Authoritarian Trump a Threat to Totalitarian Democrats

April 24, 2021: it’s time we call Joe Biden’s border holding pens what they are: concentration camps. His ethnic detainment policy reeks of totalitarian rule. In lieu of any information from the Biden administration about what’s really going on at the border you can read this update about our new, progressive government’s border facility cover-up.

Authoritarian sounds less inflammatory than “Nazi” or “fascist,” but when we hear this word we know exactly where it’s coming from and what it means.

Hitler is old school Democratic politics

Our politics doesn’t reward subtlety. Steve Cohen (D-TN) compared the Charlottesville protests to Kristallnacht.¹ When speaking of ICE detainees Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) told us:

As the child of parents whose families found refuge in America from the terrors of Nazi Germany, I strongly believe Donald Trump’s cruel and callous treatment of human beings seeking asylum flies in the face of America’s core humanitarian values,” Wyden said.²

Symbols used for shock value eventually lose their power, so now Democrats want us to fear a Trump authoritarian government. It sounds more contemporary than repeatedly bringing up Hitler. The problem is they don’t see that their party’s plans for a totalitarian regime aren’t much different because they are too busy throwing autocratic barbs at the president.

Authoritarian Trump and his buddies?

After Trump’s one on one with Vladimir Putin Texas Democratic Lloyd Doggett claimed:

the one person he [Trump] routinely praises is a ruthless dictator. Vladimir Putin, who poisons his enemies, invades Ukraine, facilitates war crimes in Syria, and disrupts democracies. Perhaps more shocking than Trump’s weakness is the deafening silence of his Republican enablers in Congress.³

Ukraine, Syria, North Korea, and Russia were weaknesses on Obama’s watch that were dumped on Trump, but it hardly matters. This isn’t about quelling international tensions or finding a solution to Russian aggression. It’s about lumping the president together with the villains Doggett calls Trump’s “autocratic buddies.”⁴

Charging Trump with authoritarian rule is de rigueur thinking in contemporary liberal circles. When the president fired FBI Director Comey we heard this:

[Congressman Seth] Moulton: “It’s no secret what’s going on here — just look at any autocratic regime across the world.”⁵

His budget didn’t fare much better with a grandiloquent Jerrold Nadler (D-NY):

It’s time to wake up to the malignant lies of the Trump Administration before he turns this country into an autocratic state that sacrifices the health, safety, and security of American families in favor of an agenda fueled by nationalist propaganda.⁶

What Nadler said doesn’t make much sense. His party can be accused of the same thing, albeit fueled by progressive propaganda.

What we are offered in exchange for authoritarian Trump is Democratic totalitarianism. Democrats want obedience to the government in exchange for a lifestyle chosen by a pack of liberal bullies.

Totalitarian Democrats are not your friends

Time-honored Democratic thinking holds that accumulating too much wealth makes you an enemy of the people. The wealthy and corporations are behind everything wrong with America, whether it’s Trump’s new pick for the Supreme Court or the Republican tax bill.

The solution?

A Better Deal for the people

Like the Republican Better Way, Democrats have their Better Deal.

Changing the label on the same bad ideas doesn’t make them better.

More jobs and higher wages are the best arguments for Democratic totalitarianism you are going to hear this year even if they are hollow and false. The loss of jobs during Obama’s Great Recession was such a boon to the party that members will never let it go even though the unemployment rate is the lowest it’s been since 2008. Weekly and hourly earnings are also the highest they have been since 2008.

No matter. The jobs aren’t good enough and wages aren’t high enough.

The cost to employers for creating and maintaining these jobs and providing benefits like Obamacare is also up.⁷ Despite what Democrats want you to believe, most employers are not huge corporations sucking the life out of working families. 99.7% of employer firms are small businesses⁸ that will struggle under the weight of regulation that will be part of any Democratic totalitarian package. The more the party fashions its values from social trends the more businesses should worry what they will have to cope with if the party gets the upper hand.

What does Democratic totalitarianism look like?

It starts with a simple premise: Americans have the right to be given things for free because a few people make too much money.

It sounds stupid, unfair, and unreasonable. That doesn’t mean it won’t fly with voters who prefer that government takes on the responsibility for managing their lives.

The giveaway list is basic progressive politics on steroids because of Trump.

National, single payer health care (“Medicare for All”)

This is the real deal, not a sham substitute like the Affordable Care Act. Government, not doctors will decide what’s affordable as soon as the politicians behind this scheme realize they can’t pay for it.

Icing on the cake: you can bet undocumented immigrants will qualify. Politicians in California, where many of our worst, most irresponsible ideas come from, are panting to get illegals on state health care rolls. If Democrats are ever in a position to turn an idea like national single payer health care into law, everyone above ground will qualify.

Free higher education

The Aim Higher Act was unveiled on July 24, 2018 to bring

“every student an opportunity to earn a debt-free degree that leads to a rewarding career.”⁹

The bill seeks to cut costs and make financial aid cheaper and easier to come by.

It’s something Democrats and the GOP might be able to negotiate, unlike the College for All Act which gives college away, punishes wealth, and is another shining example of progressive totalitarianism:

The estimated $600 billion cost of the legislation would be paid for by a separate bill to tax Wall Street speculation.¹⁰

Stop laughing. The bill was introduced by extremist Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Socialist Bernie Sanders. With the rise of Democratic Socialism in the U.S. there is nothing far-fetched about passing this or similar legislation. It’s not a matter of if. It’s a matter of when.

When anyone who asks gets free college we will devalue the worth of a degree and establish a two-tier higher education system. People with more money who pay for private schools will stand out and get those rewarding careers Democrats promise which will open the door wide to left-wing social engineering.

Higher education is about competition, not guaranteed access to an upper middle-class or any income, for that matter.

Since the goal is a giveaway society there are plans for that, too.

Federally-guaranteed jobs

Remember Obama’s plan to top off salaries of workers who lost out during the recession and were reemployed at lower wages? Now, with historically low unemployment we have “The Federal Jobs Guarantee Development Act of 2018.”

H.R. 6467 and its Senate counterpart S. 2746 establish a test program to match people with jobs.

Jobs created through the program will include a minimum wage phased to $15/hour, paid family and sick leave, and health coverage like that enjoyed by Members of Congress. The bill also expands the Work Opportunity Tax Credit to incentivize private employers to recruit and hire participants out of the pilot program.¹¹

In short, the government will pay employers to compensate people who can’t find work at 4% unemployment at wages higher than what the market will bear for those who are not employable.

The good news is that if the bill ever passes Democrats get to trade votes for their benchmark $30,000 guaranteed standard of living financed by taxpayers and businesses.

The bad news is that the job market isn’t stupid and neither are employers. The tax credits will have to be enormous for businesses to bear the cost of training workers and paying an income more than double the current federal minimum wage.

Business is about profit, not benevolence.

In a nutshell, Democratic totalitarianism is a cleverly disguised bailout package and a roadmap for dependence. We already know that the most important part of this package is that the people it is supposed to benefit never get ahead. If they do they will need Republicans like Trump, not Democrats.

