# 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:** 80
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1583 "2020-12-26T19:13:21Z")
Rats don’t always live in the sewers. They come up once in a while to steal your food. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1584 "2020-12-26T19:23:38Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Good one; thank you. But the point again is a metaphor talking about the bad stuff sinking to the bottom, to ever greater depths of badness. “Sludge always sinks to the bottom.” Again, definition: Sludge: a deposit of ooze at the bottom of a body of water. ---
**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 26, 2020, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1585 "2020-12-26T19:41:07Z")
‘Trump’s dumps block the pumps’ too crude? ---
**Author:** ![SwissMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@SwissMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwissMan)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1586 "2020-12-26T19:53:20Z")
Slight hijack: all this talk about sludge is reminding me of an anecdote Obama told in his book, where Trump made an unsolicited call to David Axelrod after the Deepwater Horizon spill, offering his services in plugging the leak. ---
**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 26, 2020, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1587 "2020-12-26T20:12:29Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > ‘Trump’s dumps block the pumps’ too crude? _Nothing_ is too crude when speaking about this situation. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1588 "2020-12-26T20:20:02Z")
> [@SwissMan](#): > > Slight hijack: all this talk about sludge is reminding me of an anecdote Obama told in his book, where Trump made an unsolicited call to David Axelrod after the Deepwater Horizon spill, offering his services in plugging the leak. I reckon he’d plug a joint of 9 5/8" casing pretty well. Should have taken him up on it. ---
**Author:** ![SwissMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@SwissMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwissMan)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1589 "2020-12-26T21:32:19Z")
Obama mentioned that Axelrod, while trying to stifle a laugh, mentioned to Trump that the leak was already pretty much plugged anyway. I would have strung him out a little on it though, just to hear what harebrained scheme Trump would have cooked up. Of course, once Axelrod told him that, Trump immediately pivoted to trying to sell the idea of his building a new ballroom for the White House. ---
**Author:** ![Boycott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boycott/32/6741_2.png) [@Boycott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boycott)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1590 "2020-12-26T22:43:03Z")
Holy shit. That Lin Wood character who has rocked up with Sydney Powell as apparent Trump legal surrogate is now claiming to his followers that Mike Pence is a traitor and the qanon nutjobs are jumping on to say Pence is a pedophile. This country is poisoned no matter what. ---
**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:** [December 26, 2020, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1591 "2020-12-26T22:44:42Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > I reckon he’d plug a joint of 9 5/8" casing pretty well. Should have taken him up on it. Thanks. I was going to post something along those lines, but you said it better. ---
**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 26, 2020, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1592 "2020-12-26T23:03:35Z")
At high enough pressure, _anything_ will fit through a small orifice. ---
**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:** [December 26, 2020, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1593 "2020-12-26T23:52:02Z")
And enough AstroGlide. ---
**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 27, 2020, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1594 "2020-12-27T00:13:05Z")
> [@Boycott](#): > > Holy shit. That Lin Wood character who has rocked up with Sydney Powell as apparent Trump legal surrogate is now claiming to his followers that Mike Pence is a traitor and the qanon nutjobs are jumping on to say Pence is a pedophile. > > This country is poisoned no matter what. All I can find is an article on Raw Story about some tweets Lin Wood sent out on the evening of 12/25. He lists a bunch of people, including Pence, “Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Stephen Breyer, Joe Biden, Obama, Clintons, Bill Gates, Mark Meadows, Pat Cippoloni, Bush 41 & 43, George Soros, Cocaine Mitch” and others of being communists, pedophiles and child sex traffickers. Is this where you saw this or are you referencing the tweets? This is so scattershot I don’t see how it will impact Pence in any real way. If the Veep were singled out, then that would be notable but being part of a crazy mishmash of a list by someone who is clearly a loon isn’t likely to stick imo. ---
**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 27, 2020, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1595 "2020-12-27T00:14:40Z")
Lin Wood, hard at work: [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/eaL7_mxBd7EslSLaDlHP-qLh_KEXcHqwkdxVCzO0mIWlmb0TsatLS4NKDGPMqzIzJy9SOzM610DBKnSJC1b7Yr9U-K8PZ6Vg1eZbVUbreIBnTHxmnffD5qWXcCUlgR0l-HNZAlowkQ=w600-h315-p-k "New item by John Thornton") ](https://photos.app.goo.gl/C7ZmD1j7hBRk6a3FA) ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2020, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1596 "2020-12-27T00:15:52Z")
