America's descent into authoritarianism, and it's titular head is a mad man

Let me lay it out for you: Trump’s Chief Henchman, Steve Bannon, just took his fascist cosplay up a notch, saying Rachel Maddow needs to go to prison. Not a metaphor, not a joke -- this is their literal plan. “Investigations, trials, incarceration,” he says, like he’s auditioning to narrate a dystopian sci-fi movie where logic doesn’t exist, and rage is the national pastime. And guess what? If Maddow’s on the chopping block, you’re next, probably for something like tweeting that you don’t like his hair or that he overcooks his steaks.

But wait -- it gets dumber. Trump is suing The Des Moines Register because they had the audacity to release a poll showing he might win Iowa by less than 20 points. This isn’t just fragile ego; this is “wrap myself in bubble wrap and cry if I don’t get a gold star” energy. He’s calling it consumer fraud. You heard me -- fraud, because a poll didn’t kiss his royal, spray-tanned backside. The lawyer he hired, Allan Ostergren, well, look him up; his Google reviews are so bad they make Comcast customer service look like Nobel laureates.

And Trump? Oh, Trump’s on a roll. Suing Bob Woodward, threatening CBS, and considering a rematch with the Pulitzer committee because they had the nerve to award someone who wrote the truth about him.
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24370395-kaplan-august-ruling-trump-counterclaim/
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/poli...r-gannett-over-iowa-election-poll/ar-AA1w2r9e
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/poli...showed-him-trailing-kamala-harris/ar-AA1w2AAX
https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/...nterference-after-inaccurate-poll/ar-AA1w2Dg8

He’s like a guy at a bar who just lost a pool game and now wants to sue the cue stick manufacturer, the bartender, and the laws of physics. Revenge isn’t just his hobby -- it’s his entire personality. He’s a toddler with a legal team.

But the real kicker? Some historian -- Robert Shapiro -- actually wrote an op-ed suggesting Biden should pardon Trump to help him focus on governance. Governance? Trump couldn’t govern a lemonade stand without suing a kid for using too much sugar. Shapiro even trotted out the old chestnut about Ford pardoning Nixon, like that’s supposed to make us feel better. News flash, Shapiro: Nixon got pardoned, and here we are, 50 years later, watching the sequel, but this time, the villain has the internet and a cult following.

And let’s not forget Trump’s obsession with “opening up libel laws.” What he really means is he wants to sue anyone who doesn’t write him a love letter every morning. Don’t like his policies? Lawsuit. Didn’t vote for him? Lawsuit. Liked a tweet that called him a schmuck? Triple lawsuit. At this rate, he’s one bad day away from suing people who think bad thoughts about him. Remember that Twilight Zone episode where the kid could read minds and send people to the cornfield? Yeah, that’s Trump’s wet dream.

And don’t think his sidekicks are any saner. Barry Loudermilk just cooked up a report recommending criminal charges against Liz Cheney for... what? Sarcasm? Breathing too loudly? I mean, Cheney’s no hero, but c’mon, Barry -- at least come up with a crime that exists outside your fever dream.

The cherry on top of this lunacy sundae? Trump’s lawsuit against ABC News over their coverage of the E. Jean Carroll case. Here’s the deal: a judge literally said Trump sexually assaulted her, but because of some narrow New York legal definition, it didn’t meet the technical definition of rape.

I put the question to Copilot: Q: Did Carroll claim she was raped?

COPILOT: E. Jean Carroll has consistently maintained that Donald Trump raped her. Carroll detailed her allegations in her memoir and during her testimony in the civil trial against Trump. The jury found that Trump sexually abused Carroll but did not find sufficient evidence to prove that he raped her under the specific legal definition used in the case. However, Carroll's allegations of rape were deemed "substantially true" by Federal Judge Lewis Kaplan under the concept of 'common use'.
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24370395-kaplan-august-ruling-trump-counterclaim/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2024/01/29/donald-trump-rape-e-jean-carroll/72295009007
https://www.newsweek.com/e-jean-carroll-shares-graphic-details-alleged-trump-rape-1796921
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65406394
​

And Trump? He’s out here spinning it like he’s the victim of a giant conspiracy. Meanwhile, Disney, The Washington Post, and every other media giant are bending over backward to avoid a fight, settling cases faster than you can say “cowardice.”