The economic consequences of A Better Deal and other progressive fantasies will ensure what the left is threatening: higher costs, job loss, anger and resentment from the middle and working classes which will again be blamed on higher earners not paying enough in taxes.

Not my revolution, thanks

Our Revolution is a progressive organization that hits all the right notes for those backing Democratic totalitarianism. The organization endorses a wide range of political candidates including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Liuba Grechen, and New York gubernatorial hopeful Cynthia Nixon.

The first item on the issues list: more money.¹²

This is the hopeful new face of progressivism: higher taxes, universal childcare, union empowerment, free tuition, enhanced Social Security, Medicare for All, paid family leave, $15.00 minimum wage, job creation, and busting up big banks.¹³

Forcing Americans to pay the tab for this agenda to keep extremist politicians entrenched is what Democratic totalitarianism is all about.

Why authoritarian Trump is the better option

When a president oversteps his or her bounds there is always impeachment. Democrats figured that out on January 20, 2017. When a political party takes over the legislature and the Oval Office there’s not a lot we can do until the next election. That’s what happened with Barack Obama and why we have a national health care system we can’t afford that doesn’t cover everyone Democrats claimed it would cover.

Whether or not Trump is an authoritarian depends on your politics. One way or the other the people have an option we don’t have with an entrenched Democratic Party.

The Congressional Progressive Caucus sums up the problem with its progressive promise:

It also embodies national priorities that are consistent with the values, needs, and hopes of all our people, not just the powerful and the privileged.¹⁴

What the promise should guarantee is national priorities dictated by powerful and privileged left wing politicians, not the people. Convincing the people to believe that this is what they want is how Democratic totalitarianism gets underway.

UPDATE July 27, 2018: jobs are bad news

We found out today that the economy grew at the rate of 4.1% in the second quarter of 2018. Couple that with a 4.0% unemployment rate and there isn’t a lot to complain about unless you need reality to match your suspicious agenda.

Don’t expect any applause from Democrats who need the economy to fail. Bobby Scott (D-VA) had already expressed his disappointment at June’s jobs report:

Six months after Republicans spent nearly $2 trillion on a tax cut for corporations and the wealthy, the benefits they promised to workers have not materialized. The mirage of one-time bonuses has given way to the realization that many workers are still not getting a fair return on their work. Rather than pursuing another failed experiment in trickle-down economics, we should be setting policies that are proven to improve the quality of life for workers and their families.¹⁵

Does he mean more policies that create things like economic growth and more jobs, or policies that make workers and their families dependent on the state for their standard of living?

No doubt there will be unhappiness that the economy is surging ahead. We’ll share the remarks when Democrats regroup and commence their whining.

UPDATE November 18, 2019: Democrats don’t see totalitarianism in their actions

Last summer Democrats were incensed when the president planned a military celebration for the Fourth of July. Virginia Rep. Don Beyer blasted the “authoritarian-style marshal display.”¹⁶ Did he forget about America’s struggle for independence and how we got to where we are now? It wasn’t by being nice to those who sought to oppress us.

A few tanks on the streets of the capital can’t hold an authoritarian candle to the totalitarianism endorsed by Beyer’s party. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s remarks on the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall seethe with hypocrisy, considering what his party is up to now:

His [President John F. Kennedy’s] powerful words chipped like figurative hammers against the system of totalitarian Communism, which cast a shadow of fear and repression across Eastern and Central Europe and much of the world. Thirty years ago today, literal hammers in the hands of ordinary Germans, yearning for freedom and to choose their own future, tore down the wall that stood as a symbol of that evil system.¹⁷

Nancy Pelosi echoed those remarks ten years earlier:

Twenty years later, leaders in the United States and around the world must continue to work to tear down the walls of injustice and barriers to freedom that still exist.¹⁸

As you read this those barriers to freedom are being constructed right here in America. Democrats seek to overthrow a president who they know is our best bet to stop the extremist elements in Pelosi’s and Hoyer’s party that are determined to enforce a socialist agenda on the nation.

Say what you will about Donald Trump, he is not a totalitarian threat. Democrats are. They seek to control every element of our lives from health care to how much of our incomes are fair to keep and how much must go to fund their base’s liberal demands. Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has gone so far as to propose an exit tax for Americans who seek to escape the country if she becomes president. That sounds a lot like a prison and not the free society we fought so hard to build.

Unlike the Berlin Wall, America has always enjoyed our own wall of freedom against far left totalitarianism. This wall is being torn down by extremist politicians who extend their hands and offer to trade that freedom for loyalty to the Democratic Party and what it stands for.

Trump stands in the way, so Democrats are tearing him down first.

UPDATE November 29, 2019: weaponizing money guilt is a prelude to totalitarianism

A lot has been said about Donald Trump over the past few weeks. Much of it is bad. The one thing we haven’t heard is that Trump plans to do the things that totalitarian Democrats are promising.

Democrats are totalitarian monsters. They make campaign and media appearances with smiles and extended hands. They tell us with a straight face what they plan to do. Americans eager for subservience are duped into signing up.

Money guilt has been used against Americans for longer than many of us have been on this earth. We shouldn’t be surprised when it manifests as policy proposals, campaign talking points, and the never ending push for Trump’s tax returns to support a conclusion about wealth that the party reached long ago.

What’s different now is that Democrats have weaponized money guilt. California Rep. Jimmy Gomez’s house version of Bernie Sanders’ For the 99.8 Percent Act is another strong signal to America that we need to put the brakes on Democratic Party totalitarianism before it goes too far. Money guilt is the calling card for totalitarian liberals. Nothing satisfies an angry left-wing mob like promising to seize the accumulated wealth of hard working Americans. That’s what a recent press release from Gomez promises when it quotes Bernie Sanders, who compared wealthy Americans to robber barons and stated:

The richest 400 billionaires pay lower taxes than everyone else. In my view, this obscene inequality in wealth and political power is not compatible with a democratic society. I am proud that Representative Gomez is leading three dozen members of the House in introducing the For The 99.8% Act to tax today’s dynasty trusts and curb their power, while raising trillions of dollars for the essential programs we need as a country.¹⁹

Since many Democrats are also obscenely wealthy compared to their base, we can rest assured that political power is really what’s in play.

Sanders and his colleagues like to talk about a democratic society. They pat themselves on the back for defending American democracy, but they shamelessly reveal what they really believe when they target groups of Americans and declare them enemies of the people.

On his House website Rep. Gomez cites an article from Common Dreams that discusses his bill and going after “Trust Fund Babies.”²⁰ Ironically, his party argues that these individuals have little or no right to the wealth they inherit because they didn’t work for it, but
Democrats support generous handouts and become angry at the thought of welfare for work laws.

Declaring Americans enemies of the people at birth has nothing to do with a free, democratic society. It certainly isn’t about the America we know. This is a prelude to totalitarianism. It’s what Democrats are selling for 2020.

