*** “Of the many things we have done to democracy in the past, the worst has been the indignity of taking it for granted.” [ Max Lerner ]
This post presents excerpts from. “Twelve Steps to National Collapse: A Blueprint for How Democracies Die” [Thom Hartmann; The Progressive Populist; November, 2025 ]:
Historian Kevin Kruse: “We’ve had f**kups in the White House before, but never a president who seemed so deliberately intent on being a f**kup. It’s been said before, but if these people were actual agents of an enemy power seeking to divide, dismantle and destroy the USA, they wouldn’t be ding anything different.” [NOTE: think about “The Manchurian Candidate.” With his love for Putin, is Trump the REAL “Manchurian Candidate”?????]
From the “Dictator’s Playbook,” the simple 12-step formula:
1] “The first step would be to turn Americans from E Pluribus Unum…into hate-filled warring factions. Turn us against each other. Divide us by race, religion, gender, region, education, income,…cities or rural areas.”
2]. “Next, we’d want to immiserate as many Americans as possible, creating a huge pool of mostly white men who are pissed off because they’ve been left behind economically and feel locked out of the American Dream…Destroy unions…Gut programs…Shift manufacturing overseas…Build media operations that demonize ‘the other”…Ban books…Spread hate and conspiracy theories…”
3] “Third, we’d want to destroy people’s faith in straightforward news…”left-wing bias”…”enemies of the people”…attack the media relentlessly.”
4] “Fourth, shatter people’s faith in reality itself. Challenge science and expertise. Flood the zone with conspiracy theories…”….Attack vaccinations and measures to slow climate change. “Sow confusion until they no longer know who to believe, and then offer yourself as the only source of truth.”
5] “Fifth, deconstruct international alliances that go back centuries by alienating traditional friends and embracing openly hostile foes while tearing up norms of defense, trade, and commerce.”
6]. “Sixth, fracture citizen’s faith in their elected officials and the government itself.” Legalize the rich and corporations buying legislation “by claiming that “money is speech” and “corporations are persons.” Define opposition political parties as “radical,” ‘dangerous,” and “outside the mainstream.”
7] Seventh, turn the military and police forces..against its own people. making them terrified of challenging armed, masked men..” Vilify ..”minorities like immigrants and, when they’re “under control,” turn those forces against anybody who dissents from the new single-party rule.”
8]. “Demolish faith in the nation’s currency by seizing political control of the central bank while villinizing its leadership.”
9]. “Ninth, run scams to accumulate as much wealth as possible in the hands of Dear Leader and his close cronies while refusing to raise the minimum wage so as to keep people in poverty.”
10] “Tenth, use the power of government to force institutions. – corporations, universities, law firms. – into complete submission and even explicit collaboration in the enshitification of the nation.”
11] “Eleventh, seize control of the legislative and judicial branches so your law-breaking, election-rigging, and bribe-taking is never held to account. Openly and brazenly break laws…”
12] “Twelfth, turn the nation’s premier law enforcement agencies into tools for punishing political enemies while ignoring the crimes of friends of the regime, thus destroying faith in equality under rule of law and terrorizing anybody who speaks out.”
***. “Where law ends, tyranny begins.” [ William Pitt, the Elder ]
Thom Hartman. to YOU: “History shows that any democracy can fall into tyranny if its citizens grow cynical, give up, or look away. The question. – the only question that matters now. – is whether enough of us will choose to stand up, to act, and to reclaim what generations before us fought and bled to pass along.”
The Trump DICTATORSHIP has its “Blueprint to kill a Democracy.” it’s known as. “Project 2025.” Details have, are, being carried out. Authors are IN the Trump DICTATORSHIP..
THE. QUESTION: are YOU. willing to act, speak up, protest, vote out Trump and his Republican enablers??????
With Justice For All 