# The American Coup: 11.9.2020 - **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 9, 2020, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182 "2020-11-09T23:29:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 114
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2264 "2021-01-08T15:56:20Z")
I still called Castro, who sponsored a bill to ensure no federal property would have Fuckhead’s name attached to it, to let him know I have his full support and that they need to get this done as soon as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2265 "2021-01-08T15:57:37Z")
> [@velomont](#): > > Half the country is based on superstition, magical-thinking and mis/disinformation with a good side-plate of narrow-mindedness and racism. How does one fix that? For 40 years I’ve been saying the answer is death by old age, but damn it, most of those goons on Wednesday are younger than me. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2266 "2021-01-08T15:58:02Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > As much as I’d like to see that, I think we have to be careful about disenfranchising the voters who sent them there. As despicable as they were, the objections are allowed by law. As I commented to someone on Facebook: “Under our system, the insane and criminally seditious are just as entitled to representation as the rest of us.” ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2267 "2021-01-08T15:58:52Z")
I know. I keep seeing articles about how things are changing for the better as the narrow-minded bigots literally die off. But it doesn’t seem to be happening that way IRL. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2268 "2021-01-08T16:00:02Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > CFSG just RSVP’d “No” to the Inauguration. Bravo to Joe for doing the classy thing and inviting him. Hell, there’s no competition for the High Ground, amirite? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2269 "2021-01-08T16:00:44Z")
> [@velomont](#): > > Absolutely concur. I honestly don’t know how that can be appropriately dealt with but there have to/should be some consequences about decision making and acting based on lies. As I said (no snark intended btw) my post was my version of fantasy-land ideals. Normally one would expect the losers to be relegated to insignificant committee assignments and notice a very long lag time in any response from IT or maintenance for any issues at their offices. But in the House side there’s no real chance of major intra-causus sanctions since the objectors make up a solid 2/3 majority of the R caucus and included the Minority Leader, in a narrowly balanced chamber. In the Senate the objectors are a tiny minority and it would depend on whether Mitch wants to use his remaining political strength to crack down on those who defied him or to do opposition to the new admin, all the while aware that a whole bunch of guys are going to be running on the _“I’m the MAGAest of the MAGAs and Mitch’s weak!!! Trump/Hawley 2024!!!”_ platform in the 2022 primaries or in any special election to replace. > [@velomont](#): > > I keep seeing articles about how things are changing for the better as the narrow-minded bigots literally die off. But it doesn’t seem to be happening that way IRL. Been hearing it for 50 years. People forget that bunch raises children of their own. ---
**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 8, 2021, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2270 "2021-01-08T16:04:14Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Been hearing it for 50 years. People forget that bunch raises children of their own. They don’t always have to take after their parents. I was raised by some pretty right wing peoples. Of course, my brother and sister took after them, so I don’t know if it’s more an exception or a rule. ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2271 "2021-01-08T16:06:45Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > can we retain the system where the winner of the popular vote in Pennsylvania gets 20 electoral votes, but make it more automatic? Skip the state legislatures and electors and just give the winner 20 points? I’ve been wondering about something like this myself for the last couple of years but I’m sure something could go wrong and the EC will not be changed in my lifetime. > [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > How has he shot himself in the foot? I think he’s being watched more closely now (just my opinion) because he sent a mob to go attack Pence and other GOP-ers rather than just railing against Dems like he’s “supposed to” do. He helped contribute to the GOP losing both slots in the Georgia runoffs by making a fuss over the $2000 checks because he wanted to get back at Mitch for not helping him steal the election enough. I do think he’s lost his status with some of the GOP, at least for now. Not with the crazy faction of course. I know it’s not great. He can spew his rhetoric until he dies. It’s not what I want to see but I think it’s what will happen. I’d like Pence to do the 25 at the very least although it would be better for him to be barred from federal office ever again of course. But the political calculations will prevent all this. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2272 "2021-01-08T16:11:53Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > > [@velomont](#): > > > > I keep seeing articles about how things are changing for the better as the narrow-minded bigots literally die off. But it doesn’t seem to be happening that way IRL. > > Been hearing it for 50 years. People forget that bunch raises children of their own. Exhibit 1: [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ABLVV84MW8R62h4uT-rY2ABUVpIPx4kjiavy86gzuLpiMudMimz3mArlQIP08D3faBjO3kQ4Gic3MVgzhEzajowEPIoIQj1ctORH1pBnvmoAK3BqdQxGahc=w600-h315-p-k "New item by neil0502") ](https://photos.app.goo.gl/SJTXeqv9etM5S1tG9) QED ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2273 "2021-01-08T16:12:58Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > Exhibit 1: I’m just glad I didn’t have a mouthful of coffee when I saw that 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2274 "2021-01-08T16:14:47Z")
Well this tweet hasn’t aged well: > ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2275 "2021-01-08T16:16:29Z")
I wouldn’t want to attend an inaugural I’m sending my goons to disrupt either, to be fair. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2276 "2021-01-08T16:18:43Z")
Weirdly, my mind went there, too: “Got it. There **will be no innocents** at that Inauguration, then.” I certainly hope those in charge of security for the event take that under consideration, no matter how far-fetched it seems. ---
