seen multitudes of blacks and Native Nations people at the capitol building on Jan 6th!

Please stop with the message of poor downtrodden white people. There is a point of no return and they crossed it. The fault lies with our wimpyness of addressing the fact that Faux News is a dangerous propaganda station, not news! Dems are excellent at kicking ourselves in the asses by not removing Fox News like a couple of other countries have…I heard Canada banned it. Let’s stop this non-sense of our decades of understanding the white racist nationalists and help our own base for once. We need to see prison for Trump, family and all the big characters that are out to destroy our country. This is an attack, it’s a form of warfare. Where is OUR protection?

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What is happening behind the scenes is scary. Trump is continuing to influence states and selecting people to run in the Secretary of State positions that will declare him the winner regardless of what the voters indicate - this is a potentially dangerous proposition - ignoring the voters? Many of the states, like Texas, are also enacting laws that will also allow the vote to be easily overturned. How can this be allowed to happen? Trump should be arrested for his actions relative to the events of January 6th. There is plenty of evidence...you outlined it above...why has this not occurred? I also recently read an article from Newsweek that talks about all the people that have purchased guns in the past couple of years and there is a call for a Civil War to occur if Trump is not declared the winner in 2024. They are going to take to the streets to "take back the country." Have you read this article? It is truly unbelievable and this is all going on behind the scenes as we speak!

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The direct roots of Jan. 6 began after WWII with gradual desegregation first of military, then schools, civil rights, housing, voting, etc., etc. Active resistance began in late 1950s. Accelerated in 1960s, with Reaganism (which can not be allowed to be whitewashed today), new segregationists, Newt Gingrich, Tea Party, and then Trump. The basic books cry out to be written (and the larger context goes back to the European invasion of the Americas), but through lines are clear. Trumpism and Jan. 6 are not an aberration or a singular force but in many ways a major escalation of continuities and strong currents.

As to Jan. 6 itself, to RR's list, I add the extensive but still waiting to be unraveled planning and coordination of the "event" and the (coordinated??) failure of basic Capitol police, Metro DC Police, and National Guard before and during Jan. 6.

While I recognize the obstacles to the Committee and the DOJ, they are moving too slow in advance of the next outbreak, 2022, and 2024.

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Had the DOJ been able to immediately respond forcefully to the events of Jan 6, it would have readily been sold as political retribution. But still not responding forcefully looks like implicit acceptance that this is how American politics works. The latter is because this *is* how American politics worse. To repeat a cliche but true observation, if the exact same events unfolded but the skins were all brown, we'd have hundreds of people serving decades-long prison sentences or worse. If the exact same events unfolded and the nationalities were all Middle Eastern, we'd have bombed a country or two off the map. The slow and weak response we are seeing today puts the corrupting power of ordinary bias on display.

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Trump remains the symptom, not the problem. He was able to win in 2016 because too many people know that the economic system of this country is rigged against them. We have a system that favors the very rich and the largest corporations. Through rigged tax codes, monopoly in many key industries such as healthcare, pharmaceuticals, food, etc., workers and small businesses find it very difficult to compete. Add to that a legal system that serves lawyers more than the people, a rigged Supreme Court, and corrupt politicians in both major parties, and you have a recipe for the upheaval that we saw on January 6th.

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The "real meaning" of Jan 6th is being hijacked by Fox News and other right wing media outlets. Their "alternative narrative" is that Jan 6th was a false flag operation by antifa and anti-trump forces within the federal government to discredit Trump and his supporters. This conspiracy theory is the premise of a heavily promoted Fox News "documentary" by Tucker Carlson. If this explanation for Jan 6th takes hold among Trump supporters and others, this will result in further erosion of democracy in our country. The Jan 6th committee in Congress needs to address this narrative and crush it completely!

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The Times or Post prepared an analysis of the backgrounds of the 600+ people arrested for Jan 6th. It found over 70% of them had financial problems. For instance, Ashli Babbitt (who was shot) had started a pool business that went bankrupt.

While there was "upward mobility" for a certain section of the population, there remains a large percentage that were left out.

