Alright, folks—if you missed my chat with Mehdi Hasan on Substack Live, you missed fire. No, seriously. This wasn’t just a conversation; it was a full-blown takedown of everything wrong with today’s political landscape—complete with movie villain comparisons, Twitter feuds, and a real-time debate over whether democracy even has guardrails left. (Spoiler: like, not a lot).
And yes, Dan Bongino’s name came up way too much. Because a guy with the temperament and maturity of a MyPillow come to life who attacks others on Twitter, blocks them before they can respond, but can’t resist seeing their responses so he views them via burner accounts, then gets ketchup-tossed-at-Mar-a-Lago-walls mad so he unblocks them momentarily to malign them again, then blocks them again!…is Deputy Director of the FBI. Nope, not satire. Great voting America!
🏛️ How Did We Get Here?
If you thought we were exaggerating about Trump’s plans for a second term, Mehdi is here to tell you: Nope. It’s worse.
We’re talking about Bongino, the guy we just discussed above, somehow being in charge of law enforcement.
We’re talking about Trump’s hand-picked loyalists, the kind who think “Bane from The Dark Knight” is a solid leadership model (many of them do crime enough to have been raised in prison), lining up for power.
We’re talking about stochastic terrorism, where Trump and his enablers don’t say “go do violence” but keep nudging their followers until someone does it anyway.
And we’re talking about corporate media so afraid of calling fascism, well, fascism, that we get headlines like: Right-wing podcaster appointed to high-ranking government position. (hi NYT, we’re looking at you.). Which is sort of like writing Son of Sam really bothered by automobile-encircled expressions of affection.
Oh, and Trump literally suggested setting up his own courtroom inside the White House. A dictator cosplay. The Scarecrow-Judge Dredd fantasy in real life. These people are dolt-soaked ding-a-lings, yes, but still incredibly dangerous.
🎮 Gamergate to Government Takeover
Mehdi broke it down: the pipeline from online harassment mobs to actual political power is real.
Gamergate? That wasn’t just some internet drama. It was a test run—a way to see how far they could push threats, disinformation, and mob tactics before it spilled into the offline world. And guess what? It worked. The same guys who doxxed and harassed women in video games are now running key parts of our government.
The takeaway? They won’t stop. Unless we make them.
🔥 Where Do We Go From Here?
Mehdi had a simple message: We need fighters. Forget ideological purity tests. Forget waiting for a perfect leader. If you’re willing to punch back, fill out an application.
Jasmine Crockett? Fighter.
Jamie Raskin? Fighter.
Eric Swalwell? Fighter.
AOC? Fighter.
Hakeem Jeffries? ..Mehdi’s jury’s still out, but let’s just say “Captain Chaos” isn’t the messaging we need to win.
We need discipline. The right has it—they repeat the same message over and over until it sticks. The left? We spend too much time debating each other instead of the actual threats. That must change.
📢 The Work Starts Now
If there was one takeaway from this conversation, it is this: DO NOT LET THEM MEMORY-HOLE THIS STUFF.
Trump’s crimes? Don’t forget them.
The people who enabled him? Call them out.
The media’s failure to sound the alarm? Remind them, loudly.
Because they’re counting on us to move on. To get distracted. To let things slide.
Ain’t happening.
So, if you missed the live chat, catch the replay, share this everywhere, and let’s keep building this movement. Because Mehdi’s right: we are not just witnessing history. We’re deciding how it gets written.
— Cliff
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