Yesterday, Clinton gave her concession speech, and Obama gave his statement on the election result. With what they did not say, they are enabling a fascist.
First, what they did say:
[Clinton] We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead.
An “open mind?” Don’t tell us to pretend not to know what we do. (Donald Rumsfeld’s missing “unknown knowns,” eh Clinton?)
Our constitutional democracy enshrines the peaceful transfer of power.
[Obama] So I have instructed my team to follow the example that President Bush’s team set eight years ago, and work as hard as we can to make sure that this is a successful transition for the President-elect—because we are now all rooting for his success in uniting and leading the country. The peaceful transition of power is one of the hallmarks of our democracy.
So, you work for him now? You both should exercise your independent judgment and pulicly acknowledge the reality that The Donald will try to rule as a fascist. After this campaign, you owe it to all of us to fight fascism, right here on day one. It’s one thing for Obama can peacefully relinquish power—to a fascist—but for all that’s good in the world, at least do it without giving fascism a helping hand. Don’t normalize what his ascendancy means.
It may well be that Obama and Clinton fundamentally don’t understand or don’t believe in democratic freedom. It’s not the continuity of institutions, if those institutions fail to serve our freedom. “Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom,” “A republic, if you can keep it”—these concepts mean rude, disruptive opposition to tyranny.
Now, everybody is sad when their side loses an election. But the day after, we have to remember that we’re actually all on one team. This is an intramural scrimmage. [cut to end] I have said before, I think of this job as being a relay runner—you take the baton, you run your best race, and hopefully, by the time you hand it off you're a little further ahead, you've made a little progress. And I can say that we've done that, and I want to make sure that handoff is well-executed, because ultimately we're all on the same team.
Fuck this with a pogo stick. Life, death, liberty, oppression, peace, war, and the fate of all living creatures are on the line, and you dare compare it to a college dorm sporting event? (Sure explains a lot of your presidency.) To the Democratic Party leadership, apparently politics really is bean bag.
We’re not Democrats first. We're not Republicans first. We are Americans first.
This is sickening. ”America first,” et tu, Obama? (And to think I got mad when you guys touted “tax relief.”) No red America, no blue America, only purple America, right? Here’s a clue why this is a lie: many, many of The Donald’s supporters think of you as sub-human and also want to put Clinton in the clink as a political prisoner.
We all want what’s best for this country. That’s what I heard in Mr. Trump’s remarks last night. That's what I heard when I spoke to him directly. And I was heartened by that. That's what the country needs—a sense of unity; a sense of inclusion; a respect for our institutions, our way of life, rule of law; and a respect for each other.
Lovely. A few sweet words from The Donald are all it takes to lull you into passivity. Were you taken in by Melania’s stolen speeches, perhaps? ‘Cause The Donald respects her deeply-held opinions so, so much.
Don’t get cynical. Don’t ever think you can’t make a difference.
News flash: your coddling of large international corporations gave away more our economic sovereignty, ruined millions of livelihoods, and made it harder to make a difference. And, at the very beginning of your presidency, you let your activated base of volunteers go fallow instead of engaging them to drive policy. But we’re so cynical, I know!
What Obama and Clinton did not say, but what the country needs them to say:
Here are some acts that are fascist, and if the next president does them, we all—including political officeholders of both parties—should call him out on them and stop him:
- When he blames a minority group for the country’s problems
- When he discounts the humanity of any group of people, domestic or foreign
- When he threatens retaliation against journalists
- If he puts the military, police, or courts at the service of corporations or of a religion
- If he removes limitations on military or police power
- When he exalts “patriotism” of national, racial, or religious identity over patriotism of principles and ideals
- When he tries to put women “in their place” and to disempower them
- If he stops unions from organizing
- If he threatens to shut down or curtail the activity of civic institutions, especially in the arts, education, and research
- If he installs family members in office, rigs elections, or attempts to change rules of governance to increase his power
We didn’t fight World War II to just let fascism win. It is up to all of us to keep the republic. No one else will.
There is a resounding cry across the country: “What do we do?” Let us all know.
When our political “leaders” don’t call it out for what it is, thus enters fascism.
From other leaders:
[Sanders] To the degree that Mr. Trump is serious about pursuing policies that improve the lives of working families in this country, I and other progressives are prepared to work with him. To the degree that he pursues racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies, we will vigorously oppose him.
Not cutting it, Sanders. It’s something, but it’s going to take a lot more than that to turn this fucked-up country around.
[de León & Rendon (California)] We will lead the resistance to any effort that would shred our social fabric or our Constitution.
[de León] If this was a Mitt Romney coming into the presidency, or even a George W. Bush, there would be a real expression of disappointment, but you would figure out how to still work in a collaborative, cooperative manner to further move policies that benefit California. This is a dramatically different situation where you have a presidential candidate who has expressed views that run strongly in opposition to the values of California. And that’s why we are on high alert… We can’t go backwards.
That’s a bit more like it.