Why Trumpism is here to stay. Do you know what was the worst kind of Nazis in the Third Reich?

[DetlefK]

I'm from Germany. Germany has a "special relationship" with the dangers of fascism and racism. I would like to explain to you how Trumpism works and why you won't get rid of it, even if Trump goes to jail and dies and the whole GOP denounces him.



Trump did not happen in a vacuum. Trump was merely the next logical step after the Tea Party. When Obama came to power, the GOP discovered the power of pure unadultered hatred. Hatred against Obama was the tool that allowed them to polarize and rile up their voters.

However, the Tea Party eventually went out of control. The GOP had whipped their base into such a frenzy that the Tea Party started turning against the GOP itself. All over the US new extremist Tea Party candidates defeated moderate Republican candidates in primaries.
In their desire to sow hatred for Obama, the GOP had accidently unleashed hatred against the establishment.

Trump took this republican anti-establishment sentiment and rode it to victory.

How?



Here's where the comparison between Trump and Hitler becomes necessary. Trump is not Hitler. But he uses the same psychological methods to manipulate voters.

Germany in the 1920s. The country had just lost a war, was an international pariah and economy and politics were in perpetual crisis. And Hitler gave the people what they wanted: Somebody to blame.
Hitler blamed the Democrats for sabotaging the war-efforts, he blamed the Jews and the capitalists for the destroyed economy, and he blamed the Communists for the political chaos and the destruction of monarchy.
Hitler wanted the simple, clear-cut imperial world back. Instead the new world was full of complications and new cultures and political parties and compromises and shifting societal values.

Hitler gave the Germans the perfect excuse to be bad. It was okay to give in to your darkest desires, because suddenly the world was full of people it was okay to hate.
It was okay to hate democracy, it was okay to hate Jews, it was okay to hate Communists, it was okay to hate Capitalists... All the bad things you had always wanted to do, now it was okay to do them.



Do you know who was the worst kind of Nazis in the Third Reich?

No, not the fanatic, murdering extremists.

It was the quiet ones, who marched along without thinking. Who had always been such nice people and now had no hesitations whatsoever about ratting their dear neighbours out to send them to concentration-camps.

The worst Nazis were the unthinking sheep who simply accepted that it's now okay to be evil because Hitler told them it's okay to be evil.



Trump has done the same. He gave republican voters somebody to hate.
It's now okay to hate Democrats and liberals, it's okay to hate Mexicans, it's okay to hate Muslims, it's okay to hate journalists, it's okay to hate women, it's okay to hate homosexuals...

Trump has given them the excuse they always wanted. Trump has declared that now it's okay to be evil.

Do you know who is the worst kind of Trump-follower?

The worst kind of Trump-followers are the unthinking sheep who simply accept that it's now okay to be evil because Trump told them it's okay to be evil.





And this is the reason why Trumpism is here to stay.

Trumpism is the extremist version of the Tea Party. The republican voters have been brainwashed to think that being evil is okay.
And they have a permission to do whatever they want, be it good or be evil.
They have an excuse to do whatever they want, be it good or evil.

In order for Trumpism to disappear, the Trump-voters would have to give up the freedom to mistreat people that Trump gave them.

And we all know how republican voters LOVE their inherent and inalienable rights to mistreat other people.
They think that they have a religious right to mistreat people.
They think that outlawing racial discrimination is an attack on white people.





Trumpism is here to stay, because republican voters have been told that being evil is their freedom and their right.

[ck4829]

1. "It was the quiet ones"

Heard the same exact thing with the Unite the Right rally...

"You stupid libs, not everyone at that rally was driving their car into people!"

We know.

[olegramps]

15. Many on this board have been well aware of the situation for a number of years.

I have posted the 14 characteristics of fascism on this board a number of times. Each one inequivalently describe the policies that the Republican Party has pursued for over the last forty years. I welcome your input and hope that it inspires people to take the only effective action that is left to the citizens. VOTE! Vote the Republicans out of every office. That includes very state and federal office. The Republican Party is virulent cancer that has infected every level of government including school boards and PTA associations where they have attempted to rewrite history replacing historical facts with their alternate facts.