UPDATE December 20, 2019: Blackshirts? Totalitarian Democrats’ reckless nod to history.

It’s not the first time they’ve done it. Select Democrats wore black when they attended Donald Trump’s 2018 SOTU. As Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) observed, this was in support of the #MeToo movement and a protest against sexual assault and harassment.²¹

Using that protest against Trump faded after the Russia investigation went full bore. The black attire came out again on Wednesday for the world to see, but crimes against women were off the table. This time it was about high crimes and misdemeanors committed against America, or at least that’s what Democrats begged the country to believe.

Whether this was a grim confirmation of the obligation Pelosi’s party repeatedly told us they were duty bound to carry out, or a blackly comic nod to their self-assigned role as Trump presidency executioners-in-chief, Pelosi and company’s black wardrobes recall another chapter in history Democrats should shy away from.

If you recall your high school history, Blackshirts were the paramilitary wing of the Italian Fascists under Mussolini. Do I believe Nancy Pelosi took this historical reference into account before she took up the gavel and Democrats took the next step towards disenfranchising 63 million Americans? No, but I do think that their reckless disregard for what a black shirt in politics can represent is a perfect example of the equally reckless disregard for this nation that the Democratic Party has shown through its impeachment shenanigans.

If you don’t agree, ask yourself: what would the response be if Donald Trump wore a black shirt to the State of the Union?

UPDATE February 18, 2020: is totalitarianism environmentally friendly?

The Nevada caucuses loom after a primary victory in New Hampshire and a near miss in Iowa by a socialist candidate. That’s a tough one to explain for a Democratic Party that spent the past few years vowing to defend our democracy. Democratic Socialists claim we can have it both ways with an economy based on socialism and a political system that remains the founders’ legacy that Democrats used as an excuse to impeach our president.

Do primary voters understand what they are getting into when they cast a ballot for Sanders? If you believe socialism and American democracy can co-exist, you aren’t paying attention to what he says about the climate crisis:

In July, Senator Sanders introduced a Senate resolution to declare that the climate emergency facing the planet demands a “national, social, industrial, and economic mobilization of the resources and labor of the United States.²²

How do you accomplish all of these things without demanding submission to the state? We can’t and we don’t have time to consider the consequences, either. In a joint release with far left House members Earl Blumenauer and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sanders warns:

The time is now for Congress to declare a climate emergency and swiftly mobilize federal resources in response to protect the interests of our nation and its people.²³

Political might is the solution:

The issue before us is not that we cannot address this problem—it is a lack of political will.²⁴

The country must be transformed and all it takes is a majority on the Hill to do it:

What we need is Congressional leadership to stand up to them and begin a process of transformation.²⁵

What will remain if the government flexes its political muscle to mobilize and transform every facet of our society to align with the far left’s agenda? We can only hope we still have the right to vote by whatever environmentally friendly system is put in place. If it takes too much energy to drive to a polling place or use our computers to vote we’ll have to transform our elections, too. In the end it won’t matter much. If this ever gets started we’ll only have one choice and it will be for green, environmentally-friendly totalitarian government.

UPDATE March 21, 2020: Democrat suggests Trump “autocratic tendencies” while totalitarian state shutdowns continue

New York Senator Charles Schumer’s state is under lockdown by the order of a Democratic Party governor. The Democratic mayor of the nation’s largest city requested this measure days before it was set in stone. Just before states ruled by Democrats began enforcing draconian and some would say totalitarian restrictions on the freedom of their residents, Schumer took a swipe at our Republican president:

As other steps are considered, the president must not overstep his authority or indulge his autocratic tendencies for purposes not truly related to this public health crisis.”²⁶

Trump has not imposed a national shutdown, or at least not yet. The actions of Democratic public officials who are waiting for huge cash infusions from Washington cannot be judged until this is over, but one thing is certain. This kind of partisan criticism while everyone tackles a problem the nation has never dealt with before is unhelpful, damaging, and dangerous. It’s what Schumer does best, but it’s time for him to shut up and remember what they say about glass houses.

UPDATE May 2, 2020: totalitarianism is the new American way

Apparently many Americans take great offense at being told to cower in their homes for the indefinite future. It rubs us the wrong way. Tentative stabs at bringing back state economies like opening movie theaters even though no new movies are being released and letting restaurants set your meal next to your car aren’t going to get the job done.

Totalitarianism lurks in the background. In Chicago the lakefront and parks are closed by decree. California beach bans are enforced by the police. Rhode Island hunted down New Yorkers. Michigan treated its citizens to draconian measures that turned into scary pictures of gun-toting citizens on the steps of its capital.

All of these things will pass in time, but there is a lot more to the totalitarian threat from this pandemic than restrictions to our liberty.

From contact tracing to a guaranteed income

As Arizona Republican Congressman Andy Biggs points out, ramped up contact tracing is either a Fauci and Birx-inspired public health necessity or unwarranted spying on Americans. It’s a frightfully simple thing to accomplish. Congress already provided billions to get the job done:

The legislation [Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act] passed today includes $12 billion to be distributed to state, local, and tribal jurisdictions for various purposes, including ‘surveillance’ and ‘contact tracing.’ The bill failed to define these terms, which have been used to spy on Americans.²⁷

Mind you, this is a Republican worrying about officials in a Republican administration. Biggs also pointed out the real totalitarian threat: economic devastation and trillions in spending.²⁸

These words are anathema to conservatives. They are an opportunity for Democrats.

We all have to eat. Most of us prefer to have some sort of a non-fabric roof over our heads. Without an income these are difficult tasks to accomplish.

That’s where Democratic lawmakers come in. They’ve always wanted Americans to be dependent on their feigned solicitude. Now many more of us are, especially those who were teetering on the brink to begin with.

Totalitarianism doesn’t have to be cruel. It can be as benign as a suggestion from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reported by RealClear Politics that guaranteeing an income to Americans is something we might want to think about. Is she getting her cues from socialist thorn in our side Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)?

Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer was an early proponent. He called on the Federal Government to:

Supply a Universal Basic Income (UBI) of $1,000/month to account for lost wages;²⁹

That’s not much of an income, but if you’re hungry it’s better than nothing. The same goes for:

direct funding to local businesses to pay their employees and avoid bankruptcy³⁰

When the government pays for everything from the moment you get up in the morning until you turn off the lights at night, what do you call it? Control over our lives doesn’t have to mean-spirited or violent. It can be as simple as Americans fearing bankruptcy and desperately needing to feed their families.

When our kids are hungry, how can we say no?

UPDATE May 3, 2020: totalitarian Chicago? Democrats threaten jail

Every afternoon Illinois Governor Pritzker holds a news conference and tries to explain the huge number of new COVID-19 cases that put Illinois near the top of the national outbreak map despite weeks of his stay at home order. While state residents are offered a confusing and contradictory mix of assurance and warnings, the city that prides itself on welcoming all comers and refusing to hold immigrant offenders for ICE is threatening residents with jail time for not following Mayor Lightfoot’s orders.

