All of this was predictable. It was predicted. And the lasting shame of history will be on all those who refused to act out of cowardice, ambition, or their own allegiance to an authoritarian movement.
— Dan Rather (@DanRather) January 6, 2021
Dan Rather’s statement about history here is one you see repeated in different guises quite frequently during whatever white power outburst that Trump and his co-conspirators gin up. It is so far behind where this country is at this moment that it is almost laughable. Let’s look at two of the seditionists from yesterday and talk about “history”.
First, this guy, who received a Cletus Safari Platinum Level profile in the New York Times yesterday.
If you grew up in a rural community, you know this guy. History is something he didn’t pay attention to while barely making it through high school. As he sits eating a complimentary continental breakfast at the Beltway Hampton Inn this morning, after walking into and out of the Capitol without any consequence whatsoever, he probably thinks that history will record him well. For him, “history” is what his Facebook feed tells him it is, and his feed tells him that a bunch of antifa agitators broke windows in the Capitol so peaceful Trump supporters could walk in and tour the place, registering a protest that was their special right as white Americans to lodge. Someday in the not-so-distant but still relatively-far-off future, he’ll spend some time on probation, or perhaps in a brown jumpsuit in a minimum security Federal prison, but he won’t be dead and he’ll probably have all his legal expenses paid by some right wing organization that will want the rights to his story.
Now let’s look at our second seditionist:
I pick this guy from the over 100 I could have chosen, because when Hawley went to Stanford and Yale Law, he learned a lot of history. What he took from that history was that he wanted to be the guy who’s part of the power structure that writes it. I don’t mean the academic power structure, I mean the real power structure, the one we saw on display yesterday, where fewer arrests were made at the Capitol than in an average city after a playoff victory, because everyone doing the rioting was white and voted for Jesus. The thing is, this sweet and tender hooligan has it right. He’s a member of the party that will write the history. Yesterday, on CNN, while Republicans looted the Capitol, two Republican Members of Congress who disagree with the way in which Hawley and his branch of the party are trying to seize power were featured. Later, everyone swooned when Romney drilled laser beams into Hawley’s back, after which Romney spoke words that all the folks with Dan Rather’s mentality thought were fucking awesome. Democrats were not part of CNN’s narrative, except for David Axelrod, who of course had to be offset by Rick Santorum, because even Wolf Fucking Blitzer knows that the real power in the town is wielded by Republicans.
I hope I’m wrong, but my sense is there’s not going to be a 25th Amendment invocation, and there’s not going to be an impeachment (certainly not a removal). At best, Pence and a few people at the Department of Defense and in other agencies in DC are quietly making a pact that they won’t let Trump do anything really dangerous and just weather the storm. And, let’s face it, there are too many Democrats who don’t realize that the real face of modern Republicanism is more like Patrick Bateman than Mitt Romney. But, hey, some history book somewhere will record that when this guy went low, we went high:
grubert
They say that those who don’t learn history are condemned to repeat it.
What they didn’t add was
Those who do learn history are condemned to watch others repeat it.
ant
the folks who compare it to an abusive relationship, and point out that the getting out part carries the most risk are what scares me.
how crazy is he?
Immanentize
To illustrate the point graphically — her is a US Representative on Twitter versus on Parler:
Woodrow/asim
I had to block someone posting some Seditious BS as a comment on my FB, today.
I felt pulled to write some more on it, for my other readers:
Eural Joiner
Already seeing and hearing from colleagues who are being told by their schools/districts to not discuss yesterday’s events as it too provocative and controversial right now. They should stick to the curriculum guidelines that have been set. And you know what? For their job security and personal safety I don’t blame them if they don’t. (To be clear, I have not heard that from my administration)
Just Some Fuckhead
How many years have we been saying that when democracy no longer supports conservatives, conservatives will abandon democracy, not conservatism.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
History will record that a bunch of extremist right-wing thugs broke into U.S. Congress. That guy in the picture will get years and years in prison because a Dem AG will be in charge. We will write that history by continuing to fight for what is right. Georgia showed that
OzarkHillbilly
@Woodrow/asim: Hear hear.
Ten Bears
Takes a selfie vandalizing government property – rotflmao
I think it’s peaked. I think they’ve pissed off the cops. We’ve seen it time and again, from Idaho and Montana twenty-five years ago to my old Oregon High Desert hometown a couple years ago: the wink wink nod nod ‘jes good ol’ boys havin’ some fun’ only goes so far, then they piss off the cops (they always do) and things change … dramatically.
I just want to see them treated as I was treated*, open up the fire hoses … Where are the cops on horseback? I got stepped on by one of those horses in 1973. Where are the chainlink corrals, where I was corralled and billy-clubbed in 1975? *Well, ok, that’s not entirely true …
OzarkHillbilly
@Just Some Fuckhead: They abandoned conservatism long ago.
Chris
I hope I’m wrong, but my sense is there’s not going to be a 25th Amendment invocation, and there’s not going to be an impeachment (certainly not a removal).
Yep. A few Republican politicians (who never thought the leopards would eat THEIR face!) were badly shaken yesterday, but today they seem to have just picked themselves up and gone back to business as usual. The “consequences,” if you can call it that, that they’re coalescing around seem to be that one or two cabinet members will resign in order to Make A Statement and Register Their Disapproval (a.k.a. cove their asses in a PR sense). Other than that, no changes.
Again, America just had its Beer Hall Putsch, and just like the original, the total lack of consequences means it’s only going to keep getting worse. (Although maybe I’m being unfair to the Germans; sure, giving Hitler nine months in prison to write his book was a futile gesture, but it’s still a lot more than Trump is going to get!)
Chris
@Ten Bears:
How have they pissed off the cops? We literally saw the cops opening the gates for them, taking selfies with them, and gently leading them off the grounds. The cops are on their side, and they won’t do their job even when something as egregious as an attempt to overthrow the government is on the line.
rp
I don’t buy it. I think this is a turning point, and the last gasp of a dying movement. History will not look kindly on Trump, Cruz, or any of the MAGA protestors.
rp
@Chris: You’re giving these clowns WAY too much credit.
citizen dave (aka mad citizen)
Good post mistermix. I was going to post on the other thread how is it that Jane Fonda can get herself arrested 5 times (looked it up) for civil disobedience yet there were hundreds of people roaming congress.
Re: This post, I was just thinking about the Faustian bargain made by Republican reps/senators, and imaged if the situation were reversed. I expect I would be hearing Republicans talking about Democrat/Democratic violence, vandalism etc. about a million times a day. Using the name of the party repeatedly and often. Dems need to brand the Republican party. We all do. This shit has to stick. They do not get to write history.
One thought I had yesterday was that trump has cemented his status as worst president ever.
Also, I REALLY hope the house is not leaving DC now until the 19th. That would be STUPID. They need to be in session every damn day.
geg6
@Woodrow/asim:
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Chyron HR
It’s impressive that it only took you 12 hours to come back around to “Bernie woulda gunned them down”.
Wag
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Hopefully many of them will spend years in prison. Unless Trump preemptively pardons anyone involved in yesterday’s coup attempt.
Betty Cracker
The Republican Party exists to secure favorable tax treatment for wealthy individuals and corporations and to minimize regulations on industry. It can’t sell that agenda to enough people to get elected, so it peddles bigotry and culture war bullshit to tens of millions of meathead rubes instead.
Many individual elected Republicans are avid bigots who enthusiastically gin up mobs. But maybe there’s a chance that elected Republicans who lose sight of the true mission of the Republican Party — those whose actions produce negative consequences for the donor class — might find themselves on the wrong side of those who cut the checks and underwrite the historical record.
