Reality is disrupting the ideology of today’s Republican Party. For a generation, Republicans have tried to unravel the activist government under which Americans have lived since the 1930s, when Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt created a government that regulated business, provided a basic social safety net, and invested in infrastructure. From the beginning, that government was enormously popular. Both Republicans and Democrats believed that the principle behind it—that the country worked best when government protected and defended ordinary Americans—was permanent.
I know. Almost everything on the internet is a "must read"... at least according to the author or the publisher. For me, that's a BIG 'TURN-OFF".
I've NEVER said this about ANYTHING... but THIS article actually IS a "MUST READ" for anyone a bit confused about the historical, political process in our country.
Like me, if you REALLY want a comprehensive understanding of political history in America, from around 1920 until NOW... this is your 'go to' reference for understanding the rampant, destructive division of the 'political parties' of today.
I thought I had a pretty good idea of that history... but this historical narrative puts it all in one place for easy reading... and a collective, comprehensive understanding.
"They were also clear they would not agree to extending the $600 federal addition to state unemployment benefits, arguing that it simply 'paid people to stay home.'”
This is at the core of the GOP's misunderstanding of the American character: that 'we the people' actually want to lay up waiting for our gob'ment check of a big $600 before taxes than work. As if that is enough money to do more than just get by on, if that. I believe that is largely because this is a crew of mostly white men who get six figures to show up less than half the time in most cases, so they assume we are all the slackers they are. Most of them have never seriously worked -- a real job -- a day in their lives.
Wow. Echos of your past letters and videos are crystallized into this grand meta-overview of the state of the union. You've noted that it takes longer to write a short piece, and this consolidation of your life work must be satisfying, both intellectually and as a call to the people, however much the content is depressing. But we've got to keep it real.
While the Republican narrative and politics are depressing for the fact that we are currently under the thumb of their disruptive and deadly power, you do optimistically point out that "Reality is disrupting the ideology of today's Republican Party." The optimism is that Republican policy is falling apart on many fronts. But falling apart means common people are paying a terrible price, with much more yet to be paid in times ahead.
What to do. I hosted my young adult children for a town hall dinner--FaceTiming the son with his college friends in Boston--for a total of six young minds. I asked what they thought of the upcoming presidential election, and to my dismay, two out of my three children said they don't read about politics because "it's too much." I brought all my HCR learning to bear to sound the alarm that democracy is being threatened, so wake up! Look at all the forces of voter suppression! Counter the absurd Republican messaging! "Take up oxygen" on social media, even with just a ReTweet! I sent them links posted by Letter Readers here for how to help get out the vote. (Thank you, HCR link posters!) Now I will also forward tonight's sobering Letter to help dislodge them from their position of being too comfortable. And get back to writing my "get out the vote" postcards.
Great summation! Hoping you have a column in the NYT or Washington Post soon for more exposure and creating a constructive conversation by an ever larger group of readers.
A brilliant and succinct description of the Republican ideology and practice.
Thank you for continuing to support us with your insight and historical perspective.
My temptation to post this on the intranet (though considered "unprofessional"), of the company for which I work, reminds me of something that I have been turning over in my head for a while now.
What I can't understand (without resorting to a cynical answer), is how those in the corner office across the country fail to realize, or don't have the courage to admit, is that sooner or later, supporting the Republican agenda or keeping quiet about it, will destroy the ability of their customers to support them.
The cliff that the Republicans are rushing us toward will surely destroy our economy (among so many other things), but corporate America seems to think that the edge of the cliff will not give way under them as well?
The Republicans may well be on the cusp of destroying our democracy, bringing me to despair for at least for some part of each day, but at the same time another part of each day brings me hope as more and more of my fellow citizens continue the fight.
Hope that you and your friends and family are all healthy.
Richard Hofstadter described these people 66 years ago in "The Pseudo Conservative Revolt":
"Unlike most of the liberal dissent of the past, the new dissent not only has no respect for non-conformism, but is based upon a relentless demand for conformity. It can most accurately be called pseudo-conservative — I borrow the term from the study of The Authoritarian Personality published five years ago by Theodore W. Adorno and his associates — because its exponents, although they believe themselves to be conservatives and usually employ the rhetoric of conservatism, show signs of a serious and restless dissatisfaction with American life, traditions and institutions... Their political reactions express rather a profound if largely unconscious hatred of our society and its ways — a hatred which one would hesitate to impute to them if one did not have suggestive clinical evidence.
