# 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:** 41
**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:** [December 3, 2020, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/802 "2020-12-03T05:47:17Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > By contrast, the Left’s piece development has been very weak and fragmented. Keep in mind that the left is about to take over the white House. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/803 "2020-12-03T07:25:50Z")
If by “the left” you mean a longtime centrist Democrat then, yeah. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/804 "2020-12-03T10:48:26Z")
The public has been primed for a fascist demagogue, and the imaginary world they live in will be perpetuated by hucksters and “news” outlets who profit from them. It will be an ongoing threat to the public safety and to the smooth functioning of the government. ---
**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:** [December 3, 2020, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/805 "2020-12-03T13:27:10Z")
Yes, they are priming the public for fascism - that is precisely what is happening now. The tipping point is going to be high numbers of unemployed or under-employed young men (especially but not limited to, young white men) under the age of 35. You look at radical unrest and that is often the trigger: young frustrated men who had hopes and dreams who have no prospects of getting sexed or married and who become enraged. That would be a right wing militarist’s dream, and our national nightmare. ---
**Author:** ![Chad\_Sudan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chad_sudan/32/4509_2.png) [@Chad\_Sudan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chad_Sudan)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/806 "2020-12-03T17:28:35Z")
“Former National Security Advisor Calls for Martial Law” is somehow not news [?!]. I see it in British papers but not the NY Times or Washington Post. ---
**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:** [December 3, 2020, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/807 "2020-12-03T17:56:13Z")
Half of my mind says that not printing that story is the responsible thing to do. It’s like printing the headline _“Donald Trump now considering Mickey Mouse as running mate in '24; Mickey Mouse vows to transform America into benevolent cartoon dictatorship”_ It’s just gotten to be so off-the-walls bat-shit that it’s probably better not to give it a platform. At the same time, I fully 100% acknowledge that there is a strong counter-argument for printing that kind of story, just to remind people how far over the cliff the clown car has flown. ---
**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:** [December 3, 2020, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/808 "2020-12-03T19:22:14Z")
3 question treason test, currently being performed by the Washington Post: > [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/gcO1q7_vMsrHE5Yf5voTZflxwmvddndn5bmGJjYVo80QAdvLhxwMYIReRD-bMyqGxOd9hUOlRiEawlKtWPlNcmPNvxghwb6bPKu_FXBwZvqsujdvh-OSytwx-ArUlNS1BaM1vFj5fg=w600-h315-p-k "New item by John Thornton") ](https://photos.app.goo.gl/RYFxU4sT1viTk3qw8) ---
**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:** [December 3, 2020, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/809 "2020-12-03T19:24:56Z")
They should ask a fourth one: “Are you a fascist?” ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/810 "2020-12-04T15:49:33Z")
For those interested, [the Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/12/04/how-trump-allies-congress-can-launch-one-more-challenge-bidens-win-january/) has a pretty readable article up about the process for Congress counting the electoral votes in their January 6 joint session, and why it’s all-but-impossible for Republicans to use it to overturn Biden’s win. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/811 "2020-12-04T16:30:18Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > 3 question treason test, currently being performed by the Washington Post I’ll preview the results: 1. Mitt Romney: “Joe Biden.” Everyone else: [deafening silence] 2. Mitt Romney: “Oppose.” Susan Collins: “I am concerned.” Everyone else: [deafening silence] 3. Mitt Romney: “Yes.” Everyone else: [deafening silence] ---
**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:** [December 4, 2020, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/812 "2020-12-04T16:35:12Z")
Impossible to overturn Biden’s win, yes, but it’s certainly possible to cause lingering antipathy over the outcome. What’s happening in Georgia, for instance, seems like cause for celebration, but we should be horrified by these developments. Boycotting an election may end up giving Democrats the senate, but it will also fuel the sense of victimization and relative deprivation among the Trump faction. When democracy itself is delegitimized, it creates the potential for legitimizing radical alternatives. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/813 "2020-12-04T17:59:56Z")
So Scott O’Grady, one of the trump toadies nominated for a senior Pentagon spot after trump’s Post-Election Pentagon Purge Party, is the latest to endorse the Michael Flynn / Ohio Tea Party- sponsored “declare martial law and have military preside over re-vote” insanity. He’s also pushed QAnon and a bunch of other CT BS. This article mentioned he’s a former fighter pilot and his name clicked with me— ohhhh, he’s the guy who was shot down over Bosnia in '95 and used survival training skills while hiding behind enemy lines for over a week before he was rescued. I remember reading about it and being impressed with his story at the time. What a disappointment…another (minor) hero falls. > **[Trump Pentagon nominee spreads debunked conspiracies and tweets suggesting...](https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/04/politics/trump-nominee-pentagon-martial-law/index.html)** > > President Donald Trump's nominee to become a senior Pentagon official spread debunked conspiracies on Twitter that called Trump's election loss to Joe Biden a "coup" attempt and shared tweets that suggest Trump should declare martial law. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/814 "2020-12-04T19:43:00Z")
ISTM that “Losers get shot down; I don’t like losers” doesn’t have quite the sting it did 4 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/815 "2020-12-04T19:52:58Z")
Every single one of these military clowns that are joining the martial law chorus should be dishonorably discharged by Biden’s Secretary of Defense on January 20. There is no place for that kind of behavior in a democracy. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/816 "2020-12-04T20:15:06Z")
I don’t think any active military are jumping onto the martial law bandwagon. O’Grady is political appointee who will certainly be gone January 20 (assuming he is even confirmed by then). ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/817 "2020-12-04T20:41:32Z")
Most of these folks are retired veterans; clearly any one on active duty is toast. That’s UCMJ treason. ---
**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/818 "2020-12-04T22:27:49Z")
It can’t be treason, surely, given the constitutional limitation of that charge. (“Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.”) It might be sedition or something along those lines? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2020, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/819 "2020-12-05T04:28:06Z")
> [@solost](#): > > So Scott O’Grady, one of the trump toadies nominated for a senior Pentagon spot after trump’s Post-Election Pentagon Purge Party, is the latest to endorse the Michael Flynn / Ohio Tea Party- sponsored “declare martial law and have military preside over re-vote” insanity. I’m starting to think Trump might try it. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2020, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/820 "2020-12-05T12:58:22Z")
> [@ctnguy](#): > > It can’t be treason, surely, given the constitutional limitation of that charge. (“Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.”) It might be sedition or something along those lines? Yeah. I should’ve looked it up. Depending on who is doing what to whom it could be charged as mutiny, sedition, conspiracy, or aiding an enemy. See here for the **[UCMJ roster of offenses](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/subtitle-A/part-II/chapter-47/subchapter-X)**. ---
**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:** [December 5, 2020, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/821 "2020-12-05T14:26:20Z")
… and, they failed. [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/YWlSAypf0vmRo4nGxQ__-Gq1fEyKxJt0a25PofjgSLKsFys2wL4xPp8v9WMUOyDktCugLuk0kPaXQKVDysdE4QtE7Csk1m_LQFIObsD-uuSMuuHTRLOKmodAnfkPcUhnYcoqgPzbyA=w600-h315-p-k "New item by John Thornton") ](https://photos.app.goo.gl/8jXwD4JkmBHERHLCA) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182.md?page=40) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182.md?page=42)