February 15, 2021 – Los Angeles – Is Trump descending deeper into the madness of conspiracy theory, or is he pursuing a calculated strategy inspired by a lie that helped the Nazis rise to power? His continued insistence that there was massive election fraud is similar to the lie told to the German people following WWI: Germany’s military and diplomatic establishments spread the falsehood that Germany had actually won the war militarily, but had been betrayed by the liberals, communists, socialists and Jews, who had surrendered needlessly to the Allies.

 

 

Millions of Germans believed this, and the rage and nationalism they felt would fuel the rise of the Nazi Party. Later, Hitler became another of the voices insisting that victory had been stolen from Germany, and his eventual rise would mean the end of democracy in that nation.

 

 

The dark lesson Trump may have learned from history is that by spreading the lie that victory was stolen from him and other Republican candidates, he could infuriate millions of followers and successfully goad them not merely to invade the Capitol, but to split the Republican party in two or even three factions. Even now he may well be planning to form a new, far Right party, and with his incendiary rhetoric, nationalism and ability to fundraise, it may become a significant movement in our national politics. Add a depression to the scenario and Trump’s rise is all but assured.

 

 

So the lie Trump is now promoting, that he won by a landslide and that there was massive fraud because of rigged voting machines, has indeed outraged millions of Republican voters and driven them further Right. But over 140,000 registered Republicans have left the party since the Capitol was stormed on January 6th. They are looking for a new home, and if Mitt Romney and the other Republican Senators who voted for Trump’s impeachment on February 13th were to form a new Party, it would be a centrist force to counteract the extremism now emerging on the Far Right.

 

 

What happened in Germany following WWI is relevant to this moment in our own history. It’s time to remember, lest history repeat itself, and to stop Trump from further damaging our Democracy.

 

 

NOTE: While I have offered a Big Picture view of where Trump could be headed, this Washington Post article provides a detailed history of the lie told to Germans following the Armistice, and compares it to Trump’s claim that the election was stolen.

 

— Patrick Reynolds
www.CongressMajority.org
Congress Majority

 

Link to Washington Post article:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/11/23/trumps-refusal-acknowledge-defeat-mirrors-lie-that-fueled-nazi-rise/

 

 

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