Tyrant Trump plans to rule America under a hybrid of autocracy and military dictatorship. Receptive Red States will be governed under autocracy, while Blue portions of the country will get the full force of the military rod.
But there are a lot of problems with all of this, no matter how much Trump’s toadies may think they have everything figured out.
The key thing is, none of this is going to happen in a political vacuum. Trump can invoke the Insurrection Act all he wants to, but, in the end, the U.S. Military is not the Nazi SA and isn’t going to act as such. At its heart, the U.S. Military is made up of men and women who believe in democracy.
As such, there’s every reason to believe that if push comes to shove that not even the U.S. Military will be spared a cleaving between MAGA and Blues. It could be that Trump is such a malignant dumbass that he manages to destroy every single nation-wide institution in the United States, even the U.S. Military. That’s pretty deep, but also looking very possible.
I don’t know what to tell you, folks. American democracy either transitions into a hybrid of autocracy and direct military dictatorship….or Biden wins? Or something else happens I can’t predict? Maybe 2024 will be like 2020 and we manage to punt our problems down the road another four years.
At the moment, however, we’re in a “Not great, Bob,” situation.
I remember what it was like in 2015-2016. There was real excitement and momentum when it came to MAGA. And, sadly, I feel that same way now. There is real excitement, momentum on the part of MAGA. There is a lot of energy on the side of people who want…fascism, autocracy.
So, lulz?
It definitely seems as though This Is It. The End. We’re fucked. Now, there is a lot of Known Unknowns. There are plenty of things that could give us an off ramp and allow us to punt our structural problems down the road another four years.
But at the same time, it definitely seems we’re careening towards a hybrid autocracy – military dictatorship demanding on where you live in the United States. I think we have to accept that we need to recalibrate our expectations for life in the United States post-Trump swearing in.
We. Are. So. Fucked.
A lot of angry white angry people want a white Christian ethnostate. They are willing to give up their American birthright of living in a free country simply because they hate brown people, trans people and women with economic agency more.
The future fucking sucks. There are no easy answers. There is no endgame. We just have to figure out how to survive.
This is very, very silly, but it’s a fun twist on a very, very serious issue — what the fuck are we going to do about Tyrant Trump? I’ve gotten it into my head that rather than calling people who oppose Trump “Blues” or “NeverTrumpers” you could use the rubric “Blue Meanies.”
I like this because even though the Blue Meanies are ultimately defeated by the The Beatles in the movie, they’re pretty cool and they get shit done. They instill fear in their opponents, too. I like using this term because there is an whole iconography you could tap into.
So, technically, you could wear, say, a Blue Meanie lapel pin and no one would — at least initially — would know the political significance. But I think that while this is a cool idea, it’s just too silly for anyone to be willing to embrace it. It is fun to think about, however.
I like the idea of otherwise serious people thinking of themselves as “Blue Meanies” hell bent not on destroying Pepperland, but, rather saving America’s birthright of democracy. They’re only “mean” because they’re pissed off at Tyrant Trump and his ilk and they want things to go back to normal.
Anyway. Barring some indication that anyone cares about this idea, I’m going to try — TRY — to not mention it again because I’m afraid I’m making a fool out of myself.
It’s telling how different the two sides see the prospect of a Trump second term. The Right thinks the Left is completely nuts for worrying about it at all. And, yet, it definitely SEEMS from all available evidence that we should be extremely worried about a second Trump term.
The key issue being, Trump seems to think the Insurrection Act is magic fascist pixie dust that he can use from day one to impose his will on Blues who don’t want to live in a white Christian ethnostate. The key thin is, if you live in the rural part of a Red States, life is unlikely to change all that much for you in a Trump second term.
But for anyone living in either a Blue State, a Blue City in a Red State or the Blue part of a Purple State — holy shit, should you be worried. I think this because it seems as though Trump wants to rule those parts of the country as not just an autocratic thug, but as an actual military dictator.
Him doing that would be a very unstable, volatile situation with no ready endgame. We could see a MAGA counter revolution, then a coup then a National Divorce then a civil war / revolution. Or not. Maybe the Right has it all figured out and I’m bonkers to worry so much.
Only time will tell. No one can predict the future — especially me.
I know the Blue Meanies are the bad guys in the movie who are defeated by The Beatles. I just find the idea of Blues turning into Blue Meanies for a little while in 2025 because of Tyrant Trump amusing.
Maybe Blues need to become Blue Meanies to save America. (Wink)
Potential Scenarios for late 2024, early 2025:
Trump Loses — gives up It’s a real possibility that all the wet dreams of earnest, well meaning liberals like Mueller, She Wrote will come true and lulz, not only does Trump lose, but he just gives up. The “Good Guys” win and that’s it. We punt our structural problems down the road another four years.
