Brad Thor: Trump is an Extinction Level Threat to American Democracy

 

bradthor2Best-selling spy novel author Brad Thor just gave a remarkable interview on the Glenn Beck show in which he passionately explained why Donald Trump represents “an extinction level” threat to American democracy. I’m in full agreement. Here are Thor’s remarks, as reported by Lori, a journalist employed by the Beck organization. Everyone should read this.

“I think Trump is an extinction-level event potentially for our republic, for democracy. This is one of the greatest crises our nation has seen since the Great Depression, since World War II — is a potential Donald Trump presidency. It is a disaster for liberty,” Thor said. Glenn doesn’t often struggle to have his voice heard, but Thor’s passion overwhelmed the conversation.

“Listen, Andrew Sullivan, who I’m not a big fan…I don’t agree with a lot of stuff Andrew Sullivan writes…he wrote a brilliant piece recently in New York Magazine, and he said, “Democracies end when they are too democratic.” And he looked at Plato’s republic and some of the thoughts Plato had on democracy, and how, when there are no values, when anything is possible, when everything goes, that’s when a tyrant steps in and takes control of what Plato calls an “obedient mob.” It’s exactly what Trump has done. It is a brilliant, brilliant piece of writing. And I encourage everybody to read it,” Thor said.

Thor’s intensity surprised Glenn. “I’ve never heard you like this, Brad,” Glenn said.

“I’m terrified,” Thor answered.

Glenn reminded Thor of when he rang the bell about Barack Obama, but never said anything like an “extinction-level event.”

“Listen, I believe it was somebody at National Review that used that exact term, and it resonated with me…”

You can read the entire exchange, or listen to the audio, at Beck’s website.

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  1. Salvatore Padula Inactive
    Salvatore Padula
    @SalvatorePadula

    Hypatia: As far as I’m concerned, anybody who throws up Burke is essentially saying the world would be better off if the US had never become a nation.

    Could you develop that point? Burke himself was a supporter of American independence.

    • #151
  2. Sabrdance Member
    Sabrdance
    @Sabrdance

    drlorentz:

    Jamie Lockett: Since Thor’s opinion was expressed in terms of information gleaned from the Sullivan piece I suggest you read it.

    I have read it. He makes some good points; I know they are good because I’d already thought of them before reading it. There are some troublesome signs but this is no Weimar, 17th century England, or 19th century France. As there are many analogous elements with the past, so are there many differences.

    The dangers are exaggerated and the conclusions alarmist. It’s that simple. Are there dangers? Sure. Same goes for Hillary or the Bern. What else is new?

    Oh, I don’t know about 17th Century England.  But Sullivan does get the sides reversed.

    • #152
  3. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    I’m voting for Trump.  Thor is terribly wrong on this . . . but he’s only human.

    • #153
  4. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    Sabrdance:

    drlorentz:

    Jamie Lockett: Since Thor’s opinion was expressed in terms of information gleaned from the Sullivan piece I suggest you read it.

    I have read it. He makes some good points; I know they are good because I’d already thought of them before reading it. There are some troublesome signs but this is no Weimar, 17th century England, or 19th century France. As there are many analogous elements with the past, so are there many differences.

    The dangers are exaggerated and the conclusions alarmist. It’s that simple. Are there dangers? Sure. Same goes for Hillary or the Bern. What else is new?

    Oh, I don’t know about 17th Century England. But Sullivan does get the sides reversed.

    One comparison with the Republic, is that when it was actually falling, they did not talk about it falling. As long as we can worry about the fall of the Republic, I feel better.

    When we are no longer allowed to talk about it falling, then I worry!

    • #154
  5. Kay of MT Inactive
    Kay of MT
    @KayofMT

    http://www.seraphicpress.com/

    By Robert J. Avrech | May 25, 2016

    Trump Rescues William Tecumseh Sherman

    • #155
  6. Carey J. Inactive
    Carey J.
    @CareyJ

    Note:

    Personal attack, bad faith.

    [redacted]

    • #156
  7. Ball Diamond Ball Member
    Ball Diamond Ball
    @BallDiamondBall

    Carey J.:The only reason to read any Zoo-brain post is for the comments trashing him.

    Well, that’s just mean.

    • #157
  8. inmateprof Inactive
    inmateprof
    @inmateprof

    Annefy:

    Eugene Kriegsmann:I keep reading these comment sections and a pattern emerges. The NeverTrump people state all of the possible problems that are inherent in the Trump candidacy and the Trump supporters respond that Hillary or Bernie are worse. It would be interesting to read a response from the Trump supporters that actually listed reasons, other than Hillary’s inadequacies, why Trump should be elected president.Where are his qualifications other than being slightly less awful than Hillary?

