Fascism at work in Congress:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news...cec96ad4782274&ei=28

Congressional effort grows to defund Jack Smith's Trump prosecutions
Story by Scott MacFarlane •
15h

Here's an article which so far says best what I'm trying to say.

I know it's "opinion", but it makes sense to me, and is persuasive. I think the author nailed it, and covers to scope of it.


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news...58f2f01912d431&ei=40

Our collective malady: Donald Trump's mental health crisis is America's problem

(excerpts)

To properly respond to Donald Trump and the level of extreme danger he represents — especially as he faces multiple criminal prosecutions — requires understanding some specific aspects of Trump's behavior and motivations.

Trump has shown a wide range of pathological behavior over the past seven years or so. He has an unhealthy fascination with violence. He lacks impulse control and empathy. He revels in cruelty. He compulsively lies and exhibits traits of malignant narcissism. He is a confirmed sexual predator and misogynist. He has a tenuous relationship to reality, and increasingly retreats into victimology and a persecution complex. He believes himself to be almost literally superhuman and often behaves like a cult leader.

Trump's pathological behavior is in no way separate from his role as leader of the neofascist MAGA movement and larger white right. One repeated error made by the mainstream media and the larger political class is to divide Trump's obvious mental health issues from his political behavior and the ascendancy of his movement.

Fascism and other forms of illiberal politics are not "merely" political problems. In reality, such things are a societal force and imaginary that both harness and generate collective mass sociopathy and other forms of physical, emotional, psychological, intellectual and spiritual pathology. Sick societies produce sick leaders; sick leaders have sick followers; in combination, those forces produce sick political movements. Collectively, these are manifestations of a condition of malignant normality that can all too easily end in societal destruction.

I don’t buy that Trump has a mental health issue.

Narcissism is a behavioral issue, and fundamentally not treatable.


The mental issue we collectively have is a delusion that either party is doing well by the country.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news...=winp2fptaskbar&ei=8

The fascist who doesn’t want America to think

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news...fptaskbarhover&ei=17

'A multitude of ways' exist to stop Trump from becoming president again: legal expert
Story by Tom Boggioni •
11h

https://youtu.be/x_Q9ynm2Rfg?si=m4f-QCGH8iCsTMdi

https://www.inequalitymedia.or...RRn1ZqgaApqzEALw_wcB

Politics are Polarized, But Not for the Reason You Think | Robert Reich

In the last 50 years, I’ve moved further to the left of center without changing my political views at all. How? The right has moved dangerously close to fascism.

quote:

Originally posted by crbutler:
I don’t buy that Trump has a mental health issue.

Narcissism is a behavioral issue, and fundamentally not treatable.


The mental issue we collectively have is a delusion that either party is doing well by the country.

No shit. Trump doesn't have a political philosophy, he was a loyal New York Democrat right up until he was a loyal Republican.

In his own life, he simply manipulates existing systems for his own benefit.
In his presidency, he manipulated the system for the benefit of his psychophants.
He went through the motions of the presidency without understanding any of them.

Biden, on the other hand, knows just how a president acts, having watched a few of them in office.
He puts on a good show. If the Burisma matter goes sideways, the Democrats have a problem.
It's Biden's turn at the podium and they do not have a Plan B.

Trump could be re-elected. In a contest of cardboard cutouts and make-believe, a transparent lie is the closest thing to truth.

quote:

The mental issue we collectively have is a delusion that either party is doing well by the country.

That may be true, but I think it's a stretch to think that there is equivalence comparing the whole fiasco directly attributable to or associated with Trump with practically anything political in this country, ever.

"Doing well" is not even real. "Doing harm" comparatively is the measure.

Then there's plans for the future which is really a double-down for what we've already seen regarding Trump and Trumpism.

I think it's delusional to make false equivalences.

Even if "the Burisma matter goes sideways", That's still not equivalent to the harm Trump has done to the country, directly and through his base, past, present, and potentially future.

How can this get any weirder?

I think what Trump is doing is some sort of psychological projectionism, or flipping the narrative.

It's bizarre mind games, but it's working on his behalf with his base.

Which is it - insanity or genius, or both?

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news...396d57ec1bfa16&ei=26

Trump decries federal ‘fascist thugs’ despite judge’s warnings
Story by Sarah Fortinsky •
12h

https://www.msn.com/en-us/vide...id=socialshare&t=333

quote:

Originally posted by TomP:

quote:

Originally posted by crbutler:
I don’t buy that Trump has a mental health issue.

