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Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

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Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

If you’re gonna whine, it’s time to resign!

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

Live so that if you miss a day of work people aren’t hoping you’re dead.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

You cannot shame the shameless.

When you’re in more danger from the IDF than from Russian shelling, that’s really bad.

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

Cancel the cowardly Times and Post and set up an equivalent monthly donation to ProPublica.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

I would try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

Also, are you sure you want people to rate your comments?

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You are here: Home / Politics / domestic terrorists / Thursday Evening Open Thread: Dump Him ASAP

Thursday Evening Open Thread: Dump Him ASAP

by Anne Laurie|  January 7, 20217:06 pm| 184 Comments

This post is in: domestic terrorists, Election 2020, NANCY SMASH!, Open Threads, Trumpery, Lock Him Up...Lock Them All Up

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Thursday Evening Open Thread

(Clay Jones via GoComics.com)
.

The quickest and most effective way—it can be done today—to remove this president from office would be for the Vice President to immediately invoke the 25th amendment.

If the Vice President and the Cabinet refuse to stand up, Congress must reconvene to impeach President Trump.

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) January 7, 2021


"I join the Senate Democratic leader in calling on the vice president to remove this President by immediately invoking the 25th Amendment," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She called Trump “a very dangerous person who should not continue in office.” https://t.co/EOsI8KPN8X pic.twitter.com/dKife44Ris

— CNN (@CNN) January 7, 2021

Speaker Pelosi challenges Trump’s Cabinet: ‘Attorney General Barr, do you subscribe to the presidency of Donald Trump after the act of sedition he committed yesterday? … ask each member of the Cabinet, ‘Do they stand by these actions?’’ pic.twitter.com/714bsnYPlc

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) January 7, 2021

PELOSI now going down a list of cabinet secretaries asking why they wouldn't support invoking the 25th Amendment.

"Is it about success in business later? Do you believe in this?"

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) January 7, 2021

Turncoats’ chorus cheeps up:

Everyone wants distance from Trump but this is still remarkable https://t.co/Iv0XyfiN15

— Josh Barro (@jbarro) January 7, 2021

Wow, former chief of staff John Kelly, who has kept a low profile after leaving the WH, said the cabinet should have a discussion about the 25th Amendment. He said he "yes" he would vote to remove him from office if he was still in the Cabinet. He also said people enabled him.

— Meridith McGraw (@meridithmcgraw) January 7, 2021

he’s not a flawed man. I’m a flawed man. he’s a petty tyrant sociopath gleefully controlled by the darkest impulses of the human spirit https://t.co/pzN4N3MUyH

— kilgore trout, brad r’s brother (@KT_So_It_Goes) January 7, 2021

one more reason he must be removed immediately https://t.co/ei4JPdkpqK

— kilgore trout, brad r’s brother (@KT_So_It_Goes) January 7, 2021

Comic relief, for the bleachers:

Elizabeth wasn’t ready for the revolution to be televised?? pic.twitter.com/LibeNAuE6h

— xy467chr (@xy467chr) January 6, 2021

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Previous Post: « Be Like Steve
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Reader Interactions

184Comments

  1. 1.

    germy

    January 7, 2021 at 7:10 pm

    Trump has stopped speaking to Pence, according to CBS.

  2. 2.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    January 7, 2021 at 7:12 pm

    Re: the cartoon up top.

    243 pounds? So just the upper 2/3 or so?

  3. 3.

    ByRookorbyCrook

    January 7, 2021 at 7:13 pm

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: Just the head.

  4. 4.

    Frankensteinbeck

    January 7, 2021 at 7:14 pm

    @germy:

    Like I’ve been saying, he believes all the insane bullshit.  He actually thought Pence could overturn the election.

  5. 5.

    RSA

    January 7, 2021 at 7:15 pm

    Elizabeth from Tennessee is unclear on the concept.

  6. 6.

    Leto

    January 7, 2021 at 7:15 pm

    “We’re storming the Capitol, it’s a Revolution”

    And they were allowed to just walk out

    Malcom Nance and a retired Capitol Hill officer are MSNBC going over the systemic failures here. So, so many.

  7. 7.

    jc

    January 7, 2021 at 7:17 pm

    Good to see Pelosi clearly pissed off. I’m highly doubtful that Pence will “do the right thing.” He doesn’t have it in him. Just move straight to Impeachment, post haste.

    Nice to see the Dems on top for a change. Something about Augean stables …

  8. 8.

    ByRookorbyCrook

    January 7, 2021 at 7:18 pm

    Also not to make light of seditionist’s pain but…

    https://www.reddit.com/r/trashy/comments/ksds0v/animani_they_pushed_me_out_and_maced_me/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

  9. 9.

    Punchy

    January 7, 2021 at 7:18 pm

    Isn’t the fear that even attempting to invoke the 25th could send him so far off the edge he attempts to drop a nuke on Mesopotamia?

  10. 10.

    NotMax

    January 7, 2021 at 7:19 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck

    “But- but- Rudy said so….”

    //

  11. 11.

    Charluckles

    January 7, 2021 at 7:19 pm

    I can’t get over how many of these a-holes seemed to think that was just a fun lark.

  12. 12.

    planetjanet

    January 7, 2021 at 7:19 pm

    One Capitol police officer who was assaulted and dragged into the crowd yesterday has died.  The tragedy continues to unfold.

    https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/washington-dc-election-riots/h_f809c023931544c5374bdc8c646e9353

  13. 13.

    Alison Rose

    January 7, 2021 at 7:20 pm

    @ByRookorbyCrook: Oh, we can and absolutely should make light of their pain. She’s fine, she’ll live, we can take some joy from her White Tears.

  14. 14.

    The Thin Black Duke

    January 7, 2021 at 7:21 pm

    And deep inside Trump’s skull, Fred is screaming “I KNEW YOU WOULD FUCK IT UP, LOSER!” Again and again, forever.

  15. 15.

    Leto

    January 7, 2021 at 7:21 pm

    @jc:

    Something about Augean stables …

    I was making this point to Avalune earlier tonight and she said, “It only works if you keep the horses out.” Half the country (74M of them) want the horses to keep shitting all over the place. They keep putting the horses back in the stables.

  16. 16.

    MoCA Ace

    January 7, 2021 at 7:22 pm

    Duhhh… “it’s a revolution”

    She should look up the fate of many would-be revolutionaries throughout history. The righteous and the idiots alike. Fucking Trumper should be glad it was just mace!

  17. 17.

    Chetan Murthy

    January 7, 2021 at 7:22 pm

    @planetjanet: In due time, when his or her family is ready, I would hope we patriots can learn his or her name, so we can properly join in mourning a fallen patriot.  Only when their family is ready, though.

  18. 18.

    sab

    January 7, 2021 at 7:24 pm

    @RSA: IANAL, but gives name, address, confesses to breaking and entering activity, and to seditious intent.

