By John Bachtell 

 

 

Once upon a time, if a presidential candidate predicted a “bloodbath” if they lost, called for terminating the Constitution, or was a serial rapist, insurrectionist, liar, and fraudster, they would have been termed a dangerous crook.. But when Donald Trump says such things, the mainstream corporate media, more interested in profiting from the ads they take in as a result of the crisis, merely shrugs and turns to questions about President Biden’s age. Meanwhile, the MAGA fascist threat to U.S. democracy grows, raising the stakes in the 2024 election outcome. That threat grew when the MAGA-dominated U.S. Supreme Court continued its Constitutional Coup in real-time by negating Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. The Court majority refused to bar Trump, the ringleader of the Jan. 6 insurrection, from the November ballot. Days later, the Supreme Court’s “Federal Society Six” postponed Trump’s Jan. 6 insurrection trial date, ensuring he won’t face justice before Election Day. Other lower-court Federalist Society justices in Florida and Georgia are thwarting efforts to bring Trump to account and delay his trials until after the election. The latest in a string of rulings penned by the “Federalist Society Six” blatantly undermines the rule of law and is a sign the plutocrats and Christian Nationalists behind the justices fully expect him to win.

 

It’s also a fresh reminder Americans can’t count on the corrupt and illegitimate GOP- dominated High Court to protect the “guardrails” of democracy but instead is actively dismantling it. Trump, the MAGA fascists, and white supremacist Christian Nationalists have already organized one coup to reverse an election outcome, and they will stop at nothing to steal another, having learned from their failed coup. They are applying those lessons so that they don’t fail again in their already-underway second coup attempt. Trump and MAGA have relentlessly battered the Constitution, breached every democratic norm, and undermined the rule of law. At a campaign rally in Ohio, people stood at attention while Jan. 6 insurrectionists sang the Star-Spangled Banner as they listened to a chorus of prisoners who invaded the Capitol on Jan. 6 sing their rendition of it. Then Trump, who hailed the insurrectionists as patriots, declared the country would face a “bloodbath” if he weren’t elected. Like the Nazis in Germany in the 1930’s who elevated a fascist thug, Horst Wessel, to the status of “hero”, Trump is describing the thugs who killed Capitol police as people to emulate, promising to let them out of jail if he is elected.

 

Anyone old enough to have heard the Nazi anthem in memory of Horst Wessel sung by the fascists at that time would shudder at how similar Trump’s use of the national anthem was last week. He, after all, has said Hitler did many good things. Given the corruption of the Supreme Court and the ambivalence of the corporate media, the anti-MAGA and pro-democracy majority is the only force capable of stopping this mass fascist movement from seizing power. Therefore, we must work tirelessly to mobilize, broaden, and unite it as never before. Many Americans are not aware of Trump’s anti-democratic rants, including his vow to be “dictator for a day,” his terrifying 2025 project, and the 47 Agenda. Voters must be alert to the danger and turn out in massive numbers to deliver a crushing defeat to Trump and his MAGA minions. MAGA knows most Americans hate Trump and so the fascists are already operating a scheme that will let them win the 2024 election even if they actually lose it. Even before we consider these special efforts already underway we must keep in mind that the popular vote winner can lose the presidency by losing the Electoral College, as occurred in 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016.

 

Therefore, the victory must be overwhelming, especially in “battleground” states and Congressional Districts, to leave no doubt of the outcome and prevent MAGA from stealing the election. The American people need to be fully informed about the threat, including every new plot to steal the election, plots that go beyond reliance on the Electoral College.. And as sure as the sun rises, that new fascist coup plot is already underway, one which would work even in a scenario in which Biden wins the popular vote, and the Electoral College and Democrats win majorities in the House and Senate. Mark Medish and Joel McCleary detailed a terrifying scenario in the Washington Spectator. Under it, the MAGA GOP would brazenly ignore the majority will to install Trump as president and maintain their House majority. Once in power, Trump and the GOP would unleash the coercive power of the state to implement their terrifying Project 2025 agenda and impose an authoritarian fascist regime. (IPA/People’s World)