Unfortunately, capitalism has its flaws. It doesn’t provide for the entire population as say “socialism” does. We need a hybrid, capitalism with a “social safety net”. Just as Europe and the rest of the industrialized world has. Over 60% of bankruptcies filed in the US are caused by the inability to pay medical bills. Good health care plans for a family of 4 should not be costing over $3,000 per month or $36,000 per year. People should not be dying because they can’t afford health care. It’s ridiculous in a modern world.

Medical care, education and a certain standard of living WITHOUT the stress of how its paid for should be promoted as the future of America. That’s the massage that should be sent in place of the fallacy that it’s all “socialism”.

We need a better message that (BBB which contains social safety net features, for instance) will help people live with less financial stress. We are so behind in investing on our health and well-being in America, that we must invest now even if it adds to the national debt. In the end, if we have less stress, less expenses and a healthier nation, (both mentally and physically) we will be able to achieve upward mobility.

That’s the message that must be sold to the 70+% that stormed the capital on January 6th and the rest of the nation.

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"The despair Trump has channeled is more closely connected to a profound loss of identity, dignity and purpose, especially among Americans who have been left behind – without college degrees, without good jobs, in places that have been economically abandoned and disdained by much of the rest of the country."

Bullshit. "Dignity and purpose"? Most of the insurrectionists were middle class or higher. I'm not going to feel sorry for anyone who supports Trump. There's no truth to this excuse-making nonsense. Over many decades, these idiots had plenty of chances to accept social programs and vote in favor of incentives for education, home ownership, tax reduction for the working class, but oh no, they supported lunatics like Kansas' Sam Brownback and whined that white people were being discriminated against.

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I have always said we should give any Republican who won the presidency a chance. That we should fear the worst and hope for the best. But now I know better. It is hard to believe how corrupt most of them are. But once given the opportunity their hatred bubbled up and overflowed. We must be ready for the midterms- Offer rides to the elderly and infirmed. Whatever it takes we can’t allow more and deeper toeholds by Trumps followers.

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Dec 30, 2021Liked by Heather Lofthouse

Having ridden the American economic rollercoaster; I have to agree wih you since I've lived through it so far -1967 to the present. Minimum wage then was $1.40/hour that is worth $11.65 today. Whooppee my buying power increased about $0.18 a year!

America gotta love it.

"They" tell us we are ​the the richest people in the world and we lemmings believe it, Ha!

They tell us some people don't 'need' to vote and people believe it.

https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/ahertel/files/koch_network_paper_ts-ahf.pdf

This is the paper that tells you who the very real enemies of our republic are.

They are setting the up country to take us back to an "Democratic Aristocracy".

Like the south was before the Civil War. The aristocratic (rich) ones will make the laws - they've already bought the Congress and Senate - No? Do you disagree?

The voter suppression laws they are passing are the modern version of the southern 3/5 voting scheme from precivil war time.

Well, most of our politicians are lawyers. When you give a lawyer money 'agency' is created. Lawyers always work for who is paying them the most ; that would be all the dark money groups that are mostly funded by "Americans for Prosperity"

Mr Reich, I've followed your path for along time and I really appreciate your work!

The Harvard paper opened my eyes as to just how long and how many big money people have been working to return the country to a democratic aristocracy.

I am worried about it.

I feel they the Republic is in jepordy and Donnie is just a tool being used to that end.

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You have brilliantly laid out the facts - now every citizen and every legitimate news organization should insist that Merritt Garland open an investigation on Trump and his corrupt cronies and keep insisting on this course of action until there is evidence that the Department of Justice is investigating Trump and allies for CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR!!

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Actually the parallels between the state of our country now and pre-Nazi Germany are compelling. The is an ever widening gap between the elite industrialist society and the middle class, the crumbling infrastructure, the inability of government to function, a politicized military and police force, the perception of corruption and mistrust of government. Add in today's voter repression, corporate money and national right wing propaganda media outlets, and believe me, "IT CAN HAPPEN HERE". Particularly in a cultural environment that idolizes celebrity and reduces the debate to good people vs. bad people.

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