The GOP's coup; where we are and where we're going. It's not pretty
Dear TAT readers,
Well my friends, here we are at the beginning of another new week of the Trump and Republican coup. Today, we’re going to look at where we are and also explore were all of this insanity is going. Much of today’s essay will be sobering, but a necessary “check” required for course corrections that allow us to become more effective. Spoiler alert: those of us who continue to be dedicated to stopping the dismantling of our republic are not losing, but also are not necessarily winning either. If we don’t stop this coup via massive resistance and at every level, we will in fact lose the fight to save and restore our republic.
This morning, I republished an August, 2024 essay titled, January 6th & Project 2025... two strategies, one objective... COUP. I get no satisfaction from the accuracy of that essay regarding the authoritarian activities of this administration and the Republican Party that enables it. The reason that I understood where all of this was going then, is due to my profession, in and out of uniform. What created my successes in uniform, was being able to analyze the identity of my adversaries, on and off of the battlefield. When you understand this, they become relatively predictable when wielding influence. This battle of influence is called Narrative Warfare and reflects a battle to control those identities.
Introduction
Tragically, the entire US national security community is mostly uninformed of Narrative Warfare and is absolutely clueless, as to how to operate on this cognitive battlefield. This explains why today’s Republicans are not conservatives, but far-right, MAGA extremists, that dishonestly call themselves conservatives. They have been conned into believing in the foundation of conspiracy theories that now make up their identity. This also means that they are now incapable of seeing reality. Their only reality is what their narrators such as Trump, FOX and their ilk, tell them.
Any other individual or media site is ignored, no matter how obvious the truth is. This means that they will predictably believe and act on the desires of this administration and elected party members, plus their so-called influencers, such as Charlie Kirk. With their total compliance, it is the identity of their leadership, that when analyzed by one of the handful of true professionals in Narrative Warfare, that makes predicting their future actions, fairly easy. The GOP base will subconsciously do and say as they are programmed. The accuracy of this morning’s essay attests to this.
The way that I best communicate Narrative Warfare to other professionals and readers, goes something like the following;
We all have those among family and friends that we know well enough, to predictably trigger a specific response from by saying, doing or acting a certain way. We can do this because we deeply understand, their identity, where it comes from and even, some of the family history that made them that way. Narrative Warfare is the cognitive battle to control those identities and this cannot be done without that deep, insightful understanding, of just who they are. - Cobaugh - 2022
The problem we currently face is that a full one third of American voters, are Republicans that have been conditioned over thirty plus years of FOX News and similar media, plus foreign adversarial influence operations, primarily via Russia. Their conditioning has caused them to believe exclusively in GOP conspiracy theories as well as having an aberrant version of patriotism. They are now, fully brainwashed, in laymen’s terms. Their commitment to the MAGA cause, which they errantly believe is conservatism is now absolute. Another third are the hardcore resistance folks, from a variety of political belief systems, with the final third still indecisive, afraid to engage publicly or for their neighbors or bosses to know that they aren’t one of them.
We must have that uncommitted third, in order to decisively stop this trainwreck of an administration from fully dismantling or undermining, our constitutional system of government. The only way to do this, is by outreach from those that the GOP zombies, know well. There are plenty of obstacles ahead planned by the administration to curtail voting or deny voting in the midterms. There will be cyber obstacles, issues with those responsible for counting votes, legislative maneuvers in red-states, like radical and dishonest redistricting, likely unconstitutional, if we actually had a SCOTUS that cared. There will also be other efforts by Trumpian Techbros. The only way forward to victory, is overwhelming turnout.
In this morning’s essay from August of 2024, I covered several topics that gave me great concern, pre-election, should Trump and the GOP be elected in sufficient number to control all three branches of our government. A short list of those concerns are listed below. Most of those projections, were tragically accurate.
A wholly corrupt leader with a pathological desire to emulate organized crime “Dons” or other fascist leaders who can demand subservience from their “serfs.” Remember, Project 2025 puts all of the nation’s authority into the Executive Branch, obliterating our entire constitutional republic’s adherence to “checks and balances.”
A band of US and global oligarchs that would make up the core element of running our nation and who enable their fascist leader with nearly limitless funding. They expect to be repaid by becoming influential oligarchs in the new government. By the way, this style of government is a near twin to Putin’s Russian government
A national ideology of White Christian Nationalism.
A history of wielding violence, intimidation, coercion and economic leverage, over their non-compliant victims within the opposition.
A history of using the Justice Department to achieve their agendas.
A MAGA movement that has for years threatened civil war and violent uprisings.
This second Trumpian term, is far worse. The fake patriots of the Heritage Foundation wrote an insurrection plan called Project 2025, partially built on Gleichschaltung, Hitler’s and the Nazi Party’s strategy to consolidate their control of the pre-war, German government. The historical similarities are astonishing. There is already a super majority on the Supreme Court and at least four of the justices, including Chief Justice John Roberts, treat Trump like a precocious child, instead of the felon like he is.
