Thursday, December 10, 2020

They've Gone Coup-Coup



Science confirms consistent neurophysiological and psychological differences between conservatives and liberals. How they react to threats. Their reliance on the observable and their response to presented facts. Evolutionary biologists have theories, but it’s intuitive that, in addition to rationalists, primitive societies benefitted from people who don’t need no damn proof to react to perceived threats. Noises. Shadows. Gut feelings. It could avoid becoming a meal.

Who knows why such brains remain in circulation? Individuals are safer now. More often than not, there’s time to think, evaluate. Threats from saber-tooth tigers (or, if you believe certain preachers, dinosaurs) are uncommon. Yet, having out-survived their benefit to society, such paranoid, no-need-for-facts people persist. Mysteriously, these evolutionary throwbacks appear to reside mostly in today’s retro-exceptional United States, and only in one political party.

A few days ago, reporters asked every Republican member of Congress who won the election. Eighty-eight-percent of them refused to say. Two declared it was Trump. (One of them, Rep. Gosar of AZ, is so awful his own family urged voters to reject him.) Of 251, only 27 were willing to say it was Joe Biden; Putin-adjacent Trump demanded their names. For what purpose, one wonders. Met with what level of Republican silence? A clue: Moscow Mitch just quashed a motion authorizing the inaugural committee to acknowledge it’ll be Biden and Harris.

Except for being indescribably dangerous, it’d be hilarious. Gaseous Rudy. Long-time Trump buddy and undeserving commutee, Roger Stone, claiming North Korea brought boatloads of fake ballots into the US via harbors in Maine. Around the Horn? Through the Canal? Seems logical. Same with believing votes for Biden were switched or faked, but not for down-ballot Democrats. McConnell, Graham, and Collins won. End of conspiracy.

“I’ve probably worked harder in the last three weeks than I ever have in my life,” whined Trump at a recent anti-democracy rally. He was referring to trying to nullify his resounding defeat, not to fighting the resurgent virus. “Working harder than ever.” Some jokes write themselves.

But it’s not funny, is it? A mob of armed Trumpists surrounded the home of Michigan’s Secretary of State, shouting threats and obscenities while she was inside, decorating for Christmas with her four-year-old son. “Stop the steal,” they chanted, convinced by … what? Zero evidence. Multiple recounts, investigations, fifty rejected lawsuits including, thankfully, without dissent, by the Supreme Court. Having confirmed their elections were secure, officials are fearing for their lives. But Trump says it, they believe it, that settles it. His second coming was an article of faith. The analogy is obvious.

It’s like the approaching, not-for-eight-hundred-years convergence of Saturn and Neptune, but perverse: years in the making, “conservative” denialism now converges both upon democracy and the lives of many thousands more from the virus. Is this what Gingrich and similars had in mind when they chose endumbification as their path to permanence?

Our founders feared it: millions of rabid, mis-educated Americans, convinced of fraud despite mountains of bipartisan refutation. Certain enough to destroy the Republic over it. Exhorting others to die for a lie (in our history, there’s precedent). Literally

For everyone’s sake, even delusional Trumpists, whose future is equally threatened whether they recognize it or not, this must stop. After decades in the euphoric fog of fiction mainlined from rightwing media pushers, to which millions have now, as intended, become addicted, can it? From armed, bulging-vein threats, to states suing each other, to legislators willing to disenfranchise their own citizens, this spectacle of sedition was a long time coming. It feels too late to put the genie back in the toothpaste. 

Plus, Trump-inspired, demented animus is a money-maker. Their malicious mendacity has made Hannity, Carlson, Limbaugh, et. al., very rich. From his compliant cultists, Trump is raking in millions. Republican leaders who remain cravenly silent are complicit in what amounts to a coup against constitutional governance. They’re already doing everything they can to delegitimize Biden’s presidency and his efforts to restore comity. Since the election, Trumpist Republicans’ disdain for democracy is undisguised. And incompatible with functioning government. Ahead of their January runoff, Georgian leaders are further reducing polling places in minority precincts.

With their terror campaign against honest state officials and continued efforts to reverse the election, Trumpublicans threaten the rule of law far more than a few misguided equality demonstrators breaking windows. Anti-democracy, anti-masks, and a poisonous, autocratic “president.” That’s “conservatism” today.

Maybe sanity will return if enough actual conservatives, seeing their party’s descent into insurrectionist lunacy, say “enough.” And there’s the problem: they’ve already had plenty of time.

21 comments:

  1. 7 of the last 8 elections, the Dems. won the popular vote.
    A black POTUS is the ultimate affront to these people.
    Now Harris' citizenship is in question. (We've heard that before right?)

