A new way of looking at how our government is running

From Michael Tomasky in today’s Substack

Tomasky wrote:

“Donald Trump is inventing a new way. Call it chaos fascism. Destroy the institutions of democracy until they’re so disfigured or dysfunctional that a majority no longer cares about them.”

How many times did you, individually or collectively, recognize the threat to our democracy when T===p was running for office, that we were headed towards a despotic, fascistic and criminal society? It certainly began with Project 2025, right? That was a 900+ page document which, wink, wink, T===p knew nothing about, yet beginning on day one of his administration it became abundantly clear that we were headed to that dreadful place, an autocracy where crazy king darn old had anointed himself as our “dear leader”.

During those days of the campaign and leading up to the election in 2024, few sources of news paid any attention to the ramblings of T===p nor to Project 2025. And now that it is upon us only a microcosm of reliable news sources actually cover or, heaven forbid, comment or raise warnings of the impending doom. Today, though, Michael Tomasky called it out for what it is: Chaos fascism.

T===p even predicted it: Fast and furious. Blitzkrieg (most aptly named, actually owing to its relevance to Hitler’s Nazi Germany). But the speed at which it took off and owing to the lackluster coverage of his actions, mostly Executive Orders, no wonder heads are spinning. No wonder his gleeful supporters are stupidly beyond gleeful. Even with the existential threat to the Constitution, the Judicial Branch and especially both houses of Congress, there’s no clear answer to stopping this let alone slowing it down.

SignalGate

A single event of this week is perhaps the scariest but also the most revealing chapter in the short story (not short enough) of this Presidency. Dubbed “SignalGate” after the horrific “Watergate” of the Nixon years, it was nothing more than a clown show that started badly and ended worse. The group of Administration officials might have conducted their meeting in Madison Square Garden because any evidence of secrecy or concern for national security was cast aside when The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg was included. Once the meeting adjourned, Goldberg did what any other good journalist would have done: He wrote a damning story about it revealing U.S. war plans against the Houthis.

It does get worse. Caste in the image of their leader, know-nothings whose combined intellect couldn’t fill a thimble, each one managed to lie their way through excuses and finger-pointing:”Not me,” he said. “Someone else’s fault,” she whined. “It wasn’t really Top Secret or confidential”, another opined. “My email must have sucked Goldberg’s contact information so it really wasn’t my fault,” was a comment made by several of those attending”. PEOPLE: You discussed plans for conducting military attacks on another country! You never thought for an instant about the potential dangers to American pilots and troops in that action?

And what did the President say? Something to the effect that people learn by their mistakes; oh, yeah, that wasn’t my fault either?

What about the clamor we should have seen from Congress? Senator Tammy Duckworth issued a strong and stirring rebuke to the perpetrators-see the interview on today’s Substack. One Republican Senator called for hearings. And then there was, well, silence.

And the Press? There has been some significant coverage of the event but little in the way of commentary, something so sorely lacking for a long time. But doesn’t this rise to the occasion of an important event to which the public’s need to know outstrips anything else?

It’s called chaos fascism. Remember the term. Try to break through all of the roadblocks which T===p and his administration of Donnie wannabes exist at the pleasure of their benefactor. And please. Do not forget those who enabled the appointments of these buffoons.

I’ll leave you this: Washingtonians will this name: Joe Kent. A two-time loser for a congressional seat whose participation in SignalGate may be worse than the event itself. What was he doing there?