Elizabeth: thanks for your comments and for taking time to write a thoughtful response. I almost put a disclaimer at the top of this piece to say that it is not about Trump, because I realize that a lot of people would make the comparison. I don’t disagree with anything you said about Trump: I’ve written a lot about him in the past and there will be plenty to write about him throughout the campaign. Still, I don’t believe that should exempt Biden from an honest critique of his policies or commitments he made. The point of the piece is that polls are showing that the “I’m not Trump” defense may not be enough to get voters to the polls - they are judging him on the high standards he set for himself.
I can’t get the events of Thursday out of my head when reading this piece. An elderly man with a bad memory, who has “lost track of the memo” on human rights stubbornly must’ve insisted on rolling out to respond to the Special Counsel report. Mistake. But might be a clue to what’s going on. His policy is mired in the past. And he may be too stubborn to change course.
The chaos across our nation, and how the Republican Party has digressed over time is a reflection of the stark reality today. In 2024, I would not even call the Republicans a "political party" but a cult created through lawlessness, coercive and repetitive control techniques (aka brainwashing), and mindless vulgarity. The Trump-appointed Supremes - the highest judiciary in our land, are a stark reminder that anyone can be "bought" - the bottom-line of Trump's approach to life. Their support of Trump - a man with 91 felony charges - with solid supportive evidence, a conviction as a sexual predator, a conviction of fraud - with endless documentation and proof, and perhaps most importantly a man who admires and wishes to emulate Vladimir Putin - is PROOF that those hard-working and honest folks in red states - who all consistently send their hard-earned $5 to a man who claims to be a billionaire - are running on prepared-propaganda and mass mind manipulation. If Trump applied for a job as an elementary school janitor, he would be turned down.
I spent the majority of my career living and working in communist and dictator-led countries. They all have two things in common - brainwashing and fear. Mitt Romney commented on the level of fear in Trumpism. (www.newsweek, 12/10/23). As a student of Vladimir Putin's, Trump operates with threats, lies, hatred, and violence - there is NO policy substance in anything he does. There were ten Republicans who voted to impeach Trump. Gonzales (R) from Ohio then refused to run for re-election and hired 24-hour armed protection for his family. How would you react if your child's life had been threatened? This is the cult known as the Republican Party of 2024.
The Russian Congress is elected every five years. No member of their Congress would dare vote or speak out against Putin for fear that they or a member of their family would be murdered or imprisoned. When a leader rules by using fear to manipulate elected officials, it is called a dictatorship and NOT a democracy. Our country is half way to the point of loosing our democracy.
Trump's many-sided destructiveness has invaded the minds of millions of Americans and will continue to do so. Brainwashing is defined as "telling lies over and over until it is perceived as the truth." (wikipedia) About 70% of the Republicans still believe Trump's lie that the 2020 election was stolen, when Biden won by over 7 million votes. This is a whole lot more than the 11.780 votes Trump asked for from the state of Georgia on a recorded phone call.
Brainwashing began in totalitarian countries about 100 years ago and was used in: Italy, Germany, China, Austria, Russia, and a host of other countries. IT WORKS. Lo and behold, it is now found in the United States and used daily by Trump. Where do you suppose he learned this skill?
The Mueller Report failed miserably. Barr appointed Mueller - a lifelong friend - to produce this report due to pressure from Democrats. The "report" did not inform the American public about the Trump-Russian relationships and their impact on the daily lives of Americans. Barr probably did not want to deal with a presidential treason trial on his watch as the AG. And, Barr hindered the report by grand-slamming with a false summary. (message from Ann Sharon, 2/9/2024)
The Supreme Court's reaction to keeping Trump off the ballot in Colorado, and the MAGA Congressional members in Congress refusing to vote for a border protection bill which they themselves DEMANDED be created - are all due to Trump's cult's adherence and demands. Jim Jones, who thought he was God, created a cult of about 900 people. He ordered them all to drink Koolaid laced with poison and they all died. Hitler converted a peaceful nation into a country of mass murderers and over 6 million humans were tortured and slaughtered. Stalin was reported to have killed over 20 million people. I was at a book signing event at a Barnes and Noble in Tucson, AZ. A middle-aged woman came up to me and said "I believe Putin is a smart and great leader." I opened my mouth to respond, but was so shocked that nothing came out. These were the exact same words spoken by Trump the previous week and right after Putin invaded Ukraine.
SCOTUS, the MAGA people, and the Republican public do not understand that they are supporting a dictatorship form of government or that Trump's strings are ALL pulled by Putin - who's number one goal as the President of Russia is the destruction of the United States and the death of our democracy.