So here’s where we’re at, folks: Trump’s suing pollsters, threatening journalists, and gearing up to sue anyone who even thinks about criticizing him. This isn’t politics anymore -- it’s an authoritarian circus, and the only thing missing is a tiny car full of clowns. But hey, maybe that’s next. After all, this guy’s got the imagination of a Saturday morning cartoon villain and the restraint of a raccoon in a garbage can. Buckle up -- it’s only going to get crazier.

And let’s call it what it is, folks: America’s descent into fascism, led by a madman named Trump, is a comedy sketch gone wrong. You know, fascism used to have a certain flair to it -- sharp uniforms, chilling slogans, a veneer of efficiency. But not here, not with this guy. Our brand of fascism comes with oversized red ties, misspelled tweets, and rallies that look like rejected auditions for a bad reality show. It's fascism for people who still believe professional wrestling is real.

Trump doesn’t just want power -- he wants submission. He doesn’t want your vote; he wants your worship. He’s the kind of guy who’d order a loyalty oath at the DMV before letting you renew your license. And his fans? Oh, they’re not citizens anymore -- they’re disciples. They don’t just cheer for him; they practically offer sacrifices to the altar of Mar-a-Lago. And the rest of us? We’re heretics in their holy war, guilty of treason for the crime of having independent thoughts.

Here’s the thing about fascists, though: they’re never satisfied. Give them an inch, and they’ll take a mile, pave it over, and charge you a toll for walking on it. Trump’s already testing the waters, suing the media, suing pollsters, threatening to arrest journalists. Next, he’ll probably want to rename the months of the year after himself. "Welcome to Trumpuary, folks! The only month that lasts forever and bankrupts you in the process."

And don’t think the enablers are off the hook. The spineless politicians and corporate bigwigs who bend over backward for this lunatic? They’re the ones greasing the wheels of this trainwreck. Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Kevin McCarthy -- they don’t serve the people; they serve the throne. They’re the political equivalent of those guys who hold the door open for the bank robber, then wonder why the vault’s empty. And the corporations? They’re worse. Disney and ABC settled with Trump faster than you can say, “Mickey Mouse is a sellout.” They’re so afraid of losing a buck, they’ll let democracy burn as long as the popcorn still sells.

Let’s not kid ourselves. This isn’t about left versus right, conservative versus liberal. This is about authoritarianism versus freedom. Trump doesn’t care about policy; he cares about obedience. He doesn’t care about the Constitution; he cares about how he can wipe his greasy fingerprints all over it. This isn’t governance -- it’s grievance cosplay. He’s turned the presidency into a personal vendetta, a four-year (or God forbid, eight-year) reality show where every episode ends with him suing someone who made him cry.

But here’s the scariest part: it’s working. His base isn’t just cheering him on -- they’re ready to march. They’ve traded their common sense for MAGA hats and conspiracy theories, and they’re just itching for their Führer Lite to give them the signal. And the rest of us? We’re sitting here, clutching our copies of the Constitution, hoping it doesn’t end up in the shredder.

America isn’t just flirting with fascism anymore -- we’re on a full-blown Tinder date with it, and Trump’s already ordered the lobster. The question is, are we going to wake up before the check comes, or are we going to keep letting this orange lunatic drag us into the abyss? Because if we don’t, folks, we’re not just going to lose our democracy. We’re going to lose our dignity, our sanity, and what’s left of our collective sense of humor. And believe me, we’re going to need that humor for the years ahead.

