Heather Cox Richardson: U.S. Politics "A Tyranny of the Minority" | Amanpour and Company
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- Опубліковано 26 тра 2022
- Heather Cox Richardson wrote this week that "America’s gun free-for-all is a symptom of the takeover of our nation by a radical extremist minority.” Her "Letters From an American" newsletter has gained a huge following, and she speaks with Michel Martin about the state of American democracy and the failure of attempts at gun control.
Originally aired on March 27, 2022
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Amanpour and Company features wide-ranging, in-depth conversations with global thought leaders and cultural influencers on the issues and trends impacting the world each day, from politics, business and technology to arts, science and sports. Christiane Amanpour leads the conversation on global and domestic news from London with contributions by prominent journalists Walter Isaacson, Michel Martin, Alicia Menendez and Hari Sreenivasan from the Tisch WNET Studios at Lincoln Center in New York City.
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Here's how it happened: 50% of the U.S. population is represented by only 18 senators, but 52 senators from the 26 smallest states represent only 18% of the U.S. population. BIG PROBLEM for a 'democracy' because the majority opinion is suppressed.
What would happen if EVERONE voted?
@@sandysutherland2182 gerrymandering and voter suppression keeps Republicans in power, decade after decade
Which was EXACTLY what Madison and Hamilton had in mind when they wanted to "Protect the monied interests against the tyranny of the majority"
Interesting conversation...
@@Ryan-Fkrepublicnz Louis Brandeis' quote is appropo as ever.
"We may have democracy or wealth concentrated in the hands of a few but we cannot have both"
this woman is more articulate than 95% of those currently talking about this issue
Not hard
She should help Beto get elected!!!
That she is dead wrong in her solutions means that being articulate doesn't count for much.
Ideologues are often very articulate. Richardson criticizes Reagan and Goldwater. They very very articulate. Any professor can exquisitely articulate his or her views. Being correct or wise or simply right is a whole different matter.
Pay particular attention to the point about "Image" and see how that fits in with neuromarketing and those that profit from the divide. It is after the divide that is exploited to disempower regular folk.
Heather Cox Richardson is one of the USA’s most outstanding spokespeople and grounder in reality based on history.
I guess you don't know many historians. She's widely known to be in the Ocasio-Cortez wing of historical thinking.
@@ak203 She's a historian and a Professor and writer. You're clueless.
@@debbieallen1815 If having read her stuff for a few years is clueless, I guess you're right. If having a PhD in American history disqualifies me, you're right too. Richardson is very knowledgeable. But ideology makes fools of anyone, and she is far left and so uses her history to that end the way a sleazy lawyer uses selected facts to his/her end. I suspect you share her ideology, which is fine, but ideology does to make for clear thinking.
@@ak203 who is Ocasio - Cortez ? Never heard of him! Also, didn’t know history had wings!
Indeed you are RIGHT. However as atcvist she are opportunist cinism. For instance why she show rifle lobby before school shooting?
Why is it a democracy when 90% of the people are ignored? Help me understand!
Because of the electoral college, that's how Trump won. He did not win popular vote. Let all of country vote on gun issues, abortion issues as well, since elected employees of the people no longer truly represent the majority.
It’s not anymore that’s the problem..
Especially when corrupt politicians tell all the gullible voters that the US is the world´s greatest democracy.
Politicians have never been the epitome of honesty, now it is nowhere to be seen.
We live in a misogynist plutocracy where money is in charge.
How is it a democracy when peoples voices are being sensored.
Along with all the justified praise for Prof Richardson, I'd like to give props to Ms Martin for asking the salient questions which elicit the great points. As far as I've seen in all her interviews, Ms Martin is steeped in the research which enables her to be a great journalist and interviewer.
👏
Amanpour & Co. is a pretty decent media site. They have interesting, knowledgeable and articulate people on, pertinent subject matter for conversations and excellent, informed journalists who actually listen to their guests and ask intelligent questions.
What a contrast to most MSM sites!
Ms Martin is a great interviewer. Great, informed, and thoughtful OPEN questions!
Ms. Martin is careful to let a guest take time to give an extended answer and is ready to ask an intelligent follow up question. She is a real professional.
I am not an American. I have noticed that the view of America from here in the U.K. has, and is shifting. The average person is sickened that America is a place where school children at school, and church goers in churches, are mercilessly gunned down and nothing, no meaningful action is implemented to counter these horrible things. So what are we to regard as 'American values'? Can we be blamed for thinking there are no values in America?
There are plenty of Value$, they are on $ale now!!!
Those stupid fu*ks r only 50 minutes from where i live. They will contaminate us
@@helenesculpts Correct on every count. I am not an American, take it from me America's reputation has been blown by DJT.
