althecat
althecat's JournalSome thoughts on the swiftness of the Senate Trial - delay is in nobody's interests.
I am not convinced McConnell and McCarthy have any real plan here beyond trying to keep Donald Trump calm, and getting to the inauguration. The decision to delay the Senate Trial makes very little sense. As does the assertion the trial needs to be long.
Neither the Dems nor the GOP will benefit from a trial that lasts any more than a few days. But the Republicans have more to lose, the longer Trump's defense runs the more they will hemorrhage funders & voters.
Back to the Dems. There is no upside for them to giving any breath to anything Trump related. The best amount of attention for Trump to be getting is zero, and for the country to look to the future. There is limitless work to be done, Covid, the economy and fixing a broken Govt.
As for the public, I am not sure how American's feel about all this. But I for one just want this all to be over. To never hear Trump's name again and instead to hear news that America is soberly and carefully restoring itself after a five year Trump nightmare.
And here is another dynamic for the public which all parties to this catastrophe need to keep in mind. Right now the American Voting public are in a state of shock. This provides an opportunity for change and transformation. But the window is closing. Desensitization.
For McConnel and McCarthy Every additional day of a Trump trial, including the waiting period, is a day of additional harm to the GOP & for more focus and association with the disaster that is Trump. To prolong this is invite grotesque self harm.
The mechanism for self-harm is also self reinforcing, a negative cycle of GOP reps saying dumb stuff > incandescent media coverage > nutters responding with violence >>> repeating continuously. To save both America and the GOP really have no choice but to try to shut this down.
[This post is a version of a twitter thread also @althecat.]
I'm reminiscing about the old days of DU..... back before Twitter, iPhones and Facebook existed.
Starter for one:
Anyone else remember back in 2003 when we invented the election integrity movement here?
It was kinda cool when CISA Chief Chris Krebs said after this latest election (and after he was sacked) that the job is not finished, and won't be finished until there are no more paperless voting machines in the U.S. I really hope that happens before 2022. Might be tricky.... but I think it could help.
Personally I think there is a pretty direct line between back then and the GA triumph of last week.
Why the Department of Justice must indict Trump for inciting violence
Today is a critical moment in US constitutional history.
If Trump wins tomorrow & becomes Republican nominee an army of quislings will assemble around his racist, mysogynistic violent platform.
Many will counsel that it is better to let him campaign and lose rather than use the full force of the law to try stop him.
But if a week is a long time in politics, then seven and a half months of hate rhetoric - backed by an army of quislings - is an an aeon.
If Trump is indicted it will at least slow him down. The people will have a clear steer that this is not an acceptable form of politics.
If Trump is indicted Police & Security Services will have a clear mandate to keep an eye on the evolution of his "political movement".
If Trump is indicted civil authority, civil society & civic leaders will have a shield of defence to use when they speak against this evil.
But if a blind eye is turned to Trump's violent rhetoric citing "politics" & "democracy" then his legions will claim immunity and run amok.
And this is why the US DOJ must #IndictTrump.
P.S. It has been a long time since i have posted here.. But this Trump situation is seriously getting out of hand. As some of you know I am an NZer and a news publisher. I am currently based in France and like everyone in the world watching what is happening in the US very closely. IMO a combination of #Brexit and Trump being a candidate in this election might dent global confidence sufficiently to trigger a second round of the global economic crisis.
Hello DU - A Call Out From Across The Pacific From An Old Friend
Good Morning, Late Evening,
A post from the future tis 9pm on Tuesday here. I'll be online tomorrow watching and doing social media @althecat on twitter and supervising our coverage of the election. In ordinary circumstances I would think it would be impossible for a multi-millionaire corporate raider mormon bishop banker to win the presidency of the USA - however knowing what I know about the vulnerability of the US voting infrastructure and the evidence of "electoral fraud" in the US in every election since 2000 (volusia county) 2002 (georgia) 2004 (white ghosts of new york) 2006, 2008, 2010.... I am confident that your 2012 election will be hacked. The only question is how much. And how much more will Nate Silver and countless "see no evil" commentators look the other way.
Welcome to the 21st Century.
This is how it rolls.
So far.
Alastair Thompson
http://Scoop.co.nz
http://Usacoup.scoop.co.nz
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Member since: 2003 before July 6thNumber of posts: 5,747