As of May 1 Illinois businesses have an opportunity to operate on a reduced scale and bring in a little tax revenue for the state. That’s a good thing, but it runs counter to the anger we’re hearing from a Chicago mayoral administration threating fines and jail time for offenders who hold house parties in their residence.

In a Tweet and accompanying video featured on Chicago.gov, Mayor Lightfoot orders city residents to “Stay home (your own home)”³¹ and warns that jail awaits those who don’t comply. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Chicago police were enforcing her dictates and shut down gatherings Friday night and yesterday after receiving tips about get-togethers that run afoul of the mayor’s orders.

If there’s hope to be had in Illinois we’re not feeling it at the moment. Angry outbursts and draconian pronouncements from Windy City officials in the face of a crisis that shows no obvious signs of abating are only going to inspire people to assert their rights and refuse to comply. We can split hairs over whether this is authoritarianism, totalitarianism, or both, but if you want to precipitate a people’s revolt like we saw in Michigan, this is the way to go about it.

UPDATE June 18, 2020: smug progressives target 1807 Insurrection Act to block Trump’s “authoritarian measures”

I’ll admit to not knowing much about the Insurrection Act of 1807 until now, when it’s suddenly news. This ancient legislation allows the president to send in the troops to quell turmoil. The reason it’s an issue now is because Democrat-run cities under siege don’t want that to happen.

The hackles on progressive necks rose the moment Trump threatened to do what Democrats won’t to protect lives and property. Instead of pushing officials in their district to do their jobs they justified amending the Insurrection Act:

Time and again, President Trump has governed as an authoritarian — abusing his power at the expense of the American people and our democracy. Now, he’s threatening to weaponize the U.S. military against its own citizens.³²

By definition the U.S. military is already a weapon, but “weaponize” is a popular word with lefties these days so we’ll let it go.
Trump never sent in the troops. Instead, Democrats stood by and watched while people were harmed and killed and businesses destroyed by arson and looting. As ridiculous as it sounds outside of a B-movie plot, we’re still waiting to see what happens with Seattle’s hijacked
autonomous zone. Give the city credit for defining the kind of lawless anarchy we expect from liberals when they are faced with a crisis and the only solution does not exist in their value set.

Democrats are clever when they do things that hurt people. Violence and anarchy during protests will be Trump’s fault even though some of the worst instances happen in places they control. Stopping the violence when they refuse will also be
Trump’s fault if it ever happens, but the president is smarter than that. That doesn’t mean he won’t be slapped with the autocratic label for a threat to get city officials off of their dead backsides.

Arson and assault make for good press when you can blame someone else. That’s why we need to amend the 1807 Insurrection Act to make sure when Democrats refuse to act no one else can, either.

Congresswoman Jackie Speier’s (D-CA) district includes part of San Francisco, so she should know how liberals don’t fix problems like homelessness or, in this case, out of control protests. Nevertheless, she doesn’t want Trump to step into situations her party can’t cope with:

Make no mistake, the President is an autocrat and gravitates to authoritarian measures whenever he is presented with a crisis. He is creating a self-fulfilling prophecy by taking volatile situations amid peaceful protests and lacing them with gasoline and dynamite.³³

Rhetorical flourish aside, the fact is the only flammable materials used were at the hands of protesters Democrats will defend to their last breath. In their infinite liberal smugness they know they can easily convince their flock that none of what we have witnessed can possibly be their fault.

Tell that to business owners who lost everything and families who lost loved ones while Speier’s party applauds blocking Trump from sending in the troops.

UPDATE August 26, 2020: Democrats deny violent protests with anti-authoritarian rhetoric

Are Democrats satisfied now that two people have died in Kenosha during protest violence? They have gone out of their way to empower criminals bent on destruction in urban flashpoints by insisting rioters are “peaceful” and by blaming federal efforts to quell the outbreaks on Trump’s authoritarianism. Ignoring the obvious may help bring in some votes for Biden, who tagged along behind more forceful voices in his party by demanding that we hold Kenosha police accountable while he wisely chose to not offend neo-terrorists who are a vital part of the Democratic Party’s base.

Democratic House members from Oregon were quick to hang the authoritarian label on Trump when they proposed H.R. 7719, the Preventing Authoritarian Policing Tactics on America’s Streets Act. Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici joined Maine Democrat Chellie Pingree (D-MA), who insisted:

What we are seeing in Oregon is an absolute violation of the constitutional right to free speech and an infringement on the protesters’ rights to freedom of assembly. These are the tactics used by authoritarian regimes and they have no place in our democracy. We cannot allow for this behavior to be normalized. Fascism has no place in America and these troops must withdraw,” said Pingree.³⁴

That’s easy for her to say. She lives on the other side of the country.

Jeff Merkley (D-OR) introduced the Senate version of the bill and the No Secret Police in America amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. He cheered the departure of federal troops and the end of the “occupation” in downtown Portland.³⁵

So with federal Gestapo withdrawn and Donald Trump’s authoritarianism quashed in Portland, why are we still hearing about peaceful protesters rioting and destroying property?

It’s not because Democrats in charge can’t control what happens in their cities. If their own property was threatened the police would be too thick to see through. No, this is another cynical liberal calculation that somehow Democrats can hang this on Trump. That means the more property destroyed, people injured, and lives lost the better for Campaign 2020.

UPDATE August 29, 2020: Biden COVID response is the definition of totalitarianism

It says a lot about Joe Biden’s lack of character that in the middle of this pandemic crisis he chooses to politicize American deaths. There is no possible benefit to anyone but Biden and his campaign from doing this, but it’s an easy ploy since he is not a public official and has no authority to do anything except flap his lips and blame others for something he has no role in.

That doesn’t mean Biden doesn’t have a plan. He does, or at least the rudiments of a totalitarian response to COVID-19. Federally-mandated face coverings and a national shutdown are on the table, just to get things started. Biden may be old, but he isn’t stupid. Shutting down America would play right into his party’s greedy, irresponsible hands. If Democrats had control of Congress we would no doubt be cowering in our homes right now under threat of fines and imprisonment, blinds drawn while the coronavirus stalks our streets.

Democrats are all about totalitarianism this year

Nothing would please Biden’s party more than to use this pandemic to set up a totalitarian regime in Washington under the guise of doting progressivism. Their rabid, undying hatred for Trump corrupts our democracy and the very idea of America. They don’t care that what Biden proposed is fundamentally anti-American or that using tens of thousands of dead Americans for a partisan power grab is hateful and wrong.

As much as Democrats like to compare the Trump administration to Nazi Germany it’s pretty obvious who the real totalitarian is, even if his words are not his own.

UPDATE November 6, 2020: totalitarian governors may take control of your holidays

I laughed when Illinois Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike pushed her plan to have a virtual Thanksgiving. The virus is out of control in Illinois, ostensibly because too many people ignore public health dictates, but let’s be honest. There is more of a chance that COVID-19 will vanish from the face of the earth on black Wednesday than there is that we will spend Thanksgiving Day slobbering turkey gravy on our computer monitors.

