Monday, August 31, 2020

Could Street Violence Lead To A Trump Victory?


With just over two months to go before the election, Donald Trump is clearly feeling the heat.

He must be finally realizing that he could lose, and end up in a jail cell for all his crimes against America.

So over the weekend, he fired off a barrage of tweets which only served to show how desperate he must be.


For they were the work of a madman.

President Trump unleashed an especially intense barrage of Twitter messages over the weekend, embracing fringe conspiracy theories claiming that the coronavirus death toll has been exaggerated and that street protests are actually an organized coup d’état against him.

In the blast of social media messages, Mr. Trump also embraced a call to imprison Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, threatened to send federal forces against demonstrators outside the White House, attacked CNN and NPR, embraced a supporter charged with murder, mocked his challenger, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., and repeatedly assailed the mayor of Portland, even posting the mayor’s office telephone number so that supporters could call demanding his resignation.

And included more than one incitement to violence.

It's clearly an attempt to stir up more riots in cities across the U.S. so he can pose as a law and order president.

And some like the well known blogger Andrew Sullivan, think the Democrats are walking into a trap by not doing enough to denounce the violence.

Rioting and lawlessness is evil. And any civil authority that permits, condones or dismisses violence, looting and mayhem in the streets disqualifies itself from any legitimacy. This comes first. If one party supports everything I believe in but doesn’t believe in maintaining law and order all the time and everywhere, I’ll back a party that does. In that sense, I’m a one-issue voter, because without order, there is no room for any other issue. Disorder always and everywhere begets more disorder; the minute the authorities appear to permit such violence, it is destined to grow. And if liberals do not defend order, fascists will.

And let’s be frank about this and call this by its name: this is very Weimar. The center has collapsed. Armed street gangs of far right and far left are at war on the streets. 

What most people want in that kind of nerve-wracking instability is a figure who will come in and stamp it out. In Trump, we have someone who would happily trample any liberal democratic norm to do it. And the left seems to be all but begging him to do it — if only to prove them right. 

I don't agree with everything Sullivan says. I think he's exaggerating, and suffering from a bout of small-c-conservative panic. But his central point is a good one.

Unless the Democratic left can rein in those who think they are advancing the cause by burning and smashing things, Trump will be able to pose as the only man who can save white America.

And he could win the election.

What the Democrats need to do now is show extraordinary discipline, channel their anger into organizing, and getting out the vote.

And make sure everybody knows, who is the REAL terrorist... 

15 comments:

Steve said...

I hate to tell you the turth, because some people will scoff at a blog that cant get a video to play. But I was out in front of this days ago.

the video that wont play is Lenny Kravitz tibute to Prince.

http://thinkingaboot.blogspot.com/2020/08/i-am-trying-to-unpack-history-moving-at.html

Steve said...

Kaching$ Linda Ambrose KaCHING$$

rumleyfips said...

Sullivan tries to mask a fact painful to trumpaloonies . Left wing protesters carry signs : right wing protesters carry AR15s.

Jackie Blue said...

Unless the Democratic left can rein in those who think they are advancing the cause by burning and smashing things, Trump will be able to pose as the only man who can save white America.

Hence the balanced but firm tone from Trudeau in his presser today, attempting to staunch the culture wars and symbolic street fights that Top Gun is trying to stir up. You guys better keep Eric O'Foole the bald Trump the hell out of the PMO, because if the American "Troubles" breaks out and Hair Furor fearmongers his way to autocracy, it's all but inevitable that us Statesiders are going to start crashing the border. That's not a threat but a statement of fact. The fiercest fanboy of Johnny Mac the Indian killer is running Commander Waterford as a candidate in Ontario. Keep them OUT. Not only for your own sake, but because we're going to need a place to run away from Gilead that isn't Gilead North.

You might also need to "stand on guard for thee" and the possibility that four more years of the Trumpenreich leaves you folks in the sitting-duck position of Czechoslovakia during a certain era. Old Tool claims he wants to "preserve history" (for the white "victors"), while Trudeau, with Santayana in mind, is determined not to repeat it. This won't end with Trump whether he loses or not. It's a transnational fascist crime syndicate looking to reclaim the dying vestiges of white supremacy. Steve mentioned Prince, artist formerly known as, in his comment above. With apologies to the man, I think it's obvious that our resident wingnuts and Canada's branch plant of the NSGOP both want to party like it's 1939.

Anonymous said...

The simplistic "if - then " thought process is the root of the power Cons hold over the rational part of the population. If you do not conform I will bring down whatever force is required to ensure you do. In real life most parents figure out that perhaps giving the offspring enough expressive leeway is preferable to enacting the riot act. Eventually a form of mutual respect emerges that is able to address new challenges in life. In an instant gratification world, the populist Cons advantage is this type of intuitive/ soft scientific/ life experience thinking is perceptively much weaker than "lock em up - problem fixed". Except at some level most of us know that it isn't and eventually the problem will become much bigger. The Democrats really need to get better at shifting the dialogue so that its not a choice between forceful resolution vs longer term compassionate wisdom. With respect to the riots they really need to get some one to give the movement a face, in real time on the ground, with demands and condemnation of the violence so a dialogue can ensue. At present Trump has managed to portray the movement as a bunch of lawless thugs with no spokes person.There are many supporters, dead victims but no Martin Luther. Its understandable there might not be many volunteers as historically their life span has been rather short but if someone actually stepped up, on site real time, it would the the end of Trumpian nonsense.

