@deadgerbil Its remarkable how conspiratorial the American right are. I dont live there and I'm sire SW is not representative but it seems like a large minority of your country are either far right or at least far right tolerent and its conspiracy theories that allowed it to happen.
@Burnley123 trump emboldened these people to come crawling out of the gutter.
It's definitely a sizeable minority, there's people on the 'right' on here who believe in Obama birtherism theories and those people are well liked. So much tolerance for bs in a country that likes to pride itself on being the best.
@Burnley123 @deadgerbil The US has always had people like this, but they were in the shadows. I had no idea there were so many people who were so ignorant and uneducated, so full of hate for others, and so proud of it. Trump has emboldened these people to come out from under their rocks and fully express their beliefs, including religious intolerance, authoritarianism, homophobia, misogyny, violence, and white supremacy, among others. But make no mistake about it--these people are now and have been in the solid minority for generations.
@windinhishair giving these bottom dwellers legitimacy was the single worse thing that any leader could have done. No matter how small the minority. A single rabid dog can do much damage if not put down (metaphorically).
@deadgerbil If Trump wins, democracy ends. It really is as simple as that. Not that day, but having been coronated by the Senate, and in his second term, unfettered by laws, rules, and regulations, he will do whatever he wants, and his rabid sycophants will enable every base impulse.
@windinhishair oh, no doubt. If Biden wins this, there is no way four years will enough time to put a dent in it. Which too, worries me. That will leave 2024 open to another trump like figure to blur the story, declare democrats failures and pick up where trump left off.
@Carla There is a pattern of this going back decades. Republicans screw things up. Democrats come in and clean up as much of the mess as possible, but Republicans blame the Democrats for their lingering messes and get elected again. Where they create another huge mess for Democrats to start cleaning up.
I don't think the Republicans have another Trump. Trump is unique in his malignant narcissism and willingness to do absolutely anything for his personal benefit. Even someone as nasty as Ted Cruz couldn't duplicate Trump's fascism.
@windinhishair I can only hope you are right about that. But the cult has been loosed. There is no telling who they will see as their next messiah. I reckon it's up to the rest of us to stay engaged and to keep our collective feet firmly upon the rocks under which they live.