    Sweet summer child.

    And five people dead so far.

  19. 19.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    January 7, 2021 at 7:24 pm

    @Leto: How good of Elizabeth to testify as to her intent when she entered the capitol. Also gave her name and city. That makes the court case easier.

  20. 20.

    Calouste

    January 7, 2021 at 7:27 pm

    @Chetan Murthy: And strip the pensions from all the Capitol Police officers who took selfies with and held the door open for the insurrectionists, and give them to that family. The others won’t need it anyway, room and board should be provided by the feds for a number of years.

  21. 21.

    Leto

    January 7, 2021 at 7:27 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: that’s exactly what I thought. There can’t be that many Elizabeth’s in Knoxville, so HERE YOU GO FBI! Uuuggghhhh

  22. 22.

    Tokyokie

    January 7, 2021 at 7:28 pm

    A dead cop means the whole lot of them could be charged as accessories to capital murder during commission of a felony (sedition). It’s all fun and games until somebody puts an eye out.

  23. 23.

    Yutsano

    January 7, 2021 at 7:28 pm

    HE’S CONCEDING???

    EDIT: In not so many words. But he got forced into back down the rhetoric.

  24. 24.

    Leto

    January 7, 2021 at 7:29 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: again, THEY LIVE STREAMED THEIR CRIMES! They felt emboldened/don’t care. They feel there will be no consequences. We have to, have to disabuse them of that idea.

  25. 25.

    sab

    January 7, 2021 at 7:29 pm

    When in my yoot I went to marches on Washington we approached the Capitol and White House with respect. That was kind of the whole point of going there. We had respect for the institutions and had issues with decisions the current officeholders were making.

    These guys have a completely different mindset.

  26. 26.

    Nicole

    January 7, 2021 at 7:29 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Apparently she lied about where she’s from. She’s been ID’d as someone from Maryland.

    My Nashville-dwelling brother said, “Her alibi was that she was from Knoxville? Never mind, that checks out.” ?

  27. 27.

    dmsilev

    January 7, 2021 at 7:31 pm

    According to the FTNYT, Pence has said no to Option 25. So, impeachment it is I guess.

  28. 28.

    Nora

    January 7, 2021 at 7:33 pm

    “We’re storming the capital.  It’s a revolution.  But oh my God, they maced me!  How could they do that?”

    The lack of self-awareness is breathtaking.

  29. 29.

    planetjanet

    January 7, 2021 at 7:34 pm

    @Chetan Murthy: In Mayor Muriel Bowser’s press conference yesterday, acting Chief Contee talked of officers who had fought bravely and who deserve our gratitude.  He mentioned one officer who had fought off the crowd and been seriously beaten and kicked by the mob and taken to the hospital.  Mayor Bowser was asked by a reporter if she was upset with the president and she talked forcefully of having to spend the blood of our officers to defend this country and not have the right to representation.  It was a powerful statement.

  30. 30.

    Gravenstone

    January 7, 2021 at 7:34 pm

    @MoCA Ace: Fucking Trumper should be glad it was just mace!

    Yep. The one who took a round in the 10 ring probably was shocked there were consequences for her idiocy, too.

  31. 31.

    Baud

    January 7, 2021 at 7:38 pm

    Everyone knows you only storm the Capitol on non-mace Mondays.

  32. 32.

    Geminid

    January 7, 2021 at 7:38 pm

    In NY 22nd Congressional District race, judicial review of hundreds of disputed ballots proceeds slowly but surely in the Oswego courtroom of Judge Scott Delconte. The contest between Democratic Congressman Anthony Brindisi and Claudia Tenney is a rematch of their 2018 fight. The case is being covered closely in local media, and probably will not be finished untill well into next week. So far the lead has shifted from one candidate to the other, at never more than 30 votes.

    Yesterday improperly sealed ballots from Oneida County were at issue. Judge Delconte has not been inclined to let technical defects disqualify otherwise good ballots, while the Tenney campaign has tried to get as many disputed ballots thrown out as possible. At one point, the judge cautioned Tenney’s people: “I will not tolerate fraud. And I will not tolerate baseless allegations of fraud.”                           I kind of like Judge DelConte.

  33. 33.

    Kelly

    January 7, 2021 at 7:38 pm

    Deepest sympathy for the officer’s loved ones.

     

    I just watched Rep Conor Lamb’s emotional and inspiring speech from early this morning calling out the Republican lies that ignited this tragedy.

    https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1347074579739652097

  34. 34.

    DMcK

    January 7, 2021 at 7:40 pm

    @Nora: I’ve come to think that a lot of these maniacs honestly believe that the vast majority of the country is on board with them, thus their “revolution” would come to pass largely unopposed. Utterly delusional.

  35. 35.

    Leto

    January 7, 2021 at 7:41 pm

    This woman on Joy Reid’s show just called the insurrectionists Vanilla ISIS and I can’t stop laughing

  36. 36.

    Leto

    January 7, 2021 at 7:42 pm

    @Baud: That’s the third Monday of every month, correct? I think it’s also 2 for 1 muffin day at the coffee shop…

  37. 37.

    WaterGirl

    January 7, 2021 at 7:43 pm

    @Yutsano: What are you referring to?

  38. 38.

    TaMara (HFG)

    January 7, 2021 at 7:43 pm

    Worst concession speech ever.

    Dude is so terrified of prison, LOL…pic.twitter.com/WNIcZAHpjS

    — BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) January 8, 2021

  39. 39.

    NotMax

    January 7, 2021 at 7:44 pm

    @Nora

    “Remember the Bowling Green massacre!”

    //

  40. 40.

    Baud

    January 7, 2021 at 7:44 pm

    @Leto: heh.

  41. 41.

    Hoodie

    January 7, 2021 at 7:45 pm

    @WaterGirl: He’s released a “concession” on Twitter.

  42. 42.

    gwangung

    January 7, 2021 at 7:45 pm

    @DMcK: Without a doubt. They think they are in the vast majority. So do most Republicans. Which is why they are convinced there was fraud in the election.

  43. 43.

    Sister Golden Bear

    January 7, 2021 at 7:46 pm

    @MoCA Ace: Actually, it was the onion she was holding in her hand. Not visible in the video, but clearly shown in other photos.

  44. 44.

    No One of Consequence

    January 7, 2021 at 7:46 pm

    @ByRookorbyCrook:

    so, so good that edit

    NOoC

  45. 45.

    Gravenstone

    January 7, 2021 at 7:47 pm

    @TaMara (HFG): Not only have the horses fled and the barn burned down behind him, but a new one is being built in its place he’s so fucking late with this “concession”.

  46. 46.

    Roger Moore

    January 7, 2021 at 7:47 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    Like I’ve been saying, he believes all the insane bullshit.

    Trump believes whatever is favorable to him at the moment.

  47. 47.