[TheBlackAdder]

65. I would have said the living ones.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

2. I don't think it is here to stay

Depends on how long the stay is, whatever is meant by that. Sure, it isn't going away overnight. It will lose it's grip over time. Germany isn't currently ruled by Nazis. That mentality didn't stay in power forever there.

[A HERETIC I AM]

5. The mentality didn't stay in power, but it hasn't disappeared.

I think it is here to stay because there will always be people who will feel put upon, even though they really aren't. They can be easily manipulated - hell, that's a fact of human nature: Humans are easily led - easily convinced to do things that are not in their best interest if it appears that thing or things will hurt the ones they feel are doing the oppressing.

The Trumpers aren't going anywhere. We can only hope that as time moves forward, their numbers will diminish to the point where they are completely ineffectual at swaying public sentiment.

[zentrum]

7. It's threatening to rise

...again in Germany. A minority so far--but it can start with that. It never fully went away at all.

It's rising again in Italy. It's rising in Le Pen's France. It's rising in Hungary.

African Americans can rightly say it has always been underground here--for 400 years. MAGA thinking is rooted in the Confederacy and is the outcome of never ever dealing with our racist past and on-going reality. Racism seems ot be more "out", more acceptable in this country than since the days of Jim Crow.

I'm not sure this evil has ever truly gone away. Can't share your optimism yet.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

8. I never said completely goes away, but it doesn't stay in power forever. n/t

[zentrum]

10. Hope so.

[First Speaker]

36. The reason it didn't "stay in power" was because 50,000,000 people died in a war...

...to wipe it off the face of the earth. I don't find the sentiment particularly comforting...

[Haggis for Breakfast]

92. If history has taught us anything

It is that the pendulum ALWAYS swings back.

When things get too out of balance (like now), there comes a tipping point at which time equilibrium returns.

[olegramps]

27. There has been a resurgence of extreme nationalism throughout Europe, including Germany.

The demagogues are in full flower and have made impressive gains in Poland, Germany, France, Hungary, England, Turkey and the Balkan states. The basic message is that immigration is changing the nature of the countries in addition to being blamed on loss of middle class employment. The latter is basically the result of automation, not immigration. The fact is that 85% of heavy industrial jobs losses are due to automation and it will continue to affect every aspect of the work force. Instead of addressing the problem of retraining and educational needs, the demagogues have seized the opportunity to use this situation to further their political goals. It is just a replay of the 1930's with different actors and particulars.


People can either recognize that those such as France's Penn, our Trump, Turkey's Erdogan. Briton's Nigel Farage, Norbert Hofer of Austria's far right Freedom Party, etc. have preaching the same failed solutions that resulted in disastrous consequences. Yes, sadly history does repeat itself when people fail to recognize everyone of these people are leading people down the path to destruction. What I would love to see is an awakening of those whose future is in jeopardy coming to the forefront and provide constructive leadership rather than relaying of the present entrenched leadership that has long ago become totally irrelevant to the address the situation.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

29. I know all of that, but again, my point is that the future isn't hopeless and

there is no certain destiny that these types will be in power forever.

[olegramps]

42. That is a given. But is no consulation to those who are going to suffer until the ship is righted.

We can ignore the situation and be resolved to the inevitability or become informed and take corrective action. The demagogues must be challenged at every venture and their propaganda be exposed and countered.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

44. I think is comforting to know that nothing is hopeless.

I'm not saying ignore anything, but people generally give up if they see something as hopeless. You have to have the hope to push through the hard times and fight for things to be better.

[olegramps]

61. I take no comfort in that things will eventually change and it isn't hopeless.

The problems is that the Hitler and Mussolini attracted a mass following by misleading the people. They were classic demagogues that have been around since time began. Aristotle was blamed with misleading the youth and denigration of religion for the cause of Athens's difficulties. Hitler used the Jews as scapegoats and people bought his lies. Same with Mussolini. Trump is using immigration as the major scapegoat.