One thing I want to get straight, and this is the message to the 'Trump won, get over it', crowd, okay, you won, go ahead and gloat, but just pay attention to what will happen when this moron takes office. You'll be pleased temporarily because your guy, the guy who got away with a crime spree on a national scale America has never seen, though you are blind to it, but the truth will eventually prevail, and what will manifest will be the day of Trump's, and his enablers', reckoning. You're having fun now, well, enjoy it while it lasts, and last, it won't, Because the resistance will be immense, and it will have legal dimensions. The courts won't let him get away it, you know, they are very wise to the 'vexatious litigator' phenomenon, that's nothing new to them, and the press will regain their courage, maybe not right away, but they will soon enough, and it might be sooner than you think. And, if you haven't forgotten the scandal-de-jour days of his first term, the second will be a scandal-a-minute.

So, you're having your fun, but get this, it's temporary. Very temporary. We're at the quiet before the storm, and the storm is coming. I'm really not afraid of Trump's and his minions, threats, because one thing all prosecutors, and fans of the constitution, know, is that indictments require evidence, and grand juries are not as dumb as you might wish them to be.

And that's the kick in the gut to those who believe in Trump, while you have been deceived by Trump into believing that his prosecutions were 'political' thus, 'unjust', they really weren't. The prosecutors had tons of evidence, and none of them were coordinated by Biden. The truth is, the beautiful truth is, it's all bluster, there will be no trials, no indictments, no one going to jail, not Maddow, not Cheney, not Weismann, not anyone, and the reason that is true is that there is NO EVIDENCE. All of these folks were merely doing their jobs.

All the evidence points to Trump and his co-conspirators, and no one else, for crimes against the United States.

Trump's day of reckoning has only been postponed by the luck of Trump's paltry margin of 1.5% of the electorate in his favor.

 

The good news, unlike many Soviet or Communist countries, you get to leave whenever you want. What's holding you back?

 

It could be anticipated that the losing faction would immediately begin symphonies of "bitch-and-complain", along with "piss-and-moan" -- even before Trump takes the Oath of Office over a month from now.

But, as Captain Obvious reminds us: "He won the popular vote, and he won the electoral vote, too -- what the ****ing hell else do you want...?!"

 

Y'all don't like it, now that the show is on the other foot. Do you?

 

What is it with all these worrywart's who worry about things that haven't happened? BOTH sides do this. Bunch of ninnies.

 

Change it.

 

I'm sincerely sorry your beloved propagandist is worried about being put into a Democrat-style internment camp. There is way too much incoherent nonsense in this gish-galloping screed, so I'll attack your first nonsensical point. To start, Alan Ostergren has only one Google review and it is from someone who says they don't like his politics. How that compares to Comcast makes about as much sense as any other point you've emoted, that is to say, none.

I think it's pretty obvious that this Des Moines Register/Selzer screed is just an emotional response to being embarrassed by prior positions on this forum in regard to this topic. You started numerous threads and made a ton of embarrassing posts where you accused Republicans of doing what you were actually falling victim of. I'll share some of that hilarity below. But, before I do, I think it's important to note that Selzer has a reputation for throwing polls to benefit Democrats. For example, in 2022, she threw a poll for the Iowa Attorney General race where she was off by 18 points to help the Democrat candidate, claiming they were up by 16 points when he actually lost by 2 points. Every major poll had Trump comfortably ahead, but Democrats needed some enthusiasm, so she faked a poll and then it leaked to Democrats who spoke about it at Democrat meetings prior to its official release. This poll had Harris up by 3 points, a 16 point miss. It was so bad, and the scandal was so egregious, that she quit polling altogether due to having no innocent explanation for this disaster. During the same election, she claimed the Iowa's 1st Congressional District had the Democrat challenger defeating the incumbent Republican by 16 points. The Republican ended up winning that race as well, another 16 point swing. The odds of this poll, much like her previous AG scandal and the Congressional race, had an odds of occurring naturally in 1 out of 3.5 million trials. How does she manage to have THREE polls of different candidates with more than 1 in a million odds so close to each other? And why were they always to benefit Democrats before going on liberal cable news networks to push her propaganda? Answer: She lied. It's like winning the lottery back to back to back. If it happens, you should investigate because there was likely fraud taking place. It would be evidence of a foolish criminal who doesn't know when to quit while they're ahead. There's a reason she retired from polling. She's been completely disgraced.

