(Dobbs) These Arguably Authoritarian Acts Aren’t Some Foreign Leader’s. They’re Ours.

Why this man and his party should be utterly defeated in the upcoming elections in November.

Sep 22

If anyone told you that a foreign leader was building himself a monument in his capital that will be 25 stories tall and will “have the rapid ability to use large numbers of drones, plus Snipers, on both the roof and plaza areas, and additionally have and hold large quantities of sniper ammunition in storage,” what would you think?

Russia? China? North Korea? Iran?

It’s precisely what we would expect from the kinds of authoritarian leaders who run those nations. What better way to terrify citizens out on the streets demonstrating against their government’s actions? Especially since only a mile away there will be another military installation on the grounds of the leader’s official residence, a ballroom whose roof will house a facility to launch drones. Protestors might think twice before they hit the streets to denounce their government.

But in this case, it’s not some foreign leader turning his nation’s capital into an arsenal. It’s America’s leader. Donald J. Trump.

If anyone told you that after a week of very bad news, a foreign leader was banning journalists from the grounds of his office because they don’t report news the way the leader wants them to report it, saying, “There’s something wrong with a country that can allow people to write purposely negative stories,” and proclaiming, “I don’t want them in my office. I don’t want them here,” what would you think?

Putin? Xi? Kim? Khamenei?

It’s not just a classic way, it’s a common way dictators like them control the flow of information to their own citizens. They don’t have to deal with pesky little constitutional requirements like the our First Amendment. If journalists do stories that they consider “negative,” they boot those journalists out. As Dan Rather wrote, “A more effective way to garner better coverage would be to stop giving us so much bad news to report.”

But in this case, it’s not those dictators abroad who are trying to intimidate journalists to only write positive things about their administrations. It’s America’s leader. Donald J. Trump.

If anyone told you that a foreign leader was offering every adult voter a $5,000 dividend if an upcoming election lets his party keep full control of the government, what would you think? That he’s trying to buy the election? That some voters will be persuaded to support his party on the chance that they will get a windfall?

Especially when he holds a convention to rally the faithful and leads them in a loyalty oath: “I pledge to the greatest president in the history of (my country), that loves us so much he can’t even breathe, that I will go out with my family, my friends, I’ll do it any way. I don’t care if I’m registered or not. I’m going to try and cheat like hell, like they do.”

If he has his way, these “dividends,” which would carry his name, would cost about one-and-a-quarter trillion dollars, which is more than his government spends per year on national defense, on medical care for citizens, even on interest for his national debt.

But in this case, it’s not a foreign dictator who will do anything to fix an election. It’s America’s leader. Donald J. Trump.

If anyone told you that a foreign leader, if he couldn’t add his name to a popular memorial to a fallen predecessor, was threatening to demolish the memorial, what would you think? What kind of foreign leader would say that if he oversees the memorial’s renovation, he “should certainly have recognition, because frankly, if we don’t do that, it’s going to close, it will end up being ripped down?” Who would force a judge to rule that at least 30 days’ notice must be given before the leader decides to tear the memorial down?

Some ego-fueled authoritarian who slaps his name on everything he can and flies his face on the facades of government buildings?

But in this case, it’s not some foreign autocrat who cannot stand to do things just because they’re the right thing to do. It’s America’s leader. Donald J. Trump.

If anyone told you that a foreign leader was preparing to take control of his government’s grants that fund research into major killers like heart disease, cancer, and infectious diseases because heretofore they have been funding “woke” liberal priorities, what would you think? He would control billions of dollars and have the power to award and veto grants on his personal whims, to ensure that they fit with his political goals.

But in this case, it’s not some foreign autocrat who cannot stand to do things just because they’re the right thing to do. He has to stuck his finger in everything and politicize it, even medicine and science. It’s America’s leader. Donald J. Trump.

If anyone told you that as part of a foreign leader’s campaign to evict millions of immigrants from his country if they weren’t there legally, his armed agents would shoot a man while he’s out delivering for DoorDash, but then, according to the man’s lawyer, send him to a detention center “with a bullet in his back without pain medication,” where “he slept overnight in a processing center without a bed,” what would you think?

That this happened in Russia? China? North Korea? Iran?

But no, in this case, it’s not some foreign dictator who doesn’t rein in his agents who have a history of shooting at people who defy them. It’s America’s leader. Donald J. Trump.

If anyone told you that a foreign leader’s son had a sumptuous quarter-million-dollar wedding party, bought and paid for by a Russian oligarch on his private Bahamian island, and that the oligarch is a very rich man with very powerful ties to the ruler of one of the most enduring adversaries of the leader’s nation, what would you think? That the oligarch might have reason to believe that he would get something valuable in return?

The new bride tried to dissuade that suspicion, writing on Instagram, “Friendship doesn’t require a political motive. Generosity doesn’t automatically come with an agenda. And sometimes a wedding gift is simply a wedding gift.”

Yeah, and sometimes corruption is simply corruption.

She also made the point that the oligarch “hosted two incredible nights of celebrations for us AFTER our wedding,” as if there might be no quid pro quo because he didn’t pay for the wedding itself?

But no, in this case, it’s not some foreign autocrat whose family takes gifts from wealthy Russians who have done business in his country and might want to do more. It’s America’s leader. Donald J. Trump.

[Salon] These Arguably Authoritarian Acts Aren’t Some Foreign Leader’s. They’re Ours.

(Dobbs) These Arguably Authoritarian Acts Aren’t Some Foreign Leader’s. They’re Ours.

Why this man and his party should be utterly defeated in the upcoming elections in November.