Note: yesterday’s “extra” post was an accident. Sorry for the assault on your inboxes!
Like many readers of this blog, I subscribe to Heather Cox Richardson’s daily “Letters from an American.” Having come through an education system notoriously light on comprehensive history, I find her daily expositions of America’s past very enlightening–especially when I learn about the details of past events that bear an uncanny resemblance to our current quandaries.
A recent Letter made me think of the quip attributed to Mark Twain, to the effect that while history doesn’t necessarily repeat itself, it frequently rhymes.
Richardson was comparing our current divisions with those that triggered the founding of the Republican Party–and the Civil War. The GOP, ironically, was formed to fight slavery and uphold the premise of the Declaration that “all men are created equal.” In the years since the Civil War, we’ve seen the parties change places–the Democrats have become the party defending human equality, while today’s GOP looks very much like the combination of racists and plutocrats that characterized the old Democratic Party.
What really struck me was the sense that we’ve returned to that age-old fight. The parties may have switched sides, but the nature of the battle remains depressingly familiar.
After providing details of the events leading up to the demise of the Whigs and the formation of a new Republican Party–a party formed to combat the notion that some humans are superior to and entitled to rule over others by virtue of their skin color– Richardson compared that era to our own.
When voters elected Lincoln president, the fledgling Republican Party turned away from a government that catered to an oligarchy trying to overturn democracy and instead reinvented the American government to create a new, active government that guaranteed to poorer men the right to be treated equally before the law, the right to a say in their government, and access to resources that had previously been monopolized by the wealthy.
The present looks much like that earlier moment when people of all different political backgrounds came together to defend the principles of the United States. In today’s moment, when someone like J.D. Vance backer billionaire Peter Thiel says, “Democracy, whatever that means, is exhausted,” and the Republicans’ Project 2025 calls for replacing democracy with Christian nationalism, it makes sense for all people who care about our history and our democratic heritage to pull together.
Richardson noted that there are some in the GOP who recognize the threat posed by a MAGA party that looks a lot like the Confederacy. She quoted Olivia Troye, who served in the Trump White House, and who is now working with Republicans for Harris. Troye has called upon Mike Pence to endorse Harris, and is quoted as saying that
“[W]hat is happening here with the Republican Party… is dangerous and extreme. And I think we need to get back to the values of…observing the rule of law, of standing with our international allies and actually providing true leadership to the world, which is something that Kamala Harris has exhibited during the Biden Administration.”
(As an aside, I’d be shocked if Pence had the spine to endorse Harris…I’m pretty sure that his one moment of integrity in refusing to go along with Trump’s coup exhausted his ability to do the right thing. I hope I’m wrong, but I think his four years of utter, embarrassing sycophancy are more consistent with his character than that one example of moral courage…)
Richardson’s comparison of that pre-civil war era with our own is apt. There are differences, of course, but the choices Americans face today certainly “rhyme” with the choices that confronted Americans then. Once again, We the People are facing a frontal challenge to the most basic premises of our founding documents–premises that we have admittedly never quite lived up to, but that we have (mostly) continued to pursue.
There’s a lot wrong with American society today, but most of it is fixable–if we elect public servants who are honorable and who–in the words of Olivia Troye–are committed to the rule of law, to standing with our international allies, and capable of providing what has been called servant leadership.
Richardson reminds us that we’ve been here before, and the good guys prevailed. If we want to preserve the country they saved–if we want to turn back the White Supremacists and plutocrats of today’s GOP–we’ll vote Blue in sufficient numbers to drive the lesson home. A Blue wave would–ideally– lead to the disintegration of MAGA and a return of the GOP to normalcy.
Or perhaps, as with the Whigs, the creation of a new, saner political party.
I can live with either result.
I keep wondering WHERE is W in all of this? I know he is a dim bulb but as a former R president, he could do some good with an endorsement of Harris. Will he?
Troye and others still sitting on the Republican side of the aisle could have and should have spoken out during the Trump campaign, his appointment by the Electoral College and the continuing aftermath of his destruction, it is not too late for those remaining cowering in office to go public. Pence is a coward; he took his Constitutional Oath of Office as Vice President once, granted it was on the most important issue facing him. Probably due to his fear of repercussions from the public and the courts to prevent charges being filed against him and maybe “Mother” had had enough of Trump and ordered him to do his job.