The issue is he being challenged loudly and strong enough to discredit his attempt to mislead the people? Are people willing to risk everything to insure that truth prevails? Is the Forth Estate failing us by not being more forceful in denouncing his flagrant lies? This is especially applicable to those who have been elected to represent the citizens. It is the lack of challenge that allowed those such as Hitler to prevail. People who played it safe, or neglected to examine the truth of what was being preached when they knew it was wrong. Hitler could have been stopped, just as Trump can be stopped. But it is up to his own party to disown his lies and willing to put the welfare of the nation before their own interests. Those who remain silent, playing the odds to get reelected and are able to look the other way that have it in their power to stop him. Will they? Will they step forward when the rule of law is challenged? It is his followers who enable him and should be held responsible.

[flygal]

49. As long as Fox News and the NRA convince white men and the women who love them that

the other side is evil - they are here to stay.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

50. I think that Fox News and the NRA do not have as much influence on younger people. n/t

[dawg day]

53. I think that's an important point--

Leaders make a difference. The German state and the German people are generally pretty good global citizens now, less than a century after the country's widespread perpetration of evil. Hitler was a very bad person who elevated a bunch of sociopaths to power and let them do their worst.

When they were defeated, and more normal leaders took charge, the German people went along with that, and indeed have been huge supporters of NATO and the EU, which have transformed the area of conquest and war of two millennia into a relatively peaceful place.

The leaders matter. When we elect someone who appoints haters to power, well, this is what we get. We don't have to fully participate in the evil for it to happen.
Trump has put a man in charge of "civil rights" who doesn't support civil rights.
His EPA chief thinks "the environment" is something to be destroyed for corporate interests.
His "Homeland Security" chief pretends that the only way to "secure the homeland" is to kidnap children from their parents.

The good thing is... we un-elect this man, and we can see from the German example that we can go back-- the people follow the leaders.
In Germany, it took a world war (two, really) to subdue the militaristic nationalist domination. Here, it might just take one election.

We really MUST get rid of the Electoral College. Many many more of us voted AGAINST Trump, but he got in because of this slavery-era protection of slaving states.

[hlthe2b]

3. I spent time in Bavaria in the late 70s/early 80s. Seeing older men with small swastikas on their

hats--along with the usual medallions, gave me great pause. Those beliefs and the resentments upon which they are based, don't just go away--they may get "quiet" and go somewhat underground, but vigilence is always required.

Given the rise of extreme RW factions in Europe and here, I am very apprehensive. If you have children and grandchildren, you ought to be downright frantic, IMO.

All we can do is continue to fight. The numbers are with us if we fight for our democracy.

[2naSalit]

4. +1

[magicarpet]

24. This hemisphere,.. more Fascism coming...

Just recently,..
The land mass of Brazil equals the land size of the USA. We are not talking a pipsqueak country here.

Brazil is in the process of voting in a Fascist to lead their country.

_______________________

(begin snip)

Extreme right wing candidate Jair Bolsonaro, an ex-army captain who has defended torture and dictatorship, won the first round of Brazil’s presidential election, but his total of 46 per cent fell short of the 50 per cent of the valid votes needed. There will be a final round on 28 October.

His opponent is Fernando Haddad, candidate of the left wing PT, or Worker’s Party, who secured 29 per cent of the vote on Sunday. Although voting is obligatory in Brazil, 20 per cent failed to cast their vote, while 10 per cent spoilt or left it blank.

(end snip - more at link)


https://intercontinentalcry.org/is-brazil-about-to-elect-a-fascist-as-president/

[lambchopp59]

51. Elenao

I don't get it either, why this seems to be happening everywhere, except...
Fair suspicion that radical right wing media, much like Fox here, has "patriotic" masses voting against their own interests.

[magicarpet]

54. Latin America says hello to Evangelical Misionaries...

... and bye bye to the Catholic Church.

____________

(begin snip)

In Latin America, now home to half of the world's Catholic population, Catholicism is actually under siege. Dramatic Protestant gains have come mostly at Catholic expense, creating a historic realignment.

(snip)

Latin American Protestants shot up from 50,000 in 1900 to 64 million in 2000, according to Evangelical scholar William Taylor, with Pentecostal and charismatic churches making up three-quarters of this number. In 1930, Protestants amounted to one percent of the Latin American population; today it's between 12 and 15 percent. A study commissioned in the late 1990s by CELAM, the federation of Latin American Catholic bishops' conferences, found that 8,000 Latin Americans were deserting the Catholic Church for Evangelical Protestantism every day.

