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The Different Drummer
Is The Resistance Dead?
Corporate America is cowering, the media has caved, and Establishment Democrats have no idea how to fight. Are we destined for fascism?
“Democracy dies in the dark”
– Masthead of the newspaper that turned off the lights
Republicans govern with audacity. Whatever levers of power they control are declared to be the most representative of the people, an assessment that shifts with election results. They declare mandates when none exist. When reality does not fit their needs, they create a new one.
This did not start with Trump. Republicans have consistently held up the President as the representative of the people; that is as long as they control the Oval Office. Junior Bush governed like he had the broad support of the American people even though he only held the office because the Supreme Court gave it to him. Hilary Clinton’s attempt to reform health care failed after Republicans convinced Americans that continuing toward for-profit health care was in their best interests.
Trump didn’t write the playbook, but he has perfected its use. He eschewed any semblance of bipartisanship during his first term even though he lost the popular vote, continues to deny he lost in 2020, and pretends that he won overwhelmingly last year despite not even earning 50% of the vote. The current President cheered every courtroom loss by Biden but now calls for arresting judges who rule against him. Trump proudly took credit for positive stock market results a year before his return to office but blames his predecessor for losses that occur now while he presides over the economy.
The Democrats have been getting beat for decades but still have not learned how to fight back. Republicans stand by Trump even as he shreds the Constitution. In contrast, the Democrats wasted an opportunity to end Republican obstructionism by reforming the filibuster with an excuse that they would need it when they were in the minority, only to fail to use it when it was most needed. Our most vulnerable countrymen will now suffer as the safety net is dismantled so that billionaires can amass more…
