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Trump's real-life, Nuremberg-lite, QAnon-serenaded Nazi rally in Youngston, Ohio. Photo by Gaelen Morse/Reuters
Nope, Not A (Terrifying) Cult
Whoa. The frenzied, hateful, gonzo base was always bad. Now, it's worse. Like, Leni Riefenstahl worse. Ending the "week he went QAnon" with a deranged rally in Youngstown, OH, Trump literally raved - invasion of illegal aliens, crashing economy, "murders, shootings, stabbings, r-r-r-rapes, carjackings," Hunter Biden's laptop! - to the swelling, coming-storm soundtrack of "Wwg1wga," QAnon's "Where we go one, we go all" anthem. In response, the rapt crowd gave a straight-arm, index-finger salute we could swear we've seen before. Oh, right: 1930s Nuremberg. Armbands coming soon.
Sep 18, 2022
Whoa. The frenzied, hateful, gonzo base - in thrall to a cheap con man they blindly deemed "a vessel for God" - albeit a smiting, lying, transactional, grifting one - was always bad. Now, it's worse. Like, Leni Riefenstahl worse. With the pressure mounting - lawsuits, prosecutors, a Jan. 6 Committee bearing down - a flailing Trump has veered sharply to the right, threatening mob-style "problems like we've never seen" and posting brazenly QAnon-flavored missives and photos, including one sporting a "Q" lapel pin with, "A storm is coming." Subtle. Aptly, he ended "the week he went QAnon" with a feverish, hate-spewing rally in Youngstown, Ohio. Ostensibly there to endorse cracker Senate candidate J.D. Vance - ever-gracious, he sneered, "J.D. is kissing my ass" - he was really there to rave, literally. Ulysseus? Introduced by an equally demented Klan Mom MTG - he is the GOP's "one true leader" and God help us all - he railed to the less-than-massive crowd about a fictional America in ruins: No border, invasion by "millions of illegal aliens," crashing economy, enemy-of-the-people media, "horrible convicts," spying Obama, an "unhinged persecution." Aaron Rupar - thanks again for sitting through this - summarized the tired jeremiad: "Murders, shootings stabbings, r-r-r-rapes, carjackings are skyrocketing."
But it was at the end that things got really bizarre - creepy, Wagnerian, Jonestown-Kool-Aid bizarre. As Trump began his final, hypnotic, hyperbolic lamentation of "a nation in decline," his babbling was theatrically accompanied by the swelling soundtrack of somber strings in the QAnon anthem "Wwg1wga," a ridiculous title representing their puerile, stalwart slogan, "Where we go one, we go all." Reportedly written by one "Richard Feelgood," it's meant to portray the rising storm that will soon destroy the global satanic cabal of pedophiles out to get Trump - who in turn already used the song in a post, prompting excited QAnoners to declare it "THE mother of all Q proofs." Yes, we are all in fascist middle school. As the music rose, the toxic sick old man blathered about election fraud, Hunter Biden's laptop, how "Whatever they do to me, I will endure their torment," and a cognitively impaired president - Biden not him - whose failings mean "we may end up in World War 3." In response, the rapt crowd raised, en masse and zombie-like, a straight-arm, index-finger, eerie salute toward the stage that we could swear we've seen before. Oh, right: 1930s Nuremberg. We assume the armbands are on order. But it's definitely not a cult.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
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Abby Zimet
Abby Zimet has written CD's Further column since 2008. A longtime, award-winning journalist, she moved to the Maine woods in the early 70s, where she spent a dozen years building a house, hauling water and writing before moving to Portland. Having come of political age during the Vietnam War, she has long been involved in women's, labor, anti-war, social justice and refugee rights issues. Email: azimet18@gmail.com
Whoa. The frenzied, hateful, gonzo base - in thrall to a cheap con man they blindly deemed "a vessel for God" - albeit a smiting, lying, transactional, grifting one - was always bad. Now, it's worse. Like, Leni Riefenstahl worse. With the pressure mounting - lawsuits, prosecutors, a Jan. 6 Committee bearing down - a flailing Trump has veered sharply to the right, threatening mob-style "problems like we've never seen" and posting brazenly QAnon-flavored missives and photos, including one sporting a "Q" lapel pin with, "A storm is coming." Subtle. Aptly, he ended "the week he went QAnon" with a feverish, hate-spewing rally in Youngstown, Ohio. Ostensibly there to endorse cracker Senate candidate J.D. Vance - ever-gracious, he sneered, "J.D. is kissing my ass" - he was really there to rave, literally. Ulysseus? Introduced by an equally demented Klan Mom MTG - he is the GOP's "one true leader" and God help us all - he railed to the less-than-massive crowd about a fictional America in ruins: No border, invasion by "millions of illegal aliens," crashing economy, enemy-of-the-people media, "horrible convicts," spying Obama, an "unhinged persecution." Aaron Rupar - thanks again for sitting through this - summarized the tired jeremiad: "Murders, shootings stabbings, r-r-r-rapes, carjackings are skyrocketing."
