The Sour Grapes of Wrath
By D-Jay
To no-one’s surprise, the Trumpian madness continues – and seems to get madder by the day. Bad King Donald the Gross, Court Jester Giuliani, assorted Senatorial Squires and a set of expendable pawns from the provinces all seem determined to draw out the country’s suffering as long as they possibly can before our deliverance on January 20th.
Our hopeful deliverance, that is.
Petty-minded to the end, Trump is on a quest for vengeance, while his minions search for a miraculous holy grail of election interference that will somehow allow him to remain in office – and perhaps more importantly to the Don – avoid having to face up to the fact that the American people have unequivocally chosen a new title for him, “Loser!”
Let’s hope that in the course of this insane endeavour, they have not stumbled onto the real Achilles’ heel of American democracy.
Not the packing of the Supreme Court. Not the decapitation of our military leadership. Not an endless series of losing lawsuits. Not Rudy Giuliani leading press conferences so strange that SNL parodies become impossible. Not even Moscow Mitch McConnell retaining his power as Majority Leader of the Senate.
Could the fate of Democracy in the United State depend not on any of these, but instead on a handful of minor, low-level functionaries simply refusing to carry out their legally required duties?
I am referring, of course, to Republican members of county and state canvassing boards in key states refusing to certify the results of the vote in their areas - incontrovertible as they may be.
Also in the same vein is the refusal of Trump toady GSA head, Emily W. Murphy, to “ascertain” the “apparent winner” of the Presidential election, the key action that allows the transition process to proceed. For the record, it is an action she is supposed to do with or without presidential authorization.
WTF? Is it actually a thing that, by the simple non-act of not signing papers they are supposed to sign, this set of Bozos could derail the process of the electors chosen by their state’s voters being duly empowered to cast their votes in Washington?
Are Trump and company now seriously planning the ultimate Hail Mary pass of electoral politics - getting the Republican controlled, heavily gerrymandered state legislatures of Michigan and Pennsylvania to send their own set of pro-Trump electors, claiming that they are allowed to do so since the election was “not certified?”
Talk about killing you parents, then throwing yourself on the mercy of the court because you’re an orphan!
If an attempt of this sort is actually made, grab your pitchforks (along with face masks and plastic shields, weatherproof clothes, gloves, snacks, umbrellas and other equipment suitable for a massive protest in the midst of a pandemic) and get ready to spend some serious time in the streets, my friends. This CANNOT stand!
And if any Republicans are reading this…Really? You are actually okay with this? Hasn’t the time finally come when you will choose your country – and democracy itself – over protecting the fragile little ego of Donald Trump?
As Carl Bernstein has been saying, this is not just political disruption, the correct word for it is a “coup d’etat.”
Just when we thought King Donald couldn’t sink any lower, or disgust us anymore, here we are. Most commentators seem to think that this ultimate exercise in Trumpism will fail – but is likely to cause serious damage to our democratic system in the long run.
Let’s hope they’re right about the former, but wrong about the latter.
Sharpen up your pitchforks, folks!
8 comments:
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Gents - I understand your point regarding the carefully worded protestations of Giuliani. While he says a lot the legal documents don’t seem to mirror the words. He’s just looking to stir the pot and make as many people as possible consider Joe to be an illegitimate leader. At the same time, that’s exactly what the outgoing Dems (and their sponsors) did to Trump. No, I don’t like Trump. He is the biggest jackass to ever hold office. However, by perpetrating the Steele dossier, marginal FISA warrants, the Mueller investigation, pointless Impeachment, etc..., the Dems essentially did the same to Trump in an attempt to hobble his ability to do anything. We live in a time where ends justify the means pretty much everywhere. The Dems normalized this sort of thing, and now they are going to have to experience the other side of it.