    Chetan Murthy

    January 7, 2021 at 7:49 pm

    @TaMara (HFG): Who said Trump can’t do comedy?!?  I laughed out loud!  HILARIOUS!

     

    The little pissant dickweed dingleberry.

  48. 48.

    WaterGirl

    January 7, 2021 at 7:50 pm

    @TaMara (HFG): Oh my god, does he think he can make that little speech and everything will be good again

    edit:  Someone needs to explain the concept of pandora’s box to him.

  49. 49.

    NotMax

    January 7, 2021 at 7:50 pm

    @Baud

    “Navy bean soup for the masses!”

  50. 50.

    Elizabelle

    January 7, 2021 at 7:51 pm

    @TaMara (HFG):   Fucker did not ad lib one syllable.  He seemed tempted when he got to “election laws.”

    He does not believe a word he is reading, and he has been forced to do so.

    That might be on purpose.  “Hey — protesters.  I am in a hostage video.  We’re all cool.”

    His ass has to go.

  51. 51.

    MisterForkbeard

    January 7, 2021 at 7:52 pm

    @TaMara (HFG): If I had to guess, I’d say that this was Pence’s price for not invoking the 25th. Not that Pence wanted to do it, though.

  52. 52.

    dmsilev

    January 7, 2021 at 7:53 pm

    @WaterGirl: Look, he only needed 2 months, several dozen lawsuits, one storming-the-Capitol attempted insurrection, and a pending impeachment threat. Was that too much to ask?

  53. 53.

    mali muso

    January 7, 2021 at 7:53 pm

    I refuse to listen to the monster. Any transcripts handy?

  54. 54.

    Cheryl Rofer

    January 7, 2021 at 7:53 pm

    Now that he has his Twitter account back, he will undercut the hostage concession in 3…2…1…

  55. 55.

    WaterGirl

    January 7, 2021 at 7:53 pm

    @Elizabelle: Here’s what I’m wondering…

    Did this come out before or after the announcement that the capital police office had died?

  56. 56.

    Brachiator

    January 7, 2021 at 7:53 pm

    @Punchy:

    Isn’t the fear that even attempting to invoke the 25th could send him so far off the edge he attempts to drop a nuke on Mesopotamia?

    No.

  57. 57.

    Calouste

    January 7, 2021 at 7:53 pm

    @Gravenstone:  People have moved on from horses to flying cars, it’s so late.

  58. 58.

    Frankensteinbeck

    January 7, 2021 at 7:53 pm

    @TaMara (HFG):

    What.  The.  Fuck.

    Okay, like Adam always says, this is an Active Asshole Situation.  Wait 48 hours and see what develops.  Trump has a long history of walking back his few moments of decency.

  59. 59.

    NotMax

    January 7, 2021 at 7:54 pm

    @TaMara (HFG)

    60 days late and a billion brain cells short.

  60. 60.

    trollhattan

    January 7, 2021 at 7:54 pm

    @germy:

    Trump has stopped speaking to Pence, according to CBS.

    Weird way to say “Pence experiences 95% reduction in getting yelled at.”

  61. 61.

    Elizabelle

    January 7, 2021 at 7:54 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck:   That’s not decency.  That is a statement he has been forced to read.

  62. 62.

    planetjanet

    January 7, 2021 at 7:54 pm

    @WaterGirl: The post on CNN about the officer’s death was posted about a half hour before the “concession” video was posted.

  63. 63.

    Cameron

    January 7, 2021 at 7:54 pm

    So they released the full recording of events at the Capitol yesterday: https://youtu.be/o6Tmn28OyIE

  64. 64.

    Calouste

    January 7, 2021 at 7:55 pm

    @mali muso: The Guardian has one. Note that the fucker can’t be bothered to congratulate Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, or even mention their names.

  65. 65.

    JanieM

    January 7, 2021 at 7:55 pm

    @TaMara (HFG): I wonder which scumbag wrote that tripe for the lying malevolence to read off a prompter. I can’t even.

  66. 66.

    Elizabelle

    January 7, 2021 at 7:55 pm

    @WaterGirl:   Good question.

  67. 67.

    Roger Moore

    January 7, 2021 at 7:55 pm

    @Tokyokie: 

    A dead cop means the whole lot of them could be charged as accessories to capital murder during commission of a felony (sedition).

    I would have thought that was already the case because of the MAGA woman who was shot and killed. You can be charged with felony murder when the police kill your accomplice.

  68. 68.

    RSA

    January 7, 2021 at 7:56 pm

    @TaMara (HFG): 
    For 2 minutes and 41 seconds, Donald Trump is an amazing simulacrum of a President. I’ve seen more convincing portrayals of gravitas in community theater.

  69. 69.

    Damien

    January 7, 2021 at 7:56 pm

    Exactly which patriots did that moron think would be watering the tree of liberty?

    Either she knows she’s not a patriot, or she reaaaaaally didn’t know how these things go down.

  70. 70.

    Mike in NC

    January 7, 2021 at 7:56 pm

    A Friday afternoon impeachment party would be just what the doctor ordered (but not Birx). It might even send him so over the edge he’ll check into the bunker with a cyanide capsule.

  71. 71.

    Delk

    January 7, 2021 at 7:57 pm

    Concessions? Get me a large popcorn easy on the ‘butter’.

  72. 72.

    dmsilev

    January 7, 2021 at 7:57 pm

    Notice that there’s a cut between “now Congress has certified the results” and “a new Administration will be inaugurated on January 20th.” Wonder how much “but I really won; it was stolen” had to be clipped out.

  73. 73.

    WaterGirl

    January 7, 2021 at 7:58 pm

    Kelly Loeffler conceded to Raphael Warnock:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kR4Rnsj794&feature=emb_logo

  74. 74.

    trollhattan

    January 7, 2021 at 7:58 pm

    @TaMara (HFG):

    Okay, who the fuck was that guy talking those words?

  75. 75.

    Benw

    January 7, 2021 at 7:59 pm

    @dmsilev: fine with me. The House passing a single straightforward article of impeachment for sedition is a way bigger problem for the Republican senate and party than 25A anyway, IMO

  76. 76.

    mali muso

    January 7, 2021 at 7:59 pm

    @Calouste: Thanks, just read it. Looks like a forced statement written to avoid prosecution for incitement. Full of lies. As per usual.

  77. 77.

    trollhattan

    January 7, 2021 at 7:59 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    Especially if you’re at the wheel(?) of the getaway Rascal.

  78. 78.

    Frankensteinbeck

    January 7, 2021 at 8:00 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    So were all the others.  It is stunning that he would reach a point where he does this.  With that in mind, let’s see if he isn’t back to screaming he’s still president in two days.

  79. 79.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    January 7, 2021 at 8:00 pm

    Ari Melber has a photo of Capitol Hill cop helping a terrorist flush pepper stray from his eyes, during the riot.  (photo)  Heartwarming.

