The Roman Republic ‘Restored’

 

In a college Roman history class, we read Ronald Syme’s The Roman Revolution (1939). If memory serves, Syme described how Augustus became king, in fact, if not in name, while observing all the niceties of the Republic. The Senate still met but Augustus was firmly in charge. I wonder if we’re in danger of having our country decisively change while the institutions appear to continue.

In 2016, James Comey withheld from the Gang of Eight the investigation of the Trump campaign. The FBI investigation of the HRC private server was a joke and never was seriously pursued. But the pursuit of a Trump and his advisors was ongoing. Comey doubtless withheld the information from Congress because the four Republicans in the Gang of Eight would have protested. The bureaucracy felt itself a fourth part of government immune from oversight.

The First Amendment means little when the SJW mob comes after you. Citing facts only makes things worse since they are a hate crime when they subvert the narrative.

A recent podcast commented that Congress no longer passes laws. The administrative estate does that. The recent Supreme Court decision fundamentally rewrote the 1964 Civil Rights Act. In 2012, Chief Justice Roberts wrote parts of both sides of the Obamacare decision as he switched sides in response to threats from the president.

We are in dangerous times and a victory by Biden would only encourage the mob.

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  1. RightAngles Member
    RightAngles
    @RightAngles

    The Republic is at stake in November. The Democrats will stop at nothing including rampant voter fraud to take this election, and we have to watch them like a hawk.

    • #1
  2. Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing) Member
    Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing)
    @Sisyphus

    RightAngles (View Comment):

    The Republic is at stake in November. The Democrats will stop at nothing including rampant voter fraud to take this election, and we have to watch them like a hawk.

    But Twitter, in a fact check on a Trump tweet, says that mail-in ballots represent no risk of fraud and that Trump is a double plus lying Hitler for saying so! (I may not have the quote exactly, but that’s the gist.) Of course, if Trump were Hitler, Twitter would otherwise occupy their time. Or regret the loss of their fingernails.

    • #2
  3. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    On another post I was thinking of Augustus, and Julius, and I think that the times we’re in may be analogous to one or the other.  I don’t know if Trump is more like Julius or Augustus (I suspect it’s Julius) we are approaching a Rubicon of our own, I think.

    I wrote in the other post: I secretly want a dictator. The only problem is that it will destroy what we’ve built. And the rule of law is nothing once we officially abrogate it.

    But it beats being ruled by the Pelosis and Schumers and the Leftists and the communists and the one hand and the mega-corporations and globalists on the other.

    • #3
  4. Richard Easton Coolidge
    Richard Easton
    @RichardEaston

    Flicker (View Comment):

    On another post I was thinking of Augustus, and Julius, and I think that the times we’re in may be analogous to one or the other. I don’t know if Trump is more like Julius or Augustus (I suspect it’s Julius) we are approaching a Rubicon of our own, I think.

    I wrote in the other post: I secretly want a dictator. The only problem is that it will destroy what we’ve built. And the rule of law is nothing once we officially abrogate it.

    But it beats being ruled by the Pelosis and Schumers and the Leftists and the communists and the one hand and the mega-corporations and globalists on the other.

    We may up in a situation where hate crimes law prevent you from protesting liberal policies. The leader of the Left, whether elected or not, will be the de facto dictator. The Dellingpole-Young podcast yesterday discussed the attempt to silence any criticism of the UK lockdown. That’s an example of a dictatorship of the elites. There may be no need for an Augustus. We’d be in a successful 1984 where thought crimes are close to impossible.

    • #4
  5. Barfly Member
    Barfly
    @Barfly

    Flicker (View Comment):
    I wrote in the other post: I secretly want a dictator. The only problem is that it will destroy what we’ve built. And the rule of law is nothing once we officially abrogate it.

    I think we can still beat them at the ballot box if we can get a handle on the vote fraud problem. If that doesn’t work out we’ll have to start thinking off-the-reservation. I will not be going to the camps.

    • #5
  6. Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing) Member
    Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing)
    @Sisyphus

    Flicker (View Comment):

    On another post I was thinking of Augustus, and Julius, and I think that the times we’re in may be analogous to one or the other. I don’t know if Trump is more like Julius or Augustus (I suspect it’s Julius) we are approaching a Rubicon of our own, I think.

     

    I’m going with Pompeii. Everyone owed him money and he used his wealth to buy power, and more wealth.

    • #6
  7. Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing) Member
    Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing)
    @Sisyphus

    Barfly (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):
    I wrote in the other post: I secretly want a dictator. The only problem is that it will destroy what we’ve built. And the rule of law is nothing once we officially abrogate it.

    I think we can still beat them at the ballot box if we can get a handle on the vote fraud problem. If that doesn’t work out we’ll have to start thinking off-the-reservation. I will not be going to the camps.

    I’ve never met anyone who came back from the camps.