(snip)

Brazil, the largest Catholic country in the world at 149 million, loses half a million Catholics every year. Protestants have grown from nine percent of Brazil's population in 1991 to 15.1 percent (some say as much as 22 percent), while the proportion of Catholics has dropped from 84 percent to 67 percent. In Mexico, 88 percent of a population of 102 million is now Catholic, a decline of 10 percent compared to the mid-20th century.

When the two largest Catholic countries in the world are hemorrhaging, something serious is afoot.

(end snip - much more at link)

https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/all-things-catholic/dramatic-growth-evangelicals-latin-america

[Nonhlanhla]

60. A balancing perspective...

I have a friend who is a Brazilian theologian (he is a leftie, and a super-thoughtful great guy), and his research indicates that (some of) these Brazilian evangelical churches are left-wing in their politics. I don't remember the details - I just remember he did research on this since it is such a surprising phenomenon.

I'm not saying that the rise of evangelicalism is not cause for concern, especially when American evangelicals influence them -just that the picture might not be a simple one.

[NewJeffCT]

26. Russia did not just attack the US in November 2016

they've been nurturing and supporting RW extremist groups all over Europe.

[watoos]

6. Very well written thread

I don't want to make matters worse but Trumpism has an added benefit, the complicit corporate controlled M$M.
The idea that this Trumpism is here to stay is very logical especially when our corporate media enables it.

[zentrum]

13. It's actually a form of

...Mussolini type fascism, in which the government and corporations are one. It's why the 1% is getting astronomically richer and the rest of us are flat lining and going into school and or health debt.

Economic fascism is all Mussolini cared about.

[watoos]

31. In Nazi Germany Hitler took over the companies and they became one.

In America the corporations took over the government and they became one. Both countries became fascist but got there by different routes.

[zentrum]

58. Yes, and

...we're starting to have inernment camps and child torture as well.

[not fooled]

17. And the billionaires

e.g. kook brothers and their ilk, who exploit the MAGAts to get tax cuts and deregulation.

If trumpism worked against the oligarchy, it would be exterminated, pronto. Instead, it furthers their aims, which makes it even more dangerous.

Oh, and I believe that the GOP has for a long time studied Nazism and how Hitler came to power, and incorporated those tactics into their political strategy. From kkkrove and before, to trump. Remember that per his first wife, trump kept a copy of Hitler's collected speeches on the nightstand next to his bed.

Excellent post, DetlefK.

[world wide wally]

9. There has always been prejudices against groups of people.

Every now and then, someone comes along to tap into that hatred, like Trump did.
This is what the battle is about. We have to make it "unfashionable" to buy into this group mentality like we did in the 60's and 70's when the War In Vietnam and the emergence of the Beatles stemmed it. We need a rallying point.

[Wounded Bear]

11. There are other similarities...

one historical nugget that many Americans don't know is how the Nazis wormed their way into government and gained power.

As a minority power, they used their few seats in the Reichstag to basically shut everything down. Using all the parliamentary tricks at their disposal they prevented the gov't from doing anything. Then, of course, they ran following elections on a "gov't doesn't work, we need to take over" ticket. Sound familiar to anyone?

Repubs have been doing this since at least Reagan. When in the minority, they gum up the works and prvent any real work being done. When in the majority, they ram their shit through, riding roughshod on rules and norms. We're potentially in the final chapter of that tactic. If we don't win this election, the country really will be screwed.

[Botany]

12. Not only do these people support Trump and his lies but one thing that was left out of the article:

TO THESE TRUMPERS IT FEELS GOOD TO BE AN ASSHOLE.

Being w/others who like to call blacks n****rs, thinking that
facts and science are not really real, and being mean to people
who are not like you makes some people feel good. Just like
Fox News because it re-enforces people's believe systems.

