I saw it coming. I shared my concerns with others, but most people just couldn't believe things would get out of hand. Based on the tenor of comments by Trump supporters, I had a sick feeling something bad would happen.
Except for the left wing declaration (I'm center right), I fully agree with Samantha's comments below. I appreciate Bulwark+, its staff, and its contribution to our social consciousness and historical record.
When Trump announced his candidacy, it made me reflect on a documentary shown on PBS many years ago. The documentary claimed / explained that a virus / malware damaged a country's (non-commercial) nuclear processing capabilities by causing centrifuges to spin too fast while the control operating software essentially said 'nothing to see here...all is fine.' The virus / malware acted to 'destabalize from within', which is the effect I expected Trump to have on our institutions, system of Government, and country. When Trump was elected, I sincerely wished him well, and hoped the gravity of highest public office would cause him to grow into a serious and responsible statesman. I wasn't expecting that, but I was hopeful.
But a virus is always a virus. A virus will always destabalize from within. And 2/3 of our fellow citizens are currently able to recognize that.
We are seeing the results of mass media psychological dysfunction.
News flash.... this continued ranting about Jan-6 is like a circle chair therapy session where the patients are not being helped and nobody on the outside is swayed, but are more likely to learn about the therapy session and list those in the therapy session as unstable and untrustworthy.
Don't trust the polls. Most voters are more angry about the political violence and crime unleashed by the left and supported by the Democrats. Continued harping about Jan-6 isn't going to change any minds.
I wrote to friend in 2015, “if Trump is elected, we can kiss the Republic goodbye.” I am no genius, believe me, but he is no different than any other sociopath that has, in the past, been able to gain just enough support to tear down the institutions. In gov’t, in religion, in business….
Pick your poison. Once you become enough of a “show”, the majority of people will be entertained, and anyone raising objections is a Cassandra.
Two years (at least) before Trump lost the election I was telling people that Trump would not go quietly into that good night. It is not in him to do that. He followed his pathology and did exactly the things I fully expected him to do.
It was easy to see this coming. VERY easy. All you had to do was look at and listen to the man. Look as his (non) responses when he was asked about what he would do if he lost the election.
If you did not see this coming, it means that you truly do not understand the man or his pathology. It also means that the seriously underrate the ability (and willingness) of greedy and powerful power to do things to keep power and maintain their grift.
These people will continue on in this fashion until they are dead. They will change tactics and the words that they mouth, but the same goals will remain. They will continue until they are dead or until enough people act to stop them and punish them... and not slaps on the wrist, either.
I've simply written off Republicans with a very few exceptions as a source for anything. What terrifies me most now is how the Congressional Democrats are apparently ignoring the weaknesses in the electoral system, specifically how the ambiguities and nearly unintelligible language of the Electoral Count Act facilitated the chaos of 1/6. Instead, they're wasting time and effort to advance nothing more than purely cosmetic changes to voter access. The notion that the emergency innovations in polling adopted for the Covid epidemic are essential for fair elections is little short of nonsense. They're just putting lipstick on a pig so long as the ECA is in its current state. I simply cannot fathom why the Dem leaders can't get it through their heads that it doesn't much matter who votes now. What matters is who and how the vote is counted and given effect. The GOP apparatchiks in state and local positions know this, and therein lies the danger.
Democrats have brought up election bills. Hard to get them through with the Republicans filibustering them and Saint Joe Manchin refusing to alter the filibuster even a little bit.
I'd like to hear from people more knowledgeable than me, but my impression is that the bill being advanced by Amy Klobuchar is a good, substantial piece of legislation.
I think it's necessary to look to the language in the law "regarding inciting a riot"
Trump stated on the Ellipse "Lets walk down to the capitol. I will be with you." That says to me he was indeed in the crowd. Given the size of the insurgent crowd, it would be assumable that Trump was in the crowd, just not immediately visible. SHock, he slunk in the opposite direction to watch TV.
I actually made an attempt at reading the Victor Davis Hanson book, but I think about three or four pages in I found its level of argument inexplicably poor, maybe because Hanson has little respect for the intellect of his target audience, and I couldn't read on. I thought I was his target audience, but it was apparently written for the choir.
I like Conway's argument on prosecuting Trump. And it would really be good for the nation if Bannon were locked up already.
Or, maybe because Hanson’s target audience are not really “ into thinking critically”. I took a class some years ago in Military History. The recommended text was something he wrote. My most vivid memory was the lack of intellectual heft in his writing. It is nothing more than what the Claremont folk have devolved into. As a good friend of mine once told me, “ highly educated doesn’t necessarily mean well educated.”
So many highly educated folks on the right have become total buffoons.
