Dem
47
GOP
53
Here is the question we put before readers two weeks ago:
A.G. in Scranton, PA, asks: There have been significant, jarring political events throughout history that were infamous enough to earn derogatory names that make for excellent multiple choice questions on pop quizzes in history classes across the nation.
The Night of the Long Knives. The Saturday Night Massacre. The Admiral's Revolt. The Teapot Dome Scandal. Pizzagate. (Some of those are far more infamous than others, of course.)
What do you think this period of destroying the world order that has kept relative peace for 80 years and the systematic scrapping of the social safety net programs of the New Deal and the Great Society should be called?
And here some of the answers we got in response:
J.S. in Germantown, OH: I think an excellent name would be "The Great Irony." Many of the people supporting these authoritarian movements with their voices and their votes, from MAGA to those in Europe, are actually the ones likely to be most negatively impacted by the policies of those they support.
T.L. in West Orange, NJ: I would suggest that future historians name this era "The Running of the Bulls Through Ridiculously Many China Shops." It may not roll off the tongue as well as something like The Night of the Long Knives, but I think it calls up appropriate visuals. And ideally, the era can end with the Matador-in-Chief getting gored.
G.T. in Awakino, NZ: "The Revenge of the Deplorables"
B.C. in Walpole, ME: "The Four Teslas of the Apocalypse"
M.T. in Lionville, PA: By analogy with the Bubonic Plague: "The Orange Death"
T.B. in Mauldin, SC: I think this period of destroying the world order should be called "The Narcissist's Revenge."
G.L. in Chicago, IL: Trump named it perfectly: "The Sh**hole Country"
J.B. in Newport News, VA: "The Rise and Fall of the Trump Reich." I still hope for a fall, though it may come well after my death. I'm 73.
O.B. in Santa Monica, CA: "Trump Kampf"
T.P. in Toledo, OH: "It Happened Here"
J.M. in Eagle Mills, NY: "The Era of Bad Feelings"
B.K.J. in San Diego, CA: The idea was immediate, simple, and damned difficult to unhear now: "Clustertrump."
E.W. in Skaneateles, NY: My choice might be less loaded but I think it's pretty accurate: "The Great Unraveling." Like "The Great Awakening," but anti-woke (not that the Great Awakening was woke, mind you).
R.M. in Bryan, TX: This period will be labeled "The Rule of the Barbarians." They are not at the gate, they have crashed through and taken control of civilized government with intention to destroy what generations have built and remake it to their own profit.
T.H. in Champaign, IL: "The Perverse Reverse"
M.H. in Salt Lake City, UT: "The Great Regression"
S.T. in Worcestershire, England, UK: With apologies to Eric Hobsbawm, "The Age of Irrationality"
R.L.D. in Sundance, WY: If I had my way, the current regime of destroying everything the Greatest and Silent Generations built would be called "Over," and as quickly as possible.
Here is the question for next week:
S.S. in West Hollywood, CA asks: If Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) agreed to abide by your suggestions, what would you suggest he do to meet this moment in history and save our democracy? And how about House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), over in the lower chamber?
Submit your answers to comments@electoral-vote.com, preferably with subject line "Keep Calm and Carry On"!