[The Liberal Lion]

14. Thank you for this explanation

A lot of people on the left continue with the deluded notion that we are only one election away from ending this aberration forever. They allow themselves the privilege of continuing with the misguided mentality of "It Can Never Happen Here", just as it is unfolding before their very eyes. I'm talking about folks on the left, the right is already gone off the cliff. I studied German history, language and literature as a minor in college. I went to the Universitaet Mainz after I graduated from college. I won't call myself an expert on all things German, but what I do understand right now, here in America is that history is most certainly repeating itself, even to the point that well meaning people are in complete denial over what exactly is happening. The democrats today are the social democrats of old, just as weak and feckless against a ever power hungry fascist regime. It is because of these folks, not the zombies on the right, that i decided it was safest to have a base outside this country, beyond the grip of this regime. I feel bad for the people I leave behind, but they won't listen, they refuse to accept what is happening, and therefore remain in stasis when action is required. Thank you for sounding the warning. Hopefully more will listen to you than will listen to me.

[tiredtoo]

16. Just posted on my facebook page. concerns proposal 2 in Michigan

But i think some of it fits here nicely.
For the last couple months, we have been canvassing in Saginaw county. We have been to Bridgeport, Buena Vista, Saginaw east side, Saginaw west side, Saginaw twps., Thomas twps., Freeland and last night we were in Zilwaukee. In each of these locations I have been impressed with all the well-kept housing units; lawns cut shrubs trimmed and so on. Evan more impressive was the kind and polite people we talked to. We were treated with the respect expected in a civil society. Evan the one or two we found that did not agree with our goal were respectful.
For me this has been a fulfilling experience restoring my faith in humankind.
Forget about all the hate, fear and anger being displayed daily on tv, real people are good and they want good things for all. Turn off the tv, grab a cup of coffee and have a visit with your neighbors. Share your needs, wants and desires. We all have more in common than we think.
Join us in our efforts to win back our government. You will be glad you did.
#YesOn2

[UTUSN]

18. Absolutely *BRILLIANT* o.p., thanks!

[njhoneybadger]

19. Unfortunately I believe you are right

Our best hope is that Evangelicals have some sort of "Road To Damascus" experience

[watoos]

33. Lol,

the Talibangelicals or the Teeveevangelicals?

Our Supreme Court which enabled Citizens United is majority Catholic.

[njhoneybadger]

56. Local preachers of small churches and their congregations

[Oneironaut]

20. We're locked in a battle to the figurative death for this nation's soul.

They’re being wiped out, and they know it. Progress is happening. White people are becoming the minority in favor of a highly diverse nation Being gay is becoming as normal as having brown hair, and transgender people are fighting our way into acceptance. Women are standing up and saying that the old ways are not acceptable, and the patriarchy is collapsing.

They’re not going to go quietly. We’re in for a storm before we make it out the other side. I hope we don’t need the same level of atrocity as the Germans faced to learn our lesson and evolve.

[certainot]

21. trump, like bush before him, became 'acceptable' because liberals ignore talk radio

1500 think tank scripted radio stations are the difference. they sold the alternate reality with widespread unchallenged repetition in 40 states with 80 senators. that is how they used the racism and anti immigration to sell the voter suppression/suppressors and global warming denial etc

the tea party is dittoheaded

10 years ago putin took limbaugh from the establishment GOP scripting and the teabags became russian led

the only link to hitler is that they're authoritarians - they have a 'sex on the wrong brain' need for certainty, causing irrational fear eased by royal certitude from trump in this case, and the democracy that minimizes them was short circuited by rw talk radio - which idiot dems/left/liberals and the media still ignore

there is a simple soluton to get real democracy back - stop ignoring talk radio - the only reason democracy didn't prevent this

Artificial intelligence will force ad industry to kill RW radio. Dems can accelerate the process.

[watoos]

39. I don't disagree with any of your post but,

AM talk radio has infiltrated our M$M. All of our 3 major cable news networks push the right wing narratives, a few of the cable news hosts put a progressive slant to the narratives but progressive narratives don't last long in the M$M.

Hillary's emails narrative lasted years with no evidence of wrongdoing. What Trump is doing with his personal phone is way worse, how long do you give that narrative to last on cable news? The news about the Trump crime family's crooked finances and taxes is already gone from cable news.

[magicarpet]

46. Ignoring Fascism and extreme Right wing radio/Fukz knuz

... is like peeing into a gale force wind,.. you don't get rid of it,.. there is blow back,.. it come right back at you,.. it gets all over you,.. it fouls, contaminates, and saturates your clean clothing and leaves a putrid and pungent smell.