"From clinical interviews and thematic apperception tests, Adorno and his co-workers found that their pseudo-conservative subjects, although given to a form of political expression that combines a curious mixture of largely conservative with occasional radical notions, succeed in concealing from themselves impulsive tendencies that, if released in action, would be very far from conservative. The pseudo-conservative, Adorno writes, shows 'conventionality and authoritarian submissiveness' in his conscious thinking and 'violence, anarchic impulses, and chaotic destructiveness in the unconscious sphere. . . . The pseudo conservative is a man who, in the name of upholding traditional American values and institutions and defending them against more or less fictitious dangers, consciously or unconsciously aims at their abolition.'”
And Adlai Stevenson saw what was what back in the 1952 campaign: “The strange alchemy of time,” he said in a speech at Columbus, “has somehow converted the Democrats into the truly conservative party of this country — the party dedicated to conserving all that is best, and building solidly and safely on these foundations.”
The next six months are going to be the darkest six months of our history since the Civil War. But if the idiots keep being idiots (they wouldn't be Republicans unless they could flunk the IQ test low enough), then 100 days from now they're going to get a whacking they won't recover from for a generation - if then. (With any luck, the people in the Lincoln Project will study how the Christian Democrats de-nazified German conservatism after World War II and managed to re-establish German democracy. That will lead to the extinction of the GOP as currently constituted.)
I watched and ‘listened’ to Timothy Snyder author of One Tyranny’ on a Friday night interview. Here is what I heard ‘if you haven’t been participating in protests, now is the time’. That was a piercing arrow. What is left to do these next 100 days to save our democratic Republic? This just cannot be the end and doing nothing must not be the answer.
I have always felt the use of the term redistribution colors any discussion of this topic unfavorably, and believe the term distribution is more accurate. The real issue is the degree of income and wealth inequality. When the inequality is so large that it disadvantages or disfavors unfairly a significant portion of the population it reduces the quality of life for all. Severe income and wealth inequality increases poverty, food insecurity, crime rates rise, civil unrest increases, community and public health worsen, consumer sentiment declines, and economic growth stagnates. What we should seek is a more equitable distribution of income and wealth. There will always be some level of inequality as even with most socialist programs such as those advanced under the New Deal, rewards are proportionate to contributions. A healthy set of social safety net programs providing a reasonable floor to support all while also providing all opportunities encourages everyone to contribute to enjoy a better quality of life for all.
So let’s try to commit to the use of the idea of talking about income and wealth inequality by better managing the distribution and accumulation of wealth and income rather than speaking of redistribution of something already acquired by some.
What will end the pandemic is “not masks. It’s not shutting down the economy," Meadows said. “Hopefully it is American ingenuity that will allow for therapies and vaccines to ultimately conquer this.”
Hopefully SAFE therapies and vaccines will be developed to conquer Covid 19 but in the meantime, what? Taking appropriate measures; masks, social distancing and closures, doesn't appeal to the Republican leadership and their followers because it infringes on their rights. It's difficult to reconcile the Republican narrative around the Right to Life with the current narrative and response around the pandemic and whose life is worth more, whose life is worth saving. It's hard to understand how schools, from Pre-K through university level, have opted for on-line or hybrid learning as the safest and best learning modalities given the current crisis but the federal government continues to push for school openings risking children, teachers, staff, bus drivers, families and more. Who, amongst that pool of people, will we deem worthy of living if push comes to shove?
The pandemic, along with the glaring racial injustices that we've allowed to fester since the day the Constitution was penned, have caused the pot to boil over. If this country is to survive we're going to have to stop debating about the meaning and righteousness of the words written and take them, (and the amendments), to heart; modify language to reflect the times, make amendments based on the 21st century not the 18th century, embrace and adopt practices that reflect these words: All PEOPLE are created equal.
Obviously, I'm not a scholar or academician but I am smart enough to know that the loose strings we've let lie for centuries are finally causing our tapestry to unravel. It's devastating. Vote wisely.
This is truly one of your best updates yet. Thank you. Distills your last book into a (big-) bite-sized piece, and lays it out on the table. But, wow, this is a scary time. Feels like we are balanced, precariously, at the top of a mountain, and it is not yet clear which side we will descend. History will judge all of us alive in this moment, and we have work to do.
You’ve written a powerful summary of the situation in which the United States and all of us connected to it finds itself. When I think about where we are and when I talk with people, there is utter despair. How ever will we and our country survive until January? What ever will we do if Trump and his Republicans goons are re-elected?
I know. Almost everything on the internet is a "must read"... at least according to the author or the publisher. For me, that's a BIG 'TURN-OFF".