Narcissism is a behavioral issue, and fundamentally not treatable.


The mental issue we collectively have is a delusion that either party is doing well by the country.

No shit. Trump doesn't have a political philosophy, he was a loyal New York Democrat right up until he was a loyal Republican.

In his own life, he simply manipulates for existing system for his own benefit.
In his presidency, he manipulated the system for the benefit of his psychophants.
He went through the motions of the presidency without understanding any of them.

Biden, on the other hand, knows just how a president acts, having watched a few of them in office.
He puts on a good show. If the Burisma matter goes sideways, the Democrats have a problem.
It's Biden's turn at the podium and they do not have a Plan B.

Trump could be re-elected. In a contest of cardboard cutouts and make-believe, a transparent lie is the closest thing to truth.

That's a pretty good analysis......

I would have said that he was required to manipulate a broken systems for his bemefit......but I was a business man for years also....

I have read the above post several times, and thought about each sentence, and overall.

I'm really at a loss in understanding your take on it - the three of you.

In trying to understand, I'm leaving out the part about Biden entirely because it's a distraction in understanding Trump and his base, IMO, and I've already covered the false equivalence thing.

The premise starts with Trump's mental health, and the rest of the analysis hinges on that, as I read it.

So, we all know, or ought to know, the magnitude of Trump's lies, and as shown in my post just above with link, what I called projection, and the attacks on the courts and prosecution, and the claims of doing nothing wrong, perfect phone calls, etc.

In that context, it can reasonably be presumed that he's doing it intentionally, for purpose.

But it's not reality.

One question is whether he actually believes the stuff he spouts or types. Another question is why.

If he actually believes his lies and spew, then he's lost contact with reality. That's really the definition of insanity.

If he doesn't believe his spew, then ===== what? You fill in the blank. I think narcissism can be a form of insanity in its worse form, which Trump certainly is an example.

Why? Let's just say he thinks it serves him well. It's worked for a long time in various arenas. He's never broken stride as far as I know.
OTOH, if he really believes all his stuff, then it's at another level, which accounts for his persecution syndrome.

He's developed the "skill" or degeneration over a long time.

Either way, I think he's insane.

As to his base, that's another analysis.

One concise example of the "insanity" of both Trump and his base is the premise, or fact, that the only real and significant fraud regarding the 2020 election was that which Trump committed with his BIG LIE, claiming that the election was stolen. Yet, millions of supposedly sane, rational, functional Americans believe Trump's lie rather than reality. And that's just part of it.

The basic question really is, does he believe his own lies (thereby making them, in his mind, the truth), or is he deliberately lying? I think it is a combination. I think he lies with no hesitation, but I think he often convinces himself of the veracity of the lie. To me, Donald Trump is no different than L. Ron Hubbard. One would think Hubbard couldn't possibly believe his own bullshit, but he may well have convinced himself. Same with Trump. The followers are another matter. In both cases there are otherwise intelligent people who swallowed the con, hook, line, and sinker.
Trump's successes, while in office, had nothing at all to do with Trump's efforts. Instead, he conned business into getting out of their own way. He conned a large segment of the population into optimism. Joe Biden and the Democrats have done exactly the opposite. They inspired business to run and hide and inserted pessimism within the same group. Regards, Bill.

quote:

Originally posted by Magine Enigam:
As to his base, that's another analysis.

Team Spirit (be true to your school...).

Do we really want a POTUS dominating the country with his made-up reality?

Who knows what he may dream up? I doubt that he even knows the extent of that himself.

Anyway,

Let’s use a little imagination and pretend - a brief synopsis:

There’s a new dystopian movie out which has mixed reviews, some good, some bad, few in-between.

So, you went to see it, but being a bit late about 1/3 of the movie had already happened.

The place in the movie when you sat down was the protagonist ranting about his recent indictments, 91 criminal counts, and some civil lawsuits, saying he is being persecuted and victimized and falsely accused by evil and demonic people, and forces he calls the Deep State. And, speaking to and of his base he says that his persecutions are really yours; "I am your avatar, your warrior, your retribution".

As the plot progresses, you discover that the protagonist is a billionaire and has millions of supporters who believe his words and in him. Some believe he’s a godsend.

The protagonist is the front-running candidate for POTUS – with the political party known as God Ordained Prophecy.

The contest of his candidacy is clouded with the indictments and greatly inflamed among his base in other ways, such as lies, deflection, propaganda and spin, by him and certain media support, and many henchmen with political power.