    • #7
  8. Barfly Member
    Barfly
    @Barfly

    Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing) (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    On another post I was thinking of Augustus, and Julius, and I think that the times we’re in may be analogous to one or the other. I don’t know if Trump is more like Julius or Augustus (I suspect it’s Julius) we are approaching a Rubicon of our own, I think.

     

    I’m going with Pompeii. Everyone owed him money and he used his wealth to buy power, and more wealth.

    But in the end he got buried in hot ash. Let’s go with the other guy.

    • #8
  9. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Barfly (View Comment):

    Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing) (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    On another post I was thinking of Augustus, and Julius, and I think that the times we’re in may be analogous to one or the other. I don’t know if Trump is more like Julius or Augustus (I suspect it’s Julius) we are approaching a Rubicon of our own, I think.

     

    I’m going with Pompeii. Everyone owed him money and he used his wealth to buy power, and more wealth.

    But in the end he got buried in hot ash. Let’s go with the other guy.

    Vesuvius?

    • #9
  10. Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing) Member
    Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing)
    @Sisyphus

    Barfly (View Comment):

    Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing) (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    On another post I was thinking of Augustus, and Julius, and I think that the times we’re in may be analogous to one or the other. I don’t know if Trump is more like Julius or Augustus (I suspect it’s Julius) we are approaching a Rubicon of our own, I think.

     

    I’m going with Pompeii. Everyone owed him money and he used his wealth to buy power, and more wealth.

    But in the end he got buried in hot ash. Let’s go with the other guy.

    Daggers in the Senate seems likely.

    • #10
  11. Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing) Member
    Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing)
    @Sisyphus

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Barfly (View Comment):

    Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing) (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    On another post I was thinking of Augustus, and Julius, and I think that the times we’re in may be analogous to one or the other. I don’t know if Trump is more like Julius or Augustus (I suspect it’s Julius) we are approaching a Rubicon of our own, I think.

     

    I’m going with Pompeii. Everyone owed him money and he used his wealth to buy power, and more wealth.

    But in the end he got buried in hot ash. Let’s go with the other guy.

    Vesuvius?

    Yes. Pun. I misspelled Pompey.

    • #11
  12. I Walton Member
    I Walton
    @IWalton

    It’s well past an easy fix, perhaps passed any fix at all.  It’s what happens with all societies, always.  Power accumulates centrally, the folks who gather it use it, not viciously (at least at first) but in ways that serve their interests and getting more power always serves the interests of what they think matters and their personal interests.  Some succeed more than others, it changes, but it accumulates until it’s too narrow, then places just rot, get conquered or if too big, disintegrate.  The larger and more diverse and complex a place the less real knowledge the center can have or sensibly exercise.   Could we give power back to the overblown oversized states?  to giant cities?  My local officials have too much power, so does the state but the Federal government picks my pockets more than all of them.  Look at us today.  It is obvious China wants to replace us and we can’t know what that would mean, but what are we focused on?   What ever some groups think will help them gather power, negative harmful, destructive, historically and economically ignorant, chaotic and with little grasp of anything.   My coffee should be ready about now.   

    • #12
  13. Barfly Member
    Barfly
    @Barfly

    Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing) (View Comment):

    Barfly (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):
    I wrote in the other post: I secretly want a dictator. The only problem is that it will destroy what we’ve built. And the rule of law is nothing once we officially abrogate it.

    I think we can still beat them at the ballot box if we can get a handle on the vote fraud problem. If that doesn’t work out we’ll have to start thinking off-the-reservation. I will not be going to the camps.

    I’ve never met anyone who came back from the camps.

    I’ve met two people that survived German camps as children, and a few others whose parents got them out of Poland in time. Most seemed like political liberals, which I guess was normal for Jews in the northeastern U.S. in the late 20th century.

    • #13
  14. Stina Inactive
    Stina
    @CM

    If we are in such a moment, there are worse things than Augustus.

    • #14
  15. Richard Easton Coolidge
    Richard Easton
    @RichardEaston

    Stina (View Comment):

    If we are in such a moment, there are worse things than Augustus.

    We’re more likely to get Caligula or Nero. However, making a horse a senator might be an improvement.

    • #15
  16. Miffed White Male Member
    Miffed White Male
    @MiffedWhiteMale

    Richard Easton (View Comment):

    Stina (View Comment):

    If we are in such a moment, there are worse things than Augustus.

    We’re more likely to get Caligula or Nero. However, making a horse a senator might be an improvement.

    Be nice to have a whole horse.  We’ve already got a bunch of the back halves in there.  

    • #16
  17. Kozak Member
    Kozak
    @Kozak

    Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing) (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    On another post I was thinking of Augustus, and Julius, and I think that the times we’re in may be analogous to one or the other. I don’t know if Trump is more like Julius or Augustus (I suspect it’s Julius) we are approaching a Rubicon of our own, I think.

