# 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:** 139
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2764 "2021-01-11T16:04:15Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I’ve noticed that Trumpists on Facebook are all of a sudden saying “Can’t we all just get along!” after having been total assholes for the past four years. It’s kind of like after a guy breaks into your home, threatens your family, and after you capture him and tie him to a chair waiting for police, he cries and says you are being mean to him and why can’t everyone just hug and let him go? ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2765 "2021-01-11T16:06:28Z")
I’d put that on a par with the Republicans’ newfound and intense interest in fiscal responsibility. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2766 "2021-01-11T16:07:45Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I’ve noticed that Trumpists on Facebook are all of a sudden saying “Can’t we all just get along!” after having been total assholes for the past four years. As galling as that is, if they are heading in a less belligerent direction is that maybe a hint of the first questioning of the validity of the alternative reality of the cult? ---
**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 11, 2021, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2767 "2021-01-11T16:22:45Z")
Not that I’ve noticed. They still continue to spout all the Trumpist nonsense and a lot of bothsidesdoitism and whataboutism. A favorite is saying that BLM is worse than the current right-wing terrorism. Basically it’s like the bully who has been knocked down and asks for mercy but then will punch you in the back if you turn around. One was a neighbor when we were kids. When my liberal siblings posted anti-Trump things he would pop in to take swipes. When he did it recently and tried the “You have to deal with us” gambit, we all shredded him. His last post was “Fuck you and your whole liberal family” and then he blocked us. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2768 "2021-01-11T16:30:14Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > and then he blocked us. So a win for you then! Are you tired of all this winning? ---
**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 11, 2021, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2769 "2021-01-11T16:31:11Z")
Guys, perhaps it’s not such a good idea to sign on to an unsecure social media platform where one is required to give your SSN and copies of your driver’s license before committing sedition: [https://twitter.com/dellcam/status/1348615050454568960?s=19](https://twitter.com/dellcam/status/1348615050454568960?s=19) ---
**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:** [January 11, 2021, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2770 "2021-01-11T16:32:07Z")
A bit of tweaked classic literature for the occasion: > “Pooh-pooh to the Trumpies!” I’m liberally humming, > "They’re finding out now that no Trump coup is coming! > "They’re being arrested; I know just what they’ll do; > "Their mouths will hang open a minute or two, > “Then the Trumpies in Trumpville will all cry ‘Boo-Hoo!’” ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2771 "2021-01-11T16:36:33Z")
> [@Mike\_Mabes](#): > > > [@Spoons](#): > > > > he implies it; and some of his more rabid supporters in the crowd would (and as history tells us, did) interpret his remarks as a call to do just that. He knew damn well what he was inciting with his remarks, but he stopped shy of stating such > > There is one thing, and one thing only, that Trump is good at it. Being a con man without leaving any evidence of his crimes. And he is a fucking mastermind at it, probably the best in the country’s history, and he has been doing it his entire life. The thing is, he did leave evidence. The remarks he gave are the evidence. Sure, someone being disingenuous can make an argument that they have a different meaning than they did, but the law works on a “reasonable person” standard, and a reasonable person would here what he said on the day as a call for violence–hence why he lost his social media privileges. You can’t ever look at speech in a vacuum, as that’s not how speech works. There is always context and implication. This was true in the Ukraine call and the Georgia call as well. And it’s clear here. No reasonable person who wasn’t deliberately trying to come to a preordained conclusion can deny what he actually said. That’s the flaw in any sort of indirect statement–your audience has to be able to understand what you mean. And if you audience can understand, so can others. We know what Trump was saying–the meaning behind his words. There’s a reason why mafia boss language is used in TV to tell the audience they called for a hit–we know that’s what it means. ---
**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 11, 2021, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2772 "2021-01-11T16:36:51Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > > [@Colibri](#): > > > > and then he blocked us. > > So a win for you then! Are you tired of all this winning? I had actually unfollowed him years ago for posting Trumpist nonsense, but I saw his posts because he was still friends with some of my siblings. To be clear, he wasn’t conciliatory from the beginning. He first made a trolling pro-Trump post, then after we responded made a post that _could_ have been reasonable if he had meant it. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2773 "2021-01-11T16:38:55Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > How has he shot himself in the foot? He hasn’t lost a thing. He wasn’t going to remain in office anyway, and he knew that. If anything, his rabble of supporters may be (slightly) smaller, but the committed ones will double down. They’ll be even more committed. He did go out and film a second video calling the mob criminals. Basically throwing all the dedicated supporters under the bus for doing what he told them to do. That’s gotta sting a little for that crowd that was out there. I do know this. I have four Trumpers living around me - houses on all sides. Three of them have flags and signs and stuff. I’m talking a giant American flag desecrated by having Trump written on it along with slogans like “Right To Bear Arms”. (I saw one of those in the video of the crowd at the riot.) I’m talking one of those “Don’t Tread On Me” flags with a rifle silhouette on it. Two of them took their Trump stuff down the day the riots happened and haven’t had them back up. Coincidence? My Senators are Cornyn and Cruz. I just contacted their offices, by phone for Cornyn and by email for both. Cruz doesn’t seem to be taking phone calls. Here are my letters. Warning: lengthy. > [@John Cornyn](#): > > President Donald Trump is a criminal. He is the greatest threat to American Democracy this country has ever faced - worse than Iran getting a nuclear weapon, worse than North Korea getting the ability to strike the U.S., worse than the threat of an uncontained Hitler taking over all of Europe. Worse than the Russians trying to influence American Politics, worse than Putin. He needs to be removed from office IMMEDIATELY, and a signal sent to future generations that incitement of insurrection is an instant removal from office. Mr. “Law and Order” just made all the demonstrations