Trump Loses — demands a National Divorce In this scenario, Trump loses, but instead of just slinking away, he frantically demands a National Divorce. A lot — A LOT — would depend on, say, Texas in this scenario. There is a greater-than-zero chance that Texas could very well call up a Secessionist Convention if Trump demanded a National Divorce. This would, in turn, cause a civil war.
Too Close to call (1876 / 2000 endgame) If this happens, then, holy shit are we in trouble. The country would collapse into civil war and revolution. If we just didn’t know who the next president was going to be…whoa buddy. Chaos. Violence. Collapse. Fourth Turning.
Biden Loses — It’s a Lulz If Biden loses and 1 million smug Twitter liberals leave the country ASAP, then, lulz, we turn into an autocracy and that’s that. We wake up in a few years and President-for-Life Trump is invading Canada for some dumb reason.
Biden Loses — Glorious Revolution In this scenario, Trump wins but goes full Tyrant in such a way that Blues stand their ground and organize things like a General Strike and or a Women’s Strike. The U.S. Military, rather than being Trump’s SA goons, stands down and maybe uses the guise of the 14th Amendment to overthrow Trump and we have President James Mattis for a few months until a Constitutional Convention can be called up.
The 1872 Election Endgame Look it up. It’s bad.
I’m not advocating anything! I just like to run scenarios. It’s a way to make my abstract fears concrete and, as such manageable. As such, let’s imagine Trump goes “full Tyrant” as soon as he’s sworn in on January 20th. We already know he wants to invoke the Insurrection Act on day one.
Now, remember, Tyrant Trump is going to be a military dictator in regards to Blue States and just a regular olde autocrat when it comes to Red States. As such, it seems this will be a very, very volatile situation because Red States will be treated a lot differently than Blue or rebellious parts of Purple States.
And the key thing to remember is we would have no idea if any attempt to depose Tyrant Trump would…actually work. It could be that any attempt to bring him down would only make him stronger. That’s what happen in Turkey a few years ago when there was a coup attempt against their autocrat. He’s still there, more powerful than ever.
We may all be Antifa in 2025, if Tyrant Trump goes full tyrant.
But here are a few ways I could imagine we might force Tyrant Trump out of office
General Strike / Women’s Strike Things would have to be REALLY BAD for anything like this to work. It’s just not in American political DNA for average Americans to strike en masse nationally for a specific purpose. It’s much more of a European thing. But Trump goes full tyrant (at least in Blue and parts of Purple States) I could see Radical Moderates popping up to the point that a General or Women’s Strike might actually be practical. Even if it was just the major Blue States, if there was a General or Women’s strike, that would really cripple the national economy to the point that you MIGHT get the U.S. Military to either stand down or even go so far as to topple Trump altogether.
Overreach On His Part There is a chance that Trump goes nuts against Blue States. He goes sucked into throwing more and more troops at Blue States to the point that there is a general uprising against him there because he will be a military dictator there. This could cause the Blue parts of Purple and Red States to rebel as well. There would be growing pressure on the U.S. Military to just stand down or to even to topple Tyrant Trump altogether. Maybe. It’s at least possible. I can hear Tom Nichols telling me I’m full of shit as I write this.
Use the 14th Amendment to Force Him Out (With Help From U.S. Military) There is a lingering unresolved issue surrounding Trump’s eligibility to be president because of the insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment. Now, remember, during Reconstruction the Constitution’s demand that states of a “republican form of government” gave Radical Republicans what they needed to prevent defeated slave states from returning to the Union. So, I could see out of sheer desperation — and some legal cover — that a very, very distressed U.S. Military might say, “Well, the 14th Amendment says Trump isn’t even POTUS.” That would at least potentially get red of Trump and his Veep. I would be cool with that, even if it meant we were stuck with President Johnson. (Again, I’m not advocating anything, just saying this as a general sentiment.)
A Specific Demand For a Constitutional Convention Any attempt to overthrow Tyrant Trump would have to be done in the context of specific demands for structural political reform. For me, that would mean deposing Trump and MAYBE a military junta that would rule specifically long enough for a Constitutional Convention to be held. So, we might have President Mattis for a few months while all of that was going on.
A Social Media App Designed To Organize National Direct Action One thing that might help bring down Tyrant Trump would be a social media app designed specifically with organizing direct action like strikes built into it. That’s just a daydream.
All of this is just a daydream at this point. I absolutely fucking hate violence of any sort. I would rather just leave the country that have to worry about violence. But, all of this is political mental masturbation to make me feel better, to not feel so helpless in the face of macro historical and political trends I can’t control.
