Barack Obama compares Trump to the rise of Hitler and says US democracy could 'fall apart very quick

[sunonmars]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5157287/Obama-compares-Trump-presidency-rise-Hitler.html

Obama was speaking at the Economic Club of Chicago on Tuesday night
He was speaking about the fragility of democracy and warned the audience of 1,800 not to grow 'complacent'
To illustrate his point, he invoked Hitler's rise to power which occurred under a democracy
Without mentioning Trump by name, Obama said 'things' could 'fall apart very quickly' if 'the garden of democracy is not carefully tended to'
The comments outraged Trump fans who labeled Obama 'un-American' and 'despicable'
They came a day before Trump caused decry among millions around the world by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital


............................

A warning from history is to never forget..........

[woodsprite]

1. *COULD* fall apart very quickly? n/t

[Hortensis]

27. Filtering Obama through a conservative British tabloid?

Anyone who respects him should also respect him too much to do that. He spoke to the Economic Club of Chicago 4 days ago, and this was reported in many reputable U.S. media.

And, Woodsprite, if Obama says "could," perhaps we might consider that maybe he knows what he is talking about. Perhaps it is way too early to learn to walk fast with our eyes on the sidewalk and not bother voting because it's a sham.

[Doodley]

2. Trump fans have been labeling Obama "un-American" for a long time. Something to do with his

skin colour that made Trump and his fans believe Obama was born in Africa and was a Muslim.

[Botany]

3. Love you Barack but you should have said something in 2016

n/t

[BannonsLiver]

9. Oh FFS

They didn’t know 1/10th of what we know now. But hey go ahead and shit on president obama anyway. Hindsight is easy.

[CakeGrrl]

22. This is NOT his fault. He warned America over and over

'Don't give Republicans the keys to drive us into a ditch.'

Americans did just that.


He went on the campaign trail for Hillary and warned that DEMOCRACY WAS ON THE BALLOT.

No turnout - close enough for Russia to tip the decisive swing states.


Blame the MSM and their "both sides" crap, Chuck "It's not my job to point out lies" Todd, and that ilk.


It's not HIS fault that people did not turn out in an election in which he wasn't running.

It's not his fault that this country has far more racist nativists than anyone is willing to admit or deal with, who voted Trump in on a wave of hate and resentment.

[Botany]

23. He should have told the American people the truth before the election

He swore an oath to protect America and that one time he didn't.

BTW I think Barack Obama is the best President of my lifetime.

[CakeGrrl]

30. That's what the sanctions were about. And they did take additional action

to try to safeguard against the effects.

But McConnell, traitor that he is, threatened to politicize any attempt to make it public knowledge, and we know that the GOP-complicit MSM would have helped them to obscure the issue as much as possible.

The bottom line is that voters should have heard and seen enough of Trump to know he had no business in the WH.

Those who harbored an irrational hatred of all things Obama wouldn't have given a damn about any claim he had to make.

People who were too ignorant about the workings of government to get out and vote would probably not have been any better informed thanks to our tainted MSM.

Trump tried to blame Obama for not doing anything - just for the sake of trying to pin a failure on him. It's obscene considering he was the ultimate benefactor of the hacking and likely had a more interactive role.

[LiberalLovinLug]

35. It was all an imperfect storm

You have to remember that Hillary, Obama, and even McConnell believed Hillary would win. All those reactions and decisions were made in that light.

That Obama thought, probably with a lot of pleading from Hillary's campaign, that he would come off as too partisan if he did more than a behind the scenes sanctioning of Russia. A President can't come off looking like that. (I know I know the unmitigated irony).

But....while that may have been true, in hindsight, since we lost anyways, its now obvious Obama should have more forcefully alerted the public on the very real dangers of Russia's influence. And how they WANTED Trump in the White house. It may not have even been soon enough, as the brainwashing of deplorables had already been going on for years, but what it would have done is given the Democrats the upper hand, the moral high ground in the present situation. That they could then claim that they raised the issue DESPITE the risk of looking too partisan because the issue was too important for the state of the democracy. That in fact this had been proven correct in that Trump did win despite the polls. That Republicans could never throw back at them that they were just NOW concerned about Russian collusion simply because they lost. It feeds into their expanded 'logic' that its all a witch hunt.

[skylucy]

26. YES +1000

[misanthrope]

37. Yes he did! The shame is he shouldn't have had to.

It was obvious back in 2015 what Trump was all about, the coded language, the nods and winks to authoritarianism. When he announced his visit to Mobile that summer, I watched aghast as the mayor's office gleefully laid out the red carpet for Trump's rally at Ladd Stadium and excitement built among the local population and media. As transparent as he seemed to me then, I couldn't believe the reaction I saw among people I hoped would know better.

