I think our democracy will ultimately emerge from Trump's one term stronger than it's been in years

[Tom Rinaldo]

Trump accelerated the rot, greatly, but it was already present and growing, like a cancer that many saw signs of but which had not yet been officially diagnosed. January 6th was the biopsy that confirmed it, the rot can no longer be ignored. Recognizing it is the essential first step toward effective treatment.

But it's now clear to me the our democracy would not have survived a second Trump term intact. That's how fucking close we came to the brink

[exboyfil]

1. Do you think the GOP would have swept Trump away

at the start of the second term knowing how dangerous he is? I have been shocked they carried him for this long. They truly care nothing about this country.

[Tom Rinaldo]

8. No. If Trump somehow managed to start a second term 90% of them would have surrendered to him

That includes both the ones who secretly despised him while publicly praising him, and those who worshiped the ground he walked on. Very few Republicans would have offered further resistance at that point. A handful more would have joined our resistance, but very dark days would have been ahead

[servermsh]

2. I am hopeful, because the evil has been exposed for everyone to see

Like many others, I've been saying for decades that the GOP had become a corrupt immoral force. Take a look at Norman Ornstein's description of this over the years, for example.

I feel better that it is now out in the open for everyone to see. It can't be denied anymore.

We are still in danger, of course. But I'm hopeful we will navigate our way out of this.

[ARPad95]

3. Me, too!

[CentralMass]

4. Wow. I sure as hell don't.

[Tom Rinaldo]

7. The far right/white supremacists had a small window in time to make their move

The United States is increasingly becoming more multi-cultural AND better educated. My generation, the Boomers, no longer dominates demographics in this nation, and are on the cusp of losing political control also. Younger voters are increasingly progressive, and younger voters are increasingly turning out to vote as well.

Republicans will relatively soon lose control of Georgia and North Carolina as they lost control of Virginia years ago. There is a growing open rupture in the Republican Party (the Lincoln Project was a harbinger) with those starting to align against Trumpism becoming a little bit louder. Though they remain a minority among Republicans, Republicans are themselves a minority.

The Far right is nowhere near on the verge of surrender, but they have been flushed out into the open and they do not have the backing they would need to win an actual showdown. That will soon become apparent to them, and most of the types that were sucked into joining the January 6th mob will start to back away.

[pwb]

5. Future elections will be between a Democrat and a Progressive, no puke party.

I will be gone but an election between two good people will be my mission from any next.

[gohuskies]

6. Job 1 will be to eliminate the DOJ opinion that a sitting President cannot be indicted

That ruling/opinion has jeopardized our country in ways unimagineable when you have a deranged megalomaniac sitting in the White House.

[lagomorph777]

14. Abso-fucking-lutely!

That memo is an abomination.

[greenjar_01]

9. Uh

[Tom Rinaldo]

10. Umm?

[greenjar_01]

12. Ha!

[Celerity]

11. I could not disagree more. nt

[Tom Rinaldo]

13. As in, it gets worse from here??? n/t

[Celerity]

16. The ties that bind will become weaker and weaker as the years fly by. The very concepts of objective

truth and rationality are being (or already have been) eviscerated for 100 million or so US citizens. The old saying 'you are entitled to your own opinion, but not to your own facts' has been binned for vast swathes of the vox populi.

[Tom Rinaldo]

18. We agree on what has happened up to now prior to Biden taking office and prior to the coup attempt

I guess we differ on the prognosis regarding the next couple of years. BTW, at best I think a turning point has been reached, that doesn't mean that we are not still knee deep in the woods.

[Celerity]

19. I wish I had your optimism, but I do not

Time will tell. I respect your opinion and truly hope you are the one whose arrow is closer to the centre of the target of correct prognostications.

[EarthFirst]

15. I'm fairly certain several generations of minorities will disagree with you...

We are presently no further ahead in our equities today than we’ve ever been; nor do I feel we’ve even come close.

I’m fact; many would probably agree that we’re the furthest we’ve been in decades.

No clue where you’re drawing this assumption from...

[Tom Rinaldo]

17. I didn't say stronger than it was in 2008, for example, and I didn't say immediately either

I said "eventually" emerge stronger than it has been "in years". I didn't say in decades and I didn't imply that our social ills would be cured or anything remotely like that. I think that the underpinnings to our democratic institutions will be somewhat stronger in three years than they were a year ago, that's all. I wasn't predicting sugar cookies for all, just that we are now in a position to start reversing gains that the radical right in America made by harnessing energy from the "Tea Party" backlash to America's' first African American President

[Cosmocat]

20. We have not hit bottom yet

Sadly what happened last week was not horrible enough to break the death grip that
"conservatism" has on this country.

[Tom Rinaldo]

21. That "death grip" still has a lot of inertia

Many on the fanatical right, with their deluded followers, realize that the battle they have called for is at hand and will no doubt rush forward into combat, both literal and figurative. I agree that it overtly gets uglier from here, but I think the battle was called prematurely for their side. They needed Trump's second term to consolidate and build upon their subversion. Ultimately I don't think they are in a position to ultimately win now, so the battle coming to a head now does not favor their long term prospects.

But none of this is a sure thing other than the fact that we would have been totally fucked had Trump managed to remain in office.

[Cosmocat]

22. Oh, yeah

Had Joe lost, American Democracy was over.

You are right, we have a chance to pull it out, but IMO its no better than a coin flip.