Originally published at: The Moment We Lost The Plot - TPM – Talking Points Memo
It has never been easy for me to write about January 6. Even standing in the crowd that day to cover the chaos, I found that sending out the first reports was a struggle. First, thanks to the sheer mass of the raging mob or perhaps some heavy law enforcement tech, the internet was jammed.…
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As others have said here, the right has been working on this for 60 years. They were only missing a useful idiot.
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The only reason we’re in this position is because Merrick Garland was a coward. Like I said years ago, when history came knocking Garland was hiding behind the couch shitting his pants. Now, all you DNC officials who are about to rip me to pieces, pipe down. Garland was so worried about appearing partisan that he let an insurrectionist off the hook. He paved the way for a fascist takeover of our country, he helped kill how many people around the world and here at home with Project 2025? I swear, Garland couldn’t have caused more of a mess if he’d been a fascist sleeper agent. Screw Merrick Garland for betraying the rule of law and being a useless failure.
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the members of Congress, assorted grifters, and dark money groups that formed the political arm of the January 6 movement.
The Republican Party organized a conspiracy of criminals to attack law and order.
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NPR has a nice article documenting the extensive violence that day on January 6th.
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Garland deserves all the scorn heaped upon him, but Aileen Cannon, the DC Circuit, and the SupCt deserve a lot of blame too. Garland’s approach would have ultimately been lauded as wise and sober and prudent if the Judicial Branch hadn’t put their thumbs on the scale for trump.
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The “full-on campaign dedicated to rewriting and reversing the basic facts of what happened.” is ongoing.
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I disagree. The reason we are in this position is because of the American voter. If Harris were president, Trump would be in deep trouble or living in Russia. The American voter had all the information they needed to avoid where we are right now.
In a different world, I suppose had Merrick Garland moved quicker, had judge Cannon done something resembling her job, maybe he could’ve been convicted and ineligible to run.
All that does is tell me that the American voter is incapable of making a “hard” decision. Do we want to vote for a 34 time convicted felon who is a convicted rapist and likely a serial child rapist and molester (and the list goes on and on as I’m sure you know)?
He was our president for four years (that was not Merrick Garland’s fault, and I would argue the American voters had very similar information to make something of an intelligent decision back then, but I digress). Laying our woes on Merrick Garland is insufficient.
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Don’t skip Mitch McConnell.
He could have stopped Trump in his tracks easily.
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Miller: “We live in a world, in the real world, Jake, that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power,” he said. “These are the iron laws of the world since the beginning of time.”
Not a coincidence that Miller is also a vicious racist. That shit up there is some straight Nazi shit. (See, for example, the use of the term “iron.” “Iron” is good.) And as such it is also a total repudiation of the most basic American values.
To its credit the Times manages to take enough marbles out of its mouth to call it “imperialism.” But there are many shadings of imperialism. This is the Nazi version.
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Meanwhile, it seems to me that Garry Trudeau needs to resume his daily Doonesbury strips. They would write themselves.
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Sorry, Jesus.
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Do not forget that after J6 Trump ran and hid in Mar a Lago fully expecting to be “caught up” in the vernacular.
All of this was projected for months in advance, the co conspirators brayed while looking over their shoulders.
But what arm of the government has the power to arrest a president who has 14 days left as the “Commander in Chief?”
January 28, when Kevin McCarthy went to bend the knee for Trump was when everyone involved breathed a sigh of relief.
the Biden admin should have realized then and acted. I understand there are ass tons of legal arguments against that but look where we are now.
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The scariest thing about all of it, from Jan 6 to the unprovoked invasion of Venezuela, is how many millions of people are living in a reality that I do not recognize. Most of the rest of the free world seems to understand what Trump actually is. But here, with the daily onslaught of propaganda and lies from some of the biggest figures and institutions in media, we are not able to reach a tipping point. You can show me all of the polls you want to show me, you can tell me Trump is “unpopular”, but we have become a very stupid country because of the greed in our politics and the laziness in our electorate. We have become a reality television show and I don’t believe there is any escape from our own gullibility and lack of curiosity.
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This is America now, how it is different from China or Russia? I am in flag burning territory now.
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“Blocking the roadway.” She was standing on a sidewalk.
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Any mention of Merrick Garland that doesn’t include Joe Biden is incomplete. Biden hired him. Biden kept him in the position.
My modest proposal is that we modify future references to Garland to “Garland/Biden.”
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Trump: “I’m always right. Trump is right about everything, right? I’ve been right about everything.”
Trump is insane.
So is Donald Trump.
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Exactly. Joe Biden was living in another era, before the GOP was taken over by plutocrats and religious fanatics and went extreme scorched earth tactics.
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Hunter (Mr. Walker), I found your insight into Jan. 6 and the link to its precursor, President Nixon and his “moment” useful, if troubling.
If you haven’t already, please write a book on the subject, including your experience as a participant.
Even in this age of information overload, history is made of the sum total of recorded observations, as well as the events themselves. (One could even ask: what were the events, other than the sum of recorded observations?)
In any case, I believe your perspective is important.
John Blackford
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