As you know, sicko Trumpers are claiming that the fascist thugs who took over the Capitol were actually members of Antifa in disguise.
As if the hilariously unorganized toons of Antifa were capable of such a thing! As if they could communicate their plans to thousands of people undetectably! As if they were dumb enough not to wear masks as they committed crimes on camera! (The Trumpers, by contrast, are that dumb.)
We've all seen messages on Parler in which the fascists openly bragged about their insurrectionist plans. They literally had "Civil War" t-shirts made. Some have been identified as known QAnon "celebrities."
"Antifa" is now a bogeyman, a spook, a phantom haunting the right-wing imagination. Antifa is the right's all-purpose excuse, and nobody but a Q qrazy would ever buy it. Right-wing fiends and thugs always resort to absurd conspiracy theories when they seek to disguise their own fiendish and thuggish acts. Are we really supposed to believe that Trump would proclaim his "love" (his word) for Antifa after the storming of the Capitol?
Now there is a new conspiracy theory percolating in the Trumpist demimonde. In this scenario, the slogan "blame Antifa" is replaced by the slogan "blame the Deep State."
From time to time, right-wing trolls still try to use this humble blog as a clearing house for their propaganda. A couple of trolls have sent in the rough notes of this new pro-Trump conspiracy theory; naturally, I trashed these message immediately after reading them.
(Cannonfire ain't Parler, assholes.)
This new theory holds that the imaginary "Deep State" riled up the crowd and made sure that the Capitol building had insufficient protection. In other words, we are supposed to believe that those nasty Trump-hating Deep Staters created the crisis in order to discredit Glorious Leader Trump.
Bullshit. We all know what really happened.
Trump invited a fascist mob to descend on DC on January 6, saying the event would be "wild." The thugs knew precisely what he meant. They discussed their violent overthrow plans out in the open.
Using hashtags such as #StormTheCapitol and #StopTheSteal, users of the conservative online networks Parler and Gab celebrated Wednesday’s clashes and offered to serve as “back up.”
“AT THIS POINT, INSURRECTION ACT, MARTIAL LAW AND RUN THEM THE FUCK OVER WITH A MILITARY OPTION!!!” one Parler commenter wrote.
On the homepage of thedonald.win, a popular online forum for Trump fans, the majority of Monday’s top 50 posts about the election certification featured comments calling for violence, according to an analysis by the disinformation research organization Advance Democracy Inc.
One recent post said protesters should “not let [anyone] disarm someone without stacking bodies,” adding that they should be “ARMED WITH RIFLE, HANDGUN, 2 KNIVES AND AS MUCH AMMO AS YOU CAN CARRY,” The Washington Post reported.
On right-wing sites, the phrase "cross the Rubicon" became a frequently-heard catchword.
One of the thugs who entered the building stated on video that the intent was to "overthrow the government" at Trump's behest. (This same insurrectionist felt outraged that the cops used tear gas.)
On the day of the insurrection, Trump told the mob to march on the Capitol Building. He is on video inciting his thugs to riot.
He told them to "take back their country," and he encouraged them to target Democrats. He told them not to be "weak" -- even though he avoided personal danger. After assuring the crowd that he would march with them as they stormed the Capitol Building, he scurried off to safety.
Anyone who can interpret his exhortation as anything but a call to violence must possess superhuman powers of rationalization.
Rudy Giuliani told the crowd to conduct "trial by combat." Those words are not cryptic. Only the most deranged postmodernist would say that this text could be interpreted in more than one way.
All reports clearly indicate that it was Trump -- no-one else -- who forbade the use of National Guard troops. That decision was reversed only when it became clear that the rioters were not sufficiently numerous to overthrow the government.
Trump issued a very belated call for peace only after it became clear that his insurrection -- let me repeat that: HIS insurrection -- would fail.
Yesterday was classic Trump: He nestled in his safe little rat hole while his brainwashed brownshirts took all the risk. After the "Qoup" went south, he tried to escape all blame.