My financial situation is such that I’ve ended all subscriptions except Bulwark. The content you all put out is intelligent and thoughtful, even if I don’t agree 100% with what is published. During the Bush/Obama years, I might have discounted the Bulwark entirely, had it existed then. As left wing as I consider myself to be, I am so grateful to Charlie, Mona, Bill, JVL, Sarah and the rest of the Bulwark gang for making me feel grounded and informed. I got rid of Twitter as well, finding the commentators here on Charlie’s newsletter to be an oasis of sanity in an otherwise chaotic time. I remember being gobsmacked and horrified a year ago, in a way I honestly hadn’t felt since I was 16 and watching planes fly into a building. The threat of extremism is very scary, but I feel like having this band of Bulwark buddies means I can face fear with courage of my convictions and the knowledge that there are people just like me, wanting peaceful discussions and disagreements about policy and our government no matter how different our political views. It’s why I’m still a member and will remain one as long as I’m financially able. Thank you Bulwark for all the great work you do, and thank you, fellow Bulwark Plus Buds! You all truly make my day with your insightful comments. It’s a dark day, but it makes me grateful to know you all. Sending everyone love and hope right now, even if things feel hopeless ❤️
Nice piece of writing, Samantha. Always appreciate how your very different life experience comes thru in your stuff. Our one common experience that I know of: Pig Farming.
“People will just believe you. You just tell them and they believe you,” -Donald Trump speaking about lying to Billy Bush
I wish to take issue with the portrayal of one aspect of Donald Trump's character - The assertion that he truly believes he won the election. I do not believe this for one second. Trump has been involved in literally thousands of lawsuits. He has internalized that so much of the law turns on what can be proved to be in the head of a crook when he commits some nefarious act. If it can be proved that a person willingly cheated on his taxes, he is in big trouble. If it can be plausibly claimed that some disallowed deduction was based on an honest misunderstanding, he will skate. Trump understands that staying one step ahead of the law requires the act that his claims of election fraud are 100% sincere. The notion that he feels truly aggrieved - 100% bullshit.
A lot of DC and Charlottesville-area people DID see it coming. Despite what you hear a lot from people about what's posted on the Internet being just talk, nowadays, and especially in extreme political spaces, that rhetoric is a warm-up to actual action.
I don't say this because I want someone to go censor them, or preemptively arrest them, but more a plea to take this seriously. Living in Virginia, and having lived through August 17th, Lobby Day, and now January 6th there seems to be too many "it could never happen here" or "it could only happen once" attitudes kicking around.
Don't believe that this sort of violence couldn't come to your city, town, or county. It's that exact level of complacency that allows it to. And the elected officials who downplay these events are precisely the sort that will let them happen again.
Nice shot! Bullseye, in fact. Far, far too much "Yeah, that is kinda' bad. But as long as it's in someone else's backyard and not in mine, it's not really that bad, and not really my concern."
And it's ALWAYS in someone else's backyard. Until it isn't.
But as to those elected officials, surely you jest. No one with the responsibilities of an elected office would ever downplay anything really serious, would they? Especially if assuming that office involved taking an oath to do something like, say, support and defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic, and to bear true faith and allegiance to the same?
They wouldn't describe something like an insurrection and acts of terrorism on the steps and in the halls of our nation's Capital Building as being anything other than what they were. I mean, they took that oath, right?
Why, this thing we're all talking about here today was just a little dust up by a few overenthusiastic...uh... patriots. Or was it Antifa? No, wait, it was the FBI, wasn't it? Anyway, it's not worthy of all the attention it's gotten for the past year.
I know this because all those Republican elected officials told me so. And like I said, they did take that oath, didn't they?
For those still having the "backyard" outlook, it's time to WTFU. What happened in D.C. a year ago happened in all our backyards.
I raise the middle fingers of both my hands to the 147 un-American bastards in the House who supported the insurrection. My donations will follow to the Patriot Project and other groups who erect billboards to display who the traitors are!
Republican Accountability Project does really good work in this area. TV ads, billboards, other stuff. I sent them a few $$ not long ago even though I'm not a Republican and wouldn't vote for one under the current circumstances for love nor money. Got back a message from one of their staffers thanking me and we had a brief and warm exchange about a couple of things we had in common. Good people. Might want to check them out.
I saw it coming. I shared my concerns with others, but most people just couldn't believe things would get out of hand. Based on the tenor of comments by Trump supporters, I had a sick feeling something bad would happen.
Except for the left wing declaration (I'm center right), I fully agree with Samantha's comments below. I appreciate Bulwark+, its staff, and its contribution to our social consciousness and historical record.