  80. 80.

    dmsilev

    January 7, 2021 at 8:02 pm

    I didn’t think it was possible, but Trump has lost the WSJ Editorial Page.

    WSJ editorial calls for Trump to resign or be impeached. “In our view it crosses a constitutional line that Mr. Trump hasn’t previously crossed. It is impeachable” https://t.co/HgS7iUo1PA
    — Eric Lipton (@EricLiptonNYT) January 8, 2021

  81. 81.

    david

    January 7, 2021 at 8:02 pm

    @TaMara (HFG):  pundits: “He became President of the United States in that moment, period.”

  82. 82.

    Elizabelle

    January 7, 2021 at 8:02 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck:   This is the only Trump speech I have ever watched in full.  I’ve never watched him for more than about 45 seconds in the past.  Mostly because he was saying such ugly things.

    They show him, I mute or close the tab.

  83. 83.

    MattF

    January 7, 2021 at 8:03 pm

    @RSA: Note that there is a break at 1:27. One may wonder what happened there.

  84. 84.

    WaterGirl

    January 7, 2021 at 8:03 pm

    @dmsilev: I thought I saw the screen jump!

  85. 85.

    Elizabelle

    January 7, 2021 at 8:03 pm

    @MattF:   Yeah, I noticed the cut too.  It is not subtle.

  86. 86.

    VOR

    January 7, 2021 at 8:03 pm

    @DMcK:  I’ve told Trumpees that Trump is historically unpopular because he rarely exceeds 40-45% approval and his disapproval numbers have been over 50% for pretty much his entire time in office. They look at me as if I was speaking gibberish. Everyone on Fox News approves of Trump. All their feeds on Facebook think he’s awesome. And Trump tells them he’s extremely popular, he wouldn’t lie about something like that, would he?

  87. 87.

    Alison Rose

    January 7, 2021 at 8:04 pm

    @TaMara (HFG): Someone send that man a case of Metamucil because he is stunningly full of shit. That sounded like a fucking proof of life speech or something. But this was basically him saying PLEASE DON’T IMPEACH ME LOOK I’M BEING NICE NOW

  88. 88.

    JanieM

    January 7, 2021 at 8:05 pm

    @Elizabelle: Me too. I can’t stand to hear his voice. I haven’t typed his name, maybe ever. He’ll always be Clickbait to me. Although that’s far too mild, really.

  89. 89.

    Aziz, light!

    January 7, 2021 at 8:05 pm

    He’s not a president but he plays one on TV. Script just came in from rewrite. Show cancelled so show runners had to drop the season cliffhanger.

  90. 90.

    NotMax

    January 7, 2021 at 8:05 pm

    @MattF

    Emergency diaper change.

  91. 91.

    Leto

    January 7, 2021 at 8:05 pm

    @RSA: his animatronic melted wax figurine in Disney’s Hall of Presidents is a more convincing human.

  92. 92.

    Brachiator

    January 7, 2021 at 8:07 pm

    @planetjanet:

    One Capitol police officer who was assaulted and dragged into the crowd yesterday has died.

    Any police officers who aided or approved of what the domestic terrorists did also have blood on their hands.

  93. 93.

    NotMax

    January 7, 2021 at 8:09 pm

    @RSA

    Right up there with Carrot Top’s Hamlet.

    :)

  94. 94.

    Percysowner

    January 7, 2021 at 8:10 pm

    @TaMara (HFG): Trying to avoid being the only President to be impeached TWICE. Also buying time to blow up the world. Impeach NOW!

  95. 95.

    dmsilev

    January 7, 2021 at 8:10 pm

    @WaterGirl: The camera angle changes a bit and there’s a noticeable gap in the audio. Now, maybe they were switching between cameras and someone was clumsy with the video splicing; God knows “incompetence” is not a disqualifier for this White House, but similarly “benefit of the doubt” is not something they deserve. So yeah, I’m sticking with “cut out two minutes of whining about non-existent vote theft and fraud.”

  96. 96.

    Elizabelle

    January 7, 2021 at 8:10 pm

    @dmsilev:   Reading the editorial and — fuck the WSJ editorial board.

    It’s more an attack on Democrats with a spoonful or two of advice to Trump.  Fuck ’em.

    Was going to pull out some excerpts but why give it oxygen.

  97. 97.

    The Moar You Know

    January 7, 2021 at 8:11 pm

    Isn’t the fear that even attempting to invoke the 25th could send him so far off the edge he attempts to drop a nuke on Mesopotamia?

    @Punchy: My fear is it might well be Chicago or Los Angeles.

  98. 98.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    January 7, 2021 at 8:12 pm

    I watched 5 seconds, literally. Hearing him claim to disapprove of the riot he ordered was enough of a signal that there was nothing worth hearing there.

  99. 99.

    catclub

    January 7, 2021 at 8:13 pm

    @Punchy: Isn’t the fear that even attempting to invoke the 25th could send him so far off the edge he attempts to drop a nuke on Mesopotamia?

     

    Is that the land between the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers?

  100. 100.

    Roger Moore

    January 7, 2021 at 8:13 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    It’s not exactly subtle; they changed to a different camera!  We’re used to seeing jumps between cameras to get a different view on something, so it’s a good way of hiding that you’re cutting between takes or editing something out. I don’t know which of those is happening here.  It’s quite possible that he flubbed part of the speech and they had to do two or more takes to get it right.  I think that’s at least as likely as him breaking into a rant they edited out.

  101. 101.

    Roger Moore

    January 7, 2021 at 8:15 pm

    @Leto:

    Trump is a pile of insecurities and character flaws masquerading as a human being.

  102. 102.

    moonbat

    January 7, 2021 at 8:17 pm

    We are all Ingrid Bergman now, trying to parse this madman’s nuances in search of pitfalls and Catch 22s. I don’t care what he says, he needs to go to jail. And so do everyone of those insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol yesterday.

  103. 103.

    Danielx

    January 7, 2021 at 8:17 pm

    Note: spousal unit and I tested negative for Covid, daughter unit tested positive and o is she pissed. Throwing things earlier, but it was pointed out that her cat buds are freaked already because everybody is wearing masks. That calmed her down.

  104. 104.

    planetjanet

    January 7, 2021 at 8:18 pm

    @Danielx: Good news for you and spousal unit.  Hope it remains that way.

  105. 105.

    lamh36

    January 7, 2021 at 8:20 pm

    They so stupid. All of DC and the Capitol is on 24/7 circuit security cameras! And big chunk of the idiots are anti-maskers. So all of’em o camera, bare faced just waiting for law enforcement, facial recognition software and regular old social media detectives to ID and find them

  106. 106.

    KenK

    January 7, 2021 at 8:20 pm

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: @#2; yep, 243 pounds my ass!