Give Julius Caesar credit: He crossed the Rubicon personally, and he knew the risk he was running. Caesar was valiant; cowardly Donnie will die a thousand times before his death.
If you are going to cross the Rubicon, cross it. Physically.
Trump is now a terrorist leader, just like Osama Bin Laden. MAGA and Al Qaeda are equally anti-American and equally dangerous.
In the days to come, we will learn many more details about Trump's plan to overthrow the American government. Clearly, it was Trump -- no-one else -- who rendered the Capitol Building relatively defenseless, endangering the lives of the ill-equipped Capitol Police. As Colin Powell noted on today's Morning Joe, the security lapses at that building are very suspicious.
Frankly, I suspect that there were Trump-friendly forces within the ranks of the Capitol Police. Something was clearly amiss.
The police force, which numbers about 2,000 officers and has sole jurisdiction over the Capitol’s buildings and grounds, was clearly outnumbered and unprepared for the onslaught, even as it was openly organized on social media sites like Gab and Parler.
One policing expert said there should have been a heavily manned perimeter sealing off the entire Capitol grounds and a second around the building itself given that extremist groups with a history of violent confrontations were involved.
Another video shows officers appearing to move the barricades aside and let the protesters in.One thing is certain: Donald Trump incited this mob.
Trump must go. NOW.
It's all up to Mike Pence, whose dignified behavior during yesterday's difficult proceedings was exemplary. He is clearly fed up with Trump.
“I’ve known Mike Pence forever,” Inhofe said Tuesday night. “I’ve never seen Pence as angry as he was today.
“I had a long conversation with him,” said Inhofe. “He said, ‘After all the things I’ve done for (Trump).’”
Infuriatingly, the Trumpers are still treating Pence with disdain: Fox and Friends called on Trump to "forgive" Pence. That's a dangerously contemptuous attitude to take to the one man who can end this evil presidency.
Mike Pence: You've got to do it. You must cross the Rubicon. History has chosen you.
You have to wrest power from the insane would-be dictator infesting the Oval Office.
Trump's own lawyer, Lin Wood, has called for you to be killed. Why on earth would you retain any loyalty to this madman's regime?
They literally want you dead, Mike Pence. You must kill this evil administration before it kills you.
(Of course, you must always act within the law. The 25th exists for a reason.)
If you don't become 46, you'll never be 48.
You will have allies. Others in the administration have become sickened by Trump's disgusting acts. Chad Wolf, Acting Homeland Security Secretary, has clearly indicated that he was repulsed by Trump's attempted overthrow of our democracy.
More Trump administration resignations could be coming, multiple sources familiar tell NBC News.McConnell has asked Chao -- his wife -- to stay on the inside for a short while. Obviously, they are talking about the 25th. Republican congressman Adam Kinsinger has called for the invocation of the 25th, and I'm sure that he's not the only one who favors the idea.
Among those said to be considering it: National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien, Deputy National Security Adviser Matt Pottinger and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.
David Frum has demanded impeachment tonight.
Schedule an impeachment vote for this very night. Stay ’til dawn. Do whatever is necessary. Avert any potential for martial law. Deny Trump command of the military; withdraw the nuclear codes. Don’t wait until the next crossed red line, until the next smashed barrier, until the next putsch attempt. Install Mike Pence right away as the 46th president and work with him to manage the transition on January 20 to Joe Biden as the 47th. Bar Trump from ever again holding office—and get ready to prosecute him for his crimes on January 21.
Bill Barr has turned against Trump.
In a statement to The Associated Press, Barr said Thursday that “orchestrating a mob to pressure Congress is inexcusable.”
Barr knows: That mob was Trump's mob. (Of course, Barr is actually guilty as hell of the same crime he now condemns.)
Incidentally, one of Trump's lawyers has asked the court for permission to withdraw:
“client has used the lawyer’s services to perpetrate a crime and the client insists upon taking action that the lawyer considers repugnant”
Mike Pence, how can you stay loyal to a man labeled a criminal by one of his own lawyers?
