At the edge of Ragnarok. UPDATE: Air attack on the Capitol?!?

Here we stand, at the edge of Ragnarok. 

 

Rule number one for those standing on the edge: NO LEFT-WING PROTESTS OF ANY KIND FOR ANY REASON. The Trumpers want lefties to protest. Protesters provide the river in which the agent provocateur may swim. 

 

Any act of violence will be blamed on the left, regardless of who is actually responsible. Any act of violence will give Trump an excuse for martial law and mob rule.

 

"But we want to express..."

 

Fuck you. What matters is effectiveness, not emotion. Any protest will have the effect of helping Trump.

 

"But we have the legal right to..."

 

Fuck you. What matters is effectiveness, not legality. Any protest will have the effect of helping Trump.

 

"But we will be completely peaceful..."

 

Fuck you. What matters is effectiveness, not intentions. Any protest will have the effect of helping Trump.

 

This could be the most dangerous week in our history since the Civil War. Trump seems to believe that Mike Pence has the power to determine the election. Legally, constitutionally, this claim is nonsense -- but as I keep saying, we are entering a place where what counts is not law but raw power. 

 

That's why arguments such as this one do not quell my fears.

 

We now have a glimpse of the playbook which the Republicans plan to use. Absurd as this attempt seems, it might provide Trump with a strategy or a rationale to secure power extra-legally. The Dems must respond as the Georgia SOS office responded: With a forceful, but rational, point-by-point argument proving that all of the rumors spread by Trump media are falsehoods and hyperbole.

 

I admit that my horror is peppered by jealousy: If the Dems had shown this much unity and courage in 2000 and 2004 -- when the evidence for election huggermugger was far stronger than it is today -- this country might have been spared much agony. 

 

So here we stand, at the edge of Ragnarok. 

 

As we wait, I would ask you to ponder the following poser: Would you have done as Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger did, if you were on the receiving end of that call? 

 

Here's what I would have done... 

 

I would have assured Trump that my lawyer was no longer in the room. I would have asked to speak to Trump without any eavesdroppers on his end.

And then I would have gone full Blago on him.

"You want 11,780 votes? This is a fucking valuable thing you're asking for here. Listen, my daughter Trisha wants to live in a house in Scotland..."

Something like that. I would have dragged Trump into a conversation that would have left absolutely no doubt that he was willing to engage in bribery and corruption. 

 

Perhaps my suggested wording is a bit too on the nose -- on the other hand, Trump seems to enjoy dealing with guys who are as assholish as he is. 

Of course, before trotting down Blagojevich Lane, I would have covered my ass. My lawyer would actually be in the room during the conversation. I would have assured my lawyer beforehand -- in writing, on video -- that my Blago routine was just an act, and that I was trying to ensnare the president into committing an inarguable act of corruption. I might have covered my ass further by requesting aid for a "daughter" who does not exist.

That's how I would have played it. Of course, I'm an impudent bastard, willing to take risks that others dare not.

 

Question: What kind of risk would I have run, had I attempted this bit of theater? How can one engage in such theatricals safely and effectively?

 

As Hamlet said: "The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King."

 

After this horrible fortnight is over, what then? If the good guys prevail, there must be justice -- by which I mean investigation and retaliation. I'm quite certain that the NSA has all the evidence necessary to expose and to indict the Republican conspirators against democracy. Biden need merely issue an executive order removing the minimization protections. 

 

I fear that Biden and his AG will go down the wrong path.

 

There must be no unification. No soft words. No forgiveness. 

 

To protect this nation from the rise of a new would-be fuehrer, the enemy must be weakened, humbled, exposed, forevermore discredited. What we are seeing right now is an attempted fascist coup. That sin is not forgivable. There must be prison sentences and perhaps even executions for treason, if the evidence warrants.

 

Josh Marshall is usually seen as a centrist Democrat -- not a radical. Nevertheless, he just tweeted:

Quite simply, everyone who was part of this attempted coup shld be written out of public life forever. As challenging as that will be, not attempting to do so undermines the premise that these people did anything wrong. You become complicit in the offense.

Georgia. I'm no optimist, but we may win both seats. Dems are slightly ahead in the polls. The Republicans have done much wrong, and the Dems have done much right. Joe Biden finally made it crystal clear: If Georgians vote D, they get an extra $2000 pronto. 

 

Right message, Joe. But why didn't you put it that way weeks ago? Trump would have, if he were in your position. Actually, Trump did.

 

We've got to stop being subtle. Voters hate subtlety. We need to be as unmistakable as a nuclear explosion. 

UPDATE: Holy shit...

Multiple air traffic controllers in New York heard a chilling threat Monday in audio obtained exclusively by CBS News: "We are flying a plane into the Capitol on Wednesday. Soleimani will be avenged."

The threat refers to Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian general killed last year in a U.S. drone strike ordered by President Trump. It was made on the one-year anniversary of Soleimani's death, for which Iranian officials have long vowed revenge.

It's unclear who sent the threat. While the government does not believe the warning of an attack is credible, it is being investigated as a breach of aviation frequencies, CBS News has learned.

I don't know what to say aside from the obvious: The Iranians may be assholes, but they know better than to exact a revenge that will serve only to give Trump an excuse to retain power and to launch a full-scale invasion. If a disaster does occur, our first and best question must always be Cui bono?