I like that President Biden is calling a spade a spade by separating out MAGA Republicans and calling them semi-fascists. Every time I hear about more book banning from school libraries I see the book burning bonfires of Nazi Germany in my mind. It seems particularly poignant that one of the books being banned here in Texas is a graphic adaptation of the Diary of a Young Girl by Ann Frank. It is sometimes said that history is written by the winners. In this case, history is being rewritten by the losers so they can retain their over-privileged status as white males dominating over everyone else. It is time for the human race to move to the next level in its maturity where patriarchy is replaced by democratic egalitarianism. We the People, all of us this time!
Please chortle away at the glorious hypocrisy of the loudest of the MAGA crowd regarding student loan forgiveness. As mentioned by HCR: "Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said: “For our government just to say ok your debt is completely forgiven.. it’s completely unfair.” Greene had $183,504 in PPP loans forgiven." And Gaetz, same thing. And numerous other MAGA warriors - reinforcing that their political program is and always has been for the "haves" and not for the "have nots".
The Biden Administration has delivered a considerable amount of needed legislation that has benefited a complete cross section of our population not just rich white males. Almost everyone has been touched and benefited in some way. This comment made by Biden yesterday is simple and should be the mantra all Democratic candidates expound in their campaigning. “ f we elect two more [Democratic] senators, we got a lot of unfinished business we're going to get done. Folks, look, we're going to codify Roe v Wade. We'll ban assault weapons, we'll protect Social Security & Medicare, and we’ll pass Universal Pre-K.“
Let voters know what is possible with Democrats in a majority and what is lost if Republicans are in charge.
Thanks as ever for your rigorous and optimistic summary of events. Yay for President Biden. I appreciate your point that he is getting flak because he is actually doing something. And kudos to whoever is running the White House twitter feed at the moment. They are doing a great job of calling out GOP hypocrisy 👏
Aug 26, 2022·edited Aug 26, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
What Joe Biden knew that I didn’t:
Since last year when Build Back Better was defeated, I correctly surmised that any conceivable Democratic victory in 2022 would have to rely on negative campaigning of a sort that Democrats, particularly congresspeople, did not seem comfortable with. They’d rather run on legislative achievements, which could not be obtained with razor-thin majorities. So negative was the only way to go, IMHO.
And Joe Biden, creature of the Senate, did not seem to be that man. I entertained fantasies that Kamala Harris could channel her inner Spiro Agnew and be the attack dog that Biden clearly wouldn’t or couldn’t. But sadly, VP Harris did not seem to be that woman.
I asked myself why Democrats weren’t “going hard against MAGA”. It seemed so obvious. I watched as the young folks had nothing but scorn for Biden, imagining that he had the power to force Joe Manchin into line. I knew better than that, but found I had no magic bullet to convince younguns that the situation wasn’t hopeless.
Now I get it. Here’s what Joe Biden knew that I didn’t:
To everything
Turn turn turn
There is a season
Turn turn turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven.
And the time for this anti-MAGA heavy-hitting is now, when the non-politically-obsessed are once again paying attention. Maybe there was even a little rope-a-dope in Biden’s strategy: let the MAGAs push ever further into crazy land and then lower the boom when folks are listening.
In light of the recent egregious examples of fascist behavior on the part of MAGA hypocrites Greene, Gaetz, Cruz, Hawley, etc., the disingenuous ploys of history expungers like Blake Masters and his ilk, Elise Stefanik's (R-NY) support of Republican congressional candidate Carl Paladino for his praise of Adolf Hitler, suggesting that The Führer was "the kind of leader we need today," and of course the relentless subversive antics of the evasive narcissist Donald J. Trump, the 45th president of the United States, why use the word "semi" to describe these miscreants? These are not dictatorial, "Il Duce"-like actors; they are Fascists, no "semi" about it, and in an egalitarian, democratic society they should have no agency whatsoever. In the matriarchal society that will soon replace the patriarchy that is now destroying the planet, there will be no tolerance for political candidacies of racist oppression, decadent, white male elitism, and totalitarian ideology.
As one of the unalienable rights which the Declaration of Independence proclaims, the Hubbells are going for pursuing happiness this weekend...Happy Bridal Shower, Youngest Daughter!! Truly, an American "thing."
Progress. Naming fascism for what it is. I’ve been reviewing histories of the Spanish Civil War and the Berlin Airlift, and the MAGAs certainly sound fascist to me. “Whatever you call it”: the country does not want it.
