The Naked Truth/Jamala Rogers
Organizing Against an Imminent Stranglehold of Democracy
The Republican presidential candidate is no longer just the frontrunner; trump is now the only runner. Nikki Haley was his only competitor, and she was crushed at the Super Tuesday polls. Perhaps that’s why trump has been emboldened to be reckless in the increasing use of his violent rhetoric. Expect a ‘bloodbath’ if he’s not re-elected. Really?
The former president’s remarks have been trending and dissected since the March 16 rally in Dayton, Ohio when he bellowed the warning: "Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole — that’s gonna be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country."
While political observers claim the statement was out of context, that trump was referring to an economic disaster, the harmful speech did not stop there. During that same political rally, trump asserted that immigrants were “not people,” they were “animals.” There’s no room to clean up that racist rhetoric.
This man is dangerous for sure. He has boldly and loudly laid out his plan to turn this wanna-be democracy into an autocracy or worse, a dictatorship. However, the wave of supporters that trump and the extremist wing of the GOP have methodically and strategically amassed and indoctrinated over the last decade are far more dangerous. The MAGA-ites have totally infected the party politics. They reward those who hold the party line and punish those who don’t. Those who want to make America white again have waged a successful coup of the Republican Party. And won!
Conservatives are playing the long game that centers white supremacy, a pathological ideology that employs fear and hate as the prevailing unifier. Our righteous social movements are rooted in pluralism, equity and justice — the good stuff. But we are playing to weak tactics (not a strategy) and short-term gains. This has proven to be insufficient and ineffective.
Think about how different this country would be if the anti-war movement, the women’s movement, the environmental movement and the Black Power/Civil Rights movements of the 1960s and 1970’s had truly united around a vision for democracy and peace. The millions who participated would be continuously educated and politicized as to their obligation to the lofty goals of participatory democracy. We would have continued to deepen and expand this empowered base. They would not have to operate on directives from a single leader. They would not be reactive to every issue and injustice thrown at us. They’d all be clear on what must be done, how it must be done and why it must be done.
The trump loyalists must be confronted and challenged, not only by protest but by a highly organized, consolidated force of conscious people who are committed to a People’s Agenda and willing to fight for their beliefs.
MAGA, its loud allies and its silent supporters, have truly embraced a perverted interpretation of majority rule. We witness their influence at all levels of government and in civic spaces. We watched them run moderates out of the Republican Party until only extremists remain..
These extremists are not trying to figure out semantics or context around their exalted leader’s words. They’ve already received their orders and are planning accordingly for the November election outcome..
The tensions around the 2024 elections are real. The meek will not inherit this nation built on violence. We who believe in freedom must hit the reset button. Ours is the task of systematically consolidating people-power for the long haul and re-building a democratic society that can withstand the threat of fascism.