  107. 107.

    unique uid

    January 7, 2021 at 8:20 pm

     

    @planetjanet:

    One Capitol police officer who was assaulted and dragged into the crowd yesterday has died.  The tragedy continues to unfold.

    Does this mean all the traitors can be charged with murder?  I thought there was some legal idea that all participants could be charged at the highest level (like a bank robbery get-away driver is responsible for what happens inside the bank)

    Anyone know what the penalty for trespassing (sounds like that might be the low end) there might end up being?

  108. 108.

    WaterGirl

    January 7, 2021 at 8:21 pm

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: I wonder how all his followers are going to feel about this speech.  I suspect they will say that he’s only saying those things because they are making him do it, and that he doesn’t really mean any of it.

    Something we can finally agree on?

  109. 109.

    mesmer a la carte

    January 7, 2021 at 8:22 pm

    @Roger Moore: It’s pretty standard procedure to film interviews with two cameras to allow for editing, usually it’s a wide shot and closeup.  What strikes me as odd about this one is his tone.  He can barely contain his anger at having to say the words that were clearly written for him.  Listen to how he raises his voice at several key moments in a speech ostensibly about healing.  My take, which many have echoed is that this is an effort at ‘plausible deniability’ in the face of serious legal exposure.

  110. 110.

    Martin

    January 7, 2021 at 8:22 pm

    4 years ago I said Trump would have to be carried out of the WH.

    The reason I predicted that is that narcissists do some things that healthy people don’t. I have some beliefs about my character, that may or may not be accurate. But either way, I accept that’s how I am, and I can work on changing them, but I’m always gauging that from my self-assessment. Narcissists don’t do that. They can’t accept those beliefs about their character. They believe them deeply, but they can’t accept that’s who they are, so they build this alternate persona that they’re constantly projecting outward. That alternate projection is designed to seek external feedback that contradicts the internally held belief. It’s a really kind of weird feedback loop because every time the external feedback reinforces that deeply held belief, they need to compensate by increasing the magnitude of the external projection. They’re unable to sufficiently attenuate the external feedback, block out the haters, build on the praise, because deep down they truly believe the haters, and their way of coping is to erect ever stronger edifices to fight it. It’s not a choice to do this by the way – it’s necessary to not self-destruct. It’s an existential thing.

    Trumps deeply held belief is that he’s a loser. And he can’t cope with it. If he can get the people around him to sort of trick him into believing he’s really winning when he’s losing, he can manage, but  there is no ‘come to terms with’ moment for him and an election. Maybe if he lost in 2016 he’d look at how much money he raised and could now earn and claim that was his plan all along, but the Presidency doesn’t springboard you to a better gig. If you lose, you lose, and there’s no spinning that.

    So, the stuff he says he truly believes. He has to believe. He can’t face his true self, which is a loser. He may not have believed todays projected lie yesterday, but today he does, and tomorrow he’ll believe a lie even more fabulous, just to cope. The end-game for an untreated narcissist is really fucking ugly. They turn on everyone who isn’t projecting back to them what they need to cope as traitors. They lash out violently. They take their own lives. You can treat them, but 60 years is a long fucking time for it to go untreated, and now that everyone is trying to stay out of prison, nobody is there to project back what he needs. Ivanka and Hicks have always been the ones who best understand this, but he’s way past that stage now.

    Don’t buy into his ability to project on camera for 2 minutes. He’s a ticking bomb and it’s way, way, way too late to defuse him. He needs to be contained so he doesn’t harm any more people than necessary.

  111. 111.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    January 7, 2021 at 8:22 pm

    “We’re storming the Capitol, it’s a revolution, and boo-hoo, I got maced!”

    TRULY the daring, powerful spirit embodied by our founders fighting off the British!

  112. 112.

    NotMax

    January 7, 2021 at 8:23 pm

    @moonbat

    All we need do is presume he’s lying.

    “Why is this night different than all other nights?”

    “It isn’t.”

  113. 113.

    Doc Sardonic

    January 7, 2021 at 8:23 pm

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: Private Joker why are you not beating the shit out of Private Pyle?

  114. 114.

    KenK

    January 7, 2021 at 8:23 pm

    @RSA: @#5: well, she didn’t get shot, so there’s that.

  115. 115.

    planetjanet

    January 7, 2021 at 8:24 pm

    @unique uid: It certainly means that the Capitol police will be motivated to actually investigate and prosecute, as widely as possible.  Otherwise, they would probably treat the whole episode as a prank.

  116. 116.

    WaterGirl

    January 7, 2021 at 8:24 pm

    @Danielx: Yay and yay for you and your wife.  Do you have to be tested again in a few days?

    Oh, no!  for your daughter testing positive.  If she’s pissed, she must be older than I thought she is.

    Have you guys been wearing masks since you heard about the SIL?

  117. 117.

    Misterpuff

    January 7, 2021 at 8:24 pm

    @TaMara (HFG): Hostage Tape Drumpf is the best, no only listenable Drumpf.

  118. 118.

    Citizen_X

    January 7, 2021 at 8:26 pm

    @TaMara (HFG):  Too little, too late, fucker!

  119. 119.

    moonbat

    January 7, 2021 at 8:27 pm

    @NotMax: Agreed. Because he is.

  120. 120.

    The Moar You Know

    January 7, 2021 at 8:28 pm

    Awesome hostage video Trump put out there.

    I was willing to let him march off into the sunset before yesterday.  I’ve changed my mind.  I want him arrested, prosecuted to the absolute maximum possible, and if found guilty (he will be) sent to the Supermax in Colorado.

  121. 121.

    RSA

    January 7, 2021 at 8:28 pm

    @moonbat:

    I don’t care what he says, he needs to go to jail. And so do everyone of those insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol yesterday.

    I’m thinking that a lot of those folks have a sinking feeling in their stomachs this evening.

    “Insurrection, rioting, and assault are serious crimes, you know.”

    “But the President said to do it!”

    “And now he’s saying, ‘Fuck you, criminal.'”

  122. 122.

    NotMax

    January 7, 2021 at 8:28 pm

    @Misterpuff

    Now, if it had been him facing a mirror and shouting “You’re fired!”…

    Whole thing could have been finished and in the can in 20 seconds.

    //

  123. 123.

    cain

    January 7, 2021 at 8:31 pm

    @planetjanet:

    Curious – was the officer black?

  124. 124.

    Ruckus

    January 7, 2021 at 8:31 pm

    @Alison Rose: 
    Isn’t that pretty much the way an abuser talks when they get caught, say on video, and they get in court? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it, it was, I had a cold – and it is bullshit.
    I won’t listen to him lie about what he meant, or anything else. He’s caused so much damage to this country and to the world over the last 4 yrs, mainly because his ego is bigger than he is and his intellect is smaller than a gnat’s.

  125. 125.