MattF
All predictable, all predicted in detail. It’s fine to be outraged, fine to express anger, dismay, shock. But… a humiliated narcissist really will burn the house down on the way out, with real matches and real gasoline. I will not pretend to be surprised or shocked.
The Thin Black Duke
Meanwhile, working quietly behind the scenes, black people did the work and got Warnock and Ossoff elected. Democrats got the Presidency, House and Senate. Things will be different. There’s a lesson here, I think. I wonder what it is?
Martin
@OzarkHillbilly: Conservatism is just a fancy name for minority rule. Everything else is just set dressing.
rikyrah
That phucking spectacle will never be forgotten.
Never. Ever.
Don’t talk to me about patriotism.
Don’t pretend that I’m going to let you pretend that this was about patriotism. This was about White Supremacy. This was about being in support of White Supremacy.
Being unwilling to understand that 80 million citizens find that piece of human garbage as their President. They showed their lack of character by their support of him.
Those people yesterday were nothing but domestic terrorists. Period. And, needs to be treated as such.
THE THOUGHT… There mere thought… That ANY Black protestors could pull the bullshyt that we saw without being shot on sight… Get the ENTIRE PHUCK OUTTA HERE
So, we finally know why Esper resigned.
We know why Dick Phucking Cheney wrote that letter.
It should be obvious.
They thought that BLM would take the bait and show up.. But, BLM didn’t show up. All that we saw doing domestic terrorism against the United States Capitol were a bunch of White Domestic Terrorist followers of Dolt45. And, as with every other Domestic Terrorism involving White People during this Administration, this was not just ignored, but encouraged. ALL Republicans were responsible for this. ALL OF THEM. They have disqualified themselves. Period.
Baud
I might have to take a hiatus from the internet until the inauguration. I’m weary of people predicting our own failures whenever there’s a fight on our hands.
Betty Cracker
@Ten Bears:
My husband asked that question too when we were watching the lunacy unfold on TV last night. I was at the Women’s March on 1/21/2017, and there were tons of cops on horseback. I remember it distinctly because the horses were mobbed by adoring marchers who were asking the cops if they could pet the horsies! :)
Baud
@The Thin Black Duke:
Although Trump sullied the Medal of Freedom, I hope Biden hands one to every black Democratic voter.
p.a.
These movements don’t die because of an ugly incident. They thrive because of them, and their victimization complex. As long as the backdoor $$$ boys keep the faucet open and their media lies flowing.
If the $$$ boys think it’s gone too far and their tax cuts are in jeopardy, that’s the important thing.
Just Some Fuckhead
53 arrests, mostly curfew violations. Little aggravated last time we visited the Capitol and went through the onerous process to gain admittance and get a tour, we didn’t just smash a 150 year old window and give ourselves access and a self-guided tour.
Baud
By they way, has Omnes gone missing? I can’t recall the last time I saw a comment from him.
Matt
Amazing that we all KNOW that Pelosi is so pathetically unwilling to stand up to Trump that we’re counting on a silent coup to keep the country safe. #leadership
The Thin Black Duke
@Matt: Fuck off.
azlib
I hope you are wrong, but I am not optimistic. With 45% of Republicans supporting the insurrection according to a recent survey, it is not looking good right now that Trumpism will die. We will have to see how those numbers move in the next week or so and particularly after Trump is no longer President.
Frighteningly, this is what you get when you have an entire network (Fox) and social media feeding lies to a significant part of the public.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
That’s my sense too. I think that was the purpose of “Trump’s” statement promising to be a good boy and give us a peaceful transition of power on the 20th: to give Republicans an excuse to say “see, he backed off the ledge, it will be normal now, all is well.”
But I’m sure Trump didn’t write that. I’m not sure he even knows that “he” wrote it. I’m damned sure he’s not going to give us a peaceful 20th, and I’m still very worried about what other shit he’s going to pull.
@Matt: Assume you mean Pence, not Pelosi.
satby
@Wag: can’t pardon co-conspirators / co-defendants to a crime.
debbie
Asshole Glenn Beck: “There are no excuses, but there are reasons.” This, after starting Monday’s show with “This is war.” Dude needs a time out.
Martin
@Eural Joiner: As Mr Rogers would say, fuck that. You can’t just pretend this stuff isn’t happening. You have to discuss it. It might be difficult, and parents will yell at you, but you have an obligation to help kids understand it. They aren’t unaware.
Chief Oshkosh
Sad to say, I agree with Mistermix on how the MSM is reporting this. Mitt is the hero? Fuck that shit. Mitt did the absolute bare minimum, and I’m not so certain he didn’t do it for calculated, personal, political gain.
Hawley and Cruz should have every procedure in the book thrown at them the day Shumer is voted majority leader. I doubt Shumer has the brains and balls to get it done, but maybe he’ll surprise me. He’s no Nancy Smash, there are areas that he’s good at, but I don’t think he’s the right guy for the job that needs to be done with those two, and basically, the entire Senate. Oh for a week with Senator LBJ’s ghost.
Frankensteinbeck
Yesterday would not have happened had even close to appropriate security been at the Capitol. The kind of security you get when any other demonstration is happening.
Elizabelle
@Baud:
Agreed. Democrats are not the wimps that many portray.
I heard the “kumbaya” slag from some guest on MoJo today about potential followup. He was discussing Biden, but I suspect that comment was actually aimed at any Biden whisperers who are encouraging “look forward.”
The very MSM (Morning Joe) that’s hosting every sane Republican and Republican-enabler they can reach to whitewash what’s been going on in that party for decades. It is not just Trump. Hawley, Cruz. The others they called out with a list in writing.
My take was MJoe was reputation-washing, for Republicans and maybe for themselves a bit too.
I wonder if Mrs. Greenspan might reconsider the “both sides” neutral view from nowhere, that makes for really dishonest reporting. She might, a little bit. She was shaken.
Martin
@Frankensteinbeck: What of all the state capitals that were similarly overrun?
Yes, the security was a problem and heads need to roll on that, but it has no bearing on the underlying problem. We have members of Congress and a President trying to overturn a democratic election by inciting violence from the public.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Baud: You feel so deeply, Baud. I just want to hug all the aggravation right out of you.
Betty Cracker
@Frankensteinbeck: True. I hope there are hearings to thoroughly explore the security failure. I’m optimistic there will be since lawmakers felt personally endangered by the Trump mob.
schrodingers_cat
BJ frontpager is blaming Democrats for what Republicans to do, again.
germy
Trying to buy more time, but to what end?
Chris
@azlib:
Trump being forcibly removed from office by leading Republicans like Trump and McConnell working with Democrats might actually have shaken enough Republicans loose – especially if it had been done yesterday, when the shock of the event was still fresh – to do real damage to Trump’s brand. Enough not to have to worry about him in the future.
Not much chance of that now, though.
Elizabelle
CNN’s chyron on a report from DC. And now Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman is up! Preferring CNN to MSNBC (Republican-reputation washers, although we try to hide that).
Haroldo
@The Thin Black Duke:
Once again, thank you.
Punchy
I’ve never wanted to beat an old dude with a Louisville Slugger as much as I do for that guy in the picture. That pic enrages me; a guy can terrorize the Capitol, then have so much confidence he wont see any justice that he allows his pic to be taken. A complete FU to law enforcement. Real justice or street justice, I wouldn’t care, but that guy needs his ass kicked.
Elizabelle
@Betty Cracker: And there are cameras.
And if they were not working: why not?
