Pages

Wednesday, January 6, 2021

MULPTIPLE UPDATES: The Usual Suspects Pontificate

The usual Republican suspects are desperately seeking to distance themselves from Trump and the irate patriotic demonstrators/rioters--senators, representatives, and assorted pundits are tripping over one another in their mad dash for the sidelines. To some extent it's understandable. Nobody wants to be identified with mob action that has no coherent leadership. On the other hand, as some have also noted, there's a distinct lack of perspective. If you examine the claimed provocation, the reaction may not seem so disproportionate as is being stated. 

Don Surber takes Powerline's John Hinderaker to task for Hinderaker's Trump Has Gone Nuts. In fact, of course, Hinderaker's colleagues Paul Mirengoff and Scott Johnson have also been howling at the Trump moon, denouncing Trump for the losses in Georgia and now for the storming of the Capitol. However, prominent law professor Glenn Reynolds neatly fisks Hinderaker in one sentence (Reynolds' words are in red):


JOHN HINDERAKER:

President Trump is right in saying that the 2020 election was rife with voter fraud. I think he is quite likely right, although no one knows for sure, in alleging that absent fraud he would have been re-elected. But his conduct has nevertheless become indefensible. . . . At this point, it is blindingly obvious that Trump has no pathway to victory. To the extent that Democrats committed or enabled voter fraud, they have done so successfully. There never was a plausible way to challenge the certified results in any state in the 60+ days between the election and the inauguration. Whether fraud occurred, sufficient to reverse an apparent result in any state, is a complicated question of fact that would require months, if not years, to litigate fairly.

Battles in support of election integrity needed to be fought in advance of the election, not afterward, when it is too late. But the Trump campaign, for some unfathomable reason, was seemingly unprepared for the foreseeable prevalence of voter fraud. Even when the election was over, Trump scrambled to put together a legal team.

Actually he had two high-powered law firms, well-equipped for this sort of battle, who were intimidated into dropping their representation by a campaign of social-media threats.


This is just one more of the shameful miscarriages of civilized standards we've witnessed in the last four years--to be added to the list that commenter Cassander came up with. That law firms should drop representation of a client solely because that client is unpopular with a political faction--not because of anything unethical that they have been asked to do--is a disgrace that should call for sanctioning by bar associations. 

Moreover, it's not true that Trump failed to take action before the election. Recall: an attempt was made to challenge the lawless actions of the Dem executive and judicial authorities in PA in disregard of clear legislation before the election. The Roberts SCOTUS refused to even consider the case on utterly specious grounds in a 4-4 decision. This is only one example of the hostile disregard for law that Trump has faced throughout his administration.

Indeed, liberal law professor Jonathan Turley points out the TDS knows no bounds when it comes to the legal establishment attacking Trump:


For many legal analysts, President Donald Trump remains a type of criminal Midas figure: everything he says or does turns instantly into a crime. 

Over the last few years, the media has published a long line of unfounded criminal theories by experts claiming that a tweet or a meeting or a statement established a clear prosecutable case. It is a popular and profitable take with the media which has been feeding an insatiable appetite for such reassuring views. 

Law has become a recreation and legal analysts have become part of the legal entertainment.

This pattern is continuing to the very end of the Trump Administration.


Turley is referring to the baseless claims that Trump committed a crime by speaking to the GA SoS Raffy-what's-his-name. Read it all if you need to be convinced. Another liberal legal voice, Alan Dershowitz, has also denounced the baseless claims.

What's so disturbing in all this is not so much that liberals lie and cheat. That's a given. It's that Republicans are so eager to join in this despicable attacks on Trump. One need look no further than Mitch McConnell's very disingenuous statement today in which he claims--contrary to all the known facts--that Trump's claims of fraud have been thoroughly reviewed and rejected by the courts. As if Texas and all the states that joined with TX had actually received a hearing on the merits.

Whatever the outcome of today's events, I doubt that the hypocrisy at play will go unnoticed by citizens across the fruited plain.

UPDATE 1: Steve Sailer captures more of the lack of perspective, originally pointed out by commenter aNanyMouse--Alternative Timeline NYT: Mostly Peaceful Protesters Call for Electoral Accountability Inside Capitol.

UPDATE 2:


UPDATE 3: Jonathan Turley yesterday, but it says it all about why all those people were there:


Jonathan Turley

@JonathanTurley

A court had to order Fulton county to remove posters blocking the view of observers and to force the county to allow observers to move closer (10 feet). What is astonishing is that the Georgia officials forced such reasonable requests to be litigated in the courts.

