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--></style></head><body lang=EN-US link="#467886" vlink="#96607D" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>Right-wing authoritarianism seems to be about 25-30% of the population in the United States.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authoritarian_personality">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authoritarian_personality</a><br><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/02/28/who-likes-authoritarianism-and-how-do-they-want-to-change-their-government/">https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/02/28/who-likes-authoritarianism-and-how-do-they-want-to-change-their-government/</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'> Friam <friam-bounces@redfish.com> <b>On Behalf Of </b>steve smith<br><b>Sent:</b> Monday, July 1, 2024 11:59 AM<br><b>To:</b> friam@redfish.com<br><b>Subject:</b> [FRIAM] Debate and Election<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p>While I'm on a roll (see [un]official disambiguation thread): <o:p></o:p></p><p>I gurgitated:<o:p></o:p></p><blockquote style='margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt'><p>Phellow Phriamers -<o:p></o:p></p><blockquote style='margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt'><p>Here are my anti-Trump ideations grounded in the SCrOTUS decision of the day:<o:p></o:p></p></blockquote><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='color:#9F0000'>Warning, vivid imagery which </span><br><span style='color:#9F0000'>may induce <b><i>limbic chaos</i></b>!</span><o:p></o:p></p><div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><hr size=1 width="100%" align=center></div><p class=MsoNormal>President Joe Biden writes the following (official act) executive orders and proclamations:<o:p></o:p></p></blockquote><p><more Gurge, less Limbic Chaos><o:p></o:p></p><p>Regarding the debate and election:<o:p></o:p></p><p>Watching the debate (most of my friends chose to "know better" and waited for select aftergame reports) I was deeply disheartened by both performances.<o:p></o:p></p><p>That said, I realized (soon after?) that they were in fact "performances", as virtually all politicking is (and virtually all that DJT ever does?)... <o:p></o:p></p><p>While I have ideated exhaustively (exhausted myself and anyone who would listen) on alternative scenarios where Biden (gracefully) steps aside, including nominating a consensus candidate (implied team) of his choice (e.g. Newsom/Harris, Booker/Whitmer, Jeffries/Warren, ??? ad nauseum) with full-throated endorsements by everyone of significance in the left (e.g. Pelosi, Obamas, Late Night Comicsa few senior Newshosts, ???). And the Never Trumpers from the Right (Cheney-Kinsinger, Chris Christie?, Judge Ludig, the Lincoln Project, et alii), I had another simple thought.<o:p></o:p></p><p>What if this event really reduces the race to what it really is: Never Trumping, Bald Authoritarianism vs flawed Democracy in the Democratic Party's style?<o:p></o:p></p><p>Someone made the point that nobody who was going to vote for Biden will now vote for Trump, maybe a few will cynically risk letting Trump default in, but most of the "own the libs" Trumpsters just got the satisfaction they crave (humiliating libs) and might forget to vote (incels in their parent's basement watching porn). There were only order 9M registered voters who failed to vote in 2020, a smallish (out of 168M? registered voters) percentage, but enough to swing the election wide. Some of those will always fail. I believe the number of *eligible* voters in 2020 was 1.5x the number registered, or about 80M unregistered voters. <o:p></o:p></p><p>The focus could/should be "get out the vote", trusting that Trump's frenzied grievance politics has already wrung his turnip-truck-load of turnips near-dry? <o:p></o:p></p><p>I also wonder at why nobody has said (enough?) much to "mainstream" or "oldSkool" conservatives/Republicans about their role as a "Loyal Opposition"? Don't they miss that role themselves and miss having one in traditional Dems? The gloves have been off (on one side) for some time, do they (all) really want to be left standing after a brutal beatdown consisting of sand-in-the-face, brass knuckle rabbit and kidney punches? I'm sure many are eager for that, despite the "careful what you ask for" rule, but surely enough (like the afore-mentioned never-trumpers). <o:p></o:p></p><p>Don't at least some want to get back to the "good old days" of a gentle(wo)man's tug-of-war across a mud-pit (sans vipers)?<o:p></o:p></p><p>The new(ly re-realized) reality might bring some focus to those who already (or nearly) recognize the dire threat of Authoritarianism (this time in a Red Hat) in general?<o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>