I will say this everyday. FatAss isn't the point. It's republicans who are doing all of this period. They are to blame

[orchidlady]

31. AMEN!!

been saying this very thing since before 9/11, in fact since 12/12/00 when SCOTUS (read: scalia) handed W the presidency.

but it goes back much further than those linked events. tho it's the party of abe, every prez since him (save maybe ike) has represented the interests of the business class over the workers. and they've known since abe that giving any power to workers (esp slaves/POCs), would diminish their own power in running ruling (ruIning?) the country.

saint ronny (a B grade actor chosen mainly for his TV public appeal than his political acumen; the first of such R puppets) grabbed that agenda and ran with it, during which time newt turned the generally collegial congress into a boxing ring, and leonard leo packed the courts with conservatives, SCOTUS with conservative catholics. that trajectory tracks with the decline in the middle class, and inversely with the wealth gap.

driving such a mindless power grab is the mindset that goes with it: pompous entitlement, lack of empathy, militancy, duplicity, greed, and an increasing capacity for cruelty. all these set the stage for where we are now, awash in racism, misogyny, and authoritarianism.

so yes indeed, this IS a time of reckoning. and with that capacity for fascism -- matched it must be said by this country's principle's capacity for generosity, creativity, compassion, and invention -- the demand is incredibly high for each and all of us to recognize and own our collective responsibility in the extensive suffering our deep faults have levied on the country and the planet.