    WaterGirl

    January 7, 2021 at 8:31 pm

    @planetjanet: From the way Biden talked this afternoon, the Capital Police may do some investigating, but I think it has gone way past that now and there’s gonna be a whole lot of investigating that is way over their heads.

  126. 126.

    moonbat

    January 7, 2021 at 8:32 pm

    @RSA: Not to mention murder, which is now also on the list of charges. To think one of the few Captitol Police who were actually doing their job was killed in this stupid coup attempt enrages me no end. We need some law and order in this country alright and we need it on white folks. Stat!

  127. 127.

    NotMax

    January 7, 2021 at 8:33 pm

    @Ruckus

    “The dog ate my homework soul.”

    //

  128. 128.

    WaterGirl

    January 7, 2021 at 8:34 pm

    @cain: Fuck.  I googled to see if I could find a photo to answer your question, but what I found was much worse.

    A source confirmed to NewsNation D.C. Bureau reporter Alexandra Limon the officer was taken off life support and died after they were hit in the head with a fire extinguisher by a rioter.

    More than 50 Capitol and D.C. police were injured, including several who were hospitalized, U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund said in a statement before the death was reported.

    Sund will resign next week, after calls from top Congressional leaders over his agency’s response.

    Chief Sund, in his first public comment on the mayhem from Wednesday, said in a statement that rioters “actively attacked” Capitol police and other law enforcement officers with metal pipes, discharged chemical irritants and “took up other weapons against our officers.”

    Details on the officer were not released.

    Someone fucking hit him in the head with a fire extinguisher, and they said it caused a stroke.

    edit: why the hell is this guy still in place?  He should have either resigned immediately or been fired

    edit 2:  they are using the pronoun “they”, so it’s not even clear whether the officer was male or female.

  129. 129.

    Ruckus

    January 7, 2021 at 8:34 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    character flaws?

    His entire life has been a failure of biology. Not just his character flaws.

  130. 130.

    planetjanet

    January 7, 2021 at 8:34 pm

    @cain:

    No details yet.

  131. 131.

    Ken

    January 7, 2021 at 8:36 pm

    @WaterGirl: Did this come out before or after the announcement that the capital police office had died?

    Does it matter, as far as the law that a death during commission of a felony is first-degree murder, and all persons involved in the commission of the felony are equally culpable? And aren’t there additional penalties when a member of law enforcement is killed?

    (I was reminded of that law tonight by the episode “Night Fever” of the old Alfred Hitchcock Hour, so it’s not something new invented just to hurt Trump.)

  132. 132.

    Citizen_X

    January 7, 2021 at 8:37 pm

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: Immediately after that, he claims that ordered the National Guard to secure the Capitol—which we already know is a lie!

     

    He tells his supporters “our journey is only beginning.” Yeah, whatever. It ends at the Federal penitentiary!

  133. 133.

    RSA

    January 7, 2021 at 8:37 pm

    @moonbat:

    Not to mention murder, which is now also on the list of charges.

    Yes. Too many people, mostly conservatives I think, are downplaying the violence.

  134. 134.

    WaterGirl

    January 7, 2021 at 8:39 pm

    @Ken: No, from that perspective it doesn’t matter. If he’s liable, he’s liable.

    But I was curious about whether it was the police officer dying that made someone say “holy shit, you had better get out there and say this was all just a big misunderstanding” – in an attempt not to be held liable for the death.

  135. 135.

    Ken

    January 7, 2021 at 8:41 pm

    @Citizen_X: He tells his supporters “our journey is only beginning.”

    Subtext: “So keep sending money.”

  136. 136.

    Ken

    January 7, 2021 at 8:44 pm

    @NotMax: Now, if it had been him facing a mirror and shouting “You’re fired!”… Whole thing could have been finished and in the can in 20 seconds.

    Not from what I’ve heard about the production of “The Apprentice.”  Several sources say that he had trouble getting even that much right.

  137. 137.

    planetjanet

    January 7, 2021 at 8:45 pm

    @WaterGirl: I am sure it was.  That hostage video script was probably written yesterday.

  138. 138.

    Elizabelle

    January 7, 2021 at 8:48 pm

    OK, so the WSJ editorial encouraging Trump to resign was the suck.  It was really, really bad.

    But — and this amazed me — I checked out the reader comments, expecting to see a lot of butthurt and — just the opposite.  Ranked by “most liked”, they’re not far from what jackals would say.  They’re all from subscribers.  There are virtually no pro-Trump or even pro-GOP top responses.  I kid you not.

    Most liked comment:

    Congrats to the WSJ opinion board for providing 5 years of intellectual cover for this sycophant and helping radicalize half of the population to his outrageous lies. It’s been a numbing experience reading WSJ ed’s pages egregious falsehoods, then turning the page to the news section refuting those very falsehoods. The world and US is in a remarkably worse position than it was, directly attributable to him, aided by this exact opinion page. Absolute shame.

    second:

    Oh, this is funny, WSJ editorial board. You helped make this monster.

    third:

    I will give credit to the EB for at last coming partially to grips with the situation, but still find this editorial maddening to read. Firstly, it muddies how we have gotten to this point – yes, Trump’s character flaws WERE apparent, which is why so many of us have been loudly yelling of the dangers in elevating him. And it whitewashes the actions of the “Conservative Establishment” like the EB. You gave him a mantle of respectability, rejected all those who pointed to his obvious unfitness for office as deranged liberals and celebrated him as long as he handed you judges and bromides to free-market capitalism.

    And you continue to fundamentally misread his character. He will almost certainly not do as you suggest, nor should we accept any such deal that includes a pardon for his actions. If the 25th isn’t invoked, impeachment must proceed. It will bar him from holding office again, and show the world that such actions have no place in our republic.

  139. 139.

    Martin

    January 7, 2021 at 8:49 pm

    @unique uid: Looking increasingly likely that insurrection will be the charge. 10 years federal (a 10 year federal sentence is 10 actual years), and can never serve public office. As it’s a felony they can add on pretty much anything else they need to including accessory to murder charges.

    The insurrection statute is very broad:

    Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto

    That can also be charged against Trump, Cruz, Hawley, members of the House, some TV hosts, folks that assisted in the planning online. Merrick Garland better be up to this.

  140. 140.

    Geoduck

    January 7, 2021 at 8:52 pm

    @JanieM:  I’ve setted on “Shiatgibbon” myself, since it sums him so well.

  141. 141.

    mrmoshpotato

    January 7, 2021 at 8:52 pm

    I hope there’s clear video of that traitorous, fascist bitch committing crime(s), and I hope she’s thrown in the slammer.  Fuck all this trash.

    “WWWWAAAHHHH!!!!!  I committed a federal crime, but I’M the victim!”

  142. 142.

    MisterForkbeard

    January 7, 2021 at 8:52 pm

    @Martin: Can you tell me why it’s looking likely this will be the charge? Is it just a best bit in your (or other) legal opinions, or has there been some indication this is where it’s going?