@@helenesculpts Yes indeed, but change can start in some very innocuous places. The world needs more kindness. Something we all can effect. Giving up a place in the checkout line to an old person, with just a few items to pay for. A non threatening smile to a complete stranger. Here in GB politeness is still a thing. A please and a thank you in ordinary transactions makes the day go a little smoother.
I have friends in the UK and understand why you have that point of view. It's a terrible paradox because a great deal of the nation's damaged reputation is attributable to a handful of extreme right-wing politicians who are making naked power grabs and have every intention of destroying our democracy and implementing some unpalatable flavor of theocratic autocracy! And there are bad seeds who've been given a green light to create mayhem by Orinje-empowered political and right-wing media voices. The right-wing (or right-wankers as I'm now calling them) are very skilled at casting blame on scapegoats to distract from their own political dysfunction and obstruction of wildly popular legislation like gun control and a women's health protection bill. The Dems make half-hearted gestures to stop the right-wankers but can only be just so vehement because they, too, are caught up in corporate-owned campaign-funding schemes since the Citizen's United decision in 2010 that tore apart the barriers to corporate and foreign donations to political campaigns.
Meanwhile, most of the people of America are actually pretty cool. In 2021 - a troubled year with people leaving miserable jobs and struggling to rise out of the pandemic, Americans gave a whopping $324 billion to charity, the highest amount of donations ever! Professor Heather has said that several times over the past few years - most Americans are pretty cool.
The bad apples are truly spoiling the barrel for everyone else, and that's what Professor Heather is getting at near the end of the interview. Every eligible voter had damned well better get off of their butts and vote in November 2022 or our little battleship is going to sink in 2024. It's not a joke, it's a terrible reality. Huge gratitude for Professor Heather - she's a voice of sanity amidst a totally insane national clusterf*ck.
The good Professor is absolute brilliant. Her Letters are a must read every single day!
Agreed! The first email I open each morning and I live in Canada. Pure Gold!
Her letters have kept me sane the last years of full on crazy
@@christyreinders2449 I have said the VERY SAME the past 2-3 years
Have followed her since almost the very beginning
@@PLynn102 she is a national treasure imo
I had no idea miss Emma. Thank you for the heads up.
Edit - where do I sign up?
Michel Martin is an absolutely terrific interviewer. She deserves a lot of credit. And Heather Cox Richardson is one of my she-roes. Wonderful post, thank you.
A she-roe is a heroine 😍
…if you like obvious bias injected into an interview.
@@sjbesq1 oh man, you must be psychic! You don't know me at all but assume I like obvious bias. You're right! I *love* bias, in fact, I had a big bias party last week. I'm throwing another bias party tomorrow for my friends who enjoy obvious bias. We're going to sit around and praise Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and a few others....what??? Did I get carried away?
I'm an avid reader of professor Richardson's letters. I appreciate the work she does.
Oh I bet Jeremie, I bet you're a totally real person
I am woman hear me roar in numbers too big to ignore lolololol. When shit hits the fan good luck surviving without a man.
@@allytay208 A lot of us are used to doing that.
@@anne-louiseluccarini4530 when shit really hits the fan. Seriously some of the dumbest crap I’ve ever heard. Someone must have hurt you bad.
Where is the right to stay alive in this country? No one is safe because of the shear number of guns in circulation. Guns were supposed to keep us safe but anyone with a grudge feels entitled to take out his frustrations on the public.
If you don’t already, I would highly recommend reading her “Letters from an American.” They are extremely insightful giving a unique historical context to important issues which is invaluable to gaining a deeper understanding of current events.
Also, find the Now and Then podcast with historians Dr Cox Richardson and Dr Joanne Freeman.
I love you folks who keep popping up very valuable resources! This is what the Internet is supposed to be.
I've read them. She is an ideologue and living proof of how anyone can slant anything to their views. Think about it -- what kind of person stays up every night to write her stuff?
Well by virtue of your comment I should read them so I may have an informed opinion.
I've been reading her for about a year. I'm impressed by her prodigiousness.
Love hearing your voice on so many platforms, Heather. The truth, just the truth of how we got here.
She left a lot out of her narrative in developing her alternative facts.
@@sdd6528 - She was extremely time-limited in that forum for the breadth of the subject. Hopefully she will be invited back to explore some of those gaps you, and likely others, might feel important. That is why you should include the most important ones in this forum so they can determine how those gaps can be addressed.
And her presentation should not be described with the pejorative term, "alternative facts," as they are almost certainly the best understanding of what actually happened, not just her opinions based on what she might like to believe happened, but without any proof. The "almost" is there because she, like all of us, is human and therefore fallible, though, I suspect, in her case, rarely.
@@donaldburgess7230 For starters, "gun control" at 0:21 becomes "gun safety regulation" at 0:30. It is an alternate fact to claim banning guns are gun safety measures. I'd also ask where does Martin get her uncited "fact" on what the majority of what Americans favor, but that is another discussion.
