WaPo: National Guard Preps For Election Unrest | Talking Points Memo

discobot · October 31, 2020, 2:57pm

The National Guard has mustered a new unit to respond to election-related unrest, the Washington Post reports.

This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1341506

lastroth · October 31, 2020, 3:18pm

Speaking of unrest I was surprised to see a store boarded up on the shopping plaza where I used to work. it was a Nordstrom Rack, and apparently the mall up the road where there’s a Nordstrom was also boarded up. I couldn’t figure out what was going on until a read in the paper that they were preparing for “election unrest”.

agnesbee · October 31, 2020, 3:20pm

And on November 4th their mission will change from “defending against civil unrest” to “safeguarding uncounted ballots due to multiple reports of election fraud.”

richardinjax · October 31, 2020, 3:53pm

Nordstrum closed all their rack and most of their regular stores in an effort to curtail COVID.

randyabraham · October 31, 2020, 3:59pm

The other day I read that Wal-Mart stores won’t stock guns and ammo because of fears of unrest.

lastroth · October 31, 2020, 4:03pm

Well there are two in my area, and I swear that the one west of me was open 2 weeks ago when I drove by. I could be wrong, but that wasn’t mentioned in the story I read in the paper.

dr_coyote · October 31, 2020, 4:06pm

They’ve been ramping down their armaments sales for several years; this is another (positive) step in that process.

What’s going unsaid, at least in this short (AP?) story, is from precisely where (e.g., which quadrants) the states think “unrest” might come. Myself, I think it’s governors preparing to use the Guard to stomp hard on any ammo-sexual MAGAts who think they’re going to play out “sovereign nation” fantasies.

lastroth · October 31, 2020, 4:08pm

Well after that thing in El Paso, I’d hope that they would consider that.
And if true, this may be the first time that Walmart hasn’t forced a independently owned store out of business with their low, low, prices because of their market share. It could also be a sign that Walmart doesn’t want or need “expert” salesclerks in their departments.

deuce · October 31, 2020, 4:14pm

Your city/state being?

clearwater · October 31, 2020, 4:15pm

“Let’s see…I’ve read your script and it’s a little whacked. You’ve got the military deploying to quell unrest after an election during a deadly pandemic; a total loon is is charge and he’s surrounded himself with a bunch of crooked clowns who aren’t exactly ‘criminal masterminds’; there’s a cockamamie conspiracy foisted on the public by an evil media giant; and there’s a pornstar cashing checks to remain silent. Look, I know this is Hollywood, but nobody is going to buy this shit.”

thecaptain · October 31, 2020, 4:15pm

Went to a Rack yesterday, got some new trousers. They’re open.

deuce · October 31, 2020, 4:17pm

Mel Brooks, Zero Mostel or Gene Wilder could sell it…

And of course: The Player (1992 film) - Wikipedia

gr · October 31, 2020, 4:21pm

“New unit”?

I’m guessing the NG commanders have identified units in major cities to be on some sort of standby. They might – I hope – be giving them a crash course in riot control.
I don’t think too many of these militia members are dumb enough to fire on uniformed troops and face murder charges.

ETA:
I presume this story came from a press release. If it was, it’s kind of muddled.

coimmigrant · October 31, 2020, 4:30pm

Our governor has deployed the National Guard:

Gov. Jared Polis is calling on the Colorado National Guard’s Cyber Defense Forces to help with election security. Polis issued an executive order Monday for National Guard personnel to be on hand to help protect election infrastructure. The order activates up to 10 cyber defense specialists to help with training and security up until Election Day.

voreason · October 31, 2020, 4:33pm

“The bottom line here is we are not in charge,” he added.

Yeah, well, that just means that when they open fire into crowds of peaceful demonstrators they can claim they were “just following orders”.

Look, if you’re just going to be Nazi tools, why not just put SS on your lapels and have at it.

jacksonhts · October 31, 2020, 4:34pm

I read earlier today that they have been browbeat into walking that decision back.

It is reportedly composed of 600 national guard members between Alabama and Arizona.

In other words, the National Guard is expecting a lot of Butt Hurt racist FOX brainwashed ammosexuals to lose their shit when the rest of us don’t agree with Brett Farvre, Jack Niklaus and Bobby Orr that everything is just fine, the COVID death numbers are not legit, and those black folks have gotten way too uppity.

edgarant · October 31, 2020, 4:35pm

Seems like it is GOP led states that are girding their loins in anticipation of the election.

geographyjones · October 31, 2020, 4:36pm

Brett, Jack and Bobby should “just shut up and play”.

tena · October 31, 2020, 4:37pm

Yeah everybody flipped out when Abbott did this the other day but as much as I don’t trust him I think his motive is the same.

clearwater · October 31, 2020, 4:39pm

They might – I hope – be giving them a crash course in riot control.

I won’t go into detail, but a friend of mine was the Army officer responsible for liaising between the military and civil authorities during a major episode of rioting in the late 90s. NG troops are well prepared for crowd control, but the police wanted them to take a more aggressive stance. My buddy told them no, we aren’t going to arm soldiers and have them march down the streets - if you think you’ve got a problem now, wait until you see the response to that.