The Inevitable.

[PCIntern]

About 35 years ago, a powerful Democratic fundraiser here in Philly put up a candidate who had been associated with former mayor Frank Rizzo, and the fundraiser’s mantra, which he was privately preaching, was that this would be almost without doubt, the last time a white mayor would be elected. For a variety of reasons, the candidate failed and disappeared into obscurity. What I recall most vividly was the vituperative and intense nature of the entreaty and warning that it’s going to be all over for the white man and woman within the city limits.

I think this is what is going on with the republican party now. They are watching the Ratio of non-white people increase in many states, including Texas. If Texas goes blue, it’s going to be all over for them from the perspective of the electoral college. Not all that many years ago California was a red state and elected a right wing B actor as governor for two terms , who eventually went on to become president of course. Things have changed out west and I noted with some appreciation recently that when the Republican and retired baseball player Steve Garvey‘s name was mentioned as a Senate candidate, it was noted and then dismissed put of hand because apparently there’s not a prayer that a Republican can be elected in a statewide race there.

I would assume that the remaining three digit IQ members of the republican party have been apprised of this, and or just going for broke at this point. There is a choice from their standpoint however: they can attempt to stave this off as long as possible by changing voting laws and polling places, and the like, and steal as much money as they possibly can during this time, or on the other hand, convert the country to an autocratic dictatorship, which always fails in the long run as well. And they know this.

I am not certain that I will see the outcome of this in my lifetime, but feel that there is going to be monumental change in this country one way or another.

[marble falls]

1. It is coming. I, like you, just want to hold off a bit longer to at least see the start.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

7. We are so close to a breakthrough. US is demographically liberal, progressive, Democratic.

As Democrats get elected to positions of power, there need to be progressive changes to ensure democracy.

If that is done, the US, Canada, and the world will be freer and happier. The country and the nations will be more powerful, more productive, better able to combat and shut down the murderous dictators like Xi and Putin.

80 school girls were poisoned in Afghanistan recently. Following similar poisonings in Iran. Reich Wing nations are really shitty places to live. DeSantis, Pence, the rump and the rest want to make the US a shitty Reich Wing nation and they have started with the stolen Justices and Florida.


Wealth and income inequality is holding the nation back and distorting the political process. Tax the rich and reduce the deficit.

Restore rights for women and people of colour and oppressed sexual minorities.

Get it together folks.

We don't want to go backwards and we don't want to "take back" any mythological country.

We want to and will go forward.

[marble falls]

8. It's alive. We need to help get it to break loose this election cycle.

[madaboutharry]

2. It would be great to have a Time Machine,

travel a hundred years to the future, and read the history books about the exact way the Republican Party destroyed itself.

[bucolic_frolic]

3. "monumental change in this country one way or another. "

How long would Americans put up with autocracy? Was waving a Bible our Tiananmen Square? If Trump had succeeded there, or in the election, or in stealing his own steal, what would have happened? THAT is the moment for Supreme Thought. How would America have responded?

I don't think there could be very "monumental change" in the country. It's too large and diverse. Federal power would require controlling or inducing to revolt, Washington D.C. and it's environs. Then there are 50 state capitols divided into red and blue states. GOP hold on red state legislature is precarious in the legislation sense because the public isn't on board. It's being dictated to us through control of our health care and our reading material in schools and libraries. It's a paper tiger that today's young generations will burn in effigy and at the ballot box.

Don't misread the fear generated by guns, incels, and loony right politicians for public support. Freedom trumps all in the long run in America. It always will.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

9. How long they'd put up with it is much shorter than how long they'd have to endure it

... if it gets entrenched.

The US is fundamentally progressive.

Agree 100% with "Freedom trumps all in the long run", but interregnums can be disgustingly violent and dark. We can avoid it but it will take hard work.

[anciano]

4. Spot on!

Monumental change is indeed inevitable. What we evolve (or devolve) into is yet to be determined.

