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    Vengeful Trump and his Republican cronies are going to make life hell for everyone

    David Cay Johnston, DCReport @ RawStory
    November 05, 2020

    Thanks for your support!

    This article was paid for by reader donations to Raw Story Investigates.

    (AFP / Jim WATSON)

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    David Cay Johnston, DCReport @ RawStory

    Joe Biden just won more votes than anyone else in American history, but the next four years may go down in history as the stymied presidency. That’s because it looks highly unlikely that the Democrats will get a majority in the Senate, leaving the chamber under the ironfisted control of Mitch McConnell, patron saint of polluters and profiteers.


    Even before noon on January 20, 2021, Donald Trump will be in a position to do enormous harm that will complicate the Biden presidency. Indeed, we should expect Trump is already looking for ways to use his last eight weeks in office to punish our nation -- or at least the states that voted for Biden.

    That assessment comes not from me, but from Trump himself. His life philosophy is a single word: revenge.

    Trump wrote that in his book Think Big. Then he went on for 16 pages about how what gives him pleasure is ruining the lives of anyone who does not do as he asks. His long diatribe was intermingled with observations about his desires to do violence, especially against women, some of whom he has named like actress and talk show co-host Rosie O’Donnell.

    “If you don’t get even you are just a schmuck!” Trump, via his ghostwriter, wrote. “I really mean it, too.”

    That Trump ruined the life of a woman executive at the Trump Organization simply because she declined, for solidly ethical reasons, to make a telephone call, you can imagine the vengeance he is thinking about as he smolders in his easy chair watching even Fox News mocks some of his ridiculous claims about vote fraud and his winning the 2020 popular vote.

    And if you think Trump might have changed his views against Christianity and renounced revenge since his book was published 12 years ago, consider this: at this year’s National Prayer Breakfast where he rejected forgiveness, a foundational tenant of the Christian faith he falsely claims to embrace.

    But whatever damage Trump can wreak in the next two months, McConnell will be in a position to do lasting damage until at least Jan. 3, 2023, the next date when Democrats might seat enough senators to make McConnell minority leader.

    McConnell’s conduct shows that has no respect for the will of the people unless it matches his views. This is the same Mitch McConnell who declared that he wanted to make Obama’s first term his only one and a failure. sent three right wing Senators to plot against Obama on the night of January 20, 2009, to ensure that the presidency of Barack Obama would be a one-term failure. As The Washington Post headlined a column by Jonathan Capehart, “Republicans Had It In for Obama Before Day 1.”

    That 2009 meeting, secret at the time but since acknowledged by most of the 14 participants, was just one example of how McConnell’s evil lust for power has held back progress in America for most of this century. McConnell literally looks down his nose when asked by journalists about imposing his narrow mined and corporatist views on everyone else. A trust fund kid grown old and very rich, McConnell regularly displays his utter contempt for, our Constitution except for the parts that allow him to impose his will on America.

    Just as McConnell refused to give an audience to Merrick Garland, the exceptionally qualified and centrist federal appeals judge who Obama nominated for the Supreme Court, the senior senator from the Bluegrass state can refuse to confirm Biden’s nominees to the cabinet and more than 1,000 other political appointments requiring the advice and consent of the Senate.

    Under Trump, McConnell has looked the way at gross disregard for federal laws governing appointees. Just consider how Trump installed Matthew Whitaker as the de facto attorney general even though it violated our Constitution and a host of federal laws.

    McConnell also has the power, assuming Republicans retain control of the Senate, to refuse any further coronavirus relief to be unemployed, landlords and small business owners. You can be absolutely sure that he will use his position to grant as little relief as possible while pushing for more of the lopsided coronavirus relief we saw last Spring and Summer when big business made out very nicely.

    Elections have consequences. Welcome to the consequences of split government and the power of one man elected by people in a state with fewer than five million people to overcome the more than 71 million who voted for Biden.

    This article was paid for by Raw Story subscribers. Not a subscriber? Try us and go ad-free for $1. Prefer to give a one-time tip? Click here.

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    Survey: Should Donald Trump be prosecuted after he leaves office?

