There are two possible outcomes to what’s going on between lazy dingus Trump and would-be American autocrat DeSantis.
Trump Politically Cockblocks DeSantis In this scenario, there is a huge battle royale between the two men for the soul of the Republican Party and, ultimately, Trump wins. In the end, DeSantis has to settle for being Trump’s 2024 veep and that’s that. We all wait until fat tub of lard Trump shuffles off this mortal coil and DeSantis becomes our first autocrat that way.
The Bull Moose Endgame In this scenario, Trump gets fed up with the struggle of trying to get the nomination and he takes his marbles to the Patriot Party. Then we have the very real possibility that the Republican vote is split and we manage to punt our existential problems down the road at least one more presidential cycle.
But remember, there is the Independent Legislature doctrine to be decided by SCOTUS, which might lead to the end of American democracy no matter how fucked up Republican politics might become otherwise. Or, to put it another way — macro trends as such that the United States is fucked, fucked, fucked. Something truly amazing would have to happen between now and Election Day 2024 for me not to feel pretty confident that all my hysterical, doom-and-gloom predictions for late 2024, early 2025 are spot on.
And, yet, I’m always wrong, so only time will tell.
If Trump will just get out of his way, Ron DeSantis will become president and, as such, become America’s first true autocrat. It will be, as they say, all over but the shouting for American democracy. But for Trump being a narcissistic ding-dong who doesn’t realize he’s served his political and historical purpose, DeSantis being our autocrat in waiting would now be an immutable fact of psychohistory.
Ron DeSantis
But.
There is the issue of Trump. The man has proven that not only is he lazy and stupid, but he always, always does the wrong thing. So, there’s every reason to believe that Trump either politically cockblock DeSantis or he will leave the Republican Party for the Patriot Party.
If the former happens, then the other two choices we face — civil war or military junta — continue to be very real possibilities. And if Trump bounces to the Patriot Party because he loses to DeSantis, he will split the Republican vote and we punt our existential problems down the road another presidential cycle.
Now, let me be clear — I want to be wrong. If somehow Republicans stop being fascists and we pull ourselves out this death spiral we’re in at the moment, great. But at the moment, the only way that happens is space aliens land on the White House front lawn.
Anyway, the point is — things are not quite sorted out yet. But should DeSantis end Trump politically, the United States is going to slip peacefully into autocracy.
To be “Red Pilled” is the idea that one “wakes up” to the nefarious plot on the part of the “woke cancel culture mob” of POC, the LGBTQ+ community and wymxn to terrorize the hard working white CIS Christian community into “grooming” their children into being transgender.
Or some sort of similar bullshit.
And, really, if you really think about it, what DeSantis wants to is frame any political debate going forward in such a way that he can “Red Pill” the entire United States in 2024…and become America’s first Very American Autocrat. He knows that the abstract fear of being “canceled” plays very, very well with the that passionate, organized people who want a white Christian ethnostate.
Ranting about killing off “wokeness” is a dog whistle for autocratic fascism. It gives DeSantis — who wants to be America’s first autocrat — a way to talk about that without saying it outright.
I’m not saying there aren’t “woke” excesses. There are plenty. And I’ve really gotten upset when woke Twitter users come at me from the Left. They’re the worst. And, what’s more, I’m not perfect and there’s ever reason to believe that if I manage to sell this six novel project I’m working on that I’m going to be promptly canceled for this or that transgression I’ve committed over the years.
But I just don’t want to live in a white Christian ethnostate. And, yet, that definitely seems where we’re headed. Though, there is a curious quirk to the to what happened election night– DeSantis is now the Republican standard bearer…but Trump is such a fucking fighter that it’s highly unlikely that he won’t go after DeSantis rather than let him cruz to the nomination and by extension the presidency.
It would be one of the greatest shocks of my adult life if Trump did what was right for the Republican Party and stepped aside so DeSantis could be the historical figure to transition the United States into autocracy. If it’s DeSantis, not Trump, who is the 2024 Republican nominee then we become an autocracy, rather than have a civil war or a military junta.
DeSantis will be America’s Putin and that will be that. Some 20 years from now we’ll wake up to the news that President DeSantis has invaded a big chunk of Canada for some reason and we’ll all be expected to toe the party line on why this is a good idea.
Anyway. The next few days will be interesting. I think once the shock wears off, Trump is going to go back to exactly what he was going to do before last night’s results — run for president. The only question now is, of course — does Trump run as a Republican or as the leader of the Patriot Party?