RT

Anonymous said...

You are right, Simon. The more violence there is the more it plays into Trump's little gerry can filled hands. Even though a lot of the violence is caused by right wing infiltrators to stoke the protesters, there are still a lot of whackos on the left who are making a bad situation worse. With emotions running so high right now it's a big ask for the peaceful protesters to stay home but they have to. If Trump doesn't have a fire to throw gas onto, his ability to scare people into voting for him has greatly diminished. The stakes here are too high to even fathom the thought of another 4 years of this psychopath. Tuesday could be a fateful day as this repulsive lump of shit goes to Kenosha to do what he does best. Make a bad situation worse.
JD

Jackie Blue said...

Really o/t but since we're talking about orange psychopaths: Did anyone watch Charlie doing his best Pigeon Pete impression this morning? Everybody lied except him, apparently. Now he wants Chagger to resign.

Figures such a knuckle dragging white Bernie Bro focuses his ire on a brown woman. Except when it's his muse JWR, who he used as a cudgel against Trudeau after calling her a failure with blood on her hands. What a self-serving hypocrite.

After reading Quito Maggi's piece for iPolitics, now I hope that the NDP have alienated themselves so much from the Liberals with this hateful persecution campaign, that the government is brought down, and Trudeau gets that majority sooner rather than later. Why should Trudeau agree to "negotiate" with a party of opportunistic ratfuckers (h/t someone on Twitter) who've smeared his ministers as liars and even framed his mother as a gold-digger who "stole from a charity" and rode the coattails of her husband's last name???

Someone else commented that the NDP are trying to get leverage before the throne speech. Helluva way to go about it if so. I hope Trudeau continues to ignore them. Fuck the NDP. Today's stage show was a waste of everyone's time.

Steve said...

I hate to say it, but the day the dems picked Biden Trump won.

jrkrideau said...

Never mind violence, Trump is planning to appear as the saviour of his country by releasing a Covid-19 vaccine by Nov 1.

What could possibly go wrong?

CDC tells states: Be ready to distribute coronavirus vaccines on Nov. 1

Several public health experts pointed out that final stage trials of experimental vaccines are still recruiting, and are at best halfway through that process. The vaccines are two doses, and each is given a month apart. The experts told the AP they did not understand how there could be adequate data on whether the vaccines work and are safe before Nov. 1.

“Being ready is reasonable. Cutting short phase 3 trials before you get the information you need isn’t,” said Dr. Paul Offit, a Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia immunization expert who sits on the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee.








Simon said...

Hi rumleyfips...Yes you're right, there is a difference that Sullivan glosses over. But when people at home see our side throwing Molotov cocktails and burning down small businesses the damage is done. We need to impress them with our discipline if we are going to defeat Trump. The stakes are too high to do anything else...

Simon said...

Hi Jackie...Yes I saw a bit of the Charlie Angus show and boy was it ugly. Jagmeet Singh should have reined him in long ago, but since Angus wanted his job he is too cowardly to do that. But then he's also another dumb Trudeau hater, and he seems determined to make Erin O'Toole prime minister. Luckily I have been gathering dirt on Jiggy, so taking him on won't be too hard...

Simon said...

Hi RT...What I would like to see is massive peaceful marches, with candlelight vigils replacing Molotov cocktails. Unfortunately there are some Antifa types who like playing war, and believe that torching a Starbucks amounts to revolution. It was the same at the G20 in Toronto.
The Black Bloc came down from Montreal and started trashing things, and gave police the excuse to brutalize peaceful demonstrators and cage them like animals. They are the enemy as much as the Cons...

Simon said...

Hi JD....You're right, some of those supposed Antifa types are probably Trump provocateurs, which makes it even more important that we don't play their game. Trump's best chance of winning is to scare seniors, just at a time when many are abandoning him because of his criminal mishandling of the Coronavirus pandemic. It would be like snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, and it cannot be allowed to happen. Everybody should channel their energy into organizing and getting out the vote...

Simon said...

Hi Steve...I don't agree with you. Biden may not be the kind of candidate who appeals to a hot head like me. And I do worry that he could die before the election since he is old and fragile. But his calm decent manner plays well against Trump, and if the Democrats play him well he could win in a landslide....

Simon said...

Hi jrkrideau...The last time a U.S. president rushed a vaccination into production before it had been properly tested was Ford in 1976. The vaccine didn't do any good, it caused 450 cases of guillain barre syndrome and left many permanently paralyzed. Medical science has come a long way since then, but better safe than sorry...