Ultimately the real damage trump is doing with his dangerous rhetoric and refusing to concede is not to force a coup, but to incite violence in his crazier followers, similar to this apparently ongoing story with the Governor of my state:
I tried to link to the original Free Press article, but it was paywalled.
I certainly understand the point, but what if this is basically ‘just’ the machinations of an evil marketing genius who knows nothing better than he knows reality TV – the only place where he’s consistently made money.
What if it really is a bad season of “House of Cards,” and his last chance to whip up a narrative so rife with intrigue and so positively spellbinding that he walks away with an audience that can’t live with not knowing.
It really does have a First Principles component to it: it all must enrich CFSG, personally.
Israel is not beholden to Trump’s legacy. Especially when they see it as the farce that it is. I believe Bebe has already called Biden to congratulate him on his win. Also, that UAE deal is with the Saudi aligned states. So few of them would object in a meaningful way.
We have to be careful about assuming that the people enabling Trump have any degree of foresight; they might be thinking of perceived opportunities to impose their worldview and might not be thinking further down the road. I’d say that this is often the case when democracies decline and give way to authoritarianism.
That’s what worries me about Republicans enabling Trump now. They might not have the worst of intentions and it might be just to get votes, but think about what kind of voter they’re essentially looking for now; they’re mining for voters who voted for a proto-authoritarian as president.
Consider as well how many Republicans initially indicate that they will resist the worst of Trump’s impulses, only to backtrack and give in once it’s clear that Trump will unleash his pack of wolves on them. We’ve seen moderates indicate they would oppose picking a court nominee before the election, but ultimately caving in. We’ve seen ‘concerned’ Republicans critique Trump’s behavior but ultimately walk back those concerns. We’ve seen Republicans now in PA say they’d not consider overturning an election but now they’re openly talking more in line with the Trump campaign talking points. This grand conspiracy against the president, and this need to save the presidency for him, can begin to take on a life of its own.
Because that was a situation with one state (Florida) and an election margin of around 500 votes, not multiple states with margins in the thousands and tens of thousands of votes.
Also, in Florida in 2000 the issue was poorly designed ballots (the infamous butterfly ballots) and hanging chads, not specious and made-up claims of alleged fraud with little or no evidence to support these claims.
Well, yes, comparing Florida 2000 to Complete Lunacy 2020 is apples to rollercoasters. My point, though, was that Gore was ultimately gracious when it was all over. I suspect Trump may not be.
So far we have seen all judges soundly rejecting Trump efforts to throw the election into question. Even the most conservative judges have understood that there are still some standards that simply must be adhered to for the courts to work at all. Hell, the attorneys for Trump were forced to back off when some judges reminded them, obliquely, that their jobs may be on the line if they continued to yank the court around and had better start giving straight answers.
I am not saying all these judges make good rulings but apparently there are still lines none of them will cross. That Trump even walked up to that line to test it is appalling and scary all by itself.
This article is worth reading. The channel is called Newsmax TV. DJT won’t have to start his own channel. He can take over/buy this one (if he can get someone to give him the $$).
Trump voters are flocking to a TV channel that claims Biden is not president-elect
…President Trump’s fans who don’t think Fox News is right-wing enough have another option on cable and satellite: Newsmax TV.
And something dramatic has happened in the past week: A big audience has sought out Newsmax TV for the first time.
…Over the summer, when I [Brian Stelter, CNN Business] started to keep an eye on Newsmax’s Nielsen ratings, the channel was averaging about 25,000 viewers at any given time – a tiny number by any TV news standard. As the election was approaching, the audience ticked up, but it was still just a fly on the Fox elephant’s back. In the final week of October, Newsmax was averaging just 65,000 viewers at any given time.
Then came the election. Newsmax averaged 182,000 viewers during the election week that ended on Sunday. And it is growing even more this week. On Monday the channel averaged 347,000 viewers. On Tuesday, 437,000 viewers. Evening shows like “Spicer & Co” and “Greg Kelly Reports” are reaching 700,000 and 800,000 viewers. These shows struggled to hit 100,000 before the election! Something has changed.
I’m hearing two theories: First, that Fox’s early projection about Biden winning Arizona enraged Trump loyalists, causing some to flip over to Newsmax, at least temporarily. Second, that Fox’s portrayal of Biden as president-elect is causing even more angst, and sending even more viewers in Newsmax’s direction.
Also of note: Trump is sharing videos from Newsmax’s coverage, and the Trump campaign is providing guests to the channel…
Or these wingnuts.
All the more reason to nationalize it and make striking illegal.
I think I may be being hyperbolic, but I’m not even sure anymore.
What people? Not the wealthy elite, not the oligarchs who will be given these industries to run and plunder.
We truly are looking at a crisis here, an Outside Context Problem.
Our democracy and our social and political systems have never been tested like this before, never been as stressed. To make any assumptions as to how it will all work itself out based on qualitative norms may not be valid. Trump et al are taking a sledgehammer to the foundations of our country, and they don’t care if it ends in ruin and ash, so long as they get to rule it.
I hope things work out, I hope that my statements are hyperbolic. But we are truly heading down a path, a new path, with nothing to light or guide our way. We can’t take anything for granted, we can’t assume that the institutions that have preserved our way of life will continue.
Civilizations fall, societies crumble. We are not unique or immune.
Yep.
The biggest problem with American exceptionalism is that we do mediocrity poorly.
It’s like someone listening to the weather report, not liking it and switching stations until they hear someone tell them the weather they want to hear.
These people are deranged.
My emphasis.
Oozed, not walked.
But they vote.
All the time.
Trump’s record in federal courts is the worst of any recent president
Any illegality that they are getting away with is due to Barr preventing DOJ from doing its job. And that ends in January.
“Enough to buy the Outer Hebrides.”
“Fourteen pounds and sixpence?”
Excuse my Blackadder reference.
They vote when Trump tells them to. My hope is that somehow this works out in a way in which Trump ends up telling his followers not to vote in the future. That would be the best possible outcome.
So what stops them from utterly disregarding legality between now and January 20?
How many people work for Amazon? How are you going to put THAT many people in jail? Jails which are already overcrowded? Not to mention the court calendars.
You have to realize that they simply DON’T CARE about the country. At least not “your” country.
Bibi Netanyahu doesn’t actually care about Trump, as much as they both benefit from their cordial relationship. Bibi’s goal is securing his own position, since he’s in pretty hot water internally at the moment.
Putting a permanent end to Iran’s nuclear program is undoubtedly a top priority for him. A nuclear Iran is viewed as an existential threat in Israel, and considering their rhetoric that’s understandable.
So if Bibi thought this was his chance to get away with an attack, I’m sure he’d do it, because if successful it would be a huge feather in his cap no matter what the diplomatic ramifications are (and ESPECIALLY if Trump is the one bearing their weight, not Israel).
Here’s the thing. Israel did that to Iraq. Iran isn’t stupid. Their nuclear research program is much more dispersed than the Iraqi one was, and undoubtedly hardened against bombs. If a few jet fighters could sneak in and end Iran’s nuclear program, Israel would have taken it out years ago. A decisive strike on Iran’s nuclear program is just not possible.