    On the issue of Brad Thor, I have read one of his books and wasn’t particularly impressed. His political commentary seems about as simplistic as his plot lines and characters. My preference is for protagonists with actual human characteristics and plot lines that do not unwind as predictably. He is no Tom Clancy.

    For me, being less awful is enough. Please see my comments 264 and 265.

    http://ricochet.com/must-vote-trump-please-hold-nose/comment-page-14/#comment-3336241

    Bingo.  Also, Trump will never do this.

    https://www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/immigration-reform/

    You want extinction level events?  She wants to give citizenship (not just amnesty or visas) to eleven million immigrants, and THEN under the guise of reuniting families brings in another twenty, and give them citizenship.  So, thirty+ million third-world immigrants enter this country and gain citizenship and now you will have thirty+ million more Democrat voters.  The Republican Party will then be…. extinct.

    • #158
  9. Larry3435 Inactive
    Larry3435
    @Larry3435

    Ball Diamond Ball:

    Carey J.:The only reason to read any Zoo-brain post is for the comments trashing him.

    Well, that’s just mean.

    It’s more than mean.  It is completely at odds with everything this site is supposed to be.  The comments section is becoming indistinguishable from the Washington Post or the Huffington Post.  Repeated and vicious attacks on the contributors, the editors, and other members.  No substance to them either.  Just bile, and lots of whining that the editors allow opinions that are not their opinions.  And it does not escape our notice that all of it is coming from Trump supporters.  Which makes sense, I guess, since the spewing of bile is what attracts them to Trump in the first place.

    Since these people seem so insistent on having their “safe space,” where no anti-Trump thoughts will be tolerated, they should set up their own thread where they can talk to each other in their own echo chamber, and leave the non-deranged people alone.

    • #159
  10. Carey J. Inactive
    Carey J.
    @CareyJ

    Larry3435: It’s more than mean. It is completely at odds with everything this site is supposed to be. The comments section is becoming indistinguishable from the Washington Post or the Huffington Post. Repeated and vicious attacks on the contributors, the editors, and other members.

    If the comments are becoming like the WaPo and the HuffPo, maybe it’s because the OPs are becoming more like the HuffPo, or even the Daily Kos.

    • #160
  11. Larry3435 Inactive
    Larry3435
    @Larry3435

    Carey J.:

    Larry3435: It’s more than mean. It is completely at odds with everything this site is supposed to be. The comments section is becoming indistinguishable from the Washington Post or the Huffington Post. Repeated and vicious attacks on the contributors, the editors, and other members.

    If the comments are becoming like the WaPo and the HuffPo, maybe it’s because the OPs are becoming more like the HuffPo, or even the Daily Kos.

    But they’re not.  And many of us want to read them and discuss them.  If that’s not you (and it obviously isn’t), then please just go start your own PDT (Politically Deranged Thread) where you and the other people who hate this site can shout at each other.  Don’t go away mad, just go away.

    • #161
  12. Basil Fawlty Member
    Basil Fawlty
    @BasilFawlty

    Larry3435:

    Ball Diamond Ball:

    Carey J.:The only reason to read any Zoo-brain post is for the comments trashing him.

    Well, that’s just mean.

    It’s more than mean. It is completely at odds with everything this site is supposed to be. The comments section is becoming indistinguishable from the Washington Post or the Huffington Post. Repeated and vicious attacks on the contributors, the editors, and other members. No substance to them either. Just bile, and lots of whining that the editors allow opinions that are not their opinions. And it does not escape our notice that all of it is coming from Trump supporters. Which makes sense, I guess, since the spewing of bile is what attracts them to Trump in the first place.

    Since these people seem so insistent on having their “safe space,” where no anti-Trump thoughts will be tolerated, they should set up their own thread where they can talk to each other in their own echo chamber, and leave the non-deranged people alone.

    Sez the guy who just had a nasty comment redacted at #110.

    • #162
  13. Larry3435 Inactive
    Larry3435
    @Larry3435

    Basil Fawlty:

    Larry3435:

    Ball Diamond Ball:

    Carey J.:The only reason to read any Zoo-brain post is for the comments trashing him.

    Well, that’s just mean.

    It’s more than mean. It is completely at odds with everything this site is supposed to be. The comments section is becoming indistinguishable from the Washington Post or the Huffington Post. Repeated and vicious attacks on the contributors, the editors, and other members. No substance to them either. Just bile, and lots of whining that the editors allow opinions that are not their opinions. And it does not escape our notice that all of it is coming from Trump supporters. Which makes sense, I guess, since the spewing of bile is what attracts them to Trump in the first place.

