"We have been here before": Heather Cox Richardson on how to save our republic

[marmar]

"We have been here before": Heather Cox Richardson on how to save our republic
Historian and author talks about her new book "Democracy Awakening" — and why she's still bullish on America

By DEAN OBEIDALLAH
PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 2, 2023 12:00PM (EDT)


(Salon) In her new book "Democracy Awakening," historian and author Heather Cox Richardson warns of the autocratic threat posed by today’s GOP and shares approaches she believes can preserve our republic. This is where we find ourselves as a nation, thanks to Donald Trump and his MAGA movement.

I recently spoke with Richardson for Salon Talks. As many readers will know, she is also the author of the popular daily newsletter Letters From an American. As a historian, Richardson says saw warning signs early in Trump’s first presidential campaign as he adopted the "strongman" persona. From there, he “turned his intellectual and rhetorical strategy into a movement” that leaned heavily into both racism and sexism and became what we now know as MAGA.

....(snip)....

In your book, you map the trajectory of the modern day conservative movement. You have the Southern strategy and Nixon, through Reagan and through today. Is there a through-line, where you see the rise of authoritarianism that is more organic and that people missed? Or is what Trump is doing something new?

....The Trump years are a little bit different in that he becomes a strongman very quickly and turns that intellectual and rhetorical strategy into a movement. The end of the book is how we reclaim both language and history to get out of that. But yes, the people who think that Trump happened from nowhere and is the sole cause of our current malaise are completely missing the previous hundred years, in which there was a concerted movement to overturn the concept that the government should work for ordinary Americans.

....(snip)....

Deep down, I wonder if there are Americans who believe that whatever we call it, authoritarianism or fascism, can’t actually happen here. I don't know how to reach people who are busy in their lives. They're not pro-Trump; they're just busy in their lives. They don't read your newsletter, which they should. They don't read my articles. The third part of the book is called "Reclaiming America," and that's the key thing. How do we do that?

I think a lot of people are paying attention who weren't before. To go back to what you said before, are there people who recognize that this could happen? Yes, there are a lot of them who want it to happen, because the whole idea of the evangelical movement has been to replace our democracy with a theocracy, and that's exactly what they're being promised. .................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2023/11/02/we-have-been-here-before-heather-cox-richardson-on-how-to-save-our-republic/

[MN2theMax]

1. Really good discussion

If you have the time to read it I would recommend it. I am a huge fan of Ms. Richardson, so I might be a little biased. The first thing I do each morning is pour a cup of coffee and read her daily “Letters from an American. She also does a politics chat on Facebook / YouTube once a week or so. Very informative, and gives an historical perspective to current events.