It can't happen here. Some people "get it" and want it. Some people don't "get it", don't want it, and may vote for it. By Hal M. Brown, MSW

J.D.Vance just put a sugar coating on what he and Trump want to turn America into. Those watching the debate who want Trump's MAGA dictatorship for the country saw through this as a performance to make Trump look reasonable, although, lest they believe he was more moderate than Trump, he made it clear he was a loyal co-pilot flying the end of democracy Trump airplane when he refused to say whether or not Biden legitmately won the election (see article).

There are those in America who are all in with Project 2025 to the extent they understand it in broad strokes, i.e., that it turns the United States into a White dominated authoritarian country. Among Trump supporters I expect there are at least a few who see that he is becoming more and more unhinged and know that if he doesn't succumb to dementia he could get seriously ill or die in office. This would make a very happy Vance president. (Image by Perhance Photo AI)

  I wrote about this yesterday (here). 

It has to be reassuing to the hard core Project 2025 Trumpers that should this happen his co-pilot Vance is there to keep the airship of state flying in the right, the very far right, direction.

Then there's a large group of Trump supporters who don't "get it" and don't want it. They see the Democrat's warning about the end of democracy as political fear mongering. Whether they know about the Sinclair Lewis 1935 dystopian novel of the name or not, they may think "it can't happen here" with the important addition "but if it does it won't effect me."

Here's an excerpt from Wikipedia about the novel:

Having previously foreshadowed some authoritarian measures to reorganize the government, Windrip (the new president) outlaws dissent, incarcerates political enemies in concentration camps, and trains and arms a paramilitary force called the "Minute Men" (named after the Revolutionary War militias of the same name), who terrorize citizens and enforce the policies of a corporatistregime. One of Windrip's first acts as president is to eliminate the influence of Congress, which draws the ire of many citizens as well as the legislators themselves. The Minute Men respond to protests harshly, attacking demonstrators with bayonets. In addition to these actions, Windrip's administration, known as the Corpo government, curtails women's and minority rights, and eliminates individual states by subdividing the country into administrative sectors. The government of these sectors is managed by Corpo authorities, usually prominent businessmen or Minute Men officers. Those accused of crimes against the government appear before kangaroo courts presided over by military judges. A majority of Americans approve of these dictatorial measures, seeing them as painful but necessary steps to restore American power.

For those who don't think it can happen here and don't want it to happen here the message to get through their fog of denial is very simple. Vote for Trump and not only can it happen here, it will happen here. It is a visual cliche by now but bears sharing again.

Previous blogs.

"On the initiative of the vice president" should be on the top of the page story today, by Hal M. Brown, MSW

Why is this man laughing?

Image of laughing Vance from Perchance Photo AI

Unfortunately you need a subscription to read this entire Washington Post article:

The major coverage on the WaPo website was the Vance-Walz debate:

On your computer you had to scroll past a couple of ads and even the Better Living section to find the article "Trump mixes up words, swerves among subjects in off-topic speech" (bottom left):

If RawStory hadn't summarized it (here) it was so far the WaPo website page I probably would have missed it.

The (subscription) NY Times also covered this story: 

In a Pair of Disjointed Events, Trump Talks Gaza, Migrants and ‘Full Metal Jacket’

President Donald J. Trump criticized President Biden’s leadership and insisted again he would have prevented the crisis in the Middle East had he won in 2020.

RawStory barely scratches the surface in their summary of The Washington Post article. 

Here are some of the excerpts they left out:

“I think I’m booked every single day for 33 days,” he said at the end of the news conference, incorrectly citing the number of days until the election, which is 35. “I’ve worked for 17 or 18 days when you say in a row, and I’m working even when I’m not working.”

Trump was more energetic during a speech to supporters in Waunakee, Wis., earlier Tuesday. He went on an extended riff about the 1987 film “Full Metal Jacket” and made up a false claim that Harris raised taxes as the San Francisco district attorney, which is not a power of that office. 