Despite a positive case count that hit a new record high of just under 10,000 yesterday, Governor Pritzker has remained steadfast in not shutting down the state again with another cower in place order. We’ve been told that the best we can hope for is that the situation will go from catastrophic to apocalyptic as fall transitions to winter. That means we should expect the government response to be equally as drastic.

Illinois tends to get its political cues from California, the worst liberal mentor of all. RedState reports³⁶ that Governor Newsom has a creative list of guidelines for this year’s anti-family celebration that looks to match the virus for its impact on the private lives of state residents.

The coronavirus pandemic stretched and then broke the boundaries of how far government can intrude. Private enterprise continues to fall to oppressive failing mitigation strategies. Depending on where you live, what you do in your own residence and who and how many you do it with is no longer your own choice. Whether or not you deem Trump an authoritarian, we should expect that before this year is over Democrats in charge of our states will fall to their totalitarian instincts as they struggle to control the parts of our lives government has always, without question, been forbidden to intrude on.

Trump never tried to do anything like that, but of course he is not a totalitarian Democrat.

UPDATE November 28, 2020: Democratic totalitarianism turns 74 million Americans into racist garbage

COVID-19 gave Democrats a chance to get their brand of totalitarianism ready and waiting for Joe Biden’s lackeys when he takes office in January. Party officials had a lot of practice this year coordinating control of the American people with results so extreme that in one state you can’t even have visitors over to your house without risking a visit from the police.

Some Americans want this. They proved it on November 3. Those of us who prefer our freedom acknowledged with our vote for Donald Trump that the people are the ones in control. We did not choose Biden, but our decision was wrenched away by a brilliantly coordinated national effort to get rid of our president at any cost.

Democratic allegations of Trump authoritarianism were a big part of the campaign against Trump. That feint cleverly whitewashed the totalitarian political culture the liberal left has ready and waiting. We can already see it implemented in select cities and states (think Oregon and the appalling mess that is Portland).

American totalitarianism requires more than Democratic politicians. A complicit media is a huge asset to the party’s seizure of control. That means with the election over the hate is still spewing.

Attacking the president isn’t enough to get the job done. The government estimates that 253,768,092 Americans were eligible to vote in 2019.³⁷ If you believe the election results so far, nearly 74 million Americans are also Trump supporters.
Who are these people?

If you ask a liberal Democratic, leftist media hack, or Barack Obama we are racists and xenophobes. Worse, many of us are white and barely educated enough to mark an “X” for our signature.

This is actually a huge problem for the liberal left because it means not only subjugating a majority, but doing it under false pretenses that have to be at least marginally believable. Nevertheless, if there are 74 million racist Republican voters in America absolutely seething with hate something will have to be done.

Will the totalitarian left create our history the same way Russia dealt with Stalin?

We’re already eagerly stamping out America’s past to accommodate a liberal rewrite instead of reckoning with our history by recognizing the good and the bad and learning from both. Part of this cover-up could even include stamping out the history of the Trump years. A CNN editorial questions the morality of book publishers who might agree to deal on a Trump memoir.³⁸ In contrast, Obama’s newest liberal screed was greeted as a handbook filled with important lessons for Americans. I can only imagine what the entry for 2017-2020 will look like in liberal history books:

This was a dark time and then Joe Biden saved the nation from 74 million racists.

Will America admit that Trump voters are uneducated, racist garbage?

The cynicism of totalitarian Democrats working with a tail-wagging media is astounding and historic. Can they convince Americans and the world that 74 million of our people are morally bankrupt, uneducated, racist garbage simply because we support Donald Trump and not the left’s anti-American, totalitarian socialism?

This is an enormous undertaking that requires the totality of the Democratic machine, big tech, media conglomerates, and liberals with too much time on their non-calloused hands. It’s a necessary prerequisite for Democratic totalitarianism to gain a foothold because there are simply too many of us who see through this smokescreen to let it succeed unless we are beaten down, repressed, and reviled by people who no longer have a right to call themselves Americans.

UPDATE January 9, 2021: Democrats just got their excuse for the totalitarianism to come

It’s frightening to consider that the Democrat who chairs the House Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties feels so empowered that he uses this kind of language against Christian Americans:

The President who spoke up for gay rights at the 2016 Republican Convention has now completed his journey to complete and total subservience to the authoritarian Religious Right.

That bit of religious intolerance came from Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) in December 2020. Raskin is part of the last-minute, last-ditch charge to impeach Donald Trump while Nancy Pelosi still has a chance to get even with him for usurping her power.

Outraged voices on Capitol Hill like Rep. Sean Casten’s (D-IL) reflect obsession and hysteria as the Democratic Party take over our country:

Yesterday’s attempted coup incited by our 45th president, Donald J. Trump, will go down as one of the darkest moments in our nation’s history.

Did Casten skip American history? The loss of life was tragic and the events were a stain on our democratic republic, but the reason this is “one of the darkest moments” in American history and an attempted coup is because Democrats badly need and want it to be. Their coup sets the perfect stage for a totalitarian crackdown on our lives and liberties.

Breaking into a building does not remove a president. It doesn’t change the outcome of an election or even put rioters in charge. It will, however, give Democrats the excuse they need to finish the partisan coup they started last year with another showy, pointless impeachment effort to grant Trump-obsessed House Speaker Pelosi her greatest wish.

The left’s hatred for Donald Trump spills over to everyone who supported the president. “Trump supporter” is now synonymous with “domestic terrorist.” That throws the door open for all manner of repression from Democrats who tipped the balance of power and can now demand subservience to their party.

Liberal lawmakers who repeatedly assailed the president’s allegedly dangerous rhetoric should pay more attention to their own veiled threats:

This was about something bigger than Donald Trump, or Joe Biden, or any man or woman. It was about the survival of our democracy.

When the survival of America is at stake, absolutely nothing is off the table.

To paraphrase Joe Biden, America’s darkest days are still ahead. They will be delivered by totalitarian Democrats who are going to use the Capitol riot to make sure their grip on our nation is firm, unyielding, and permanent.

UPDATE January 18, 2021: totalitarian Democrats welcome massive deployment they rejected during racial justice riots

When cities were overrun by leftist insurrectionists who attacked federal courthouses and police department headquarters President Trump offered to help. Angry Democrats who denied what was taking place turned on Trump and law enforcement personnel and called them stormtroopers and “President Trump’s gestapo.”⁴³

Denial is what happens when fact crosses party ideology. The nation was told that it was simply not possible that violence could occur at peaceful protests. That’s why they are called “peaceful.”

