The GOP is a National Security Threat

[allison22]

The GOP is a National Security Threat



A former Trump administration official on Thursday said the Republican Party is the top national security threat to the US, as the party's rank-and-file lawmakers continue to support former President Donald Trump's baseless claims of election fraud that incited the Jan. 6 insurrection and use it as a rationale to impose voting restrictions


"I stand by my statement. Unless my Party reforms, its extremist elements represent the leading threat to our democracy," he said.


Scholars on democracy have issued stark warnings following the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol, as the GOP vies to whitewash the fatal attack and Republican-led legislatures nationwide take extraordinary steps to restrict voting.


"With Trump gone, I hoped the Republican party might recalibrate, moving away from his illiberal, anti-democratic and irrational behavior and embracing a conservative, but firmly reality-based and small 'd' democratic politics," Sheri Berman, a professor of political science at Barnard College and author of "Democracy and Dictatorship in Europe: From the Ancien Régime to the Present Day," told Insider last month.


"That the Republican party has proven to be a greater threat than Trump — a single individual — bodes poorly for the health of American democracy," Berman added.


https://www.businessinsider.com/ex-trump-official-says-gop-number-1-national-security-threat-2021-7

 

[pecksniff]

Well, we're not going to have a civil war for Trump's sake.

 

[Articulate_and_Analytical]

First 1/6 Hearing Reveals What We Already Know: It Was a GOP Riot


“The indifference shown to my colleagues [by Republicans who deny the facts of the day] is DISGRACEFUL,” Fanone roared at one juncture, pounding the table loud enough to make the room jump. Following Fanone was Officer Hodges, who recounted his similar experiences with a brittle calm. Of the three, Hodges was the most unsparing in his clear declaration that the mob which attacked him was by, for and with Donald Trump.

Hodges, too, wept during his testimony when he reached the portion of his story recounting his close brush with death when he got caught between the two masses of fighting bodies. Most who have followed this story since January will recognize Hodges; he was the officer screaming for help as a man “foaming at the mouth” battered him in his helplessness and tore off his gas mask.

Officer Dunn opened his testimony with a request for a moment of silence for Brian Sicknick, one of the Capitol Police officers who died after the attack. Dunn — the officer who was captured on camera leading rioters away from vulnerable Congress members — laid out the evident tactical planning that went into the attack, the deliberate coordination of forces for the specific purpose of sacking the Capitol and disrupting the certification of the election.

Dunn recounted the torrent of racial abuse he absorbed from the mob, and shared that other Black officers he later spoke to had similar experiences to recount. Dunn quoted McCarthy’s searing criticism of Trump, spoken immediately after the attack was over, a vivid counterpoint to the minority leader’s abrupt about-face.

As we recognize the weight of these witness statements, we are by no means asserting the righteousness of the police or policing; we’re simply sharing the words of those impacted by this right-wing attack. All of us must simultaneously hold the fact that there were police officers involved in the January 6 attack, and that white supremacy — which drove so many of the Capitol attackers — also drives the core of policing.

Meanwhile, it is easy enough to see why Republicans want to thwart these hearings, if today is any indication of what is to come. January 6 was a Trump riot, a Republican riot, and the four witnesses today made no equivocation on that score. If it hasn’t happened already, I’m betting McCarthy will be getting an angry call from the Beast of Bedminster. Fortunately for democracy, all McCarthy and Trump can do is watch like the rest of us.


https://truthout.org/articles/first...tent&eId=e64c374c-8fee-4474-ae3c-69487d67dae2

 

[FGB]

Shit.

Down here in Texas we have had worse Town Hall meetings!



Now I don't know what happened in one little community about Ten years ago
But one business meeting at the local Church did not go well. They beat the crap out of the Preacher and burned down the church...Not sure where the mayor stood on the issue...Being NO witnesses the Sheriff Department hauled the preacher to the ER and had a cup of coffee... Rumor had it that the Preacher was really a seeking Deacon in disguise that was targeting the young females!

 

[pecksniff]

Shit.

Down here in Texas we have had worse Town Hall meetings!



Now I don't know what happened in one little community about Ten years ago
But one business meeting at the local Church did not go well. They beat the crap out of the Preacher and burned down the church...Not sure where the mayor stood on the issue...Being NO witnesses the Sheriff Department hauled the preacher to the ER and had a cup of coffee... Rumor had it that the Preacher was really a seeking Deacon in disguise that was targeting the young females!

And why is it Florida that gets all the flak for weirdness?!

 

[phrodeau]

January Sixth was only a rehearsal.

 

[OldJourno]

And why is it Florida that gets all the flak for weirdness?!

It only gets flak for weirdness from people who get vaccinated and think it's a good idea to wear a mask. For people who believe in America and freedom, Florida seems like a normal place.
Enjoy your mask and your upcoming quarantine.