“…Olivia Troye, who served in the Trump White House, and who is now working with Republicans for Harris. Troye has called upon Mike Pence to endorse Harris…” She could have prevented unknown amounts of the chaotic situation we have been trumped by Trump regarding our civil and human rights which are now in jeopardy. Thanks to her now but no kudos for coming forward after the fact once the Democrats turned on President Joe Biden. Probably the wisdom of his age and his love of America brought about his “passing the torch” to the younger generation. But don’t forget he chose Kamala Harris as his running mate or she would not be where she is today. As she and Tim Walz campaign across the country spreading enthusiasm and joy; President Joe Biden is in his position as president carrying out his national and global responsibilities as our president and we should be kept apprized regularly of what is happening at the Executive level thanks to Joe Biden’s continued fight for the “soul of America”. The lack of loyalty to him rivals the lack of loyalty to this nation shown by the MAGAs.
“A Blue wave would–ideally– lead to the disintegration of MAGA and a return of the GOP to normalcy.”
It seems that every generation or so has to relearn this lesson; that democracy is fragile and requires constant effort.
I have been thinking lately about how much effort I and others are having to exert now in order to counter the extremes of MAGA, and have concluded that this is my penance for my decades of political complacency. Well, enough of the pity party, it is time to get to work and GOTV!
I will be holding another Postcard Writing Party Monday at the new Glendale Library, from 1-3, for any who want to join me. It is quite refreshing to be with a group of like-minded people and doing something about a problem.
Also, please note the website I am attaching below from the League of Women Voters. It is a series of free training opportunities to learn how to assist others to register and vote.
As long as the GOP is funded by corporate/banking America, they will never emulate the rhyme of history called for in this essay. The Donald Trump insanity cult will eventually disappear when he does. Oh, so close.
Christian Nationalism is just another term for KKK thinking – as suggested above. That organized circle of hate, bigotry and backwardness has ALWAYS been part of America’s history, rhymes or no rhymes. If they are swamped by the coming blue wave, they will re-emerge as something else a little further down the road. They can’t help themselves. It’s how they teach their children. Their churches are bastions of bigotry as they cherry-pick their holy book to serve their social psychosis.
Meanwhile, we, what’s left of the true patriotic/thinking groups, must vote out all of these radical monsters; from Tommy Tuberville to Donald Trump to those local idiots in Indiana – and elsewhere.
Oh, I forgot to mention, regarding the PWP Monday, if you can afford to bring some postcard postage stamps please do so. It will be a great help! Thanks!
Even a wave similar to Reagan’s wouldn’t be able to excise the GOP’s tumor that is MAGA. The problem is that the politicians may understand the situation, but they are not currently the ones in control of the GOP. The MAGA base won’t budge; I bet they’d probably just become more entrenched, in fact. The formation of a new party would simply fracture the party into two halves, neither of which would be competitive against the Democrats. (I would _love_ this to happen, but it won’t. The existing poisonous GOP politicians won’t allow it.)
I think radiation therapy is the only viable treatment. Continued punishment at the ballot box will slowly shrink the MAGA base, as the less crazy get pealed off, and the older crazies die off. In time, the patient may recover, and the GOP will be reborn, but that’s far in the future.
Unfortunately, the Supreme Court in its current state is a terrible carcinogen, and will drastically slow the recovery of the patient. The outlook is grim for the next few decades because of this. It’s beyond unfortunate: a better SC could have sped the recovery, instead.
Those counting on the GOP’s demise will be highly disappointed. It definitely won’t happen if they lose the election in November because they will all believe it was stolen from them.
The two ladies quoted in the post have swallowed too many blue pills to think coherently if they believe Biden or Harris have exhibited “true leadership” to the international community. They are both supporting a genocide of Arab Muslims in Gaza and an incredibly expensive proxy war with Russia in Ukraine (we just supported Ukraine in attacking Russian soil). Kamala’s opportunity to get at the source of migration through our Southern Border failed miserably. Her emphatic plea to Central Americans was, “Don’t come!” #brilliant
Also, for the record, Biden was finally ousted when the oligarchs supporting the Dems told him to bow out. Obama delivered that message.
I just dealt with two days of attacks on X for pointing out our original sin as a country was the genocide against the Native American Indians, followed by the slavery of Africans. The attacks clearly came from MAGA fans who refused to accept the fact of the original post and my comment with an academic historical source. The responses were varied, but most refused to accept genocide and slavery. They called me a traitor and told me to move to Africa, and since other powers did the same thing, it was permissible. My favorite response, and there were many, told me to read a history book even though I cited an article written by an academic researcher on US history. LOL
My point is these people aren’t going anywhere, and if the election is “stolen from them” in November, they are going to be extremely pissed off and seeking revenge. My concern is they’ll take action outside of the ballot box since “the Dems own the election process, so they can’t get a fair shake.”
