“America will always do the right thing,” British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once wryly observed, “but only after they have tried everything else.” While I like a good hot take as much as the next fellow, there are enough holes in this one to qualify it as a form of cheese.
America doesn’t have a national flag. Always do the right thing, unless the “right thing” is meant as the “right-wing thing,” in which case the quip is both accurate and wrong simultaneously. America is a nation that tends to do right after getting lost in the dark. Of course we will try everything else first, if there’s money in it. In many cases, we won’t do the right thing (i.e. just and honorable) thing — or haven’t yet.
Churchill meant it to be a compliment, and we will accept it as such. On a day when Trump himself was able to live up to the barb, Joe Biden has tried every other option except open confrontation to address the ongoing national security crisis that Donald Trump has created since taking office. Today, on the anniversary that Trump and his people attempted to overthrow democracy, President Biden proved his strength and delivered the best speech of his political career.
“The big lie being told by the former president and many Republicans who fear his wrath is that the insurrection in this country actually took place on Election Day, November 3, 2020,” saidBiden and Vice President Kamala Harris were here this morning. “Is that what you thought when you voted that day? They want to show you that Election Day is the day of insurrection, and the riot which took place here on January 6, as a true expression the will of people. Can you think a more bizarre way to look at America and this country? I cannot.”
This passage of time will be seen by history with almost incapacitating bewilderment. These Trump supporters, these “patriots” with their tactical sunglasses, these conspiracy sleuths and YouTube scholars, these people in their gaudiest Donald shirts, have been led to believe they are the saviors of this white plunder factory of a nation, because their hero lost the election and he’s worried he won’t be able to steal from them quite so brazenly anymore. Each fact they make wrong is proof that they are right. They are the perfection of cognitive dissonance — and they are a symptom of a larger problem that goes far beyond Trump himself.
“While Republicans assault voting rights and the integrity of our elections, what fuels their advances is the rise of a gullible sector of the public ready to follow their leaders wherever they go,” writes Rebecca Solnit for The New York Times. “What’s often described as a weakness of the Democratic Party — the existence of a variety of views and positions, freely debated or even fought over, and a restless, questioning electorate — is a strength of democracy. The Republicans remain committed to punishing and casting out dissenters — such as Representative Liz Cheney, who has been ostracized since she recognized the criminality of Jan. 6 — only further inhibiting open debate and, these days, inconvenient facts.”
They are rooted in white supremacy-driven dogma and believe they can save the country. This belief is what the nation most urgently needs to be saved, and it’s happening quickly. the rolling pebbles become an avalanche and that old bloody band called “History” starts rhyming all over again.
“At least 163 Republicans who have embraced Trump’s false claims are running for statewide positions that would give them authority over the administration of elections,” reports The Washington Post. “The list includes 69 candidates for governor in 30 states, as well as 55 candidates for the U.S. Senate, 13 candidates for state attorney general and 18 candidates for secretary of state in places where that person is the state’s top election official.”
Yes, GOP officeholders are still can’t bring themselves to sayTrump lost the election. People are working overtime to make it happen again. I’d wager some long green that not one federal-level Republican politician actually believes the election was stolen. Many of them are able to spot a grift and this is one the most masterful. Some of them are gleeful, others are nimble and obedient, while others choose to stay with the pack or leave town altogether.
A majority of the countryThis elongated farce makes us believe we are in trouble. Generals in the military are specifically concernedWe are asking people to tell us where all this will end up in 2024. stop listeningTo those who try to sell pillows filled with lies.
We are on the wrong track now and it will be difficult to get back. Even if some of Trump’s supporters can be convinced that they have been taken for a ride down Pickpocket Lane, that doesn’t diminish the forces — such as fascism, white supremacy and capitalism — that are undergirding Trumpism. Even if the 1/6 commission does a good job, it is only the beginning.
