warning: this is long, part record, part resignation, part rant, part maybe hope
As I'm sure you can imagine, I've been pretty much glued to the TV and Twitter since Wednesday morning. So many people are shocked at what happened. I expected violence but I didn't expect the goal was to breach and occupy the capitol building. I expected violence because Trump's followers have been telling us for weeks that there would be violence, the new civil war! As the day unfolded, seeing the videos, it was obvious that the capitol police were being very lenient in their opposition to these protesters. We were told at first that the capitol police were overwhelmed. How is that possible. Where were the batons bashing heads, the tear gas, the flash bangs, the rubber bullets, the riot gear, the fucking tanks that showed up at the BLM protests this summer. Some members of the capitol police, by some accounts, were complicit, in fact there is video showing them removing the barrier and letting the rioters, the insurgents, into the capitol building. And the storming of the capitol building was not spontaneous but planned, all over Parler and Instagram and FB and other social media venues. Trump even tweeted, show up on the 6th, it's going to be "wild". He knew. He not only knew, he exhorted his followers to head for the Capitol during his speech. Rudy Giuliani even called for trial by combat in his speech.
Some speculate that someone or ones were tasked with finding and taking the electoral votes. Only the quick thinking of some of the staffers who gathered them up when the chamber was evacuated prevented them from being taken, even though those are not the only copies. One guy was photographed leaping over something, clutching a handful of zip ties, pipe bombs were found outside DNC and RNC offices, a truck full of weapons and ammunition was found, a guy was discovered with nearly a dozen Molotov cocktails, a group of them destroyed one news agency's equipment, they erected a gallows with a noose, some guy climbed a scaffolding and threw down the American flag and replaced it with a Trump flag.
When it started looking dicey, Pelosi and the mayor of DC requested deployment of the National Guard and the DoD refused! Trump issued an order that they were not to be deployed. Now we know why Esper was replaced. This had been in the planning for a while. Congress was evacuated and safe while these insurgents roamed the capitol going door to door looking for people, destroying property and looting, they broke into Pelosi's office. They trashed the office of the Senate Parliamentarian, apparently expecting that to be where the electoral votes would be kept but aid was requested from other police departments, the FBI, the ATF, and other agencies with police forces, a 6 PM curfew was put in place, the National Guard did finally show up and the people were allowed to just stroll out all triumphant and go home. Finally some republicans started issuing statements disavowing the attempt to obstruct the democratic process, their outrage sounding insincere as they tried to separate themselves from the thing they have supported for four years. The senate republican twitter account claiming that that is not who we are when it is exactly who they are.
Biden made the first public statement, condemned the actions of the insurgents in no uncertain terms and exhorted Trump to do the same before Trump could be bothered to comment at all and when he did it was such a soft ball saying basically I appreciate what you did but, you know, go home now, I love you, you're fine people. Meanwhile he was in some secure location near chortling with glee according to some inside reports. Of course he was.
The Capitol building was cleared and Congress was back in session by 8 PM. We watched the first little while, McConnell's and Schumer's opening comments before getting the business in hand underway. We also listened to the first challenge, Arizona I think, maybe more before tuning in something else. They had fewer Senators and Representatives after the interruption than before willing to go along with the challenges and in the end, when I woke up this morning business had been completed and Joe Biden will be inaugurated on January 20th. Pence and even Lindsey Graham, have taken their turn at trying to redeem something finally. It's all too little too late as far as I'm concerned. It took the storming of the Capitol while they were there for them to finally find that step too far from Trump with only 14 days to go. How very brave of them to stand up to Trump, finally. If they think they can weasel out now they are sorely mistaken. We know who they are and what they supported for four years, refusing to get rid of him when they could a year ago.
Today revealed 5 deaths, 54 arrests and the FBI is very interested in help identifying everyone on video. Just because arrests haven't been made yet doesn't mean they won't get made they say, so the FBI, at least is taking this seriously. A lot of Congress, not a majority and mostly Democrats but some Republicans, as well as the sane members of the general public, are making demands that Trump be immediately cashiered either by the 25th amendment or impeachment. Pence has refused a call from Pelosi and Schumer so they went public to tell him if he didn't invoke the 25th amendment, they would be entertaining articles of impeachment on Monday. Meanwhile, while the world all goes crazy analyzing who, what, where, when, and how, as if any of that is really in question, Twitter, FB, Instagram, and some other social media platforms have suspended his account (though I'm sure he's venting his spleen on all the right wing conspiracy theory sites as they are the only ones who will have him) and the White House Press Secretary stands there and lies her little head off that everyone in the White House is devastated and refusing to take questions while people are abandoning ship left and right. Again, 14 days people. Where was your outrage a year ago?