If we stand aside and wait patiently for the Fascists to learn of the ill of their ways and we do nothing. They will succeed in their ambitions to bring down our American Liberal Democracy.

The Nazis are recruiting and building their ranks like mad on college campuses. Take a good look at the young faces at the Charlottesville Nazi March,.. these screaming and violent Fascists were not old wrinkled up retired or decrepit elderly men. They were the faces of angry albeit very misguided young men. It was the next generation of Nazis being groomed to march under the banner of the Swastika and Confederate Flags.

Wake up America,.. these Nazis and Fascists aim to take away your country and dispense with the notion of a Liberal Democracy - stomp it and grind it into the ground. Then install their Autocratic, Dictatorial, Fascist Oligarchic brand of governmental control.

Vote them out with overwhelming numbers so they can not fix or rig the election results.
Then do something to control and curtail their relentless and screaming Nazi propaganda machine. This propaganda only seeks to infect America with the virus of Fascism and will if allowed to continue usher in our doom.

[jalan48]

22. +1

I think there's a mistaken notion that if we get Trump things will go back to normal. Trump didn't get elected by himself, he has financial and corporate interests that support him and the things he says. Trump must be seen as as part of a bigger problem that includes the likes of the Koch Brothers and Sheldon Adelson to name two.

[watoos]

40. Don't forget the complicit corporate media.

[jalan48]

43. They overtly helped elect Trump. Focusing on the cult of personality is what the power brokers want.

[hurple]

23. Brilliant post.

I would love to post it elsewhere. Permission?

[Fiendish Thingy]

25. Trumpism the death throes of White Male Patriarchy

They won't go quietly, and not without a fight, but with America's demographic shift, it's inevitable they will have to go, or America becomes an apartheid dictatorship.

My hunch is, the corporate oligarchs will eventually cut them loose, and throw their support behind a candidate(s) who is a woman and/or person of color, to maintain their profit base (apartheid isn't good for business). It may be Democratic candidates, Republican, or a party that doesn't exist.

That, along with an activated voting base of women, young people and POC voters will spell the end of Trumpism- but probably not in my lifetime (I'm 61), but perhaps in my kids' lifetime. They won't go quietly, and the nastiness we've seen will continue for quite some time, but it's inevitable, and they know it.

[Texin]

34. The "White Male Patriarchy" has had a stranglehold over civilization since the cave dwellers.

It hasn't died out yet, has it? Nope. As long as there is the belief in male deities, who are granted the authoritarian power over everyone else, it will never die.

[Fiendish Thingy]

47. It may never die,

But unless they are willing to suspend the Constitution and implement an apartheid dictatorship, or attempt genocide, their days in power are coming to an end.

[FiveGoodMen]

59. "unless they are willing to suspend the Constitution and implement an apartheid dictatorship,

or attempt genocide"

They are.

[LAS14]

37. I hope you're right. nt

[qwlauren35]

68. I no longer believe this.

There are white women who question the #MeToo movement, and there are white women who are Trump supporters. Because we cannot count on white women to side with minorities, there will always be a white right-wing power base.

There are white women who worship at the feet of the white male patriarchy.

They cannot be changed or dissuaded.

So, when putting the blame on white right-wing men, include the white right-wing women.

[Pachamama]

28. As the granddaughter of German escapees of Nazi Germany, I wish I could recommend this post !0000 X

Thank you Detlef for the excellent explanation of the danger and reality of Trumpism and what Americans need to understand is that Trumpism is more than just Trump and Trumpism is here, that they understand what is coming and what their responsibility and understanding needs to be....

I will never forget what my Grandparents told me about the run up to WW2 and the rise of Hitler and Nazism and their eventual departure from their homeland to get to safety for their family. I will never forget what older Germans I have known in my life when I later lived in Germany as a young woman told me about why they as teens joined the Hitler Youth and what they saw. My German partner has told me about the experience of his father suffered that after being in the German Navy (yes, his father was a good German Nazi party member and joined as a Hitler Youth) and his father later realizing how evil Nazism was and what he had participated in and personally knowing and having to live with having bombed and killed civilians of women and children on ships who were escaping Nazism and how his father became super religious when Germany surrendered and he tried to go back to "life", marrying and having a child (my partner) and that he prayed daily for forgiveness of what he did in the name of Nazi Germany following orders and that he had nightmares and eventually took his own life because he could not live with himself that he like so many Germans did not see what they allowed to happen. My partner said he is truly afraid for the United States and sees the same things happening under Trumpism that his father described happening in Germany in the 1930's.