Read: From Democracy to Democrazy by Graham. It provides the evidence and proof of what is happening in our country. www.democrazy2020.org
Elizabeth: thanks for your comments and for taking time to write a thoughtful response. I almost put a disclaimer at the top of this piece to say that it is not about Trump, because I realize that a lot of people would make the comparison. I don’t disagree with anything you said about Trump: I’ve written a lot about him in the past and there will be plenty to write about him throughout the campaign. Still, I don’t believe that should exempt Biden from an honest critique of his policies or commitments he made. The point of the piece is that polls are showing that the “I’m not Trump” defense may not be enough to get voters to the polls - they are judging him on the high standards he set for himself.
I can’t get the events of Thursday out of my head when reading this piece. An elderly man with a bad memory, who has “lost track of the memo” on human rights stubbornly must’ve insisted on rolling out to respond to the Special Counsel report. Mistake. But might be a clue to what’s going on. His policy is mired in the past. And he may be too stubborn to change course.
The chaos across our nation, and how the Republican Party has digressed over time is a reflection of the stark reality today. In 2024, I would not even call the Republicans a "political party" but a cult created through lawlessness, coercive and repetitive control techniques (aka brainwashing), and mindless vulgarity. The Trump-appointed Supremes - the highest judiciary in our land, are a stark reminder that anyone can be "bought" - the bottom-line of Trump's approach to life. Their support of Trump - a man with 91 felony charges - with solid supportive evidence, a conviction as a sexual predator, a conviction of fraud - with endless documentation and proof, and perhaps most importantly a man who admires and wishes to emulate Vladimir Putin - is PROOF that those hard-working and honest folks in red states - who all consistently send their hard-earned $5 to a man who claims to be a billionaire - are running on prepared-propaganda and mass mind manipulation. If Trump applied for a job as an elementary school janitor, he would be turned down.
I spent the majority of my career living and working in communist and dictator-led countries. They all have two things in common - brainwashing and fear. Mitt Romney commented on the level of fear in Trumpism. (www.newsweek, 12/10/23). As a student of Vladimir Putin's, Trump operates with threats, lies, hatred, and violence - there is NO policy substance in anything he does. There were ten Republicans who voted to impeach Trump. Gonzales (R) from Ohio then refused to run for re-election and hired 24-hour armed protection for his family. How would you react if your child's life had been threatened? This is the cult known as the Republican Party of 2024.
The Russian Congress is elected every five years. No member of their Congress would dare vote or speak out against Putin for fear that they or a member of their family would be murdered or imprisoned. When a leader rules by using fear to manipulate elected officials, it is called a dictatorship and NOT a democracy. Our country is half way to the point of loosing our democracy.
Trump's many-sided destructiveness has invaded the minds of millions of Americans and will continue to do so. Brainwashing is defined as "telling lies over and over until it is perceived as the truth." (wikipedia) About 70% of the Republicans still believe Trump's lie that the 2020 election was stolen, when Biden won by over 7 million votes. This is a whole lot more than the 11.780 votes Trump asked for from the state of Georgia on a recorded phone call.
Brainwashing began in totalitarian countries about 100 years ago and was used in: Italy, Germany, China, Austria, Russia, and a host of other countries. IT WORKS. Lo and behold, it is now found in the United States and used daily by Trump. Where do you suppose he learned this skill?
The Mueller Report failed miserably. Barr appointed Mueller - a lifelong friend - to produce this report due to pressure from Democrats. The "report" did not inform the American public about the Trump-Russian relationships and their impact on the daily lives of Americans. Barr probably did not want to deal with a presidential treason trial on his watch as the AG. And, Barr hindered the report by grand-slamming with a false summary. (message from Ann Sharon, 2/9/2024)
The Supreme Court's reaction to keeping Trump off the ballot in Colorado, and the MAGA Congressional members in Congress refusing to vote for a border protection bill which they themselves DEMANDED be created - are all due to Trump's cult's adherence and demands. Jim Jones, who thought he was God, created a cult of about 900 people. He ordered them all to drink Koolaid laced with poison and they all died. Hitler converted a peaceful nation into a country of mass murderers and over 6 million humans were tortured and slaughtered. Stalin was reported to have killed over 20 million people. I was at a book signing event at a Barnes and Noble in Tucson, AZ. A middle-aged woman came up to me and said "I believe Putin is a smart and great leader." I opened my mouth to respond, but was so shocked that nothing came out. These were the exact same words spoken by Trump the previous week and right after Putin invaded Ukraine.
SCOTUS, the MAGA people, and the Republican public do not understand that they are supporting a dictatorship form of government or that Trump's strings are ALL pulled by Putin - who's number one goal as the President of Russia is the destruction of the United States and the death of our democracy.
Read: From Democracy to Democrazy by Graham. It provides the evidence and proof of what is happening in our country. www.democrazy2020.org
Elizabeth Graham