Meanwhile, Parler is all about January 19th. They aren't cowed. They got away with it. Because, ya know, it wasn't them that did all that bad stuff, it was Antifa masquerading as them. Yeah, that's right, that's the ticket.
How on earth would antifa benefit, if it even existed as an organization, from doing this. Quite frankly, we won. All we need do is wait 14 days and Trump is gone. This is just more misdirection from people who clamor for freedom, as if they are being oppressed, but refuse to take responsibility for, to own, their own supposed anger. What the fuck! Trump doesn't need our help to look bad. He does that all by himself
Edit: Finally, last night Trump gave what some are calling a concession speech, admitting that a new administration would be sworn in on the 20th and condemning the actions of people he had previously called patriots. This was not a speech he made willingly, reading from the teleprompter, but was forced to give through gritted teeth as one tweeter put it, and his tone was anything but presidential, more like having to give the worst news of his life and we all know he didn't mean a word of it.
Good one Ellen! Details , all in the details! I had not realized how well planned it had been. Surprised, not surprised. The trumpians down the street are hook , line and sinker in trumpian trance. Like zombie ants plagued by Ophiocordyceps, the brain worm of trumpism has infected quite a few of our population. They will not ever be well.
ReplyDeleteI must admit it did look a bit amateurish from afar but maabe because we were once bystanders of a real failed coup attempt in a tiny African country and that was done by pros armed to their teeth. Instead, what's the thing about animal skins and bare chests. Also the video on social media of poor little Elizabeth from Knoxville crying bitter tears because someone maced her while she was only going to nicely join the revolution.
ReplyDeleteBut nevertheless, these are fascists, ignorant or not, some (quite a few actually) may have been confused when they ordered their flags online, carrying the flag of Georgia (the country in the Caucasus, Eurasia/Western Asia) instead of Georgia (the US state), but never mind, fascists is what the "fa" stands for in antifa. I don't always approve of the methods displayed by Antifa people - I can only go by what I have seen in my country - but let's never forget who the enemy here is.
Twelve days, two hours, thirty six minutes as I write this.
ReplyDeleteWhich is too long.
One thing Im doing is tweeeting to each and every one who voted YEA on the AZ objection to let them know they did not support democracy here is a link to the vote
ReplyDeletehttps://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202110
This is the only way to insure this does not grow. I have written my own stinking Senators, and plan to keep moving down the list thru ALL of them. It is our duty to denounce their decision to follow a dictator's lie. BUT we don't have to accept that.
OH and now the Right wind media is floating the lie that Antifa was bused in, all I saw was trump hats, trump shirts, trump flags, long ugly beards, I didn't see anyone in skinny jeans on a skate board.
Deletecowards won't even take responsibility for their own anger.
DeleteThank you for writing down the details. It's good to have this full account of it as it unfolded. I am still shaken by the whole thing, the not-so subtle complicity of the police, the utter outrageous violence of it, the antisemitic undercurrent, the White House watching it unfold with anticipatory glee. I cannot wait until they are GONE. They all need to be in prison. What a nightmare.
ReplyDeleteI am also disgusted by the Cabinet members and White House staff that are resigning now. They should be staying to work with the Biden transition team and they should be voting to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump. They are cowards for never doing what was right when they had the chance. Now they act righteous but they never were - Mitch's wife for goodness sake - what a farce.
ReplyDeleteThe denial of responsibility by the right-wingers is SO frustrating to me. "It wasn't us! It was Antifa!" I just can't stand it. I hope the FBI follows up and charges all those people identified in photos inside the Capitol.
ReplyDeleteMy little home town paper had two pieces today by residents at the event. We're a scant six hours from DC. Both were unhappy Pence let them, and the president, down. They planned no violence, have no idea who those perps were. And more MAGA bs crap. They say they will not leave, they want to leave fair elections for their children.
ReplyDeleteThe point is, it's a long way from over.
Beyond belief. It's obvious that a good number of our Congressmen/women and Senators have lost their moral compass. The fact that they failed to stop Trump long ago is proof evident. People should remember this and not only write to their governmental representatives, but REMEMBER their failure to act honorably come the next election. It makes me wonder if these representatives were so cowed by threats of retaliation from Trump that they decided to just look the other way and to save their careers. Cowards to the end.
ReplyDelete