The financial backers of the MAGA movement are in it for nothing but the money, I believe, and they pull the strings that the bigots and crazies are all to happy to attach to themselves.
As proclaimed above, neither of these groups will be disappearing because they see the error of their ways. Still, yes, a blue wave will sideline them for a while.
The oligarch class was very hard put to cater to FDR’s New Deal, and it may well, as has been written, have been his raising the specter of revolution, that cowed them. Nonetheless, as everything is connected to everything else, the Heritage Foundation, responsible for the current odious status of SCOTUS, and its founders, have been working insidiously to erase every trace of the New Deal, and any hint of national equity, from its inception.
Republicans had choices as to who they ran for President, and whoever they picked had choices for vice president. Trump’s propaganda promised them power and that seduced a majority of them into believing that a stubborn abandonment of reality would give them the power to change the species to match them in blindly following the leader.
Democrats worried Biden would not have enough energy to run the country and campaign. The more we saw, the more that worried, and we fixed the problem while Republicans doubled down on their problem.
Now, Democrats are confident, and Republicans are worried. That will translate into Democratic boots on the ground and Republicans frantic. This will likely lead to a Democratic-favoring election and a repeat of 2020 when the same thing happened – Trump looking to replace democracy and our allegiance to the Constitution.
We have much to do between now and year end.
JoAnn, Troye is a very courageous and loyal American. I disagree with her on politics but applaud her for doing the right thing. She testified truthfully and fully to the January 6 committee.
The comparisons Richardson makes in her latest exposition that Sheila shares appear at the core of her recent book Democracy Awakening. She notes in that book that Lincoln “emphasized that those trying to destroy democracy in his era were not the conservatives they claimed to be but were dangerous radicals whose version of America must be rejected. He called on his neighbors to defend equality before the law and the right of everyone to consent to the government under which they live.”
Democracy had appeared to win in Lincoln’s time but did not root out “rising autocrats in the future to exploit with their rhetoric and the fears of their followers.”
She concludes her latest book by stating that “(o)nce again we are at time of testing. How it comes out rests, as it always has, in our own hands.”
Referring to the KKK, “That organized circle of hate, bigotry and backwardness has ALWAYS been part of America’s history, rhymes or no rhymes. “
Probably true, Mr. Turner, but historian Dr. John Hope Franklin commented that were it not for the 1915 film showing of “The Birth of a Nation,” the KKK might not have been reborn.
This conversation covers the dangerous position Jon Tester finds himself in. He is in the fairly red state of Montana (not as red as Manchin’s West Virginia, but red, as in the only Dem to hold statewide office there) and has been elected three times to the US Senate. There is a lot of attention by maga – trump just visited – of course, the Senate margin being as slim as it is. Even with folksy Tim Walz on the ticket, I’m afraid Jon really doesn’t want any visual support right now from the Harris/Walz ticket, which is a shame but completely understandable. It’s not that Jon doesn’t believe in all or most of what that ticket represents, he just doesn’t want to flaunt it in front of his conservative base. He is one of my favorites, and while Joe Manchin is not, it does make me think twice before (or after) getting angry at Joe’s actions.
I still get the depressing feeling while enjoying the euphoria of watching Kamala and Tim say all the things I’ve always wanted to hear in an election, that it feels like the Civil Rights or Vietnam eras, when this country was so deeply divided and I knew I was profoundly opposed to those on the “other side.” Somehow those sides still – nearly evenly, according to polling at least – still exist. Hard to believe, but I think hot-button social issues still rule the day, not as much characterized by specific events as by sets of opposing overarching beliefs. Lots of conservative religion in those differences, intolerant of racial equality, LGBTQ+ issues, women’s bodily autonomy, Many many intolerances that are perceived to be ruining our country’s identity, when actually it’s the opposite. Right now, all we can do is VOTE BLUE.
James Todd, thanks for organizing the PWP for Monday. I’ll be there again. Meanwhile, I have also signed up to do other volunteer work for Valerie’s campaign. I urge everyone on this blog to volunteer for one of Indiana’s Democrat candidates. Pick one and go for it. Indiana has gone blue before, and we can do it again.