But it was at the end that things got really bizarre - creepy, Wagnerian, Jonestown-Kool-Aid bizarre. As Trump began his final, hypnotic, hyperbolic lamentation of "a nation in decline," his babbling was theatrically accompanied by the swelling soundtrack of somber strings in the QAnon anthem "Wwg1wga," a ridiculous title representing their puerile, stalwart slogan, "Where we go one, we go all." Reportedly written by one "Richard Feelgood," it's meant to portray the rising storm that will soon destroy the global satanic cabal of pedophiles out to get Trump - who in turn already used the song in a post, prompting excited QAnoners to declare it "THE mother of all Q proofs." Yes, we are all in fascist middle school. As the music rose, the toxic sick old man blathered about election fraud, Hunter Biden's laptop, how "Whatever they do to me, I will endure their torment," and a cognitively impaired president - Biden not him - whose failings mean "we may end up in World War 3." In response, the rapt crowd raised, en masse and zombie-like, a straight-arm, index-finger, eerie salute toward the stage that we could swear we've seen before. Oh, right: 1930s Nuremberg. We assume the armbands are on order. But it's definitely not a cult.
From Your Site Articles
Abby Zimet
Abby Zimet has written CD's Further column since 2008. A longtime, award-winning journalist, she moved to the Maine woods in the early 70s, where she spent a dozen years building a house, hauling water and writing before moving to Portland. Having come of political age during the Vietnam War, she has long been involved in women's, labor, anti-war, social justice and refugee rights issues. Email: azimet18@gmail.com
Whoa. The frenzied, hateful, gonzo base - in thrall to a cheap con man they blindly deemed "a vessel for God" - albeit a smiting, lying, transactional, grifting one - was always bad. Now, it's worse. Like, Leni Riefenstahl worse. With the pressure mounting - lawsuits, prosecutors, a Jan. 6 Committee bearing down - a flailing Trump has veered sharply to the right, threatening mob-style "problems like we've never seen" and posting brazenly QAnon-flavored missives and photos, including one sporting a "Q" lapel pin with, "A storm is coming." Subtle. Aptly, he ended "the week he went QAnon" with a feverish, hate-spewing rally in Youngstown, Ohio. Ostensibly there to endorse cracker Senate candidate J.D. Vance - ever-gracious, he sneered, "J.D. is kissing my ass" - he was really there to rave, literally. Ulysseus? Introduced by an equally demented Klan Mom MTG - he is the GOP's "one true leader" and God help us all - he railed to the less-than-massive crowd about a fictional America in ruins: No border, invasion by "millions of illegal aliens," crashing economy, enemy-of-the-people media, "horrible convicts," spying Obama, an "unhinged persecution." Aaron Rupar - thanks again for sitting through this - summarized the tired jeremiad: "Murders, shootings stabbings, r-r-r-rapes, carjackings are skyrocketing."
But it was at the end that things got really bizarre - creepy, Wagnerian, Jonestown-Kool-Aid bizarre. As Trump began his final, hypnotic, hyperbolic lamentation of "a nation in decline," his babbling was theatrically accompanied by the swelling soundtrack of somber strings in the QAnon anthem "Wwg1wga," a ridiculous title representing their puerile, stalwart slogan, "Where we go one, we go all." Reportedly written by one "Richard Feelgood," it's meant to portray the rising storm that will soon destroy the global satanic cabal of pedophiles out to get Trump - who in turn already used the song in a post, prompting excited QAnoners to declare it "THE mother of all Q proofs." Yes, we are all in fascist middle school. As the music rose, the toxic sick old man blathered about election fraud, Hunter Biden's laptop, how "Whatever they do to me, I will endure their torment," and a cognitively impaired president - Biden not him - whose failings mean "we may end up in World War 3." In response, the rapt crowd raised, en masse and zombie-like, a straight-arm, index-finger, eerie salute toward the stage that we could swear we've seen before. Oh, right: 1930s Nuremberg. We assume the armbands are on order. But it's definitely not a cult.
From Your Site Articles
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