    Twitter banned Trump -- and peace broke out

    Amanda Marcotte, Salon
    January 21, 2021

    After the violent but failed insurrection of Jan. 6, federal and state authorities were understandably terrified about violence on Inauguration Day. The FBI warned of threats of violence not just in Washington D.C. on January 20, but all 50 state capitols, the homes of prominent members of Congress, and other federal buildings across the country. This was hardly an idle concern. The same far right channels that were used to organize the insurrection were alight with excitement about another round, and Inauguration Day was the target. One of the organizers of the "Stop the Steal" rally that kicked off the insurrection spent the days after upping the ante, promising to "bring hell to my enemies" and declaring "I am the tool to stab" Trump's political opponents.

    This article originally appeared at Salon.

    Yet Inauguration Day came and went in relative peace.

    The calm was maintained not just in D.C., where the presence of 25,000 National Guard troops was an intimidating deterrent to would-be insurrectionists, but the planned pro-Trump protests at state capitols barely materialized — with mostly a few disparate and sad sign-wavers, rarely numbering more than a dozen at any single location. Outside the perimeter in D.C. set up by the National Guard, journalists outnumbered the Trump supporters so badly that any redhats who bothered to show up got swarmed by photographers. Only Portland, Oregon seemed to have seen any real violence, possibly only because the antifa and fascist groups that have spent the past four years street fighting there seemed interested in one final go-round.

    There's a number of reasons that Inauguration Day ended up being relatively peaceful.

    For one thing, legal authorities took the threat seriously and took significant preventive action. For another, the mass arrests of the insurrections by federal law enforcement sent a signal that the impunity that Trump supporters were feeling was misplaced. But most importantly, the main driver of insurrectionist sentiment and the man who instigated the Capitol riot — Donald Trump — wasn't on hand to incite more violence.

    Without their leader directing their energies and giving them targets, the violent right was aimless and confused — and not organized enough for another strike.

    While conservatives are already trying to muddy the waters around Trump's responsibility for the events of January 6, the record is quite clear. He repeatedly — in debates, in interviews, and at rallies — made winking references to his far right supporters, encouraging their violent urges. He repeatedly signaled that January 6 was the day of action. Even the wifi password at Trump's Georgia rally two days before the riot reinforced this target date to his most fanatical supporters.

    And, of course, Trump gave a speech on January 6 with a fairly explicit "go" order in it, telling his supporters to march on the Capitol and falsely claiming he would join them.

    But while Trump had many ways to communicate with the delusional fanatics that love him so much, it was his Twitter account that was probably the most important. Trump repeatedly pushed the January 6 date on Twitter, promising it "will be wild!" Even during the riot, Trump was directing the crowd, tweeting vitriol about then-Vice President Mike Pence in the midst of the violence. Unsurprisingly, the crowd's energies turned towards finding Pence, while chanting, "Hang Mike Pence".

    Twitter temporarily suspended Trump's account after the riot and then, after briefly letting him back on, permanently banned him when he went straight back to lying about the election and stoking the violent impulses of his followers. Facebook and other social media platforms also cut Trump off. There was also a purge of QAnon accounts and others who were spreading lies about Joe Biden "stealing" the election.

    The positive effects of the Trump social media ban were felt immediately. The analytics firm Zignal Labs showed that Twitter experienced 73% drop in misinformation about election fraud in the week after Trump and some of his most avid fans were banned from the platform. It underscores how dependent right-wing extremists are on their ringleaders, including Trump, and how many of them are uncertain what to do or what lies to spread without guidance. Frankly, it's unsurprising. These folks are authoritarians. Following their preferred authority figures is the whole point of it.

    That Trump was going to start losing his hold over his fanatical supporters was likely inevitable. They weren't ever really in it because of some great love for him, so much as they saw Trump as the most effective tool they could use to stick it to the liberals. Without political power, Trump's usefulness to his followers has disappeared, and their enthusiasm appears to be dissipating at a rapid rate. The New York Times reports that the Proud Boys are rapidly shifting from calling Trump "Emperor" to whining that he's a "total failure". QAnon chatboards were reeling in disbelief, as it became clear that Biden's inauguration was really happening and the promised mass arrests of Democrats were not materializing. One of the most popular Trump fan boards, The Donald, has rebranded under the even stupider name Patriots win.

