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Sunday, November 17, 2019

Democracy in the Balance



Friends, no doubt you've noticed that, ever since the 2016 election, many leftists have acted as though they live in a fascist dictatorship, and they've called for "resistance" against the horrors of Trumpism.  Attorney General Bill Barr recently gave a speech to the Federalist Society in which he called the Left on its own inflammatory rhetoric.  Liberals like to accuse Trump of violating democratic norms, and once in a while he does, but the truth is that leftists seem prepared to burn our democracy down to the ground if it means they can take Trump with it.  They have been crystal clear that they regard this President, and virtually everything he does and says, as illegitimate.  How can a democracy prosper, or even survive, under such circumstances?  Barr is right: the comprehensive "sabotage" and the campaign of slander waged against this administration is unprecedented, it's deeply unpatriotic, it's hysterical, and it's immensely dangerous, since it provides a precedent for disrespecting and undermining almost any electoral outcome that one deems unacceptable.  Not only the presidency is under attack, but other key elements of our constitutional system, including the Senate, the Supreme Court, and the Electoral College.  Naturally, for his trouble, Barr will be vilified, but I say he should be cheered for having the courage to state some hard truths to the American people.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/attorney-general-barr-left-systemic-sabotage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeMwdtbPR6g

In other news, Senators are starting to speculate on what a trial of President Trump in the Senate might look like.  By no means is it certain that a trial will happen, or that the House will vote on or pass articles of impeachment...but it's still an amusing parlor game to imagine how Senators might tackle the high drama of a Trump trial.

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/470733-gop-divided-over-impeachment-trial-strategy

10 comments:

  1. Dr. Waddy: Since the clear intent of the left is to destroy America it is reasonable to think that they delight in reckless attacks on our most cherished political, economic, legal and cultural institutions. They hope thereby, at some point, to effect the complete collapse of our civilization, at which time they will impose unassailable institutions, perhaps some with the same names as those they attack now. Recklessness alone may bring about their hoped for chaos. They have given unmistakeable warning of their goal in their administration of settings in which they already dominate: eg. the American academy and NY State. Fundamental totalitarianism is their very essence.

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  2. Hmm. That the Left seeks to blow up Western Civilization and replace it with something infinitely better is obvious to both of us. I'm not so sure that they seek a "collapse" or "chaos," however. That's one way to advance the ball, sure, but it's risky, because it can cause a backlash. Think the Nixon era. Seems to me the lefties have more luck when they simply delegitimize and marginalize decent folk and move society inch by inch in the direction of utopian socialism. They know, after all, that the "real America" is dangerous when provoked...

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  3. Dr. Waddy: Everything you have said above makes sense but I would add: the considerable prudent and patient faction of the left may have been overpowered by the emotionally motivated element always consequent in the left since the advent of the youthful baby boomers. That reckless faction may have, due to its unendurable rebuff in 2016, abandoned caution. Their (yes) RADICAL swing to the left may be be proof of this. Therefore, since they hold the real America in complete contempt and think its enslavement to be just a matter of time in the 48 states not yet conquered, their volcanic self righteousness may well be driving them now and it may be dominant now on their side. I mean, Bernie and Warren are my age and beyond; our end is in sight and if their triumph is not at least assured, they will pass unfulfilled.

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  4. That's a fair point, Jack. The Left's head is constantly at war with its heart. Witness its wistful nostalgia for communism, when even the lefties know the Soviet Union was a pit of despair. I don't doubt for a second that the Left is capable of overplaying its hand. It's unquestionably doing so now. The only question is: can the MSM save its bacon one more time?

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  5. Dr. Waddy: We may take hope from the MSM's treatment of this impeachment situation. They have abandoned most pretense of objectivity and this may reveal in them a recklessness and disdain for the real American quite akin to that displayed by the American political left. One risk the MSM runs in this is alienating that considerable common sense portion of their audience, which, because it is too busy living positive lives or because it does not yet perceive their consummate contempt and malice, tolerates them, if perhaps only for convenience's sake. At some point ( and an overconfident MSM could effect this realization) that portion may at last tire of being patronized. A man as blunt and frank as President Trump could well convince them of the truth: that the American left, including the MSM consists of frantic children in the throes of a tantrum which erupted on Nov.9, 2016 and that they mean destruction, as does an incensed brat.

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  6. Jack, that's a point well worth serious research: how has the reach of the MSM changed, and where does the elusive American center get its news? I personally feel the MSM is on the down-slope, but it has a long way to go before its malevolent power is exhausted.

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  7. Dr. Waddy: That makes sense. I'm reminded of the German army in 1944; seemingly defeated, it struck back with stunning force exceeding anything the U.S. Army has faced, ever, at the Bulge. The MSM is a terribly destructive and present force still. Perhaps too: so was Soviet Communism and it took a pratfall. These analogies are rough but perhaps helpful.

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  8. True, Jack. The MSM may be in its death throes. Unfortunately that makes them MORE dangerous, not less.

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