A Time of Mourning. The Age of Destruction. The Future.
The US election, fascism, and the future
A Time of Mourning
On November 5th, 2024, the nation was between euphorically hopeful and destructively committed.
Most of the data scientists, led by Allan Lichtman, predicted a win for the Harris/Walz ticket, and a general “blue wave” that was supposed to sweep the nation.
They were as wrong as the millions of Americans, and even more millions around the world, who had pinned their hopes on the U.S. voter to act with sense and sensibility.
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Lichtman's “13 Keys to the White House” include:
Key 1 (Party Mandate): After the midterm elections, the incumbent party holds more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives than it did after the previous midterm elections.
Key 2 (Contest): There is no serious contest for the incumbent-party nomination.
Key 3 (Incumbency): The incumbent-party candidate is the sitting president.
Key 4 (Third party): There is no significant third-party or independent campaign.
Key 5 (Short-term economy): The economy is not in recession during the election campaign.
Key 6 (Long-term economy): Real per-capita economic growth during the term equals or exceeds mean growth during the previous two terms.
Key 7 (Policy change): The incumbent administration affects major changes in national policy.
Key 8 (Social unrest): There is no sustained social unrest during the term.
Key 9 (Scandal): The incumbent administration is untainted by major scandal.
Key 10 (Foreign/military failure): The incumbent administration suffers no major failure in foreign or military affairs.
Key 11 (Foreign/military success): The incumbent administration achieves a major success in foreign or military affairs.
Key 12 (Incumbent charisma): The incumbent-party candidate is charismatic or a national hero.
Key 13 (Challenger charisma): The challenging-party candidate is not charismatic or a national hero.
Using his system, Lichtman has correctly predicted nine of 11 presidential elections since 1984. His first blemish came when Republican George W. Bush defeated Democrat Al Gore in the 2000 election.
He was wrong. Most of us were wrong.
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Left in the wake of the outcome of the election, are legitimate concerns of many Americans, many of whom now experience justifiable existential fears.
Read the Substack below, for more information:
The intent of each of the dominant campaigns differed.
One campaign wanted to lead, continue on established foundations such as economic growth, lowering the unemployment, securing social programs, eliminate student loan debt, assist first time homebuyers, etc.
The other campaign wants to dominate, usher in an era of purity driven by evangelical principles, ethnocentrism, economic disenfranchisement, the elimination of the LBGTQIA+ community, driving homeless Americans (including veterans) into encampments, and more. The bedrock of destruction is explained, in detail, in 920 pages of Project 2025.
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We, the democratic voting base, at a numerical advantage of ~9 million registered voters of republican voters, were supposed to be the obstacle, the barrier, and the purveyor of democracy.
Why did we not show up?
Economic Dissatisfaction: The electorate's negative perception of the economy significantly influenced the outcome. A substantial majority of voters who viewed the economy unfavorably supported Trump. The Democrats failed to effectively tell an impactful narrative that the economy is not bad. Corporate greed, however, IS bad. Although Biden and Harris supported an agenda of limiting corporate greed, this was not a major talking point, giving way for Trump’s campaign to capitalize and emphasize their position through misinformation.
Loss of Working-Class Support: The Democratic Party experienced a decline in support among lower-income voters, a demographic they had previously won by a significant margin. This shift was critical, as Trump managed to secure this group's votes in 2024. The loss of the working public is particularly peculiar, as Democrats had the support of union leaders. Again, message matters. Democrats suck at that.
Inflation and Cost of Living: Despite positive macroeconomic indicators, many Americans struggled with rising costs, leading to a disconnect between the Democrats' economic narrative and the voters' lived experiences. Connected to #1, economic data is favorable, however, prices on the ground are not. Caught between a rock and corporate-campaign-dollars hard place, the Harris/Walz ticket was not willing to go straight against greed corporations, but soft balled their way through communications acrobatics.
Immigration Policy Backlash: The Biden administration's border policies were perceived as too lenient, resulting in increased support for the Republican candidate in areas impacted by immigration issues. This is where Republicans found one of their main victories. The Biden administration had offered a solution. Republicans turned it down. Watch…
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Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browserFailure to Address Core Voter Concerns: The Democratic Party's focus on issues of abortion rights and democracy protection did not resonate as strongly with voters as economic and immigration concerns did. Moreover, too many voters sat out, dissatisfied with the Democratic position regarding Israel — Palestine. Too many voters have taken the position of “it needs to burn down now, and only the harshest of domestic consequences will change this country.”
