Given the level of genuine hatred the MAGA mites feel toward their opponents (like me, or any other Bulwark reader), I expect we'll see real violence if they get the dictatorship they want. I don't think it will be as non-violent as Orban in Hungary, it will be more like Putin's Russia, with people imprisoned or turning up dead, if not by the state then by militants who the state won't prosecute or who get pardoned. They've already tried to legalize ramming your car into protestors, which in itself is a pretty big step. The signs are everywhere that this is going to be a really brutal, violent tyranny.
We've talked about the "cruelty is the point" among Trump's Pets. Apparently cruelty to family is also the point. See what Lara Trump did to her poor child as Ian was beginning to hit Florida. (Politicususa, and it's on Twitter). Where was her useless turd of a husband?
"The once magisterial voice of the conservative worldview looked at the race for governor in Arizona and airily overlooked reality. School choice? Are they out of their minds?"
Mental defect would be the charitable interpretation. The other one is that they know exactly what they're doing.
I can't help but laugh & scoff at all the fake tough guy rhetoric from guys like Trump & Stone. Guys who have never been in a single fist fight in their lives acting like famed thespian Stephen Seagal.
That American Greatness (hah!) article is just mind blowing to me. The left is violent daily?! The right is too peaceful?! How are there people in this country that are so deluded?
I couldn't agree more with Mona's assessment of the once vaunted Wall Street Journal. It has gone MAGA. As an Arizona resident and registered voter I don't want crazy Kari Lake or any of the other MAGA wingnuts in charge of the levers of government. AZ has had a succession mediocre to bad Republican governors since 2009. Don't get me started on Jan Brewer. Doug Ducey, meh. Spineless part-time sycophant. I want my elected officials to do governance not make headlines for outrageous statements or behavior. When did running for high office be reduced the equivalent of a junior high school popularity contest? Kari Lake is nothing more than Trump in a dress. I want elected officials to be work horses not show ponies. Kari Lake is a show pony.
Someone should point out to Michael Anton that democratic countries can emerge without a revolution. Canada is a good example of an independent, self-governing country that did not begin with a revolution. Yes, we chose to have a monarch but that has no bearing on our independence or our democratic elections. If America had foregone the revolution and been allowed to grow up a bit before leaving home, perhaps there would not be right wing blowhards citing 1776 as an example in their attempt to establish a fascist regime. Violence breeds violence. American can’t even claim taxation without representation as an excuse this time around.
I know this can come across as rah rah America, but I do think there is something to the concept of the UK learning a bit of a lesson from America and moderating the way it handled its other continent spanning colonies. Would be strange to suggest that the UK, Canada, Australia, etc. learned nothing from it.
It is a question that can't be fully answered, but had America foregone a revolution, would it have been allowed to 'leave home'? Did the UK need one of her children to violently leave home to prove the point that an island can't rule a continent?
Also, what do you mean by, 'grow up a bit'? Keep in mind that the parent and her siblings were all various forms of Monarchy with all manner of colonial exploitation going on. The US didn't emerge as a paragon of virtue by any remote standard, but I'm not sure what growing up needed to occur compared to how the adults on the world stage were acting at the time.
To continue the analogy, some kids leave home as soon as they can and learn a lot of life’s lessons without the stability of a family structure, assuming it is a family structure that works as a family. Many Canadians point to the difference between how Canadian troops were treated by Britain in the two World Wars of the 20th Century. In WWI Canadian troops had British commanders and were treated as cannon fodder, being thrown into hopeless situation where the had little chance of succeeding. Sometimes they succeed against all odds but there was unnecessary slaughter. For WWII, Canada insisted on having its own commanders and proved even more effective Under our own leadership.
After WWI Canadian courts became the final arbiter in law and Canada no longer had to seek ultimate authority in the Privy Council. Canada finally repatriation its Constitution in 1982. It might have been faster if we had staged a revolution but we very possibly avoided much internal strife (and possibly a civil war)by waiting until we had proven ourselves and left Britain on good terms.