Four Seasons Total Landscaping mistermix
@Frankensteinbeck:
This post was a long one by my standards but one of the things I was thinking about was that the power of the guy who sat at Pelosi’s desk was the power of taking away the Capitol experience from the rest of us. That building was relatively open. Because of this riot, inevitably there will be more security theater added around it, meaning it will be more difficult to visit and a less fulfilling experience. That’s another thing these fuckers will take away from the vast majority of patriotic, sane Americans — peaceful enjoyment of our most important national building.
Chief Oshkosh
Now, having gotten at least some whining out of my system…Eyes on the prize. The JL VRA of 2021 probably just got a big shot in the arm. When that passes, the current GOP is done, not because we just wistfully wish it be so, but because they just won’t have the votes.
germy
@Betty Cracker:
This is why Loeffler stood down.
The big money people need stability, not chaos. It’s all fun and games dressing like a genuine country gal, but when windows get broken the market gets spooked. And she and her husband simply can’t have that.
Elizabelle
@Baud: And on the day after Georgia — Georgia! — just elected two Democratic Senators, to give Democrats control of both legislative houses.
Democrats. Fail monkeys. Not.
Elizabelle
@Chief Oshkosh: I think McConnell might not have the leverage he expects in forcing shared power in the Senate, either.
His party fomented the insurrectionists who occupied the Capitol. He and they do not deserve shared power.
Elizabelle
And: we are going to get a better Census count; no idea if it might be partially recompleted or how Biden’s administration will handle that.
BUT: a more accurate count may put a stitch in GOP state legislatures’ attempts to gerrymander outlandishly.
A lot of good stuff happening, in addition to the bad.
Frankensteinbeck
@Martin:
‘All the’? You mean Kansas, which sure as Hell wasn’t expecting it, and Georgia, whose circumstances we don’t know? The example is the Proud Boys at Oregon, a much more violent crowd that still did not get in. None of those other places had the warning of a big, hostile demonstration that the Capitol did. The crowd at the gate was facing half a dozen guys with regular security detail equipment, who gave no real pushback. Twenty riot cops with shields, and no unlocked side door, and that mob would have been a bunch of yelling cowards.
Cameron
@Chyron HR: Huh?
Chief Oshkosh
@Elizabelle: Why should any Democrat share ANY “power” with any Republican for the next half-generation?
I’ve not seen the news this morning. Are Republicans talking about sharing power?
LurkerNoLonger
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Well put. I agree 100%.
germy
Elizabelle
@Chief Oshkosh: I was speaking of the 50/50 split in the Senate.
The VIPs were breathless about how the Democrats would have to do right by the GOP on this one. Before the insurrection.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@germy:
My theory is that the occupation wasn’t spontaneous, but instead planned as a crisis act to justify something extraordinary. The incitement was the catalyst.
Look to Stone/Flynn on the planning.
Chyron HR
@Shat:
If I were Pelosi, I would simply wish Trump and McConnell into the cornfield with my dreadful powers.
MattF
@Elizabelle: I expect a couple of Republican Senators will go Independent. Possibly in-effect rather than in-fact, to preserve the ‘Republican’ title from the Sedition caucus.
Kristine
@Betty Cracker:
And then those corporations are asked why they give money to those politicians while at the same time producing all those feel good commercials and tweets and such, and they just hate being asked that question.
Elizabelle
@Four Seasons Total Landscaping mistermix: Good point.
The insurrectionists were shoe bombers too. We are all going to be inconvenienced and less free, because of their bad actions.
germy
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:
They brought explosives.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
You have to admit that picture of Romney seriously wanting to smash Hawely sanctimonious face in really does sum it all up for a lot of us.
Plus, I mean, the Mitt bot has a soul! That is a thing of wonder in itself.
germy
germy
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
Hawley stared directly into the TV camera without blinking during his whole speech. He wasn’t speaking to his colleagues. He was speaking to 2024, and his ambitions.
Anya
The video of the AA maintenance workers (and probably DC residents with no representation) cleaning the damage that white supremacists left behind broke me. This what this country has always been about, whites break it and black people are tasked with fixing it.
Eural Joiner
germy
@Kristine:
Yes, someone on twitter (Judd Legum, I think) makes lists of corporations and who they donate to. They donate to Cruz, Hawley, etc., while releasing “feel good” social justice commercial spots.
Kristine
@Chief Oshkosh: Good, because after Tuesday’s rout, Georgia’s GOP Senate is going to work on absentee voting restrictions
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
@debbie: maybe someone could point out to Beck that maybe there are reasons…but those reasons are so entirely lame and most of them are based on pure fiction anyway.
germy
He’s prepared? I was hoping it would come unexpectedly.
J R in WV
MMX:
Perhaps the most wrong thing I have seen by you. I hope so, anyway.
I hope the photos with recognizable faces all result in arrests for riot, murder and terrorism, and those people are squeezed to ID their fellow rioters wearing the masks. And I hope Trump is indicted for inciting an insurrection on Jan 20, 2021 as is proper!
Also, those who supported Trump after that display of violent hatred for American values, like Hawley, should be held accountable and cast out of the Congress, and investigated to determine whether they supported that riot beforehand or just afterwards.
debbie
@The Thin Black Duke:
Do Something.
OzarkHillbilly
@Martin: Yeah, I am at the point where I refuse to use the word conservative in reference to today’s Republicans because it implies a value system, a political ethos if one likes, that they no longer possess. Fascist is much more accurate.
Anya
@germy:
@Olivianuzzi
·
12h
“Fucking psychopath.” — a Republican official watching Hawley speak tells me.
@Olivianuzzi
·
12h
The Republican official adds: “This is the speech of a psychopath.”
@Olivianuzzi
·
12h
The Republican official adds: “He reminds me of Patrick Bateman. The inability to show human emotions after what happened to change course is inhuman.”
I hope the knives are out for him.
debbie
@Punchy:
He’s pointing to where you should target your bat.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: Stacy Abrams at the front of the line.
geg6
@Baud:
I feel you.
EveryDayIHaveTheBlues
Does someone have the record of which GOP house members objected to PA and AZ electoral votes? I know the six in the senate who objected to AZ, but don’t know who joined these traitors for the PA vote objection.
Betty Cracker
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: What? It was totally spontaneous!
OzarkHillbilly
@The Thin Black Duke: Thank you.
geg6
@Matt:
Fuck off, why don’t you? It’s assholes like you that have enabled this shit by always stabbing our own people in the back. Sick of your shit.
TS (the original)
@Chris:
McConnell is being his usual self and shut the Senate down until 18th or 19th (can’t remember which) to avoid any chance of having to consider impeachment or any other legislative process.
frosty
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I like your attitude! Let’s fight to make it happen. I’m calling Toomey again today to urge him to convict when the House impeaches.
germy
Bill put on his hat and coat and exited the administration.
Uncle Jeffy
Let’s get serious –
The only time we’ll get any real results is after the inauguration.
satby
@Anya: I replied to her to name that official. I’m sick of them allowing these cowards to play both sides of the street and cover their asses with off-the-record anonymous quotes. If they think a dangerous sociopath is in Congress let them say it publicly. Otherwise don’t quote them, because they don’t mean it.
brendancalling
I don’t think anything is going to happen either.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Chris: And we were just talking about not paying attention to history and this dear is out with the “Just like Hitler in St Petersburg in 1918” rubbish. Godman dude, Reducto Hitlerum much you say?
Betty Cracker
Still no peep from Trump on Twitter, though allegedly his account has been unlocked. Interesting that Twitter took down the video in which he called the rioters “very special” and said “we love you.” It wasn’t appreciably crazier than anything else he’s been saying.