As I’ve written before, my Traditionalist relatives look at me with concern whenever Ron DeSantis comes up in our now-rare political conversations and say, “Why do you hate Ron DeSantis?”
Let me be clear — I do not hate Ron DeSantis. I hate the MAGA Republican movement with a white hot rage equal to the center of the sun that is so powerful that it’s generating a six novel project on my part. But I don’t hate Ron DeSantis.
The reason why this is relevant is when it comes to shipping hapless undocumented immigrants to strategic sites in Blue states, DeSantis has struck political gold. It’s a very “cruelty is the point” Trump-ish thing to do and, as such plays exceedingly well with the MAGA Republican base. And, if something should happen politically to Trump, then DeSantis will cruse into the presidency and be our first autocrat.
This cruel ploy by DeSantis works so well with the base because it’s simple and plays well with their preconceived notions of evil “groomer” liberals. It’s a perfect plan for DeSantis because we wins, just by doing it. There is NO reaction on the part of Blues that he can’t credit as a win. And, if need be, MAGA will simply lie or spin whatever reaction there is so it fits their media narrative.
It’s times like these when I am reminded at how alarmed we should all be about the future of the United States. As I keep saying, we face the choices of autocracy, civil war or military junta between now and, say, spring 2025. If you have the means, I would suggest you prepare to leave the country and never look back.
Let me be clear — any Republican who becomes POTUS in 2025 will be our first autocrat. There are a at least a dozen would-be MAGA Republican autocrats waiting for Trump to just get the fuck out of the way. He’s served his political and historical purpose, so if he would just retire our inevitable decline into autocracy could happen unabated.
The person who is very, very, very popular with my Traditionalist is Ron DeSantis. And, really, he fits the bill of the person who would be America’s first autocrat. He will become president and we’ll all wake up in 20 years and wonder why he’s still POTUS. Trump has shown DeSantis — and other leading Republicans — how weak the center-Left is and how easy it will be to establish an autocracy based on minority rule. They just need the opportunity and the rest will take care of itself.
By definition, DeSantis as POTUS means the end of 240-odd years of American democracy. It probably won’t happen immediately, but it will happen. And as it does, millions of wealthy liberals will leave the country. This scenario, at least in my mind, is a forgone conclusion. The only thing stopping it from happening is it hasn’t happened yet.
And, yet, there is Donald Trump.
Ron DeSantis
Trump simply will not get out of the way. He’s so lazy and stupid that baring something I can’t predict, even if he wins the 2024 election outright he could still start a civil war just by being himself. Trump is a massive quirk in American political history. Anyone else in his position — ANYONE — would have never have lost the 2020 election and he or she would not be slowly strangling American democracy in their second term.
Maybe something will happen that will force Trump to get out of the way. If that happens, then America will be full of Good Germans who are thankful that the “woke cancel culture mob” has finally be vanquished and America will, at last be “great” again. Whatever the fuck that means.
It will only be when the policies of our new autocratic government become personal that any of America’s Good Germans will feel a red line has been crossed. Of course, by that point it will be too late for people like me who will probably be in an ICE camp somewhere. Wish me luck.
Ok, I’m a notable idiot. I screw up a lot. I get things wrong because I’m too lazy to look them up. In short, I often live up to my reputation as a “failed reporter.” And, yet, when I listened to the above podcast where the interlocutors got REALLY EXCITED about how, essentially, it was a big screw up to raid Mar-a-Lago….I was taken aback. Something felt off.
Some of it was how the implication of the conversation was that Trump was “back in the game” and there was absolutely no downside to any of this. It definitely felt to me as if the two people talking thought it was settled — Trump was pretty much the president again already.
Then the events of today happened and I found myself thinking about the podcast conversation above. While I’m sure — sure — that Trump can figure out some way to elude justice yet again, I suspect Ron DeSantis feels a little bit better about his chances of being the 2024 Republican nominee now that there is evidence that Trump stole America’s most classified secrets — having to do with nuclear technology!
Anyway. I found the podcast above annoying and presumptuous, to say the least.
As of this writing, Trump has announced on Truth Social that he is going to “encourage” the release of some of the legal documents associated with the FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago.
Ok, at the moment, things look kind of dark for that fucking malignant dingus. But, to date, Trump has always, always, ALWAYS escaped justice. So, how does he do it this time?
