What comes next?
Was the January 6th attack on the capital the start or the end?
It is hard for me to believe it is the end. Why?
1. You have millions and millions of radicalized right-wing extremists. They are not going to magically disappear overnight. Nobody has deprogrammed them and they are utterly divorced from reality. And, they continue to be further radicalized by right-wing propaganda sources such as Breitbart, Newsmax, and a long list of websites you have never heard of.
2. Their coup/ethos/violence is supported by 50% of the Republican party. Think about that. That is a huge chunk of the American population proclaiming support for a violent overthrow of our Democratic government. That radicalized population believes there was election fraud despite zero evidence (why? because their leaders are saying it, Trump, Republican leadership, Republican congress, local Republican leaders, etc).
3. Trump has not been punished for his attack against this country and Democracy. He continues to be a figurehead as he denies a free and fair election.
4. The Republican party continues to do nothing because they “need” these voters. They would sell their soul, violet their oath of office, and sacrifice American Democracy in order to maintain power. We might get some nice speeches from a few of them, but where is the action?
In 1923 Hitler attempted a coup against a Democratic government. He was arrested for treason but the judge gave him an incredibly light sentence. By 1933 Hitler is in power. Looking at Spain and Japan’s history with coups is also worrying.
Nobody knows what is going to come next.
That should scare you.
We like to think that the FBI and the American Military would resist a coup and do their duty to this country. That is a pretty big assumption given that half of Republicans support this coup. And, after last week’s police response to this insurrection, you might wonder how deep the rot goes. Especially if it turns out that members of the police let violent extremists in the building.
Let’s imagine that a small group of active duty military members attempt a coup. Imagine fifty fully armed active-duty soldiers attacking a state capital or federal building. Or, imagine 3 pilots bombing an American capital. Do you really think that is unlikely given 50% of the Republican party think this coup is “justified”?
If/when this happens it will shatter Americans’ notion of our country (not to mention the power structure of the world). Normal Americans have no clue how many police are associated with white power and extreme right-wing movements. What happens when they find out the military is as badly infiltrated?
What happens next?
Overall my bet is on more violence over the next decade. Expect political assassinations, politically-motivated shootings, and bombings. I think American is in for a rude awakening as they feel the effects of the monster the Right Wing party has created over the last 30 years.
Republicans have ridden the Tiger for 30 years. Now they have to figure out how to get off before it destroys our country. And sadly… I think you will find plenty of Republicans who want to ride the Tiger straight through to a dictatorship. Josh Hawley or Ted Cruz or any number of people who pursue absolute power rather than service to our country.
What would surprise me?
- A Republican party that puts country before party. If they voted to impeach Donald Trump in the Senate that is a bare minimum to start a path to forgiveness.
- The country improving in any substantial way. I.E. health care made affordable, free or subsidized daycare rolled out nationwide, real unemployment insurance to help our unemployed get back on their feet, free or low-cost university to train our citizens in professions for the future, minimum wage increases that give the blue-collar and service industries the respect they deserve, whatever it takes so that cops stop shooting black people, changing what the police handle inside our community, improving our justice system so the poor get competent legal representation, paid vacation for everyone, maternity/paternity for everyone, massive education campaign to understand and discuss the racism in this country, lower military spending to improve our budget over the long term, restoring rules around media that we lifted that created this mess, getting rid of the electoral college, expanding the House to actually represent American, statehood for Puerto Rico, improve immigration and let in a ton more people to grow our economy/power, get our country on green energy for world/national security, smart gun restrictions, and more in a longer post from 2016.
What do I *hope* for?
- A Republican party that puts country before party.
- I’d like to see Republican voters vote out all the traitors who created this insurrection: Ted Cruz, Hawley, and the massive list of traitors.
- A massive campaign by the FBI to crack down on right-wing terrorism and violence. And, a massive push to remove right-wing extremists and white power nationalist from our police forces and military.
- A massive re-alignment of the Republican party to pull it out of a 30-year descent into madness. There is online talk of Trump and his right-wing extremists forming the “Patriot Party”. I’d like to see that happen and what the result would be for our country.
- I’d really like America to still be a Democracy in 20 years and for it to improve substantially (list above).
Good luck America. Personally, I think you are fucked. If an attempted coup on our nation’s capital and 4,000 people a day dying from a virus do not wake up the Republican voter what will?
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