Here's some history of how we landed here:

For the record, this is the 538 polls leading up to the election that you falsely claimed had other polls breaking for Harris. They were breaking for Trump. She was the outlier. And you believed her over everyone else because you claimed "conservative" polls were doing what she was doing. I highlighted all of the presidential polls. She was the anomaly.

 

So the OP thinks it's fascism to sue someone for defamation or slander? That word has no limits to how it can be stretched.

 

I wonder how long it'll be before the brown shirts find this forum and start tapping on management to curtail negative Trump posts?

 

Maybe...just maybe the OP doesn't really think that Trump is Hitler II: This Time it's Personal, and he doesn't need to fear being hauled away to the camps along with Rachel Maddow.

 

America's descent into authoritarianism, and it's titular head is a mad man

At least the OP doesn't mesh with the majority of Americans. It is tough being in a minority. I remember as a child how I had to get rid of my Spanish accent to avoid the slings and arrows. I handled it by going about my business and ignoring the slurs. You may benefit from ignoring Steve Bannon. I do.

 

empty

 

What's holding you back from from spitting out what you really are insinuating?

If you got something to say, then don't hide behind a rhetorical question, which isn't exactly, shall we say, Profiles In Courage?

 

Well that she raised a billion bucks in a little over 3 months isn't too bad,.

That she lost by a Trump's paltry margin of victory, 1.5%, after having been in the running for 100 or so days, versus Trump's two years, isn't too bad. I would say, in point of fact, she was impressive.

I think there is a strong argument that, but for inflation, she would have won, given the small margin of victory in the actual weight of support for Trump, which was marginally more than that for Harris.

At the time of those posts, the data I was operating on was accurate.

Anyone can be wrong, including Ann Seltzer.

If you're trying to mine that for some other point, well, don't make sh*t up because there no other point.

Anyone can be wrong. There is nothing wrong with being wrong, as everyone is wrong at some juncture.

Where I'm right is on the following

Trump is a criminal

Trump is a sex abuser.

Trump is going increase prices on imports for which there are few American replacements, the purchases of which affect the middle class more than any other sector, the middle class of which is the engine of jobs.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/sma...expected-trump-tariff-price-hikes/ar-AA1w29Fb
https://www.inc.com/bruce-crumley/h...ost-likely-to-increase-import-prices/91062653
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/trumps-proposed-tariffs-raise-prices-products-experts/story
https://www.americanprogress.org/ar...me-inequality-and-the-strength-of-our-economy
https://www.nelp.org/app/uploads/20...ys-Rebuild-Middle-Class-Economy-Good-Jobs.pdf

Trump's incessant lies and the right's lapping them up are why we are here, more than any other reason.

I will vote for Harris again, if she runs.

History will reveal that Trump will be the worst president in history, will do more damage to America than any president in history.

Could I be wrong on that point? We should know by the midterms.

I don't think I'm wrong on that score, however.

 

Oh, so that’s your angle, huh? Suing for defamation or slander is just good old legal housekeeping? Sure, pal, except when your guy uses it like a toddler with a hammer -- swinging wildly at anyone who doesn’t sing his praises. Suing pollsters, suing journalists, suing authors-- hell, if the mirror tells him he’s losing his hair, he’d probably sue the mirror, too.

But let’s not kid ourselves here. This isn’t about justice or protecting his 'good name' -- what good name? This is the guy who spent his life stiffing contractors, lying about his wealth, and slapping his name on everything from steaks to a fake university. Defamation? Trump couldn’t defame himself harder if he tried. How do you defame a convicted felon, adjudicated sex abuser -- how do you sue someone for defamation who had to pay $25 restitution for a fake university scam and $88 million for, you guessed it...DEFAMATION?

No, this is about silencing critics. Chilling dissent. Turning the legal system into his personal vengeance machine. Fascism isn’t just goose-stepping in shiny boots -- it’s this petty, small-time thug routine where you crush anyone who tells the truth about you. But go ahead, keep defending the guy who thinks libel laws should work like Yelp reviews for his fragile ego. Just don’t pretend this is about principles, ‘cause that’s the biggest joke of all.

