Trump's Party Still - Why?
ASPartOfMe
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Trump Sent a Mob to His Office. Now He’s Kissing Don’s Ass
As The Daily Beast reported, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) went in a matter of weeks from angrily criticizing Donald Trump for inciting the MAGA mob that attacked the Capitol—to kissing up to the entire Trump family.
“The House of Representatives’ [Republican caucus] is comprised of the Trump party—with the exception of 10 or 11 reps,” says Rick Wilson on the latest edition of The New Abnormal. “They’re the pro-sedition, pro-insurrection, pro-mob party.
McCarthy went down, too—all the way to Mar-a-Lago, to bend the knee on Thursday.
“Kevin McCarthy had to flee his office [during the Capitol riot]. He begged Donald Trump to speak, to stop what was going on as it was going on. And Trump was silent. And now Kevin McCarthy is going to apologize to Donald Trump,” says Jon Allen, co-author of the forthcoming Lucky: How Joe Biden Barely Won the Presidency. “I don’t know what to do with that… If you come to my house and try to kill me, if you bring your guns to my house, one thing I will not be doing is apologizing to you and begging for your forbearance.”
And meanwhile, the Republicans in the Senate are acting only slightly less timid.
Republicans Come Crawling Back to Trump Three Weeks After Capitol Riot
GOP bigwigs who were, very briefly, prepared to throw Trump onto the ash heap of history following his primary role in sparking the MAGA riot and for helping the Republican Party lose the presidency and both houses of Congress are now beginning to shield the ex-president, once again, from his liberal foes. Top Republican lawmakers are increasingly signaling that they are ready to let Trump off the hook yet another time, and the former president has been working the phones from his new home base in Florida in an effort to make sure GOP senators vote to acquit him in an upcoming impeachment trial.
As for prominent conservatives who are still hoping to inherit Trump’s base and lead the party in the future, they have clearly determined that short-term benefits all lie in having Trump’s back, or at least in continuing to make excuses for him.
The week of the riot, Trump’s onetime UN Ambassador Nikki Haley said during remarks at an RNC winter meeting, “He was badly wrong with his words,” and that Trump’s “actions since Election Day will be judged harshly by history.” Haley described the situation as “deeply disappointing.” But, apparently, it wasn’t disappointing enough.
On Monday night, Haley appeared on Fox News to identify the real victim in this case: Donald J. Trump.
“They beat him up before he got into office and they’re beating him up after he leaves office,” Haley said. “I mean at some point, give the man a break. I mean, move on, if [Democrats] truly are about moving on.”
“Make no mistake: Democrat leaders’ vendetta against President Trump has always included impeachment, with many pledging to do so even before he took office,” Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement on Wednesday. “Not only is this impeachment trial a distraction from the important issues Americans want Congress focused on, it is unconstitutional, and I join the vast majority of Senate Republicans in opposing it.”
It can't be agenda, Trump is not President anymore, he is not in a position to do anything about it. Electability? they lost control of the Senate.
This is pure cowardice in the face of intimidation. After the insurrection, we all know what they knew, the threat is more than being primaried but fear of them and their families being physically harmed. It tells me despite all the talk of Trump being defanged the man remains a master bully able to manipulate veteran bullies to do his bidding.
It means the Dems and maybe even the woke enablers are the lesser of two evils for the foreseeable future.
Utterly depressing.
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Last edited by ASPartOfMe on 29 Jan 2021, 7:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
Darn.
What's wrong with your country?
(I know, a similar question about mine is just as appropriate)
It first struck me when I heard how Trump talks about science and medical specialists - like his mindset was so focused on "who's the bigger bully?" that it never crossed his mind to ask "who's right?"
He seemed to interpret scientists contradicting his claims only in terms of bullies trying to intimidate him. No other perspectives.
Sad to see the mindset to be much more common.
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What's wrong with your country?
(I know, a similar question about mine is just as appropriate)
The GOP has spent the last 30+ years moving slowly rightward--alienating moderates and emboldening formerly fringe right-wing groups. Fox News was started back in '96, when this trend was really picking up steam. The increasingly anti-centrist GOP, right-wing media, and Republican base created a three-way echo chamber that spiralled out of control after Obama was elected.
Now the lunatics are running the asylum at the GOP--egged on by the likes of Fox and Newsmax. The GOP leadership know it's far too late to pivot to the center, so they continue to kowtow to the right wingers. If enabling the man who incited a mob against them is what it takes to stay in power, then that's what they'll do.
Doubling down on appealing only to their base will also make them less and less electorally viable, and I don't see their base handling it well when it becomes clear how outnumbered they are by half-reasonable people.
(US has its problems, Poland has theirs, hopefully things will stop getting worse at least