Announce One idea is, if Trump realizes he’s done a Big Boy Crime and he’s in Serious trouble, that he can always simply tell the Republican Establishment to fuck off and announce for 2024, like, NOW. This would blow out the newscycle for 24 hours and, lulz, by the time we get our bearings again Trump will say no matter what he has absolute immunity because he’s running for POTUS.
Fuck You, Lib In this scenario, he simply shrugs the whole thing off. He knows his base and, in the end, he has Hitler-levels of fidelity from MAGA and all that happens is the two sides difference of opinion about Trump grows more and more sharp and severe. And, in the end, if he gets indicted, he just uses it to fundraise off of and to cry about how he’s being “canceled” by the “woke cancel culture mob” that wants to turn everyone gay. Ugh.
Something Else Happens Never count Trump out. This is August, after all, and there’s a good chance that something huge could happen that diverts our attention from Trump and his stealing (and selling?) of secrets long enough that he escapes, AGAIN. This is not really a strategy on his part, but it is something that could very well happen at any moment.
Go Transactional This is probably the darkest of the possible scenarios. Trump, in a panic, freaks out and tells his followers to get violent. The only reason why I say this is even a possibility is — what if this is like the Access Hollywood Tape situation where he didn’t really take it seriously at first…until he did? It could be the same thing. It could be that he’s going to lulz this…and then when he realizes that it’s actually gaining some traction, he freaks out and sicks his “shock troops” on the government. And then, at last, all the people who come to this site looking for information about a Second American Civil War will get their wish.
He Doesn’t Escape This is the least likely of situations. It’s so unlikely, that I don’t even know what it would look like. Though, I suppose, it might look a lot like what never happened while he was in office — The Pence Pivot. In this case, it would be the DeSantis Pivot or something. After a brief freak out — in silence — on the part of the Republicans, they would pivot to Ron DeSantis as the standard bearer and they would act like Trump is a lulz from the distance past.
Frankenstein’s Monster In this scenario, the absolute worst happens — at least for Republicans. He both becomes extremely radoactive (no pun intended) and, yet, refuses to go away. In fact, the fact that he’s indicted will only make him more angry and, in his own way, stronger. The base will forgive him for being a fucking traitor and if you throw in how we’re an anocracy not a democracy — he fucks with things to the point that he wins in 2024. His veep will be Gen. Mike Flynn and we all sit around waiting for the Russians to Red Dawn us.
I like to say that if every election your nation have is existential, then maybe you’re not really a democracy anymore. Well, there are so many would-be autocrats running around within Republican ranks at the moment who would throttle American democracy once elected that it’s hard to manage them all.
Ron DeSantis
But the one that my Traditionalist relatives love, love, love, love is Ron DeSantis, to the point that they tell me in a very snarky, asshole way that they want to “vote for him three times” when the time comes.
The reason DeSantis (and to some extent Tucker Carlson) is so dangerous is he is far smoother than Trump. He’s an opportunist. Trump was a stress test on our democratic institutions and they failed. A lot. So all DeSantis has to do is just get elected and the rest takes care of itself. The Republican Party is fascist and they will be more than happy to pass enabling acts that will allow DeSantis to purge the government of the “deep state.” They will look the other way when he threatens the broadcast licenses of major media companies and, a such, neuters them.
At the moment, follow is pretty much a foregone conclusion. DeSantis becomes president, becomes our first autocrat changes the Constitution via a Constitutional Convention and weaponizes ICE along the way. That’s it. That’s America’s future.
In fact, I would go so far as to say the only reason why I have any doubt that this is, in fact, our future is I can’t predict the future and it hasn’t happened yet. Otherwise, it’s just reality that is in the future.
So, what could go wrong?
The most obvious obstacle with Generation DeSantis becoming a reality is Trump. If Trump refuses to step aside and DeSantis manages to draw first blood, then all the other would-be autocrats lurking around would jump on Trump, too.
Then the best DeSantis can hope for is to be Trump’s veep. He would still be very well positioned to be our first true autocrat. BUT, we have to remember that Trump is so stupid and lazy that he could, single-handedly start a civil war at some point in late 2024 – early 2025.
So, on one hand, we have an autocratic DeSantis future and on the other we have civil war.
For me, the key thing about Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is he’s a political opportunist. If this was 25 years ago, he would probably be just your standard issue ambitious Republican governor. He would be very much like George W. Bush.