Have a wonderful time this weekend, Robert and Jill.
That shower sounds like fun. I can feel joy in your writing today, more than ever. When I write I try to find that joy even in the most terrible circumstances. Reading your column encourages me. Thanks and have a great weekend with your wife and your family. You deserve it~!
First, the important stuff: Congratulations to you and Jill on your daughter’s upcoming nuptials.
Then, reading the President’s speech, I heard his speechwriters: Sam Seaborn and Toby Ziegler. I could certainly hear Jed Bartlet delivering the words. And a great speech it was.
I thought President Biden was being overly charitable to say that MAGA Republicans are SEMI-fascists.I predict, because one must predict ahead of time, that soon the SEMI will be dropped.
You are a great team leader. We are all going to keep swinging against MAGA Republicans. I spoke to an old friend yesterday and he was commenting that he is saddened by the lack of respect for the previous president and the office of the presidency. I know that he is a Republican but was shocked by his current point of view. And he’s a lawyer. We had to change to a different topic!
Thank you for this post. I think what Joe Biden might need more than anything else right now is a cheerleading squad--large and loud--and your kind of hope and enthusiasm set just the right tone. On the other hand, the kinds of changes Biden wants to put in place are changes that, although they are apparently threatening everybody, are mostly slow shifts, tectonic movement that, when pulled together maybe years down the road, will be seen to have altered the American landscape.
We Americans are notorious for looking at the world through a narrow lens. We react to whatever drops in front of us and become impatient with the bigger picture and the long view.
My great hope is that our President will continue his march toward a better nation, turning up the volume, as he seems to be doing, so those of us who need immediate gratification can get on board. I agree with you that just his energy can alter the landscape and, operating from the Trump playbook a bit, any attention is better than no attention. Let them argue.
It's encouraging to see the White House taking this new approach. While I am all for their generally cheery tone on social media, when they tweet out happy thoughts on the days when we learn about terrible things coming out of MAGA world, they can seem out of touch. And ICYMI, they interviewed a group of historians recently which I suspect is the reason they now feel comfortable saying "fascism."
I like that President Biden is calling a spade a spade by separating out MAGA Republicans and calling them semi-fascists. Every time I hear about more book banning from school libraries I see the book burning bonfires of Nazi Germany in my mind. It seems particularly poignant that one of the books being banned here in Texas is a graphic adaptation of the Diary of a Young Girl by Ann Frank. It is sometimes said that history is written by the winners. In this case, history is being rewritten by the losers so they can retain their over-privileged status as white males dominating over everyone else. It is time for the human race to move to the next level in its maturity where patriarchy is replaced by democratic egalitarianism. We the People, all of us this time!
Please chortle away at the glorious hypocrisy of the loudest of the MAGA crowd regarding student loan forgiveness. As mentioned by HCR: "Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said: “For our government just to say ok your debt is completely forgiven.. it’s completely unfair.” Greene had $183,504 in PPP loans forgiven." And Gaetz, same thing. And numerous other MAGA warriors - reinforcing that their political program is and always has been for the "haves" and not for the "have nots".
The Biden Administration has delivered a considerable amount of needed legislation that has benefited a complete cross section of our population not just rich white males. Almost everyone has been touched and benefited in some way. This comment made by Biden yesterday is simple and should be the mantra all Democratic candidates expound in their campaigning. “ f we elect two more [Democratic] senators, we got a lot of unfinished business we're going to get done. Folks, look, we're going to codify Roe v Wade. We'll ban assault weapons, we'll protect Social Security & Medicare, and we’ll pass Universal Pre-K.“
Let voters know what is possible with Democrats in a majority and what is lost if Republicans are in charge.
Thanks as ever for your rigorous and optimistic summary of events. Yay for President Biden. I appreciate your point that he is getting flak because he is actually doing something. And kudos to whoever is running the White House twitter feed at the moment. They are doing a great job of calling out GOP hypocrisy 👏
What Joe Biden knew that I didn’t:
Since last year when Build Back Better was defeated, I correctly surmised that any conceivable Democratic victory in 2022 would have to rely on negative campaigning of a sort that Democrats, particularly congresspeople, did not seem comfortable with. They’d rather run on legislative achievements, which could not be obtained with razor-thin majorities. So negative was the only way to go, IMHO.