My revulsion only grew as I saw colleagues and acquaintances excited about the event. When a surfeit of in-laws decided to make a family outing of it, taking their kids along to bath in the aura of a man who cozied up to racists and white supremacists, I was horrified.

My faith in the nation's acumen and ability for self-governance has been shaken even more since then.

[colsohlibgal]

4. He Is Dead On

Lies and more lies. Real News labeled as “Fake News”. Demonizing the “Other”.

We are on a slippery slope.

If Chitolini goes after Mueller, and the right lets it stand, game on.

I blame Chitolini and his minions. But more that that I blame pliable people who allowed themselves to be brainwashed by Fox “News” and right wing radio.

Clueless gullible people, voting directly contrary to their own personal interest....all led to this dangerous juncture.

[joanbarnes]

5. HE was still Pres when the Russian ratfucking was discovered and he did nothing.

[humbled_opinion]

6. I do agree more could have been done

at the time, hindsight 20/20 and all.

[bdamomma]

7. good article here

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/06/23/even-democrats-wanted-obama-to-speak-out-much-sooner-about-russia/?utm_term=.6d5ff37935f4

[DeminPennswoods]

12. Agree, instead of yet another futile try to get Rs on board

for a joint statement, Obama should have given a prime time address and told Americans what was happening. He should have called out the GOP leaders by name and admonished them for putting party above country. I understand the "politcal calculus" of why Obama wasn't more forceful, but was it really more important not to be seen as "putting his thumb on the scale for Clinton" than alerting the nation to what Russia was doing?

[Peaceful Protester]

14. Obama Administration Rushed to Preserve Intelligence of Russian Election Hacking

Read More: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/01/us/politics/obama-trump-russia-election-hacking.html

"But it wasn't until after the election, and after more intelligence had come in, that the administration began to grasp the scope of the suspected tampering and concluded that one goal of the campaign was to help tip the election in Mr. Trump’s favor".

Without the vigilance of the Obama Administration, there may very well never have been a Mueller Investigation.

Note: Many people like Michael Moore have been warning us (myself included), but Trump has subverted the process and institutions by simply lying and playing people every step of the way. Look at what is happening now in the Alabama race with Roy Moore. He is using the Trump playbook.
.

[roamer65]

8. There is one big difference between pre-War Germany and present day USA.

Pre-war Germany was a very homogeneous society, whereas the present day USA is a very heterogeneous society (aka multi-cultural).

The USA will not fall lock step under extreme fascism. It will Balkanize, just like the former Yugoslavia.

[Pachamama]

11. +1000

Very good observation and point...

I agree....The US would "balkanize"....

[treestar]

24. True. The right wing racists don't like

"multiculturalism" and "diversity" and that could be the reason.

[misanthrope]

38. Great point!

It's a possible outcome.

[Kimchijeon]

10. No shit Sherlock... Psst, it's too late

[oberliner]

13. He absolutely did not do that

This is a BS headline from a right-wing British tabloid.

[Peaceful Protester]

15. The 88 reasons Trump is unfit to serve as President

The 88 reasons Trump is unfit to serve as President, according to an official Democrats resolution
The list includes the President's remarks about women and his use of Twitter
Harry Cockburn New York Wednesday 19 July 2017 21:02

--

Democrats in the US House of Representatives have brought a "no confidence" resolution detailing why they believe Donald Trump is unfit to serve as President of the United States.

The list contains 88 points of argument for why he is an unsuitable President and questions many of Mr Trump’s business deals, his regular volleys against what he calls the “fake news” media, and his derogatory verbal attacks on women.

The resolution, brought by Rep. Steve Cohen has no chance of successfully passing through the Republican-led chamber, but it provides a reminder of many of the scandals that have hit the Presidency during Mr Trump’s tenure.

Here is the complete list:

RESOLUTION Objecting to the conduct of the President of the United States.

--

Read more:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world-0/us-politics/donald-trump-house-democrats-president-impeach-no-confidence-resolution-a7850006.html
.

[Peaceful Protester]

16. Donald Trump sexual misconduct allegations

Read More: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_sexual_misconduct_allegations

01) Jessica Leeds (1980s)
02) Kristin Anderson (1990s)
03) Cathy Heller (1997)
04) Temple Taggart McDowell (1997)
05) Karena Virginia (1998)
06) Mindy McGillivray (2003)
07) Rachel Crooks (2005)
08) Natasha Stoynoff (2005)
09) Jessica Drake (2006)
10) Ninni Laaksonen (2006)
11) Burnett's unnamed friend (2010)
12) Cassandra Searles (2013)

Allegations of pageant dressing room visits

1) Miss Teen USA contestants
2) Bridget Sullivan (2000)
3) Tasha Dixon (2001)
4) Unnamed contestants (2001)
5) Samantha Holvey (2006)
.

