Trump may now float the prospect of a 2024 run, but his manifest deficiences are also political impediments. An ideology along the lines of Trumpism will go on (and require relentless opposition), but Trump, himself, faces a legal and economic reckoning. See Man and Movement.
Trumpism
Putin, Russia, Sen. Ron Johnson, Trump, Trumpism, Wisconsin
National Reporting on Sen. Ron Johnson
by JOHN ADAMS • • 2 Comments
Wisconsin’s political events have had more national attention over the last decade than the politics of similarly-sized states, but then we’ve had a worse politics than states of similar size. In the Washington Post, there’s a lengthy story about Sen. Ron Johnson that’s well worth reading in full. Michael Kranish, Mike DeBonis and Karoun Demirjian…
Trumpism
Adam Serwer on Trumpism’s View of Its Larger Opposition
by JOHN ADAMS • • 1 Comment
Adam Serwer’s latest essay explains Trumpism’s view of its larger opposition in If You Didn’t Vote for Trump, Your Vote Is Fraudulent: To Trump’s strongest supporters, Biden’s win is a fraud because his voters should not count to begin with, and because the Democratic Party is not a legitimate political institution that should be allowed…
Gerrymandering, Politics, Sen. Ron Johnson, Trumpism, Wisconsin, WISGOP
Probable Wisconsin Political Issues for 2021
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Although one can confidently doubt that ‘everything changes’ after the pandemic, there are in any year prominent political issues. Some are national, some statewide, some local. One can guess correctly that the new year will entertain at least three notable statewide issues, each summarized below. These are statewide issues that will reach deep into every…
Authoritarianism, Bigotry, Law, Libertarians, Liberty, Never Trump, Trump, Trumpism
The Libertarian Remnant
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Shikha Dalmia is a libertarian, and as a libertarian who is true to those beliefs, she is necessarily opposed to the authoritarianism of Trump and in Trumpism. Because the definition of libertarianism has been distorted beyond any true meaning by opportunistic or ignorant rightwing donors, she’s lost her job Reason magazine. Conservative donors pay the…
Babbittry, Boosterism, City, Conflicts of Interest, Culture, Ethics, Local Government, Never Trump, That Which Paved the Way, Trump, Trumpism
Before Man & Movement, That Which Paved the Way
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Trump did not spring from the ground; he did not fall from the stars. Neither horticulture nor astrophysics played any role in his rise. Before Trump and Trumpism, there were towns and cities into which he and his movement found receptive audiences. Patients already ill are often susceptible of worse maladies. So it has been…
Never Trump, Trump, Trumpism
Man and Movement
by JOHN ADAMS • • 2 Comments
There’s Trump and then there’s Trumpism. The first (an ignorant, bigoted autocrat) has been defeated, the second (a nativism in the tradition of Know Nothings, Confederates, Klan, and Bund) will carry on. See Trump’s GOP Is Increasingly Racist and Authoritarian—and Here to Stay (‘Having already forsaken Republican principles and policies, his supporters are now willing to forsake…
Presidential race 2020, Republicans, Trump, Trumpism, Wisconsin
Wisconsin Republicans Mean Nearly Nothing To Trump
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Here in Wisconsin, there’s an election recount in two counties, and there are repeated Republican objections to the recount there. This is a curious turn, as Patrick Marley accurately reports that The Wisconsin voting system Donald Trump is attacking was built by Republicans: MADISON – In his move to overturn Wisconsin’s election results, President Donald Trump…
Authoritarianism, Law, Never Trump, Race, Republicans, Trump, Trumpism
Trump’s Refusal: Explanations Particular and General
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
There’s more than one explanation for Trump’s refusal to concede: that he cannot manage the narcissistic insult of defeat, that he wants to support Georgia’s Republicans in a January 5th runoff, or that he wants to bolster his chances of a following after January 20th (for a television network, another campaign, or simply to vacuum…
Kenosha, Never Trump, Police, Protests, Race, Trump, Trumpism, Unfit
The Advantage for His Opponents in Trump’s Visit to Kenosha
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Despite the requests of Wisconsin’s governor and Kenosha’s mayor, Trump is set on visiting Kenosha tomorrow. There’s no power to stop him from attending, however recklessly disruptive the visit may prove to be. There is, however, an advantage for Trump’s opponents in his visiting Kenosha on September 1st. With two months to go until November…
America, Authoritarianism, Books, City, Liberty, Trump, Trumpism, Tyranny
Snyder’s On Tyranny
by JOHN ADAMS • • 2 Comments
Prof. Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny: ‘Lesssons from the Twentieth Century’ (2017) recently came my way. By design, it’s a brief presentation of twenty lessons that Snyder has discerned after a long career as a historian, with significant study and research on twentieth-century European history. It’s a small, inviting pamphlet addressing a big, unwelcome subject. We’ve…