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Democracy dies in darkness, and we are in the twilight.
https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/10/democracy-dies-in-darkness-and-were-in.htmlWe, the people of the United States of America, have just over a week to save our Democracy. That's what this election is about, it's never been more clear than that, and we have lost much of our free press in a way that is crippling our ability to use our votes to save our country.
When the Washington Post ownership censors its editorial department, and stops a political endorsement, that's a sign that we are very much in the twilight, and the sun is about to go down on our freedoms. The newspaper of our nation's capital has a motto, "Democracy dies in darkness." The Post, owned by a billionaire, has been censored by him, and is no longer able to live up to its motto. And that's the biggest sign, among others, that we have lost our free press. It happened to the Los Angeles Times as well, but the Post, among what were once the big American daily newspapers that were the primary source of information, especially on politics, is the biggest symbol of America's free press.
Any American with even the smallest understanding of constitutional democracy and the individual liberties it guarantees should be in mourning. And, we should also be afraid.
When the Washington Post ownership censors its editorial department, and stops a political endorsement, that's a sign that we are very much in the twilight, and the sun is about to go down on our freedoms. The newspaper of our nation's capital has a motto, "Democracy dies in darkness." The Post, owned by a billionaire, has been censored by him, and is no longer able to live up to its motto. And that's the biggest sign, among others, that we have lost our free press. It happened to the Los Angeles Times as well, but the Post, among what were once the big American daily newspapers that were the primary source of information, especially on politics, is the biggest symbol of America's free press.
Any American with even the smallest understanding of constitutional democracy and the individual liberties it guarantees should be in mourning. And, we should also be afraid.
The undermining of democracy is never as obvious when it is actually happening as it is in hindsight. We can look back at history now, and say, "Oh, they should have seen this coming." And in fact, there are signs that are visible, and there are many people who are issuing warnings and pointing to examples of the erosion of our freedom with evidence of its effect. But its only after the effect becomes obvious, and we're looking back, that we see what we should have done, and didn't do, and we wound up paying the price for it..
People like Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich, for example, were very open in their discussion of how far right wing conservatives could amplify their political power when they weren't able to win elections consistently at the statewide level, or at the national level, after their apparent invincibility evaporated in the defeat of George H. W. Bush's bid for a second term. They aimed at winning at the state legislative level, by putting resources into those state legislative elections, and then, once they had majorities, in using their power to gerrymander congressional districts to gain congressional majorities, and then, when they did have the power in those states, to appoint judges to the bench that would not call their efforts "gerrymandering" or take legal action.
They told us they were going to do this. Limbaugh talked about it regularly. Democrats were warned, but even after it started, it seemed like this caught the party leadership unaware. The winner-take-all attitude exhibited by these extremists, as opposed to the old line "negotiate and compromise" politics that Democrats still followed, cost us dearly, and we are still paying for it in lost congressional seats and in states where hard line conservatives have a lock on the state legislature.
People like Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich, for example, were very open in their discussion of how far right wing conservatives could amplify their political power when they weren't able to win elections consistently at the statewide level, or at the national level, after their apparent invincibility evaporated in the defeat of George H. W. Bush's bid for a second term. They aimed at winning at the state legislative level, by putting resources into those state legislative elections, and then, once they had majorities, in using their power to gerrymander congressional districts to gain congressional majorities, and then, when they did have the power in those states, to appoint judges to the bench that would not call their efforts "gerrymandering" or take legal action.
They told us they were going to do this. Limbaugh talked about it regularly. Democrats were warned, but even after it started, it seemed like this caught the party leadership unaware. The winner-take-all attitude exhibited by these extremists, as opposed to the old line "negotiate and compromise" politics that Democrats still followed, cost us dearly, and we are still paying for it in lost congressional seats and in states where hard line conservatives have a lock on the state legislature.