# 7 Jan 2021 and beyond - the aftermath of the storming of the Capitol **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 8, 2021, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020 "2021-01-08T10:28:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 48
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/945 "2021-01-28T19:28:35Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > It was in answer to your question as to what good it does if only blue states agree. If there are enough reliably blue states to make up 270+ electoral votes… If there are enough reliably blue states to make up 270+ electoral votes… then we dont need the compact, yes? ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/946 "2021-01-28T19:45:00Z")
That situation is unlikely to hold for more than an election cycle or two. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/947 "2021-01-28T19:45:49Z")
Sure. And then? See this wont work without Red states signing on- _and they wont._ ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/948 "2021-01-28T21:04:09Z")
That is what I said, yes. > [@DrDeth](#): > > See this wont work without Red states signing on- _and they wont._ Ah, it seems you have found a flaw in our democracy. That is kinda the whole problem, our country doesn’t work without red states signing onto the idea of our country working. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2021, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/949 "2021-01-29T17:22:06Z")
The GOP of the foreseeable future isn’t going to agree to anything that threatens its ability to obstruct the majority’s attempts at governance. Every thing they do – and as a rule they don’t really do much with the power they achieve – will be geared to preventing the “tyranny of the majority” that they fear so much. A tyranny which, strangely enough, doesn’t seem to adversely affect better democracies. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2021, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/950 "2021-02-01T01:11:14Z")
I’d like to think they gave him an _actual_ football and just told him it was that “nuclear thing”. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2021, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/951 "2021-02-01T06:31:25Z")
Has anyone done a count to see if there’s been an insurrectionist arrested from every state? I had a spreadsheet going, but then we lost power for two days and it died. I’m afraid to start over. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2021, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/952 "2021-02-01T13:02:46Z")
Once upon a midnight dreary… > **[abort, retry, ignore poem](http://semplate.blogspot.com/2014/11/abort-retry-ignore-poem.html)** > > The infamous Abort, Retry, Ignore message box of Windows, with no option given to close it. Found this classic and fun poem about the ... ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2021, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/953 "2021-02-01T18:15:04Z")
Wrong thread? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2021, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/954 "2021-02-01T19:48:31Z")
It’s a reply to the post above mine. If you read it, then read the poem in the link the point should be clear. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2021, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/955 "2021-02-01T21:24:09Z")
Oh. I read it once, and didn’t see what it had to do with the thread; but had missed the bit in the post above about the dead spreadsheet, which I gather is what you were replying to. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2021, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/956 "2021-02-01T21:38:46Z")
Also the the loss of power. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/957 "2021-02-02T07:25:21Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Wrong thread? It’s also the wrong poem. It exists in many mutated varieties, but the following seems to be the oldest and most likely “original” version, going back to pre-Windows DOS days. There are also many claims of authorship. I believe that if one traces back the citations, the true original author is known. [The Error Message (original title, AFAIK)](https://www.gnu.org/fun/jokes/midnight.dreary.html) > [@The first verse](#): > > A friend of mine sent the following to me (apologies to Edgar Allan Poe…) > Once upon a midnight dreary, fingers cramped and vision bleary, > System manuals piled high and wasted paper on the floor > Longing for the warmth of bedsheets, > Still I sat there, doing spreadsheets; > Having reached the bottom line, > I took a floppy from the drawer. > Typing with a steady hand, then invoked the SAVE command > But I got a reprimand: it read “Abort, Retry, Ignore.” This is the version that mentions Solomon and “Nevermore”, but doesn’t mention “Only this and nothing more.” ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/958 "2021-02-02T23:49:41Z")
> **[Capitol riot suspect asks court's permission to vacation in Mexico](https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2021/02/02/capitol-rioter-wants-go-mexican-vacation-and-court-lets-her/4358889001/)** > > Texas florist Jenny Cudd, who took part in the Capitol riot Jan. 6, asked for permission to travel to Mexico for a work retreat this month. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2021, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/959 "2021-02-03T00:27:10Z")
I’m cross-posting this article from the Atlantic because I think the implications bring the riot into clearer focus. > **[The Capitol Rioters Aren’t Like Other Extremists](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/02/the-capitol-rioters-arent-like-other-extremists/617895/)** > > We analyzed 193 people arrested in connection with the January 6 riot—and found a new kind of American radicalism. Many - perhaps most - of the rioters weren’t down-and-out rednecks; these were people who had something to lose, as the article states. They had jobs - in fact many of them had good jobs and careers in which they were still active and influential. They were (roughly) about 10-15 years older than many of the previously identified violent extremists - average age was 40. This generally confirms the hypothesis that Trump supporters are living with a perceived existential threat of losing their country as they know it. White men (and women) with an average age of 40 are old enough to remember when black and brown presidents were still part of our imagination. They remember a time when automated telephone systems didn’t say “_para espanol primo oprima el numero dos_” They remember a time when they could laugh at ethnic jokes and not worry about losing their jobs over it. That part we’ve known for a while. But what this also reveals is how extremism has gone deep into the mainstream, and it should frighten us that people with six figure salaries are so angry that they seem perfectly willing to risk that status to engage in extreme behavior. Perhaps some of this is just getting caught up in the momentary dynamic of group or mob behavior, but many people premeditated violent crimes, presumably laying out a psychological justification for doing so some time in advance. On the bright side, it’s possible that we could see a decline in this behavior as these older voters die off. Perhaps demographics takes care of the problem in the long-term. But in the near-term, this is a viable extremist movement that is very clearly considered acceptable in mainstream white conservative society, which means that this extremism is likely condoned by a certain portions of white society and people who occupy institutions such as in business, media, and government. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2021, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/960 "2021-02-03T01:03:36Z")
I think this goes a long way towards supporting my contention that right wing media is more toxic than heroin, and we need to somehow figure out how to treat this as a public health crisis. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2021, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/961 "2021-02-03T01:41:29Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > On the bright side, it’s possible that we could see a decline in this behavior as these older voters die off. Perhaps demographics takes care of the problem in the long-term. If we’re going to have to wait for 40-year-olds to die off to solve the problem, we’re going to be waiting a long fucking time. And I would not assume that demographics will solve the problem. The Trumpiest age cohorts today were the “free love” generation fifty years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2021, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/962 "2021-02-03T02:06:46Z")
That’s fuktup that the court allowed her to go. > [@Jenny Louise Cudd](#): > > So what they’re trying to do is cancel me because I stood up for what I believe in and I can tell you this it’s – and it’s what I’ve told everybody – I would do it again in a heartbeat. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2021, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/963 "2021-02-03T02:52:55Z")
Perhaps she thinks she can be a type of Sarah Conner, keeping the resistance going in Mexico. Just cuckoo enough to believe it. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2021, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020/964 "2021-02-03T03:29:06Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But so far the compact has dont nothing but help the republican party- on the off chance they win th ePopular but lose the EC. > > Only Blue states have signed on. It’s done nothing to help anyone yet, because it doesn’t take effect until states representing 270 electoral votes sign on. > [@DrDeth](#): > > And also, what good does it do, if only Blue states agree? Once states representing 270 electoral votes have signed on, it does exactly what it should do, which is to award (at least) 270 electoral votes to the winner of the popular vote. It is a way of accomplishing what would otherwise take a constitutional amendment – awarding the presidency to the winner of the popular vote. It would not matter whether the states are all “blue,” but just to get there will probably require at least some purple states to join in. I mean, Biden got 306, so it will take fewer than all of the states he won. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020.md?page=47) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-jan-2021-and-beyond-the-aftermath-of-the-storming-of-the-capitol/930020.md?page=49)