[CanonRay]

5. Personally I think a segment of them won't go down without spilled blood.

Maybe that's the two digit Republicans, and maybe a little blood, but possibly a lot. We do know they're armed to the teeth and some are itching to get some libtards, people of color, etc. I think it behooves us to weed out this lot from our police and National Guard before the shit hits the fan.

[wnylib]

22. I agree. There is a group of RWers who are

very tenacious and aggressive. How large that group is, I don't know. Some MAGA supporters will fade away in the face of political losses and changes. But a hard core group will not back down without direct physical confrontation. They will settle for nothing less. They think that they are fighting for both physical and cultural survival as the country becomes more diverse. What they don't understand is that THEY are the ones who threaten their own "survival." With their refusal to acknowledge the rights of others, they create the polarized opposition that they fear.

[Lonestarblue]

6. Texas isn't going blue any time soon.

Abbott and his Republican gerrymandering have ensured that the state legislature will remain in Republican hands for decades unless some miracle occurs and enough Democrats are elected to Congress to actually pass a new Voting Rights Act. Gerrymandering also ensures that few Democrats can be elected to the US House.

Currently, the number of rural/suburban Republicans is greater than the urban Democrats primarily located in the large cities, so with gerrymandered districts the rural vote has more influence than the urban vote. Texas has been a minority white state for almost 20 years and nothing has changed for the white powerful structure. Nor is it likely to do so in the near future. Hispanics were once more Democratic voters, but Republicans have been courting them with community centers and other facilities where they get Republican propaganda along with local services. The number of migrants crossing the border also creates issues for local communities that are overwhelmed in housing and feeding them. Most of these communities are poor, and local aid has been going to migrants instead of local citizens in need. One border county voted overwhelmingly for Trump in 2020, the first time it supported a Republican.

In short, I think counting on the Texas vote to go to Democrats for the Electoral College anytime soon will not happen. Indeed, Republicans just passed a law giving themselves the power to take over Houston’s election system and manipulate it however they like. Any close vote for president can be adjusted to ensure a Republican win with just with this county.

I wish I had a crystal ball, but I’ll just have to wait with everyone else to see what happens after 2024, which I do think is a pivotal election. And I do think Republicans will cheat in every state they can.

[OneGrassRoot]

21. that is my question...

How can the “just vote!!!” messaging (which, I agree, is still important) counter all the gerrymandering and other voter suppression measures the GOP is legislating around the country?

Seems we need to expand SCOTUS as the only way to counter these anti-democratic laws.

[wnylib]

23. True. Only legal rulings can break up the

Republican gerrymandered monopoly. The current court is not going to give those kinds of rulings, so the 2024 election is crucial in so many ways. We need to gain enough Dems in Congress to make expansion of the court possible. Also, to eliminate the debt ceiling.

[AverageOldGuy]

10. Ditto

That's exactly what is happening. We are seeing the Last Stand of Old White Men. We also may be seeing the end of the Civil War.

And , like you, I'm 78 -- don't know if I'll live to see the end of this -- I'm just hoping for the sake of my two grandsons that the nation survives and I don't die with a swastika flying over the Capitol.

[NNadir]

11. I emphatically agree. It's pretty clear. Well stated. Nt

[rubbersole]

12. Spot on, PCIntern.

The fact that the repubs aren't even hiding their desire for authoritarianism is proof of their desperation. How much irreversible damage they'll do to the country is the question. Unlimited money can do a lot of damage. Apologies to Gen Z for the shit pile we left you.

[EYESORE 9001]

13. Just spitballin' here...

but if I were a powerful repuQ hack, or flack, I’d look at the big picture:

Even if immigration stopped completely from countries where people have a darker complexion than the folks running every fucking thing, the demographics are stacked against those in charge. Exponential growth in non-white birth rates leaves no doubt about the trajectory. White people will acquire minority status within the US as a whole in 30 years, I think.

