There is a vigor in their hatred

Andrea Chalupa of Gaslit Nation did an episode on the election just a few days after it. The episode description begins, “Was the election stolen? Yes.” I know the election was seven weeks ago. I held off discussing this one because I was waiting for the transcript, which wasn’t posted for what seemed to be a long time. Then I go caught up in writing about the nasty stuff the nasty guy was doing. Also, a couple holidays slowed me down. So I’m taking a break from all that to write about this – even though it may seem like old news. To my friend and debate partner, I know you say the nasty guy won’t be able to accomplish as much as he wants. Some people who have studied dictators, Chalupa being one of them, have been saying we could be in for much worse. I’d rather be prepared for the much worse and it not happen than not be prepared if it does. Joining Chalupa in this episode is Terrell Starr. Chalupa doesn’t describe him other than saying he is a “dear friend.” Later on he says he is black. Right now, before the new Congress takes power and the nasty guy gives his big speech in front of the Capitol, this is the last moments of normalcy. Nazis call themselves the storm. They’re coming to smash everything – laws that protect our food and water and much more. They’ll cut taxes for the oligarchs and the rest of us will be forced to make up the difference. In contrast to when the nasty guy won in 2016, this time there is a sense of uselessness, complacency, and grief. Things are going to get dramatically worse. Starr said we must recognize that many people voted for fascism. Yeah, they didn’t hear that term and may not know what it means if they had. Yeah, many people are out of touch. Pundits argue there were many things Biden and Harris could have done differently.

I just don't find that acceptable for the very simple reason that at some point we have to contend with the fact that as imperfect as Kamala Harris and Joe Biden is, are their imperfections so bad that Trump and all of his criminality was not?

The election went to the nasty guy because of white people and Latinos. Starr had previously pointed out “there is a vigor in their hatred.” Chalupa said they can’t wait to put their racism into action. They want the dominance and the power. They see that dominance in the nasty guy. This isn’t about facts, it’s about emotions. Biden and Harris made great strides in trying to overturn the “greed is good” mentality prominent since the Reagan era. But that mindset can’t be undone in four years. And not when the far right dominates media. Sinclair and Fox News have gobbled up local news. Those local stations not taken over have shrunk. The podcasts of Joe Rogan and Candace Owens reach millions and tell young men they will feel powerful when they dehumanize women. “We’re dealing with an epidemic of deeply insecure men.” And they’re dealing with it by dehumanizing others. Yeah, they should have outgrown it. But we have to deal with it now. Progressives have to beg for support from other progressives and from the Democratic Party. Far right conservatives merely have to act on their misogyny and they get support. They get money and an invitation to power. Democrats haven’t set up a way to counter the strong message coming from the far right. Conservatives are delighted when that misogynist has a black face because that black face can go into black places to preach misogyny and white supremacy from the black perspective – black people shouldn’t want to allow abortion because that limits the number of black people. That’s the same thing white people against abortion say. We cannot assume that a person of one minority cares anything at all about people of another minority. Or that they care about anyone other than themselves. Republicans will go to any media outlet that will let them push their message. Democrats appear reluctant to do that, wanting to go to outlets that “are serving up happy pills.” That is not what Chalupa does, even though she would gladly amplify the Democratic message. Economists say the economy is humming right along. But too many people are still juggling multiple jobs and not able to buy a house. A housing crisis makes that worse. Even so, many hurting financially did not vote for the fascist, rapist, predator, traitor, and Russian tool. So while the economy was important the election was also about sexism and racism. That’s been a part of American history for generations, amplified by Reagan. “Donald Trump is the Frankenstein monster of the Reagan Revolution, okay?” As for all those yelling about identity politics, scapegoating trans and gay people, launching a genocide against them, is also identity politics. Needing to say trans is good and gay is good was forced on us. Starr said:

Donald J. Trump is the master of identity politics because he operates on hate and grievance and resentment, and on this notion that whiteness is being devalued this whole election cycle. And his success is based on identity politics.

Don’t blame each other. Work at being a community. Chalupa is now hosting Monday afternoon salons to be that community. The far right is salivating at the opportunity to force non-white people into death camps. They’re going to start in blue states as a way to terrorize us into submission. Be ready for that. As you build your community screen people by asking them: Who did they vote for in 2024? How did you help get out the vote? How did you use your influence to stop the nasty guy? Or did you abuse power by trying to claim Democrats and Republicans are the same? If the latter, ignore them (and don’t buy their books). Democracy depends on a well educated public, yet the public school system is being weakened and college is increasingly unaffordable. Democracy also needs a robust, widespread, and credible free press. We don’t have that anymore. We have a media polluted with propaganda. Back to the statement at the top of his episode about whether the election was stolen. There was voter suppression in Georgia. Was the result hacked? MAGA people had the software, info on how these machines work. But DOJ, FBI, and Homeland Security did nothing about it. Our institutions failed us so we’ll never know whether the results were hacked. There is that huge far right media propaganda machine, including at the local level. The introduction also said the election was stolen through Russians buying MAGA influencers, oligarch consolidation, and mainstream media capitulation. Details of these were not included in this episode. And, yeah, inflation and the global effort to defeat incumbents were also issues. As was sexism and racism. There may not be another election for president.