We will never know how history would have been without the American Revolution. Perhaps America would not be bedeviled by the Second Amendment if you had not staged an armed rebellion against authority. Canada’s major wars have never been with itself although the beginnings of the RCMP were to put down a minor rebellion in what are now the prairie provinces. Canada has not had the cultural equivalent of America’s Civil War. Perhaps that is a reason we are a less militaristic country. We also were fortunate enough not to become a major world power.
If Anton wants to talk about First Principles. how's "No taxation (or governing at all) without duly elected representation"?
Beyond taxation without representation, the Colonists had a list of reality-based grievances numbering 27 in all, laid out in the Declaration of Independence. Anton's got...what? Bupkis.
It is eternally frustrating and infuriating to see these people fomenting violence and calling for revolution. What are these privileged, wealthy people like Stone, MJT, Noem fighting against? What is the revolution against? Wokeism? Cancel culture? Racial and sexual equality? Legal abortion? Trans culture? What in their privileged lives have they experienced that this has actually affected them? Disagreement and discomfort? What would they replace it with?
The American Revolution was about big matters. Taxation. Foreign rule. Independence. It was a revolution to make change, to move forward to a more perfect union. What they are proposing is a revolution based on petty squabbles and fighting change. Or a revolution to reverse time to a fictional past.
If they get what they wish for and the US does fall into a time of violence and unrest, they will likely live to regret their rhetoric while they watch their fortunes fall as the US loses it's global standing and our economy and reputation plunges.
Anton, Roger Stone, and the rest are the human equivalent of GI Joe dolls. They look and talk tough, but check down south and they have no balls. They'll all smooth plastic so as to not frighten Barbie.
They love, love LOVE "violence" and "revolution" and "fight" and "kill," but if one or more of us took them up on their bluster, they'd wet their pants and run. Genuine tough guys do not brag, threatened, or even talk. They do. These guys talk and talk and talk and slither and talk.
The want personal violence so badly, I will personally drive them to the gang-infested Englewood neighborhood in Chicago. They can hop out of my car, start yelling "N- N- N-" and put up their dukes as the fellas gather 'round to laugh at their keen wit.
After which Roger and the rest will become pavement pools, just like they wanted.
I think you're underestimating the damage they can do. It's easy to laugh at Bannon, Alex Jones, Sean, Tucker and the like. Mike Flynn and others - the Kyle (an idiot who still killed), the McVeighs, etc., that we don't know about - those are the ones to worry about. And the ones in Congress who will abet them.
I agree they are quite dangerous, Eva, in that they are experts at stirring up the no-brains who would riot and shoot to save America from . . . whatever it is QAnon tells them to be fear.
My point was that Stone, Jones, Tucker, and the rest are happy to get other people to do the fighting while they hide in a corner yapping on social media. General Flynn was a combat soldier at one time, at least. The rest are punks who want everyone else to fight The Enemy while they rake in money from likes, clicks, and rage advertising.
What will political violence accomplish for the person committing it? The only thing I can see is the mouthpieces getting to crow about it as they continue to promote chaos. Do they think violent episodes they repeat will pull more people to voting right?
I may be in a liberal bubble, but without an organized attack at the right time, all I see is a lawbreaker being dealt consequences by our legitimate government and law enforcement. Are those thinking of doing something not hearing about jail sentences? Or maybe they think they'll get to be a 'martyr' too (hang out in jail until Trump pardons them)? Maybe I have missed it, and the Bannons are saying more than just 'go be violent.'
Shouldn't there be charges against these 'today is 1776' tweeters? They tweeted before the breech of the capitol or right after I think. Sounds like knowledge of a plan. And why are state AG's not suing the people publicly questioning the elections of a state? And the objectors in Congress? If I was part of a state government that was accused/defamed in that way, I would be pissed. Well I am pissed anyway, cuz these are the same fuckers that want smaller federal government and believe the states' right should take precedent, and yet they get away with defaming the election in one sentence as if it were carried out by the fed gov.
Since I am ranting anyway, I wish I could tell all of these conspiracy-believing violence mongers that if there really were a Deep State, Trump would have never been elected! We would not have statehouses controlled by GOP super majorities! Clarence & Ginny Thomas would be dead! If there were a 'Biden regime,' they would shut down all avenues of far right speech!!!!
