tRUMP and Castro both act the same.

Demonization and Disrespect

First, Trump demonizes his political opponents. He kicked off his
campaign this year by saying �Our radical Democrat opponents are driven
by hatred, prejudice and rage,� and that �they want to destroy you and
they want to destroy our country as we know it.� This good versus evil
rhetoric is not compatible with a healthy democracy. We should believe
that even those who disagree with us are full members of the American
political community who merit our respect and that losing an election is
not the end of the world.

Nobody likes to lose, but we have to be able to accept political defeat
when it happens � only dictators believe otherwise. Trump, far from
bringing us together, is more than willing to tear us � and our
democratic community � apart. His focus on division and vilification
should disturb all of us. And it is a move right out of the dictator�s
playbook.

A Government of a Man, Not of Laws

When I worked at the Center for a Free Cuba, my boss, the human rights
activist Frank Calzon, would often repeat a phrase of John Adams�s --
that America was �a government of laws, not of men.� You couldn�t say
that about Castro�s Cuba. It has become hard to say it about Trump�s
America.

Like Castro, Trump puts himself at the center of everything. In his mind,
he is the government, the savior, the country. His political style
resembles no one more than Castro � the egoism, the lies and disregard
for facts, the loud ideas that end badly or trail off into incompetence
(�build that wall�), the faux-populist outlook (living in luxury while
pretending to speak for the people), the long speeches, the constant
emphasis on us versus them (the Yankee imperialists for Castro; shadowy
antifa, �radical leftists,� BLM, and immigrants for Trump).

Trump openly refuses to respect or even acknowledge constitutional and
other limits on his personal political power. Laws, constitutional rules,
traditions of respect and non-politicization of the U.S. Attorney�s
Office and the Department of Justice � these are all to be undermined
whenever that is in his interests. He enthusiastically entertains the
idea of serving beyond two terms, saying that he is �probably entitled�
to a third term despite the absolutely clear constitutional prohibition
in that regard.

Rejecting Democracy

That brings us to the final, most troubling parallel with Castro. Like
him, Trump thinks that any election that he doesn�t win is fraudulent.
This year, at the Republican National Convention, Trump said that �the
only way they can take this election away from us is if this is a rigged
election.� He has suggested he might not accept the results of the
election while making unsupported assertions that there are �fake�
ballots being cast all over the country.

There is overwhelming evidence that these claims of widespread voter
fraud are baseless. This has been verified by experts of all political
persuasions and by many investigations run by Republicans in red states.
The Brennan Center for Justice, which studies electoral integrity, has a
detailed catalogue of all of these reports in its �Debunking the Voter
Fraud Myth.� We are in the midst of a pandemic, and that will alter how
many people vote remotely. But there are extensive protocols in place to
ensure voting integrity through remote ballots.

If you support Trump, tell him to stop with these unsupported, un-
American, and undemocratic assertions about rigged elections, widespread
voter fraud, and other anti-democratic attitudes more befitting Castro or
Ch�vez or other petty dictators of history. Get him to pledge to respect
the election result, even if it takes a week or two to count all the
votes. If he won�t do that, don�t support him.

America is not about idolizing our leader. What makes America great, on
its great days, is the way in which no person is above the law. What
makes America great is how we come together to solve problems despite our
disagreements. What makes America great is that we put our faith in
elections rather than the person in power at any particular time. Let�s
get back to being a government of laws, not of a man.

On Sat, 24 Aug 2024 17:14:24 -0000 (UTC), RichA <rander3127@gmail.com> wrote:

>
>tRUMP and Castro both act the same.
>
>
>Demonization and Disrespect
>
>First, Trump demonizes his political opponents. He kicked off his
>campaign this year by saying “Our radical Democrat opponents are driven
>by hatred, prejudice and rage,” and that “they want to destroy you and
>they want to destroy our country as we know it.” This good versus evil
>rhetoric is not compatible with a healthy democracy. We should believe
>that even those who disagree with us are full members of the American
>political community who merit our respect and that losing an election is
>not the end of the world.
>
>Nobody likes to lose, but we have to be able to accept political defeat
>when it happens — only dictators believe otherwise. Trump, far from
>bringing us together, is more than willing to tear us — and our
>democratic community — apart. His focus on division and vilification
>should disturb all of us. And it is a move right out of the dictator’s
>playbook.
>
>A Government of a Man, Not of Laws
>
>When I worked at the Center for a Free Cuba, my boss, the human rights
>activist Frank Calzon, would often repeat a phrase of John Adams’s --
>that America was “a government of laws, not of men.” You couldn’t say
>that about Castro’s Cuba. It has become hard to say it about Trump’s
>America.
>
>Like Castro, Trump puts himself at the center of everything. In his mind,
>he is the government, the savior, the country. His political style
>resembles no one more than Castro — the egoism, the lies and disregard
>for facts, the loud ideas that end badly or trail off into incompetence
>(“build that wall”), the faux-populist outlook (living in luxury while
>pretending to speak for the people), the long speeches, the constant
>emphasis on us versus them (the Yankee imperialists for Castro; shadowy
>antifa, “radical leftists,” BLM, and immigrants for Trump).
>
>Trump openly refuses to respect or even acknowledge constitutional and
>other limits on his personal political power. Laws, constitutional rules,
>traditions of respect and non-politicization of the U.S. Attorney’s
>Office and the Department of Justice — these are all to be undermined
>whenever that is in his interests. He enthusiastically entertains the
>idea of serving beyond two terms, saying that he is “probably entitled”
>to a third term despite the absolutely clear constitutional prohibition
>in that regard.
>
>Rejecting Democracy
>
>That brings us to the final, most troubling parallel with Castro. Like
>him, Trump thinks that any election that he doesn’t win is fraudulent.
>This year, at the Republican National Convention, Trump said that “the
>only way they can take this election away from us is if this is a rigged
>election.” He has suggested he might not accept the results of the
>election while making unsupported assertions that there are “fake”
>ballots being cast all over the country.
>
>There is overwhelming evidence that these claims of widespread voter
>fraud are baseless. This has been verified by experts of all political
>persuasions and by many investigations run by Republicans in red states.
>The Brennan Center for Justice, which studies electoral integrity, has a
>detailed catalogue of all of these reports in its “Debunking the Voter
>Fraud Myth.” We are in the midst of a pandemic, and that will alter how
>many people vote remotely. But there are extensive protocols in place to
>ensure voting integrity through remote ballots.
>
>If you support Trump, tell him to stop with these unsupported, un-
>American, and undemocratic assertions about rigged elections, widespread
>voter fraud, and other anti-democratic attitudes more befitting Castro or
>Chávez or other petty dictators of history. Get him to pledge to respect
>the election result, even if it takes a week or two to count all the
>votes. If he won’t do that, don’t support him.
>
>America is not about idolizing our leader. What makes America great, on
>its great days, is the way in which no person is above the law. What
>makes America great is how we come together to solve problems despite our
>disagreements. What makes America great is that we put our faith in
>elections rather than the person in power at any particular time. Let’s
>get back to being a government of laws, not of a man.

*applause*

Stupid Donald Trump Tweet, DNC night 4
"Too many "Thank yous," too rapidly said, what's going on with her?"

Only assholes don't say thank you.
--
#NEVERtrump