Heres how we got here -- And what we can do

[Cyrano]

0 Hate radio

0 Fox “News”

0 A Republican Party with synchronized talking points and no soul

0 Democrats who don’t vote in midterms

The Republican Party has a tremendously well-oiled propaganda machine with one formula: Repeat; Repeat; Repeat. And it works every time.

We are currently winning elections in red districts, mostly, I believe, because people have become nauseated by Trump. But once he’s gone, Republicans will go right back to their tried and true formula. And there’s no reason it won’t continue to work.

One way of countering this might be for us to build our own propaganda machine. But I fear that would lead us to becoming no better than the Republicans.

Democrats have been screaming “Education is the answer,” over the past fifty or so years, but that phrase/idea has had no impact. The Republican’s messaging/propaganda plays to emotions. Education is about the mind. And the “election” of our current “president” has shown us which has more impact. Strong emotions will overcome reason every time. Or, to be more blunt and crude, “A hard on has no conscience.”

And then there are the fact checkers. But the screams of “Fake news,” “Witch Hunt,” and “Lies, Lies, Lies,” tend to make them irrelevant.

I’m tempted to say I don’t have the answers to solving this threat to democracy, but I do have a few ideas of where to start.

1. Automatically register every citizen to vote when they get a driver’s license, or any other state-issued ID.

2. Bring back the Fairness Doctrine: (The fairness doctrine of the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC), introduced in 1949, was a policy that required the holders of broadcast licenses both to present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a manner that was—in the FCC's view—honest, equitable, and balanced.) It no longer exists. In 1987, Reagan's henchmen managed to get it wiped off the books.

3. Prosecute every member of the Republican Party who helped cover up whatever crimes of the Trump administration/Campaign come to light, are proven, are prosecuted, and result in a guilty verdict. Many Republicans have ignored their oversight of the executive branch. And it can be argued that many of them were part of a conspiracy to obstruct justice.

These steps won’t fix all the damage that’s been done since Reagan, and especially during the horror of the Trump regime. But it’s a start. The biggest roadblock may be the federal courts which have been packed with wing-nut judges, and the Supreme Court where the Republicans stole an appointment from Obama and gave it to Trump.

Nonetheless, if we manage to win the House and/or Senate this year, and the presidency in 2020, it’s time to get serious about Republican criminality, restoring democracy, and rebuilding our relationships and reputation with the rest of the world.

[byronius]

1. Nicely written. Great ideas.

[thbobby]

2. Need legal consequences for criminals

Nixon - Watergate Pardon and no legal consequences
Reagan - Iran Contra No indictment for illegally selling weapons to Iran
Bush - Torture Can't go to many places in Europe for fear of arrest. No legal accountability

When presidents are not accountable for criminal acts, well we get trump.

[Cyrano]

6. No president will ever go to jail

Fear of "revenge" by the other party is part of the reason.

But the reality of it was stated by comedian/social commentator George Carlin: "It's a big club. And you ain't in it."

(Google some of Carlin's videos. He saw reality far before the rest of us did.)

[Hoyt]

3. Those are all good. In less than 8 months, we can regain control of the House and help make that

happen a lot quicker. That means getting people registered; checking registration for accuracy; in states where you can vote early by mail, getting that done before the last day to vote; getting people to polls otherwise; etc.

It would be nice to lock these folks up, but winning House, Senate and Presidency is even more important. The GOPers who'll replace the current bunch of deplorables, might just be worse.

[Atticus]

4. I agree, but based on my experience when posting similar suggestions, I will be

surprised if your OP isn't met with a series of "you can't do that" and "be practical" responses. Those so inclined should consider that one definition of a "conservative" is a person who doesn't believe anything should ever be done for the first time. We're not conservatives.

There is a virtually endless list of things that "couldn't be done"----until they were.

Thanks for your well-written post.

[Cyrano]

5. Here's why #3 in the OP won't happen

No Republican will ever be prosecuted for helping the Trump administration cover up crimes. (Are you listening Congressman Nunes?)

The reason for this can be stated in one word. Revenge. Democrats worry that the next time that Republicans regain power, it will be "payback time."

This concept, while real, must be ignored by the Democratic Party, and here's why: The Republican Party tried to get rid of Bill Clinton over a bj. If they had had enough votes in the senate, they would have gone all the way and voted him out of office. And then, I believe, they would have tried to imprison him on charges of perjury and any other "unlawful act" they could have dreamed up.

Dems, on the other hand, "play nice." That "playing nice" isn't out of some kind of "superior values." It's out of fear that the Republicans will "take revenge" the next time they regain power.

DEMOCRATIC PARTY -- WAKE THE FUCK UP. Republicans will rat fuck each and every Dem every chance they get, and they won't worry about the "revenge" stuff. They're playing by different rules. Or rather, they're playing by whatever "rules" they make up at the moment.

What I'm getting at here, is that the current incarnation of the Republican Party must be dismantled. An opposition party must exist as a check on unlimited power. But today's Republican Party is not it. They are a criminal enterprise and they must be disbanded.

I don't have the answer of how to rid America of it's current ugliness. But implementing numbers one and two in the OP may be a minimal start.