And Joe Biden, creature of the Senate, did not seem to be that man. I entertained fantasies that Kamala Harris could channel her inner Spiro Agnew and be the attack dog that Biden clearly wouldn’t or couldn’t. But sadly, VP Harris did not seem to be that woman.
I asked myself why Democrats weren’t “going hard against MAGA”. It seemed so obvious. I watched as the young folks had nothing but scorn for Biden, imagining that he had the power to force Joe Manchin into line. I knew better than that, but found I had no magic bullet to convince younguns that the situation wasn’t hopeless.
Now I get it. Here’s what Joe Biden knew that I didn’t:
To everything
Turn turn turn
There is a season
Turn turn turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven.
And the time for this anti-MAGA heavy-hitting is now, when the non-politically-obsessed are once again paying attention. Maybe there was even a little rope-a-dope in Biden’s strategy: let the MAGAs push ever further into crazy land and then lower the boom when folks are listening.
In light of the recent egregious examples of fascist behavior on the part of MAGA hypocrites Greene, Gaetz, Cruz, Hawley, etc., the disingenuous ploys of history expungers like Blake Masters and his ilk, Elise Stefanik's (R-NY) support of Republican congressional candidate Carl Paladino for his praise of Adolf Hitler, suggesting that The Führer was "the kind of leader we need today," and of course the relentless subversive antics of the evasive narcissist Donald J. Trump, the 45th president of the United States, why use the word "semi" to describe these miscreants? These are not dictatorial, "Il Duce"-like actors; they are Fascists, no "semi" about it, and in an egalitarian, democratic society they should have no agency whatsoever. In the matriarchal society that will soon replace the patriarchy that is now destroying the planet, there will be no tolerance for political candidacies of racist oppression, decadent, white male elitism, and totalitarian ideology.
Happy Shower!
As one of the unalienable rights which the Declaration of Independence proclaims, the Hubbells are going for pursuing happiness this weekend...Happy Bridal Shower, Youngest Daughter!! Truly, an American "thing."
As for the rest: Dems in Array! Go Team Joe!
Progress. Naming fascism for what it is. I’ve been reviewing histories of the Spanish Civil War and the Berlin Airlift, and the MAGAs certainly sound fascist to me. “Whatever you call it”: the country does not want it.
Have a wonderful time this weekend, Robert and Jill.
That shower sounds like fun. I can feel joy in your writing today, more than ever. When I write I try to find that joy even in the most terrible circumstances. Reading your column encourages me. Thanks and have a great weekend with your wife and your family. You deserve it~!
"The Semi-Fascism of the MAGA Republicans." If that is the phrase that roils the Republicans, then Joe Biden has hit the mark. Terrific.
First, the important stuff: Congratulations to you and Jill on your daughter’s upcoming nuptials.
Then, reading the President’s speech, I heard his speechwriters: Sam Seaborn and Toby Ziegler. I could certainly hear Jed Bartlet delivering the words. And a great speech it was.
I thought President Biden was being overly charitable to say that MAGA Republicans are SEMI-fascists.I predict, because one must predict ahead of time, that soon the SEMI will be dropped.
You are a great team leader. We are all going to keep swinging against MAGA Republicans. I spoke to an old friend yesterday and he was commenting that he is saddened by the lack of respect for the previous president and the office of the presidency. I know that he is a Republican but was shocked by his current point of view. And he’s a lawyer. We had to change to a different topic!
Enjoy the bridal shower….
Thank you for this post. I think what Joe Biden might need more than anything else right now is a cheerleading squad--large and loud--and your kind of hope and enthusiasm set just the right tone. On the other hand, the kinds of changes Biden wants to put in place are changes that, although they are apparently threatening everybody, are mostly slow shifts, tectonic movement that, when pulled together maybe years down the road, will be seen to have altered the American landscape.
We Americans are notorious for looking at the world through a narrow lens. We react to whatever drops in front of us and become impatient with the bigger picture and the long view.
My great hope is that our President will continue his march toward a better nation, turning up the volume, as he seems to be doing, so those of us who need immediate gratification can get on board. I agree with you that just his energy can alter the landscape and, operating from the Trump playbook a bit, any attention is better than no attention. Let them argue.
It's encouraging to see the White House taking this new approach. While I am all for their generally cheery tone on social media, when they tweet out happy thoughts on the days when we learn about terrible things coming out of MAGA world, they can seem out of touch. And ICYMI, they interviewed a group of historians recently which I suspect is the reason they now feel comfortable saying "fascism."