There is subtle mention that his legal fees are free to him due to supporter contributions, with money left over, and just not paying the bills.

Another subtle plot factor you discover is that his strategy for all those indictments and counts, and on behalf of all his co-defendants, and many others, is to win the election for POTUS so he can install loyalists, especially in DOJ to stop all prosecutions, and for pardons of himself and all others that he deems fit.

As the movie progresses, he gains support and money, using the trials as campaign strategy, and the media coverage as free publicity.

All the trials are hung jury because of rogue loyalists in the jury pool.

He claims vindication.

He wins the election and becomes POTUS. A gal known as MTG becomes VP, his successor. (aka MAGA Twat Green)

He immediately engages in judicial reform and makes his position for life, with his exclusive right to name his successor, which depends on the loyalty test.

He withdraws from NATO.

Shuts down support for Ukraine.

He appoints 20,000 shock troop loyalists in the Administrative State.

Etc.

The characters are:

Protagonist: Crumpde Monicarma Geddon (say it slowly with each syllable) A magnificent narcissist; on a scale of 1 to 10, he’s 11.

Antagonists: Many

Crumpfumps: His many allies with political power

Crumpdumps: Flying monkeys and apologists

Crumpchumps: His millions of supporters and donors

--------------------------------------------------
Even George Orwell couldn’t have dreamed up a better dystopia.

BTW, I wrote the above, then I saw this: https://www.msn.com/en-us/vide...id=socialshare&t=131

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news...7f19d58b2c8e1d&ei=23

Right-wing group recruiting for Trump's plan to tear down the federal government
Story by Matthew Chapman •
4h

Project 2025's director, Paul Dans, said, “We need to flood the zone with conservatives ... People need to lay down their tools and step aside from their professional life and say, ‘This is my lifetime moment to serve.’”

Trump and the Heritage Foundation's plan to reshape federal government involves several steps. They propose eliminating the independence of agences like the Federal Communications Commission, giving the president direct control over leadership; doing away with post-Nixon bans on "impounding" funds appropriated by Congress, letting the president unilaterally defund disfavored agencies at will; and reclassifing thousands of federal employees to eliminate merit protections and let the president fire anyone who doesn't swear loyalty to them.

Trump had already been implementing a broad reclassification of federal workers in his final days of office, before the Biden administration reversed it.

https://www.ourmidland.com/new...recking-18335391.php

Conservative groups draw up plan to dismantle the US government and replace it with Trump’s vision
LISA MASCARO
,
AP Congressional Correspondent
Aug. 29, 2023
Updated: Aug. 29, 2023 2:13 p.m.

WASHINGTON (AP) — With more than a year to go before the 2024 election, a constellation of conservative organizations is preparing for a possible second White House term for Donald Trump, recruiting thousands of Americans to come to Washington on a mission to dismantle the federal government and replace it with a vision closer to his own.

Led by the long-established Heritage Foundation think tank and fueled by former Trump administration officials, the far-reaching effort is essentially a government-in-waiting for the former president’s second term — or any candidate who aligns with their ideals and can defeat President Joe Biden in 2024.

With a nearly 1,000-page “Project 2025” handbook and an “army” of Americans, the idea is to have the civic infrastructure in place on Day One to commandeer, reshape and do away with what Republicans deride as the “deep state” bureaucracy, in part by firing as many as 50,000 federal workers.

=========================================

https://www.federalregister.go...the-excepted-service

Creating Schedule F in the Excepted Service
A Presidential Document by the Executive Office of the President on 10/26/2020

https://www.axios.com/2022/07/...-f-federal-employees

How Trump could reimpose "Schedule F" in 2025

Sources close to former President Trump say he would immediately reimpose his "Schedule F" executive order if he takes back the White House in the 2024 presidential elections, Axios' Jonathan Swan reports.

Why it matters: It would effectively upend the modern civil service, and put future presidents in the position of bringing in their own loyalists or reverting to a traditional bureaucracy, Swan reports.

The backstory on Schedule F
Trump signed an executive order in October 2020 which established a new Schedule F employment category for federal employees.

It was rescinded by President Biden shortly after he took office in 2021.
But back in March of 2022, Trump floated the possibility of going after the federal workforce.
"We will pass critical reforms making every executive branch employee fireable by the president of the United States," he said at a rally in South Carolina. "The deep state must and will be brought to heel."
Who would be reassigned as Schedule F
Tens of thousands of civil servants who serve in roles deemed to have some influence over policy would be reassigned as "Schedule F" employees.