But Lin Wood & Sidney Powell claim it was all “Antifa.” 🙄 https://t.co/4lBWGjbA1t
— Jennifer Cohn ✍🏻 📢 (@jennycohn1) January 7, 2021
8 comments:
If bin Laden was still alive (not having been killed by orders of y'know … a Democrat President) I wonder what his take on this would be?
He'd probably be celebrating and see it as his mission accomplished.
Although America's constitutional safeguards would show that to be as premature a statement as the most famous use of that term.
But he still would be crying tears of joy.
What would his video on the subject say?
Joseph,
I have been saying for a while that Trump will start his own party, The American Racist, er First, Party. There is more money in having his own party since he won't have to share the proceeds. Anyway, I can't find any statement from Palin that Trump should start his own party. Could you cite your source, please? Thank you.
Are you sure you want the nuke codes in Pence's hands, Joe?
https://newrepublic.com/article/156166/pence-pompeo-evanglicals-war-iran-christian-zionism
https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/12/08/armageddon-pence-israel-and-the-evangelicals/
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/laughingindisbelief/2018/01/mike-pence-throws-evangelical-doomsday-armageddon-party/
Mike Pence will not start World War III in twelve days. Don't be silly.
To follow that comment up - Isn’t it pretty cool in these times that Mike Pence did what should have been done. For all the conspiracy theories circulated over the last month or two he pretty much kept things to the straight and narrow. Just sharing a positive thought, in hopefully a non partisan way. We do have some solid folks in leadership and we shouldn’t despair too much. We’ve been through much worse as a country in times past.
I think it’s the hyperbole and verbal brinksmanship that keeps pushing out country further and further into darkness. In the bigger big picture, real wages haven’t increased in this country since the 1970s. NAFTA did exactly what they said it was going to do (transfer jobs elsewhere and due to new cost efficiencies generate a lot of wealth), it’s just that all the benefits and wealth of NAFTA accrued to the Wall Street types. Thus, much of the jobs base in middle America was hollowed out. This last year we told folks they can’t work, pay rent, etc. People (of all colors) can’t find the opportunities for themselves and their children that they were expecting. Our politicians have never been more corrupt and purchased by the moneyed class, and aren’t listening to the needs of the people (They listen to the people that bought them their offices, do not think that they are listening to you, even if you seem to like their spin on events.)
Much of the hopelessness and despair that drove folks to vote for Bernie (on the liberal side) are the same forces that drive folks to vote for Trump (on the conservative side). This situation won’t go away whether the least two weeks of Trump’s term are trimmed early or not. Also, Joe Biden is a product and purveyor of the issues I described in the first paragraph. He isn’t going to change those underlying issues. We are going to see more period of BLM/Antifa riots as well as right wing riots. It’s largely caused by the same forces.
This situation isn’t changing much. When you think about the mental space we bloggers inhabit it’s a place fairly high up on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. We satisfied enough of our needs to be worried about less tangible items such as climate change. About half our country (dem and repub) is below that point and can’t figure out how they are supposed to prosper in this system. That is where we are. The only way to get any traction is to somehow get money and corruption out of politics.
Anon 312
I agree with your reasoning regarding the roots of dis-satisfaction but disagree with your both sides are the same summation. BLM protesters do not blame immigrants or Jews or rich or Democrats or Republicans, they protest the lumpsided treatment that blacks receive by the system as a whole. Progressives don't blame blacks or whites or even Republicans alone for the inequalities you yourself noted. They blame the existing system. There is no equivalence here between white supremacists or even mildly racist Trump supporters and progressives and BLM folks. Right wingers are also much more violent and armed to boot. They pick people like Trump and Gingrich and Giuliani and the like as their worshiped leaders. They fall for every shiny object any one flashes and follow it like sheep. So, I reject the idea that boths sides just want the same thing. One side want equality for all and the other side wants privilege. Not the same thing in my book.
Here’s an interesting analysis piece arguing that Trump made an attempted coup:
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-attempted-coup-federal-law-enforcement-capitol-police-2021-1?amp
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