This is not an exhaustive list. Please add additional reasons in the comments
Destruction: Contemporary Fascism is Guaranteed
Once we experience the impacts of the Trump/Vance/Heritage Foundation regime, we will be in a difficult position.
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The Future: How to Remedy American Fascism
The United States is a fortress.
A moat to the East, the West, and the South. A smaller portion of the border, heavily secured, with Mexico, and a frozen tundra to the North, with Canada.
Storming the American version of Normandy Beach is not an option. Crossing through Canada cannot be done undetected, and coming from the South exposes the approach terrain and a heavily secured border.
Dissimilar to the allied forces of WWII, where the United States was an integral part, no one can, nor will, come to our rescue.
Russia, also an allied force of WWII, is all too enamored with our downfall, and the rest of the world is outnumbered and outclassed by our military power.
Even if some assembly of underpowered countries were to unite, to access the United States is impossible.
Historically, the liberation of countries from dictatorships has occurred through various means, including both internal and external forces. However, the United States presents a unique case due to its global influence, military strength, and geographic position.
What are the solutions?
Internal Resistance
The American public will play a crucial role in resisting or overturning dictatorship.
Civil Disobedience: Americans must engage in nonviolent resistance methods, as outlined in Gene Sharp's “From Dictatorship to Democracy”
This could include protests, strikes, and other forms of peaceful opposition. Find the PDF here or click the image below:
Or, this: In the year 2000, in a war barely noticed outside Yugoslavia, the indicted war criminal Slobodan Milosevic fought to hold power. He controlled a battle-hardened army, a tough police force, and most of the news media. But he underestimated his opponents, led by a student movement called Otpor! (‘resistance’), who attacked the regime with ridicule, rock music, and a willingness to be arrested. Their courage and audacity inspired others to overcome their fear and join the fight.
State-Level Action: Individual states might assert their rights and resist federal overreach. Depending on the timing, this may include states that are presently “red”, once their populations realize the outcomes of dictatorship. Otherwise, resistance will be confined to “blue” states, whereas several states have already called for special sessions to fortify their state against a Trump regime. Thus, sanctuary states will be the saving grace, until the federal government either asserts itself or recognizes that internal battle will lead to the collective failure of the United States.
Military and Law Enforcement: Loyalty to the Constitution among these groups could be a significant factor in reversing authoritarian rule. This could split the military and create heavily armed and combat educated forces, aligned with their individual political views. Some may abandon their oath to the constitution, as shown below, others will uphold it, and fight for it.
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The Population: Americans are among the most heavily armed citizens of any country. Although some nations have a higher rate of gun ownership per capita, no other nation is as willing to use bullets to assert their opinions. It is difficult to fathom that it could come to that, but it’s also not completely unthinkable, that Americans, in alignment with constitution abiding military, will organize.
To be clear, any of the physical/armed options is a disaster waiting in the wings of dictatorial destruction.
External Factors
While direct military intervention by allied forces is unlikely given the U.S.'s global position, international pressure could play a role:
Diplomatic Pressure: Allied nations might use diplomatic channels to influence U.S. leadership. However, a trifecta alliance with Russia’s and China’s dictatorial regime, would create an “axis of evil”. Although economically opposed, ideologically, there is common ground. To which degree this will affect relationships, is impossible to forecast.
Support for Democratic Forces: Allies might provide support to pro-democracy movements within the U.S. Similar to “democratic wars” of the past, supported by the United States, the roles could reverse, and other democratic nations could support the war for democracy inside the United States. Difficult to imagine, but not entirely possible.
The bottom line here is that we are in potentially uncharted territory. Thus far, we’ve only seen dictatorships from afar. Some immigrants have lived through it, though, and their stories are tales of displacement, mayhem, and death.
Until November 5th, I would have said that we have a fighting chance to avert disaster. At this juncture, knowing the 920 pages of Project 2025, accounting for Republican rhetoric, and counting our “cards as they’re stacked”, my outlook is not positive.
Many Americans will have to flee to protect themselves or their loved ones.
Others will find the harshest of sanctions and interventions.
How it will completely play out is anyone’s guess.
We’re in uncharted territory (as far as the United States are concerned)
###Love & Support###
~Z.
Today is the 86th anniversary of Kristallnacht.
The Allied Powers captain becomes the Axis peak of the trifecta.. (Israel and Russia)
Sad days, fearful and uncertain times. The worst days the world will ever know to come.