Those levels of influence included "confidential, policy-determining, policy-making or policy-advocating," the order says.

What it means to be given a Schedule F assignment
They would lose their employment protections upon re-assignment, making them functionally at-will employees and therefore far easier to fire, Gov Exec reports.

How many people Schedule F would affect
It could apply to as many as 50,000 federal workers out of a workforce of more than 2 million, Swan reports.

How is this different from regular presidential appointees?
New presidents typically get to replace more than 4,000 so-called "political" appointees to oversee the running of their administrations.

But below this rotating layer of political appointees sits a mass of government workers who enjoy strong employment protections and typically continue their service from one administration to the next regardless of the president's party affiliation.

==============================================

https://www.axios.com/2022/07/...cal-plan-second-term

A radical plan for Trump’s second term

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news...454d2467b2b9ee&ei=10

'Careful what you wish for': Trump issues new threats against rivals over criminal charges
Story by Travis Gettys •
4h

Donald Trump issued a thinly veiled threat against President Joe Biden and Democratic enemies as his upcoming trials are entered into courtroom calendars.

The twice-impeached former president has been indicted four times on 91 total charges, and he blamed President Joe Biden of orchestrating "litigation" that will put him on trial for crimes he allegedly committed in Manhattan, Georgia, Florida and Washington, D.C. during next year's presidential election.

"These Indictments and lawsuits are all part of my political opponents campaign plan," Trump posted on Truth Social. "It is Election Interference, and they are going to use the DOJ/FBI to help them, which is illegal. Crooked Joe pushed this litigation hard to get it done."

"This is a new low in Presidential Politics," Trump added. "To the Democrats, I say, 'be careful what you wish for.'"

https://www.msn.com/en-us/mone...12d6990518ec3a&ei=17

A Group Of Voters Want To End The Federal Government As We Know It
Story by Aaron Bry •
3h

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news...d7aa61d6f16f20&ei=44

Secret phone call reveals Christian Right plan to 'take down the education system as we know it'
Story by Sarah K. Burris •
12h

https://www.washingtonpost.com...rents-rights-ziklag/

The Christian home-schooler who made ‘parental rights’ a GOP rallying cry
On a private call with Christian millionaires, home-schooling pioneer Michael Farris pushed for a strategy aimed at siphoning billions of tax dollars from public schools
By Emma Brown and Peter Jamison
August 29, 2023 at 7:00 a.m. EDT

https://youtu.be/msj4FZaByAQ?si=buQr8YM6Dk1Yiu9i

Jen Psaki reveals what 'Moms for Liberty' is all about 


Three Supreme Court cases that could shake up the administrative state
Story by Jack Fitzhenry, GianCarlo Canaparo •
12h

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news...6074375725ea47&ei=17

Conservative groups draw up plan to dismantle the US government and replace it with Trump’s vision

https://apnews.com/article/ele...f1c6710eb03fd5b58981

FYI:

I have tried, through research of those sources who may be qualified, to find recent convincing articles that Trump is the Antichrist. I found such articles, but IMO none are convincing or credible, and thus certainly not appropriate to post, IMO. Also, I refuse to study the Book of Revelation to decide for myself. I don't want the mind-warp.

So, the question remains open.

However, the fact is that millions of Christians support Trump, past and present. There's even a relatively new term that is descriptive: Christofascism. The term, coined in the 70's, was rather latent until recently, the era of Trump. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_fascism

In part, my interests in this, as it relates to fascism, is because I have fundamentalist relatives who are deep into the study of Revelation through their church, and the guidance of their pastor. They are not unique. I know what they are doing, and why. They actually believe that such study will somehow help or satisfy their understandings of the relationship of Christianity with what's happening in the World today. IMO, they are helpless people in search of hope through the only source their indoctrination allows.

Here's a recent article, from a qualified author, that skirts the topic, but is still on point.

https://baptistnews.com/article/hypocrisy/

Hypocrisy
MARK WINGFIELD | APRIL 10, 2023

Mark Wingfield serves as executive director and publisher of Baptist News Global. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptist_News_Global

(excerpt - The first six paragraphs - the premise)

When we boil down all the assorted examples of how evangelicals have sold themselves to Donald Trump for 30 pieces of silver, one word summarizes it all: Hypocrisy.

