Montgomery County Councilmember George Leventhal (D - At-large) told a crowd in Silver Spring that he doesn't feel safe after the victory of Donald Trump in last Tuesday's presidential election contest. "I know a lot of us are not feeling very safe this week," Leventhal said, according to the
Washington Post. "I know a lot of us are trying to understand what happened on Tuesday."
Leventhal did not elaborate on the specific reasons he does not feel safe. He is expected to run for County Executive in 2018, after being
term-limited out of his current office.
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Hillary Clinton stickers
left behind in her
abandoned
downtown Bethesda
call center |
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ReplyDeleteSuch racist vandalism has occurred regularly across America and in our area for decades - there's nothing new about that.
DeleteAnd a nazi greeting card was found in the Giant card section on Old Georgetown road
ReplyDelete10:23: Did you see it yourself? I find nothing about such an incident online. I would think there would be a lot of outrage in the community if this happened.
DeleteA nativist, sexist, arguably fascist and racist demagogue has become president.
ReplyDeleteAren't you scared?
So Leventhal has no faith in the competence and abilities of MoCo Police to keep residents safe? Isn't the County Council in charge of their oversight? If so, this sounds like a failure of the County Council.
ReplyDelete12;35: I'd say that trying to fearmonger among citizens and stir up a climate of fear is a really strange and bad way to campaign to be executive.
DeleteHave you read Friendly Fascism by Bertram Gross?
ReplyDeleteOr Lawrence Britt's 14 Characteristics of Fascism?
The 14 characteristics are:
Powerful and Continuing Nationalism
Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights
Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
Supremacy of the Military
Rampant Sexism
Controlled Mass Media
Obsession with National Security
Religion and Government are Intertwined
Corporate Power is Protected
Labor Power is Suppressed
Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
Obsession with Crime and Punishment
Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
It's pretty clear that the election has empowered the evil among us. Don't try to downplay the vandalism, Robert. There's clearly been a spike in this activity in our community.
ReplyDelete8:54: That is one definition of fascism, but the question I asked was, which specific Trump policy initiatives are "fascist?"
ReplyDelete9:15: I would recommend the local media and elected officials stop trying to create a climate of fear to score some sort of sick political points. How about arresting an actual suspect before jumping to conclusions? At what point has Donald Trump ever utilized a swastika in his campaign? In fact, it was the media who promoted the idea, not Trump, with this loony idea that he is a fascist and a dictator. It's one thing to disagree vehemently with the policies of Trump or Clinton, and quite another to go off the deep end with completely false statements and accusations. Let's try to remain the highly-educated and enlightened area Bethesda is known for being.
Robert, I'd term the combined impact of massive, forced deportations (3 million to begin with, as announced by Trump) and the further restriction of abortion rights (a fundamental liberty for women of childbearing age) a darned good start on fascism. Believe me, I don't feel safer.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I'm very glad that Leventhal, whom I've found sanctimonious, will be off the Council after 2018. No, I will not be voting for him for County Executive.
By the way: how are Council members and their staffs reacting to the passage of term limits? Any reflection on what they might have done differently?
7:23: I'm not sure if the deportation of undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes while in this country falls under fascism. Restrictions on abortion are clearly a reduction in women's rights, but is a religious or ethical position on when life begins fascism? I'm not able to connect those dots. Pope Francis would be a fascist under that argument.
DeleteMost on the Council are publicly pretending to have missed the message voters sent with term limits. Comments by Nancy Floreen and Hans Riemer in particular are reminiscent of Monty Python's "It's just a flesh wound."
They and their allies (what few remain) are even saying it was part of the Trump phenomenon. Hysterical, given that the same percentage of voters who chose Hillary went for term limits as well.
We'll have to teach the remaining Council the lesson again in 2018.
Dyer, your right to your "religious opinion" ends at my uterus.
DeleteCatholicism is not fascism - I'm surprised someone would make such an argument in an educated, enlightened place like Bethesda.
DeleteGermany, Austria, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, and Poland.
DeleteGuess what two things all these countries had in common in the early 20th Century, Dyer?
George, now that you need to look for a real job and don't feel safe, you might want to spruce up your resume. Canada is nice this time of year.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete2:26: Not surprised the lapdog media for the MoCo cartel would cover a non-story for political reasons. They're the ones creeping around at the schools trying to hang out with the students. Creepy. Meanwhile, the County is facing another budget shortfall - can our "leaders" take a break from the presidential campaign (which has ended) and get back to work?
DeleteI've read this blog for many years. It provides a great service. I've never commented before. I am commenting now as the last act I'll ever do on this site. I do not need white nationalist propaganda masquerading as political debate on a local news site. I hope you get over your demons and find some peace with yourself.
ReplyDelete9:38: What are you referring to? Where is the "white nationalist propaganda" here?
ReplyDeleteWe truly have entered the silly season here in Montgomery County, folks. Fearmongering elected officials trying to scare the daylights out of children was just the beginning, apparently.
ReplyDelete6:51AM - Haven't you learned ANYTHING from Maury? The one doing the accusing is the guilty one !!
ReplyDeleteAre you saying that all prosecutors have committed horrible crimes?
ReplyDelete7.23 am replying to Dyer's response:
ReplyDelete1. Deporting up to 3 million persons will require a substantial increase in federal domestic intelligence gathering. Such an effort is a precondition to fascism.
2. Pope Francis's jurisdiction over abortion begins and ends with the Catholic Church and its members. Using the Pope's position on abortion to justify federal policy violates the 1st Amendment. Additional rolling back of Roe v. Wade violates the 14th Amendment rights of American women. The narrowing of Constitutional protections is a precondition to fascism.
Let's not forget Trump's plan to impose a religious test for entering the country, and his appointment of a man closely associated with Nazism (aka the Alt-Right) as his chief political strategist in the White House.
ReplyDelete7:45 AM G.Money- you're several months behind the news. The religious test went out awhile back in place of "extreme vetting".
ReplyDelete6:25: Enforcing existing immigration law is not only not fascism, but the "deportation force" was already used extensively by President Obama. An opinion on the issue abortion is no more fascism than claiming that your opinion for or against legalization of drugs is fascist.
ReplyDeleteMany steps taken after 9/11 by the Bush and Obama administrations narrowed Constitutional protections, such as the 4th amendment. Will you condemn them as fascists?
G. Money: There's no evidence connecting Bannon to any such group.
Dyer, what did Obama do to further narrow Constitutional protections, beyond what Bush had done?
ReplyDeleteDyer, are you saying that there's no evidence connecting Bannon to the alt-right or connecting the alt-right to nazis? (Either way you are easily proven wrong with a quick Google search)
ReplyDeleteI said no evidence connecting Bannon to "Nazism." "Alt-right" doesn't even have a defined meaning, and is being applied to good and bad actors alike.
ReplyDeleteNeither does "libtard", yet it too is applied to "good and bad actors alike."
ReplyDeleteBut not as scary.
Tell it to Andrew Anglin.
ReplyDelete