this post was submitted on 27 Oct 2023
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United States | News & Politics
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How we ended up here: Following Trump, an increasingly aggressive, authoritarian, what you might call fascist far right coalition has started causing problems in the house (ironically, they're called the Freedom Caucus). The Republicans are divided, but they technically have the majority along registered party lines. Because of this, the Freedom Caucus can choose to force them to do things because, without them, they can't do anything at all without crossing the aisle.
What effect it have: Mostly nothing. Democrats have a majority in the senate and hold the presidency. The house alone can't pass anything. They can vote on things and pass it on to the senate where it will die if it's bad, but that's it. They can also choose to not allow a vote on bills with bipartisan support that would pass if they didn't have control.
The largest effect will hopefully be in the elections. Hopefully people see this shit and choose to vote for something else. There's no way to know though. This could empower them potentially by allowing them to grandstand and maybe force the senate to vote against things that are poisoned to make then look bad.
no. stop. history didn't start 3 years ago. rightwing christians made abortion a wedge issue in the 1970s, dominionism is older than that, and creationists have been actively sabotaging public education forever. Meanwhile democrats abandoned new deal politics for neoliberalism and constantly punch left while seeking compromise with the fascists, creating a ratchet effect on american politics.
nd that's without even getting into the founded on slavery and genocide thing, america has always been evil and was only briefly the lesser evil 70 years ago.
No - wait. Let him cook.
Part of me does want to critically celebrate Trump as a leftist hero for destroying America.
But that part is a lib
Fuckin nailed it, the right really has been at this for at least 70 years (see: southern strategy). Those evil leftist cabals they think exist? That's because right-wing ones exist and are pulling the strings.
The left (the actual left not neoliberal corporate whores) needs to get its shit together and agitate if they don't want to lose their country to the blend of Corpo-Christian-fascism we're currently watching develop.
Corporations and a vast stretch of the Christian right have absolutely no interest in compromising or not overreaching and pushing their interests, it's just not in their nature, they want to expand. They'll push and push and push until they're (forcefully) pushed back.
History didn't start there, but that's when the winds started turning such that they had actual influence. Before then they were just some fringe group without power.
their power started around when Phyllis Schlafly got going. The Federalist Society spent 4 decades stacking the courts. It is not a new problem or development, the rot is deep and liberals need to understand that if you want to actually address anything.