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"Right-wing strategist Steve Bannon, who once pledged to make the world 'as exciting as the 1930s,' promotes the ideas of the Italian Traditionalist Julius Evola, who wrote: 'We would like a more radical, more intrepid Fascism, a really absolute Fascism, made of pure force, inaccessible to compromise.”'

~ Janet Bufton and Tom G. Palmer


/1

theunpopulist.net/p/your-compr

The UnPopulist · Your Comprehensive Guide to the Far Right: Part IBy Janet Bufton

"Trump is running a fascist campaign, the most un-American in U.S. history. Below, I offer eight unofficial rules of American democracy that Trump has broken—rules it would have been unthinkable for an American politician to break before Trump arrived on the scene. If he wins despite doing all that, the system itself will break."

~ Nicholas Grossman


/2

thebulwark.com/p/the-upside-do

The Bulwark · The Upside-Down ElectionBy Nicholas Grossman

"At stake is nothing less that democracy itself.

Whether we will preserve the peaceful transfer of power or devolve into a white Christian nationalist oligarchy. Whether we will have rule by the people or rule over the people."

~ Jemar Tisby


/3

jemartisby.substack.com/p/here

Footnotes by Jemar Tisby · Here's the Recording from "Preparing Our Souls for the Election"By Jemar Tisby, PhD

"In an interview with Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times published tonight, [General John] Kelly noted that he had decided not to speak out about Trump unless Trump said something deeply troubling or something that involved Kelly and was wildly inaccurate. For Kelly, Trump’s recent talk about the 'enemy within' was dangerous enough that he felt obliged to make a public comment."

~ Heather Cox Richardson


/4

heathercoxrichardson.substack.

Letters from an American · October 22, 2024By Heather Cox Richardson

"The retired U.S. Marine Corps general confirmed that Trump is 'certainly the only president that has all but rejected what America is all about, and what makes America America, in terms of our Constitution, in terms of our values, the way we look at everything, to include family and government—he’s certainly the only president that I know of, certainly in my lifetime, that was like that.'”


/5

"Kelly added that 'in his opinion, Mr. Trump met the definition of a fascist, would govern like a dictator if allowed, and had no understanding of the Constitution or the concept of rule of law.'”


/6

"Kelly’s comments, two weeks from Election Day, are the latest in a line of warnings from former Trump White House aides about how he views the presidency and would exercise power if returned to office.

In addition to the fascist comments, Kelly — who was Trump’s chief of staff from 2017 to 2019 — told The New York Times that the former president 'certainly prefers the dictator approach to government.'”

~ CNN


/7

edition.cnn.com/2024/10/22/pol

"He also confirmed to The Atlantic that Trump had said he wished his military personnel showed him the same deference Adolf Hitler’s Nazi generals showed the German dictator during World War II, and recounted the moment."


/8

"If Harris wins, it’s because just enough voters accept the rule of law and reality itself. That’s probably why we remain so nervous about the outcome. The election won’t merely determine the next president. It’ll define who we are as a nation."

~ Stephen Robinson


/9

publicnotice.co/p/harris-trump

Public Notice · How the hell is this even close?By Stephen Robinson

"The mystery that will provide full employment for generations of historians is why so many Americans willingly embraced the con and spread the hate that fuels Trump's campaign."

~ Robert B. Hubbell


/10

roberthubbell.substack.com/p/h

Today's Edition Newsletter · Harris/Walz campaign in overdrive!By Robert B. Hubbell

"He has now gone all-out demagogue and promised his supporters that he would have no qualms about ordering our military to execute his opponents. Which has left men like John Kelly with few options but to be honest about who Trump is."

~ Brian Tyler Cohen


/11

plus.briantylercohen.com/p/lea

Brian Tyler Cohen · Leaving it all on the FieldBy Brian Tyler Cohen

"When you’re so undisciplined that you can’t control yourself for the final TWO WEEKS of the campaign, imagine if Trump was unburdened by another election, with his official immunity gifted from the Supreme Court he stacked, his brain cooked, all guardrails removed, and nobody to hold him accountable."