Enjoyed Morning Shots today, have a good one everybody.
It's an open question how well anyone is informed, I guess, but I've seen a lot of "Nobody involved in burning down Portland went to prison!" In fact, not a day goes by that you can't read complaints on social media that the liberals burned down a bunch of cities last summer and not only did nobody get arrested, they were all backed by Pelosi and Harris. And of course, there's nothing like liberals who have been complaining for years about over-incarceration now complain that the January 6th rioters aren't getting long enough sentences. And locally, I look forward to the daily complaints that all violent felons are now released without bail. So yes, glancing around, I'd say nobody believes anyone goes to prison for anything. And yet the prisons are mysteriously full.
Hi Kate, I am Kathy (cheerio in the Substack world). I live in Syracuse and we have the same issues-- violent crime and the police complain that the reason is because the people they arrest are let out the next day (literally on this morning's local news). I think, if everyone was able to pay bail they would be let out wouldn't they? I can see the ADA pushing for denial of bail d/t violent history as well as the violent nature of the alleged crime. Why is that not happening? The news stories give a quick interview but there is no further analysis or examination of the system we are operating under. And this being an election season just makes the rhetoric more sensational, -- without getting a balanced and well-reasoned account. Additionally, the public criminal justice system is understaffed (from admins to police officers to the courts and the jails/prisons to parole, social workers etc.). We can't keep the streets in our cities clean and trimmed (DPW is understaffed too).
What did the early political violence of 30s from the SS and SA do for Germany? Fear, and Hitler taking power, thanks to the total inability of his opponents to realize what was happening in front of them.
No, Dr Oz, he dresses like a working class Pennsylvanian. You might never have met such a person, being as you are from Jersey
No, Dr Oz, he dresses like a working class Pennsylvanian. You might never have met such a person, being as you are from Jersey
Given the level of genuine hatred the MAGA mites feel toward their opponents (like me, or any other Bulwark reader), I expect we'll see real violence if they get the dictatorship they want. I don't think it will be as non-violent as Orban in Hungary, it will be more like Putin's Russia, with people imprisoned or turning up dead, if not by the state then by militants who the state won't prosecute or who get pardoned. They've already tried to legalize ramming your car into protestors, which in itself is a pretty big step. The signs are everywhere that this is going to be a really brutal, violent tyranny.
We've talked about the "cruelty is the point" among Trump's Pets. Apparently cruelty to family is also the point. See what Lara Trump did to her poor child as Ian was beginning to hit Florida. (Politicususa, and it's on Twitter). Where was her useless turd of a husband?
"The once magisterial voice of the conservative worldview looked at the race for governor in Arizona and airily overlooked reality. School choice? Are they out of their minds?"
Mental defect would be the charitable interpretation. The other one is that they know exactly what they're doing.
I can't help but laugh & scoff at all the fake tough guy rhetoric from guys like Trump & Stone. Guys who have never been in a single fist fight in their lives acting like famed thespian Stephen Seagal.
That American Greatness (hah!) article is just mind blowing to me. The left is violent daily?! The right is too peaceful?! How are there people in this country that are so deluded?
Portland = The left violent daily.
MAGA restraining himself from taking his AR-15 to town on the next person who dares to announce their pronouns = too peaceful.
I couldn't agree more with Mona's assessment of the once vaunted Wall Street Journal. It has gone MAGA. As an Arizona resident and registered voter I don't want crazy Kari Lake or any of the other MAGA wingnuts in charge of the levers of government. AZ has had a succession mediocre to bad Republican governors since 2009. Don't get me started on Jan Brewer. Doug Ducey, meh. Spineless part-time sycophant. I want my elected officials to do governance not make headlines for outrageous statements or behavior. When did running for high office be reduced the equivalent of a junior high school popularity contest? Kari Lake is nothing more than Trump in a dress. I want elected officials to be work horses not show ponies. Kari Lake is a show pony.