 

[phrodeau]

It only gets flak for weirdness from people who get vaccinated and think it's a good idea to wear a mask. For people who believe in America and freedom, Florida seems like a normal place.
Enjoy your mask and your upcoming quarantine.

Of course masks are a good idea. WTF is wrong with you?

 

[OldJourno]

Of course masks are a good idea. WTF is wrong with you?

Yeah, I saw Psacky or whatever her name was trying to defend why masks were a great idea for people who had been vaccinated.
The vaccine worked, she explained, but the science shows bahduh bahduh fuck all you people we know half of you are sheep.

 

[pecksniff]

Yeah, I saw Psacky or whatever her name was trying to defend why masks were a great idea for people who had been vaccinated.
The vaccine worked, she explained, but the science shows bahduh bahduh fuck all you people we know half of you are sheep.

Don't wake the sheeple.

 

[phrodeau]

Yeah, I saw Psacky or whatever her name was trying to defend why masks were a great idea for people who had been vaccinated.
The vaccine worked, she explained, but the science shows bahduh bahduh fuck all you people we know half of you are sheep.

So face masks are bad because you think wearing one turns you into a sheep?

 

[YDB95]

You know what DOES turn you into a sheep? Always rejecting anything and everything that's associated with the government in any way. Anti-conformity is just the other side of the same coin as conformity.

And you didn't even pretend to show Psaki was wrong about anything.

 

[allison22]

As the hearing was happening, we were seeing evidence across town about why it is needed:

The Justice Department was filing a brief on arguments about whether then Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala.—now Senator Brooks — was within his official duties as a congressman to promote the riot. He was among the speakers at the rally denouncing his colleagues for failing to overturn the election results.

As Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin noted, "This sounds absurd, but in effect, Brooks is asking the Justice Department to certify that he was acting in the scope of his duties when he tried to overthrow the government. If he succeeds, he would be immune from suit."

She said it is "akin to saying Gen. Robert E. Lee was acting within the scope of his duties in the U.S. Army when he attacked Union troops. Sedition is not within the scope of any official's duties."


https://www.rawstory.com/trump-hitman/

 

[Secretive_Victoria]

The first hearing of the new, select, 13-member House committee heard from four police officers who made clear that:

The Jan. 6 attacks were by Donald Trump supporters, not random leftist posers

It was dangerous, not a gathering of "love," as Trump himself has described

It was out of control for hours

We heard ad nauseum from Trump's side that Speaker Nancy Pelosi is a rotten person because the Democrat rejected obstructionist nominees to the committee who were out to make a mockery of its proceedings. She dared in their view to reach into Republican ranks to name two members who have publicly opposed Trump on the insurrection attempt and the continuing Big Steal campaign to declare the last presidential election a fraud.

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-hitman/

 

[Jesus_Ateo]

Pro-Trump political commentator Julie Kelly called police officers testifying at the Capitol riot inquiry 'crisis actors'

https://news.yahoo.com/pro-trump-political-commentator-julie-050936220.html

 

[Jesus_Ateo]

The gripping testimony hit home the point, over and over again, about just how violent the January 6 attack on the Capitol really was even as the insurrection has become a political fight in the months that have followed.


Trump and some his GOP allies have actively tried to downplay the violence that occurred on January 6. Some congressional Republicans have suggested there was no insurrection, that the rioters weren't violent or armed, and Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia even compared scenes from the January 6 rioters to a "normal tourist visit."


Trump, in an interview with The Washington Post reporters Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig for their book released this month, said it was a "loving crowd" on January 6.


Tuesday's testimony sliced through those efforts to whitewash the events of January 6. The body-cam footage was violent and hard to watch.


The officers said the rioters they fought against were terrorists. Woven into the stories about how they and their colleagues were attacked -- and in some cases badly injured -- the officers expressed outrage that the violence launched by pro-Trump supporters was being ignored by the very lawmakers they protected that day.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/27/poli...-committee/index.html?form=MY01SV&OCID=MY01SV

 

[IrezumiKiss]

Yeah, I saw Psacky or whatever her name was trying to defend why masks were a great idea for people who had been vaccinated.
The vaccine worked, she explained, but the science shows bahduh bahduh fuck all you people we know half of you are sheep.

If your grandson caught the Delta variant, which is biting down hard on a lot of young people, I don't even wanna think about how the wreck the rest of your life would look like.

Stunting online here ain't the flex you think it is, my guy. Covid don't give a fuck about you. I know you love that lil' guy, so be better for him at least.

 

[pecksniff]

Pro-Trump political commentator Julie Kelly called police officers testifying at the Capitol riot inquiry 'crisis actors'

https://news.yahoo.com/pro-trump-political-commentator-julie-050936220.html

Yeah, well, they said that about children who survived Sandy Hook, and about the teacher living next door to the school who was off that day and gave them shelter.