There was nothing peaceful about what happened on January 6 but there was one big difference from the summer riots. Democratic lawmakers were also imperiled. Now we’re seeing a massive buildup of National Guard and other enforcement personnel nationwide. Democratic governors like Illinois’ J.B. Pritzker are boasting their security measures:

At the request of the U.S. Department of Defense, the Governor also activated an additional 100 members of the Illinois National Guard in support of the 59th Presidential Inauguration in Washington D.C. These additional troops will join the approximately 200 members of the Guard that were previously activated by the Governor.⁴⁴

FBI Director Christopher Wray discussed the threat on Friday:

We’re concerned about the potential for violence at multiple protests and rallies planned here in D.C. and at state Capitol buildings around the country in the days to come that could bring armed individuals within close proximity to government buildings and officials.⁴⁵

The difference from last summer is that there was no “potential for violence.” There was no “could.” The violence was happening. It was impacting citizens and small businesses and like the Capitol Hill incursion, people died.

While the peaceful violence raged sixteen big cities joined Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan to demand that Trump keep federal law enforcement out of their jurisdictions.⁴⁵ They called on Congress to investigate the president for the planned deployments and even accused him of “attacking progressive cities with troops.”⁴⁶

You will not hear any objections from Democrats this week as they prepare to flex their muscle and take over the nation. Authoritarianism is in the eye of the beholder. So is totalitarianism. Don’t expect to Democrats to call personnel deployed to protect public buildings storm troopers or Biden’s gestapo. Now they are protecting our democracy. They will take whatever measures are necessary to track down anyone who might be involved in right wing extremism, including Republicans in Congress who might be a risk to our nation. If you object, look out. You will be part of the problem.

UPDATE January 29, 2021: Democratic Party’s totalitarian threat is not a Salute to America

According to the Chicago Tribune my state’s governor is sending 500 National Guard troops to Washington.⁴⁸ J.B. Pritzker is the quintessential agenda-heavy Democrat, so I guess this shouldn’t be a surprise. Whether or not the threat of a white supremacist assault is real there is nothing like a show of force to cement our ruling party’s totalitarian hold on America.

January 6, 2021 is the best day Democrats have had in many years. Their threat of right wing extremism finally came to fruition after years of spreading fear.

Party members who embrace their totalitarian display of military authority must have forgotten how they responded to Trump’s planned 2019 Fourth of July celebration featuring our military on the National Mall. They were outraged. Barbara Lee (D-CA) called the Salute to America “outrageous and dangerous.”⁴⁹

Betty McCollum (D-MN) insinuated that the Salute to America was less than patriotic:

The Fourth of July festivities in our nation’s Capital are intended to be patriotic and welcoming to all Americans. Instead, Mr. Trump is hijacking the celebration and twisting it into a taxpayer-funded, partisan political rally that’s more about promoting a Trumpian cult of personality than the spirit of American independence and freedom.⁵⁰

It probably hasn’t occurred to Congresswoman McCollum that militarizing the Capitol doesn’t promote our spirit of American independence and freedom, either.

D.C. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton could not have foreseen the future when she talked about uniting Americans while she blasted the planned Independence Day festivities:

President Trump’s decision to insert himself into the U.S. capital’s nonpartisan Fourth of July celebration keeps inviting more controversy to a holiday best known for uniting Americans around celebrations of the nation’s birthday.⁵¹

Joe Biden is still talking gibberish about unity, but the tables have turned. Democrats are in charge. Our Capitol is militarized. Unity is not an option.

Now even more troops are on the way in a partisan show of force that looks less like America and more like North Korea or the former Soviet Union. The military presence sends the message that we are under siege from the right. Even Republican lawmakers could be a threat.

Is this a real threat? Democrats have a history of made-up conspiracies including the four years they wasted on Russia. There is a real threat being played out here and now but it’s on the West Coast, not the Capitol. Don’t expect Antifa-denying Democrats to do anything about that.

Perhaps this militaristic display is just a distraction while our new president turns to authoritarianism and issues order after order after order without any congressional participation. Democrats dislike authoritarianism as much as they dislike totalitarian militarism unless they are the ones who benefit. Whether it’s authoritarianism or totalitarianism, they have all their bases covered.

UPDATE February 24, 2021: totalitarian Democrats get ready to clamp down

Totalitarianism must appeal to Nancy Pelosi. Her love of one country with one destiny turned into an armed encampment for her lawmakers who are more than eager to root out those who they can accuse of being a threat to the party.

Democrats’ insistence that Americans change our beliefs to align with their extreme woke liberal values crosses the line from authoritarianism to totalitarianism thanks to their implied threat of what will happen if we don’t agree and submit. Trump supporters are threatened with job loss, we watch people fall to the liberal cancel culture, and commissions and investigations hang over the nation thanks to an alleged but unproven threat to American democracy.

In a letter to her colleagues titled “Security, Security, Security” Pelosi confuses democracy with militarizing Washington:

Now, as always, security is the order of the day: the security of our country, the security of our Capitol which is the temple of our democracy, and the security of our Members.⁵²

“Security of our country” is a sloppily veiled warning.

In a POLITICO article posted to her congressional website Assistant House Speaker Katherine Clarke (D-MA) talks up a truth and accountability commission that won’t stop with the Capitol riot.

She cites “themes of racism” connected to the incident and larger threats such as a connection between domestic terror and racism⁵³ that are more rooted in dangerous Democratic political strategy than reality.

The real threats are the ones spreading through Pelosi’s House. As a follow-up to the riot Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) “proposes a focus on healing the divisions in our country, fighting inequality and injustice, fixing the enabling social media environment that exploited divisions, and rebuilding our institutions. ⁵⁴

That’s a dangerous list coming from a Democrat, especially the last two items. How does she propose we do these things? First we investigate by:

establishing a truth commission to address white supremacy and the roots of the attack on the Capitol, building a memorial to the heroes of January 6th, combating social media radicalization, and making sure that the military and law enforcement are free of white nationalism and insurrectionists.⁵⁵

Rest assured that whether or not there is any truth behind Democrats’ claims that white supremacy was behind the Capitol riot that conclusion will be verified just like they proved their tale of a Trump-Russia conspiracy. Once that happens the threat to democracy will be intolerable and the hammer will come down.

Pelosi resorted to patriotism to justify security, security, and more security to kick off another House seek to destroy mission. She is pushing an:

independent 9/11-type Commission to “investigate and report on the facts and causes relating to the January 6, 2021 domestic terrorist attack upon the United States Capitol Complex….⁵⁶

We know that facts and Democrats are not compatible. The conclusions are already drawn. This is prelude to making sure we never have another Republican in the White House. Rep. Jacobs alluded to exactly that before Trump left Washington in a statement proved false by his impeachment acquittal:

As Donald Trump leaves office on Wednesday, holding him accountable is not simply about ensuring he will never hold office again, but about preventing another such leader from attempting a similar attack on our democracy. ⁵⁷

“Another such leader” are the words to beware. What could speak to totalitarian rule better than banning candidates from running for office because Democrats demand we silence their beliefs?

UPDATE April 24, 2021: Biden’s totalitarian concentration camp cover-up

After a fusillade of comparisons between the Trump administration and the Third Reich Democrats have a really big problem on their hands. Their president’s border facilities make anything that happened on Donald Trump’s watch look like an illegal immigrant house party. The detention camps reek of totalitarianism. Democrats lured thousands immigrants to the U.S. and then locked them up in holding pens and covered up what’s going on at the border from the American people.

