Steven BeschlossWould there be a George Santos without a Donald Trump modeling pathological lying—and getting away with it?
Robert Denby@StevenBeschloss Probably. He isn't the first congressman to get caught fabricating his resume.
John Gove@Bullix @StevenBeschloss But would that lying politician have been given a free pass without any political consequences? Doubtful.
@johngove @StevenBeschloss Who knows, but it doesn't benefit us in any way to pretend trumpy ushered in the corruption and rot that allowed him to win a primary in the first place. The GQP is the rot. Trumpy is just a symptom.
@Bullix @StevenBeschloss True. I would never attribute corruption in politics to Trump. That corruption has existed forever. But I think a case could be made that Trump has done more than any other modern politician to normalize corruption and the acceptance of it among the Republican electorate.
@johngove @StevenBeschloss A case could definitely be made for that. However, my case to make is that Reagan did that damage by literally declaring the government the enemy of its citizens. Also by getting away with selling missiles to Iran, which it used against Iraqi tanks...who used chemical weapons we sold THEM against Iran...the proceeds of which funded death squads in south and central america. And no one went to prison for it. Trumpy just capitalized on the brain worms Reagan seeded.
Reagan made it fashionable, even patriotic, to want to overthrow our own republic. To cheat on our taxes. To blame the poorest minorities for everything. To slash public services far beyond their ability to function, or completely destroyed them altogether.
And, because he had perfected a bullshit aww shucks persona, and bc he could lie with a smile, he is STILL celebrated for things he never did while given a pass for shit he did that was illegal.
EyalLI believe his repeal of the Fairness Doctrine that led to radical propaganda networks taking over the minds of ~40%+ of Americans - is his worst harm.
@EyalL @johngove @StevenBeschloss
Absolutely. And it was no coincidence that Druggie Limbaugh rose to power on the AM Hate Radio circuit immediately thereafter and Fux "News" less than 8 years after Reagan confusedly shuffled off the presidential stage for good.
Also no coincidence that news stopped being boring and became infotainment either.
Reagan remains a metastatic cancer of the republic.
@Bullix @StevenBeschloss I can’t argue with any of that. Spot on!
@johngove @StevenBeschloss
That said, I think trumpy still could be looked back upon as ushering in a new era of fascism. Jury is still out on that one. Sadly.
That said, I think trumpy still could be looked back upon as ushering in a new era of fascism. Jury is still out on that one. Sadly.
@Bullix @StevenBeschloss The midterms at least provided a glimmer of hope in terms of the Republican electorate seemingly pumping the brakes on how much extremism they were willing to embrace.
@johngove @StevenBeschloss I hope you're right. It looked to me more like the rest of us finally decided to pump the brakes.