The Capitol Breech And Aftermath
This afternoon’s breach of the Capitol Building by pro Trump protestors was as stupid as it was inexcusable. None of the protestors could have thought that their actions would change the outcome of the election process. None of the protestors could have thought that the breech would further endear Trump’s MAGA movement to the American people. And none of the protestors could have believed that they’d be allowed to “hold” the Capitol Building much longer than a Joe Biden speech. In short, none of today’s breech participants could have thought that there would be ANY positive effect of their actions. So what gives? WHY did they do it?
Well, the simple answer is that today’s Capitol Building breech wasn’t a political act in the true sense of the term. It was, rather, an expression of RAGE…. Rage at the election fraud that robbed Mr. Trump of victory. Rage at the the transformation of America into a de facto one party government. Rage at the blatant partisanship and dishonesty of the media. And rage, mostly, at the way evidence of fraudulent election activity, pervasive enough to have changed the result of the election, was swept under the rug by the media, ignored by the majority of politicians on BOTH sides, and shrugged off by a timid Supreme Court that was, apparently, more concerned about appearances than about the unconstitutionality of the election changes that were made by Democrat election officials WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THEIR STATE LEGISLATURES, as is REQUIRED by our Constitution. Rage, ladies and gentlemen. Rage, pure and simple.
So, although their actions are understandable, they are also, very, very unfortunate. Unfortunate, not only for the scores of protestors (and some police) that were injured, shot (one protestor) and killed (one other protestor). Not only for the damage done to the hallowed halls of our Capitol Building. But for the damage it has done to the very righteous and much needed MAGA movement, which will suffer some loss of support by the moderates among us as a consequence.
And, it will be used as a pretext. It will be used by the left: “See! We TOLD you the right wing was more dangerous than the left.” It will be used by the Democrats to denigrate the MAGA movement that is, by far, peaceful and constructive.
Exaggerations and double standards from both the media and the Democrats will be as pervasive as profanity from the mouth of Beto O’Rourke.
We will hear double standards, again and again, about the violence. We will hear about how “ugly” the demonstrators were. No mention will be made of the COUNTLESS riots this summer incited by BLM and Antifa, and carried out by gangs of criminals and thugs. Of the cop shootings, the vandalism, the looting and the violence. This summer’s gang bang of America will again, if mentioned at all, be described as “peaceful” or, when pressed, “MOSTLY peaceful.”
We will hear double standards about “incitement” as well. President Trump’s comments will be intentionally misunderstood. When he urged supporters to “fight on” he was referring, of course, to what the Democrats, Hillary and Obama referred to as “the resistance.” He was NOT advocating a street brawl. It will be forgotten, for example, that just two nights ago, gangs of Antifa thugs threatened and intimidated Senator Josh Hawley AND HIS FAMILY. With a bull horn, in the middle of the night, the leader blasted: “When democracy is threatened, what do we do?… FIGHT BACK! What do we do?… FIGHT BACK!” Etc. THAT “FIGHT” declaration was described, by both Democrats and the media, as “PEACEFUL.”
And, descriptions of the breech itself will be EXAGGERATED. That sage observer of American life, Joe Biden, opined that today wasn’t a “protest,” it was, as he put it, “an INSURRECTION.” Has anyone ever HEARD of an “insurrection” that was UNARMED? (The ONLY shootings today were by the Capitol Hill Police, NOT by the demonstrators).
Further, the breech was very unfortunate because it will make our police forces look bad and incompetent, feeding into anti police sentiment in general and the “defund the police” narrative in particular.