We don’t need a blue wave. We need a blue tsunami. So many changes need to be made we have to get down to the state level to make many of them. Starting with SCOTUS, where we need a comprehensive review of the current Court and its complete lack of regard for precedent and procedures. Standing is just one of many things that must be clarified, defined, and required. Ethics must be sacrosanct and enforceable. Since I have no problem beating a dead horse, I call for expansion of the court. Thirteen circuits, thirteen Justices.
Change or abolish the Electoral College. Redo the ERA and get it passed. While I’m thinking about it, no backsies for states on amendment passing. Fix Amendment II and limit possession of weapons of war to active duty military and National Guard. Ownership is limited to the service.
Finally, define failure to uphold the oath of office and set up procedures for enforcement of violating that oath.
I realize this is a lot to swallow, but if we can thank the orange Jesus for anything, it’s for showing us what needs to be addressed.
Vernon – “As long as the GOP is funded by corporate/banking America, they will never emulate the rhyme of history called for in this essay.” Even the NY Times recognizes routinely how the DEM party is funded by Wall Street (and corporate America). So….
And speaking of Lincoln, he was assassinated before reconstruction was in play. The plot was probably a northern play rather than Southern. And reconstruction was squashed after his assassination. This of course kept the South angry, without a functioning economy, everything stayed in the north, and continued to stretch the inequity of the North and South. That just continued to grow, as did the resentment. Something similar happened in Post world war I Germany during the promised reconstitution of German society, or, a well-functioning economic base, which was never completed either. It became a huge burden on the people which resented it more and more, until, The rise of the Nazi party. Now the resentment would pay a price. Yes, history repeats or as Twain said, rhymes!
Pence announced that he would not endorse Trump and that he could not vote for Harris. Of course, in our first-over-the-line two party system, not voting for Harris IS voting for Trump. Pence continues to prove himself to be a moral eunuch. One wonders whether what he did on January 6th wasn’t an intentional act of moral courage, but was rather, morally right by just shear, absolutely random coincidence, a fluke of the universe that just happened to break in the right direction.
Correct Lester!
That’s why the Dem donors love Kamala and Tim right now because the campaign is based on fear and social issues – not so much taking on the corporate donors.
She says interesting things, but I don’t see her as a warrior for the middle class. She wants to take on price-gouging that may impact her donors, but Biden has mentioned the same things, doing very little thus far.
Also, I think Peggy mentioned changes to SCOTUS, which we need, but much of the problems are created by the 23-24 Republican AGs like Todd Rokita. Whenever Biden initiates a policy or executive order, the Federalist Society’s Leonard Leo gets them to sue in court. A Missouri AG has held up student debt cancellation. Why does a state AG have grounds to stop a president’s EO in their state court? In two steps, they are knocking on the door of the crooked SCOTUS. Americans need to be educated on Leo’s use of our judicial system to screw “we the people.”
The seemingly nonstop smiling and positive messaging by VP Harris and Gov Walz are amazing as they speak about their ideas that focus on middle out economics, rather than more massive tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy. I really hope that middle class republicans across the country are listening to them and are finally realizing that they’ve been tricked and harmed for decades by GOP politicians’ lies.
Lester — you are succinct as usual and spot on.
JoAnn — please stop “should-ing” on people
Peggy — love it!
Me — we will NEVER fully eradicate evil -KKK, The Inquisition, the Killing Fields, the Holocaust, etc. It’s the constant battle all cultures have recognized and depicted in their literature and songs. It’s our turn “in the barrel.” “The Arc of the Moral Universe is long, But it bends toward Justice.” -MLK
Olivia Troye quit the job working for Pence either right before or right after she testified for the first impeachment. I saw her interviewed on CNN immediately after she quit. I’m sorry to hear she’s still a R, but that’s her choice like Adam Kinsinger still thinks he’s a conservative even though his ideas are liberal.
We already created a blue wave in 2020 when we elected Joe Biden. What the Ds are doing now is saying, please come again and vote for the new Blue folks in 2024 so we can finish the job Biden set out to do.
I get HCR’s letters daily and send a copy to my spouse because he rarely has time to read the news or watch anything, even the Olympics, so that he too can keep up to date on what is happening around our world. We do watch BBC to get a world view of the news because US news is so focused on local stuff. Americans are so silo’d in their news, they probably have no idea that there are protests against immigration, happening in England.
AgingLGirl, referring to the recent events in the UK as “protests” is completely unfair. They are racist acts of terrorism, spawned from years of constant right-wing anti-immigrant (i.e. anti-brown/muslim people) rhetoric.
John H I typed riots first but softened the word to protest instead.
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