We don’t see many pictures of these holding pens from Biden’s transparent government, but the few that manage to emerge look an awful lot like concentration camps. Illegal immigrants are packed in shoulder to shoulder like sardines covered in foil and surrounded by wire barricades. The situation at the border appears so bad, in fact, that Vice President Kamala Harris won’t even visit this catastrophe that was dumped in her lap. Is she counting on plausible deniability or is what her administration created so horrendous that she simply can’t stomach what Democrats did to the people they enticed to make the journey to America?

The White House embarked on a largely successful, all-out effort to cover up what Democrats called anti-immigrant hate under Donald Trump. As far as most Americans are concerned the problem doesn’t exist except for the handful of pictures leaked to the media showing what more of us need to call Biden’s concentration camps.

Psaki denies. Biden lies. Harris does nothing at all.

The American people should demand to know what’s really going on at our Southern border and why our new, opaque progressive government is engaged in an ethnic detainment policy that any Third Reich totalitarian would be proud of.

Footnotes and photo

1. “Ranking Member Cohen to Introduce Articles of Impeachment Against President Donald Trump After Comments on Charlottesville.” Steve Cohen. August 17, 2017. https://cohen.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/ranking-member-cohen-introduce-articles-impeachment-against-president, retrieved July 23, 2018.

2. “Merkley, Wyden, Bonamici, Blumenauer Visit ICE Detainees in Oregon Federal Prison.” Suzanne Bonamici. June 18, 2018. https://bonamici.house.gov/media/press-releases/merkley-wyden-bonamici-blumenauer-visit-ice-detainees-oregon-federal-prison, retrieved July 23, 2018.

3. “Trump-Putin Summit: “In the struggle to preserve the free world, Trump proudly yields right of way to the oppressor.” Lloyd Doggett. July 16, 2018. https://doggett.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/trump-putin-summit-struggle-preserve-free-world-trump-proudly-yields, retrieved July 23, 2018.

4. Ibid.

5. “Moulton Statement on President Trump’s Firing of FBI Director Comey.” Seth Moulton. May 10, 2017. https://moulton.house.gov/6th-district/moulton-statement-president-trumps-firing-fbi-director-comey/, retrieved July 23, 2018.

6. “Congressman Nadler Blasts Trump Budget as “Absurd.” Jerrold Nadler. March 16, 2017. https://nadler.house.gov/press-release/congressman-nadler-blasts-trump-budget-absurd, retrieved July 23, 2018.

7. “Employer Costs for Employee Compensation – March 2018.” Bureau of Labor Statistics. June 8, 2018. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ecec.pdf, retrieved July 25, 2018.

8. “Frequently Asked Questions.” SBA Office of Advocacy. https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/FAQ_Sept_2012.pdf, retrieved July 25, 2018.

9. “All 17 Committee Democrats Unveil Debt-Free College Plan.” Education & the Workforce Committee Democrats. July 24, 2018. https://democrats-edworkforce.house.gov/media/press-releases/all-17-committee-democrats-unveil-debt-free-college-plan, retrieved July 26, 2018.

10. “Jayapal and Sanders Introduce College for All Act.” Pramila Jayapal. April 3, 2017. https://jayapal.house.gov/media/press-releases/jayapal-and-sanders-introduce-college-all-act, retrieved July 26, 2018.

11. “Watson Coleman, Khanna Focus on Jobless Workers with New Bills.” Bonnie Watson Coleman. July 24, 2018. https://watsoncoleman.house.gov/newsroom/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=482, retrieved July 25, 2018.

12. “Income and Wealth Inequality.” Our Revolution. https://ourrevolution.com/issues/, retrieved July 26, 2018.

13. Ibid.

14. “Congressional Progressive Caucus.” The Progressive Promise. https://cpc-grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=63§iontree=2,63, retrieved July 23, 2018.

15. “Scott Statement on June Jobs Report.” Scott Statement on June Jobs Report. July 6, 2018. https://democrats-edworkforce.house.gov/media/press-releases/07/06/2018/scott-statement-on-june-jobs-report, retrieved July 27, 2018.

16. “Beyer Calls On Trump To Personally Reimburse Taxpayers For Any Damage To Local Infrastructure At July 4th Event.” Don Beyer. July 2, 2019. https://beyer.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=4456, retrieved November 18, 2019.

17. “Hoyer Statement on the 30th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall.” Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. November 9, 2019. https://democraticwhip.house.gov/content/hoyer-statement-30th-anniversary-fall-berlin-wall, retrieved November 18, 2019.

18. “Pelosi Statement on 20th Anniversary of Fall of Berlin Wall.” Nancy Pelosi. Speaker of the House. November 9, 2009. https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/pelosi-statement-20th-anniversary-fall-berlin-wall, retrieved November 18, 2019.

19. “Rep. Gomez Introduces the For the 99.8% Act to Address America’s Wealth Gap.” Jimmy Gomez. October 25, 2019. https://gomez.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1783, retrieved November 29, 2019.

20. “Common Dreams: House Dems Take Aim at ‘Trust Fund Babies’ With Estate Tax Designed to Combat Obscene Wealth Inequality.” Jimmy Gomez. October 25, 2019. https://gomez.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1788, retrieved November 29, 2019.

21. “Menendez to Recognize #MeToo Movement at SOTU; Announces Anti-Sexual Assault Advocate as SOTU Guest.” Bob Menendez. January 26, 2018. https://www.menendez.senate.gov/news-and-events/press/menendez-to-recognize-metoo-movement-at-sotu-announces-anti-sexual-assault-advocate-as-sotu-guest, retrieved December 20, 2019.

22. “Sanders Office Holds Roundtable with Vermonters on Agriculture and the Green New Deal.” Bernie Sanders. October 10, 2019. https://www.sanders.senate.gov/vermont/sanders-office-holds-roundtable-with-vermonters-on-agriculture-and-the-green-new-deal, retrieved February 18, 2020.

23. “Blumenauer, Ocasio-Cortez, and Sanders Introduce Resolution to Declare the Climate Crisis a National Emergency.” U.S. Congressman Earl Blumenauer. July 9, 2019. https://blumenauer.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/blumenauer-ocasio-cortez-and-sanders-introduce-resolution-declare, retrieved February 18, 2020.

24. Ibid.

25. Ibid.

26. “Schumer Statement On President Trump Declaring Coronavirus a National Emergency.” Senate Democrats. March 13, 2020. https://www.democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/schumer-statement-on-president-trump-declaring-coronavirus-a-national-emergency, retrieved March 17, 2020.

27. “Congressman Biggs Votes to Protect Americans’ Privacy and Fiscal Future.” Andy Biggs. April 23, 2020. https://biggs.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-biggs-votes-protect-americans-privacy-and-fiscal-future, retrieved May 2, 2020.

28. Ibid.

29. “Congressman Earl Blumenauer Releases COVID-19 Economic Stabilization Plan.” U.S. Congressman Earl Blumenauer. March 17, 2020. https://blumenauer.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-earl-blumenauer-releases-covid-19-economic-stabilization, retrieved May 2, 2020.