    These people are looking at forever being the minority and they won't stand for that in 'merca! 'merca 'bout freedom! *grunt grunt* I will not be the minority governed(ruled) by minorities! *grunt snort*

    Susan Rice is being appointed...It's the return of...

    "BEGHAZI!!!BEGHAZI!!!BEGHAZI!!!"

    The playbook is paper thin. If we don't see what's coming next by now, then there's little hope for us all.

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  2. My hopes for a successful recovery from the "dark drumpf 4 year reign of tyranny" is reinforced by the quality of Biden's appointments to his administration. I tear-up listening to their pledges to serve as selfless public servants to improve the lives of EVERY citizen.

    The death of "TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMIC" policies will allow our government to easily finance the programs necessary to fund health care, housing the homeless, education improvements, environment/climate issues, infrastructure, and other problems that arise. Living wages will cause revenue increase to rise by consumer demand for products and service demand from workers who have money to spend. Then those consumers won't have to rely on unemployment or welfare to pay their bills. "Trickle-UP" wors.

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  3. The "TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMICS" label always told the truth in one sense, that those who imposed it, pissed all over those of us who paid for their greed.
    For the "trickle up", I'll suggest a different label to avoid the piss-on-us-politics, and that label would be a "BUILD UP ECONOMICS".
    You're correct in your assessment, it will be good to try a different plan, one that actually cares for the poor and impoverished among us, rather than generating as many as possible for the benefit of those who are already fantastically, even astoundingly, wealthy.

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  4. Based on the last four years — and especially on recent days — and how close the Republicans have taken this country to autocracy, I believe that we can no longer afford only the simple requirements of citizenship and residency to qualify for the presidency.

    We can no longer assume that a political party will choose, or is capable of choosing, a candidate of good character, intelligence, experience, mental health, and devotion to our country's ideals.

    We are no longer close to being the United States. If a pandemic can't make it happen, nothing can.


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  5. To defend our great DEMOCRACY, we should all read and study the Declaration of Independence. The genius of this document spells out the historic pitfalls of autocratic and dictatorial forms of governing.

    The challenge we have currently is to convince the "Cult of Drumpf" to recognize the danger of attempting to prolong his reign of terror on our precious Constitution. He would love to assume control of the Supreme Court in quest of total control of our government "OF the people, BY the people and FOR the people".

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  6. I was very heartened to read a story yesterday about Rep. Pascrell of NJ, who had written to Pelosi urging her to NOT seat the 126 Republicans who signed the amicus brief in support of the seditious lawsuit brought by the Texas AG. I was then, disheartened to see a clip of Adam Schiff saying he didn't support that because he doesn't want Democrats "to become them". I DO support not seating the traitors. They have relinquished their right to serve. I plan to make phone calls to Pelosi and other members of Congress on Monday, Tuesday, and on and on until they take this possibility seriously.

    I am relieved Biden/ Harris won and I'm happy they are conducting themselves as they are but I want some warriors in Congress. Just imagine if their victory had been closer. Some of these ridiculous lawsuits--55 to date--would possibly have gained some purchase. We dodged this bullet but what about next time. My feeling is that we have to be as singularly focused on making Republicans pay as they are in subverting our democratic republic. In the nicest possible way, of course.

    My vengeful heart will not be satisfied until they are subjugated and shamed.

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    1. I agree. I admire Schiff enormously, but this "we can't become them" concept is a problem with Ds. It's good that liberals tend not to be as callous and fact-free as Rs, but not pushing back means nothing changes.

      A bigger question is whether Biden's DOJ should investigate Trump et hench's crimes. Happily, SDNY and NY's AG will do it no matter what the feds do.

      Rs, of course, will scream bloody murder. But crime is crime.

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    2. This is not a comment about what should or shouldn't happen, those things take care of themselves. Though I will say that revenge never works, since it's too easily manipulated.
      Rather, our former POS (take the TU out of the acronym) WANTS all forms of attention and decline-of-country all-about-him. How long would a trial about all the things attributable to him take? Certainly, ALL his remaining years. And it would suck the life out of those who could do something useful for a change.
      The French had it correct with Napoleon. St. Helena Island, though they had the advantage of utterly controlling the media surrounding that. But, now there's an airport to Namibia there
      For TU, perhaps Sentinal Island. Bill could broker that deal with India, since he's buying them one-by-one in his own effort for world dumbination.
      The world is on fast-track to stupidity currently. Have you ever considered that? As much as we might glamorize this-nation-and-that-nation in contrast to our own decline, do not all of them suck? Seriously, pick one, but contemplate why you're not already there... (I can think of only a very few).