and riots from Black Lives Matter a footnote. > > Do Your Job. Protect the Constitution. Protect American Democracy. Protect the people of America from his next attempt at a coup. > [@Ted Cruz](#): > > Topic \* Constitutional/Civil Rights > Message Subject \* Your role in the Insurrection > > Senator Cruz, > > You decry the attack on the Capitol Building as an act of terrorism, but you fail to recognize that YOU are partly to blame. Your backing of lies about the election and lies about the courts’ review of the election process have helped foster the attitude of the people that stormed the Capitol. They believe they are in the right because they believe the lies that the election was stolen. They believe they are the champions of the Constitution. They are WRONG, because they have been lied to by the President and by members of Congress, including YOU. > > This is not a case where Congress needs to investigate the election results. That won’t do any good. The problem is not that the claims have not had their day in court, not had a fair hearing. The problem is that President Trump and the right wing media and the Russian trolls and QANON have pushed LIES to the American people about the election process and the legal cases. > > And you have supported the rhetoric. Your support of a President, who by the way accused your father of helping assassinate JFK, gives legitimacy to his festering lies. Your calls for a Congressional pause on certification to investigate is ridiculous. > > I will point out an irony that seems to be missing in all this hubbub, but I’m sure you are fully aware. Back in 2000, the argument by the Republicans to end the recount in Florida and the justification used by the Supreme Court to end the recount and certify the election results for Bush was because the recount was taking too long and would prevent meeting the certification deadline for the Electoral College to meet. > > Yet somehow it is acceptable to miss the deadline for Congress to certify the Electoral College results because now the challenger is a Republican? Please. This is blatant hypocrisy for political gain, not in any way a legitimate protection of American democracy. > > You are appalling. You are engaged in slimy politics for your own personal political gain. You are transparent. > > I’m sure you will not do the right thing and back efforts to remove Trump from office IMMEDIATELY before he can do any more harm to the peaceful transfer of power. I’m sure you will claim that he is leaving office in days anyway, so there is no need. You are Wrong. A message needs to be sent that fomenting insurrection is an immediate removal from office. > > I wish you all the future good fortune you deserve. I controlled all my urges to call him a festering turd and a weasel and a bootlicking toady and any other derogatory names I could conjure up. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2774 "2021-01-11T16:42:27Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > > [@Deeg](#): > > > > So Republicans have started yammering on about “unity” and “moving forward”. > > I’ve noticed that Trumpists on Facebook are all of a sudden saying “Can’t we all just get along!” after having been total assholes for the past four years. I saw a relative of a friend talking about how he still has his guns and that he’s still going to be standing when the dust settles and the liberals were stupid to give up their guns. She’s trying to deescalate the situation, and I don’t want to make things worse, so I kept quiet. But it sure sounds like he’s ready to come out and shoot us. ---
**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 11, 2021, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2775 "2021-01-11T16:45:30Z")
Some of them are at least gloating that there is going to be rioting and violence around Biden’s inauguration, although not coming out and saying they support it. It’s mostly “This is what you should expect after BLM.” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2776 "2021-01-11T16:46:03Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > and the liberals were stupid to give up their guns. I’m a Liberal, and I have scores of guns. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2777 "2021-01-11T16:51:49Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > McConnell won’t be able to stuff the outcome with a rushed show trial. Trial? What trial? **Trial:** a formal examination of evidence before a judge, and typically before a jury, in order to decide guilt in a case of criminal or civil proceedings The House dropped off a package of evidence and the Senate Republicans (save one) in their infinite wisdom decided, “Nope. We don’t need no witnesses nor to even look at the evidence – not guilty!” I wonder if McTurtle still figures filling that last SCOTUS seat was worth it, especially if Donny did get tossed out on his ass, Pence would have been President and would have likely nominated Barrett anyway. Hell, without Trump as a lightning rod, we might well have a Republican President-elect and Senate majority today. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2778 "2021-01-11T16:59:42Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Two of them took their Trump stuff down the day the riots happened and haven’t had them back up. Coincidence? I bet they have not changed their minds about anything though. They have just slimed their way back under the rock in the darkness and damp where they belong. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2779 "2021-01-11T17:02:06Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > 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. Yes, and they will do so thinking and claiming that _they_ are the patriots and defenders of the Constitution. “The election was stolen, and nobody is doing anything about it! We MUST ACT!” > [@JohnT](#): > > Sad day for MAGA Dilbert fans: WHAT?! Scott Adams finally dropped Trump? I’m _stunned_. I’ll have to see what he says. Oh wait, I see this was a tweet. What else did he tweet? > > > > The White House @WhiteHouse > > Yeah, he’s still a nutbag. ---
**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 11, 2021, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2780 "2021-01-11T17:10:32Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I’m a Liberal, and I have scores of guns. I suppose that guy presumes you’ll run to surrender them as soon as Joekamancy demand it. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2781 "2021-01-11T17:13:45Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > I suppose that guy presumes you’ll run to surrender them as soon as Joekamancy demand it. Hey, if Uncle Joe wants to pay pre-ban market value, then sure. I like the Reich-wing hysteria though. I haven’t been shooting in over a decade, and their fear will drive the prices up. ---
**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:** [January 11, 2021, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2782 "2021-01-11T17:59:25Z")
No. No; it is not. ---
**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 11, 2021, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/2783 "2021-01-11T18:37:51Z")
Supreme Court is tired of his shit too: > [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182.md?page=138) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182.md?page=140)