 

Maybe you should actually read the OP.

 

Oh, that's rich -- telling me to calm down while you’re over there chugging the MAGA Kool-Aid like it’s happy hour. 'Accept that Trump won'? Buddy, he hasn’t won anything but a lifetime supply of subpoenas and a permanent spot in the grifter hall of fame. And you want me to sit back with a beer and pretend this clown show isn’t happening? Nah, man.

Your guy’s out here suing reality itself because he can’t handle bad polls or losing fair elections, and you think the problem is my imagination? That’s adorable. Go ahead, enjoy your sunset and your cold beer, but don’t spill it when the indictments keep rolling in. 'Cause trust me, this isn’t me burning out -- it’s the truth heating up, and your boy’s about to get cooked. We’ve seen this movie before: scandals on speed dial, tantrums over reality, and now, without adults in the room or checks on his delusions, he’s gearing up to turn America into his personal dystopian theme park.

Looks like you’re all set to learn the hard way.

 

No, we're not a 'minority', just enough of the majority sat it out, over inflation, they couldn't figure out whom to vote for so they bowed out.

Don't lecture me on accents, I had to deal with a southern accent in SoCal for years, when my mom moved us from Mississippi to California when I was 9.

 

empty.

 

Nope, it's very real and massively important to you.

Denial and anger - working through those steps of grief.

 

Want to know why Trump went broke so many times? Why he had to continue borrowing money from banks to stay solvent? Why he has to continue grifting? Why there is never enough money for him? It is because he is Gods gift to American lawyers. Over 4,000 law suits BEFORE he came into office. At some point someone should have done a cost/benefit analysis with him to show it would be cheaper to just pay his bills and ignore imagined slights

 

You know, it's a standard observation on the right that Trump fundamentally broke something in his political opponents, but I think you are discovering new depths of broken. Trump isn't breaking new ground in suing for defamation and slander. Those laws go back to before the revolution in the US. And I don't even think you are arguing that it's new ground, simply that when Trump the Corrupt does it, it's fascism. It really is a new level of broken.

 

She lost every battleground state and by 86 electoral votes. You do realize the goal of a presidential campaign, right?

The chances of that poll being wrong without her intent was 1 in 3.5 million. And she did that 3 times in the last two elections. Statistically, that is effectively an impossibility unless she did it on purpose. She lied to people because she needed useful idiots to provide voter enthusiasm for her preferred candidate. That's why she was sued.

 

still cannot handle the fact that your side got thrashed in the election. All the law fare, all the idiotic impeachments and bullshit convictions by biased DEI turds and Biden fluffing judges, FAILED. History will reveal that Biden is the worst president since Jimmy Carter and probably worse than carter. His spiteful attempts to sabotage Trump's next term with all sorts of idiotic spending, hiring hundreds of DEI bots, selling off the material for the border wall for pennies on the dollar are the signs of a POS who is a LOSER. He was screwed blued and tattooed by his own party and his already fecal stained legacy is rapidly swirling down the commode.

 

I want Trump to quit lying about the 2020 election and lying about the Jan 6 Committee, among others. These are HUGE lies. The lies never stop with Trump because he lives in an alternate reality where he is never wrong. Besides his malignant narcissism and several personality disorders, he suffers from paranoid delusions.

"Paranoid delusions are a symptom of certain mental health conditions where a person has a fixed, false belief that they are being targeted, harmed, or persecuted, despite a lack of evidence or logical basis. These delusions often involve exaggerated feelings of suspicion, fear, or mistrust and can significantly impact a person's thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.

Belief that others are plotting against, spying on, or trying to harm them.

Belief that they possess unique powers or knowledge, which makes them a target.

Belief that unrelated events, people, or media have special meaning directed at them.

Individuals experiencing paranoid delusions genuinely believe their perceptions, making it difficult to convince them otherwise. This can lead to anxiety, isolation, and difficulty trusting others."

Buckle up for 4 years of a paranoiac commander in chief. America decided to elect the Antichrist Trump and the False Prophet Elon Musk.