When you boil Trump (& the consequent Trumpism) down to its essentials at root it is Lying.
Trump has made a life of being a liar.
It is "Trump Rule#1" expressed years ago "Trump is a liar. He does not simply tell lies, he IS a liar. Thus what he does is quintessentially a lie".

Now we are embroiled in an impeachment trial, the consequence of the ultimate Donald Trump lie.
That he won the election.

This is so fundamental a lie, that when pressed, as Trump has done, & married to a demagoguery, as he had utilized to enflame his believers, you get
what we got. A mob. Playing at an insurrection.

All because of a Lie. Propounded by a liar.

Here then is the first brick in the edifice that is the newly submerged & subjugated Republican Party:

Renounce the Founding Lie.

If they will not, then nothing else matters.
The impeachment trial itself is become a farce, not for the lack of an impenetrable prosecution case.
But by the dint and opportunity allowed the structure of the impeachment process, to avoid all and any facts by the simple tactic of embracing, and advancing, a lie.
The Republicans as a Party have subordinated themselves to a Lie.
The Republicans as a Party have accepted as their functional premise for governance and leadership a Liar.

Until these cornerstones of what unifies the Republicans, devoted to their party, and not the country,
there is no chance, nor opportunity for anything like healing, unity or moving on.

You cannot unite with a lie. Or a liar at this level.

Practically, the Senate should be made to declare a simple fact: Trump Lost The Election.
Assert this premise, and displace the current functional premise of all the resistance that energizes the Republican Party, and the work can begin.

Until then, all the facts in the world are categorically dismissed as irrelevant.

The reason this is possible to be done with
a straight face is because of these very different foundational ideas & principles the opposing sides are predicated upon.

To support & accept Trump & his defense you have to be willing to adopt the Lie as axiomatic premise.
Do that, and you can sit and read the paper while the
prosecution wears itself out amassing all the facts & details, presenting their case... None of it makes the slightest of difference to you, as a Senator... or as a Trumper... you have the lie to protect you from any intrusion of fact or consequence.
And lies of this magnitude and consequence can ripple through a society for a long time, doing immense damage. As we see.

But we have not come to the end of it yet.

If this lie, and this liar, is allowed to continue, unchecked, it will be tantamount to validating the
lie and the liar as a working truth.

This does not disturb those who profit from the lie.

It is said that the reason so many Republican Senators are afraid to vote as they would if the vote were private is because
a) they are afraid of the trumpian mob/backlash. A threat to
their lives.
This is not an idle fear, as has been demonstrated many times. Trump, and his brownshirts, are quite willing to use threats, and acts, of violence to intimidate. (this should be part of the larger impeachment of Trump, but like so much, has to be left off)
b) They want to retain the base for their own electoral needs.
c) They need to remain in good standing with the Party.
It is clear that any deviation from this partisan line comes w swift consequences. Far more swift than opposing the dissolution of the republic by Trump & his
orcs, they will instantly gather to sanction, silence, destroy anyone who dares to speak anything other than the Party line. Cheney, AZ GOP, Cassidy, Sasse, Romney all have faced bitter opposition by their party apperatus.
It is hard to stand up against that.

and etc.
For these reasons, and more, the votes the Republican Senators will take is not about the matter at hand.
The vote is not, in fact, about the doings of Trump and the consequent insurrection, trying to invalidate an election, and trying to retain power by
promulgating a Gobbels level "Big Lie".

They are voting for the lie.
They will instantiate the lie as the new founding fact of the Republican Party.
It is for this reason there is no ability to have a rational conversation or debate with Trumpian sotted believers, or rulers.
The discussion is not happening in the context of trying to work out ideas & compromises around complex issues that have multiple angles & considerations
The issues are being held in the larger context of a lie.
It makes discussion any given detail or issue difficult, because in the end one side is devoted to the Lie.
Anything, and that means Any-thing, that would even threaten to expose & undermine the Lie has to be
a priori, rejected.
It is simple Machiavellian principles of survival & power.

Break the back of the Lie. First.
Then the matrix of Lies that the chief Liar has inculcated in the system, and the Repubican's have sworn to defend.
Then you can get to the Liar himself.
And if that can happen,
we might be able to save the country.

It does not seem it will happen in this battle that is the Impeachment Trial.

But convicting Trump was never going to happen.
Not with these acolytes.

What is important about this trial, and the one before is
to establish the record of fact.

There will be a time where this lie, like all lies, will lose its power to coalesce a group of believers.
Even this one.

What has to be done now is establish the record, so that when the foggery is lifted, and the dark incentives to sustain
the lie diminish, there is a clear record of fact that can be cited and appealed to to find our way back.

We'll see.

Our history is not overly encouraging along these lines.
But maybe the time has come.

But first.
No more lying.
Or liars.