Someone should point out to Michael Anton that democratic countries can emerge without a revolution. Canada is a good example of an independent, self-governing country that did not begin with a revolution. Yes, we chose to have a monarch but that has no bearing on our independence or our democratic elections. If America had foregone the revolution and been allowed to grow up a bit before leaving home, perhaps there would not be right wing blowhards citing 1776 as an example in their attempt to establish a fascist regime. Violence breeds violence. American can’t even claim taxation without representation as an excuse this time around.
I know this can come across as rah rah America, but I do think there is something to the concept of the UK learning a bit of a lesson from America and moderating the way it handled its other continent spanning colonies. Would be strange to suggest that the UK, Canada, Australia, etc. learned nothing from it.
It is a question that can't be fully answered, but had America foregone a revolution, would it have been allowed to 'leave home'? Did the UK need one of her children to violently leave home to prove the point that an island can't rule a continent?
Also, what do you mean by, 'grow up a bit'? Keep in mind that the parent and her siblings were all various forms of Monarchy with all manner of colonial exploitation going on. The US didn't emerge as a paragon of virtue by any remote standard, but I'm not sure what growing up needed to occur compared to how the adults on the world stage were acting at the time.
To continue the analogy, some kids leave home as soon as they can and learn a lot of life’s lessons without the stability of a family structure, assuming it is a family structure that works as a family. Many Canadians point to the difference between how Canadian troops were treated by Britain in the two World Wars of the 20th Century. In WWI Canadian troops had British commanders and were treated as cannon fodder, being thrown into hopeless situation where the had little chance of succeeding. Sometimes they succeed against all odds but there was unnecessary slaughter. For WWII, Canada insisted on having its own commanders and proved even more effective Under our own leadership.
After WWI Canadian courts became the final arbiter in law and Canada no longer had to seek ultimate authority in the Privy Council. Canada finally repatriation its Constitution in 1982. It might have been faster if we had staged a revolution but we very possibly avoided much internal strife (and possibly a civil war)by waiting until we had proven ourselves and left Britain on good terms.
We will never know how history would have been without the American Revolution. Perhaps America would not be bedeviled by the Second Amendment if you had not staged an armed rebellion against authority. Canada’s major wars have never been with itself although the beginnings of the RCMP were to put down a minor rebellion in what are now the prairie provinces. Canada has not had the cultural equivalent of America’s Civil War. Perhaps that is a reason we are a less militaristic country. We also were fortunate enough not to become a major world power.
I wish Fetterman was running in Texas.
Damnit, there is no way I can get free on 10/20.
Frick.
If Anton wants to talk about First Principles. how's "No taxation (or governing at all) without duly elected representation"?
Beyond taxation without representation, the Colonists had a list of reality-based grievances numbering 27 in all, laid out in the Declaration of Independence. Anton's got...what? Bupkis.
Re Roger Stone - I feel sick. The WSJ - I may lose my breakfast.
It is eternally frustrating and infuriating to see these people fomenting violence and calling for revolution. What are these privileged, wealthy people like Stone, MJT, Noem fighting against? What is the revolution against? Wokeism? Cancel culture? Racial and sexual equality? Legal abortion? Trans culture? What in their privileged lives have they experienced that this has actually affected them? Disagreement and discomfort? What would they replace it with?
The American Revolution was about big matters. Taxation. Foreign rule. Independence. It was a revolution to make change, to move forward to a more perfect union. What they are proposing is a revolution based on petty squabbles and fighting change. Or a revolution to reverse time to a fictional past.
If they get what they wish for and the US does fall into a time of violence and unrest, they will likely live to regret their rhetoric while they watch their fortunes fall as the US loses it's global standing and our economy and reputation plunges.
Yeah, like how do they think capitalism does amidst chaos?
Anton, Roger Stone, and the rest are the human equivalent of GI Joe dolls. They look and talk tough, but check down south and they have no balls. They'll all smooth plastic so as to not frighten Barbie.
They love, love LOVE "violence" and "revolution" and "fight" and "kill," but if one or more of us took them up on their bluster, they'd wet their pants and run. Genuine tough guys do not brag, threatened, or even talk. They do. These guys talk and talk and talk and slither and talk.