When Trump announced his candidacy, it made me reflect on a documentary shown on PBS many years ago. The documentary claimed / explained that a virus / malware damaged a country's (non-commercial) nuclear processing capabilities by causing centrifuges to spin too fast while the control operating software essentially said 'nothing to see here...all is fine.' The virus / malware acted to 'destabalize from within', which is the effect I expected Trump to have on our institutions, system of Government, and country. When Trump was elected, I sincerely wished him well, and hoped the gravity of highest public office would cause him to grow into a serious and responsible statesman. I wasn't expecting that, but I was hopeful.
But a virus is always a virus. A virus will always destabalize from within. And 2/3 of our fellow citizens are currently able to recognize that.
You voted for him?
No.
I always vote for the best candidate. And when there is no best candidate, I always vote for the least worst candidate. He never qualified as either.
Andrew Sullivan saw it coming.
We are seeing the results of mass media psychological dysfunction.
News flash.... this continued ranting about Jan-6 is like a circle chair therapy session where the patients are not being helped and nobody on the outside is swayed, but are more likely to learn about the therapy session and list those in the therapy session as unstable and untrustworthy.
Don't trust the polls. Most voters are more angry about the political violence and crime unleashed by the left and supported by the Democrats. Continued harping about Jan-6 isn't going to change any minds.
Many of us did see it coming.
I wrote to friend in 2015, “if Trump is elected, we can kiss the Republic goodbye.” I am no genius, believe me, but he is no different than any other sociopath that has, in the past, been able to gain just enough support to tear down the institutions. In gov’t, in religion, in business….
Pick your poison. Once you become enough of a “show”, the majority of people will be entertained, and anyone raising objections is a Cassandra.
Two years (at least) before Trump lost the election I was telling people that Trump would not go quietly into that good night. It is not in him to do that. He followed his pathology and did exactly the things I fully expected him to do.
It was easy to see this coming. VERY easy. All you had to do was look at and listen to the man. Look as his (non) responses when he was asked about what he would do if he lost the election.
If you did not see this coming, it means that you truly do not understand the man or his pathology. It also means that the seriously underrate the ability (and willingness) of greedy and powerful power to do things to keep power and maintain their grift.
These people will continue on in this fashion until they are dead. They will change tactics and the words that they mouth, but the same goals will remain. They will continue until they are dead or until enough people act to stop them and punish them... and not slaps on the wrist, either.
There
Is
No
Bottom.
I've simply written off Republicans with a very few exceptions as a source for anything. What terrifies me most now is how the Congressional Democrats are apparently ignoring the weaknesses in the electoral system, specifically how the ambiguities and nearly unintelligible language of the Electoral Count Act facilitated the chaos of 1/6. Instead, they're wasting time and effort to advance nothing more than purely cosmetic changes to voter access. The notion that the emergency innovations in polling adopted for the Covid epidemic are essential for fair elections is little short of nonsense. They're just putting lipstick on a pig so long as the ECA is in its current state. I simply cannot fathom why the Dem leaders can't get it through their heads that it doesn't much matter who votes now. What matters is who and how the vote is counted and given effect. The GOP apparatchiks in state and local positions know this, and therein lies the danger.
Democrats have brought up election bills. Hard to get them through with the Republicans filibustering them and Saint Joe Manchin refusing to alter the filibuster even a little bit.
I'd like to hear from people more knowledgeable than me, but my impression is that the bill being advanced by Amy Klobuchar is a good, substantial piece of legislation.
I think it's necessary to look to the language in the law "regarding inciting a riot"
Trump stated on the Ellipse "Lets walk down to the capitol. I will be with you." That says to me he was indeed in the crowd. Given the size of the insurgent crowd, it would be assumable that Trump was in the crowd, just not immediately visible. SHock, he slunk in the opposite direction to watch TV.
"You have to fight like Hell" he said.
Book em Dano.
I actually made an attempt at reading the Victor Davis Hanson book, but I think about three or four pages in I found its level of argument inexplicably poor, maybe because Hanson has little respect for the intellect of his target audience, and I couldn't read on. I thought I was his target audience, but it was apparently written for the choir.
I like Conway's argument on prosecuting Trump. And it would really be good for the nation if Bannon were locked up already.
Or, maybe because Hanson’s target audience are not really “ into thinking critically”. I took a class some years ago in Military History. The recommended text was something he wrote. My most vivid memory was the lack of intellectual heft in his writing. It is nothing more than what the Claremont folk have devolved into. As a good friend of mine once told me, “ highly educated doesn’t necessarily mean well educated.”
So many highly educated folks on the right have become total buffoons.
I have tried to read him before. Many consider him a great intellect. Say what? I have ski bindings more intellectual than him.