"Full Metal Jacket" I wondered, what the hell was he talking about about. I looked it up and found the following: 

'What Are You Babbling About?' Jimmy Kimmel Spots Trump Going 'Full Mental' In Real Time in HuffPost. It included a video clip of this part of his speech:

Here's another excerpt from The Washington Post article:

“They come from, from the Congo in Africa,” Trump said at the event at Discovery World, a science and technology museum a couple of miles from where the Republican National Convention was held in July. “Many people from the Congo. I don’t know what that is.”

Trump elaborated on his proposal to eliminate the Department of Education by describing what he envisioned the agency would look like: “I think you will have like one person plus a secretary. You’ll have a secretary. The secretary will have one person plus a secretary. And all the person has to do is: Are you teaching English? Are you teaching arithmetic? What are you doing? Reading, writing and arithmetic. And are you not teaching woke? Not teaching woke is a very big factor. But we’ll have a very small staff.” 

This all relates to J.D. Vance because it is a reminder that should Trump win he would be a Trump brain-fart leading to an undeniable descent into dementia, or a life threatening or life ending medical event, from becoming president.

I have no doubt, nor should you, that J.D. Vance is very well aware that if Trump wins he may not serve out his term and that he will end up as president. 

Vance is also aware that the vice president is the only member of the Executive Branch that can't be fired. However, he probably can recite every word of the 25th Amendment since in essence it says that the vice president can fire the president. I bet his internet search history shows many clicks on this Wikipedia link.

I bet he has it printed out with this one line highlighted (click image to enlarge):

Vance knows first hand that Trump's mental condition is deteriorating. He knows that the vice president has the ceremonial role of certifying an election, but he knows that his role in beginning the process of enacting the 25th Amendment is anything but ceremonial. 

Read previous blogs here.

Vance doesn't project the villainy vibe that Trump does, by Hal M. Brown, MSW

 

To be a popular villain in fiction a character has to express their villainy with panache. Trump is a master of doing this, from floating the idea of putting alligators in the Rio Grande or shooting immigrants trying to cross the border in the legs to, just the other day, talking about having one day when police can round up criminals without the usual retraints on using violence against them.

Here's his latest crowd pleasing suggestion:

Trump's call for police to have a 'Purge'-like day is an authoritarian strategy.

Excerpt:

In the 2013 dystopian thriller "The Purge," America observes a tradition wherein, once a year for a designated 12-hour period, all crime is permissible — up to and including murder. During the purge, society is rocked by spectacular violence, which is said to have a cathartic effect: It dramatically reduces crime and unemployment. "The Purge" provides audiences with a warning about the horrifying consequences of selective observation of morals and a world ruled by a "might makes right" ethos. But at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Sunday, former President Donald Trump effectively floated the idea as a good thing. Except in his spinoff version, the twist is that it’s only the cops who get to do what they want. 

Poor J.D. Vance tries to pull off this kind of unabashedly evil persona, but he just can't manage it. Trump, with his sing-songy voice and the hold he has on his audience, manages it. Perhaps this works because he is able to use that modulated voice the way hypnotists use theirs to put subjects in a trance.

I suppose we can excuse Vance for seeming to be a Trump Mini-Me. 

Trump has been acting for decades. Vance is on the big stage now, but he has barely the skill for a small role in a community theater performance. If his best lines are about cat ladies and people eating pets he can't even deliver them well.

Tonight in the debate he has one last chance to prove his acting chops. He will have to do this debating someone who isn't going to be mouthing lines from a script written by lunatics.

Yesterday's blog:

Other recent blogs

It can happen here, right? RIGHT!!! Start by asking what kind of monsters put children in cages and go from there. By Hal M. Brown, MSW

Let's say the new $100,000 Trump watch is worth $100,000, why the hell does Trump think it is a good idea to sell it now? By Hal M. Brown, MSW

It happened in Germany and Russia. If Trump wins It could happen here, by Hal M. Brown, MSW

Read more previous blogs here.