The want personal violence so badly, I will personally drive them to the gang-infested Englewood neighborhood in Chicago. They can hop out of my car, start yelling "N- N- N-" and put up their dukes as the fellas gather 'round to laugh at their keen wit.
After which Roger and the rest will become pavement pools, just like they wanted.
God save American society from these idiots.
I think you're underestimating the damage they can do. It's easy to laugh at Bannon, Alex Jones, Sean, Tucker and the like. Mike Flynn and others - the Kyle (an idiot who still killed), the McVeighs, etc., that we don't know about - those are the ones to worry about. And the ones in Congress who will abet them.
I agree they are quite dangerous, Eva, in that they are experts at stirring up the no-brains who would riot and shoot to save America from . . . whatever it is QAnon tells them to be fear.
My point was that Stone, Jones, Tucker, and the rest are happy to get other people to do the fighting while they hide in a corner yapping on social media. General Flynn was a combat soldier at one time, at least. The rest are punks who want everyone else to fight The Enemy while they rake in money from likes, clicks, and rage advertising.
What will political violence accomplish for the person committing it? The only thing I can see is the mouthpieces getting to crow about it as they continue to promote chaos. Do they think violent episodes they repeat will pull more people to voting right?
I may be in a liberal bubble, but without an organized attack at the right time, all I see is a lawbreaker being dealt consequences by our legitimate government and law enforcement. Are those thinking of doing something not hearing about jail sentences? Or maybe they think they'll get to be a 'martyr' too (hang out in jail until Trump pardons them)? Maybe I have missed it, and the Bannons are saying more than just 'go be violent.'
Shouldn't there be charges against these 'today is 1776' tweeters? They tweeted before the breech of the capitol or right after I think. Sounds like knowledge of a plan. And why are state AG's not suing the people publicly questioning the elections of a state? And the objectors in Congress? If I was part of a state government that was accused/defamed in that way, I would be pissed. Well I am pissed anyway, cuz these are the same fuckers that want smaller federal government and believe the states' right should take precedent, and yet they get away with defaming the election in one sentence as if it were carried out by the fed gov.
Since I am ranting anyway, I wish I could tell all of these conspiracy-believing violence mongers that if there really were a Deep State, Trump would have never been elected! We would not have statehouses controlled by GOP super majorities! Clarence & Ginny Thomas would be dead! If there were a 'Biden regime,' they would shut down all avenues of far right speech!!!!
Enjoyed Morning Shots today, have a good one everybody.
It's an open question how well anyone is informed, I guess, but I've seen a lot of "Nobody involved in burning down Portland went to prison!" In fact, not a day goes by that you can't read complaints on social media that the liberals burned down a bunch of cities last summer and not only did nobody get arrested, they were all backed by Pelosi and Harris. And of course, there's nothing like liberals who have been complaining for years about over-incarceration now complain that the January 6th rioters aren't getting long enough sentences. And locally, I look forward to the daily complaints that all violent felons are now released without bail. So yes, glancing around, I'd say nobody believes anyone goes to prison for anything. And yet the prisons are mysteriously full.
Hi Kate, I am Kathy (cheerio in the Substack world). I live in Syracuse and we have the same issues-- violent crime and the police complain that the reason is because the people they arrest are let out the next day (literally on this morning's local news). I think, if everyone was able to pay bail they would be let out wouldn't they? I can see the ADA pushing for denial of bail d/t violent history as well as the violent nature of the alleged crime. Why is that not happening? The news stories give a quick interview but there is no further analysis or examination of the system we are operating under. And this being an election season just makes the rhetoric more sensational, -- without getting a balanced and well-reasoned account. Additionally, the public criminal justice system is understaffed (from admins to police officers to the courts and the jails/prisons to parole, social workers etc.). We can't keep the streets in our cities clean and trimmed (DPW is understaffed too).
What did the early political violence of 30s from the SS and SA do for Germany? Fear, and Hitler taking power, thanks to the total inability of his opponents to realize what was happening in front of them.