Supposedly that video was Ivanker’s idea — reports say that no one else could get him to make a statement, and there was panic in the West Wing, but Ivanker coaxed the old goat into recording that statement, maybe by promising to flash a boob. Such unerring instincts for generating positive PR!
Martin
@Frankensteinbeck: And the Washington Governors mansion. A guillotine brought to the AZ capitol. NM and TX capitols had to be evacuated.
This was not a one-off. This was an extension of Michigan, upgraded and expanded. This will not die out. It’ll grow.
germy
@Betty Cracker:
Did you notice Trump’s mood during the video. He wasn’t sad, he wasn’t numb, he didn’t look angry.
Instead, he gave off waves of barely contained glee.
Elizabelle
Not conservatives. Call them the “radical right.”
WaPost ombudsman Margaret Sullivan’s column from January 4th, two days before the insurrection. She was pleading with her fellow media figures too, who have given radicalism the gloss of reasonable conservatism for too long.
We must stop calling Trump’s enablers ‘conservative.’ They are the radical right.
SteveinSC
Pelosi should start impeachment proceedings immediately. As per the Constitution on pardons, Article Two (Section 2, Clause 1): “…except in Cases of impeachment.” They might not get much done except get it started but they could impeach Trump aided by persons or persons unknown who aided and abetted… That would, at least, make it impossible for trump to pardon his co-conspiritors (e.g. DJT Jr.) and the mob. (Trump has already been impeached, so he can’t pardon himself for any crimes related to that.) Then, it would be headed to court and might stick to some of them.
Nicole
I think you’re right. I think this will get swept under the rug, because it makes white people uncomfortable to even think about white supremacy, let alone take action against it, and within weeks Trump will be all over the morning news programs, spouting his crap without pushback because he’s good teevee. Over the course of my childhood the media evolved Richard Nixon from crook to elder statesman of the GOP. They’re always ready to forgive white Republicans for their bad behavior.
Maybe some of these numbnuts will lose their jobs after being ID’d, but that’s not the government taking action; that’s private business.
As always, I will be ecstatic to be proved wrong, but after reading Ro Khanna praising Mitch McConnell for his speech yesterday? Ugh. Fuck this shit.
Elizabelle
@Betty Cracker: Can we find a cached copy of that video?
I heard some of it on NPR as it aired for the first time, live. They’d not listened to it before airing, it seemed.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Blacks America is apparently the only part of our culture that hasn’t sunk into utter moral depravity?
topclimber
Do you think it is time for an antifa fund-raiser, mistermix?
germy
Elizabelle
Trump’s statement about promising a peaceful transition. He still said he won and had the greatest first term in history.
He needs to go. From NBC News report, which does not include the whole statement, but should:
This is loony tunes.
Martin
@Elizabelle: They’re insurrectionists. The GOP can’t be reformed. Trump led them past that point and they willingly followed.
germy
Hillary Clinton retweeted this:
geg6
@germy:
I love my AG.
germy
The Moar You Know
MM, for once, total and complete agreement.
Just really hoping that there’s some sort of mechanism that prevents our own nukes from being used on US targets. Because that’s where my head is at today.
Elizabelle
@germy: YES!
@Martin: Yes.
And Saint Reagan started the ball rolling, that Trump caught and ran with.
Incidentally, the deplorable Jon McNaughton has a painting about that. Trump as the Gipper. All-American Trump.
What McNaughton tweeted 22 hours ago.
18 hours ago he tweeted to “Pray for America” with his painting of Cliven Bundy on horseback.
Fair Economist
@EveryDayIHaveTheBlues:
The Thomas site has Congressional roll call records. Here’s the voting on the Pennsylvania coup attempt.
Josie
@The Thin Black Duke:
The lesson, for me, is not to give up or get side-tracked, to work doing what we can every day to win elections and influence our representatives. Stacey has shown us the way; we all need to follow her example.
Mai Naem mobile
My sister lives in Gosar’s district. The area is full of teabagger/Trumpov nutjobs.
The Thin Black Duke
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: No, the message is forget about the Aaron Sorkinesque speeches that get white “progressives” all gooey inside and just do the dirty and unseen work in the trenches that get things done. Stacey Abrams did more substantial work in Georgia the past two years than Bernie Sanders has done in his entire career.
Elizabelle
Trump’s statement this morning. This is not someone who should stay in office. “Only the beginning of the fight.” He needs to go. Also, notice how we are being told that Trump agreed to “an orderly transition” in media quick takes and headlines. That is hardly all he said.
From the WaPost:
prostratedragon
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: Gotta say, Romney’s face and yellow eyes there remind me of my own for much of the last day. Hadn’t expected that.
Delk
So, a couple days ago the proud boys were saying that they would not be wearing their usual costumes so they could pass for antifa and now republican mouth breathers are claiming that antifa was dressing up like trump supporters. It’s like freaky friday.
mali muso
Welp, I just called and left voicemail messages for my Senators (Warner and Kaine) urging them to support immediate impeachment and removal. Also called my House Rep Jennifer Wexton’s office to thank her for being one of the honorable members of the house who has already signed onto impeachment. I actually got a staff member when I called, so it felt nice to be able to tell her that I appreciated and supported my rep.
germy
taumaturgo
How have they pissed off the cops? We literally saw the cops opening the gates for them, taking selfies with them, and gently leading them off the grounds. The cops are on their side, and they won’t do their job even when something as egregious as an attempt to overthrow the government is on the line.
Can everyone now say defund the fucking police? With a budget in excess of $100 million dollars will they come crying that because of funding they help the traitors navigate the House and Senate steps.
waratah
I really wish that Ted Cruz was highlighted in your post. He is more experienced and dangerous right now.
Elizabelle
I think events are getting away from the enablers.
Even though the GOP Congress and administration is craven and complicit, there are more of us. And they work for us.
trollhattan
@Betty Cracker:
“I spontaneously had these ten-thousand hoodles (black, get it?) printed up a month ago.”
Mulvaney will never explain this now-evergreen prediction.
That aged well.
p.s. He just resigned in a spontaneous huff as envoy to Northern Ireland. Some folks have standards, you know.
Danielx
@Delk:
Right. That asshole sitting in Pelosi’s office had to have been an Antifa person in disguise.
2+2 MUST equal 22, amirite?
Elizabelle
@mali muso: I love Jennifer Wexton. She is so bright and approachable and serious.
You and I are lucky puppies, to have Ms. Wexton and Abigail Spanberger as our congresswomen.
trollhattan
@Danielx:
Does pelt-and-horns guy have an agent yet?
germy
prostratedragon
@EveryDayIHaveTheBlues: Happen to have seen it here.
The Thin Black Duke
@Elizabelle: Thank you. There’s a reason why the Proud Boy goons and the talking heads on Fox are screaming bloody murder about our side’s victory in Georgia.
mali muso
@Elizabelle: Totally agree! I have met her on a few occasions when she comes out to help support local Democrats in elections, etc. After years of being represented by awful Republicans (Wolff, Comstock, etc.) it’s so refreshing to not only have Democratic representation but one who is brave enough to take a stand. Virginia has changed a lot in the 14 years I have been here. Hoping the same shift will occur in Georgia!
Cameron
@Elizabelle: I’m wondering if he was offered immunity from prosecution in return for a peaceful transition. Of course, since he never lives up to any deal he makes, any promise he makes in that regard is meaningless.
germy
Elizabelle
CNN just now: Former GOP Rep. Charlie Dent flaying Mick Mulvaney (then in Congress) for trying to insert language to allow Confederate flags in military cemeteries. (Legislation was VA funding.) Dent to Mulvaney: “That is going to be problematic.”