Call it irony. Call it opportunism. Call it greed. Call it a thirst for power. Whatever the motivation, the end result is one of the greatest examples of hypocrisy ever seen. And shining brightly through the chasm is the denial of a foundational teaching of Jesus of Nazareth: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

The religion of Trumpism teaches followers to stick it to the other guy before he gets you. It teaches followers to accuse others of the very things you are guilty of to deflect attention from your own wrongdoings. It teaches followers never to back down, never to be bothered with the truth, always to be on the offensive.

Trump and his misguided followers are the creators of witch hunts, yet they insist they and their idol are the victims of witch hunts. How can anyone not see the irony here?

Remember those Trump rallies where he led the adoring crowds in chanting “Lock her up!” as an accusation against Hillary Clinton? So that wasn’t a witch hunt, but grand-jury indictable evidence against Trump is a witch hunt?

This is the very definition of hypocrisy.

===================================================

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news...afeebcfa4b4ec8&ei=16

Pastor indicted alongside Trump returns to pulpit
Story by Religion News Service •
14h

The Surface State:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news...d94f776e8f4ef6&ei=58

Forget about the ‘Deep State’ — Trump is going after the whole state now
Story by mschwartz@businessinsider.com (Mattathias Schwartz) •
49m

Remember the "deep state"? That hidden cabal of government bureaucrats who were supposedly interfering with the Trump administration's agenda? President Donald Trump spent four weird years scapegoating these mythologically nameless mandarins for his inability to deliver on core campaign promises, such as exiting the war in Afghanistan. Because in those days, when Trump could plausibly claim to be a legitimate government authority, he loudly denounced those who stood in his way as anti-democratic.

Now the shoe is on the other foot. Trump is out of power. His political prospects are clouded by four criminal indictments. And so Trump's rhetorical attacks — mindlessly echoed by the partisans who stand beside him and the lawyers who cash his checks — have shifted.

Trump's new object of hatred is the surface state — the state itself. The attack on the surface state began, of course, on January 6, when a violent mob, assembled and encouraged by Trump, descended on the Capitol to overturn a presidential election. When they weren't able to achieve that objective, they attacked every part of the government that they could lay their hands on. They trashed the floor of Congress. They punched and clawed at uniformed police officers.

Today, Trump's attacks on the surface state are accelerating. He's going after prosecutors, judges, grand juries, and state officials — anyone who suggests that normal due process move forward to determine his criminal responsibility for any of the above. He's called Special Counsel Jack Smith a "thug" and a "terrorist," while referring to Smith's wife as a "Trump Hater." Trump has also posted attacks and false allegations about Fanni Wills, the Fulton County district attorney. Since these attacks, she has reported receiving racist threats by email and phone.

Let's set aside for a moment the strength of the evidence showing that Trump committed three sets of crimes — the January 6 plot, absconding with classified documents to Mar-a-Lago, and the arm-twisting phone call to Georgia. Even if we chose to overlook these past actions, Trump's behavior now goes far beyond that of a typical defendant who believes that he has been wrongly accused and is seizing every procedural advantage to try to clear his name. Instead, he's making a desperate bid to escape accountability by undermining the legitimacy of the very institutions seeking to hold him to account. When Trump posted on Truth Social "if you go after me, I'm coming after you," there should be no doubt what the 'you' refers to: the federal, state, and local governments of the United States.

(there's lots more)

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news...d31d93da7450cf&ei=33

The shocking Republican plan to dismantle the American government | Opinion
Story by Thom Hartmann • 4h

(NOTE - This is the most thorough article I've seen so far. It makes a very persuasive case. I'll post a few excerpts.)

As we learned from last week’s Republican debates, the leading candidates for the GOP nomination all appear to agree on a broad plan to gut American government and replace it with a strongman president and corporate rule.

The modern administrative state, sometimes called the “welfare state” by Republicans, was largely created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in response to the Republican Great Depression of the early 1930s. And every day since FDR was sworn into office on March 4, 1933, the GOP has worked feverishly to dismantle his legacy.

Outside of Russia, China, and Hungary, this isn’t true at all for the rest of the developed world.

Over the years, the GOP has used a series of plans to reach their goal of a billionaire- and-corporate-owned-and-run America with working people turned into serfs and children in factories instead of school.

