There is no cavalry coming.
Last edited Mon Oct 14, 2024, 06:40 PM - Edit history (1)
I saw a headline today that there are many Trump voters who don't like him, or his "rhetoric", but will support him because they simply don't believe he will, or could, do much of what he says he will.
They're wrong.
If Donald Trump is elected, he will have significantly fewer guardrails and likely no persons on his staff or in his orbit to keep him from indulging his worst impulses. Trump will be the Commander-In-Chief of a military that answers to his orders. And those who would say, "Well, they can refuse to obey illegal orders", are you telling me you blithely resist your boss when you're asked to do things that don't sit well with you? And when you consider the unchecked pardon power the president can offer, why should anyone, in or out of the military be constrained by what's legal? So anyone counting on some force other than their own votes to save them from Trump's dictatorial plans is making a huge misjudgment.
What history has shown us about authoritarians is the numbers and populations "out-groups" have a tendency to grow until they include everyone who's not in the circle of power, a faithful acolyte, or the bestower of favors and fealty. Experience has also shown us that the path from the "illegal alien" to the Latino citizen is not far for the bigot, and the difference between the Haitian immigrant and the black American is not exponential for the racist. Those who openly spout hate and disdain for those are transgender hold the same feelings for the rest of the LGBT+ populace, and the misogynist has no issue with the subjugation of any woman who doesn't know her place.
Four years ago I wrote in public forums like this one (and maybe in this one) that Donald Trump would do whatever he could to not leave the presidency. Long before that, I wrote he should not be trusted to have control of the IRS, the Justice Department, the State Department, or Homeland Security. In a new Trump regime you won't have to be Jim Comey or Andy McCabe to be audited by the IRS; you can simply be someone who's on the very public list of campaign contributors who gave to Joe Biden or Kamala Harris. Those Arab-Americans who feel they don't want to vote for Kamala Harris should have no regrets if the new Trump regime restricts their travel, rescinds their passports, and bans their relatives from visiting this country. And those Latinos living in border states who believe Trump is the answer to the influx of undocumented immigrants should be prepared to carry the proper papers to prove they're U.S. citizens so they don't get "oopsied" out of the country or into a detention camp. And black folks better be ready to toe the line because candidate Trump has loudly expressed his belief the police need to be able to go further in their pursuit of law and order to include the use of unchecked violence.
The new Trump regime will be legally able to do all of these things, and more. So it's up to all who don't want this to save their own lives because there will be no backstop. This election is our last best chance of stopping this fascist and his cohort of low-lifes from destroying American democracy. Believe otherwise at your own risk.
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Stop waiting for Superman, Wonder Woman or Black Panther.
WE are the heroes we've been waiting for.
