Addressing the problem will require a number of different approaches, some broad, some narrow. President Trump, a man who is comfortable using his bully pulpit for the most frivolous of reasons, should take the time to condemn these actions repeatedly and unambiguously, in both general and specific terms. Simultaneously, the president should work with Congress to devote more resources to infiltrating, tracking, and foiling nascent plots (during the 1940s, the KKK was partly destroyed by a radio show that weaponized insider information against it), and he should instruct the federal government to initiate an information campaign against white-supremacist violence in much the same way as it has conducted crusades against drunk driving, human trafficking, and domestic violence. Just as the government must not react to these incidents by abridging the Second Amendment or the Fourth Amendment, obviously the First Amendment’s crucial protections must also remain intact. But where action is consistent with the law — there is no prohibition on monitoring hotbeds of radicalism, nor against punishing those who plan or incite violence — it must be vigorously taken.
THIS IS HIS FUCKING BASE. The guy in Texas wrote an anti-Hispanic manifesto in which he referred to them as invaders. Why does that seem so familiar?
The president of the United States — who condemned the El Paso attack on Twitter — has repeatedly referred to an “invasion” at the southern border; condemned Mexican immigrants as “rapists” and Syrian refugees as “snakes”; accused his critics of treason on at least two dozen occasions; and told four elected women of color to “go back” to the “crime infested places from which they came.” (It is worth noting that Crusius, in his alleged manifesto, claims his views “predate” and are unrelated to Trump but then goes on to attack “fake news.”)
Fer fuck’s sake, he’s done everything but call them untermensch. He proposed a ban on all Muslims entering the country. The lone black Republican is retiring. Trump spent the last week attacking a black congressman and calling his predominantly black constituents residents of a rat-infested hellhole. He’s got armed guards keeping them in cages and subhuman conditions for asking for ASYLUM. He’s leading chants at fucking rallies to tell congresswomen of color “back to where they came from” *wink wink*.
One of the very first things he did when he took office was to attempt to change the Homeland Security Department’s counter extremism group to focus only on Islamic Extremism. Your entire god damned party freaked out on Obama for WARNING YOU about this shit.
HE’S NOT GOING TO DO JACK FUCKING SHIT ABOUT WHITE SUPREMACISTS.
Oh, you will also be wholly unsurprised that the NRO doesn’t think we should talk about guns.
Jeffro
Agreed, John.
Message to all “Republicans” who “don’t like trumpov’s actions but i like his policies”…WE ARE HERE. This is what you, we, all of us get when you “like his policies” and say jack squat while he inflames white supremacists to murder American citizens.
Get your heads out of the sand and quit saying stupid shit. That goes for you too, Delaney, Mr. “well we just need to institute gun liability insurance, and at especially high rates for people who say racist things” (per his tweet today)
No more quiet enabling. No more. Draw the lines, hard, Dems.
Mai Naem mobile
I am really worried about the direction of this country. Really worried. I just feel too many people are treating the Orange Menace as a reality show and not talking about how he’s systematically destroying this country’s administrative underpinnings. I am not sure how you get those back. The very rich think nothings going to affect them but it is in a million different ways. They’re just going to be buffeted for a while. This guy is starting a race war to reach his goals and I don’t think I am exaggerating here. Fuck these people with a rusty pair of scissors.
smintheus
These clowns have spent the afternoon trying to blame Elizabeth Warren for the radicalization of the Dayton shooter. I kid not. They are permanently beyond the pale. In fact they’re so far from the pale that they’re totally lost and pissing their pants as night begins to fall.
ThresherK
In the House; I think Tim Scott is still R-SC in the Senate. Haven’t heard from him on this, but not looking either.
John S.
They are on the same planet as the white woman who verbally and physically assaulted a police officer, ran, and survived to tell the tale, but doesn’t believe in white privilege and thinks liberals are snowflakes.
It’s a non-amusement theme park for aging racists called Trumpworld.
TS (the original)
Not in my lifetime will we be seeing this happen. I’m waiting to hear about the good on both sides from dear leader.
Kay
SFAW
@Kay:
They were just pissed at DeWine because he only offered condolences, rather than the SO-much-more-helpful “thoughts and prayers.”
Chacal Charles Calthrop
Posts like this are why I read balloon juice.
I have nothing to add but Amen
SFAW
@smintheus:
WTF? How did they come up with THAT particular insanity?
Eric S.
@Mai Naem mobile: if by scissors you mean electric hedge trimmers I fully agree with you.
Jeffro
@Mai Naem mobile: Just wait until the inevitability of his re-re-election loss/subsequent trial and imprisonment sinks in with him across the next 15 months. He’ll be calling for his “Second Amendment people” to visit the offices of their local/next door Representatives and demand a recount…an installation…anything.
Not kidding in the slightest.