Dent reminds that his district is 50 miles from Gettysburg and he is well aware who won the Civil War. Also said the GOP leadership followed up on Mulvaney’s request on behalf of the Confederacy; Dent told them bill was going to pass with or without Mulvaney’s vote and that he didn’t need it.
Good! Tell those stories Show those receipts for those trying to whitewash their reputations at this very late date.
Danielx
@trollhattan:
I would not be surprised in the slightest. After all, he’s had a four year course in How To Monetize Being A Complete Asshole.
sab
@Baud: He hasn’t commented at all this year (2021.)
Chris T.
@germy: Yeah, I get a “young Adolf H” vibe from Hawley.
OzarkHillbilly
@EveryDayIHaveTheBlues: Ballotpedia has an fair but not complete list.
debbie
Just listened to an interview with a very forceful Tim Ryan. Singing a different tune these days.
EveryDayIHaveTheBlues
@Fair Economist: Awesome, thanks so much! I tried the house.gov this morning, but couldn’t find it. Much appreciated.
I see that my supposed “constitutional conservative” representative, Steve Chabot (OH-1) voted Yea. Fucking piece of shit. This is the same motherfucker who wouldn’t vote to impeach, because he didn’t think DJT “lied” under oath.
Elizabelle
CNN chyron just now:
FBI asking for help identifying those rioting at the Capitol. Uh huh.
I think they should arrest everyone who breached the Capitol. Not just the leaders!
You can bring varying severity of charges. But letting the others just have a great story to tell their friends and families. Wrong!
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@Betty Cracker:
A center-right friend of mine helpfully pointed out that Elizabeth from Knoxville (the idiot on YouTube in the piano scarf crying about mace) literally confessed to every element of sedition, all the way down to mens rea.
germy
I found this thread interesting, about the response to the rioters yesterday:
Elizabelle
CNN reporter just called out Louis Gohmert and Andy Harris (R-MD) for inciting the insurrectionists too.
Suggests the FBI should be looking at them, too.
Yes. Yes.
Anderson Cooper. Not watching, but I could tell he was shaking his head: “Louis Gohmert.”
And that fucker was a judge.
zhena gogolia
@The Thin Black Duke:
Yes!
germy
patrick II
Let’s not forget Bill Bar in this. He was head of the group of people who are supposed to be tracking, gathering intelligence, and when necessary arresting threats to the U.S. Instead of doing his job, he distracted attention from the White Nationalism movement and blamed everything on Antifa and BLM. Preparation starts ahead of time, in part thinking about enemy (yes enemy) capabilities and intentions and making preparations. Little of that has been done, not just in the last few weeks but the last few years. It’s like ignoring a bump on your breast, or balls if your a guy.
trollhattan
@Elizabelle:
AG Barr is on this.
debbie
@germy:
I guarantee you that second tweet is a lie.
Elizabelle
@trollhattan: AG Barr is outta there.
Oh, to be a fly on the wall in many offices today.
And it makes me laugh that Stephanie Grisham (Melania COS, formerly Trump WH press sec for a while) resigned for principles.
Anderson Cooper said aloud that she was a terrible liar.
trollhattan
@Elizabelle:
Gohmert was a judge? Suddenly I’m a smidgen less appalled at the idea of Judge Roy Moore.
I wonder how much lawyers had to dumb down their arguments once they found out they were appearing in Gohmert’s courtroom? “Lemme see, no word longer than two syllables, no sentence longer than seven words, no fancypants metaphors.”
germy
patrick II
@Elizabelle:
They should already know most of them. Barr using Antifa and BLM as distractions from the real threat has left an intelligence deficit.
When Both Pelosi and McConnell homes got trashed in different stats a week or two ago, it became even more clear that there was interstate cooperation between groups and something bad was going to happen.
There were flights to D.C. filled with these guys. Videos on the internet of them screaming at Romney on one flight. Law enforcement’s head were deep in the sand — but purposely because of those who lead them.
germy
@debbie:
they’re boasting.
Elizabelle
@germy: The maga is “DroolingElmo.” LOL.
Parody account, maybe??
Elizabelle
@trollhattan: Yup. The proud citizens of Texas elected him.
Tex-Ass!
Wiki: Gohmert: JD from Baylor; was an Army JAG (primarily a defense lawyer).
And then his brilliant career in national politics.
germy
@Elizabelle:
Who can tell anymore?
germy
Face melting guy is gone.
patrick II
Run away, Mitch, run away.
Mitch’s wife Elaine Chao resigned avoiding the responsibility of participating in a 25th amendment solution — while also making it more difficult. Mitch is suspending the Senate until the 19th making impeachment DOA. Mitch is a one-man collaboration by inaction man.
rp
@germy: It’s not like they’re going to Mexico (or Russia). The FBI has jurisdiction in Missouri and Michigan and whatever other states those traitors are going back to.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Elizabelle: I hope the FBI takes at least 13 days to complete their investigation and issue arrest warrants. Just in case some unnamed terrorist leader in a position of power is thinking of pardoning them.
BroD
We can muse about this later. The priority now is invoking the 25th Amendment. Trump is a clear and present danger to the USA!
Subsole
@debbie: How so? Not arguing, curious.
patrick II
The few Democratic U.S. senators who have been publicly reluctant to get rid of the filibuster — take a look at the men/women in the aisle across from you they are still avoiding doing anything in the face of violent insurrection. Take the power away from those traitors.
debbie
@Subsole:
“Thank you for your service.” I call bullshit.
trollhattan
@patrick II:
Well isn’t that just convenient? Lovely couple, the McConnells. A couple of real peaches.
evap
I read somewhere that Trump can be impeached even after leaving office. It would mean he can never run for any political office again.
Subsole
@debbie: Maybe a Magat veteran? I know a few.
Patricia Kayden
@Ten Bears: I don’t think we’re going to see the cops treat rightwing agitators the way they treat BLM peaceful protesters. There’s a clear reason for the differential treatment and it’s downright scary.
Baffelgab
This is like the driver of the getaway car for a robbery gone wrong saying “I didn’t know he was going to kill somebody!”. Still gets charged with murder…
kindness
I don’t believe Republican leaders will go 25th Amendment even though they know they should. I do expect Trump to dial it up and invoke the Posse Comitatus Act at some point shortly and try to get the military to take over. Because of course he will. And after yesterday’s police deference to the Proud Boy rebellion, I wish I had more faith in our military to tell Trump to go fuck himself. Sorry but I don’t have that faith.
EveryDayIHaveTheBlues
@prostratedragon:
@OzarkHillbilly: Thanks to both of you! I found the record thanks to Fair Economist@112, and was dismayed to find how my own rep voted. See comment @ 140.
Suzanne
@rp:
I agree. I have long said that I think that, after Trump is gone, absolutely no one will actually admit to having voted for him. It will be so embarrassing socially to admit it. It will seem like he just materialized out of thin air! Only the diehards will admit it, but all of the people who voted for Trump because of taxes will now be scared of losing social esteem. I’ve already seen comments on right-wing sites about how this has been completely embarrassing to them.
And I think Cruz and Hawley might have ended their political careers. Hitched their wagons to the wrong stars. My heart, it bleeds.
Cameron
@Elizabelle: One of my siblings lives in his district. He wins by big margins, which I find a bit odd, since Nacogdoches is a university town.