    Since these people seem so insistent on having their “safe space,” where no anti-Trump thoughts will be tolerated, they should set up their own thread where they can talk to each other in their own echo chamber, and leave the non-deranged people alone.

    Sez the guy who just had a nasty comment redacted at #110.

    I simply got disgusted at the comments.  And unlike the people who disgust me (who whine endlessly), I don’t flag posts.  I just remark on them.  Also, there is nothing “nasty” about saying that I don’t crave respect from these people.  That’s just a fact.

    • #163
  14. Larry3435 Inactive
    Larry3435
    @Larry3435

    Kay of MT:

    Carey J.:In other words, the problem with government “by the people” is that it’s by the people. If we could just get rid of the those troublesome people, the elites could make any old deals they want, and no one would bother them.

    Unfortunately for the elites, it is the people who provides the wealth that keeps them in business.

    Fortunately for the 99%, it is the “elites” who provide the jobs that keep them from starving.  When did Ricochet become Occupy Wall Street?  When did it become an article of faith that the 1% are stealing their wealth from “the peepul”?  Is Crazy Bernie going to become a Ricochet contributor now?

    • #164
  15. Kay of MT Inactive
    Kay of MT
    @KayofMT

    Larry3435: Fortunately for the 99%, it is the “elites”

    This is nonsense, the elites under discussion are the political elites who do not create “jobs” unless you are counting the hangers on who do their biding.

    • #165
  16. Franco Member
    Franco
    @Franco

    Larry3435:

    Sez the guy who just had a nasty comment redacted at #110.

    I simply got disgusted at the comments. And unlike the people who disgust me (who whine endlessly), I don’t flag posts. I just remark on them. Also, there is nothing “nasty” about saying that I don’t crave respect from these people. That’s just a fact.

    For the record, T’was not me who threw the flag. I can fend for myself against these pathetic attacks.

    • #166
  17. Jamie Lockett Member
    Jamie Lockett
    @JamieLockett

    You two should cool it. This isn’t a productive discussion. Take it to PMs if you want to snipe at each other.

    • #167
  18. skipsul Inactive
    skipsul
    @skipsul

    Jamie Lockett:You two should cool it. This isn’t a productive discussion. Take it to PMs if you want to snipe at each other.

    I dunno, it’s kinda fun to watch.  Anyone keeping score?

    • #168
  19. Franco Member
    Franco
    @Franco

    Jamie Lockett:You two should cool it. This isn’t a productive discussion. Take it to PMs if you want to snipe at each other.

    Sez the guy who wants the hall monitor job at Ricochet.

    I’m very cool. I just want the record to be clear.

    • #169
  20. BrentB67 Inactive
    BrentB67
    @BrentB67

    Jamie Lockett:You two should cool it. This isn’t a productive discussion. Take it to PMs if you want to snipe at each other.

    This is the Ricochet Public Service Alert System: When Jamie or I start sounding like the voice of reason things have probably gone off the rails.

    • #170
  21. Songwriter Inactive
    Songwriter
    @user_19450

    BrentB67:

    Songwriter:

    Quinn the Eskimo:If I can put a slightly different spin on it:…

    This. Exactly. Trump may well be the proverbial back-breaking straw. But the overbearing burden of government that led to the collapse has been coming on for 100 years.

    Don’t say that around here. To read a lot of what goes up here you would think everything is just swimming along since 2000 and then this Trump ruffian showed up and spoiled the cocktail party at Bushwood.

    Yeah.  I am no fan of Trump. At all. But I’ve been telling people from the get-go: Trump is the natural result of unfettered, insatiable Left Wing and a feckless Right Wing. When Lefties appear aghast at the rise of Trump, I point out they are just as much to blame as the GOP that failed to stop him. Hubris meet Nemesis.

    • #171
  22. Midget Faded Rattlesnake Member
    Midget Faded Rattlesnake
    @Midge

    BrentB67:

    Jamie Lockett:You two should cool it. This isn’t a productive discussion. Take it to PMs if you want to snipe at each other.

    This is the Ricochet Public Service Alert System: When Jamie or I start sounding like the voice of reason things have probably gone off the rails.

    :-)

    • #172
  23. BrentB67 Inactive
    BrentB67
    @BrentB67

    Songwriter:

    BrentB67:

    Songwriter:

    Quinn the Eskimo:If I can put a slightly different spin on it:…

    This. Exactly. Trump may well be the proverbial back-breaking straw. But the overbearing burden of government that led to the collapse has been coming on for 100 years.