And remember — it could be that any attempt to depose Trump that was successful would just cause a National Divorce and, as such, even more tragedy. So, hopefully, we won’t have to worry about it. Mueller, She Wrote keeps telling me someone or something is going to save us, right?
Trump Loses — gives up It’s a real possibility that all the wet dreams of earnest, well meaning liberals like Mueller, She Wrote will come true and lulz, not only does Trump lose, but he just gives up. The “Good Guys” win and that’s it. We punt our structural problems down the road another four years.
Trump Loses — demands a National Divorce In this scenario, Trump loses, but instead of just slinking away, he frantically demands a National Divorce. A lot — A LOT — would depend on, say, Texas in this scenario. There is a greater-than-zero chance that Texas could very well call up a Secessionist Convention if Trump demanded a National Divorce. This would, in turn, cause a civil war.
Too Close to call (1876 / 2000 endgame) If this happens, then, holy shit are we in trouble. The country would collapse into civil war and revolution. If we just didn’t know who the next president was going to be…whoa buddy. Chaos. Violence. Collapse. Fourth Turning.
Biden Loses — It’s a Lulz If Biden loses and 1 million smug Twitter liberals leave the country ASAP, then, lulz, we turn into an autocracy and that’s that. We wake up in a few years and President-for-Life Trump is invading Canada for some dumb reason.
Biden Loses — Glorious Revolution In this scenario, Trump wins but goes full Tyrant in such a way that Blues stand their ground and organize things like a General Strike and or a Women’s Strike. The U.S. Military, rather than being Trump’s SA goons, stands down and maybe uses the guise of the 14th Amendment to overthrow Trump and we have President James Mattis for a few months until a Constitutional Convention can be called up.
The 1872 Election Endgame Look it up. It’s bad
Here’s how malignant ding-dong Trump plans to rule starting in late January 2025 if he wins re-election.
On a basic level, his animal brain knows he can rely upon Red States to give him free reign to be a more traditional autocrat. As such, he realizes he has two things standing his way — Blue States and the “Deep State” found lurking within the Federal government.
So, what he believes he can do is purge the Federal government of anyone who opposes him, knowing that he can rely upon the MAGA hacks of SCOTUS to back him up. He will also use his pardon power in a gratuitous manner to allow his fascist toadies to do any number of otherwise illegal things.
Then what he does is “crush” opposition in Blue States using the U.S. Military using the Insurrection Act. So, in Blue parts of the country Trump plans to rule not as an autocrat, but as a military dictator. Meanwhile, he will browbeat the national press so no one will know how bad things have gotten in Blue States. Remember — in an autocracy, communication can be a weapon. I could even see domestic social media being regulated to an unprecended extent as 2025 progresses.
Ok. There are some weaknesses to this plot. The key one being the United States is pretty porous to the point that if the U.S. Military was killing thousands of people in Blue States, it would inevitably be discovered in Red and Purple States. ALSO, I’m not 100% sure that the U.S. Military is totally prepared to be Trump’s MAGA SA-like goons.
But I have to give Trump credit, he’s a lot closer to being the type of autocrat he admires. But there are at least two issues he simply can not avoid — the whole setup will be EXTREMELY UNSTABLE and he’s fucking old.
I feel better now, though. I have figured out what we’re up against should Trump win in 2024.
Trump Loses — gives up It’s a real possibility that all the wet dreams of earnest, well meaning liberals like Mueller, She Wrote will come true and lulz, not only does Trump lose, but he just gives up. The “Good Guys” win and that’s it. We punt our structural problems down the road another four years.
Trump Loses — demands a National Divorce In this scenario, Trump loses, but instead of just slinking away, he frantically demands a National Divorce. A lot — A LOT — would depend on, say, Texas in this scenario. There is a greater-than-zero chance that Texas could very well call up a Secessionist Convention if Trump demanded a National Divorce. This would, in turn, cause a civil war.
Too Close to call (1876 / 2000 endgame) If this happens, then, holy shit are we in trouble. The country would collapse into civil war and revolution. If we just didn’t know who the next president was going to be…whoa buddy. Chaos. Violence. Collapse. Fourth Turning.
Biden Loses — It’s a Lulz If Biden loses and 1 million smug Twitter liberals leave the country ASAP, then, lulz, we turn into an autocracy and that’s that. We wake up in a few years and President-for-Life Trump is invading Canada for some dumb reason.