PST
MSNBC says that this morning Bill Barr says that Trump has betrayed his office. Wow! Those rats really are leaving the ship. This is much more aimed at Trump than his general statement yesterday decrying the violence. I’m getting a feeling today that Trump has done more damage to his movement and the Republican party in one day than I would have thought, and that this may make Biden’s job easier, at least for a short time until the public’s attention span fades.
Patricia Kayden
@patrick II: Wow. Hadn’t heard this news as yet. So glad that Mitch will be relegated to minority status in the next Congress. Good riddance!
The Thin Black Duke
@Patricia Kayden: Sure, the white cops treat these white thugs with kid gloves, but I think that changes once a cop is killed at one of these freak shows. And sooner or later, that’s going to happen.
hueyplong
@Suzanne: The last 4 years have made me hesitant to predict doom for any GOPer displaying flagrant assholedom. It’s career advancement.
Elizabelle
William Barr statement: Trump’s actions were a betrayal of his office and his supporters.
Uh huh.
Elizabelle
Mark Zuckerberg just banned Trump from Facebook “indefinitely.”
Uh huh.
hueyplong
@The Thin Black Duke: Not if it’s a black cop. Then it will have been a sad and tragic error by a patriot who shouldn’t be condemned based on a single mistake committed in the heat of a threat to the republic.
Patricia Kayden
@PST: Just now Barr is figuring out that Trump has betrayed the office of the presidency? Alrighty then. I guess better late than never.
Punchy
@germy: From reading that tweet’s caption, one of them is angry about being in a hotel, but is currently having coitus with a police officer? Interesting indeed.
Patricia Kayden
@The Thin Black Duke: Rightwingers have killed cops in the past though so I’m not sure about that.
Elizabelle
@patrick II: Has Chao actually resigned? I just see that she was considering it.
When I heard the Senate would be out until January 19th, I thought that was very much to subvert their having to do anything about Trump.
trollhattan
@PST: @Elizabelle:
Anything Bill Barr does at this point is 100% damage control for Bill Barr. He’ll spew some “love of country over party” BS but they’ll have the value of a bucket of spit.
prostratedragon
@germy: Good thread. Clearly something needs to happen with the Capitol Police and its Board fast.
trollhattan
@Elizabelle:
Would have been nice in 2017, Mark.
hueyplong
@Elizabelle: GOPer legislators got scared yesterday, so Mitch adjourned to make sure none of them could become collateral damage due to physical proximity to Democrat politicians.
It’s that and little else. The damage Trump does over the next 13 days are not his concern.
TruthOfAngels
Apparently Twitter have restored Trump’s account after he deleted the three tweets.
Donald Trump Twitter ban comes to end amid calls for tougher action
And yet he’s not tweeting.
I don’t know quite what this means, but I just thought I’d mention it.
Patricia Kayden
@kindness: Agreed although I just can’t imagine the military attempting a coup to keep someone like Trump in office. I don’t even know what that would look like. The election wasn’t close so the military would have to suppress a vast majority of the population.
trollhattan
Can you imagine what it must be like to work in a functioning newsroom the last two days? My god.
germy
@Punchy:
No, I believe he’s saying “I’m one of the fucking patriots.”
trollhattan
@TruthOfAngels:
Donny’s phone is lost between two sofa cushions and nobody is helping him find it?
Spanky
The 25th Amendment names ”
Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, …”
So there doesn’t need to be a Presidentially appointed officer, really, to weigh in on Trump’s fitness for office. Just who ever is at the top at the time.
trollhattan
California Republicans jump on the “blame antifa” bandwagon, beer in hand.
Martin
@rp: I don’t think it’s the last gasp. They have nothing to fill the gap.
Agree history won’t look kindly on any of them, but anyone who thinks that John Kasich is going to just roll in as the new face of the GOP is deluding themselves. Maybe that will eventually happen, but the GOP is going to go through a lot of bloodshed first.
Populism doesn’t go quietly into the night. It’s like a tire fire – it burns for a long time.
Martin
@trollhattan: Nobody cares about California republicans. Talk about back-benchers.
Elizabelle
I think it’s time for a letter from all living former US presidents to call on Trump to resign.
Also all Secretaries of State, or any of them that will sign a letter.
Pull the fig leaf away from the Republicans and administration and all the enablers.
Amir Khalid
@PST:
That’s rich. Bilbar signed on with Trump to help him do just that.
prostratedragon
@patrick II: Because of their behavior coming into the city this week, plus the Capitol incident itself, the flight attendants’ union wants to ban them from flights out of DC. I suppose they would seek law enforcement cooperation in identifying them from images.
PST
@The Thin Black Duke:
Joy Reid said the other day that white people aren’t scared of cops. I certainly agree with her larger point — Black people have much more reason to fear them — but the fact is that most white people I know have experienced fear of the police and many have experienced mistreatment as well. We saw some of that in Portland, for example. For those of us of mature years, who seldom have run-ins now, we may have to remember our youths, but I can remember being frightened on many occasions in the 70s. That may even be true of much of the Trump demographic. Hanging out with some of my high school friends who later became deplorables I heard lots of statements like, “The cop should have taken me to the hospital but he handcuffed me and through me in the back of his cruiser.” They are perpetual whiners anyway, and that whining includes cops, whom they often see as corrupt and power mad. I do realize that law enforcement is riddled with white supremacists and natural-born Trump types, but the first loyalty tends to be to their own, and these days in big cities at least police departments don’t seem nearly as white and Anglo as they did even a decade ago.
Martin
The media are too excited that Mark Zuckerberg is holding Trump to greater account than Congress is. I mean, okay, it’s good that his account is getting locked, but holy shit is that the lowest of bars.
Mai Naem mobile
@Elizabelle: fuck Zuck. Last month they were giving big bucks to Body Bag profiteers Perdue and Loeffler. Now that the Dems are going to control the three branches he’s trying to kiss ass. Fuck him and his conspiracy spreading website.
Subsole
@The Thin Black Duke: I will say, there was video taken that night of cops clearing an area.
Night shift was not playing. At all.
Really makes me think there is something to the accusations of moles in the capitol police.
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
@PST:
I hope you are right, but I struggle to share your optimism. The polling this morning indicated a lot of support by Republican voters for these terrorists. Something has to be done about the propaganda they are constantly being fed. I don’t know what that is. There has to be a way to both honor the first amendment and reduce harmful propaganda. Do we strengthen libel and defamation laws? Do we take away exemptions for defamation against public figures? How can the blantant and destructive lying by rightwing radical pundits be subject to real consequences? It has to be. In a just world, Fox, OANN, and Newsmax would be successfully sued out of existence.
schrodingers_cat
People demanding impeachment and the 25th amendment, have you met the Republicans in Congress and the cabinet? In what fantasy land are these enablers going to cooperate in an attempt to take down their meal ticket and their leader?
geg6
@Mai Naem mobile:
Seconded.
Punchy
@trollhattan: Billy is angry that Trump dropped the Billy-lit match on a kerosene-soaked carpet that Billy spilled on it in a log cabin built by Billy from logs on Billy’s property bought with Billy’s money.
Elizabelle
@Martin: I know.
Anderson Cooper: just pointed out: but Facebook is taking steps the US government is not taking.
I think it’s possible Trump is NOT going to survive this. Maybe becoming more possible as the day plays out.
I think some of his enablers are going to turn in a bid to save their own sorry asses.
ETA: added the NOT. Typed too quickly.
Patricia Kayden
Elizabelle
Wow. An enormous hawk was just sitting on a small tree just outside my patio door. Could not get a photo before it took off, but that thing was huge. Beautiful, really.