    Don’t say that around here. To read a lot of what goes up here you would think everything is just swimming along since 2000 and then this Trump ruffian showed up and spoiled the cocktail party at Bushwood.

    Yeah. I am no fan of Trump. At all. But I’ve been telling people from the get-go: Trump is the natural result of unfettered, insatiable Left Wing and a feckless Right Wing. When Lefties appear aghast at the rise of Trump, I point out they are just as much to blame as the GOP that failed to stop him. Hubris meet Nemesis.

    I agree, but sadly think we are in the minority.

    It would be easier to take what is remaining of the GOP seriously if there was any kind of mea culpa, but mostly what I hear is that it is all Trump’s fault, the alt-right, weather, etc., but never ever the feckless GOP.

    • #173
  24. skipsul Inactive
    skipsul
    @skipsul

    BrentB67: It would be easier to take what is remaining of the GOP seriously if there was any kind of mea culpa, but mostly what I hear is that it is all Trump’s fault, the alt-right, weather, etc., but never ever the feckless GOP.

    Just saw this online, and thought it was a fitting response to the GOP at times:dead

    • #174
  25. BrentB67 Inactive
    BrentB67
    @BrentB67

    skipsul:

    BrentB67: It would be easier to take what is remaining of the GOP seriously if there was any kind of mea culpa, but mostly what I hear is that it is all Trump’s fault, the alt-right, weather, etc., but never ever the feckless GOP.

    Just saw this online, and thought it was a fitting response to the GOP at times:dead

    Who gets a cake like that made?

    • #175
  26. Midget Faded Rattlesnake Member
    Midget Faded Rattlesnake
    @Midge

    BrentB67:

    skipsul:

    BrentB67: It would be easier to take what is remaining of the GOP seriously if there was any kind of mea culpa, but mostly what I hear is that it is all Trump’s fault, the alt-right, weather, etc., but never ever the feckless GOP.

    Just saw this online, and thought it was a fitting response to the GOP at times:dead

    Who gets a cake like that made?

    Plenty of people, apparently.

    markste.ow.goodriddancemisspell

    • #176
  27. Larry3435 Inactive
    Larry3435
    @Larry3435

    Let’s go back to the start of this exchange, and what prompted me to comment.  “The only reason to read any Zoo-brain post is for the comments trashing him.”  Really?  This is acceptable?  This is civil intelligent conversation?

    Larry3435:

    Ball Diamond Ball:

    Carey J.:The only reason to read any Zoo-brain post is for the comments trashing him.

    Well, that’s just mean.

    It’s more than mean. It is completely at odds with everything this site is supposed to be. The comments section is becoming indistinguishable from the Washington Post or the Huffington Post. Repeated and vicious attacks on the contributors, the editors, and other members. No substance to them either. Just bile, and lots of whining that the editors allow opinions that are not their opinions. And it does not escape our notice that all of it is coming from Trump supporters. Which makes sense, I guess, since the spewing of bile is what attracts them to Trump in the first place.

    Since these people seem so insistent on having their “safe space,” where no anti-Trump thoughts will be tolerated, they should set up their own thread where they can talk to each other in their own echo chamber, and leave the non-deranged people alone.

    • #177
  28. Annefy Member
    Annefy
    @Annefy

    As someone who has come close to baring my soul in explaining how I feel about this year candidates and the choices – and been largely ignored I might add, I resent your comment Larry.

    • #178
  29. BrentB67 Inactive
    BrentB67
    @BrentB67

    Midget Faded Rattlesnake:

    BrentB67:

    skipsul:

    BrentB67: It would be easier to take what is remaining of the GOP seriously if there was any kind of mea culpa, but mostly what I hear is that it is all Trump’s fault, the alt-right, weather, etc., but never ever the feckless GOP.

    Just saw this online, and thought it was a fitting response to the GOP at times:dead

    Who gets a cake like that made?

    Plenty of people, apparently.

    markste.ow.goodriddancemisspell

    Someone needs to drop off a dictionary at the bakery.

    I am sure if I canceled my account today Zubrin would bake a cake that says “riddance” for the editor’s party.

    • #179
  30. Larry3435 Inactive
    Larry3435
    @Larry3435

    Annefy:As someone who has come close to baring my soul in explaining how I feel about this year candidates and the choices – and been largely ignored I might add, I resent your comment Larry.

    I apologize for any offense given.  And I actually have no idea what comment you are referencing.  My objection is to commenters who trash the original poster with ad hominem attacks.  That obviously does not refer to you.  I’m sorry if you got the idea that I was talking about you in any way.

    • #180
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