Voice of the People: Radio by and for the 99% will look at the threat to our democracy in the upcoming elections. Our word of the week is “coup.” We look at how only 22% of Americans today have confidence that the Presidential election will be “free and fair.” And we explore how a roleplay by non-Donald Trump supporting political players in the so-called Transition Integrity Project found their most contentious scenario being Biden winning the popular vote and Trump winning the Electoral vote and thus the Presidency. We follow that up with a review of the important article Matt Taibbi wrote a year ago titled “We’re in a Permanent Coup,” in which he argues that it’s better to have a bad president than to accepts coups and that the open insubordination shown by the leadership of the US intelligence community toward Trump adds up to a new tactic by the spooks to destabilize an elected US government and so a coup in fact.
Also, in the first hour we continue to cover the pandemic and the economic catastrophe for the 99% allowed to happen by Congress while billionaires grow even richer. We take a look at how 57% of Americans thinks there needs to be a third party as an alternative to the Democrats and Republicans, and how Joe Biden is the clear favorite – in terms of donations – of US billionaires. And we follow that with a closer look at writer/journalist/prophet Chris Hedges’ declaration that Biden is the candidate of choice of the elites and why it’s not likely that a Trump loss will cause a civil war, despite his appeal to right-wing militias. We end the first hour reading a revealing letter from the Montana Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association to Montana Governor Steve Bullock, as an update to our coverage of the police/carceral state.
In the third half hour we interview Jacob Elder, a Liberian refugee and now Missoula resident who is running for the Missoula Mayor position. Jacob tells his story on how he became a refugee as a child and how that led to his joining the US Marines, attending the University of Montana for both law and public administration degrees, and throwing his hat into the 2021 Missoula mayoral race.
Then for the last part of the show we have a great conversation with sound sound guy Jim Gillan. We discuss Steven Levitsky’s interview on Alternative Radio about the likelihood of a US coup, whether from Trump supporters or from other players. And we go from there with observations about the current condition of US democracy.
Join us in our social distancing by listening from Noon to 2 pm on Saturdays in Missoula, Montana on 105.5 FM or streaming worldwide on 1055kfgm.org. And please join our Facebook Group (Voice of the People: Radio by and for the 99% on 1055KFGM.org Group) to access scripts of this and previous shows and other contact information.