After all of the concerns and controversies, why would Fulton county election officials resist such a basic access for observers?  These are simple measures to help assure voters that there is transparency and access. This only fuels the suspicions of roughly 40 percent of voters.


Paul Sperry

@paulsperry_

Smug DC elite disrespected 63 mil voters, dismissing them as deplorables & smelly Wal-Mart trash, and subverted their will for 4 years. When 74 mil doubled down on Trump, they wrote them off as chumps & racists.And now they wonder why they'd be angry enough to storm the Bastille?

Know what's "banana republic crap"? Using intel agencies to investigate & spy on a presidential campaign based on the false political oppo research of his opponent, then ambushing his NSA & setting in motion a slow-moving coup of his presidency. Biden has nerve to talk of sedition.


And now we have to watch the usual suspects pontificate as if there were no context for what happened today? And pretend that if these had been Leftists the narrative wouldn't have been entirely different?

UPDATE 4: Will they finally get their coup? We may hear about that from McConnell tonight. For four long years they've been trying to frame Trump, egg him into doing something--anything--they can twist, demeaning him, lying and misrepresenting him. And he's no longer allowed a public defense. Shame:



UPDATE 5: Housley isn't the only one asking this:



UPDATE 6:




28 comments:

  1. TBH

    The way this unfolded with Pence timing the drop of his 'love letter' to the American Electorate right as Trump's weaksauce speech he made an hour late to people standing in the Cold....Fuck the whole thing I hope it all burns.

    Mahalo and Thanks for all the Fish!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Predictions following today's sad spectacle.

    Pence ended his political career today - at least as a conservative.

    Should Trump continue his campaign against the fraudulent election of Biden, each time Biden appears in public he will be met by hundreds, if not thousands, of protesters. The State of the Union may be the first event where this is seen since Biden apparently is skipping a traditional inauguration ceremony where these same protesters would likely outnumber any other attendees by a large margin.

    Those republicans who turned their backs on Trump will not be forgotten. Many will be challenged and hopefully defeated in '22. Names are already being mentioned to rid the party of these worthless carcasses.

    The SCOTUS may actually have to rule on some high profile cases after dodging the election bullet. This institution's reputation is as tarnished as the FBI's so many will be watching the direction the current court goes before court packing discussions begin...

    Finally, the Republican party is no longer the party of the rich. It is a populist working man's party. Meanwhile, the democrats will have to try and rope all the cats in their gender/racial/identity politics caucus to get anything done. Fun times...

    DJL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. https://redstate.com/mike_miller/2021/01/06/pelosi-appoints-aoc-other-squad-members-to-powerful-oversight-committee-they-promptly-call-for-radical-agenda-n305479

      Payment made.
      Tom S.

      Delete
    2. "the democrats will have to try and rope all the cats".
      With DS help, that'll not be hard.
      Those who don't suck up will end up like Trotsky, Yezhov, Danton, etc.

      Delete
  3. Declassify declassify declassify then declassify some more

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm not familiar with this site:

    PICTURED: Proof This is Antifa
    https://politicrossing.com/pictured-proof-this-is-antifa/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It’s not accurate. From the PJ Media live blog:

      MEGAN FOX | JAN 06, 2021 8:22 PM EST
      “Please, people. Those guys in the Capitol with the horns and the weird tattoos were NOT Antifa. Antifa has done enough that we can verify without having to blame them for everything. Please, stop believing randos on Twitter over us. It's insulting. We wouldn't lie to you. If Antifa was behind any of this today and we could prove it we would.

      ‘Right now, even Andy Ngo is telling you that it's not Antifa and he would know. He knows Antifa leaders and members by sight. Those weirdos in the Capitol were not Antifa, for the last freaking time. Please stop believing everything on social media.

      ‘ I know you don't want to believe MAGA did this, but there are some troublemaking elements in MAGA that are absolutely capable of this. That doesn't mean the whole movement is violent creeps. But there are some. Remember Charlottesville? Those guys are nothing but trouble. Maybe plants...who knows. But let's not pretend everything is Antifa's fault.
      ——
      Also, saw a retweet from one of the National Review Love Boat crew that retweeted a video interview of Buffalo Horn guy. Had his name and he is definitely pro-Trump.
      ——
      That photo of him at an artifact rally is being labeled as doctored by Twitter, for what that’s worth.

      Andy S.

      Delete
    2. OK, that's why I didn't include that in the post and stated I wasn't familiar with the site. Tx.

      Delete
    3. The viking dude show in that article is a "Q Supporter", not BLM or Antifa (at least not on the surface). The picture in this article is photoshopped so as not to show the sign he's holding, which has Q stuff on it (I've seen the full photo on Twitter). And the other guys are part of some nationalist group, as evidenced by other photos you can find online. If they are Antifa or BLM, they have gone to some trouble to obscure it.