He also has control of both houses of Congress and he has the all-powerful coven of oligarchs, willing to destroy our republic just so that they can have more power. If things continue getting worse for working Americans, those oligarchs may find that there are more Luigi Mangiones out there. These may be powerful pieces on the chessboard, but they are vulnerable as well. Restoring Kimmel’s show, was a sign, as are the courageous judges that continue to act on the constitution, not Trump’s threats. Those who fill the streets demonstrating and raising their voices of resistance, the most powerful of all. I’m honored to be among this group.
As it pertains to the administration now that they’re in power, below are my most significant concerns.
Who are our Allies and will we embark on wars of conquest for a tyrant?
Now that we have distanced ourselves from NATO and other key allies, I am concerned about just who we will be invading. There are though signs.
Shortly after the 2024 election, I wrote in-depth on the awkwardly forming, “new world order.” There are still plenty of variables but the picture is partially coming into focus. Trump, when he was still in his bromance mode with Putin and still may very well be, he spoke as if he had adopted the Russian concept of sovereignty. “Moscow’s vision of a multipolar order is not based on equal, sovereign states but on diverse civilisations, each dominated by a major power.”
Both Putin and Trump, despite current friction in their bromance, believe in the aforementioned concept of sovereignty. This is essentially a system similar to the scene in the original Godfather movie that showed the heads of all the New York families getting together and carving up New York into “turf” to be controlled by each family.
This well suits Trump’s lifelong desires to be a dominant mafioso-like player that controls turf. His obsession this term with Greenland, Venezuela, Brazil and Panama. Trump’s interests are in my opinion, part of this overall strategy to become the “Don” of all the Americas, with Russia, China and possibly India to carve up the rest of the world.
Hegseth’s meeting I believe is to make it clear to the hundreds of senior officers assembled tomorrow at Quantico, that they will be required to execute war as a means to acquire the turf that Trump feels entitled to. I understand that this is a bit of a rogue concept, but there are plenty of strong indicators to support this idea. Of course, in the world today, it is still uncertain who the primary players will be, that have Russia’s idea of primary sovereignty.
Use of the military against the American people
Trump has already experimented with troops being deployed on American soil in support of his bogus “emergencies.” Of course, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader, John Thune, have abdicated congress’ control over such issues, including the power of the purse, a sole congressional duty.
The powerful and vocal resistance by true patriots, makes such an effort more likely than less as that Trump is a powermonger of the highest level. Like any other malignant narcissist, vengeance and sadistic cruelty are part of the agenda for those who oppose his insidious fantasies.
Diminished voting rights
All across our republic, red-states have been forcing new legislation to limit voting rights of all non-white and non-MAGA Republican voters. Here in Texas, our governor and subservient MAGA legislature were the first to redistrict Texas to give Trump his additional electoral votes. This was so unpopular in Texas that even Republicans were and still are furious that Abbott and the TX GOP are what we call, “bootlickers.” This moniker will not fade in the hearts of honest Texans. Of note is the fact that even here in one of the ugliest red-states, that they thought that they’d need extra electoral wins to maintain control of Texas.
The cost of living for all Americans
The Big Ugly Bill’s costs
It will add 3.4 trillion dollars to our budget
The law will reduce federal tax revenues on net by an estimated $4.5 trillion, mostly due to the extension of 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) policies, as well as new tax cuts.
The law will increase certain federal spending by $325 billion, mostly on the military and immigration enforcement.
The law will reduce other federal spending by an estimated $1.4 trillion, mostly attributable to changes to Medicaid, SNAP, and federal student loans.
Individual impacts of the Big Ugly Bill
Medicaid is the country’s single largest source of health coverage, insuring nearly 72 million, or 1 in 5. This includes children, pregnant people, parents, older adults with limited incomes, and people with disabilities. Medicaid covers essential care like doctors’ visits, hospitalizations, long-term care, maternity care, mental health treatment, and rural clinic services.
The OBBB makes the largest cuts to Medicaid in the program’s history. According to the latest estimate by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the law will cause 10 million more people to become uninsured by 2034.
The new law requires Medicaid recipients who are able-bodied and 19-64 years of age to work, do community service, or participate in work training for at least 80 hours per month, or go to school part time. This includes people with children over 13 years of age.
The OBBB makes the largest cuts to Medicaid in the program’s history...cause[ing] 10 million more people to become uninsured by 2034.
Most Medicaid enrollees already work, and most who do not will be exempt from this new requirement. Thus, the OBBB will not increase the number of people who are employed but will drop more eligible people from Medicaid due to administrative errors and unexpected job loss.
Medicare is a public health insurance program for people 65 years of age or older and people with specific disabilities, insuring more than 66 million people. A CBO analysis estimates that the OBBB will cause a $45 billion cut to Medicare in 2026, growing to a $75 billion cut in 2034. These massive Medicare cuts result from the OBBB increasing the federal deficit by $3.4 trillion by 2034, as the 2010 Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) Act requires that legislation that increases the deficit must be paid for by tax increases or spending cuts.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) is the country’s largest nutrition assistance program, supporting more than 42 million people with low incomes to afford food. The OBBB will result in an estimated 22 million families losing some or all of their SNAP benefits.
