Authors Mike Duncan
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The United States has an active faction of political leaders whose fidelity to democratic elections is 100% contingent on whether they win. This is an intolerable threat that must be squarely faced.
The people who raided the capitol last night ought to be punished. But they are foot soldiers. The real threat to the republic is an axis of political leaders (Trump, Cruz, Hawley etc) and right wing media outlets (Fox, OANN on down the line) who have whipped up the storm.
The thing, for me, that is crucial to understand about this moment in American history is how much it is powered by lying. Non-stop lying. The lying, misinformation, and disinformation is *the* salient point.
Because let's do a reverse thought experiment. Let's say, for example, Trump and Co. straight up stole the election. Losing on election night, he makes phone calls to several allied secretaries of state who suddenly announce a bunch of new votes for Trump and he's won GA/PA...
...let's further stipulate these calls get leaked. It leads to more hard evidence. Witnesses, data trail, video etc. It is clearly established the election results are fraudulent. But Trump and the GOP push ahead with Electoral College certification...
I can't stress this enough: From the top down, if the people responsible for today's events face no consequences for what they've done, the next time will be much worse. If a political line is crossed, either enforce its existence or accept that the line no longer exists.
— Patrick Wyman (@Patrick_Wyman) January 7, 2021
The people who raided the capitol last night ought to be punished. But they are foot soldiers. The real threat to the republic is an axis of political leaders (Trump, Cruz, Hawley etc) and right wing media outlets (Fox, OANN on down the line) who have whipped up the storm.
The thing, for me, that is crucial to understand about this moment in American history is how much it is powered by lying. Non-stop lying. The lying, misinformation, and disinformation is *the* salient point.
Because let's do a reverse thought experiment. Let's say, for example, Trump and Co. straight up stole the election. Losing on election night, he makes phone calls to several allied secretaries of state who suddenly announce a bunch of new votes for Trump and he's won GA/PA...
...let's further stipulate these calls get leaked. It leads to more hard evidence. Witnesses, data trail, video etc. It is clearly established the election results are fraudulent. But Trump and the GOP push ahead with Electoral College certification...