I expect every barrier to Trump/Putin's worst behavior to fold - they are filled with cowards

[ProfessorPlum]

The Congress will not oppose him. The GOP is incredibly easy to control and cowardly in the face of authoritarianism.

The Supreme Court will not oppose him. If they push back against him, he will just ignore them and do what he wants anyway - which will expose them as the toothless institution they are. And Roberts won't allow that.

The military won't oppose him. They have made their plans to purge the military of everyone but loyalists clear.

The intelligence services won't oppose him. They will also be purged.

The media certainly will not oppose him. They are owned by a small number of rich oligarchs. And note Brave Joe and Meeka bowing their heads pre-emptively.

The people may oppose him. But they will be met with military violence in the streets, as well as black bagging/disappearing, torture, and imprisonment.


Does anyone see any bravery/strength in any of our institutions that could provide any kind of effective push back on this regime?

[chicoescuela]

1. of course, is there any doubt at all? nope, none

[Irish_Dem]

14. I was just going to post the same words. You beat me to it.

[chicoescuela]

20. Ha, even a blind squirrel finds an acorn

[Irish_Dem]

22. You certainly are not blind.

You see reality quite clearly and accurately.
Unlike others right now.

[chicoescuela]

24. don't ask my wife

[Irish_Dem]

25. Well this is an entirely different topic.

Even males with clarity of vision often veer off into mansplaining territory and male hubris.

[edhopper]

2. No, I don't

I also don't see the people opposing other than useless protests marches the Media won't cover.

[dalton99a]

3. Corporate bosses will fire employees who speak out against the regime

Shut up and work

[Dennis Donovan]

4. The GOP is controlled by Putin thru bribery and kompromat.

It has been for as long as Trump steamrolled his 2016 competition and became leader of the party. Trump is Putin's man because Putin has kompromat on him and has bribed him over the last 20 years.

[Irish_Dem]

15. Yes most of the GOP leadership has been compromised as well.

And work for Putin.

Putin has installed his puppets across Europe and throughout the US government.

Putin is winning the war he is waging against Europe and the US.

[OLDMDDEM]

5. How about Democratic governors?

[ProfessorPlum]

6. yeah, that's been a bit of a ray of weak hope

lately. We'll see. The model will be how Putin and his oligarchs deal with ornery local leaders in Russia.

[OLDMDDEM]

8. I saw that Gavin Newsom is taking this into his own hands to combat whatever the administration throws at his

state. I hope there are others that do the same. Our governor here in Maryland I believe would do the same. Our legislature is dominated by Dems, thank goodness.

[Irish_Dem]

17. Critics falling out of windows.

[OLDMDDEM]

19. Hopefully it doesn't come to that. Save that for Russia.

[Irish_Dem]

21. Trump destroys his enemies in other ways.

Uses US laws and court action to bankrupt his enemies.
Uses death threats and harassment of a person and their family.

Now Trump can use the entire US government to destroy someone.
Trump likes to do long term torture, humiliation, poverty threats to torment his enemies.

[OLDMDDEM]

23. Very true. Thanks for posting.

[Irish_Dem]

16. We don't know yet if anyone will fight back.

Or how they will do it.

So far everyone is folding like a lawn chair.

[Fiendish Thingy]

7. I'm not sure how crushing consumers in a consumer based economy works out well for the crushers

I mean, aside from the thrill of flexing your power while crushing both your opponents and your supporters, but after that fades, and you’re left with a decimated economy, what’s the motivation?

Are they going to “black bag” Jamie Dimon and the rest of the financier-investor class? Because those are the folks who are going to holler the loudest if Trump starts fucking with their trillions. The Wall St. guys can afford lawyers and, if needed, paid assassins (Musk May have enough personal security, but Vivek, Bobby, Matty G and others might want to stay away from high rise windows).
The financiers need the “little people” to buy their widgets and put their money into 401k’s, and they aren’t going to sit passively and nod and say “yes Mr. President” while their profits evaporate.

[ProfessorPlum]

9. Read up on what happened in Chile, Poland, Russia post-USSR, Argentina, etc.

the economic elite are rewarded to the extent that they play ball. They are crushed if they do not.

[Fiendish Thingy]

10. Unless Trump is going to order the assassination of Jamie Dimon and other CEO's

He won’t succeed.

Trump can’t match the rewards of the trillions at play in the markets, he can only try to threaten and intimidate the power players in the financial sector. Unlike the Reagan era, where everybody was palsy-walsy, Trump threatens the stability of the financial status quo, and they won’t stand for it.

Unless he’s going to start throwing hedge fund managers out of airplanes (which wouldn’t stay secret for long), he will fail.

The US isnt Chile, Poland or any other country- trying to compare them is apples to oranges.

[ProfessorPlum]

11. What makes you think Jamie Dimon would for one minute fight for democracy

over his own pocketbook/survival?

You are a bit naive. Up until this election, when the benighted public handed power to Putin without also blocking him in the Senate and House, I would have said we had some protection against The Shock Doctrine too.

But unfortunately, we've slit our own throats.

[ProfessorPlum]

12. "Unless he's going to start throwing hedge fund managers out of airplanes"

it would probably only take one for the rest of them to get in line.

[IA8IT]

13. IA Sen Joni Ernst rolling on floor peeing all over herself like a little pubican puppy.

https://www.kmaland.com/news/ernst-lauds-trump-cabinet-nominees/article_caaad8e0-a75b-11ef-a30a-832cad074bcf.html

Ernst says she's also pleased that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have been named as co-chairs of the Department of Government Efficiency, with plans to slash trillions of dollars in federal government spending.

"I've already spoken to Vivek," she said, "and he is so excited about taking the work I've done over the past decade with my 'squeal team,' and he's ready to make our federal government squeal, and really get back to serving Americans. This is really the important part of what we're going to see with our next administration."

Trump's nominee for U.S. Attorney General, former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, faces sexual misconduct allegations. Ernst expresses confidence that fellow Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley will conduct a full vetting of Gaetz and other nominees as new chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee

"Whether that report is released or not," said Ernst, "we know that we're going to get all of the information. There will be a very thorough vetting of all of our candidates, as they are coming through the halls of the Senate. We will get to sit down with each one of those members, and visit with them face-to-face. They will have to answer a number of very tough questions.

------------------------------------------------
First woman combat vet in senate welcomes the oligarchs

[Irish_Dem]

18. Putin funds them and installs them into high office.

So they work for Putin.

[JohnSJ]

26. Agreed, and anyone who thinks republicans will prevent some of his most unqualified

nominees is only fooling themselves. It isn’t going to happen.

[RockRaven]

27. I would say you could have been harsher with your media prediction.

Beyond not opposing him, they will actively aid him. They will propagate the messages he wants spread, they will misinform the public about his actions, they will mis-attribute the causes of the negative experiences of the public in ways which protect him and his and blame the powerless.

[Dan]

28. Well there is hope

That somewhere there is that person of iron will that will stand up for the Constitution. Someone like Sen. Jackson (?) when he stood up to McCarthy in the 1950s’. We know that the GOP congress people have less balls than Nancy Pelosi.

We know the shit-shits in the GOP will not stand for the Constitution.

I would not discount the Military - their charter is to protect against all enemies foreign and domestic, and defend the Constitution. So far, and to the best of my knowledge they have not taken a loyalty oath to Orange.

There are some that would say that the Military might be doing a Threat-Assessment right now. They are always war-gaming.