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I guess I just wasn't made for these times.
- Brian Wilson
Δυνατὰ δὲ οἱ προύχοντες πράσσουσι καὶ οἱ ἀσθενεῖς ξυγχωροῦσιν.
Those with power do what their power permits, and the weak can only acquiesce.
- Thucydides
Conservatism discourages thought, discussion, consensus, empathy, and hope.
That's why I'm hoping the impeachment in February will be successful. I'm not counting on it, but it would be nice. Of course, it's good enough that the orange ape is out of the Oval Office, and also shut out of Twitter, Facebook and apparently Instagram (according to a friend of mine). Either he will be a threat again in four years, or he won't, but that's still well enough away that I'm not going to fret about it either way.
Besides, impeachment is not the only way Donald can be barred from running again. There will undoubtedly be other legal proceedings that follow, some of which won't have biased Republicans presiding over them. Should any of it put him in jail for a period of time that will extend to the point in time when he would be campaigning, he will literally be barred from it. Regardless of what happens, some debt collectors are due to break his legs in the not so distant future, and a lot of places are not doing business with him, which is significantly impact his bottom line.
Actually, I doubt the financial side of things will truly cripple Donald as many of his supporters are likely dumb enough to fund his campaign if he runs again. But, who knows what other effects that will have on him and the various aspects of his life? He's not a young guy anymore either, and there are bound to be medical consequences for his tendency to boil over every time things don't go his way. Plus, money is the most important thing to him, so that his businesses are tanking can't be good for his overall well-being.
goldfish21
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He belongs in jail & to be forgotten.
But even cartel bosses call the shots and run their empires from jail.
Republican politicians may fear for their lives if they convict him of his crimes - which is crazy on so many different levels - because trump could command the maga mob to murder them.
He's old and in bad shape. Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll just die soon and then we don't have to worry about what crazy crap he might attempt.
As for Democrats being the lesser of two evils for the foreseeable future.. duh! The party that works towards social, racial, and income equality, healthcare for all citizens and so forth is CLEARLY better for the masses of the American public than the party that does whatever it can to concentrate wealth in the hands of a few, stokes racial division, and refuses to provide the very basics of civilized society to citizens that all other developed nations on the face of the earth give their people.
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ASPartOfMe
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Besides, impeachment is not the only way Donald can be barred from running again. There will undoubtedly be other legal proceedings that follow, some of which won't have biased Republicans presiding over them. Should any of it put him in jail for a period of time that will extend to the point in time when he would be campaigning, he will literally be barred from it.

Actually, I doubt the financial side of things will truly cripple Donald as many of his supporters are likely dumb enough to fund his campaign if he runs again. But, who knows what other effects that will have on him and the various aspects of his life? He's not a young guy anymore either, and there are bound to be medical consequences for his tendency to boil over every time things don't go his way. Plus, money is the most important thing to him, so that his businesses are tanking can't be good for his overall well-being.

