Stop the march towards fascism

OK, this is a really big deal. As the political season unfolds, the question is not only who will win, but also who will win the 2024 election. Can we maintain the “republic” as bequeathed to us by Ben Franklin and company, or will we continue towards a model closer to Mussolini or Hitler? And no, it’s not just D versus R partisan politics – or personality differences.

Frankly, I’m not a big fan of Joe Biden, this person. He comes across as angry and authoritarian. His favorite word is “Look!” » then try to reject criticism, justified or not. He’s a hawk on foreign policy, having supported Bush’s unnecessary attack on Iraq in 2003. But he has his good side. He appears to be kind to those who have suffered losses, and he has years of government experience before being president. He’s a moderate who tries to propose government programs that help ordinary people, such as with student debt or lack of health care.

And his opponent? I can’t find anything good to say about Donald Trump. He was born into a wealthy and privileged background and was sent to the New York Military Academy. His political platforms are a mix of slogans that he thinks voters will embrace. And tax cuts for the rich. In this he is not much different from many Republicans – and some Democrats. But he is no ordinary Republican, and a number of Republican leaders oppose him.

At one point, Mr. Trump appears to have taken up the fascist model. I’ve studied authoritarianism and I think maybe it was an abused child, like Adolph Hitler. While Hitler and his ally Mussolini vilified the Jewish people – blaming them for all of Germany and Italy’s problems in the 1920s and 1930s – Trump blames all our problems, real or imagined, on “dangerous men » that cross our southern border. Or Muslims – who he illegally tried to keep out of the country. He offers simplistic solutions to the problem: build a wall. It doesn’t matter that people who really want to come to America dig, climb, fly, sail — you name it — to get here.

And never mind that Mr. Trump has apparently used more than a hundred illegal aliens in his hotel operations — according to The Hill and The Washington Post — both respected news sources.

And Trump appears to admire world leaders who others view as undemocratic and hostile toward the United States. Like Vladimir Putin of Russia.

If all of this were to be said about the upcoming presidential election, it would be enough. But Mr. Trump has said things that really should disqualify him — practically, if not legally. When a guy like Trump says he plans to become “a dictator,” believe him! His actions – or lack of actions – as some of his supporters stormed the capitol in 2020, chanting “Hang Mike Pence!” is ample evidence that he will do just about anything to gain and maintain power.

And remember to vote for Senate and House with these facts in mind. There are good Republican candidates, but make sure they don’t support Trump’s attempts to steal our democracy. Fortunately, we have an outstanding United States Senator in Sherrod Brown, and we must re-elect him. Not only because he deserves it, but because if Biden wins, you can be sure a Republican Congress will try to impeach him. Brown – with his long years of service to the people of Ohio – can be counted on to stand strong against any attempt by Trump Republicans to impeach President Biden.

And, in District 2, we have a promising candidate in Samantha Meadows, with a strong affinity for southern Ohio, who in Congress would resist an intimidating and out-of-control Republican leadership that might attempt a coup. ‘Political state by impeachment. , if President Biden is re-elected.