 

[allison22]

Over 90 percent of Trump Republicans oppose making it easier for people to vote; roughly 70 percent would support a hypothetical third term for Trump (which would be unconstitutional).

The MAGA movement s a clear and present danger to American democracy.

 

[allison22]

The first witnesses in the House select committee's investigation of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack last week were clear about what its goals ought to be. Officer Harry Dunn put it most bluntly: "Get to the bottom of what happened. "If a hit man is hired and he kills somebody, [the] hitman goes to jail. But not only does the hitman go to jail, but the person who hired him does. There was an attack carried out on Jan. 6, and a hitman sent them. I want you to get to the bottom of that."

The others agreed. "We do need to get to the bottom of it," Sgt. Aquilino Gonell echoed. "Who incited, who brought those people here."

"That is what I am looking for, is an investigation into those actions and activities which may have resulted in the events of Jan. 6," said Officer Michael Fanone. "And also whether there was collaboration between those members, their staff and these terrorists."

"Fanone hit the nail on the head there," Officer Daniel Hodges followed up. "I need you guys to address if anyone in power had a role in this. If anyone in power coordinated or aided or abetted or tried to downplay, tried to prevent the investigation of this terrorist attack."

These were not partisan witnesses with a partisan agenda. They were law enforcement officers with a patriotic agenda. What they asked for was precisely analogous to what was asked for from the 9/11 Commission, whose example Democrats had originally hoped and tried to follow.

They were thwarted by Republican opposition, organized by House Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Leader Mitch McConnell.

The Democrats asked for was a full accounting, to ensure that it would never happen again.

Republicans like Mitch McConnell, Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson and Kevin McCarthy want to make certain that NOBODY is held accountable and they want to make certain that future coup attempts are possible.

 

[Bud_Spencer]

The first witnesses in the House select committee's investigation of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack last week were clear about what its goals ought to be. Officer Harry Dunn put it most bluntly: "Get to the bottom of what happened. "If a hit man is hired and he kills somebody, [the] hitman goes to jail. But not only does the hitman go to jail, but the person who hired him does. There was an attack carried out on Jan. 6, and a hitman sent them. I want you to get to the bottom of that."

The others agreed. "We do need to get to the bottom of it," Sgt. Aquilino Gonell echoed. "Who incited, who brought those people here."

"That is what I am looking for, is an investigation into those actions and activities which may have resulted in the events of Jan. 6," said Officer Michael Fanone. "And also whether there was collaboration between those members, their staff and these terrorists."

"Fanone hit the nail on the head there," Officer Daniel Hodges followed up. "I need you guys to address if anyone in power had a role in this. If anyone in power coordinated or aided or abetted or tried to downplay, tried to prevent the investigation of this terrorist attack."

These were not partisan witnesses with a partisan agenda. They were law enforcement officers with a patriotic agenda. What they asked for was precisely analogous to what was asked for from the 9/11 Commission, whose example Democrats had originally hoped and tried to follow.

They were thwarted by Republican opposition, organized by House Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Leader Mitch McConnell.

The Democrats asked for was a full accounting, to ensure that it would never happen again.

Republicans like Mitch McConnell, Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson and Kevin McCarthy want to make certain that NOBODY is held accountable and they want to make certain that future coup attempts are possible.

LOL, you apparently don't know much about Officer Dunn. He's a whack job.

 

[Rightguide]

The thread starter is a moon barking loon.

 

[allison22]

The Department of Homeland Security issued a warning on Friday: believers in the false conspiracy theory that Trump will be reinstated have increased their calls for violence if the former president isn’t back in the White House soon.

“Some conspiracy theories associated with reinstating former President Trump have included calls for violence if desired outcomes are not realized,” the DHS bulletin, obtained by ABC News, said.

The bulletin went on to say that the recent increase in “public visibility” of liars like the My Pillow guy, Mike Lindell, is the reason for the uptick in violent online chatter.

Lindell continues to relentlessly push the Big Lie that the election was stolen, going so far as to say that he expects the Supreme Court to unanimously rule in favor of reinstating Trump as president in August.

“Over the last few days what has occurred is there’s been much more public visibility, meaning the discussions and these theories have migrated away from being contained within the conspiracy and extremist online communities, to where they’re being the topic of discussion on web forums, or more public web forums, and even within the sort of media ecosystem,” a senior DHS official told ABC News.

The drunk-on-Trump crowd has been triggered so much that Homeland Security says they are concerned about the calls for violence increasing further.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/poli...curity-warns/ar-AAN3H3c?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531

 

[phrodeau]

LOL, you apparently don't know much about Officer Dunn. He's a whack job.

You apparently don't know much about Trump. He's a whack job.