[Peaceful Protester]

17. The Mueller Investigation Is in Mortal Danger

Last edited Sat Dec 16, 2017, 04:27 PM - Edit history (1)

"When Mueller was appointed, legal scholars debated whether Trump had the technical authority to fire him, but even the majority who believed he did assumed such a power existed only in theory".

"In August, members of both parties began drawing up legislation to prevent Trump from sacking Mueller".

"In fact, the risk has swelled. Trump has publicly declared any investigation into his finances would constitute a red line, and that he reserves the option to fire Mueller if he investigates them".

"Earlier this month, it was reported that Mueller has subpoenaed records at Deutsche Bank, an institution favored both by Trump and the Russian spy network".

"It is almost a maxim of the Trump era that the bounds of the unthinkable continuously shrink. The capitulation to Moore was a dry run for the coming assault on the rule of law."

Read More:

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/12/the-mueller-investigation-is-in-mortal-danger.html
.

[Oneironaut]

18. Obama is far from spineless. He doesnt demand that we work with Trump,

or reprimand us for not doing so. Anyone who doesn’t see the rising Fascist threat is either not paying attention, deluded, or part of the problem.

[INdemo]

19. He is correct ..

and the Republican Fascists would not give a shit as long they maintained their wealth and even gained more riches.

[mountain grammy]

20. Its happening now.

[Kentonio]

21. The warning is fair enough.

However its worth remembering that at the time German democracy failed, democracy was still a fairly novel concept in Germany. The monarchy had only been dissolved post-WW1 and Germany was still struggling to come to terms with their new form of government. What's more they were doing so in the midst of reparations from Versaille and the great depression.

[sarcasmo]

25. Dictator Don is close to his wet dream of being Dictator.

[handmade34]

28. misleading headline to article...

no transcript of event but didn't mention Trump

[PoliticAverse]

29. Maybe signing the Patriot Act extension into law was a bad idea. n/t

[Johnny2X2X]

31. Yes, Trump this weekend was chilling

He's still aiming his vitriol at the "rigged" US Political System. Rigged? He won, why is it still rigged?

Trump is setting it up to further weaken our democratic elections and cast doubt on their validity. He's setting up for a total takeover of the election system by he and his cronies.

[Kablooie]

32. I wonder if we're going to come out of this okay.

When Trump is about to go down he is likely to do everything he can to destroy the country and the treasonous Republican party will continue to enable him to do it. They don't care if the country continues as long as the rich can grab all the cash for themselves. Everything else is just for show.

The truly terrifying part of the Trump dictatorship is yet to come.

[barbtries]

33. he seems to want to disintegrate democracy in the USA.

with the republicans' help. i am not optimistic at this point.

[world wide wally]

34. Trump is constantly attacking any and every institution in America as he and his ignorant minions

wave the flag. For God's sake, he came right out and asked Russia to help him win the election and openly defended them AGAINST America numerous times. He admires every low life dictator on the planet as he attacks and alienates our best and oldest allies.
It shouldn't take a political genius to figure out what is going on. They just try to keep us confused with a barrage of bullshit... And apparently, it is working.

[HeiressofBickworth]

36. I did some binge-watching on a cable station yesterday

Forgot which one. It ran consecutive documentaries about the rise of Hitler. I watched for two reasons: 1) I never did understand why the German people went along with it all, and 2) are there any parallels to today's US. Got answers to both questions.

First, Hitler preyed on the general anti-semitism of the time. He gave the country a singular enemy that everyone could agree was the cause of all the money problems and the reparations required for WWI. And, additionally, as the Jews were removed, all their assets (homes, farms, money, art, etc.) were gobbled up by Nazi party members and the whole country felt they were turning the economic corner.

Secondly, Trump is trying to give the US two enemies to rally against: Hispanics and Moslems. We don't have the same economic conditions that existed in Germany post-WWI, but with the disasterous tax cuts in the works and the resulting overwhelming debt, we soon could be in danger. With cut-backs in all social programs needed in order to pay for the rich peoples' tax cuts, we will have a lot of people in poverty, hungry, sick and homeless. THESE are the conditions that will be fertile grounds for the seeds of racism that are being sown which could lead to the rise of a dictator who promises to fix it all.

The US has maintained relative stability because of a wide, stable middle class. Trump/Republicans are a threat to that balance.

As a side-note, I nearly spewed when I saw the part where Hitler told his generals he knew more than they did about warfare. (sound familiar?) It was clear that Germany started losing the war in the East when Hitler fired his experienced generals, surrounded himself with sycophants and took charge of the military action on his own.

[misanthrope]

39. Well said.

Good observations.