40 Republican votes for holding the trial 5 against means that any expectation of conviction is delusional. His meeting with Kevin McCarthy means any expectation that he won't have influence because he was kicked off social media is a pipe dream.
Even if for some reason he can't run in 2024 I fully expect the Republicans to nominate a family member.
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Kraichgauer
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Not many Republicans in office with a moral spine anymore. There's no courage in bowing to the lunatic wing of the party. It takes real moral courage to tell said lunatic wing that they're dead wrong, like Liz Cheney. Crap, I can't believe I'm actually praising Liz Cheney!! !
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I'd suggest that the reason Mr McCarthy (and others) are talking to Mr Trump would have a number of causes. A couple of main reasons being:
The first would be the realization that the media reporting Mr Trump incited the riot (as well as many other topics in the past) was not born out by later evidence - The Pipebombs were placed the evening before his speech, FBI investigations have determined the invasion of the building had been planned and prepared for days\weeks in advance, and most obviously - Had he been inciting an attack, the majority of those at his speech would have been involved (After all, they are frequently portrayed as blindly following him, and so under that assumption would be expected to do whatever he asked). For the most part, the "dog whistles" frequently mentioned regarding his words appear only "audible" to a tiny portion of his supporters, and a much larger portion of his detractors, indicating those people aren't listening to what is said, but rather what they wish to believe is being said...If a "dog whistle" isn't detected (and acted on) by the majority of those being spoken to, then it wasn't there to begin with.
Secondly, Mr Trump isn't the "cause" of the revival of the conservative\right wing (or more accurately, populist side) of politics, but is a symptom - He simply listened to what a large number of people were saying, which was ignored by the media and many other politicians, and ran on a platform that addressed what those people saw as being problems (within the constraints of the party he represented). Even on this site, you see a large portion of the membership ignoring (or attacking) those who may have a different view on subjects, rather than listening to what they are saying and trying to hold a conversation with them to understand what they are trying to say and either coming to a mutual understanding, or at the least agreeing to civilly "agree to disagree". As a result, this vocal group have no insight into what those they repeatedly silence and belittle actually believe, nor the reason behind beliefs, and instead rely on their own assumptions, and so generally come to false conclusing based on their flawed assumptions\lack of knowledge on the subject - Consider how often "MAGAs" is used to denigrate a person (or group) rather than the person using it making any attempt to hold a civil discussion with\about the target of the term...
At this point, there are 2 likley outcomes for the Republican party: work with Mr Trump in order to try and understand his supporters (mostly low income\poorer people who the 2 parties had previously taken for granted - look at where the individual donations to each party came from) and what they want and to tailor the party's policies more towards this section of the population which both parties had previously ignored, or risk (as happened following the 1824 election) Mr Trump setting up his own party.
While to those on the left, this second option may seem a "good" thing, breaking up the vote from the right, it would also allow the new party to better target those voters on the left, not being restrained\limited by policies\positions which the Republican party held. By being able to attack the Republican party over various policies, it would have the possibility to entice Democrat voters away from the Democrat party as well, so weakening their platform. Additionally, were they to nominate "everyday" people as candidates for the seats in both houses (rather than career politicians), for example, they would have a lot of freedom to attack incumbant politicians from both sides over the money they have made while "serving the people" above what their salary is (which would likely appeal to a sizeable portion of the left).
Kraichgauer
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^^^
Regardless of the pipe bombs being planted prior to Trump's actual speech, they had been planted by the same fanatics who came to listen to him.
No, Trump hadn't started the wildfire of populist right wing outrage, but that doesn't excuse him from desperately trying to unleash that hoard of fanatics who had tried to stop Biden's election by taking over the capitol and lynching elected representatives.
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-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer
This doesn't prove Trump didn't incite it, it just proves he wasn't the only one inciting it.
The things Trump said were vague enough to be interpreted in a variety of ways.
Nevertheless, among the Capitol rioters, there clearly were both (1) a relatively small group of people who had prepared in advance, armed with zip ties, apparently intending to hold Congress members hostage, and (2) a much larger group of people who wandered into the Capitol at the last minute at Trump's urging, awaiting further orders from Trump. The latter group seems to have included both (a) people who were basically law-abiding and thought they were following along to just another legal part of the protest and (b) people who believed that a second civil war and/or the QAnon "Great Awakening" was imminent, and who were ready to jump in on a moment's notice at Trump's urging.
People in category 2b could certainly be said to have been incited by Trump's speech that morning. People in category 1 could be said to have been incited, in part, by Trump's earlier rhetoric.
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Besides, impeachment is not the only way Donald can be barred from running again. There will undoubtedly be other legal proceedings that follow, some of which won't have biased Republicans presiding over them. Should any of it put him in jail for a period of time that will extend to the point in time when he would be campaigning, he will literally be barred from it.

Actually, I doubt the financial side of things will truly cripple Donald as many of his supporters are likely dumb enough to fund his campaign if he runs again. But, who knows what other effects that will have on him and the various aspects of his life? He's not a young guy anymore either, and there are bound to be medical consequences for his tendency to boil over every time things don't go his way. Plus, money is the most important thing to him, so that his businesses are tanking can't be good for his overall well-being.

40 Republican votes for holding the trial 5 against means that any expectation of conviction is delusional. His meeting with Kevin McCarthy means any expectation that he won't have influence because he was kicked off social media is a pipe dream.
Even if for some reason he can't run in 2024 I fully expect the Republicans to nominate a family member.
Regardless of what happens, at least it's out of sight, out of mind for four years.
Kraichgauer
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Gender: Male
Posts: 49,245
Location: Spokane area, Washington state.
This doesn't prove Trump didn't incite it, it just proves he wasn't the only one inciting it.
The things Trump said were vague enough to be interpreted in a variety of ways.
Nevertheless, among the Capitol rioters, there clearly were both (1) a relatively small group of people who had prepared in advance, armed with zip ties, apparently intending to hold Congress members hostage, and (2) a much larger group of people who wandered into the Capitol at the last minute at Trump's urging, awaiting further orders from Trump. The latter group seems to have included both (a) people who were basically law-abiding and thought they were following along to just another legal part of the protest and (b) people who believed that a second civil war and/or the QAnon "Great Awakening" was imminent, and who were ready to jump in on a moment's notice at Trump's urging.
People in category 2b could certainly be said to have been incited by Trump's speech that morning. People in category 1 could be said to have been incited, in part, by Trump's earlier rhetoric.
He had called them before hand, with an expectation that the election would be overturned by the sheer threat of Trumpites.
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-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer
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