Did Richardson mention the McDonald decision (2010) or Heller decision (2008) affirming the 2A as an individual right? That would have been a great answer to the question of "How did we get here?" (0:29) or (paraphrase of 0:47) how does a minority so control the policy? Instead of explaining that firearm ownership is a right of the people and has been confirmed by SCOTUS, Richardson delves in an alternative narrative about the NRA.
2:00 Richardson mentions her experience with the NRA as a child and says all that changed in the 1980s without mentioning what happened in the 1970s. When ask why the NRA changed, instead of discussing activities of groups like Handgun Control Inc (HCI) or politicians like Mayor Dianne Feinstein trying to ban firearms, Richardson cites alternative facts about the backlash against "the New Deal coalition"..."that protected Americans" and ran counter to the image of "the lone cowboy".
Hogwash. Absolute hogwash. Richardson's presentation is best described with the pejorative term, "alternative facts." She is deliberately ignoring reality and spinning her own web of deceit to push her alternative narrative.
4:24 "what they call gun rights" - they being the NRA of course. Well those fantastical "gun rights" imagined by the evil NRA were affirmed by SCOTUS multiple times but Richardson leaves that out of her anti-NRA rant just as Richardson left out all the attempted gun bans during the 1970s and 1980s as an explanation to why the NRA shifted it's focus. Richardson does not mention that the abstinence only gun policies and prohibitionists of the anti-gun movement shut down a lot of firearm safety education and eliminated firearms from schools. School shooting sports were eliminated. Hunter education and blacksmithing were eliminated. Even the mock firearms used by drill teams, JROTC programs, and school mascots were eliminated in the prohibitionists' abstinence only fever. The story of the NRA's shift in focus during that time period makes a lot more sense when reality is added to the discussion.
What the NRA was in the 1980s is not what the NRA has become some 30 to 40 years later in the 2020s. I disagree with what the NRA is today and its current sorry state may embolden Richardson to embellish her story because few of her audience would dare fact check her, but the sorry state of today's NRA does not change the facts of history from the 1970s and 1980s that created the shift in the NRA's activities. Richardson employs lies of omission in her alternative narrative. She uses actual facts and unrelated (or loosely related) items to lie* about her main narrative. I see Richardson as disingenuous and deceitful in this interview.
The left's gun prohibitions and abstinence only gun policies do not work any better than the right's sex prohibitions and abstinence only sex policies. Richardson's presentation of alternative facts tries to make the audience think such worthless stupidity of gun prohibitions and abstinence only gun policies are a simple sound bite solution that will cure all the problems of the day. The unspoken theme of the interview advocates for unconstitutional legislation that will only make the situation worse. The Clinton gun bans of the 1990s dramatically increased the popularity of so called "assault weapons" and exponentially increase the personal ownership of those taboo firearms. The policies and activities of the DoJ (a'la Janet Reno) gave a considerable boost to the militia movement and other such stupidity. The so called "solutions" that gun prohibitionists are pushing now will have the same type of negative outcomes and consequences.
.
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*A lie is a deliberate attempt to deceive. An honest error or mistake of fact is not a lie. An honestly held belief that is factually incorrect is not a lie. Again, a lie is a deliberate attempt to deceive and even a statement of fact can be used to lie when the underlying intent is to mislead.
@@donaldburgess7230 Have your reviewed the newly released SCOTUS decision in NYRSPA v Bruen (2022)? I see it as a win for the concept of innocent until proven guilty.
Heather Cox Richardson is so intelligent and has all of my respect. A great voice that all America should hear. 👍
Please have a regular segment with Heather. She is so informative. So much that is happening now has its roots from after the Civil War and she writes about it so eloquently. She is also a mesmerising speaker. Thank you.
Please don’t. She is a d u m b a s s
Yes!
This should be required viewing for every single American. Well done!
It's always a pleasure listening to Professor Richardson. She's so good at distilling complex concepts down to their fundamentals and bringing sanity and hope into our discourse.
"Sanity" lol
It's not complex at all. You don't get to curtail the rights of law abiding people because of the actions of criminals. The police aren't going to protect you. You just watched it happen.
As long as you do not mind the gaping holes in her narrative.
She is full of man hating crap
Thank you, Dr. Richardson. I am sharing this far and wide...the "Cowboys" indeed...
The way senate representation has changed due to demographic shifts between small states and the large states since the founder's established it has made us a minority opinion governs, so called, 'Democracy' and this trend will only get worse in coming years. We need constitutional reform to get back to a true Democracy where the majority opinion governs.
How can you reform it when the minority can block any attempt to relinquish power?
