Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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Republicans Against Trumpism @rpsagainsttrump.bsky.social · 4h

Don JR: If he was a king, he probably would have never left office the first time

(He literally tried to do it)

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Senator Chris Van Hollen @vanhollen.senate.gov · 5h

Just a reminder that — in the middle of a shutdown — House Republicans are on a paid vacation solely to avoid releasing the Epstein files and lowering your health care costs.

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 1d

It's no longer left versus right or even Democrat versus Republican.

It’s now democracy versus oligarchy. Freedom versus dictatorship. Right versus wrong.

Millions hit the streets this weekend in solidarity with each other and to affirm the foundations of the common good.

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Governor Gavin Newsom @governor.ca.gov · 1d

No other U.S. president has used the military as their own personal police force against the American people.

We implore the courts to reject Donald Trump's ongoing, illegal actions and definitively affirm states' sovereign right to handle public safety matters.

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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 1d

Literally

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OrangeSage @orangesage.bsky.social · 3d

Here is the alt text version. Sorry I didn't post it the first time

Woman holding a sign reading: First they came for the immigrants and I spoke up because I know the rest of the god damn poem

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George Conway 🇺🇸🚫👑🐸 @gtconway.bsky.social · 2d

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

Will it work? I don’t know. But it is certainly better than preemptively conceding ground to the Right’s claims that they deserve disproportionate power as representatives of “the people.”

It is time for (small-d) democrats to assert their right to define what “real America” is going forward.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

The chasm between the traditional Republican assertion of representing “normal” America and the assortment of extremists, fraudsters, and weirdos in positions of influence and power has become brutally stark. It is time to pounce.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

But all (small-d) democrats in America must dispute this claim of “real American” normalcy and replace the repressive norm of white Christian patriarchal dominance with a promise that the expected norm is an acceptance of pluralism and diversity in all spheres of life.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

This is also where the (perceived) “normie” character of the No Kings protests becomes an asset. Too long have rightwingers been allowed to present themselves as “real Americans” and deride everyone who dares to dissent as “abnormal.”

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

This is where the slogan “No Kings,” in all its simplicity, is effective. It is a reference to a founding myth – but mobilized in defense of democratic self-government, as an affirmation of democratic aspirations, even if America has certainly never fully lived up to them yet.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

Finally, the No Kings protests can be part of an effort to, as cringe as that may sound, reclaim patriotism from the Right. Too long have rightwingers been allowed to drape their grievances in the nation’s collective symbols and present themselves as the guardians of the national mythos.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

Secondly, a broad coalition is needed to defeat Trumpist authoritarianism. In thousands of places, Americans came together with their neighbors in a communal effort that created a shared experience beyond strategic or ideological disagreement. That matters.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

First of all, the Trumpists’ key assertion is that they represent “real America,” that the November election was a referendum that installed Trump as the tribune of “the people.” Anything that helps to dispel such notions – especially in the minds of mainstream elites – matters.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

The No Kings protests did not change anything in any immediate, tangible way. It was a highly symbolic affair. But that doesn’t relegate the protests to the status of an ephemeral blip. I believe they mattered for three main reasons:

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

Binary categories of Trump “winning vs losing” – or the regime being “weak vs strong” – are not particularly helpful. Better to grapple with the murkiness of this moment: A staunchly authoritarian movement is in power, but they haven’t been able to install a consolidated autocracy yet.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

At the same time, the gulf between these authoritarian aspirations and violent desires on the one hand and the realities of a complex political system coupled with a population that predominantly rejects Trumpist dictatorship remains vast.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

Will they actually follow through on any of this? We don’t know. But let’s assume they will try. Any form of dissent is now Antifa, and Antifa is like a foreign terrorist organization… It is not hard to see where this *could* be going, where the Trumpists want this to go.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

Has the regime proven too weak to consolidate authoritarian rule? Is Trump definitively losing? Let’s be cautious with grand proclamations. Since “No Kings” I in June, the regime has escalated the militarization of the conflict and laid the pseudo-legal groundwork for a crackdown on “the left.”

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

Let’s assume the Trumpists really mean it when they declare large swaths of the population the “enemy within.” Their claim to power is built on the idea that Trump embodies the nation. Because he channels the will of “the people,” dissent is disloyal, protest is tantamount to treason.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

Something significant happened on Saturday. After an all-out propaganda campaign to declare all dissent illegitimate and demonize the No Kings protests as a gathering of dangerous extremists, millions came out anyway – and the regime did… nothing.

I reflect in what we should make of that.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

America As No-Longer-Democracy and Not-Yet-Dictatorship

Where does the country stand after the largest day of protest in U.S. history? Putting “No Kings” in perspective.

Some thoughts from my new piece:

America As No-Longer-Democracy and Not-Yet-Dictatorship

Where does the country stand after the largest day of protest in U.S. history? Putting “No Kings” in perspective

steady.page

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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 1d

Today, Mike Johnson will have the House adjourned for 77 out of the last 89 days.

House Republicans have worked 12 days in 3 months.

All to prevent a vote on releasing the Epstein files.

The House Republican Epstein Shutdown continues.

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 1d

If your reporting constantly tries to place your subject in the best possible light, you are not actually reporting on them -- you are doing their PR work for free.

Joshua Foust 🪖🎮 @joshuafoust.com · 1d

Over and over again, establishment journalists just refuse to describe Republican policies and beliefs in plain language to mislead the public. The GOP says it is purging liberals from academia and journalists reframe it as “rebuilding trust.” That is not journalism, it is regime propaganda.

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