----------------------------------------

In 1971, it was the Powell Memo, written by Virginia tobacco lawyer Lewis Powell and delivered to the US Chamber of Commerce. It called for a rightwing takeover of America’s schools and colleges; building out a corporate-friendly media infrastructure; packing the courts with pro-corporate, anti-labor conservatives; and the wholesale purchase of Republican politicians at both the state and federal level.

The following year Richard Nixon put Powell on the Supreme Court and over the next quarter-century he used that position to put many of his own suggestions into law. In addition to decisions gutting the powers of unions and deregulating industry, Powell’s major achievement was authoring the 1978 Boston v Bellotti decision that struck down hundreds of state and federal anti-corruption laws, explicitly allowing corporations and their senior officers to bribe politicians for the first time in American history.

No other developed country in the world tolerates this; outside of the United States, you only find it in developing countries that have been taken over by corrupt autocrats.

Two years later, when Ronald Reagan cut a traitorous deal with the Ayatollah to hold the American hostages in Iran long enough to destroy Jimmy Carter’s chances in the 1980 election, the Heritage Foundation stepped up with a plan to further gut the rights and powers of working-class people and elevate corporate and billionaire power.

They called it the Mandate for Leadership and, at the time, The Washington Post said it was “an action plan for turning the government toward the right as fast as possible.”

Reagan adopted over half of Heritage’s suggestions and in some cases went even farther, cutting enforcement of our ; ending the Fairness Doctrine; slashing the top income tax rate on the morbidly rich from 74 percent down to 27 percent; declaring all-out war on unions; gutting the EPA, Education, and Labor Departments; and selling off federal lands for pennies on the dollar to mining and drilling operations.

Now the partly-billionaire-funded Heritage Foundation has laid out a second-stage plan for the next Republican administration, whether it’s Trump or somebody else, whether it’s next year or in future presidential election cycles.

They call it Project 2025 . With it, they intend to finally and fully seize control of and transform America. With it, they will rule.

Ideologues on the right correctly see the Trump administration as having been a bumbling mess. Nobody expected him to win the election, not even Trump himself (he and Roger Stone had already registered the URLs and put together a “Stop the Steal” campaign claiming “election fraud” to distract and kneecap incoming President Hillary Clinton).

Nobody realized how effective Putin’s interventions — his 29 million Facebook ads and message posts targeting a million or so people in six swing states who’d been identified as persuadable by the GOP and passed along to Russian Intelligence via Paul Manafort — would be.

When Trump was declared the winner he didn’t even have a victory speech ready, was totally unprepared to govern, and it took the better part of three years for Trump and his corrupt clown car to get their act together. Most of the time he and his son-in-law were too busy making money out of their connection to the White House. They’ve corruptly taken home billions in the years since 2016.

(There's a lot more)

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news...5b9c3dcbc73efe&ei=23

GOP has become a 'de facto criminal organization': analyst
Story by Matthew Chapman • 1h

nder former President Donald Trump, the Republican Party has become a "de facto criminal organization" with him sitting on top as the crime boss, wrote analyst Chauncey DeVega for Salon.

Indeed, he argued, it's like the mob in virtually every way — even in terms of violence, with Trump using "threats of violence and intimidation to keep control and to punish his enemies" — with the only difference being that the oath they take is "administered in public."

This comes as the former president is facing four different indictments totally over 90 charges, including an election racketeering case in Georgia that includes 18 co-defendants like his own lawyers and state Republican operatives. But despite all of that, DeVega noted, six out of eight of his rivals at the Wisconsin primary debate said they would back him as the nominee even if he is convicted of a crime.

What further compounds on this, DeVega continued, is that Trump engaged in his effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election in broad daylight, and is "unapologetic in his criminality and proud of his evil behavior – and promises to get revenge on he and his fascist MAGA movement's 'enemies' when/if he takes back the White House in 2025." Traditional GOP think tanks are even helping his organize a plan to purge the civil service and replace the workforce of the federal government top to bottom with loyalists.

None of this is a problem for the Republican electorate; a recent poll by POLITICO Magazine/Ipsos shows 60 percent of Republicans think Trump didn't even commit crimes at all, and 85 percent believe he shouldn't face punishment even if he did.

The rest of the country, said DeVega, needs not just to defeat and imprison Trump, but to take serious steps to put down the movement propping him up once that happens.

"American neofascism and the type of criminogenic politics it encouraged and was born of did not take come into being over the course of less than a decade, such elements where present long before the Age of Trump," concluded DeVega. However, he said, it is vital once Trump has been removed from the picture that "pro-democracy forces" step up to move the country forward.