Not sure if I've missed the mark on her analysis or not. But this leads me to the rise of toxic masculinity. A man equals that rough, tough, gun toting outdoorsman and any form of masculinity outside of that is unacceptable. Women belong at home, subservient, not only to her own husband, but as we see in the workplace, to all men. This of course gives a superior identity idea to large white men, who carry or have guns. Allowing them to subjugate everyone that doesn't fall into these characteristics. Almost seems like a form of fascism that propelled the rise of the Nazis'. Definitely a slippery slope and by gerrymandering they may become even more dominate, dangerous and damaging to our society.
It's also a kind of infantilism, mine is bigger than yours, pseudo fantasizing, fear based grandiosity. Totalitarian countries are looking on -and they love it; it mirrors their own power-drunk propensities; moreover, they just sit back and watch America destroying itself; also, from their perspective, a confirmation that democracy is feeble and weak! America needs to stand-up against this cowardly rabble: a cancer that needs to be excised!
You've just described the premise of Margaret Atwood's 'A Handmaid's Tale'
WTH ?
If you're going to test your feminist lens don't forget most of these gun owners see themselves as protectors, of their family usually, and that is not "toxic". If protection includes tyrannical control then it certainly is.
But tyrannical control is far from exclusively male. It is exercised by women in many families where men have handed over all power for fear of being traditionally masculine and have instead become children who provide
Exactly, this combination of history, politics, toxic masculinity, and guns, is a dangerous mix!!! Because these groups feel aggrieved, and now marginalized, they have no problem with taking power, by any means necessary.
Excellent interview. Prof. Heather Cox Richardson is a national treasure.
Heather's is a brilliant writer who gives an excellent insight in her newsletters.
I have learned alot by reading her newsletters, especially about current events that are happening in this Country. Heather is an activist and I admire her for writing the truth.
I have screamed this for years and always gotten pushback about the brilliance of the founders . This nation is in free fall
Oh, if only people were taught this history in schools! What an amazing lady.
Probably because "cowboy' moms would invade the school boards and demand a retraction and a return to more a "traditional", ie racist, curriculum while accompanied by military style (designed for killing people not prey) weapons to underscore their point.
Ya how'd it work out for the kulaks, jews, native Americans when they gave up their guns? If only people were taught this in history...
It's never too late.. I've learned so much from her these last few year's.. she's great at filling in the gaps and tying the past to the present.
And Civics.
@@MC-wh3xm - Sorry, but one of the prime requirements of government is to possess the ability to force any opposition which wants to, or uses, force/violence against the government or its citizens to stop that activity. Which means that good governance has to provide peaceful means for the citizens to get injustices adjudicated. Which means the majority has to be restrained from acting irresponsibly and without giving the opposition the opportunity to prevent irresponsible and damaging actions by the majority from taking place.
Yes, the United States government has not always been the source of "good governance" as most of us want to believe. But it has always, so far at least, had enough good leaders to prevent the worst from happening, where the worst would be that of countries like Russia and Belarus today where violent revolution might be justified but where just a population with a lot of guns would not provide much likelihood of a successful revolution.
And most violent revolutions do not end up with a better government, just a different dictatorship. Look at Castro’s overthrow of Batista, the Bolshevists’ overthrow of the Tsar, Mugabe’s revolution in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, etc.
So the claim that guns are necessary to preserve liberty is almost completely false and in almost all cases counter-productive as great harm will be done to the whole country well before any corrections to the corrupt and unresponsive government can be achieved, if ever.
Sorry, but most simple solutions to complex problems make the problems worse not better.
More women in politics and power - the world would be a much better place.
Best comment, Simon!
Simon, as long as they are the right women. We don't need any more Taylor Greens.
Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Marsha Blackburn... Crazy comes in all genders...
middle aged white male - agrees with you 100%
Dr. Richardson is BRILLIANT, articulate, and extremely thoughtful. Makes me proud to be a fellow Mainer!
She didn’t utter the words “toxic masculinity,” but that’s what she was talking about.
That's how I interpreted it. And yes, that's the way I see it.
How will a physically weaker woman defend herself from being raped by a male bully? Weapon is a force equalizer.
@@usneome Good Lord! An AR is the absolute wrong weapon for self defense. We don't need one of those to defend ourselves. Unless we're in a war zone and ready to shoot anyone who comes within 20 yards of us. No, just no.
Yep. Patriarchy. Misogyny. My father was a huge misogynist and a racist. He died last year. Good riddance.
Yes, the Marlboro man, The Virginian, cowboys, and White Supremacists. Their creed is built from the word manly.
Well done, Dr. Richardson!
She really ties it all together. The image vs. the message. 2 totally different things. Cognitive Dissonance. Even they, the minority don't know why they feel as they do. It's dangerous and it's scary. The underpinnings of white supremacy and nationalism and the patriarchy is so strong and prevalent in this country. So much so that they will commit violence or take away a women's freedom in regards to abortion but also allow children and others to be gunned down and slaughtered in our schools and community as a way to flout their own perceived rights to own military style weapons. Just insane.
you funny asf🤣
It's simple psychology. They're doing what they've always done, it's just currently that big hearted Americans have rejoined the New Civil Rights Era.. after years of letting Caucasians destroy the government
@@c.h.5510British cut off the breasts of patriot women in 1776. They were white women.
