Capitol Hill Blue Forums Political Issues Politics In General Weep afresh, America

'
Once again in the turning course of time it is here again---the melancholy anniversary of the most dreadful day in American history, the day that did so much to blight the shining possibilities of this continent. I seek shelter in the shade of cypresses, en deuil et crêpe noir, and weep at the ruin of of so many bright hopes.

How ironic that, as one runs over the absurd slanders against King George and the Home Government which fill The so-called "Declaration of Independence" of the insurrectionary terrorists, one is struck by how much so many of them are in fact true of the present US government and its cat's paws, either at home or in its rampages abroad :

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has made Judges dependent....

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent...swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies....

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution....

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us

For protecting them, by a Mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit....

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent

For depriving...in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury

For transporting...beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

For abolishing the free System of English Laws

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments

He has plundered...seas, ravaged...Coasts, burnt...towns, and destroyed the lives of...people

He is at this time transporting large Armies of...Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy...of a civilized nation.
.

A lot of those boxes have been ticked.

America Started Over Once. Can We Do It Again? NYT (Opinion, subscription). will another Civil War be required?

Civil Wars come is many forms. I think we are currently in one, with a major battle this November. Lets us pray, hope and act to prevent it becoming violent like some want.

I am of the opinion that the last "Revolution" has ended, and we are in a retrenchment cycle. From the 1880s until the 1930s, conservatism was ascendant - for the most part (on both sides of the aisle). With FDR, a progressive wave hit the country, and liberalism was dominant from 1935-1984. It began to wane with Reaganism, but there was still a strong strain of liberal resistance/influence, even in that period. It wasn't until Bill Clinton and the scorched-earth approach of Newt Gingrich and his ilk that conservatism began to wax - but not in a legitimate way (although it must be admitted that conservative politicians gained at the local/State level from 1984-2016). Massive efforts to gerrymander, court pack, and vote suppress succeeded in putting a conservative stamp on a generally left-leaning populace. Conservatism is currently waning again, but there is a concerted effort to hold back the liberal/progressive tide that is sweeping in by all means. This has led to extreme partisanship and a moral bankruptcy in "conservatism". The most morally bankrupt element is actually the "religious conservative" - which is really, neither.

My hope is that there will be a true tidal wave election this year, and that some of the worst elements of the GOP can be swept away. The reality is that the rump-war is going to be brutal. Mitch McConnell, Donald Trump, and folks like Jim Jordan, Mike Lee, and Samuel Alito have demonstrated just how brutal it will be. It will take years - at least three, probably 10 - before progressive actions will be able to counteract the damage already done to our society. The scars will be deep. We're entering a period as bad as the Jim Crow South and Lochner-era judicial activism to frustrate social norms. Our society has moved far past that, but the retrograde Luddites of the GOP still have a significant foothold, and hold a lot of high ground. If you thought the 60s were turbulent, be prepared for much, much more friction.

I am sure that many of us belong to some other political forums, and as I belong to two others at present, allow me to offer the latest trend in post threads:

1) The utterly bogus "walkaway" movement which was recently exposed as a Russian backed fraud.

2) Authoritarians outright questioning and impugning the patriotism of liberals.

Without breaking the rules of this forum, it's impossible for me to link to some of the doozies but if any of you visit these places, you know what I am talking about.

This morning one of my other faves (besides CHB) has no less than SIXTEEN threads asking "why Democrats hate America" etc.

And November is still five months away!

I don't troll the trolls. Low tolerance for stupidity, y'know?

There's nothing to be gained from any interaction with them.

I hope for that as well. But I'm thinking there's not a Popsicle's chance in Hell of it happening.

Florida's Bill Nelson is going to lose a Democratic seat in the Senate. In a year when you'd think that was impossible. And he's going to lose it to Governor Rick Scott. As big a Republican asshat as has ever walked this earth.
I look for this election to yield little change in Washington. I'll be happy if I'm wrong, but elections seldom make me happy.

You've got that right.

The oligarchs who control the USA will stop at nothing to maintain their strangle-hold on the throats of the American people.
.

Truer words were never spoken.

We were close last time though. A majority of American voters are more than ready to tax the living shite out of 'em and demand more pay and better benefits. They can still live their lavish lifetyles without hoarding more than even they can ever spend.