nm nm nm nm nm ---
**Author:** ![Boycott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boycott/32/6741_2.png) [@Boycott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boycott)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2020, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1597 "2020-12-27T00:18:57Z")
Yes that’s the Lin Wood tweet. The people in the replies and on parler are implicating Pence now. This account does a good job of sharing the most batshit takes > ---
**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:** [December 27, 2020, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1598 "2020-12-27T00:21:03Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > At high enough pressure, _anything_ will fit through a small orifice. He’s a universal plug. Just insert him hands first and push as far as necessary to fill the hole. ---
**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 27, 2020, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1599 "2020-12-27T00:26:51Z")
Looks like Lin Wood’s Twitter account has been suspended but I did find this meme he posted explaining what is going on: > Total lunacy. ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2020, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1600 "2020-12-27T06:38:04Z")
Trump is destroying the Republican Party and it’s only going to get worse for them. OTOH, with the pea brains of most MAGAs, they’ll forget all about him in 6 months and Moscow Mitch will still be majority leader and everything will go back to the way it was before. What are they going to do, start a new Tea Party that will get widespread support? As Carl Sagan used to say, “Well, maybe.” ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2020, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1601 "2020-12-27T16:17:07Z")
> [@Mike\_Mabes](#): > > Yes, millions of Americans believe there was fraud in the election. But the last I looked, there were about 600 right wing militia groups. Even if every one of them has a 100 hard core members who are actually willing to risk their lives to start a civil war, that is only 6000 soldiers, across multiple states. And even if they were, all these groups would have to until together with some sort of plan. Maybe a giant Zoom call LOL. What would that plan be? You’re thinking about this as too organized a movement. You’re thinking a collective organization with a top-down structure, or a coordinated group negotiating a plan together. > [@Mike\_Mabes](#): > > Another scenario. A dozen groups around the country all do the same sort of thing. It can’t go anywhere without thousands, nay tens of thousans, of average citizens joining it. Yes, and that is what scares me - that I can’t dismiss the idea of tens of thousands of average Americans getting stirred up enough that widespread violence kicks off that escalates into armed groups in conflict in major cities across the country. > [@Mike\_Mabes](#): > > I am now thinking about how MAGA protests after Jan 6, if if happens in very large numbers, let’s say 10,000 people in 10 states, could eventually lead to that civil war. Don’t want to think about it too much, but basically those 10,000 draw the same number of counter prostestors, which draws more MAGA hats, which draws more counter protestors, etc. Yes, that is more the scenario I envision. A Million\* MAGA March runs in to a Donald Must Go demonstration, violence ensues. Riots and counter riots break out everywhere. The police have already shown that that scale of activity is too much for them to handle. - Might be a slight exaggeration. 😉 My scenario is less an organized revolution and more mass chaos and destruction and death. Ruby Ridge and Waco become “The Alamo” of the new movement, as Biden tries to bring the country in line but the pissed off Trumpers equate him to the Anti-christ and Stalin. (That should be Lenin, but they aren’t smart enough to know that.) > [@Mike\_Mabes](#): > > You did not put a timeline on your scenario. In the short term there may be some acts of violence from these militia groups and they may kill some people. In the longer term, the rhetoric from Trump may lead to larger numbers of people joining these groups, and it could grow over a number of years. But what I suspect will happen, is that 6 months from now when the country is going along as it always does, and Biden has not implemented socialism, and the majority of people’s lives are basically the same as they are now, as happens every time we go from a Republican to a Democratic President, the millons who voted for Trump will continue to be whiny little bitches on Facebook and Twitter complaining about the stolen election, and these militia groups will fade back into the woods waiting for their opportunity to start that war. That is the most likely scenario, and certainly what I hope for. But even if that is what plays out, there are still a lot of sore people with a grievance escalating the sentiment that the election was stolen. That festering division makes what the last 20 years have been seem downright friendly. > [@Deeg](#): > > What