And, lastly, today’s breech was very unfortunate because it will draw attention away from the important electoral objections going on INSIDE that building. Lost in the breech induced media cacophony will be a very important point: questioning the validity of THIS election, ladies and gentlemen, is NOT unpatriotic. Just imagine, for the purpose of argument, that election fraud DID alter the outcome of the election. Would IGNORING that be PATRIOTIC? Ignoring what, in actuality, is the TRUE will of the people? Alternatively, is it UNPATRIOTIC to demand a more transparent process? To insist that the election rules set forth in the Constitution are followed, and not arbitrarily altered? To insist that voter ID checks, signature verifications, proof of life, proof of citizenship, proof of state residence and other measures necessary to authenticate the election results be carried out? To insist that canvassing techniques like ballot harvesting and blanket ballots mailed without request be stopped? To insist that all media platforms protected by Section 230 (the law that prohibits media platforms from being sued for content because they are said to be “neutral” purveyors of content) be required to actually BE neutral? Is it unpatriotic to demand that America adopt a more fair, “tamper proof” and transparent system of elections?…
I thought not.
Hello, your blog was passed on by my mother, long time friends of Fran and Russ. My mother knows I’m on the other side of this discussion, but passed it on because she knows I have an open enough mind to listen to the other side. I’m responding with the hope that you’re also open to listening because we need that to heal our divisions. I read in your piece that you have serious concerns about how our electoral system worked in this election. If there were problems as you describe, then I’m for fixing them. But I have neither the time nor the inclination to research each one thoroughly. I trust our justice system to figure that out. That system is now filled with dozens of new judges appointed by Trump in his term. I trust that the judges made the right call in weighing the evidence of election fraud, concluding there was no systematic fraud that could have swing the election to Trump. I don’t understand why you question this justice system, how you can think you know better.
My other observation specific to the violent protest and takeover of the Capital building last Wednesday, is although you condemn the activity,
You don’t address Trumps
role in encouraging it. It always seems to me that no one in Trumps camp ever criticizes anything he does, as though he’s perfect. Even some Republicans in Congress have agreed that Trump by encouraging the protestors that morning, contributed to the event. Sure he’s mad about the election, and so are his supporters, but his actions in this historical event were in my view, unambiguously dangerous, irresponsible and impeachable. I wonder if you think Trump deserves to be criticized for this, and if so, why don’t you say that?
Hi Tom,
Thanks for taking the time to write.
I remain suspicious of widespread election fraud in 2020 for numerous reasons. These reasons are somewhat complicated and have been enumerated in previous essays on my website (Notes From Battleground 2020, Parts One, Two and Three). All kinds of red flags such as down ballot incongruity, statistical impossibilities, violations of Bedford’s Law and many other problems impugn the result. And I am not dissuaded in my suspicions by the lack of redress in the courts. Proving fraud in this circumstance is very difficult and would be impossible to have been adjudicated adequately in the time given. The rapid dismissal of the cases reflects, I believe, not the merits of the case (the Supreme Court didn’t”t even HEAR the case!), but rather the court’s unwillingness to enter into what they consider a “political Process” and VERY unwilling to do what amounts to picking a President. Many of the suits revolved not on points of fact, but rather clear cut violations of law. While the Constitution DOES give states the right to determine how they run their election, that right is vouchsafed for state legislators, not for partisan government officials. NO state legislature approved the changes. Unfortunately, these valid complaints were not adjudicated adequately. And if the Democrat Party was so concerned about election integrity, why did the expel countless Republican poll watchers (documented in scores of videos) required by LAW? Why did they lose chain of custody records? Why did the use a voting system who’s machines allowed real time internet access? If Democrats REALLY care about election integrity, let’s see how many of these problems will be fixed by 2024!
Once again thanks for writing.
Hi again Tom,
To answer your concerns regarding alleged incitement, I will simply quote Harvard Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz: “Some critics have claimed Trump incited the crowd into violence… Trump told the crowd beforehand that their protest shows “the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country” and “let us walk down Pennsylvania Avenue.” The President did not tell the protestors to breach the Capitol or commit acts of violence and later condemned them. At one point, Trump told protestors to “peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”
I too listened to his entire speech in real time and found no instance of incitement. And I would invite those who haven’t listened to the whole speech to do so, before making a judgement on these accusations. And the fact that the Democrats want to try to impeach him YET AGAIN isn’t convincing at all. They wanted to impeach him for belching at the table after dinner!