Ms. Labott, good reporting. Do you think the Democrats see the light and are going to repent now that Trump is using their tactics against them? The country is in a world of hurt now that everyone is out to get each other. There are few good actors out there and they must be celebrated. And for every time Trump is pointed out as the extortionist, it is only right that Obama and everyone back through the "Progressive" era must be called out too. Back to first princuples: freedom, limited government and individual responsibility. See ya at 2:30. Take care.
So exactly what should Obama and progressives be called out for? Trying to provide wider access to healthcare? Protecting worker’s rights to organize? Having Federal agencies make sure medications and food are pure and safe? Protecting the environment and natural ecosystems that are the basis of life on earth on life? Protecting our cultural and historical landmarks? Are those the things you want to call progressives out for?
"Elections still happen, opposition parties still exist, and some independent media survives. But the game is rigged so thoroughly that meaningful competition becomes nearly impossible."
Sounds like Germany with what they are currently doing to the AFD, what the UK is currently doing with social media posters who say something "hateful", and the suspension of money donated to the Patriots for Europe by the European Parliament. And then there's the whole annulment of the 2024 Romanian elections .. what was up with that? Switching our focus to These United States, its has been established beyond any doubt the previous administration pressure social media companies to remove legal and lawful content from their platforms.
My point isn't some "whataboutism" to derail the topic, its a reminder that a precedent has been set and our "brave and fearless" fifth estate not only said nothing when this was going on but largely defended it.
I personally would like to see no one do this but as Saul Alinsky once said "Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules". If you don't like autocrats, then stop acting like one yourself and be an example for the rest of us. I'm getting really tired of seeing one law for the lion and another for the ox.
You really should not whitewash Charlie Kirk’s faux college debates. When someone actually wiped the floor with him rhetorically the video was trashed if he humiliated some naive freshman up it went on his website. If you want a mild example of how he functions listen to his appearance on Gavin Newsom’s pod cast.
In Newsom’s podcast, Kirk rolled him. Made stream of false assertions most of which Newsom ignored and when Newsom did try to correct the record, Kirk just talked over him so no one could actually make out his rebuttal. Kirk was a demagogue.
Excellent comparison to Orban's Hungary. Do we collectively see it yet I wonder? MAGAts think this is all fine and great, but they will find out too late! Very good article.
A good piece. Thank you for posting. Journalistic and market competition and the financial difficulties of key media outlets (for example, Nepszabadsag, Hungary's equivalent of the New York Times, shuttered in 2016) also created a permissive environment that Orban could and did exploit. And I believe you are correct in suggesting that not enough people appreciated the broader and longer-term collective costs of making one-off compromises, a sort of domestic "domino theory" of capitulation and compromise. And unfortunately, "Viktor Orban built an illiberal democracy...and he made the European Union pay for it."--Rich Hall, Ph.D. and former CIA intel analyst (2000-2024)
Ms. Labott, good reporting. Do you think the Democrats see the light and are going to repent now that Trump is using their tactics against them? The country is in a world of hurt now that everyone is out to get each other. There are few good actors out there and they must be celebrated. And for every time Trump is pointed out as the extortionist, it is only right that Obama and everyone back through the "Progressive" era must be called out too. Back to first princuples: freedom, limited government and individual responsibility. See ya at 2:30. Take care.
So exactly what should Obama and progressives be called out for? Trying to provide wider access to healthcare? Protecting worker’s rights to organize? Having Federal agencies make sure medications and food are pure and safe? Protecting the environment and natural ecosystems that are the basis of life on earth on life? Protecting our cultural and historical landmarks? Are those the things you want to call progressives out for?
See you then - will address this!
"Elections still happen, opposition parties still exist, and some independent media survives. But the game is rigged so thoroughly that meaningful competition becomes nearly impossible."
Sounds like Germany with what they are currently doing to the AFD, what the UK is currently doing with social media posters who say something "hateful", and the suspension of money donated to the Patriots for Europe by the European Parliament. And then there's the whole annulment of the 2024 Romanian elections .. what was up with that? Switching our focus to These United States, its has been established beyond any doubt the previous administration pressure social media companies to remove legal and lawful content from their platforms.
My point isn't some "whataboutism" to derail the topic, its a reminder that a precedent has been set and our "brave and fearless" fifth estate not only said nothing when this was going on but largely defended it.
I personally would like to see no one do this but as Saul Alinsky once said "Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules". If you don't like autocrats, then stop acting like one yourself and be an example for the rest of us. I'm getting really tired of seeing one law for the lion and another for the ox.
You really should not whitewash Charlie Kirk’s faux college debates. When someone actually wiped the floor with him rhetorically the video was trashed if he humiliated some naive freshman up it went on his website. If you want a mild example of how he functions listen to his appearance on Gavin Newsom’s pod cast.
In Newsom’s podcast, Kirk rolled him. Made stream of false assertions most of which Newsom ignored and when Newsom did try to correct the record, Kirk just talked over him so no one could actually make out his rebuttal. Kirk was a demagogue.
Excellent comparison to Orban's Hungary. Do we collectively see it yet I wonder? MAGAts think this is all fine and great, but they will find out too late! Very good article.
A good piece. Thank you for posting. Journalistic and market competition and the financial difficulties of key media outlets (for example, Nepszabadsag, Hungary's equivalent of the New York Times, shuttered in 2016) also created a permissive environment that Orban could and did exploit. And I believe you are correct in suggesting that not enough people appreciated the broader and longer-term collective costs of making one-off compromises, a sort of domestic "domino theory" of capitulation and compromise. And unfortunately, "Viktor Orban built an illiberal democracy...and he made the European Union pay for it."--Rich Hall, Ph.D. and former CIA intel analyst (2000-2024)