On A Historic Day, Political Violence Was Just Below The Surface

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.


This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1477623
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Holy sheep stuff, batman.

I’m first!

Now, to read the Memo.

This space reserved for Cat Image

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Trump’s lawyer arguing that he, Trump, can assassinate a political opponent would not seem to be an argument likely to persuade a court, so it seems a very bad legal strategy.

OTOH, it’s Trump telling the world exactly what he would do in a fashion designed to stir up his followers’ bloodlust and get them even more loyally behind him. He’s telegraphing his intentions exactly like Hitler in Mein Kampf.

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Nearly first

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Continued, thinly veiled threats of political violence and the Repubs remain silent!!

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  • Michigan poll: Trump leads Biden 47%-39% among likely voters in a head-to-head general election matchup.

WTF is wrong with Michigan voters?

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TFG’s lawyer didn’t make that argument. It’s a logical consequence of the argument he did make: that prior to criminal indictment, trial, and possible conviction an impeachment conviction on the same set of charges is required. I believe it was Judge Pan who nailed TFG’s lawyer’s skin to the wall and forced him to admit that under his theory the President could order the assassination of a political opponent (and anyone else for that matter) without facing legal consequences.

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I’m betting a certain county wasn’t included in that poll.

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A simple, direct, and true lede that doesn’t obfuscate, excuse, or muddy the grim reality of what we’re up against.

Wait, first the WaPo, and now the NYT?

But, what about “both sides?” Are they losing it, or finally getting it?

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Below is yet another establishment media lamentation on the decline of the internet.

What the piece says is true and obvious, but carefully avoids the reason for it by removing the painfully clear ideological context. It’s that virtually no semi-anonymized public discourse is possible anymore because of the hijacking of internet-based media by right-wing trolls. I’ve also noticed the decline of book reviews on Amazon. It used to be that you could get a pretty good idea of a book’s worth by averaging the reviews. Now any book with remotely political content, and most historical topics, get flooded by right-wing trolling.

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And his minions are like 'go get ‘em, Donnie!!!’

That’s the scary part. Doesn’t matter that the minions are in the minority. It matters that they are out there at all and more than willing to do whatever he insinuates they should do.

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Ex-president Poopy-Pants is a whiny-ass titty baby who should be locked up, pronto; damn this rule of law stuff!

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Obviously, assassination was implicit in the lawyer’s argument, and the judge merely elicited that. But, like everything since Access Hollywood, it will be a momentary outrage that the media will move on from, while cementing Trump’s base further.

And don’t think that Trump will be angry with the lawyer. Performative cruelty is Trump’s brand, and he wants people to know it.

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Hey! I’m not Pollyanna, but I think we should first ask if there is something wrong with the polling in Michigan before we go after the likely voters.

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That Trump isn’t polling in the single digits is a damning statement regardless of polling methodology.

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The USA is quickly becoming a land of land barons. Private equity are firms snatching up starter homes for cash and either renting them as they deteriorate and then dumping the dilapidated shells OR flipping them for WAY more than they are worth. Meanwhile, young folks just starting out can’t afford to buy homes. It’s unsustainable and a bad omen for the future of the country. But Republicans have no solution. Just book bans and Biden impeachment. It’s the worst government lobbyists can buy!

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I agree. As a Michigan resident, I look at the fact that D’s control both the governorship and both chambers. My response to all of the “Biden in crisis” polls amounts to:
A) it’s way too early to draw any conclusions
b) most polls nowadays seem to be severely flawed in the manner in which they collect data.

Best to ignore them, and I wish the media would stop publishing them - hah!

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I listened to the audio of the hearing yesterday. TFG’s lawyer (Sauer?) fought hard not to avoid the inevitable conclusion of his argument. He only acknowledged the truth (with, “That’s a qualified yes”) when Judge Pan put a direct question to him.

It was clear to me that Sauer did not want to go there. TFG might have wanted him to go there, but it wasn’t a destination he had in mind. I know lawyers have a reputation for being smart, but I don’t believe he’d followed this argument through to its logical (and immoral, illegal, and unconstitutional) end point.

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I know it is early and all that, but the Michigan poll is just insane. It might be totally off, or it might be backlash against Biden for not siding with Hamas or abandoning Israel or whatever. I am not crazy about Netanyahu myself (who is), but it is worth remembering that it was Trump calling for a Muslim ban, not Biden. Trump yammering about the blood of our nation being poisoned. It was also Trump who once said Gaza should be turned into a parking lot. And it is Trump who was buddies with Netanyahu, not Obama. They worked together to kill the Iran nuclear deal. And it is Trump talking about sending the US military into Gaza to look for our hostages. He is not exactly consistent.

The war is awful, but no matter who the President is, that person is going to side with Israel after Hamas launches an attack in a very public and brutal way. However, I do think that a split is coming between the USA and the present government in Israel over what comes next.

Maybe Muslim Americans or Arab Americans think they will get a better deal with their new Fuhrer, but I doubt it.

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That, right there, is the real story. The Republicans are complicit in Trump’s criminality. He’s nothing without supporters, especially supporters in the political and legal arenas. which he has in spades.

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