But this is not 25 years ago. As such, DeSantis, along with the rest of the Republican Party, has shifted into full blown fascist autocracy. By definition, to be a Republican in good standing these days is to be a fascist. And you know they are by how touchy they get whenever you mention this. They say people like me have been calling Republicans fascists since 1964 and fuck you lib.
Yet, it’s self-evident that Republicans ARE fascists. Their talking points, taking as a whole, are those of autocratic fascists who want white minority rule. To my Traditionalist relatives — who I love dearly — the very idea of “autocracy” is such an abstract to them that they dismiss it as our future. And now they don’t even believe the United States is a democracy in the first place, so they are all-in to being Good Germans once white minority rule is finally established.
And once we became an autocracy, it’s doubtful it would register that we weren’t democracy anymore — but for me. I’m just not going to shut up and as our freedoms slowly begin to circle the drain there is going to come a point because form follows function when a loudmouth crank like me is going to cross the autocrat.
Then things become personal and suddenly they get upset that they can’t find me because I was picked up at a bar for ranting about how much President DeSantis can suck my dick. I’m not saying this will happen immediately after 2025, but once we’re no longer a democracy the general insecurity of our new autocratic ruler will gradually lead to a Constitutional Convention and me in an ICE Camp.
Of course, the other option is a civil war. That would be fun.
My first indication that something was off in American politics was when my Traditionalist relative pined me down one Thanksgiving during the second Obama Administration and was enraged. He went on at great length about how much he hated everything about the Obama Era. It was almost as if he felt a personal affront from the social changes that were happening in the United States at the time.
Since then, things have only gotten worse. My Traditionalist relatives no longer even believe that the United States is a democracy in the first place. And they give me some obviously well-thought out Republican echo chamber talking points about why this is the case. They are so blinded by the fascist ideology of the modern day Republican Party that they simply do not care what the ultimate consequences of establishing an autocratic white minority ethno state might be for the nation as a whole.
Of course, they don’t articulate it that way. They don’t come out and say that they want white autocratic minority rule. But that is, in effect, what we would get if they got what they wanted. And, given that I’m a loudmouth — often drunk — crank, the idea of us transitioning from the anocracy that we are now into a full fledged autocracy gives me serious cause for concern.
My Traditionalist relatives see everything in the abstract. They want abortion to be totally outlawed in all 50 states, because that’s just want they’ve always wanted and they honestly don’t care about what that would mean for millions of women. They believe “every life is precious” unless, of course, you’re an old person who might die from COVID, then you’re shit out of luck.
But, let’s go back to what may be warping American politics. What, specific thing, is making white conservatives men specifically flip the fuck out to the point that they want an obvious autocrat like Ron DeSantis to be president so bad that they would “vote for him three times” if they could.
I don’t think there is any one thing. I think it’s a combination of macro forces that are all coming to a head at the same time — around late 2024 – early 2025. Some of it how dramatic the shift in social expectations that took place in the second Obama Administration. Some of it is technology, social media and podcast have done a lot to radicalize the Republican base. And there is the old standby of Fox News, but I take that as a given — it’s a success because people are willful in their refusal to accept any fact that doesn’t fit their already formed partisan worldview.
The warping of the American political system — specifically conservative thought — is thus intractable and impossible in any practical way to fix. We are well beyond the event horizon for a massive clusterfuck in 2024 – 2025. And, at the moment, I think we’re just going to shrug and become an autocracy. Though, if Trump is the 2024 Republican nominee the possibility of civil war increases dramatically.
Having said all that, there is a key exception to all the fascist bullshit that my Traditionalist relatives believe in — the personal. And it’s the personal — specifically me refusing to shut the fuck up — that is going to cause a huge amount of problems down the road regardless if we have a civil war or turn into an autocracy.
Once we’re no longer a democracy and President DeSantis begins to strangle the last vestiges of traditional American life — including freedom of speech — that is when I will have the moral high ground. They’re going to come to me in secret and demand I change my loudmouth crank ways “for the sake of the family” and I’m just going to tell them no — they had their chance to make common cause against tyranny and they gave it up because they were afraid the woke cancel culture mob was going to cancel them personally and ruined their lives.
It’s not exactly a situation that’s going to make me feel good, even though I was proven to be right, but it’s bound to happen. But we work with what we’re given, not what we need.
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