Prediction - Have you been wondering where all the other rumored “Hunter’s laptop” evidence has been been the last few weeks? Have you forgotten about that? My read is that Trump and Giuliani have been sitting on it. They know that releasing it now would be fun, but that it really would not alter the outcome of their legal games in MI, AZ, NV, GA, WI, and PA. So, they are going to use the contents of that laptop to play holy hell with Joe’s presidency once Trump is out of office. Trump would like nothing better than to make the Dems feel his wrath by turning the tables. Please don’t think Hunter is clean, he is a complete mess and the contents of that laptop are going to be construed to also reflect on Joe’s character. AND, if their is the slightest bit of evidence to be spun that Joe benefited from the sweet desks that Hunter miraculously received, you’ll see our Republican controlled Senate fry him over it, spinning it all in the darkest ways.
Anon, I don't know what you're trying to sell, but...no sale. The impeachment was warranted a thousand times over. To paraphrase Noel Coward, some presidents should be struck with impeachment daily, like gongs. Ukrainegate was proven beyond all rational doubt. The testimony was damning. Trump fought back using his usual tactic: Repeating a lie ad infinitum until the lie becomes "truth" in the heads of many Americans.
The FISA warrants were more than warranted, and anyone who says otherwise must actually sit through those Falun Gong ads on YouTube.
Mueller caught Trump dead to rights on obstruction, and obstruction proves that Russiagate was real. You don't obstruct the investigation of a nonexistent crime. Mueller's problem was that he didn't hit hard enough or go far enough. For chrissakes, he didn't look at Trump's financials, and he didn't ask the NSA for intercepts. Maybe if a Democrat had run the investigation it wouldn't have been such weak tea. Who created this rule that only Republicans can investigate Democratic presidents while only Republicans can investigate Republican presidents?
The Hunter Biden story? Cah-MON. I wrote about it at length, and so did a thousand other people. THERE'S NOTHING THERE. If the laptop existed, if the porn existed, we would have seen the evidence before the election. The Ukraine stuff was always nonsense.
And really, that's it. End of story.
I know it's possible for a creative conspiracy theorist to cobble together a bullshit rationalization to explain why the evidence is till being kept hidden but will be revealed at just the right moment in the future. You know how I know this? I know this because I myself AM (or was) a creative conspiracy theorist, more creative than most, but also more self-aware than most. (I'm also capable of self doubt and regret, which most others are not.)
The bottom line is that, yes, I am sure that right now you are just dying to hit me with your theory as to why "THEY" did not reveal the evidence before the election, and why THEY are "hiding" the supposedly damning evidence on Hunter's laptop. I know you have a rationalization. I won't print it, but I know you have one.
Here's the thing: Any such rationalization is casuistry. There is no porn. There is no evidence. There is no laptop. Hunter Biden, denizen of Los Angeles, did not fly to Delaware to deposit three laptops containing incriminating info with a blind computer repair guy who just happens to be pals with Larry Fucking Johnson, the former spook who unleashed birtherism and who is probably the most disgusting and deceptive asshole I've encountered in all the years I've been writing this blog.
That's like saying I am going to let you have this piece of pie and let you eat it while I make obnoxious noises even though I could easily take it for myself and keep you from ever having another piece of pie. So, you are saying that Trump would do such a thing out of goodness of his heart, a sense of fairplay or for delayed satisfaction? How about for valuing an added twist to a defunct conspiracy than possibly keeping his ass out of jail?
No, as Joseph said, no SALE.
@Joseph @margie
I think you’re too kind to the troll, anon9:44. I do think it’s worth posting that drivel but sheesh.
@D-Jay
Hard to know if Trump believes anything at all. For all he blabs and tweets, it is all, every bit of it, cheap fear
mongering. From the look of things, he’s not getting the support he needs from district- level officials and judges willing to void out the election for him.
A great deal of uncertainty.
I wonder who his backers will back next.
Joe – (Anon 9:44 here) Not really looking to sell anything. More looking to share some ideas and see if we can collectively sift through the tea leaves together (from various viewpoints) to find out what is really currently happening, as well as what we will see happen after Joe takes office. I’ve read your blog for maybe ten years, but only been participating the past 6 months. I enjoy the analysis you bring, regardless of whether I agree with all of it. The eclectic, in particular the music/art/OTO/magick/life posts are missed.