**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:** [January 8, 2021, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2277 "2021-01-08T16:19:24Z")
But if you dig deep, there is a very real sense of theft because the “theft” they are referring to is the theft of their nation, the theft of a nation that they feel they and their ancestors created – for them, not for “others.” That’s a huge problem that America faces: the problem of nativism. There’s this idea among white conservatives that America is _theirs_ and that “others” need to accept that there can be no America unless they are first in line. And by “they” I am referring to white males in particular, but that’s not to say you won’t occasionally find white women who don’t identify with this, and you might also find “others” who mistakenly belief that they’ve become “white enough” to fit in. Never, ever let it escape your mind that this a white movement. Look at the videos of the Capitol invasion. Who was there? I see very little else other than white (mostly male) faces. More importantly, think about why people _want_ to buy into these wild conspiracy theories. They willingly, knowingly buy into them because the reality of an America that lives literally by the words and ideals of “fair play” and “may the best person” win doesn’t really apply to them – not in the truest, most absolute or purist sense, which is how the rest of us would like to see it. And I am here to warn everyone: I think when you really distill it down to that, which is a sense of very real relative deprivation…I think yesterday is just a taste of what is to come. These people will absolutely kill to take back their nation. Don’t for a moment believe that some among them won’t kill and that the rest won’t cheer them on. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2278 "2021-01-08T16:29:52Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > But if you dig deep, there is a very real sense of theft because the “theft” they are referring to is the theft of their nation, the theft of a nation that they feel they and their ancestors created – for them, not for “others.” And of course, the irony is that many of these people are the children and grandchildren of (granted, white) immigrants-- German, Polish, Irish-- who were at one time reviled by the _earlier_ immigrants who had already displaced the original natives. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2279 "2021-01-08T16:30:06Z")
I think the major benefit of the House approving articles of impeachment at this point would be to provide a fail-safe method of removing Trump should he go even further off the rails. McConnell and the Senate Republicans may still not be willing to convict at this point, but that might be the case if (say) Trump decides to nuke Tehran. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2280 "2021-01-08T16:30:28Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Reality is setting in for some at Parler: I dunno. Lots of these types are more angry that they expected _to have him lead them to victory_ and instead he made them waste their time for nothing. They would gladly follow someone who did march with them giving direction. Though really, that again reflects the constructed fantasy of Trump as Great Leader that they bought into just on faith alone because their media bubble would not show them anything but his greatness. > [@Akaj](#): > > can we retain the system where the winner of the popular vote in Pennsylvania gets 20 electoral votes, but make it more automatic? Skip the state legislatures and electors and just give the winner 20 points? The issue this time around has been the Trumplicans propagating a malicious interpretation of Constitutional language that has RightWing precedents in other issues. “As the legislatures of the several states may provide” does **not** mean _at the whim of each State Legislature at any given moment_. If the State Legislature **passes a Law** , wherein they delegate on the State Secretary or the Elections Commissioners the authority to organize how the election runs, then those rules and guidances ARE part of what “the legislature provided for”, and a court with jurisdiction **may** judge and rule about them if there’s a question or challenge. Same if the People of the state pass a constitutional question giving the redistricting power to an independent body, or enfranchising ex-convicts to vote: a voter initiative passed _under the laws_ of the state IS something “provided by the legislature”, not something the legislature gets to override because they got back the wrong answer. > [@asahi](#): > > There’s this idea among white conservatives that America is _theirs_ and that “others” need to accept that there can be no America unless they are first in line. Yep. And heck, they are perfectly willing to let me have everything I may want in terms of financial and personal well being as long as I accept that being a Real American is being like them, and that I should aspire to be like them but always know I won’t BE them. > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > And of course, the irony is that many of these people are the children and grandchildren of (granted, white) immigrants-- German, Polish, Irish-- who were at one time reviled by the _earlier_ immigrants who had already displaced the original natives. Because that’s one of the biggest tool in their bag: letting those who are "close enough"and willing to assimilate completely, to join in, first as model minorities then as honorary Real Americans then as full members… as long as the distinct identity evaporates into nothing but food and a drinking holiday. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2281 "2021-01-08T16:31:14Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > … can we retain the system where the winner of the popular vote in Pennsylvania gets 20 electoral votes, but make it more automatic? Skip the state legislatures and electors and just give the winner 20 points? I mean, of course you could, in theory. Whether you could get Congress and 38 states to get around to doing it is another matter. While this makes sense, and in THEORY could happen, any effort to change the EC will be hit by the truck that is the Democratic Party, which will not want to do it your way, but instead eliminate the EC entirely. Then there would be a huge hullabaloo and it’d go nowhere. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2282 "2021-01-08T16:31:50Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > That’s a huge problem that America faces: the problem of nativism. There’s this idea among white conservatives that America is _theirs_ and that “others” need to accept that there can be no America unless they are first in line. But strictly speaking this continent, by that logic, is most certainly NOT theirs. It would instead belong to the Cherokees, the Hurons, the Apaches, and the Seminoles. [et al.] ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2283 "2021-01-08T16:33:21Z")
They would reply that’s theirs by conquest, and that they are trying to stop the dreaded Others from taking it the same way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182.md?page=113) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182.md?page=115)