Thank you for this insightful, nuanced discussion. This isn't just about guns. It's about a long-term Republican strategy to pit American against American. We are so angry with each other that business can run amok without anyone paying attention
This is why Fox has such committed, vocal and energized watchers. This program is a calm, informative discussion. Fox gives it's viewers an escalating soap opera that tells them why they should be outraged all the time. It's small lies in the morning are reinforced, referenced and expanded through the day and culminate with the evening opinion programs where people are yelling about the idea that things are so bad for the white, christian majority of the country that this is the fight of their lives. I think that is why the right is able to get their viewers to support any one they promote, regardless of how marginal a person they are. Until the left finds a way to get their people to hold their nose and vote, the right will continue to win. My friend said he could not vote for Hillary in 2015 and voted Green party. I asked why not vote to get 60% of what you want instead of allowing 100% of what you don't want (trump) by not voting for her and he said he just couldn't support her. If more people had voted for 60% of what they want trump would never have been president and the supreme court would look a lot different.
I really love this woman. The way she links things together is an amazing skill. The way she shows it all to us is fantastic.
In plain words. To the kitchen table conversation re #Guns.
@@HoneyBadger80886 ya its pretty simple, banning guns won't stop criminals from getting them, and the police aren't obligated to protect you. Hurr duhhh durrrrr
Gross
Wow……I hope you have her speak more often. Her ability to explain the situation in the context of our history is priceless!! I learned so much in those short 15 minutes and thank both of your for this extremely valuable interview. We need to hear more about how the 90% of us can get our voice heard, how we can rid our Congress of the filibuster, undo the gerrymandering that is causing the majority of us to not be heard, and preserve our democracy. We need more air time with interviews and guests like Heather Cox Richardson. Thanks Amanpour and Co.
I am so glad I listened to this interview! The fictional image of the cowboy and cowboy identity in the face of the ugly realities about cultural and political power in this country sums up the unfolding chaos in this country. Michel Martin conducts the best interviews...
So grateful for HCR's clear, honest voice!
I read her letter every day. Best news grounded in history anywhere.
Pathetic
This is insanity. This has become a soulless country.
For sure. A bunch of zombies that will stick anything f in their bodies the government tells them to
always has been one, just punctuated by a couple of brief periods of sanity.
@@romulus_ yes, sadly you’re right😢
Yes. It’s barbaric.
Always was, the word you may be searching for is "exposed" as a soulless country.
it's really good to see Heather here. Why don't we have more historians chime in?
Timothy Snyder and Jason Stanley do. Check them out on UA-cam.
@@Soapandwater6 - Thank you. Will check them out today!!
The most intelligent discussion of how we got where we are now, something I've really struggled to try to understand. Thank you so much.
Thanks Professor.... that explains a lot about the current mess of minority rule in the US
Astounding guest. Thank you for introducing me to her
and the ability of her to articulate SO MUCH knowledge
wow
Heather Cox Richardson Post daily on the events of our nation, always tying the moment with the relevant history of our past.
She has a very large following of politically minded people who eagerly await each of her updates.
Additionally, she presents a regular podcast inwhich she expounds upon the importance to be found broadening the discussion.
She is our new age Walter Cronkite, a calm and deliberate voice who brings understanding to the hectic events of our world.
The 2nd Amendment has to be the worst constitutional document ever. It can be interpreted any which way you want.
Many Laws are written that way for future adaptation to changed society...law gets twisted when its misinterpreted to fit a singular viewpoint. This is certainly happening now.
The part that always seems to get glossed over is the "well-regulated militia" part. So much of this country is a literal free-for-all because of all of the corruption and minority rule in this country. I am sick of it.
Please read my comments. . The right to bear arms was put in the Constitution to control slaves
@@bo2.4u6 That is certainly part of the reason for the 2nd amendment. But it is good to remember that we did have a war going on with Britain on our home ground. Not to mention that we also had an ongoing national policy of genocide against Indigenous Americans.
Sometimes it seems like the U.S. has always had 2 bad reasons along with possibly 1 good reason for every piece of legislation We The People have ever enacted, or allowed to be enacted in our name.
No. It is straight forward and simple. Only corrupt self serving cronies interpret it wrong.
Bravo Heather Richardson!! Let’s all shout this truth!
I cannot express my gratitude for the work HCR has done these past few year's. Her letters, her books and her lectures both old and new. I've learned so much about our History, things I would have never known.
Huge Thank You HCR
This professor is brilliant. Wow. So well explained and articulated.
THANK YOU HEATHER COX RICHARDSON!!! You contribute greatly to our Hope for a DECENT Future!!