Regarding the laptop I think I failed to communicate – I am not saying the info on the laptop is legit. I am not saying it was obtained legitimately. I am not necessarily saying that the contents even have to be real. Whatever it is though, most certainly its some sort of intel op that took a lot of effort to plan and implement. Such things don’t come and go quickly. All I am saying is that we will see it used against Joe in 2021. Hunter has not lived a life anything like Joe’s. Hunter is an ideal target. Facts include Hunter being kicked out of the Navy (after getting a sweetheart admissions wavier through his Dad) for cocaine abuse, having sexual relations with the former wife of his dead brother, cavorting with strippers, fathering children with strippers, and then trying hard to dodge his financial responsibilities as a father. Also, Conjecture includes his awfully profitable jobs from foreign companies that overpaid Hunter for essentially doing nothing, What I am saying is that Hunter’s background doesn’t play at all well in middle America. That laptop info will be leaked out in dribs and drabs to continually degrade Joe’s reputation and also sponsor various investigations related to Hunter and possible connections to Joe’s finances (Yes, I know its bullshit, this is politics though!). Could I be wrong, for sure. If I am, I’ll send in a mea culpa at the end of 2021.
The impeachment however didn’t do anything positive for the Democratic party. Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff mostly embarrassed themselves and most likely increased votes for Trump. That fairly large group of folks in the middle of the electorate just saw it as Washington wasting money and time over things that are inconsequential to real people (However, people are interested in things like education, paying for their kids schooling, healthcare, fairness, etc... That ought to be what the Dems focus on if they ever want to succeed). I think this is borne out by all the House seats the Republicans picked up. The impeachment was dumb.
On the Russia thing, I feel very confident that If Robert Mueller had found a shred of evidence you would know about it. Yes, he threw a few stones that Trump likely deserved. All sorts of folks have tried to find real evidence of Russian connections and it hasn’t shown up. If its their where is it? Was Mueller possibly actually an agent of Trump's? It's mostly proven that much of what gave rise to the Steele dossier was based on various political interests seeking to discredit Trump, which was largely effective, although also likely fiction. Once again, I don’t share any of these thoughts to be a jerk or poke anyone in the eye and I do enjoy hearing another point of view. Don't stop being you.
You know how Trump always plays to his base? Gives them something to hand their hat on?
To me and a lot of others, impeachment was that. We all knew Republicans would not play ball, but if the Dems didn't try to impeach Trump after the Ukraine incident, it was like silently approving of it. It was the right thing to do and it doesn't matter if it helped or hurt with Trump's base. It was the right thing to do and history will remember that. I have no doubt that Trump and his HANDELERS will try to use all that they have and don't have to smear, impede, derail Biden. I do agree that Hunter is a good target and he is open to all kinds of attacks, but I do object to aiding and abetting the undertaking by Democrats. You know what Republican do, they all of sudden become all forgiving of wide stances in a public bathroom or forgiving trespasses on Christian values because you hate the sin not the sinner, or hating and killing your fellow citizens because they are standing against the will of God to keep the ORDER of things like the supreme place of WHITES. so let's fight the way they do. Let's say, Hunter is a damaged human being and deserves our forgiveness for his bad decisions because he is at most the child of a politician who went through his own hell. Let's not forget that Trump, another damaged being, managed to kill thousands of Americans with his incompetence and divided our country in half and made a laughing stock of us around the world and betrayed his country in ways no one imagined or comprehends. Let's not lose perspective of the damage this one narcissistic, Evil, treasonous man child has inflicted on this country. Let's not bring it down to a comparison with a child that lost her mother and struggled to measure up to a brother that was stronger. We do ourselves a disservice when we pay any undue attention to what the sick RIGHT tell us we should care about. Hunter should be a non story. We should treat it as such.
Margie - I feel your passion. Respectfully, what I am proposing is that if we want to be able to do something constructive we have to think about what will get us the votes to pick up a few more Senate seats and not lose more House seats. Plenty of things would feel good in this environment, and also be pretty righteous in themselves, but they won't get us the seats we need. The impeachment probably cost us some House seats. It was a mistake. I was praying that Nancy Pelosi would be cast aside and a more focused Speaker be elected by the Dems. We can't afford folks like Nancy to pursue ill perceived efforts like that impeachment.
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