In what sounds like a combination of worry about the open white nationalism and drift toward fascism and away from Democracy, the iconic House Democrat, the man most responsible for the Biden presidency other than Biden himself, Rep. James Clyburn, addressed the mood of black voters specifically and Democrats generally in a new interview in the Washington Post and covered by The Hill.

It sounds to us like Clyburn is worried that the Republican party, the American Right, is too far gone to ever deal with again, and it sounds as though he’s worried that Democrats are not strong enough to stand up to the problem. Someone needed to say it. Clyburn has the stature.

“Quite frankly, last year, this time I was in a different place than I am now,” Clyburn told the Early 202.

Asked to elaborate, he added, “I thought in difficult times that this too shall pass. I’m not too sure anymore. I’m really not.”

The House majority whip was also asked about the mood of Black voters in the U.S.

“Dangerous. The mood is very dangerous. It’s not a Democratic problem. It’s the country’s problem,” he said.

“The country is in danger of imploding. Democracy is in danger of disintegrating,” he added, saying “I don’t know why people feel that this country is insulated from the historical trends.”

Historical trends. As is apparent to everyone, he’s referencing the turn to fascism. Everyone also knows that fascism requires a group to blame. Tucker and others have already set out that group in the “Great Replacement Theory” that led to the Buffalo shooting. And yet Republicans wouldn’t pass the newly drafted bill against domestic terrorism. Is it part of the platform now?

Here is the other thing that makes one question whether the country really could implode from historical trends toward fascism. The Republicans have already shown that they’ll lie, cheat, steal, then get violent in a quest to yank the power of the presidency. And that was last time. They did it openly, committing crime after crime.

And there’s little indication that Democrats are willing to prosecute the people who tried to take the government by force, Trump and all, and thus it seems – unless they prosecute Trump on the top-secret files, he will get through trying to overthrow the government without consequences. The ability to openly commit political crimes – the Reichstag fire – is also an indication that a country is following “historical trends.”

Someone finally said it.

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[email protected], @JasonMiciak, with Nicole Hickman