I've NEVER said this about ANYTHING... but THIS article actually IS a "MUST READ" for anyone a bit confused about the historical, political process in our country.
Like me, if you REALLY want a comprehensive understanding of political history in America, from around 1920 until NOW... this is your 'go to' reference for understanding the rampant, destructive division of the 'political parties' of today.
I thought I had a pretty good idea of that history... but this historical narrative puts it all in one place for easy reading... and a collective, comprehensive understanding.
THANK YOU, Heather Cox Richardson!
Read on.
"They were also clear they would not agree to extending the $600 federal addition to state unemployment benefits, arguing that it simply 'paid people to stay home.'”
This is at the core of the GOP's misunderstanding of the American character: that 'we the people' actually want to lay up waiting for our gob'ment check of a big $600 before taxes than work. As if that is enough money to do more than just get by on, if that. I believe that is largely because this is a crew of mostly white men who get six figures to show up less than half the time in most cases, so they assume we are all the slackers they are. Most of them have never seriously worked -- a real job -- a day in their lives.
And it's our fucking money.
Wow. Echos of your past letters and videos are crystallized into this grand meta-overview of the state of the union. You've noted that it takes longer to write a short piece, and this consolidation of your life work must be satisfying, both intellectually and as a call to the people, however much the content is depressing. But we've got to keep it real.
While the Republican narrative and politics are depressing for the fact that we are currently under the thumb of their disruptive and deadly power, you do optimistically point out that "Reality is disrupting the ideology of today's Republican Party." The optimism is that Republican policy is falling apart on many fronts. But falling apart means common people are paying a terrible price, with much more yet to be paid in times ahead.
What to do. I hosted my young adult children for a town hall dinner--FaceTiming the son with his college friends in Boston--for a total of six young minds. I asked what they thought of the upcoming presidential election, and to my dismay, two out of my three children said they don't read about politics because "it's too much." I brought all my HCR learning to bear to sound the alarm that democracy is being threatened, so wake up! Look at all the forces of voter suppression! Counter the absurd Republican messaging! "Take up oxygen" on social media, even with just a ReTweet! I sent them links posted by Letter Readers here for how to help get out the vote. (Thank you, HCR link posters!) Now I will also forward tonight's sobering Letter to help dislodge them from their position of being too comfortable. And get back to writing my "get out the vote" postcards.
Great summation! Hoping you have a column in the NYT or Washington Post soon for more exposure and creating a constructive conversation by an ever larger group of readers.
Heather,
A brilliant and succinct description of the Republican ideology and practice.
Thank you for continuing to support us with your insight and historical perspective.
My temptation to post this on the intranet (though considered "unprofessional"), of the company for which I work, reminds me of something that I have been turning over in my head for a while now.
What I can't understand (without resorting to a cynical answer), is how those in the corner office across the country fail to realize, or don't have the courage to admit, is that sooner or later, supporting the Republican agenda or keeping quiet about it, will destroy the ability of their customers to support them.
The cliff that the Republicans are rushing us toward will surely destroy our economy (among so many other things), but corporate America seems to think that the edge of the cliff will not give way under them as well?
The Republicans may well be on the cusp of destroying our democracy, bringing me to despair for at least for some part of each day, but at the same time another part of each day brings me hope as more and more of my fellow citizens continue the fight.
Hope that you and your friends and family are all healthy.
John Hinckley
Richard Hofstadter described these people 66 years ago in "The Pseudo Conservative Revolt":
"Unlike most of the liberal dissent of the past, the new dissent not only has no respect for non-conformism, but is based upon a relentless demand for conformity. It can most accurately be called pseudo-conservative — I borrow the term from the study of The Authoritarian Personality published five years ago by Theodore W. Adorno and his associates — because its exponents, although they believe themselves to be conservatives and usually employ the rhetoric of conservatism, show signs of a serious and restless dissatisfaction with American life, traditions and institutions... Their political reactions express rather a profound if largely unconscious hatred of our society and its ways — a hatred which one would hesitate to impute to them if one did not have suggestive clinical evidence.
"From clinical interviews and thematic apperception tests, Adorno and his co-workers found that their pseudo-conservative subjects, although given to a form of political expression that combines a curious mixture of largely conservative with occasional radical notions, succeed in concealing from themselves impulsive tendencies that, if released in action, would be very far from conservative. The pseudo-conservative, Adorno writes, shows 'conventionality and authoritarian submissiveness' in his conscious thinking and 'violence, anarchic impulses, and chaotic destructiveness in the unconscious sphere. . . . The pseudo conservative is a man who, in the name of upholding traditional American values and institutions and defending them against more or less fictitious dangers, consciously or unconsciously aims at their abolition.'”