EmDeeBee
I think you meant “asylum” instead of “amnesty“ John.
Renie
Do we know if McConnell really hurt his shoulder? How does a 77 year old man fracture a shoulder get treated & go home from the hospital in one day? He’s probably hiding from his constituents since they shouted #MoscowMitch at him. This is also an excuse he will use to stay away from Wash DC and not bring the Senate back for a vote on guns
jl
Castro made a good point to Tapper’s news talkie show today: Texas is one of the most gun friendly states in the US. A person should expect that there are people packing guns any place you go. But, didn’t do any good., didn’t deter, the NRA’s vaunted good guys with guns didn’t do anything in time to stop mass death and destruction.
Also, very rapid response from police in both Gilroy and Dayton. Police responded in thirty seconds or less in both places, from reports I’ve read, but multiple deaths and numerous people wounded and maimed. Tragic way for the NRA’s BS to get called. Glad the Democrats I saw on clips today were strong. I saw a Taper tweet someplace listing the GOPers who were invited but declined to come on his show, or wouldn’t respond (McConnell). I guess they were all running to Fox News to complain about video games.
@Renie: Really? Hadn’t heard that. Media needs to give McConnell some attention on his antics, as opposed to giving him him softballs, or avoiding his outrageous behavior leading the Senate.
Will be interesting to see if that story is true.
Jeffro
@smintheus: Well, that makes perfect sense if one is already in the Faux News/Qanon/OANN bubble…because of course it must be Elizabeth Warren’s fault and also we just have mentally ill people here in the US and there’s absolutely nothing we can do about the prob…wait…
…have any of the Dem candidates straight-up and publicly asked trumpov and Moscow Mitch if they have any suggestions, any at all, about how to solve this problem? Or are we just condemned to suffer 30K+ gun deaths in this country per year because some guys back in the late 1700s decided it would be a good idea for all able-bodied (white) (male) citizens to keep guns? That’s it, forever and ever? That’s the American “can-do” spirit – just suck it up and hope it’s not YOUR Wal-Mart or YOUR kids’ kindergarten classroom?
ASK, Dems.
Kay
@SFAW:
Here’s the vid. It seems to start with one man and then slowly picks up.
DeWine used to be a moderate on guns when he was a senator. At one time he had an F rating from the NRA.
The party went nut-job Right and he went with it. He’s a completely spineless shape-shifter.
Mary G
The really disgusting thing is that the editors of NR know perfectly well that Twitler neither will nor even could if he wanted do any of this. Condemning Charlottesville one day led to the “very fine people on both sides” the next. This is pure virtual signalling so when the Republican president and his party go down in flames, they’ll use it to show #NotAllConservatives.
Jeffro
@jl: Video games are the new heavy metal lyrics.
Mary G
Huge crowd of Moms Demand Activists.
ETA restored line breaks.
Duane
The GOP. Guns’ Own Party.
They’ve done everything possible to make this gun nightmare a reality. Call them out for the death cult they are.
smintheus
This is what purports to be the crusading voice of moderation among the Senate GOP on the subject of mass killings. Toomey’s twitter feed puts it down entirely to psychopathy, pretends that it has nothing to do with partisan politics, and avoids any mention whatever of Donald Trump or racism or white terrorism. Not one frickin word…from the self-styled voice of reason.
https://twitter.com/SenToomey/status/1158046932570447873
SFAW
@Kay:
I seem to remember his father as being half-decent, but I also didn’t really follow him closely. Be that as it may:
Thanks for the vid. Frankly, given the pap/crap he was spouting, instead of shouting “Do something!”, I probably would have yelled “Shut the FUCK UP!” I mean. really — “We love you” “this wonderful crowd” etc? FOAD, asshole.
chris
SFAW
@Mary G:
Fortunately, tumbrels can’t read, so it won’t save them.
ETA: Yes, I realize there are more than a couple syntactic issues with my comment.
hells littlest angel
So the NRO is saying: If only Comrade Trump knew.
smintheus
@SFAW: They claim (true or not, doesn’t matter to them) that the killer posted something identifying himself as a liberal and saying he supports Warren. So because she’s obviously mean and shrill, and what with all her terrorist pinkey promises, it’s clear that she coached him up to kill all those good people.
Martin
@Jeffro:
it’s not that video games teach us violence, it’s that it takes up prayer time.
Kay
@SFAW:
I think “do something” is perfect. Because that’s the thing for them, right? They can’t do anything. Their masters have forbidden it.
Why keep them around if they can’t fix or improve anything? No one needs their dumb ass commentary on mental illness or video games. There are real experts in those things.
What they’re saying over and over is they’re powerless. Doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in their leadership abilities.
Martin
@chris: The House should pass a bill banning the export of video games to China lest they get as good at killing Americans as we are.