Happily, it did not have a smaller bird in its mouth or talons.
I’d noticed a tiny bird out a few minutes earlier.
Patricia Kayden
@schrodingers_cat: Democrats should still do what they can to hold Trump accountable even if Republicans will never do the right thing.
trollhattan
@Martin:
They managed to claw back some House seats and IIUC the state Dems no longer have their supermajority, so they have an expanded ability to muck things up.
And we still have our own Gohmert: Nunes.
prostratedragon
@hueyplong: Was just thinking that unfortunate thought. In one of the twitter posts there was a snippet of a black cop racing up a stair and into a room where he could lock the door. Can hardly stand to think what might have happened to him if that crowd had got hold of him, and can just imagine the excuses.
JPL
@Martin: True. One hundred twenty-two republican members decided that it was okay to toss the votes from Arizona. That’s not okay and they are not going away.
schrodingers_cat
@Patricia Kayden: I am asking what practical effect will it have in curbing the insurrectionist?
Benw
Come on congress, the president sent a mob to attack you.
ITMFA
(last A changed from Already to Again)
patrick II
@Elizabelle:
Seven U.S. officials have resigned. Forbes:https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2021/01/06/three-white-house-officials-resign-after-capitol-breach-with-more-expected/?sh=6f1c6c677395
Elizabelle
@Patricia Kayden: I am wondering if some of the Republicans might turn on Trump to save their own sorry asses, and retain some credibility with our overly credulous DC press corpse. They might end up spending less time in non-OANN green rooms. Horrors.
Agree with you that Democrats should and will do the right thing, no matter what.
Cameron
@Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony: Dominion did just that – remarkable how quickly Fox and NewsMax changed their tunes when threatened with major lawsuits.
hueyplong
Lawyer representing Trump in E.D. Pa case has moved to withdraw and get a load of his stated reason (in the motion) for doing so:
“… client has used the lawyer’s services to perpetrate a crime and the client insists upon taking action that the lawyer considers repugnant.”
Lawyer’s name is Jerome L Marcus.
Elizabelle
@patrick II: From your Forbes link:
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell – who spoke forcefully in favor of certifying the election and denounced Trump’s “sweeping conspiracy theories” – is also considering resigning, according to NBC News, though Axios’ Jonathan Swan suggested her resignation is not imminent. [Although Swan’s tweet is 13 hours old. The actual tweet from Swan: “I don’t think Elaine Chao is resigning or considering resigning, per source briefed on her thinking as of tonight.”]
prostratedragon
@TruthOfAngels: Tranquilizer gun?
Kent
Just walked the dog and got the kids up for virtual school and am late to the thread here on the west coast as usual. But something has been gnawing at me this morning and that is how to deal with the insurrectionists in the Senate.
Both Cruz and Hawley (and their other followers), after all that has happened the past year and past two months have come onto th floor of the Senate in order to tell flagrant lies on behalf of insurrection and dismantling of democracy. And not just on behalf of some conservative candidate who might otherwise be sane like a McCain or Romney. But on behalf of a president who is so unhinged and dangerous that his own cabinet is mulling invoking the 25th Amendment just to get us through the next 2 weeks safely. With the support of such mainstream conservative groups like the National Association of Manufacturers (which is companies like Exxon Pfizer, Ford, etc.). THAT is the person you want to put back into power for the next FOUR YEARS?
Democrats do not have the votes to expel these traitors and insurrectionists from the Senate. But they do have the choice as to whether to count them as Senators when it comes to collegial issues like power sharing. The mainstream media is floating notions of a 2020 power sharing agreement with more minority representation on committees, or even dual committee chairs and such. NO, FUCKING NO. We have a 50-48 Senate not a tied Senate. We don’t count insurrectionists. They are persona non grata. Actions have consequences and when you try to subvert democracy with lies in support of insurrection you lose the right to be considered a Senator by the opposition. And we most certainly don’t have count their votes on any cloture motions which is simply an arcane Senate rule. In other words, they lost the right to filibuster last night.
Tell fucking Mitch McConnell. Sorry, you couldn’t keep a leash on your rabid dogs. That’s the consequence. Go to the back of the room and think about your sins for the next two years while the rest of us govern.
WaterGirl
@Baud: Yeah, but we need your voice to help counteract that.
catclub
So he is calling for immediate impeachment or resignation, right?
Kent
They are all running like rats from the prospect of having to invoke the 25th Amendment. Cowards and traitors. Stand there and do your fucking job under the 25th Amendment.
SiubhanDuinne
@patrick II:
I said it once before: the plural of Chao is Chaos.
She and her husband are craven grifters who care nothing about the good of the country or its citizens. Fuckem both.
Martin
@Elizabelle: They won’t. They should, but they don’t know how to fill his shoes, so they’ll stick with him. I mean, even Hawley and Cruz should have been signaling to Mitch that Trump should be impeached. If they really want to be president in 2024, they need to remove Trump from the field more than they need to remove Biden, and impeachment removes him from the field. That allows them to fill the gap, but they can’t even do that.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Baud: I am with Watergirl, you are a voice of reason here.
taumaturgo
@Kent: How is this even possible if the conservative democrats leadership already declared they will be “looking forward not backward?
Heywood J.
Identify and fire the inept (racist) cops, including the CP chief, who failed utterly to prepare for an openly planned event, and then opened the gates to an angry cracker mob. Prosecute each and every one of the terrorists, to the absolute extent of the law. Expel all members of Congress who continue to openly support sedition. Impeach the piece of shit who has been instigating all this for months now.
If there is no accountability or consequences for this, there is no reason for them not to keep doing it, until they succeed. Fuck that “looking forward” shit. Failure to act swiftly and decisively is nothing more than dereliction of duty. At the very least, impeachment and expulsion proceedings can be initiated by the end of this week.
Martin
@catclub: Look, it’s one thing to take steps to reform your reputation, it’s something else entirely to put out a fire you started.
patrick II
@Elizabelle:
Thank you for the correction. I read too much into the headline.
raven
Conor Lamb, temporarily causing benches to empty, for accusing Republicans of lying about why President Trump lost Pennsylvania.
sixthdoctor
Just saw this, hope it’s a trend:
Aleta
About fear.
Masha Gessen at the NYer. (Paywall after a few articles.)
Villago Delenda Est
Hawley is an insurrectionist, a traitor. Unfit to hold office at any level. Expel him from the Senate.
catclub
How about the New York City police? How different is the military from the NYC police? Trump (or giuliani) is exactly the type of person they would stage a coup for, in order to maintain him in office.
L85NJGT
The argument here is one of inevitable, and perpetual, white backlash. >shrug< I don’t know. As they say, the future is unknown.
What is clear, is that this is the end of the Reagan political era, and party system.
VeniceRiley
Seeing Rethuglickers run away from responsibility is unsurprising, and yet, it still sends me into a white hot rage. Seeing the (complicit and racist AF, until proven otherwise) Capitol Police abet these monsters is frightening. White men in general should be avoided and regarded as unemployable in law enforcement and security until they individually prove sanity with a thorough background check. Collectively, they deserve zero trust.
Mike in NC
Josh Hawley has probably watched ‘American Psycho’ 25 times and thinks it was a documentary.
Haroldo
@Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony:
Thanks – you’ve succinctly put words to my inchoate and raging thoughts.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@catclub: metro police are, I suspect, one of trumpiest constituencies in the country
Martin
@catclub: Lot of POC in the military. In fact most of the military enlisted are. That’s why Democrats win the military vote.
