(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . In deference to Marjorie Taylor Greene [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-25 She, of course, is unaware, but she actually has your best interests at heart. This is a gentle pushback to the immediate dismissive reaction of so many progressives to Marjorie Taylor Green’s advocacy of a national divorce. Now, we can’t expect ol’ Marge to begin to offer, or even contemplate, the intricacies of such an action. But I don’t think it’s particularly wise to ignore the value of at least considering how some sort of split might be achieved. Why? Well, we’re no longer a “Full Democracy.” We’re now a flawed democracy, because our political opponents have a plan. Gerrymandering. Restrictive voting laws targeting non-GOP voters. Election denialism. Coup plots. Unabashedly falling in step with an authoritarian-admiring and authoritarian-aspiring buffoon. Violent attacks on the US Capitol building to disrupt the formality of certifying the electoral college victory of a non-GOP presidential candidate. Stocking the Supreme Court with radical right-wing evangelicals. All this, with no doubt more right-wing chicanery and depravity in store, is in service to and in pursuit of our opponents’ plan. And that plan is nothing less than to continue to chip away and hammer away at our democracy, flawed and weakened as it is by their own interminable efforts, until, votes and voters be damned, GOP loyalists are installed in perpetuity into our nation’s most powerful offices. The plan very nearly gained a foothold in late 2020 and early 2021. All it needed were a few more Scott Perrys and Jeffrey Clarks, and a tad fewer Brad Raffenspergers and Jeffrey Rosens. And if the plan had begun to gain real traction in 2020 & 2021, we were ready with a contingency plan, right? I mean, short of succumbing to minority, authoritarian rule, or, perhaps worse, engaging in violent acts against the government, albeit an illegitimate government—with an authoritarian buffoon gleefully ready to assemble firing squads to deal with those engaged in attempts to overthrow his illegitimate government. To respond to that eventuality, we did have a legitimate, open, comprehensive contingency plan in place, right? Well, please do fill us in if we did. Looking ahead, successful, needed prosecutions of the ring leaders of our political opponents’ 2020/2021 coup attempt might slow them down. Might. Or, on the other hand, holding their ring leaders accountable might make them even more embittered and determined. If our political opponents end up making serious inroads with their plan in 2024 or beyond, we’ve learned our lesson from late 2020 and early 2021: We’re busily putting together a contingency plan, right? Well, from this article[1], at least Jonathan Stevenson and Steven Simon have given us a start. And we should be supportive of this sort of effort to stave off worst-case scenarios rather than being quick to denigrate its adherents. Because, if in 2024 or beyond, we’re unfortunate enough to see the pieces of our opponents’ plan begin to fall into place, our best bet could very well be to strike a bargain with the devil(s), and to work with them in an attempt to arrive at a mutually agreed-upon split, whereby they can set about developing the kakistocracy/autocracy that they seem bent on achieving. And we can finally set about pursuing that more perfect union, without the significant drag coefficient that the GOP continues to be so successful in imposing on us. So perhaps we shouldn’t be so dismissive of ol’ Marge and her desire to help us sidestep, at the brink of a worst-case scenario, the undying efforts of the GOP to put us under their thumb by completing their anti-democracy project; i.e., by realizing their plan. btw, If you haven’t cut the cord, and your cable or satellite company has been, until now, unsympathetic to your arguments that you shouldn’t be forced to subsidize the GOP’s favorite propaganda channel, now is the time to get back to them. The recent Dominion Voting Systems filing provides more than sufficient ammo to argue that only an abhorrently insensitive and immoral American service provider would expect their customers to subsidize a deceitful (and oftentimes pro-Putin) network whose hosts have no qualms about propagating destructive, anti-democracy lies to their own viewers simply to line their own pockets. 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