The US system was intentionally biased against the exact same people as intended in 1790. The less populous states in the south would not join a strong union if it was one man one vote, they realized they would never win because fewer of them. They felt that the north could rule them unilaterally, slavery and tariffs being the big issues. Electoral college, two senators per state, scotus nominated and confirmed by the people selected by the biased system. The US COnstitution does not define a 1 man 1 vote democracy, it gives advantage to southern/conservatives.
No it does not. Why the conservatives say the same about us. The big issue is rural suburban and city divide as well as a regional divide. If south had an advantage to the north. That means Lincoln would have never won.
It was written by white men for men..we have not passed the ERA a yet..
Wyoming gets 2 senators, so does CA. North Dakota gets 2 senators, so does NY. The south is more rural, agrarian, extractive, less dense population. The north is factories and cities, very dense population. There are millions more dem votes for potus, senate, and house, not always in repub hands, so if not for the electorsl college, 2 senators per state regardless of size, and gerrymandering, repubs would never control any of the three. In 2024, it is certain that there will be more dem votes for all three, and almost certain that house, senate and potus will be repub. Bush and Trump were minority presidents, there has never been a dem minority president. We are looking at repub rule indefinitely, with demographics making them an ever shrinking minority. They realize this, that's why they have to take leave of reality and do whatever is necessary to stay in power.
The dems want abortion, gay marriage, gun control, etc, so anything is justified, this is war with satan. Lying, cheating, insurrection, all justified, including taking maximum advantage of the constitution, which is a sloppy, ricketty, undemocratic anachronism.
Brilliant. Terrifying. Educational. Bravo.
Love love Heather! I read her work/letters! She's a fearless intelligent woman💥
Wow, what an interesting and thoughtful history lesson. Thank you Heather Cox Richardson.
Wow! Finally, a wholistic view of what's happening to our politics and our culture. And it is not an accident, it is driven by an effort to undermine majority rule. Everyone needs to hear this interview.
Amen, Heather! I greatly appreciate your articulate analysis of this crisis.
She has 2 excellent series on UA-cam. 'The American Paradox', and 'The History of the Republican Party'. I learned so much!
Thanks for the recommendation!👍
As always Heather is spot on! Fantastic historian.
We are fortunate t have such an astute historian tracking the far right’s history. Dr. Richardson offers a free podcast and email newsletter that are very informative. It is a civics class for adults.
I LOVE Heather CR!! She is simply amazing. With all the smart historical insights needed to give proper perspective with facts & absent hysteria. I get her newsletter & devour it daily with anticipation. I’m always smarter for it. Please have her more often!!
Me too!
Her well of courage is deep. It can't be easy speaking against rightwingnut power with this much energy and intelligence.
That’s what an autocracy is, one entity and a select few making decisions on how everyone is to conduct their lives. It’s the minority leading the majority.
Very informative!
We love Miss Heather and listen almost every day and read her postings all the time. She is smart, knows history and can communicate it in a logical and practical manner. I repost her stuff nearly everyday. Her lectures on American History should be in every grade and high school.
Glad You all thought to put her on. Dennis & Margaret
The NRA started after the Civil War for the practice of gun marksmanship and teaching about the gun, however it's teachings came into use primarily on each and every war on American soil after the Civil War, and what's quietly kept is that every war on American soil after the Civil War was against the Native Americans.
@DecencyandDemocracy
I see where you're coming from and I respect your opinion, however the history and actions of white supremacists of the 19th century are also many of the same actions of white supremacists in the 21st century:
Home ownership
Land ownership
Voting restrictions
Women's Rights being eliminated
Medical injustices
Employment wage/salary gaps.
"Let's try something new" How much worse do you want?
Thank you, this is informative, intelligent, and important. We need much more of this level-headed approach right now.
Long story short, Conservativism did this. And the important point is the recent fundamentalism of the Far Right is not an aberration, or discrepancy, from its more palatable norm. Some misguided Republicans haven’t simply lost their way. The descent of conservatism into a radical form has revealed values and ideas that were central to the Right all along. In fact, the circumstances we find ourselves now have been weaved like a thread through the last four decades beginning with backlash against the New Deal and the rise of Reagan. The armed, anti-democratic, gender essentializing, replacement theory nationalists are a logical outcome of Reaganism. And this has led to a series of crises simultaneously in nearly all sphere of life.
You’re spot on, and I will add-corporations are behind it, funding ithis mess and profiting off the people.
Heather is amazing to listen to! I would love to be in her class. A wealth of information about our history and system.
Bring Heather back for another topic, love listening to her speak❤
4 times in the History of the United States of America, the Citizen running for President LOST the Popular Vote but won the Electoral College, every time it was a Republican.
GW Bush 2000 was #3
DJ Yrump was #4
@@nonnenja2281
My point is, never in the History of the United States, the Citizen that was a Democrat that won the Electoral College lost the Popular Vote, every time they won both.