John Cole
@EmDeeBee: I did. I was het up.
chris
@Martin: I’m sure glad we don’t have those games in Canada!
Sab
I read the article Cole linked to. Seriously, they opened the article by quoting Ian Fleming as some sort of moral authority and political analyst. Without snark marks.
Kay
@SFAW:
You could look at Mike DeWine’s career and track the lurch to the far Right in Republicanism.
DeWine once backed a voter protection bill in the US Senate. A civil rights bill. Santorum did also- same bill. Can you IMAGINE a Republican backing voting rights now?
In 2012 “moderate nice guy” Mitt Romney attacked DeWine on it. Said DeWine had backed voter fraud. By then supporting voting rights was verboten.
Every lurch Right the national Party made, DeWine capitulated and went along. Little by little he abandoned every principled position he ever had. Gun regulation went out the window, immigration, voting rights, health care. Now he’s indistinguishable from all of the rest of them.
Quinerly
@SFAW: Redstate has a piece up entitled “NEW: The Dayton Shooter Was a Satanist, Leftist-Socialist, and Bernie/Warren Fan, Supported Antifa.” I didn’t click.
Sab
@Kay: At least he showed up at the vigil. Kasich would have phoned it in.
Not disagreeing with you otherwise about him.
Karen
@Jeffro: He’s not leaving whether he loses 2020 or the end of his term in 2024.He’s been leaving trial balloons about it, the ones he said were jokes. You think he’ll push the red button if he loses?
“
Bill Arnold
@Renie:
Will be interesting to see if he consistently presents as having/healing from a broken shoulder. People will be watching, including locals.
However, on that, anecdote: my father fell in his early 80s, his forehead hit a sharp piece of scree (rock), tore a big flap of flesh free, bone showing. We bandaged it (I ruined a t-shirt :-), ambulance to hospital (they assessed with a question about “who is the president”, curses about GWB ensued), doctor sewed it up neatly, sent him back to what we were doing shortly after sewing, (field trips outdoors related to birding). It healed up in a month without a visible scar. So it depends on the case.
Karen
@Kay: I guess Larry Hogan (MD Governor) is next. Right now he’s great and he’s still a Never Trumper so who knows…
oatler.
Our new bloody civil war doled out in tragic dribs and drabs.
Kay
A little good news:
I like Texas more than I used to- although I don’t know a thing about it and have only been there twice so didn’t really “like” or “dislike” it, and now I have an opinion.
I like them solely for the reason that they don’t like Donald Trump.I think this says good things about them and and their character judgment.
The Dangerman
This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?
Jeffro
@smintheus: So why are all the psychopaths a) killing people with automatic weapons and b) from one particular worldview/political bent?
ASK, Dems.
joel hanes
@Kay:
You could look at Mike DeWine’s career and track the lurch to the far Right in Republicanism.
Same thing with Chuck Grassley, who started out as a center-right mediocrity, but has for decades been chasing the Iowa Republican base as it ran right through the far-right into early-stage fascism, abandoning every supposed principle and shred of integrity he may once have had in the process.
[ptui!]
Jeffro
@Martin: Somehow the ‘proposed cure’ is always the same, so let’s have it, GOP lawmakers…is that your solution? Everyone just needs to hit the pews and hit their knees and therefore they won’t have enough time to a) load their automatic weapons and b) wipe out dozens of their fellow citizens?
Is that the only solution ya gotz, religious leaders? Are there no other examples in the world (or even in the US, between states with stricter gun laws and those without) that might have actual answers to this problem?
ASK, Dems.
chris
@Kay:
ETA: Of course he’s a Republican, you can tell from the attached statement.
Jeffro
@Renie: He’s totally hiding.
@Bill Arnold: Ok that is bad but still…Moscow Mitch is totall hiding.
Also did not know he’s 77. I wonder if the GOP’s big donors are thinking about cycling him out in favor of a new wingnut. KY (or other knowledgeable) Dems let us know…who would take up the torch if ol’ Mitch suddenly retired to “spend more time with…um…his…um…yeah”?
Chetan Murthy
@Kay:
If only this were true. There are decent people in Texas, and they need our support. But ….. we shouldn’t delude ourselves: there are a shit-ton of stone racists in Texas, and they currently run the state. It’s a dangerous place for people of color, uppity women, and queer folk. I for one (raised in Weatherford, TX just west of DFW) would never visit except under exigent circumstances. In my current city (SF) I can wear “Truck Fump” and “Obama Elementary School” (Richmond VA elementary school renamed itself) t-shirts and get compliments. In TX? I sure as hell wouldn’t wear ’em. I’ve witnessed “where are you REALLY from?” aggressive questioning. I’ve witnessed a Lyft driver talking about how homeless people should donate plasma to get enough money clean themselves up and apply for a job …..
All manner of hateful things. All manner ….