    Still, there remains a danger that Trump could build up a myth of himself as a rightful-king-in-exile with these people. Without Twitter, however, it's going to be much, much harder — if not impossible. Trump loved Twitter because it allowed him to spread misinformation with less effort than it takes to make a phone call. Trump is both lazy and dumb, and clearly is struggling to imagine how to rally support without tweeting his every errant thought during his "executive time". His efforts at communicating with his base in the two weeks since his Twitter ban have been lackluster at best, and mostly non-existent.

    And we're all so much better for it. Without Trump giving both direction and permission to the violent urges of his followers, they are adrift, and seemingly starting to absorb the idea that there may actually be consequences for their actions.

    To be certain, the authoritiarian movement Trump breathed so much life into isn't going away. Republican voters have been radicalized — nearly three-quarters are continuing to assert misinformation about the 2020 election — and it's unlikely they are going to start feeling warm towards the democratic system again, just because Trump isn't riling them up every day. There's also still plenty of outlets for right-wing misinformation, including Fox News. The threat of domestic terrorism is still incredibly high, especially as so many domestic terrorists are self-directed instead of attached to organized conspiracies.

    Still, without a strong central figure to rally around, the seditionist crowd will likely fracture into hundreds of small communities, and get weighed down by in-fighting, as often happens with the deeply unpleasant and aggressive personalities that are drawn to authoritarian politics. A lot of them may even drift away, looking for some other fringe community to give their lives meaning.

    So while it's hardly some cure-all for the problem of growing authoritarianism or right-wing domestic terrorism, keeping Trump off social media is still crucial to protecting lives and protecting American democracy. And, while I doubt they'll listen, social media networks should also snuff the accounts of any would-be Trumps, who are getting attention and likes for spreading lies online. And if they don't, Congress should step in and regulate these companies so that they have no other choice.

    WATCH: Newt pushes conspiracy theory Biden White House wants to 'exterminate' Republicans

    Bob Brigham
    January 21, 2021

    Only weeks after Republican lies about election fraud incited a fatal insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, former Speaker Newt Gingrich pushed a new conspiracy theory.

    One the first full day of the Biden, Gingrich blasted the new administration because of public discussions over the 14th Amendment banning people who commit sedition after taking an oath to defend the Constitution. Many legal experts have said that applies to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO).

    "Well look, I think you are seeing the hysteria of the Biden system. Because it's not really about Biden himself. It's this entire team around him who are radicals who believe if they could exterminate the Republicans that would be one way to get to unity. As a New York Times columnist wrote this morning, you know, if Biden really wanted unity, he would start by lynching Vice President Pence. That just gives you a sense of the ferocity and the anger and the hatred that underlies the modern left. And I think that Cruz showed enormous courage," Gingrich argued. "He always has."

    Watch:

    ‘Pathetic’ NYT reporter blasted for ‘ragingly incompetent’ questioning of Biden press secretary

    Matthew Chapman
    January 21, 2021

    On Thursday, during the daily White House press briefing, New York Times reporter Michael Shear asked Press Secretary Jen Psaki why, as supposedly evidenced by his start-of-term executive orders reversing policies of former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden was not trying to unify the country.

    "Is unemployment insurance an issue that only Democrats in the country want?" said Psaki, visibly taken aback at the framing of the question. "Or do only Democrats want their kids to go back to schools?"

    Shear's question drew harsh criticism on social media, with reporters excoriating how he chose to pose the question and suggesting that it was a leading premise.

    He basically asked @PressSec why Biden hasn’t unified the country yet, suggesting that he should have left Trump’s policies in place and put Republicans in his cabinet.

    This framing is such nonsense. https://t.co/5A2h1tGGoY

    — Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) January 22, 2021

    Seriously, watch this insane exchange
    pic.twitter.com/b0V0KCSNHs

    — Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) January 22, 2021

    I give lectures around the world on how to ask questions. This guy needs to attend.

    No one should make it to the White House press room who is as ragingly incompetent as this guy at framing a question.

    Who is he? Who pays his salary? https://t.co/mbdNj1YNsw

    — David Cay Johnston (@DavidCayJ) January 22, 2021

    No, damn, it’s not someone from the New York Times or any other first right news organization. And if I’m wrong we can both send a letter asking why he hasn’t been fired.

    — David Cay Johnston (@DavidCayJ) January 22, 2021
     
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