      Delete
    4. I may have spoken too soon:

      https://twitter.com/Pantingdeer5/status/1347019572482691074?s=20

      The guy also has, well had, a backstage.com page which has been taken down in the last couple of hours. That is a website that lists actors.

      Delete
  5. Finally US had the same Kremlin - Tiannenman - Maidan style color revolution, in Capitol this time. I'm afraid, the events following the former three are indicators for what awaits the latter, because it's the same gameplay by the same perpetrators. It took about ten years to plunder the wealth, natural resources and human capital of the former three. Hence the "2030 agenda for sustainable development" by united nations.


    It's a sad day for America and the (relatively) free world. But, as Biden and the Great Reset cabal says, it will be built back better. Just not in the way, shape or form they anticipate, I hope.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sperry and Posobiec raise the possibility that these were Antifa thugs pretending to be Trump supporters. Maybe. If Antifa types were bused in as previously reported, where were they today? Rope-climbing up the Capitol Building, smashing in windows and assaulting Capitol police? Doesn't sound like any previous Patriot activity.

    And if Antifa is "just an idea," is that because the thugs calling themselves Antifa are from ACORN's successor group or Organizing for America (Obama's thugs)? Just wondering.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I don't know what y'all think of what you're seeing in recaps and opinion analysis tonight, but what I'm seeing is the Deep State, the Left Wing, the MSM and the Uniparty closing ranks and blaming Trump for violent actions which they said were ok all summer but are apparently unacceptable now in the United States of America.

    This lack of self-awareness will cause enormous additional harm to our country.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I believe you're right. They may think they're getting away with it for now, but time may well tell a very different story.

      Delete
    2. In my predictions listed above, I left out the media. After four years of bashing Trump and lying to the American people, what becomes of these distasteful personalities? They are not journalists - they've admitted as much. They are activists. What fate awaits these Biden minions? Their piece of the pie seems to be getting smaller and smaller. Perhaps they can try out as NFL cheerleaders, another failing 'woke' corporation...

      DJL

      Delete
    3. Yep; and visions of impeachment or 25th amendment in the last 2 weeks. Any suggestions on how to counter this? Asking for a friend.

      Delete
    4. What goes around, comes around. No telling when, but it does without fail. You can take that to the bank.

      Delete
  8. The San Diego women killed in capitol building today was Ashley Babbitt, a 14 year Air Force veteran.

    https://youtu.be/mWxq84olsV4

    mso

    ReplyDelete
  9. Mark - I pray you are right.
    >but time may well tell a very different story.

    The female being killed, unarmed, may be major.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can pick your martyr: George Floyd or Ashley Babbitt.

      Delete
  10. "Actually he had two high-powered law firms, well-equipped for this sort of battle, who were intimidated into dropping their representation by a campaign of social-media threats."

    Additionally, I remember an interview with Brad Parscale, who described power struggles in the campaign, which caused them to drop all their election safeguard plans.

    Perhaps some people were planted into the campaign and caused havoc. They seem to have experience at planting spies.

    Frank

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Also Trump had little say in the recruitment or training of poll watchers, counting/voting machine monitoring, etc. He had no choice but to rely on state/party organization. That is where the great betrayal occurred. Who owns the state level Republican Party, my guess they are 80% CoC.
      Tom S.

      Delete
  11. Powerline has become almost unreadable.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 74M voted for Trump, and I doubt they'll repent of their vote. Trump has done the great service to the nation of pulling the masks down off establishment figures. I suspect that those who are now revealing themselves as fair weather conservatives will experience a very large drop in their credibility and influence, analogous to what has happened to Fox on a larger scale and what has also happened to the WSJ over the Trump years.

      Delete
  12. Mick Mulvaney, Deep State altar boy, on his resignation: "We didn't sign up for what you saw last night." And what did you see, Mick? We had successes, he admits, "but now it will always be you worked for the guy who tried to overtake the government." With friends like these...What an insipid tool. And he isn't alone. He's got the execrable Barr, totally corrupt McConnell & Lindsay weather vane Graham sitting alongside.

    The signal downside of the rally, to me, is that Trump is forced to leave town on terms Schumer & Pelosi could have scripted. It's like he walked into a trap.

    ReplyDelete
  13. If you count unregistered children and friends and neighbors of Trump voters, maybe he's got 100 million supporters. Maybe more. That's a big number, which would appear unlikely to just apologize for having a different point of view and slink away so that Chuckie Schumer can "Change America".

    ReplyDelete