/12

“It says everything you need to know about the U.S. media that Trump’s clown show at the McDonald’s gets more attention than his former defense secretary and chair of the Joint Chief of Staff warning that Trump is a dangerous fascist with no respect for democracy.”

~ Dean Baker quotes by Margaret Sullivan


/13

margaretsullivan.substack.com/

American Crisis · A media call to arms By Margaret Sullivan

It all begins, always, with coercion. It begins with bullying and acts of accelerating violence. It begins with demonstrations that "we" have power over "you" and intend to expand and use that power to put you in your place. To hurt you.

It begins with brownshirts, and moves on to worse and worse things.


/14

"Kelly raised two bright red flags that paint a dark and deeply disturbing picture for our nation if Trump were to return to office. First, there was Kelly’s comments to The Atlantic that Trump made it clear that, 'I need the kind of generals that Hitler had.'”


/16

deanobeidallah.substack.com/p/

The Dean's Report by Dean Obeidallah · John Kelly is warning us that JD Vance was right: Trump is “America’s Hitler.”By Dean Obeidallah

"Then Kelly went further. Kelly noted that Trump 'met the definition of a fascist, would govern like a dictator if allowed, and had no understanding of the Constitution or the concept of rule of law.'”


/17

Diana Butler Bass kindly offers a gift link to the New York Times interview with Trump's presidential chief of staff General John Kelly, in which Kelly warns us that Trump meets the definition of a fascist, will govern as a dictator of elected, and has no respect for the Constitution or rule of law.

You can access the gift link by clicking the link to Bass' site and finding the gift link in her essay.


/18

dianabutlerbass.substack.com/p

The Cottage · Encouragement!By Diana Butler Bass

David Kurtz points out that two generals, Mark Milley and John Kelly, have now issued dire warnings that Trump is a fascist. As Kurtz notes,

"Kelly’s dual interviews came the same day Trump touted at a campaign event the 'extreme power' he would have if elected again: 'As president, you have tremendous — it’s called extreme power. You have extreme power.'”


/19

morningmemo.talkingpointsmemo.

Morning Memo · Two Generals Have Now Issued Dire Warnings That Trump Is A FascistBy David Kurtz

"The sobering fact is that nearly half this country is willing to dispose of democracy in order to win. They view it as a matter of survival. Well, so do we. It is not Democrats who are attempting to manage the lives of Republicans. It is the Republicans who are determined to force the rest of us to live under their warped screed."

~ Mark Mansour


/20

mmansour.substack.com/p/whats-

America’s Fractured Politics · What’s At StakeBy Mark Mansour

"John Kelly won't let us avert our eyes. …

47 percent of our fellow Americans want this man to be commander-in-chief.

How is this possible?

Because they look away. They choose not to see."

~ Jonathan V. Last


/21

thebulwark.com/p/mein-generals

The Bulwark · Mein GeneralsBy Jonathan V. Last

"Kelly was one of the people closest to Trump during his presidency, having served as his Secretary of Homeland Security and then as his longtime chief of staff. Kelly didn’t write a book or take a gig on a news network, so he had no financial incentive to come forward."

~ Jay Kuo


/22

statuskuo.substack.com/p/john-

The Status Kuo · John Kelly Speaks OutBy Jay Kuo

"Indeed, by speaking out as he has, Kelly has put his future and even his own life at risk, because if Trump regains the White House, Trump will likely seek political retribution.

Otherwise put, Kelly has no incentive to fabricate stories, and he has come forward only reluctantly because Trump has grown so extreme."


/23

"When someone of Kelly’s stature and proximity to Trump says the ex-president is a fascist and praised Hitler’s generals, it should send a great chill through our body politic. If this becomes a half-a-day story, it will be an indictment on all of us."

~ Sarah Longwell


/24

thebulwark.com/p/the-sad-pathe

The Bulwark · The Sad, Pathetic Spectacle of John Kelly’s CriticsBy Sarah Longwell

"'Come on, Hitler isn’t going to do any of that, not really' is what old-line German conservatives told themselves in voting for the National Socialists. It is what every modern social constituency that claims to not want authoritarianism or fascism says before supporting or voting for an authoritarian or fascist."