More from Michael Beaton

When (if) the full story of Jan6 ever comes out I predict it will have multiple levels of intention and complicity.
Broadly
1/The "base" level of the mob reacting out of what they believe & has been taught & insinuated into them for years.
I think this chaos is the cover for


other levels that seem to have a much more clear, "calm" mission.
These are the people who are now utterly confused that what they were told turns out to not be true.
These people being disbarred from flying, or taken into custody, thinking they were just returning home, are

bearing the brunt of the response by the law enforcement system. They are the easiest to see, find, and catch.
They are the pawns. They are the Orcs in the Trumpian system...expendable. Useful. Necessary. But Expendable as the strategy & tactics require.

Who knows if these

people, so adamant in their emotional pumped up outrage will figure this out. For now, the fact that they are the ones being hauled in, the first ones facing the consequences of their actions, seems to be solidifying their martyr frame of mind. I suspect they feel a kinship

with Trump, who does nothing but proclaim himself a victim and a martyr. In this they get to feel even moreso that they are part of the righteous army, gods army, doing gods work.
And they will be used again and again as necessary for the other levels.
Interesting how the shift in the 'pubs message is now "hey, lets get unified". And do that by trying, yet again, to elude consequences...and investigation, into what happened.
We have tried that path multiple times already.
It does not work.

Rep. Jordan does not see!..
(thread)


Of course not. It is imperative that he not see.

Here is how it works...The way you and your team always put up a concrete wall when it comes to the relatively petty crimes some people do. They need to learn the lesson by suffering the consequences of their choices.

Consequences you absolve those who actually do deep and structural damage to the country from. At least until it cannot be ignored any longer, and you need a "sacrificial lamb".

Looking forward to seeing which 'lambs' will be offered up for this monumental moment.

Eventually

Eventually when the lesser 'lambs' are insufficient to the crime, sometimes, the responsibility finally lands on the leader, the head perp, the mob boss goes to prison after all. Or like Spiro Agnew, allowed to resign quietly... (one of the lucky ones).

Trump has the option to

Trump has the option to resign. The quick (and cowardly) way out. It won't heal the nation as well as a deep investigation would.
However, regardless of how these next few days play out, that investigation that has been called for before Jan6 still needs to happen.
So there
Yes. This is the problem.

Irrational anger & outrage which is easily manipulated, as we see being done, into tribal affiliation. Predicated not on some devotion to core ideals & principles of the country, but something else.

Notice what ea side appeals how they express it.


One side largely is moved by wanting a system, a society, a government that is responsive to the situation and needs of the public. This has a number of aspects, from infrastructure, taking care of the environment, BLM, taking care of the 'least among us' &etc.

These folks...

These folks on "the other side"... Not sure what to call this other side. It is a collection of right wing people, some who are simply "members" by affiliation, by tradition, by location in the country...others by reasoned choice.
However they get there, a large % are like this.

Lets call this the Trumpian side, Trumper Cohort, since that is the current center around which these "73M" are organized.
Within this cohort, there are many who are simply "Republicans" by inertia. Their family has been so forever, and so they are too. In actual fact they

do not like what is being done in their name, wonder what happened to the party, but cannot imagine voting for a "Democrat", no more than the feud over Ford vs Chevy would resolve in welcoming in the other 'team'.
These don't really know or und what a "Democrat" is these days,
The assertion & question of unity, unifying the country, wondering what the hell the problem is, and why is all this happening is taking center stage. Dramatically.
As is the corollary question being tossed about, "How to heal the Nation?".

There is a #systems principle


that is a powerful insight into these, & related, questions.

"You cannot solve a problem at the same level it was created."

If the problem we were solving for were some detail, 'where to place a road; what $ to allocate to this or that project' sort of thing, then the way to

think about the problem, the impasse, is to appeal first to the functions of prior planning, history - meaning what did we do the last time, maybe pragmatics...Eventually, if the organization (whether business, community, or governance) may make a decision and that becomes the

decision. Often, typically, the decision is some sort of amalgam of the various ideas and 'camps' in the room. Rarely, but sometimes, the decision is made out of pure hierarchy..."What the boss says goes, I don't care what you think..." sort of thing. Largely that is old school

and is not the normal way of conflict resolution. Especially in the context of solving a problem.
But a decision is made, and typically people, and the various factions, come together and get to work in the context of the decision. Sometimes called 'teamwork'.

More from Trump

Why am RTg this Rush post? Because @AnjillofLight_ just advised me that @rushlimbaugh is handing his show over to @realDonaldTrump tomorrow 10/9.

Playing both the Rush and Trump Cards

Coincidence the movie The Trump Card is out tomorrow 10/9. https://t.co/RT45TDE8HP


I'm your Huckleberry. I knew it.🤣
https://t.co/gqHfFWfxZO


All the Rush graphics are in linked threads throughout
##FLY##
[OWL]

https://t.co/b9px5Mt3iN


Only the full release of docs can give conclusive evidence.

Dangle Operation
Sanctions are coming
11/4
11/5


Make sure you go to the concession stand and get your popcorn, beverage and candy.
https://t.co/laVxyfS5ax

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