NYPD is far more fascistic than the military is.
Elizabelle
@taumaturgo: Fuck you. You are pied.
bluehill
@Mike in NC: The Ben Sasse of Tom Cottons.
raven
@Martin: I wouldn’t say “most” but certainly over-represented.
Martin
@Villago Delenda Est: It’s really odd to me that the two most prestigiously educated members of the GOP are constitutional lawyers and both are fascists. There’s something weird going on there.
different-church-lady
Looking back, the surprise is not that Trump went just as unhinged as we expected; the surprise is that they managed to cover over that level of unhinged for so long.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Republican rep from north-central Illinois (16th), not exactly never trump territory, I suspect
Anya
Let’s not forget how the major media outlet such as NYT, WaPo or NPR, contributed to this. They glorified Trump supporters feelings and they indulged their grievances with all those visits to diners in the heartland to profile Trump supporters so that they could be better understood at last. This fed this entitlement.
catclub
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Isn’t he also calling for impeachment? Which is the tool that is available to the Legislature?
raven
Metro DC Police persons of interests.
Anya
@Martin: NYPD is a fascist entity.
different-church-lady
@Aleta: I agree with nearly all of that, with one refinement: it’s clear that the leadership of the Capitol Police did not fear the rabble (and did not even perceive them correctly as rabble ready to turn into a mob). However, the individual officers quite clearly became fearful once that rabble transitioned into a mob, and that explains why they were treated comparatively gently once they began the invasion. So depending on which component one is examining, both fear and lack of fear were causations.
Elizabelle
CNN Chyron:
Ksmiami
@rp: I’ve been mulling this over a bit and I think the best way to crush them is to keep up voter engagement on the Democratic side. We have the money and the numbers to do it.
WaterGirl
@Baud: It was just before christmas.
Kent
We need to push back on the idea that insurrectionist Senators deserve any collegial deference in this next Senate. They forfeited that yesterday.
Elizabelle
John Fucking King on CNN now. The chyron:
Served
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: It’s widely known in IL that he’s had his eyes on the Governor race in 2022 since at least 2018. He’s been releasing these milquetoast statements and tweets and sitting on his hands for a year or two now.
Neldob
@Martin: please don’t call this fascist shit populism.
The Thin Black Duke
@Ksmiami: Yes. The Democrats presently have the Presidency, House and Senate. The Republicans have certainly demonstrated that they can’t govern responsibly, so let’s do our damnest to keep them on the outside looking in. Difficult? Sure. But I don’t think it’s impossible. Georgia proved it.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Served: ah, I was thinking of national politics. good point
different-church-lady
@Elizabelle: Huh. That’s the same number as Benghazi, ain’t it?
Chris
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Most big city police forces are effectively Red State armies of occupation in the middle of every major Blue population center. I’ve heard that there are some cities that have made progress in reforming their police, but even those ones still have an absolute shit-ton of fascists on the force… and NYC isn’t one of them in any event.
Elizabelle
@different-church-lady:
You’re right. !!
Doubt that fact is going to make it to the local rural Tea Partier crackpots signs, though.
Watergate: 0
Benghazi: 4 you know the type …
WaterGirl
@Frankensteinbeck: It’s mind-boggling that the Capital Police moved the barricades out of the way, with video rolling?!?!!!!
debbie
@Villago Delenda Est:
At the very least.
Chris
@Martin:
What I’ve usually heard is that the enlisted ranks of the military are a more or less faithful reproduction of the country’s political demographics as a whole, but the officer corps skews Republican by a ridiculous amount – like, 25 to 1 or something.
However, they, especially in the upper ranks, also have an ethos of obedience to the civilian authorities pretty strongly ingrained in them. The top ranks are also acutely aware that involving themselves in partisan conflict would instantly destroy their status as the last institution that the American public generically likes and trusts regardless of political affiliation. That’s almost certainly what the refusal to send troops in to crush BLM last summer was about.
So yeah. The military as a whole is probably the least reliably right-wing of the “uniformed men with guns” institutions in our country.
Chris
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Everybody’s passing the buck.
Legislators are calling for the 25th amendment to be invoked, which is something they can’t do, so they’re effectively making it somebody else’s problem (instead of discussing impeachment, the thing they actually are empowered to do). Cabinet members, the ones who do have the authority to invoke the 25th amendment, are choosing to Make A Statement by resigning instead.
Everybody wants him gone, and everybody wants somebody else to do it.
jnfr
I was just listening to a press conference with the DC Mayor and head of the MPD. Now that they’ve been called in to cooperate with the Capitol Police, they sure sound serious about finding and prosecuting yesterday’s rioters.
They’re also planning a lot of beefed-up security for the Inaguration, starting now.
And the first thing the Mayor said was that she wanted a bill for DC statehood in the first 100 days, and the National Guard put under DC control, not the Feds.
MisterForkbeard
@Chris: Schumer is explicitly saying that the 25th amendment needs to be invoked now and if it isn’t then we need to impeach.
I’d rather we do both simultaneously, but this isn’t buck passing. It’s a “do the right thing that solves this immediately or we’ll do the right thing that takes awhile”.
Chris
@MisterForkbeard:
In that case, I’m happy to be wrong.
catclub
This also worked well in the 2016 GOP primaries.
Josie
@Martin:
Sometimes a prestigious education makes one feel superior to other beings. I don’t know anything about Hawley, but Cruz thinks he is smarter and better than the rest of us. In law school, he didn’t want to have anyone in his study group who wasn’t from an Ivy League institution.
J R in WV
@Cameron:
Silly person — they don’t let college students vote in their college town in Texas, that would just be wrong~!!~
Ruckus
@OzarkHillbilly:
I don’t think they have abandoned conservatism.
What is the central tenet of conservatism?
It is about retaining power, and specifically who has and retains it. All government is about who retains power. The power of control and money. That’s what makes democracy so difficult, it is about sharing power and money, rather than having only a few with that power and money.
And that, the control of power and money, has always been and always will be the only focus of conservatism.
Kent
Is this true of Black and Hispanic officers of which there are a lot?
I’m not in the military so I don’t know. But if it is like other conservative workplaces where I have been, I would expect more of a vocal hard core minority that dominates the conversation combined with a mostly silent majority that is less political and which runs the spectrum but is uncomfortable bringing their own politics into the workplace.
Ruckus
@Chris:
What is the procedure for impeachment? A one day affair? No, it’s a long drawn out process that takes time, something we don’t actually have the pleasure of having. The 25th takes minutes to do. OK maybe a few minutes but still the time can be measured in a dramatically shorter timeframe than impeachment. If his lily livered VP and cabinet would do their job, congress can impeach to make the ouster permeant. Of course that’s a bit harder than it looks, seeing as how a lot of the necessary players in making the 25th useful are steaming piles of something that steams when freshly piled.
Kent
I know his east Texas district. I’ve been through there various times when we lived in Texas, especially for camping at Caddo Lake. Stephen F. Austin University is a mid-size former teacher’s college and Nacadoches is a smallish college town of about 30,000. But the whole district is maybe 450,000 so it is just rounding error. And as a university mostly attended by more rural white kids relative to Texas as a whole. it isn’t exactly a bastion of liberal student activism. The most popular major is business.
What the district is really like is more accurately pictured in the move the Great Debaters. About the Wiley College Black debate team that beat Harvard. That was set in Marshall, which is the heart of the district. That part of East Texas is every bit as backwoods and racist as the deepest parts of Mississippi.
Mike in Pasadena
@Betty Cracker: wishful thinking.