 

[Stephen_Coyle]

"I need you guys to address if anyone in power had a role in this. If anyone in power coordinated or aided or abetted or tried to downplay, tried to prevent the investigation of this terrorist attack."

These were not partisan witnesses with a partisan agenda. They were law enforcement officers with a patriotic agenda. What they asked for was precisely analogous to what was asked for from the 9/11 Commission, whose example Democrats had originally hoped and tried to follow.

They were thwarted by Republican opposition, organized by House Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Leader Mitch McConnell.

The Democrats asked for was a full accounting, to ensure that it would never happen again.

Republicans like Mitch McConnell, Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson and Kevin McCarthy want to make certain that NOBODY is held accountable and they want to make certain that future coup attempts are possible.

We need to stop pretending that we still have two functioning political parties in our country. We have one functioning political party and one cult-like, authoritarian movement that will break any law, commit any atrocity, destroy any virtuous American, give aid and comfort to any domestic terrorist group, in order to steal power away from the American people.

Governors, mayors, legislators, new anchors, editors, CEOs etc. need to stop framing the struggle as a fight between Democrats and Republicans. America is at war with an authoritarian, anti-science, anti-Democracy, pro-fascist movement fueled by former President Donald Trump. It resembles a religious cult, or a criminal syndicate more than it resembles a political party.

It’s a movement that includes Republicans who have rejected the will of the American People and signed on to treason with their January 6th votes objecting to Joe Biden's win, apparently deciding that election results should only be accepted if their own party wins.

Democracy isn’t important to them. Only power is important.

In Republican-run states like Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, the COVID-19 virus is killing Americans left and right. President Biden, medical doctors, nurses, and other responsible adults are attempting to save American lives, but the Republican party has no patience for responsible adults.

In Florida, over 50,000 American citizens have died from the COVID-19 virus. New COVID-19 cases have reached record numbers in Florida. Hospitalizations have reached a record high. More children in the Sunshine State were hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 infections than in any other state in the country. Any responsible adult would take these threats to the lives of men, women and children seriously.

However, Ron DeSantis is no responsible adult.

People in Florida are dying in waves. The virus is killing people left and right, but according to DeSantis, the real threat to public health isn't the coronavirus. It’s mask mandates. And DeSantis has declared was on public school teachers armed with disposable face coverings.

DeSantis signed an executive order threatening school districts that require masks with funding cuts. DeSantis has NO INTEREST in fighting against the spread of the virus! However, he is VERY INTERESTED in fighting against school officials, mayors, medical doctors and other people who are attempting to save the lives of Floridians!

At a bare minimum, DeSantis should be charged with thousands of charges of negligent homicide for this. At maximum, he should be charged with war crimes for conducting biological warfare against the American People.

The Republican leaders is Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi are no better. It seems that every Republican in America is working to spread the virus and make certain that as many Americans as possible get infected. The RNC chair Ronna McDaniel has vowed that the Republican Party itself would sue the White House over any vaccine mandates. Republicans are very angry that President Biden is attempting to save American lives and they’re calling President Biden a “tyrant” and a “fascist” for putting rules into place that could help stop the spread of the virus.

What do you call a party where many of its members have worked against a lifesaving, society-freeing vaccine in the middle of a pandemic, exposing many of their own followers to the deadly virus, all for the sake of being contrarian, anti-establishment and anti-science?

I call that party a national security threat.

And it’s bad enough that the Republicans are opposed to saving American lives, however, they’re also opposed to saving American democracy.


Republicans keep pushing the incendiary fiction that the 2020 election was rigged. It is this fiction that incited the January 6th riots and endangered the lives of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other leaders of the U.S. government.

It has been proven in court multiple times that the election was not rigged, however, the Republicans are heavily invested in keeping their base whipped up into a killing frenzy, so they keep insisting that there was massive fraud. The truth isn’t important to the leaders of the Republican party. What’s important to them is fomenting unrest and trashing our democratic system of government.

They want the violent thugs who stormed the Capitol to be released from prison and all charges against them dropped. They want all investigations of the January 6th riots to cease immediately and they want violent insurrectionists like Ashli Babbitt to be treated like American heroes.

They see chaos and violence as their best chances to stay in power, so fear mongering and hate mongering are the preferred tools of the GOP. Logic and reason have been tossed out the window.

The leaders of the Republican Party have also decided that free and fair elections are an impediment to them staying in power, so they’ve proposed or implemented radical changes to core electoral procedures. Collectively, these initiatives are transforming several states into political systems that no longer meet the minimum conditions for free and fair elections. They’re trying to keep the American People from voting.

The GOP is no longer a functioning political party. They’re more like a religious cult or a terrorist organization, and we need to start treating them as such. We’re giving them a free ride by treating them as just another political party.