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    3. If this link will work, it's a worthwhile read: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/12/11/chris-murphys-surprise-floor-speech-raises-tough-questions-democrats/

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    4. "Revenge" isn't the right word, I think. It's a question of properly addressing criminal activity; and, in the case of the signers-on to the Texas case, accountability for such a blatant disregard for democracy.

      That something should be done is almost beyond question. The question, though, is the long-term impact: will it, in the end, help to heal by making it clear that such behavior has consequences, or will it make the divide even more unbridgeable.

      I have no fking idea.

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    5. Interesting read. Love this, “I think we do need more people looking at this as a hair-on-fire moment,” Murphy told me, while adding that “not everybody in the party can do that, because there are a lot of things going on.”
      I was looking at this link, http://sthelenaairport.com/st-helena/arriving/immigration-requirements/
      New Zealand is being bought by the Bill-ionaires, such that NZ won't even take in their own from the disappearing islands in the S. Pacific. And, Norway, well, even a millionaire is impoverished there. And, SSI doesn't approach the $88K per year required to even travel to Iceland. And, we're liked in less places now after the last 4 years.
      Personally, I like Chile best, in the contra-latitudes. They still have clean air down there, that is, until they complete the 4 coal-fired power plants the Chinese are building for them. I have more than one friend who speaks Chinese. Our children should learn Spanish and Chinese for the future, in no particular order.
      "Bee-you-T-full clean coal", for a look at what's happening: https://www.power-eng.com/coal/clean-coal-technologies/
      Even the "saviors" of the world are hypocrites. But, the good news is we'll soon be back at the Paris Accords, with the others (and Greta, of course). I'm not against them, I'm for them!

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    6. I think those signers-on have committed political suicide, but it will take two years for that to fulfill itself. Reasonable people came out in droves this election, and put an end to the idiot. I still shudder at the thought of him being a lame-duck at the end of another four-years. We're getting that compressed into two-months now, ever close-er to the end, day-by-day.
      ["Revenge" was mentioned for those with a "vengeful heart", which is a true "jumbo shrimp" if ever there was one. Even Pirates of the Caribbean said it as a black heart, or no heart at all.]

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    7. Political suicide. Would that it were true. We'll see. Among other things, it'd require an effective message from opposing Ds. Not impossible, I guess.

      A good test case: McMorris-Rogers in two years.

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    8. Until vote-for-women-only "voters" re-realize that men can be Democrats too, then there will be this problem.
      McM-R's name is on pg. 10 of 39 on the thrown-out ridiculous-ness. I wasn't expecting that, thinking her to be a "reasonable" Republican.
      Some lessons need to be learned.

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    9. The only ones willing to play hardball is the progressives. The fossils want more of the same.

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  7. As to "suicide": https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/12/12/2001539/-Texas-Republicans-respond-to-Supreme-Court-slapdown-of-sedition-by-calling-for-secession

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    1. Well, that is Texas, after all...

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  8. If they ever get power again, and they will, they will never willingly let it go. The actions we are seeing now are just a rehearsal for what they will do the next time. Forget about "Good Republicans" intervening or moderating in the future. Republicans are attacking people in the streets this very day, and intimidating legally elected officials and electors. Republicans have been heading for a fascist takeover for forty years and more. I believe it highly probable that Biden will have to invoke Martial Law at some point to prevent an armed insurrection. It looks so bad to me that, probably, things have already gone so far as to make as to make that action inevitable. I hope that Biden understands what they intend, and has the courage to act when the republicans make their move.

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    1. It's worrisome, all right. The question is how many "proud boy" types are out there, and what can they actually do. Bad as it is, I kinda doubt there'd be such widespread and well-organized insurrection that martial law would need to be invoked.

      However many there are, they're certainly being encouraged, overtly, by their rightwing media heroes and Trump.

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    2. The all stop when no one pays their way anymore.
      There is a bigger concern "out there". While everyone is sleeping, Bezos has increased his actual money take from IRA investors from $4.5 Bill-ion only a few years ago to a staggering $19.5 Bill-ion. His latest "trade" in November.
      There is an astounding amount of money changing hands currently, being hoarded for who-knows-what, and in the hoards of the most perverse people the world currently suffers under.
      The rest of this is just a sideshow.

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  9. A solution for addressing the huge schism occurring today in our political system would require an agreement that both parties want a commitment to democracy and a rejection of autocracy.
    If they both require their elected officials to pledge allegiance to uphold democracy and reject autocracy, we would discourage the KKK, Proud boyz, QAnon subversives, and underground terrorist groups who threaten our internal security.

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