30. Ibid.

31. Retrieved from https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/mayor.html on May 3, 2020.

³²“Congressional Progressive Caucus Leaders Announce Forthcoming Legislation to Amend the Insurrection Act of 1807.” Congressional Progressive Caucus. June 4, 2020. https://cpc-grijalva.house.gov/press-releases/congressional-progressive-caucus-leaders-announce-forthcoming-legislation-to-amend-the-insurrection-act-of-1807/ , retrieved June 18, 2020.

³³“Rep. Speier’s Response to Trump’s Threat to Invoke Insurrection Act of 1807.” Jackie Speier. June 2, 2020. https://speier.house.gov/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=2D527453-DB58-462C-995D-AF767BD59CC5, retrieved June 18, 2020.

³⁴“Pingree Signs on to Legislation to End Authoritarian Police Tactics in Oregon, American Cities.” Chellie Pingree. July 23, 2020. https://pingree.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3462, retrieved August 26, 2020.

³⁵“Merkley Welcomes Announcement of Withdrawal of Federal Forces From Portland.” Jeff Merkley. July 29, 2020. https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/merkley-welcomes-announcement-of-withdrawal-of-federal-forces-from-portland-2020, retrieved August 26, 2020.

³⁶Freedom Foundation. “Newsom’s Latest COVID Regs Nuttier Than a Holiday Fruitcake.” RedState. November 5, 2020. https://redstate.com/freedom-foundation/2020/11/05/newsoms-latest-covid-regs-nuttier-than-a-holiday-fruitcake-n275564, retrieved November 6, 2020.

³⁷“Estimates of the Voting Age Population for 2018.” Federal Register. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/10/04/2019-21663/estimates-of-the-voting-age-population-for-2018, retrieved November 28, 2020.

³⁸Hemmer, Nicole. “A Trump memoir? Thanks, but let’s not.” November 27, 2020. https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/27/opinions/obama-memoir-what-about-trump-memoir-hemmer/index.html, retrieved November 28, 2020.

³⁹“Subcommittee Chair Raskin Issues Statement on Trump Administration’s Last-Minute Rulemakings That Allow for LGBTQ+ Discrimination.” Oversight.house.gov. December 17, 2020. https://oversight.house.gov/news/press-releases/subcommittee-chair-raskin-issues-statement-on-trump-administration-s-last-minute, retrieved January 9, 2021.

⁴⁰“Congressman Kahele Statement in Support of the Impeachment and Immediate Removal of President Trump.” Kahele.house.gov. January 8, 2021. https://kahele.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-kahele-statement-support-impeachment-and-immediate-removal, retrieved January 9, 2021.

⁴¹“Casten Calls for Impeachment Following President Trump’s Attempted Coup.” Casten.house.gov. January 7, 2021. https://casten.house.gov/media/press-releases/casten-calls-impeachment-following-president-trump-s-attempted-coup, retrieved January 9, 2021.

⁴²“Congressman Brendan Boyle Delivers Weekly Democratic Address.” Speaker.gov. January 8, 2021. https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/1821-6, retrieved January 9, 2021.

⁴³”McEachin Condems Unlawful Actions of the Trump Administration in Portland, Oregon.” McEachin.house.gov. July 22, 2020. https://mceachin.house.gov/media/press-releases/mceachin-condems-unlawful-actions-trump-administration-portland-oregon, retrieved January 18, 2021.

⁴⁴“Gov. Pritzker Activates Illinois National Guard to Bolster Security of State Buildings in Downtown Springfield.” Illinois.gov. January 15, 2021. https://www2.illinois.gov/Pages/news-item.aspx?ReleaseID=22651, retrieved January 18, 2021.

⁴⁵“FBI Director Christopher Wray’s Remarks at Briefing on Inauguration Security.” FBI.gov. January 15, 2021. https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/fbi-director-christopher-wrays-remarks-at-briefing-on-inauguration-security, retrieved January 18, 2021.

⁴⁶Derrick, Anthony. “Sixteen Mayors of Major American Cities Call on Trump Administration to Halt Plans and Remove Federal Forces from Cities, Call on Congress to Immediately Investigate President.” Durkan.seattle.gov. July 22, 2020. https://durkan.seattle.gov/2020/07/sixteen-mayors-of-major-american-cities-call-on-trump-administration-to-halt-plans-and-remove-federal-forces-from-cities-call-on-congress-to-immediately-investigate-president/, retrieved January 18, 2021.

⁴⁷Ibid.

⁴⁸At Pentagon’s request, Gov. J.B. Pritzker sends 500 Illinois National Guard troops to Washington amid ‘heightened threat environment.’ Chicago Tribune. January 28, 2021. https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-illinois-national-guard-washington-20210128-v6keqqccyveyzngpm7273canma-story.html, retrieved January 29, 2021.

⁴⁹“Congresswoman Barbara Lee Calls Trump’s Fourth of July Military Parade ‘Outrageous and Dangerous.’ Lee.house.gov. July 4, 2019. https://lee.house.gov/news/press-releases/congresswoman-barbara-lee-calls-trumps-fourth-of-july-military-parade-outrageous-and-dangerous-, retrieved January 29, 2021.

⁵⁰“McCollum Statement on President Trump’s Fourth of July “Salute to America” Event.” McCollum.house.gov. July 2, 2019. https://mccollum.house.gov/media/press-releases/mccollum-statement-president-trump-s-fourth-july-salute-america-event, retrieved January 29, 2021.

⁵¹“Norton Statement on President Trump’s Latest Plans for Fourth of July.” Norton.house.gov. July 1, 2019. https://norton.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/norton-statement-on-president-trump-s-latest-plans-for-fourth-of-july, retrieved January 29, 2021.

⁵²“Dear Colleague: Security, Security, Security.” Speaker.gov. February 15, 2021. https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/21521-0, retrieved February 24, 2021.

⁵³“Politico: Assistant House speaker: Capitol riot commission needed for ‘truth and accountability’.” KatherineClark.house.gov. February 16, 2021. https://katherineclark.house.gov/2021/2/politico-assistant-house-speaker-capitol-riot-commission-needed-for-truth-and-accountability, retrieved February 24, 2021.

⁵⁴“Congresswoman Jacobs Calls for Truth Commission, Memorial to Heroes Who Defended the Capitol, and Robust Defense of Democratic Institutions in Letter to Speaker Pelosi.” sarajacobs.house.gov. January 20, 2021. https://sarajacobs.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=38, retrieved February 24, 2021.

⁵⁵Ibid.

⁵⁶“Dear Colleague: Security, Security, Security.” Op. cit.

⁵⁷“Congresswoman Jacobs Calls for Truth Commission, Memorial to Heroes Who Defended the Capitol, and Robust Defense of Democratic Institutions in Letter to Speaker Pelosi.” Op. cit.

*Photo by Julius Drost, Unsplash.