  143. 143.

    Jinchi

    January 7, 2021 at 8:52 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: How good of Elizabeth to testify as to her intent when she entered the capitol. Also gave her name and city. That makes the court case easier.

    The guy who raided Pelosi’s office gave his name and address in an interview with the NYT. These people all assume that they are untouchable.

  144. 144.

    Jeffro

    January 7, 2021 at 8:53 pm

    @Alison Rose:PLEASE DON’T IMPEACH ME LOOK I’M BEING NICE NOW

    Yup.

    PLEASE DON’T ROCKET-DOCKET IMPEACH ME BEFORE I CAN PARDON MYSELF AND MY KIDS IVANKA

  145. 145.

    Martin

    January 7, 2021 at 8:54 pm

    @Ken: In some states we execute people for being accomplices to the death of a police officer. I mean, they’re black, but still that’s how seriously some state laws are written.

  146. 146.

    WaterGirl

    January 7, 2021 at 8:55 pm

    @Martin:

    Merrick Garland better be up to this.

    So say we all.  I’m thinking rotating tag.

  147. 147.

    mrmoshpotato

    January 7, 2021 at 8:55 pm

    @TaMara (HFG): Why do you hate your ears? :)

  148. 148.

    cain

    January 7, 2021 at 8:58 pm

    @Martin:

    Totally here for that. Seeing Cruz and Hawley get shanked is exactly the kind of message you need to send to politicians.

    See various Fox News analysts get arrested is also going to be needed. Fox News needs to be curbed.

    I wonder if some of that can also not be applied to Facebook?

  149. 149.

    Wapiti

    January 7, 2021 at 8:59 pm

    @dmsilev: Well, now that that officer died, he can be charged with inciting a riot that resulted in a death.

    If he pardons himself, I hope that’s one of the things they charge him with to test the pardon; it’s fresh in everyone’s mind and not trivial.

  150. 150.

    cain

    January 7, 2021 at 8:59 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    Ugh, that is so bad.  Any cop that helped those assholes have blood on their hands. They should also have federal charges for aiding and abetting.

  151. 151.

    Quinerly

    January 7, 2021 at 9:01 pm

    Lin Wood is on Parler.

    He has confirmed on Parler that President Trump is in a military base in Abilen,  Texas and he’s there to coordinate a massive military response against the ongoing coup. He and Secretary of Defense are waiting for Pence to finish the crime.

  152. 152.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    January 7, 2021 at 9:01 pm

    @Elizabelle: Agreed. I saw an expression used once that fits perfectly: “an apology, delivered by a child, with mom and her well-used wooden spoon standing by”

    (Shortly afterward, I learned that a wooden spoon is a not-uncommon implement for spanking, which made the whole quote *far* less confusing.)

  153. 153.

    mrmoshpotato

    January 7, 2021 at 9:01 pm

    @Jeffro: HEY VAN JONES!  IS THE SOVIET SHITPILE MOBSTER CONMAN “PRESIDENTIAL” YET?!

  154. 154.

    Jinchi

    January 7, 2021 at 9:02 pm

    @dmsilev: According to the FTNYT, Pence has said no to Option 25. So, impeachment it is I guess.

    To all the reporters asking: Should we invoke Article 25? Should we impeach?

    The answer to both is yes. Pence should assemble with the cabinet to discuss removing Trump from the levers of power, the cabinet should agree to vote him out. Pelosi should put forward a vote on impeachment, McConnell should schedule a vote for conviction. It doesn’t matter that the cabinet might be so sycophantic that they’d say no. It doesn’t matter that Trump might object and take it to court. It doesn’t matter that McConnell might kick the can down the road past January 20th. It doesn’t matter that there might not be a 2/3rds vote to remove him. And it doesn’t matter that he’ll be out in 14 days, anyway.

    Every actor with power to remove him should do their part to see that he is gone. At the very least it will show the country who is serious about defending it from autocrats.

  155. 155.

    raven

    January 7, 2021 at 9:02 pm

    U.S. Capitol Police say the report that one of its officers had died after being assaulted by violent protesters loyal to President Trump is not accurate. NPR incorrectly reported the death based on information from a well-placed source.

    “Although some officers were injured and hospitalized yesterday, no USCP officers have passed away,” Capitol Police said in a statement. “We ask that our officers’ and their families’ privacy be respected at this time. Should a statement become necessary, the Department will issue one at the appropriate time.

     

    https://www.npr.org/sections/congress-electoral-college-tally-live-updates/2021/01/07/954333542/four-dead-police-injured-dozens-arrested-after-siege-at-the-u-s-capitol

  156. 156.

    Tokyokie

    January 7, 2021 at 9:11 pm

    I oppose the death penalty. A close relative was murdered in a carjacking 20 years ago, and I didn’t see the point of killing the perps as it wouldn’t bring back my Aunt Mary. But I want every last one of these pukes to be threatened with the death penalty so that they understand the gravity of their crimes.

  157. 157.

    Anya

    January 7, 2021 at 9:14 pm

    @TaMara (HFG): Fucking treasonous coward. Did they hold a gun to his head to utter those pathetic words?

  158. 158.

    lgerard

    January 7, 2021 at 9:15 pm

    LOL

     

    Betsy DeVos!

  159. 159.

    Tokyokie

    January 7, 2021 at 9:17 pm

    @Quinerly: The military base near Abilene, TX, is Dyess AFB, which is home to a bomber wing. Not really the location from which to launch a coup, as it lacks the combat personnel of an Army or Marine base and the transport capability of an air-mobility base. I’d say Wood, as usual, is full of shit.

  160. 160.

    geg6

    January 7, 2021 at 9:19 pm

    @Kelly:

    So proud of my congressman today.  He was magnificent.  I know he’s pretty much the Joe Manchin of the House, but that sells here and he is a true patriot.

  161. 161.

    The Moar You Know

    January 7, 2021 at 9:21 pm

     

    Lin Wood is on Parler.

    He has confirmed on Parler that President Trump is in a military base in Abilen,  Texas and he’s there to coordinate a massive military response against the ongoing coup. He and Secretary of Defense are waiting for Pence to finish the crime.

    @Quinerly: I’d been told if you smoke datura you get high as fuck and never come back to normal.  Guess this is proof.

  162. 162.

    NotMax

    January 7, 2021 at 9:23 pm

    @Tokyokie

    Ssh. It’s souper sekrit Fort Kraken.

  163. 163.

    Elizabelle

    January 7, 2021 at 9:24 pm

    @LongHairedWeirdo:   And rulers in the hands of nuns.

  164. 164.

    WaterGirl

    January 7, 2021 at 9:28 pm

    @geg6: He did good!

  165. 165.

    Ruckus

    January 7, 2021 at 9:30 pm

    @Quinerly:

    So we know that none of this is true.