Twice in this young century, the US has been saddled with a catastrophic Republican president by the antiquated Electoral College. Time for that institution to go.
Guns are most precious to the most fearful.
The NRA plays on people's fears just as many politicians do when stumping for office.
The most easily manipulated are the most fearful.
In many ways this is the most concisely distilled synopsis of where this country is headed and why. Fear and the easy manipulation of the fearful. Thank you for sharing that.
The truth is they just appeal to the politicians' greed. We need meaningful campaign contribution and lobbyist reform.
This was an Excellent Presentation! Very Informative on How&WHY we have Arrived at This Point in Time! Excellent 🗽 🇱🇷 ⚖🙏
We need more people like Heather Cox Richardson.
Ding, ding, ding. The subjugation of women is absolutely part of the this ethos.
Thanks for this interview, Ms. Cox-Richardson's "Letters from an American" are a dose of clarity in trying to navigate these most historic times. Ms. Martin asked so many great questions, which were most appreciated.
At last, someone making sense of these recurring tragedies, this plague! HCR is such a treasure!
Again, how does one remedy the structural weak points in the US government? In increasing ease of change, how does one fix a) the electoral college, b) the Citizen's United ruling, and c) the senate filibuster ? If those 3 things were fixed, then government might be saved. I just don't see how.
Have the President declare a national emergency and suspend habeas corpus, declare martial law, arrest Republicans in the House and Senate, Sup. Court and send them to Guantanamo, suspend Republican state legislatures and arrest Republican Governors and send them to Guantanamo. Appoint moderate and liberal politicians as replacements who will likely operate in good faith and resist corruption and then fill new vacancies in the Sup. Court. Then pass a series of Constitutional amendments that prevent gerrymandering, reforms or eliminates the electoral college, restructures the senate to give more representative weight to high population states and less to low population states. Add amendments that then more well defines restrictions on the 2nd amendment, grants equal protection for any gender, makes abortion legal, etc. Also add amendments the pulls 1st amendment protections for bad faith dissemination of misinformation and highly partisan propaganda. I think from there, a lot of problems will fix themselves thru regular legislation. For historical reference, President Grant did something similar to this to eliminate the 1st incarnation of the KKK.
@@brianfox771 The threshold to rescind the 2nd amendment or add an amendment to abolish the electoral college is insurmountably high right now. Maybe a slim majority in the senate could help blow up the filibuster and then pack the courts -- but that would be a fraught endeavour risking a backlash. I hope Biden won't have to invoke martial law -- but I have absolutely no illusions that the republicans would not hesitate if given a (half baked) pretext.
@@ericderbez2446 With all the obstructionist arrested and in Guantanamo, and the majority of states ran by governors that are liberal and appoint replacement House representative and Senators with like-minded people, there would be no threshold. The Sup. Court would be a 9-0 liberal majority and Congress would be ~100% liberal. The amendments would pass with little to no opposition. While my recommendation sounds over the top, it would result in a government that better represented the majority instead of the easily manipulated, ignorant minority, billionaires and mega corporations.
@@brianfox771 That would sure spark a civil war -- but it sounds as though that is the direction the Trump led republican party is headed anyways. Maybe an amicable divorce between red and blue states would be cleaner?
@@ericderbez2446 I don't think it would; I think it would prevent one. With Red state legislatures suspended and republican governors arrested and martial law implemented any opposition wouldn't really be able to organize and muster a sufficient force to do a civil war. There would likely be quite a bit of civil unrest with armed violence in super red areas of the country, but keep in mind their numbers aren't that much - 20%-30% of the population. I think once most of the people see that the laws getting passed enhance civil liberties and provide better representation in government and better protection against wanton violence they'd get over their saltiness and get on board.
I agree with your sentiments about Trump et al. If this doesn't happen the likely alternatives will be an ultra conservative authoritarian coup or a civil war.
Thank you Dr. Richardson!
Once again: The slide begins with Reagan. Nothing new here.
Although it’s incidental to the conversation, Reagan outlawed open carry in the state of California in 1967.
@@kevinjenner9502 As a governor, Reagan may not have been as bad as he was when he became president. He was wholly in the pockets of big business and I believe was the first to reap huge benefits from giving twenty minute speeches when he left office. That seems to be one of the major ways that businesses control presidents now. Play ball while you are in office and you will be taken care of for life when you leave office. I could be wrong, but how did Obama become worth $50 million only a few years after leaving the presidency? I bet he has given a lot of 20 minute speeches for $200,000 or more, probably way more at this point in history. Same with the Clintons.
@Down with Corporate Amerika That might be true, I don't know, but Reagan was the one who really accelerated the demise of the US.
Wow, Heather Cox Richardson is a history MACHINE! This was such a pleasure to listen to, and so impressed by the level of detail discussed. Listening to current events in the context of history is refreshing. I’ve been newly reading Cox’s newsletter Letters from An American , but listening to her is a whole other level.