Trumpism is here to stay and the only way the United States of America will remain and even stay united is if Americans understand what we are facing and what our founding principles are and to truly live by them.

Pay attention everyone before its too late.

[Achilleaze]

30. k and r

[MRDAWG]

32. Hannity, Limbaugh etc have taught listeners to hate the government**

**

[LAS14]

35. Thank you! It's so important for us to understand these dynamics!! nt

[Texin]

38. 24-hour talk radio bashing has contributed more to the rise in Trumpism than anything else.

Oh, the hate was there to begin with, but the continuous lies and blaming by the right wing spewers of venom and vitriol have completely brainwashed the people who've listened to them. Everywhere I go now and for the past twenty years or more now, there's a right winger on the televisions or radios in virtually every business I enter, especially those that are most likely to be populated with males.

[KayF]

45. talk radio is the first thing I thought of

absolutely no standards there, no adult supervision, no sense of responsibility.

Shutting them down doesn't seem feasible, but the mainstream media must stop legitimizing them. Just one example, MSNBC having Hugh Hewitt is an outrage.

[catbyte]

41. Exactly. This quote says it all:

[IMG][/IMG]

[StarryNite]

72. So true!

[LostinRed]

48. Nice post

I will be using this quote “Trump was merely the next logical step after the Tea Party.”

[TwistOneUp]

52. Spot on!

Thank you very much for this. It needed to be said.

The other day here at DU someone posted a 'toon that had text of sayings in the top half - sounded 100% like trump - and a picture of Hitler saying these things in the bottom half. I would very much like to see that toon again, if anyone has a copy.

Thank you again!

[pandr32]

55. You have sparked an excellent discussion

A much needed one at that.
Thank you.

[mudstump]

57. This post hit me....

it nails it completely and perfectly.

[MarvinGardens]

62. Great post, K&R!

Thank you!

[Dan]

63. This post breaks my heart....

not because of what you said, but because it might be true....

[pansypoo53219]

64. the moron slayed the hillary dragon.

[The Mouth]

66. In other words, a symptom as much as a cause.

A shit stain that can never be washed out.

[Garrett78]

67. 50 years of Republican rhetoric and policy led to the Tea Party and rise of Trump.

From the white backlash to the Civil Rights Movement to Nixon's Southern Strategy to the Moral Majority to the Powell Memo to Reagan's dog whistling (including kicking off his campaign talking about states' rights less than 10 miles from where 3 civil rights workers were murdered) to Limbaugh and then Fox News, and so on, the rise of Trump or someone like him was inevitable.

[BlueWI]

69. Timely post. Thanks.

The resistance must include the midterms, but it sure can't end there. A lot of work is needed on the part of every person of conscience, with every strategic action we can think of needed.

Here we go. All best.

[moondust]

70. It doesn't have to be here to stay.

Nazis aren't running Germany and they haven't for a long time.

Nixon pretty much disappeared and died without fanfare after leaving office.

We just don't know yet what it will take to remove the stain, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's permanent.

Thanks for posting.

[Meowmee]

71. If they supported H etc they weren't that nice to begin with

There was already a long, long deeply rooted history of antisemtism and violence and of other groups targeted with hatred. Just like there has been here. I think many people are afraid now, lets see what happens with the election.

[Doodley]

73. Lets review if it is here to stay after the midterms.

Let's see after more is revealed in the Meuller investigation. Let's see when Trump is seen by Republican lawmakers as an electoral liability and they start to turn against him.

[BigmanPigman]

74. 9:1. That is the ratio of Right Wing extremists

responsible for domestic terrorism compared to Left Wing extremists. ISIS is lithe lead and the RW comes right after them. They are filled with hate and violence and the fucking moron knows it. He is their dear leader of HATE. CNN Don Lemon gave these numbers on his show last night.