  166. 166.

    FelonyGovt

    January 7, 2021 at 9:31 pm

    His supporters haz a sad.

    https://twitter.com/therealhoarse/status/1347355078747893760?s=21

  167. 167.

    Martin

    January 7, 2021 at 9:32 pm

    @MisterForkbeard: This isn’t dying down. It’s escalating. There are more and more reports regarding how much planning was involved in this.

    This doesn’t have a ‘we need to move on’ tone to it. Remember how Obama would always tell us that we needed to make him make the change we wanted? He was telling us he needed political support, his response was attenuated to our anger or outrage, etc. That’s how government often works and we’re getting clearer signs that there was more coordination here, that this wasn’t a crowd out of control but a planned insurrection effort.

    Understand too that the media play a role here as well as they serve to either magnify that message or to tone it down. Swalwell wants investigations on members of congress or their staff because of how efficiently the insurrectionists were able to find key offices of people that even people who work in the building struggle to find. Adam believes that normally locked doors may have been unlocked by people in the building. Some DC police are reporting that some insurrectionists flashed badges on the way in.

    There’s problems which are failures of execution – we had a good plan to prevent this thing, but it didn’t work. And there are problems which are failures of the system. This is looking more and more like a failure of the system. Why did the FBI refuse to support more security. It wasn’t that they weren’t asked – they were, and they refused. This was planned in the open – the FBI can’t claim that they couldn’t get intel on this. That’s their job, and it wasn’t done. I’m guessing we’ll soon learn that analysts were calling for more security but Wray or someone right under him denied it, not wanting to anger the president. And we can’t claim it was a one-off when other state government locations were also stormed. That’s a coordinated effort.

    We tend to downplay failures of execution because it means the system was working, just not as well as needed. Its not like we need to pass major legislation or do restructuring of the government. Work needs to be done but it’s done within the existing framework. Media is pretty good at recognizing this and sort of talking everyone down.

    Failures of the system are much more serious. They require rethinking the existing framework. Media do the opposite – they amplify here because they recognize that the political will needs to be built for this much larger lift. We’re seeing that happening now. WSJ calling for resignation, calls for 25th amendment, even when it seems we might need to just ride out 13 more days. Resignation of cabinet members.

    Lack of remorse from participants indicates that the lesson hasn’t been learned, and a much more substantial action needs to be taken. The GOP scapegoating others suggests that we can’t move on. If they acknowledged their role, you could maybe get by with federal trespassing and a censure of Hawley and Cruz. But they don’t. Clearly we need a MUCH  bigger hammer here, and a charge of insurrection is a very big hammer, and a very broad one. It lets the feds go after entire militia groups. It lets the feds go after lawmakers and Fox hosts that stoked this.

    The other reason is that the tone of lawmakers and the media tells us something about what they know, but can’t say, either because it’s secret, or unverified. And their tone indicates that there are more alarming revelations coming.

  168. 168.

    Anya

    January 7, 2021 at 9:37 pm

    @WaterGirl: She sounds like an SNL character not a real person. I can’t believe this weirdo didn’t lose by a landslide.

  169. 169.

    geg6

    January 7, 2021 at 9:43 pm

    FYI, one of the assholes in the mob was the guy Lamb ran against in the special election that got him his seat.  He was forced to resign as an adjunct at my niece’s college:

    https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/live/cbsn-pittsburgh/video/8449872-20210108023935-former-pennsylvania-state-representative-rick-saccone-has-stepped-down-from-an-adjunct-professor-position-at-saint-vincent-college-afte/

    A state Senator is also being pressured to resign.

  170. 170.

    WaterGirl

    January 7, 2021 at 9:55 pm

    @Anya: I know, it’s awful.  She’s awful.  Did you see the comment that she can probably return all her flannel shirts because it’s still within the 30-day return period?  :-)

  171. 171.

    WaterGirl

    January 7, 2021 at 9:56 pm

    @geg6: Good news on both counts.

  172. 172.

    WaterGirl

    January 7, 2021 at 10:00 pm

    @Martin:  I really appreciate your 30,000 foot view on this, as always.

    We are lucky to have you – everyone should read this comment.

  173. 173.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 7, 2021 at 10:15 pm

    @geg6:

    FYI, one of the assholes in the mob was the guy Lamb ran against in the special election that got him his seat.

    Wow. Conor Lamb is a majority-maker and more.

  174. 174.

    Steeplejack

    January 7, 2021 at 10:16 pm

    @NotMax:

    I was just comparing recipes for that the other day. A good winter meal.

  175. 175.

    Lyrebird

    January 7, 2021 at 10:17 pm

    @mali muso: just curious, are you one of the lawyers around here?  I am definitely not…  I have heard that incitement is hard to prove, but whatever those laws are that define it, I HOPE they have a “no backsies” clause.

    I also hope that The Speaker scheduling a caucus call means that she is pretty sure she’s got the votes to impeach.

  176. 176.

    bcw

    January 7, 2021 at 10:20 pm

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0308dd819ef4c618920f7b893146c7cc82d4970c91df62db01e27a97f857f3bf.jpg

  177. 177.

    matryoshka

    January 7, 2021 at 10:27 pm

    @Martin: I comment here about once every 2-3 years (have been a reader for 15 years), and I want to use my 2021 allotment to thank you for this comment. Very insightful.

  178. 178.

    Timill

    January 7, 2021 at 10:44 pm

    @Nicole: Maryville TN, a Knoxville suburb, according to local news here (I’m in Oak Ridge TN)

  179. 179.

    WaterGirl

    January 7, 2021 at 10:53 pm

    @matryoshka: We have a special deal for you in 2021, all comments are free!  :-)

  180. 180.

    Anya

    January 7, 2021 at 10:59 pm

    @WaterGirl: lol I enjoy all the dragging she gets. I hope we get lucky next time and they choose another soulless candidate devoid of charisma.

  181. 181.

    matryoshka

    January 7, 2021 at 11:02 pm

    @WaterGirl: Well, that made me laugh! Thanks for that, and all else you do here.

  182. 182.

    StringOnAStick

    January 7, 2021 at 11:30 pm

    @Martin: Thank you for this.  I’ve not been able to keep up on this fast changing situation, but everything you’ve written here looks more than plausible.  Interesting times indeed.

  183. 183.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    January 7, 2021 at 11:50 pm

    @Elizabelle: Yes, but I went to Catholic school, I already *knew* that one. Sister Gerald Marie made sure everyone knew she had her metal ruler, and she once said she’d bent it smacking someone, so she was looking for an opportunity to bend it back the other way. Strangely, she had no volunteers, though she didn’t lack opportunities to try, in a grade school.

  184. 184.

    WaterGirl

    January 8, 2021 at 12:17 am

    @matryoshka: You are most welcome!

    Lurk less, comment more. :-)

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