Great speaker!
Level of violence is directly related to inequality of economics, directly related to the mega rich not paying their taxes and directly addressing this disparity.
When someone insists on gun rights beyond all reason, ask them how they feel about Black gun owners. Don't say 'minority', use the word 'Black'.
Do you support disarming blacks, to prevent them defending themselves?
You are exactly right! California got strict gun laws through in the 70's because the Panthers started carrying to protect black voters. Now ,all of a sudden, open carry was "scary". I am white but it is my impression that most black men hesitate to carry because they will be endangered by it. They will not be treated the same as white guys who carry. So "gun rights"people who insist it a universal right are simply being hypocritical.
But how do we fix minority rule without changing the Constitution? You have to change the way the Senate and President are chosen. The very states that benefit from minority rule would have to ratify an amendment that reduced their own power. In talking to people from those states, they believe firmly that they are entitled to a disproportionate share of the vote.
Exactly. And there's the rub. You said it.
After listening to this how can you not feel down. This is the truth. When I was a kid, I was a junior member of the NRA learning gun safety and shooting sport, which I still love. America was sure imperfect, but it wasn’t in the near civil war status in which it finds itself today. America is, frankly, no longer America. It IS a tyranny of the minority.
Facts…
So rare to hear these days
Thank you
She's so brilliant! She does amazing politics and history chats a couple days a week if you're interested in learning more! Please share her message far and wide!
Amazing interview. Thank you
My thoughts and prayers to the latest children who gave their lives, after begging for salvation, so a few of us can defend themselves!
Very good talk and the guest did a great job. Things like this is why history is important. This little sesh here lets us know this whole identity thing was started and planned a long time ago it has just morphed into something completely out of control.
This is why Scalia's beloved "originalism" should never have been elevated to such status. The longer we carry out this grand experiment called the United States, the more apparent it becomes that the U.S. Constitution is, while a very profound document in its time, not an absolute, nor in any way an irrefutable document. The obsession with the 2nd amendment is a classic illustration of this idea that parts of the constitution can become outmoded and should be subject to revision. As it stands now, the 2nd amendment is precisely why a would be "active shooter" cannot be arrested en route to his destination for openly carrying a weapon. Somehow, dead school-children, along with the rights of Americans to go to shopping malls, churches, grocery stores, theaters, concerts, etc.,etc., without the possibility of being gunned down are the price that we must pay in deference to the ever so sacred 2nd amendment.
The notion that the right to own a gun takes precedence over the safety of the greater populace as a whole seems to run counter to the whole "life, liberty and pursuit of happiness" thing. The fact that the amendment itself is written very specifically about maintaining a "well-regulated" militia seems to suggest that it is anything but absolute -- I mean, the whole "well-regulated" thing seems to invite, well, regulation I guess. And yet, through the cultural mythology perpetuated by the NRA and others, here we are.
Thank you for this. I learned more about WHY we're going thru this from Prof Richardson than I have from anyone else. I'll be looking for her newsletter.
This all boils down to 2 points:
1) A politician gets votes by being
A) against abortion,
B) pro-guns,
2) A politician gets money by
A) cutting taxes mainly for the upper incomes,
B) opposing environmental regulation.
You'll say more people favor abortion rights, but they don't show up at the polls.
I was very impressed by the speaker and had never heard of her so I had to look her up. She has an impressive resume and educational background. It would have been helpful if this interview had included an introduction to her for those of us who weren't familiar with her.
The best yet!
So enlightening. Thank you.
Very interesting in listening to this Professor. Thank you 🙏
I get your email 6 days a week and I love the information you give out. Stuff we never hear in the "news". Thank you!
HRC I love reading your newsletter every day! I've forwarded to friends to follow you too. It's excellent!
WOW, great guest. And as always, a great interlocutor!
EXCELLENT segment! Thank you, Michel Martin & Dr. Richardson!
I absolutely love Heather Cox Richardson. I read her FB posting every day. I look for it. So nice to see her here!
What a terrific analysis! Thank you for this interview.
What keeps me up at night is how few examples we have in history of a minority ruling faction giving up power willingly. The only modern example that comes to mind is South Africa, and that was only after decades of struggle, and years of international pressure. The electoral college and the current formulation of the Senate are neither stable nor sustainable, but what rural state will look the prospect of losing all their political power to populous coastal states and say, "Yes, let's sign up to be utterly ignored and dominated." A breakup of the union seems more likely.
@@jesse-rm9hw How would you know? You have no point of comparison unless you tried and failed in a bunch of other countries. Also have you ever considered looking beyond your own experiences? Listening to those who have had it differently?
Heather Cox Richardson makes perfect sense. Thank you!
Interesting discussion as usual thank you so much. And for the record I hugely oppose minority rule!!!