[dlk]

75. Unfortunately, There are Those Who Absolutely Require Someone to Hate

It’s in their dna

[The Mouth]

77. I wonder if part of our shock

at the behavior of Trump and his supporters is the grim realization that it's a much larger proportion of our fellow humans than we really want to believe.

I can sort of see the argument that people who need someone to hate might be somewhat more likely to be 'conservative'... but maybe part of why I hate the oranganus is his presidency forcing me to consider that there are a lot of humans of every persuation. Hell, look at the hatred WE have here for him and his supporters; we rationalize it as 'earned' and 'self defense' but how many of us feel GOOD having a clear focus of our hatred. No answers, only a disturbing image in a dirty mirror of an alternate Mouth ...

[flying-skeleton]

76. Latest Trump MAGA hat

[Stinky The Clown]

78. I recently visited Berlin with a friend who is a native

He was born West German, his wife was born East German, very close to Berlin.

We walked the city and saw many of the more important sites of both the Nazi and Soviet eras. I have a respect for history and Berlin is rich in it. It was eerie to stand on the indications of the building foundations on Bernauer Strasse, where I watched on TV as people jumped from buildings to escape the east, or attempt tunnels below the no man's land.

Of course Checkpoint Charlie and the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag, etc.

The eeriest of all, however, was the Terror Museum. While a modern building, knowing the site was HQ to the SS and the Gestapo affected me. The story told inside is somber.

You are so right. The "sheep" are the long term danger. I am not sure what can be done about them, for the reasons you cite.

Thanks for your post.

[MicaelS]

79. I was born in Germany, too.

Never understood how so many people could have followed Hitler.

Now we know exactly how it happened.

Reminds of that quote...

"When Facism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the Flag, carrying the Bible."

[lunasun]

80. 100% K&R

[at140]

81. Just examine who has benefited most to understand Trumpism

90% of Individual tax cuts went to top 10%, with the top 1% receiving majority of it.

And the corporate tax cuts benefited the mega-corporations the most.

Middle class had a bone thrown at them to avoid riots.

Trump Corporation benefited at Billion dollar levels.

To me Trumpism is all about benefiting the top 1%.

[struggle4progress]

82. Nothing good has ever resulted from pretending to know the future with certainty

I will instead assume that this too can pass, with the help of our hard work, provided we do not succumb to our enemies: cynicism, fear, and folly

[scheming daemons]

83. There. Are. More. Of. Us. Than. There. Are. Of. Them.

[peggysue2]

86. Yes, there are more of us

Which is why we all need to use our most powerful weapon:

Our vote to express our disgust, our disapproval and anger at the Imposter-in-Chief squatting in the White House.

[ginnyinWI]

88. and not only vote.

Speak out. Speak out whenever you have the chance.

[Rizen]

84. Very good analysis.

This is why it's so important for good people to vote!

[Hermit-The-Prog]

85. a reminder

Movements need funding. Those doing the funding don't have to share all the motives of the movement they fund.

How the Koch brothers built the most powerful rightwing group you've never heard of
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/26/koch-brothers-americans-for-prosperity-rightwing-political-group

[Joe Nation]

87. I guess that makes the Republicans in Congress the Weimar Government

and either Paul Ryan or Mitch McConnell Paul von Hindenburg.

[alfredo]

89. Nixon spoke of the "silent majority." They were "America, right or wrong."

Their MAGA hat was a hardhat.

[MrScorpio]

90. Please repost this to as many places as you cat

[elocs]

91. Yes, Trumpism is going nowhere, just as his tens of millions of adoring followers are going nowhere.

The Left needs to be vigilant with no more only voting if they are motivated or excited by the candidates because Republicans count on that to win.

[KentuckyWoman]

93. Well written, but I disagree with you on some points.

I don't believe we can put this on Republicans, Tea Party, Trump, Hitler or anyone else.

I do agree these people, and groups gave hate a louder voice but even the old testament is full of stories of hate, genocide and racism. I believe every generation since the dawn of humankind has had to battle hate, envy, jealousy etc. The "haves" use it as a tool to keep the "have nots" busy.

That is another thing I agree with you on.... it is used as a tool to create mayhem.

I don't know that it will ever be bred out of the world's population. I hope so. If it happens it will be long time after I leave this world.