Last week was the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision enshrining the idea that money in politics is not corruption, but constitutionally protected speech. States and cities across the US are battling the rotten legacy of that decision.

  • vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works
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    2 hours ago

    While a lot of the fuel was present the Ruskies most certainly added to it and helped ignite the current fire. Otherwise it’d probably still look like the 1990s militia movement.

    • bearboiblake@pawb.social
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      1 hour ago

      There’s no denying that Russia has done a lot to foment far-right sentiment, but the idea that the US couldn’t or wouldn’t destroy democracy without Russian interference is ridiculous

      • Doomsider@lemmy.world
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        1 hour ago

        The idea that the US ever had a real democracy in the first place is pretty suspect. The way the Senate was designed to prevent the people from coming for the rights or property of the wealthy is very telling. They basically knew it was a lie from the start and designed fail-safes to prevent their cronies from losing power.

        • bearboiblake@pawb.social
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          44 minutes ago

          100%. The American Revolution was a war waged by the rich against the mega rich, and they got poor people to die for it.

      • vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works
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        1 hour ago

        Nor am I saying that it wouldn’t happen, but I’d argue the case that they are instrumental in its acceleration and current form. Don’t get me wrong it is almost inevitable that US democracy will end be it with the dissolving of the Union or dictatorship probably followed by the former, but it happening as it has almost requires Russia and honestly 9/11 Bush did a fucken number on the system.

        • bearboiblake@pawb.social
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          1 hour ago

          Russia didn’t stir up anything that wasn’t already there, but they definitely stirred. The post 9/11 rush into authoritarianisn is far, far more instrumental, and 9/11 was a very predictable outcome of post-WW2 US foreign policy