My financial situation is such that I’ve ended all subscriptions except Bulwark. The content you all put out is intelligent and thoughtful, even if I don’t agree 100% with what is published. During the Bush/Obama years, I might have discounted the Bulwark entirely, had it existed then. As left wing as I consider myself to be, I am so grateful to Charlie, Mona, Bill, JVL, Sarah and the rest of the Bulwark gang for making me feel grounded and informed. I got rid of Twitter as well, finding the commentators here on Charlie’s newsletter to be an oasis of sanity in an otherwise chaotic time. I remember being gobsmacked and horrified a year ago, in a way I honestly hadn’t felt since I was 16 and watching planes fly into a building. The threat of extremism is very scary, but I feel like having this band of Bulwark buddies means I can face fear with courage of my convictions and the knowledge that there are people just like me, wanting peaceful discussions and disagreements about policy and our government no matter how different our political views. It’s why I’m still a member and will remain one as long as I’m financially able. Thank you Bulwark for all the great work you do, and thank you, fellow Bulwark Plus Buds! You all truly make my day with your insightful comments. It’s a dark day, but it makes me grateful to know you all. Sending everyone love and hope right now, even if things feel hopeless ❤️
Nice piece of writing, Samantha. Always appreciate how your very different life experience comes thru in your stuff. Our one common experience that I know of: Pig Farming.
We're going to need those farming skills in the apocalypse.
I know beekeeping and grow the best veggies and fruits ever. Can I come? Lol.
Absolutely! I can castrate pigs which is also going to be a highly sought after skill in the after times 😂
Know a few 2-legged swine that could use your services now. Hang in there, Samantha. I'm pullin' for ya'!
“People will just believe you. You just tell them and they believe you,” -Donald Trump speaking about lying to Billy Bush
I wish to take issue with the portrayal of one aspect of Donald Trump's character - The assertion that he truly believes he won the election. I do not believe this for one second. Trump has been involved in literally thousands of lawsuits. He has internalized that so much of the law turns on what can be proved to be in the head of a crook when he commits some nefarious act. If it can be proved that a person willingly cheated on his taxes, he is in big trouble. If it can be plausibly claimed that some disallowed deduction was based on an honest misunderstanding, he will skate. Trump understands that staying one step ahead of the law requires the act that his claims of election fraud are 100% sincere. The notion that he feels truly aggrieved - 100% bullshit.
A lot of DC and Charlottesville-area people DID see it coming. Despite what you hear a lot from people about what's posted on the Internet being just talk, nowadays, and especially in extreme political spaces, that rhetoric is a warm-up to actual action.
I don't say this because I want someone to go censor them, or preemptively arrest them, but more a plea to take this seriously. Living in Virginia, and having lived through August 17th, Lobby Day, and now January 6th there seems to be too many "it could never happen here" or "it could only happen once" attitudes kicking around.
Don't believe that this sort of violence couldn't come to your city, town, or county. It's that exact level of complacency that allows it to. And the elected officials who downplay these events are precisely the sort that will let them happen again.
Nice shot! Bullseye, in fact. Far, far too much "Yeah, that is kinda' bad. But as long as it's in someone else's backyard and not in mine, it's not really that bad, and not really my concern."
And it's ALWAYS in someone else's backyard. Until it isn't.
But as to those elected officials, surely you jest. No one with the responsibilities of an elected office would ever downplay anything really serious, would they? Especially if assuming that office involved taking an oath to do something like, say, support and defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic, and to bear true faith and allegiance to the same?
They wouldn't describe something like an insurrection and acts of terrorism on the steps and in the halls of our nation's Capital Building as being anything other than what they were. I mean, they took that oath, right?
Why, this thing we're all talking about here today was just a little dust up by a few overenthusiastic...uh... patriots. Or was it Antifa? No, wait, it was the FBI, wasn't it? Anyway, it's not worthy of all the attention it's gotten for the past year.
I know this because all those Republican elected officials told me so. And like I said, they did take that oath, didn't they?
For those still having the "backyard" outlook, it's time to WTFU. What happened in D.C. a year ago happened in all our backyards.
Props for having such good aim!
I raise the middle fingers of both my hands to the 147 un-American bastards in the House who supported the insurrection. My donations will follow to the Patriot Project and other groups who erect billboards to display who the traitors are!
Republican Accountability Project does really good work in this area. TV ads, billboards, other stuff. I sent them a few $$ not long ago even though I'm not a Republican and wouldn't vote for one under the current circumstances for love nor money. Got back a message from one of their staffers thanking me and we had a brief and warm exchange about a couple of things we had in common. Good people. Might want to check them out.
I really want that billboard to feature middle fingers!!!!