But notwithstanding, there are decent people in Texas who deserve our help and support. I plan to donate a ton of $$ to local political races there, b/c eventually it’ll turn Blue, and I want to Hasten. The. Day.
P.S. The Tex-Mex is incredible. I miss it all the time.
SFAW
@Kay:
I think I see my problem: I thought there was also another DeWine (i.e., his father), but it appears my braims were addled. Looks like I picked the wrong millennium to stop sniffing glue. Or maybe start? In any event, I’m embarrassed at my mistake, and thanks for helping me back to being not-completely-clueless.
SFAW
@chris:
Does it also mention that he’s FORMER Representative Poliquin? He and Norm Coleman were good examples of WATBs when they lost their elections.
Suzanne
@Quinerly: I went to Breitbart today. I even read the comments. Please send me #thoughtsandprayers.
Sab
@SFAW: There are several deWines in Ohio politics. They are all related. Mike has been in public office since 1976, so whoever you remember was probably him.
Quinerly
@Suzanne: ?
mrmoshpotato
What fucking planet is the National Review on?
Oh, oh! Pick me! Pick me! Planet Asshole? I’m sure they’ve been there since volume 1 issue 1.
Another Scott
@Jeffro: I heard bits of a story about Mitch on NPR(?) a day or so ago. He started out as a professor and gave some sort of lecture that the 3 most important things in politics are:
Money, money, and money.
Why? “Because I want to win!”
He’s built up a lot of power by doing things like gutting McCain-Feingold, ignoring the timely reporting requirements that are still in place for many types of huge donations, etc., etc.
He’s not going to go quietly, and the big donors don’t want him to, is my guess. Why would he when he’s achieving everything that he’s been working for for decades?
Grr…
Cheers,
Scott.
Mnemosyne
In case folks didn’t know, the radio show that destroyed the KKK as a national force in the 1940s was … “Superman.”
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/08/03/superman-vs-kkk/
sdhays
@smintheus: After Newtown, Toomey teamed up with Manchin to pass some gun control legislation. It was tepid and inadequate, but was something. The NRA stopped it cold. I remember that because I was surprised – Toomey (and Manchin) had a small degree of humanity that I didn’t expect.
I guess it’s dead now.
Bill Arnold
@Quinerly:
I don’t have any experience with heavy.com, but here’s the redstate source for some of their piece. If true, it is what it is (seems like he was obcesed with death).
Connor Betts: Twitter Posts on Being a Leftist, Guns (Jessica McBride, Updated Aug 4, 2019)
They also have one for the El Paso guy:
Patrick Crusius: Suspect’s Twitter Page Shows Trump Support (Jessica McBride, Aug 4(?), 2019)
I forget; is protocol here to not name mass murderers?
Anyway, beware calls to have government police on-line communities that (intentionally) breed such killers. They might have a legitimate role if they could be trusted to be apolitical, which they cannot. Far more effective would be to infiltrate and soften (de-dehumanization etc) or neuter(destroy bad arguments, inject good arguments) these communities, and this can and probably should be done covertly by civilian activists.
chris
@SFAW: Doh! Can’t believe I forgot that already. Must be– am– getting old. But the statement stands.
Villago Delenda Est
National Review was founded as a white supremacist rag. Fuck them. They are Nazi filth.
dww44
@Bill Arnold: From No More Mister is this
:
Don’t know his sourcing.
joel hanes
@Mnemosyne:
Truth, Justice, and the American Way.
SFAW
@Sab:
Thanks, but it was just a fuckup on my part: I thought there had been a Mike DeWine Sr who was US Senator 30-plus years ago, and that this was his kid. So my accuracy is below the Mendoza Line today. Damn.
ETA: At least the Mets won.
joel hanes
@Bill Arnold:
Bett’s classmates have been speaking up.
He was kicked out of school for having written up detailed plans for getting violent revenge on girls who had rejected him. Later, there were multiple complaints to the Dayton authorities, identifying him as an out-of-control aggressor — the police did nothing.
SFAW
@Suzanne:
How about we all call up Mr. Suzanne and tell him he better be extra-special-double-plus nice to you — or he’ll have to answer to The Jackal Horde. Or worse, (for him), we send SiubhanDuinne, Mob Enforcer to “have a little chat” with him.
You’re definitely made of sterner stuff than I.
Amir Khalid
You need an initial cap on German nouns, and in this case the plural.
Tom A.
And in a piece for NR Corner on August 5, Charles C. W. Cook said “the Founders did not invent the right” to bear arms. That is, he thinks it’s a God-given right.
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/the-new-york-posts-assault-weapons-editorial-is-nonsensical/
Denali
@Kay,
Same switch to the right has happened to Senator Lamar Alexander from Tennessee who once was a moderate. He is retiring; I keep hoping he will somehow redeem himself.