Biden Loses — Glorious Revolution In this scenario, Trump wins but goes full Tyrant in such a way that Blues stand their ground and organize things like a General Strike and or a Women’s Strike. The U.S. Military, rather than being Trump’s SA goons, stands down and maybe uses the guise of the 14th Amendment to overthrow Trump and we have President James Mattis for a few months until a Constitutional Convention can be called up.
The 1872 Election Endgame Look it up. It’s bad
I’m not advocating anything! I just like to run scenarios and, as such, I like to look at whatever is bothering me from different angles. As such, let’s revisit something I’ve written about before — what the fuck would the global reaction to Tyrant Trump attempting to impose a military dictatorship on the United States be?
If things get as bad as I fear — and they may not — and 1 million smug Twitter liberals flee the country, the Canada will be awash in American political refugees the moment Trump is declared the winner of the 2024 election. They got plenty of land and all the refugees would be wealthy, well educated and well trained, so they would be welcomed to open arms.
But if ding-dong Trump started get too bad, the natural temptation of the Canucks, NATO, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Japan would be to try to help the democratic resistance to the would-be Tyrant King Trump. It would be like a reverse Underground Railroad with arms coming into the US via the “open border” to the north. (I’M NOT ADVOCATING ANYTHING!!!)
It does make me wonder what would happen if Trump literally declared himself king. Would THAT be enough for my Traditionalist relatives — who I love dearly — to finally say, “I’m out.”
Or maybe not. Maybe the weird cultural, political and economic problems that have bent American politics would just be too much to the point that Trump could literally declare himself a king…and it would still be a lulz as long as brown kids were back in cages.
Trump is upset because Blue Meanies have hurt his feelings. But things would have to get REALLY BAD for that sort of thing to happen. And, yet, if Trump literally does put the U.S. Military in the streets of major American cities because they’re populated by “Blue Meanies” then, oh boy, anything is possible.
Trump Loses — gives up It’s a real possibility that all the wet dreams of earnest, well meaning liberals like Mueller, She Wrote will come true and lulz, not only does Trump lose, but he just gives up. The “Good Guys” win and that’s it. We punt our structural problems down the road another four years.
Trump Loses — demands a National Divorce In this scenario, Trump loses, but instead of just slinking away, he frantically demands a National Divorce. A lot — A LOT — would depend on, say, Texas in this scenario. There is a greater-than-zero chance that Texas could very well call up a Secessionist Convention if Trump demanded a National Divorce. This would, in turn, cause a civil war.
Too Close to call (1876 / 2000 endgame) If this happens, then, holy shit are we in trouble. The country would collapse into civil war and revolution. If we just didn’t know who the next president was going to be…whoa buddy. Chaos. Violence. Collapse. Fourth Turning.
Biden Loses — It’s a Lulz If Biden loses and 1 million smug Twitter liberals leave the country ASAP, then, lulz, we turn into an autocracy and that’s that. We wake up in a few years and President-for-Life Trump is invading Canada for some dumb reason.
Biden Loses — Glorious Revolution In this scenario, Trump wins but goes full Tyrant in such a way that Blues stand their ground and organize things like a General Strike and or a Women’s Strike. The U.S. Military, rather than being Trump’s SA goons, stands down and maybe uses the guise of the 14th Amendment to overthrow Trump and we have President James Mattis for a few months until a Constitutional Convention can be called up.
The 1872 Election Endgame Look it up. It’s bad
Oh boy. Now that it is clear to me that Trump is so fucking stupid that he wants he thinks he can get away with imposing an actual military dictatorship on the United States…yikes.
It would take a next level amount of stupidity on his part to try to do such a thing. But here we are, with the idea that that is exactly what Trump might try to do. Any other Republican and I would tell you to prepare for a garden variety autocracy.
But Trump’s fascination with the Insurrection Act is very, very troubling. If he actually tries to establish a military dictatorship because his abstract thinking ability is too weak to think of the power plays of an autocrat, we are all in A LOT of trouble.
And, yet, as I keep saying, I can’t fucking predict the future. There are plenty — plenty — of known unknowns that might allow us to punt all of our structural problems down the road. But if Trump goes full tyrant not as an autocrat, but as a would-be military dictator…you got me.
There just would be no viable endgame.
We would be going beyond just “bad optics” to the type of tyrannical behavior that might even make Traditionalists who just want brown children in cages again….to sit up and take notice.
Radical Moderates are found in William Safire’s novel “Freedom.” If that were to happen, then a group of people not seen since the American Civil War might appear in American politics — Radical Moderates. These are people who are usually Traditionalists, but, for a very brief amount of time are willing to adopt otherwise radical measures because of tectonic forces of political history.
But maybe I’m overthinking things. Maybe Trump will lose. Or something. We still have a year of stewing in our political juices to find out one way or another.
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