     

    I’m going with Pompeii. Everyone owed him money and he used his wealth to buy power, and more wealth.

    We need a Sulla.

    • #17
  18. James Gawron Inactive
    James Gawron
    @JamesGawron

    Richard,

    Perhaps one could forgive Augustus if one reads a little Shakespeare. An entrenched ruling class was so outraged by the success of the “outsider”, Julius Ceasar, that they committed murder. We are watching people who are willing by lying propaganda to destroy the reputation of Western Civilization, to wreck the economy, to corrupt the system of elections, to destroy our military unleashing merciless dictatorships on the world, all this merely to stop Donald Trump. How dare he do a better job than they can. Their preening egos won’t allow them to reconsider their grotesque coarse of action. But they are all honorable men.

    Regards,

    Jim

    • #18
  19. MichaelKennedy Inactive
    MichaelKennedy
    @MichaelKennedy

    Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing) (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    On another post I was thinking of Augustus, and Julius, and I think that the times we’re in may be analogous to one or the other. I don’t know if Trump is more like Julius or Augustus (I suspect it’s Julius) we are approaching a Rubicon of our own, I think.

     

    I’m going with Pompeii. Everyone owed him money and he used his wealth to buy power, and more wealth.

    Pompey ?  The other was buried by volcanic ash.

    • #19
  20. Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing) Member
    Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing)
    @Sisyphus

    MichaelKennedy (View Comment):

    Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing) (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    On another post I was thinking of Augustus, and Julius, and I think that the times we’re in may be analogous to one or the other. I don’t know if Trump is more like Julius or Augustus (I suspect it’s Julius) we are approaching a Rubicon of our own, I think.

     

    I’m going with Pompeii. Everyone owed him money and he used his wealth to buy power, and more wealth.

    Pompey ? The other was buried by volcanic ash.

    See comment 11.

    • #20
  21. Lockdowns are Precious Inactive
    Lockdowns are Precious
    @Pseudodionysius

    Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing) (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    On another post I was thinking of Augustus, and Julius, and I think that the times we’re in may be analogous to one or the other. I don’t know if Trump is more like Julius or Augustus (I suspect it’s Julius) we are approaching a Rubicon of our own, I think.

     

    I’m going with Pompeii. Everyone owed him money and he used his wealth to buy power, and more wealth.

    That role is now played by the Federal Reserve Banking system.

    • #21
  22. Rightfromthestart Coolidge
    Rightfromthestart
    @Rightfromthestart

    Our side is always trying to get back to stasis, to equilibrium, to where it was , 38th parallel, two Vietnams, 1967 borders , etc,  the other side is always aggressively on the move , they don’t rest after a victory as we do, they announce that the victory was only step one as they announce even more aggressive plans. Now they’re calling for DC statehood as a step toward locking in a Senate majority forever , mail in voting, no ID, eliminate the electoral college, close the remaining non-leftist news outlets, capture elementary and high schools so parents have no say, on and on.  We are besieged on 100 fronts , one ‘crisis’ after another to  make sure we never catch our breath. It feels like Britain during the blitz or the first few months after Pearl Harbor, and we have the ‘Tokyo Rose’ ‘Lord Haw Haw’ media constantly undermining our will to resist. It’s a close run thing for our survival as the country we grew up in. 

    • #22
  23. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    James Gawron (View Comment):

    Richard,

    Perhaps one could forgive Augustus if one reads a little Shakespeare. An entrenched ruling class was so outraged by the success of the “outsider”, Julius Ceasar, that they committed murder. We are watching people who are willing by lying propaganda to destroy the reputation of Western Civilization, to wreck the economy, to corrupt the system of elections, to destroy our military unleashing merciless dictatorships on the world, all this merely to stop Donald Trump. How dare he do a better job than they can. Their preening egos won’t allow them to reconsider their grotesque coarse of action. But they are all honorable men.

    Regards,

    Jim

    Yes, I’m not a Roman history buff, but it does seem like Trump had been cast in the role of Julius.

    • #23
  24. Dennis A. Garcia (formerly Gai… Inactive
    Dennis A. Garcia (formerly Gai…
    @Gaius

    Richard Easton: In a college Roman history class, we read Ronald Syme’s The Roman Revolution (1939).

    A truly great book. Anyone who hasn’t read it should. Now I’ll read to the bottom of the OP.

    • #24
  25. MISTER BITCOIN Inactive
    MISTER BITCOIN
    @MISTERBITCOIN

    Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing) (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    On another post I was thinking of Augustus, and Julius, and I think that the times we’re in may be analogous to one or the other. I don’t know if Trump is more like Julius or Augustus (I suspect it’s Julius) we are approaching a Rubicon of our own, I think.

     

    I’m going with Pompeii. Everyone owed him money and he used his wealth to buy power, and more wealth.

    Victor Davis Hanson compared Trump to Claudius in 2017 

     

    • #25
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