The OBBB defunds Planned Parenthood and Maine Family Planning by banning people from using Medicaid at health care nonprofits that:
Provide abortions outside of cases of rape, incest, or when the pregnant person’s life is in danger; and
Received more than $800,000 in Medicaid funding in FY23, for the following year.
Federal funding, including Medicaid, is already prohibited from covering abortion services except in cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment of the pregnant person.
The closures could eliminate one in four abortion providers nationwide.
The new law threatens to close nearly 200 Planned Parenthood health centers, 60% of which are in medically underserved areas, primary care health professional shortage areas, or rural areas. More than 1.1 million people could lose access to affordable health care, including contraception, cancer screenings, and STI testing and treatments.
Further, as more than 90% of the centers at risk of closure are in states where abortion is legal, the closures could eliminate one in four abortion providers nationwide.
Both Planned Parenthood and Maine Family Planning have filed lawsuits challenging the law.
Like the Federal law, red-state laws are already draconian to all that can’t afford to write big campaign donation checks to their carpetbagger Republican Legislatures. The only oases that will partially remain for the rest of us will be in select blue states. Even then, this administration has done all possible to inflict cruel, vengeful policies on those states. It really is beginning to feel like America, in the years prior to the Civil War, 1861-1865. There are so many parallels, it would be foolish to ignore them as indicators of what is to come.
Finally, the oligarchs of this regime will be able to sustain their fake-inflation or rather price-gouging. Sure, they will blame tariffs and this is partly true but will continue to pick our pockets until either they fail from Trump’s juvenile delinquent economic policies or Republicans bail them out just to keep the serfs working. Roughly 40 % of Americans already struggle month to month. Not one thing this administration does, supports anyone but a handful of cruel oligarchs and those similar in wealth.
Summary
This essay, although still quite long only scratches the surface of what is in store for 95% of Americans should this regime continue much longer. It’s not a pretty sight and we cannot afford to ignore the facts, nor the warning signs. Republican voters are as guilty as those in office and this presents the one thing I have not yet discussed in this essay, another civil war.
There was a time that I thought a civil war was an unthinkable outcome, but this is no longer the case. A full third of American voters are so brainwashed by the combination of GOP, Russian propaganda and the full support of the Silicon Valley tech community, that they will energetically support Trump and his dangerously sycophantic party. At least one third of resisters the same. The key to saving our republic is to reach out persuasively to those who have remained on the fence, afraid to make waves or take a stand of any kind. What will persuade them best is honest talk from their family and friends, with overwhelming facts to support our pleas.
Harkening back to the introduction portion of this essay, only family and friends know our neighbors and fellow citizens well enough to trigger their old identities that would have never supported such cruelty against us. If there were any other way, I’d gladly advocate for this but in Narrative Warfare, identity is the whole ball of wax. This gives us a distinct advantage should we wield this powerful influence tool ethically and effectively.
We went through one civil war and the pain and suffering would be unimaginable in a modern America. Hundreds of thousands dead, far more wounded and destruction on a biblical level, for so many citizens. It cost our nation more than a decade just to begin to see light at the end of the tunnel, after the surrender at Appomattox Courthouse in April of 1865. Not one family will go unscathed should this occur again. Don’t forget, the Civil War was brother vs. brother, family vs. family, towns vs neighboring towns etc. The destruction with modern weaponry, would leave our nation, easy pickings for our adversaries like Russia, China etc.
I don’t mention civil war as fearmongering. Trump’s identity profile makes it quite clear that he would certainly go to war to maintain power. He attempted this on January 6th, 2021, even watching TV in the White House while those he’d incited to attack our capital, were intent on hanging his own VP, Mike Pence. He didn’t give a damn about Capital and Metro Law Enforcement and especially could have cared less had Democratic lawmakers been injured or murdered. No one needs to be an expert in Narrative Warfare analysis to understand that he’s far more dangerous now and as a malignant narcissist, devoid of empathy for anyone else.
As sobering as this essay is, it is not a sentence that is unavoidable. Throughout our history, millions of Americans have sacrificed to give our children and grandchildren the rights that we’ve enjoyed. Most Americans have a powerful and deep connection to being American. We are at a point in our history that we are now required to act as our forefathers did at Lexington and Concord, again during the civil war and ridding the world of the fascism of the 1930s and 40s.
We are a nation better described as the ultimate anti fascists. Both my parents, my uncles, my son and countless cousins answered the call to save our republic from fascists and terrorists. I have every confidence that our generations today, can and will do the same. It’s up to us to inspire and stand beside them as we vanquish the current fascists from the halls of government. “Yes we can.”
Back later in the week,
Publius Redux