Republican/conservative has taken action that has furthered Trump’s plans? I’m not talking about the inane blathering. What judge has ruled in his favor? What governor or SoS has invalidated votes? What assembly has overturned the electors? To my knowledge the closest example is the michigan GOP official who refused to certify Detroit’s vote but he was still overruled. There’s been no sniff of real change. > > We need to differentiate between the (mostly) meaningless hot air and tangible action. The Attorney General of Texas filing a lawsuit with the Supreme Court. Other state attorneys general and federal legislators signing on. Senator Ted Cruz agreeing to be the litigator if the Supreme Court heard the case. Government Services Administration Administrator Emily Murphy holding up transition funds for Biden’s team. Sure, she came around, but she was unreasonable to do so in the first place. Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller canceling transition security briefings, delaying necessary information transfer for National Security. Those are tangible actions. And I dispute your contention that Republicans remaining silent or actively supporting the notion that the election was rigged or otherwise contending that Trump is the true victor is harmless. This is snowballing down the hill, and the further it goes, the bigger the snowball, the harder to stop it. Every Republican not contesting Trump’s falsehoods and pandering to the Trump crowd is contributing to the oncoming avalanche that will drive them further and further to avoid being squished with the rest of us. Today, it’s just refuse to admit Biden won. Then it’s contest the voting as inaccurate and rife with fraud. Then it’s hold out hope the Electoral College will somehow deviate. Then comes Congressional certification, and steps to slow or obstruct the process, merely for show. Every bit of that is fostering the sentiment that our government is broken, that the election was rigged, that the Democrats cheated, that Biden is not legitimate, and at a minimum that stronger actions will be required next election. Actions to reduce voter access, reduce voter participation, put up obstacles for non-white Americans. Actions to intimidate liberals to keep them from showing up. More protest rallies waving guns around, more “poll watchers” showing up outside voting locations with their guns on full display. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2020, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1602 "2020-12-27T16:34:18Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > “This is a cash grab. When you finish a job, you’re always thinking about how to reinvent yourself. That’s what Donald Trump is doing right now,” he said… > > Cohen noted that many of Trump’s most devout supporters have indicated they would [support him no matter what](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/469058-poll-62-of-trump-supporters-say-nothing-the-president-could-do-would). > > “From them, he just wants $4.99 a month. And for that $4.99 a month, you get to listen to all the bullshit and all the far-right-wing conspiracies that Donald Trump can dream up,” Cohen said. “That’s what he’s going to sell you. That’s $100 million a month, $1.2 billion a year. That’s going to pay for the gas in his 757.” Yes, this is what I think Trump is mainly about. He is a conman, he’s been a conman all his life, he’s lining up the next con. How can he make money off this? But even more importantly for Trump, he’s trying to protect himself from legal action by making any attempts at criminal or civil actions against him be perceived as politically motivated attacks rather than legitimate legal interests. He’s trying to make going after him such a political minefield that it discourages Biden and the Dems from pursing anything, lest it “tear the country further apart” and “destroy the precedent that in America we don’t jail our political opponents”, etc. > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > A “non-profit”? I smell donations. Yeah, we have seen how Trump thinks of “non-profit” organizations. They are just another loophole for a slush fund. “I’m going to pay a charity as part of my punishment. Since it’s going to charity, it comes from my non-profit set up for funding charities. That’s totally legit, right?” > [@DrDeth](#): > > Do note there was a earlier $1200. And it all depends, for some that is not enuf, for others it’s just fine, and for a few, it’s beer money- if they even drink beer. Yeah, there were two rounds of $1200 checks, plus the latest push for a whole $600. WOO HOO! I’m Rich! I can retire to a life of luxury! Sure, some of us don’t need the stimulus to stay afloat. I mean, it’s nice to have more income to pay bills or even splurge, but, for example, as a grocery store employee I was not financially hit at all by covid. If anything, it gave me more money from overtime. But for anyone actually affected by the impacts of shutdowns, this is a ridiculous sum of money. Like handing out pennies and calling yourself a philanthropist. I would rather see targeted spending of substantial amounts than a pittance spread around evenly. And I’m one of those “evil librul socialists”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182.md?page=79) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182.md?page=81)