And Adlai Stevenson saw what was what back in the 1952 campaign: “The strange alchemy of time,” he said in a speech at Columbus, “has somehow converted the Democrats into the truly conservative party of this country — the party dedicated to conserving all that is best, and building solidly and safely on these foundations.”
The next six months are going to be the darkest six months of our history since the Civil War. But if the idiots keep being idiots (they wouldn't be Republicans unless they could flunk the IQ test low enough), then 100 days from now they're going to get a whacking they won't recover from for a generation - if then. (With any luck, the people in the Lincoln Project will study how the Christian Democrats de-nazified German conservatism after World War II and managed to re-establish German democracy. That will lead to the extinction of the GOP as currently constituted.)
I watched and ‘listened’ to Timothy Snyder author of One Tyranny’ on a Friday night interview. Here is what I heard ‘if you haven’t been participating in protests, now is the time’. That was a piercing arrow. What is left to do these next 100 days to save our democratic Republic? This just cannot be the end and doing nothing must not be the answer.
I have always felt the use of the term redistribution colors any discussion of this topic unfavorably, and believe the term distribution is more accurate. The real issue is the degree of income and wealth inequality. When the inequality is so large that it disadvantages or disfavors unfairly a significant portion of the population it reduces the quality of life for all. Severe income and wealth inequality increases poverty, food insecurity, crime rates rise, civil unrest increases, community and public health worsen, consumer sentiment declines, and economic growth stagnates. What we should seek is a more equitable distribution of income and wealth. There will always be some level of inequality as even with most socialist programs such as those advanced under the New Deal, rewards are proportionate to contributions. A healthy set of social safety net programs providing a reasonable floor to support all while also providing all opportunities encourages everyone to contribute to enjoy a better quality of life for all.
So let’s try to commit to the use of the idea of talking about income and wealth inequality by better managing the distribution and accumulation of wealth and income rather than speaking of redistribution of something already acquired by some.
Every day is an atrocity buffet with the GOP and this letter is a peek into their kitchen.
How many rancid hamberders can we endure?
I don’t even want to know.
What will end the pandemic is “not masks. It’s not shutting down the economy," Meadows said. “Hopefully it is American ingenuity that will allow for therapies and vaccines to ultimately conquer this.”
Hopefully SAFE therapies and vaccines will be developed to conquer Covid 19 but in the meantime, what? Taking appropriate measures; masks, social distancing and closures, doesn't appeal to the Republican leadership and their followers because it infringes on their rights. It's difficult to reconcile the Republican narrative around the Right to Life with the current narrative and response around the pandemic and whose life is worth more, whose life is worth saving. It's hard to understand how schools, from Pre-K through university level, have opted for on-line or hybrid learning as the safest and best learning modalities given the current crisis but the federal government continues to push for school openings risking children, teachers, staff, bus drivers, families and more. Who, amongst that pool of people, will we deem worthy of living if push comes to shove?
The pandemic, along with the glaring racial injustices that we've allowed to fester since the day the Constitution was penned, have caused the pot to boil over. If this country is to survive we're going to have to stop debating about the meaning and righteousness of the words written and take them, (and the amendments), to heart; modify language to reflect the times, make amendments based on the 21st century not the 18th century, embrace and adopt practices that reflect these words: All PEOPLE are created equal.
Obviously, I'm not a scholar or academician but I am smart enough to know that the loose strings we've let lie for centuries are finally causing our tapestry to unravel. It's devastating. Vote wisely.
This is truly one of your best updates yet. Thank you. Distills your last book into a (big-) bite-sized piece, and lays it out on the table. But, wow, this is a scary time. Feels like we are balanced, precariously, at the top of a mountain, and it is not yet clear which side we will descend. History will judge all of us alive in this moment, and we have work to do.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 If we can prevail in this 2020 Election, there is hope for a New New Deal.
Even though this is all bad news, than you for your important daily summaries of our multi-faceted crises.
Do the Republicans not ever think of the 1920s and what propelled the crash? And caused the Great Depression?
“Hear this now, O foolish people,
Without [a]understanding,
Who have eyes and see not,“
And who have ears and hear not:
Thank you again, Professor Richardson.
There are two main enemies of the GOP: reality and democracy. That's why they've made lying and voter suppression their two major strategies.
You’ve written a powerful summary of the situation in which the United States and all of us connected to it finds itself. When I think about where we are and when I talk with people, there is utter despair. How ever will we and our country survive until January? What ever will we do if Trump and his Republicans goons are re-elected?