Next, I’d ask myself why I fear reaching minority status at all. Is it perhaps because we haven’t always treated minorities like we’d want to be treated ourselves? Are we projecting our own rotten inclinations onto others? Afraid of getting mistreated or discriminated against? Do tell…

Perhaps the solution involves taking the advice of our ostensible spiritual savior and treating others as we want to be treated. The more that this can be demonstrated going forward, the smoother transition will occur.

Except that party leadership wants none of that. They’d rather stir the shit and promote violence now, thereby sowing the seeds of violence for later. Their catchphrase, ‘you will not replace us,’ is just so much bloviation. The die is cast, and some leaders from among other-than-white groups will assume positions of power in government and business. Those plotting civil war to forestall the inevitable must be taken out like mad dogs.

Speaking personally now, I wish all of humanity would move past the artificial construct of ‘race.’ Perhaps in a few millennia, if humans still live on earth, well have a better chance of surviving if race is no longer important.

[William Seger]

14. I've been saying for years that what bigots fear...

... is that if they become a minority, they'll be treated like they have always treated minorities. That must be a powerful fear, since they know damn well how minorities have been treated, and they consider it "natural."

But the term "progressive" comes from the belief that society can progress beyond the moral failings of the past.

[Texin]

15. I think Dems have been trying to rely on the Hispanic bloc of voters

that keeps growing exponentially, but it's a mistake to believe that this bloc of voters cast their votes monolithically. They don't. And many of the more recent voters have come from disastrous South American/Central American "regimes" that they identify as "communists" or "socialists" of which they loathe (and associate with the Democratic party).

I believe the Millennials (if they actually find their way to the polls) have a far better chance of tipping the balance to the Dems in 2024 and beyond than any other voting bloc. As a group, they do seem, at this point, to be motivated by the many and several outrages of the rethuglican agenda, especially their fetishism about automatic weapons of war that are being used routinely in elementary schools.

[jaxexpat]

16. One almost possible scenario which I fancy is how.....

the concept of one man/one vote might play out for presidential elections.

Of course, I'm one of those who thinks that harnessing the power of tides will eliminate our energy issues.

[Joinfortmill]

17. Yup, we're at a pivotal moment.

[Hotler]

18. They only need a dictatorship long enough to steal all the money and land

of the American tax payer (S.S., medicaid, V.A., highway funds,national parks, etc.). And exterminate 50± million dems and libs. If they take power, they will come for us. tiny 'd' said it. He wasn't to end wokeness within two terms. I take that as a threat.

[NowISeetheLight]

19. It's Stupid

Pick the best person for the job. You shouldn’t be insecure because they’re not the same race as you. If I needed heart surgery and the surgeon wasn’t Caucasian I wouldn’t care in the least if they could do the job. The same applies for politicians. I’ve voted for candidates of several different racial groups and genders over the years. I reality I’ve voted for ONE GROUP. The human race. The best person with the best ideas and positions. It’s so much easier to be a human being when you’re not a fucxxn bigot or racist.

[Hekate]

20. KnR

[peggysue2]

24. Change is definitely in the wind

I think the biggest roadblock to Republican scheming is the youth vote, the size of which is growing every year and is decidedly liberal leaning. Republicans are frantic to trim this demographic bc they know what we know: younger voters are more diverse, better educated, socially aware/conscientious and politically active. They are by their nature an anathema to the GOP's extreme ideology and visions of autocratic rule. It's why there is a continuous buzz about how and where to contain the youth vote (raise the voting age, restrict voting on or near college campuses, etc.).

I'm somewhat optimistic that the generations coming up will provide a bulwark in this ongoing fight against the right-wing extremists. It will take all of us, of course, shoulder-to-shoulder to push the crazies back under their rocks. But reinforcements are coming in the ongoing battle to sustain our democratic institutions.

I'm reminded of what a Republican congresswoman said quite explicitly during the last election cycle, citing a Hitler quote:

"He who owns the youth, gains the future."

They know.