~ Timothy Burke


/25

timothyburke.substack.com/p/tr

Eight by Seven · Trump Essentials (2): Long ConsBy Timothy Burke

"Men who worked with Trump in high positions of authority are telling the American public that he will govern as a fascist would, and this time, without anybody who might try to check those tendencies. The Trumpist future is all in plain sight. Nothing is hidden, nothing is ambiguous, nothing is deniable.

So what do we make of people who should know better who nevertheless deny it?"


/26

"Donald Trump is increasingly unhinged and unstable, and in a second term people like John Kelly would not be there to be the guardrails against his propensities and his actions. Those who once tried to stop him from pursuing his worst impulses would no longer be there — and no longer be there to rein him in. So the bottom line is this, we know what Donald Trump wants. He wants unchecked power."


/27

lawdork.com/p/kamala-harris-v-

Law Dork · Kamala Harris is right, Trump 2.0 would be "unhinged," aimed at "unchecked power"By Chris Geidner

@wdlindsy yup, happened in my small town in CT. Someone posted about signs being stolen and as you can expect, there were maga trolls laughing at the person etc. This man, this deeply flawed thing, has torn this nation to pieces. It’s all so sad.

@Phreba Deeply sad. I know signs have been taken in the past, perhaps by people from every political stripe — but not in the blatant, contemptuous way I am seeing (and hearing reports about) in this election cycle, as Harris-Walz signs are taken all over the place.

@hakona Thank you for the link. I'll watch with interest.

@wdlindsy “So what do we make of people who should know better who nevertheless deny it?"
Or, far worse, embrace it?

@Laloofah @wdlindsy

These MAGA fascist supporters are not unlike a immune compromised individual stricken with an incurable disease. Their end will not be pleasant whether they win or lose.

@Laloofah A good question. I think at the very least that we have to increase our determination, the rest of us, to stand as a bloc of resistance to them. We have to keep doing all in our power to refuse to let them seize control of the reins of government. We have to challenge and confront them as they lie and distort our history. We have to commit ourselves to a very long struggle, since this will not go away easily and soon.

@wdlindsy i mean, tbf, how could the people back in the time know what Hitler planned? It's not like he'd written a book about his plans and spread it all over Germany...

@Dingsextrem Irony detected here — good irony. Yes, how, indeed, could they have possibly known?

@wdlindsy "besides, if he did, I'm not one of the group that would be affected, so no problem."

@xinit That's right. This is so central to the thinking of elites — like the folks who own, manage, and write for the New York Times. We won't be affected, after all, they tell themselves. Only they will.

@wdlindsy Sadly Cult 45 doesn't care. they like his awfulness becuase it validates their awfulness. While HRC was correct in calling them deplorables, saying it out loud motivated them. I am hoping that this time around the utter incoherence of the TFG's campaign and the numbers of women voters voting against The Handmaid's Tale will sink this POS for good and take JDV with him.

@Flowermob No, they don't care. I don't think those speaking out are speaking out because they imagine that Trump's cult follows care. I think they're speaking out because they know it's the right thing to do.

@wdlindsy I feel that number is closer to 95%. Maybe 5% of us support democracy and draw a line in concrete over the concept. Maybe 5%. MAYBE.

@Jon_Kramer It seems that way. But the popular vote election after election tells us that a majority of Americans do not buy the MAGA agenda. The problem is that, with lavish help from the Republican party and the Supreme Court, a minority has gamed the system in order to exert minoritarian control over the majority.

@wdlindsy MAGA is not the only anti-democratic movement. They are roughly 50% of the movement away from democratic rule. They are just the loud stupid 1/2.

The other 1/2 is far more subtle. The half that doesn't want primaries, wants candidates picked by the party leaders, resuses to enact laws that the majority of Americans want, etc. These are also people who don't want democracy.

@Jon_Kramer I see no daylight between the puppet-masters you're describing here and MAGA.

@wdlindsy They don't vote for the same person... But you are mostly correct. I have heard them called 'blue maga' fairly often, and I think that is an apt term.

@wdlindsy His supporters are in a cult. Many are on some form of government handout, yet they're against the government.