"Whether we pass legislation to save our democracy will fall on the shoulders of Democrats for the next two years."-@CongressRadar firstbranchforecast.com/2021/02/15/for…

What's at stake? "The suffocation of American democracy."
web.archive.org/web/2018100803…

"after a failed coup attempt aimed at overthrowing the results of free & fair elections certified by all 50 states, [this] administration must come to grips with the stark reality that democracy…is in its worst crisis since the Civil War"-@piccone_ted brookings.edu/blog/order-fro…
"Our political process and electoral systems, while having endured a massive stress test, still need major work to comply with basic standards of free and fair elections with universal suffrage for all U.S. citizens"-@piccone_ted
The best antidote to rising autocracy & domestic extremism "is to first address urgent demands for political & economic renewal at home, including rebuilding a social safety net for effective delivery of equitable health & justice services"–@piccone_ted
nytimes.com/2021/01/31/us/…?
Not holding a President who pursued a self coup & incited a failed putsch accountable invites more sedition.
History shows us a Big Lie & failed coup heightens risks.
US now in a pre-fascist state.
Much depends on this Congress enacting democracy reforms commensurate to the need

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Alex Howard

Alex Howard Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @digiphile

13 Feb
This speech by @LeaderMcConnell is months late, & his vote to acquit speaks the loudest.

History will show his immoral silence played a key role in Trump’s ability to lie & incite the insurrection, after years of cynical toleration of incompetence, corruption & authoritarianism.
The record shows that Senator McConnell first said Trump could not be tried before he left office, & now is arguing that a former officer cannot be held accountable for acts in office.

BS.

The “absurd end result” is that unprecedented corruption & sedition met with no sanction.
Not holding a President who pursued a self coup accountable & incited a failed putsch invites more seditious violence.

We should expect this abdication of accountability for inciting an insurrection to embolden future demagogues to seek to overturn elections — or this one again
Read 4 tweets
13 Feb
“Whataboutism is a variant of the tu quoque logical fallacy that attempts to discredit an opponent's position by charging them with hypocrisy without directly refuting or disproving their argument.”
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whatabout…
“It is particularly associated with Russian propaganda.”
After the fall of the USSR, “Whataboutism became a favorite tactic of the Kremlin. Russian public relations strategies combined whataboutism with other Soviet tactics, including disinformation and active measures.”
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whatabout…
Whataboutism “received new attention during Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea & military intervention in Ukraine. The Russian officials & media frequently used ‘what about’ & then provided Kosovo independence or the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.”
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whatabout…
Read 5 tweets
11 Feb
Listening to @Kantrowitz talk with tech journalists about @TwitterSpaces on @TwitterSpaces.

@Twitter launched audio rooms in December 2020, & I forgot about it.
Would you like to listen to people you follow like this?
Do you do it now on @joinClubhouse?
@Kantrowitz @TwitterSpaces @Twitter @joinClubhouse What I like about @TwitterSpaces is that I can listen to it while I use other apps ( @ tweetbot, in this case), just like a conference call in the background. The value is all about the speakers; great interviewers & guests will keep being compelling, but most may be dross.
@Kantrowitz @TwitterSpaces @Twitter @joinClubhouse What I haven’t heard the tech & biz journalists talk about yet is the potential use case for politicians & officials. @TwitterSpaces could create instant town halls for legislators & mayors, or public meetings for regulators — but archiving & accessibility could both be barriers.
Read 15 tweets
11 Feb
Why did the Pentagon strip the @DCGuard1802 (DCNG) Commander of his normal authority to dispatch troops to the @USCapitol? washingtonpost.com/national-secur…
Why did acting SecDef Miller issue a memo putting limits on DCNG on 1/4?
Was @WhiteHouse45 involved in either?
cc @HouseJudiciary
What did the @FBI & @DHSgov know, & when?
Why no press conferences from Director Wray? Why isn’t he being called? USCP chief? Sergeants-at-arms?
Were panic buttons removed?

Did Roger Stone conspire with the Proud Boys?

Witnesses would add key evidence, @HouseJudiciary. Call.
“For the sake of presenting the full case to the Senate and to the American people, the trial must include witnesses to Trump’s high crimes and misdemeanors” freespeechforpeople.org/wp-content/upl…
Read 4 tweets
24 Jan
What’s wrong @MeetThePress?
Who aired a clip of @GovRonDeSantis saying he’d “seen the stuff Biden is putting out, that he’s going to create these FEMA camps or whatever, & that’s not necessary for Florida” without first telling @NBCNews viewers that’s a conspiratorial falsehood?
The host, @chucktodd, said @POTUS Biden faces a challenges in making Republican governors partners in COVID response, & framed the clip as an example of “some Trump allies who are dismissive of his plans.”

That’s inaccurate: the challenge is Trump & allies will lie & fear-monger
After hosting a show in disinformation, @MeetThePress is still not adjusting its own editorial practices to the alternative reality in which official lies have disinformed people in post-truth America & stopped airing them or officials without inoculating viewers with #FactsFirst
Read 7 tweets
23 Jan
I’ve been looking at who the new @whitehouse accounts follow & have concluded that @TwitterGov has made a hash of how it’s labeling official US government accounts & campaign accounts.

Some are labeled, some are @verified, & some are neither.

I’ll offer examples.
The @WHCOVIDResponse @WHCOS @AmbRice46 @JOD46 are all US government accounts, but are not labeled. @LaCasaBlanca is.

@flotus has the label, but @SecondGentleman does not.

@usagov has a label, but @usaid @cbp @stevefda do not.
I haven’t audited all 538 x 2 yet, but @verified US Senator or Representatives accounts are not labeled as US government accounts.

Neither @joebiden nor @kamalaharris or @aoc or @HillaryClinton or @barackobama are labeled as campaign accounts, but @IlhanMN & @AyannaPressley are.
Read 7 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!