IMO President Trump did a lot of good things in his term until he was torpedoed by COVID-19 and the tangled skein of threads involved in the November 3rd election. This electoral circus will be puzzled over for a long time. I take note that Ossoff won in Georgia by just enough to avoid a re-count.
Nevertheless, The president's actions since November 3 have grown more and more erratic and have now culminated in what can only be called an incitement of mob violence directed at the Congress.
People ask why the Capitol Police and other federal authorities were not better prepared to defend the Capitol complex against attack. Well, pilgrims, nobody expected the president of the US to whip up crowd anger and then to send the mob to the Capitol.
I wrote some days ago that Trump's rage and pain were serious factors to consider in a moment of political crisis. These things and his "one man show" mentality" overwhelmed him yesterday and in acting out his personal agony he did serious damage to the country. He is done. Stick a fork in him, maybe over-done.
The Democrat leadership will not want to pursue him although his actions yesterday might make him criminally liable. The squaddies will howl for his blood, but Schumer, Pelosi, etc. are not going to want to do anything that rash.
IMO he should leave the scene. A retreat to Mar a Lago is what should happen. He can let the clock run out there. He can resign and let Pence deal with the mess, but he should go.
The populist revolt that he led is not dead. It is not anything like dead. The 75 million citizens who voted for him are still here. They still want the same things, but he should depart and let a new leadership of the Deplorable Smellies emerge. pl
@ Edward Goldstick
"... we can finally discover as a nation ..."
The words nation, country, and state all have different meanings.
We are not nor have we ever been A (one) nation. The country was governed by a federal state. The historic American people are, like the Swiss, a set of European-heritage Christian-heritage nations living together in a FEDERAL arrangement.
This worked well enough for a quarter millennium because we had local culture, local media, and local education. We had a measure of local autonomy adequate to facilitate the kind of investment in (local) commons that by slow degrees over many years makes nice places to live.
This is no longer true. The non-European, non-Christian nations that have been added into the American federal arrangement have never agreed to the fundamentals of the compact. They want to micromanage local control over every aspect of every community. If the unifying vision they are demanding we accept were quality, everything would be different. But it is not. It is a filth that we would drown in.
We viscerally reject the culture of New York City, Washington DC, and Hollywood like we would reject a fetid open sewer running through our front yards. Our rejection is biologically primal. It is not going to vanish with some totemic banishing of Donald John Trump.
Posted by: Horace | 07 January 2021 at 02:52 PM
Edward Goldstick,
Now do an analysis of the left and actual support for socialist policies enacted into law or imposed by executive order over the past couple decades.
Posted by: Fred | 07 January 2021 at 03:04 PM
Alexandria
Well, it is hard to find a more selfish, self-centered man than Romney. Oh no, there was McCain ,,,
Posted by: turcopolier | 07 January 2021 at 03:09 PM
I'm not sure comparisons to the Whig party are valid. The Whigs were created as a fusion of disparate groups, whose point in common was hatred of Jackson. The old New England federalists tried, with limited success, to co-opt the Whig movement and control the party. But they had continuing difficulty in creating a mass movement, and their only Presidential success was in running old war-horse generals Harrison and Taylor who could be termed "WINO"s. The closest a true Whig would come in an election was Clay v Polk and the only real Whig president was Fillmore who was bypassed in a possible election in his own right by yet another general Scott. (Fillmore would go on to attempt to rally old Whigs in a new "American" party that would also draw from the "Know-Nothing" anti-immigrant movement.) As the Republicans became liberal/radical, many old Whigs drifted to the Democrat party.
Republicans were able to create and use Lincoln's martyrdom along with the "bloody shirt" to dominate national politics until it started falling apart in the 1876 election. That and the end of reconstruction governments in the southern states would re-align politics.
Posted by: scott s. | 07 January 2021 at 03:10 PM
Trump didn't tell anyone to break into the capital. I don't see anything wrong with telling people to protest provided its peaceful (he should have specified). Intent is not the issue here, rather it is carelessness. He is incapable of understanding that he is President and his words have influence. As a New Yorker, I just ignore most of what he says as bombastic nonsense. Other will not.
Regardless, this issue is more complex than Trump's vocal slips. 8 months of lockdowns and fear mongering from the media. 4 years of nonstop trump derangement syndrome and frankly hate by the press and what 4-6 months of violent protests that were condoned and encouraged by the ruling class ("the left") have created a politically charged environment. There were some very real issues with this election too which should have been addressed to help the country move past it and to restore faith in the election process.
THEY let the monster of violence, disorder, and destruction out of its cage because anything was OK as long as they got Trump. It was only a matter of time before fringe elements on the other side of the aisle responded in kind.
Trump should stay and use the opportunity to heal and reduce some of these tensions.
Posted by: Alaric_E | 07 January 2021 at 03:11 PM
I voted for Trump the first time and I am still not sorry I diddit.
Why am I not sorry? Because however bad things have become, at least we are not all part of a radioactive cloud of ionized gas plasma, the way we all would be if Clinton had gotten elected.
Posted by: different clue | 07 January 2021 at 03:15 PM
Seeing those senators and congressmen cowering in their benches was one of the best things I’ve ever witnessed, and re-invigorated my belief in the American people who have not lost their spirit since the founding period. The same spirit made this the most successful country in history.
Washington’s creatures were officially WARNED by American patriots. Just when I thought America was finished…
If I can add one more comment to my above post:
One other excellent side-effect of this theatre has been to expose that the Republicans are a fraudulent status quo party, not in opposition to the Democrat-State Security-Mass Media tripartite Oligarchy; they are in fact one and the same, the MONOPARTY.
I don't think there's anything short of explosives that can really unseat the Monoparty with their tentacles in all of the public information dissemination channels.
Posted by: Unhinged Citizen | 07 January 2021 at 03:23 PM
@jerseycityjoan:
"Why is it impossible for Trump supporters to get riled up and do things they shouldn't? Trump told them to go to the Capitol so where are you saying they went instead?"
The survival of some semblance of an American country that is inhabitable by patriotic Americans and not hostile to all we love and cherish very likely will depend on Trump supporters doing "things they shouldn't".
Posted by: Kilo 4/11 | 07 January 2021 at 03:59 PM
Trump's near-total ignorance of how Zionists have manipulated him toward unnecessary scaling up of enmities against Iran, and particularly, the illegal and cowardly assassination of the national hero of Iran General Soleimani while he was invited to Iraq through the request of Trump himself to reduce the tensions between Iran-supported militia (who were busy fighting the likes of ISIS) and US forces in Iraq was surely the failure of his presidency.
I am no fan of the utterly corrupt democratic party, but at the same time do consider Trump's humiliation and self-destruction utterly enjoyable to watch! He could have been a good president; if he was not so unbelievably naïve and Zionist-gullible.
Posted by: IRUS | 07 January 2021 at 04:03 PM
"Deap | 07 January 2021 at 11:33 AM"
I think you'll always have a difficult time arguing that a small contingent of false flag agitators is able to compel a much larger group of to act in terrible fashion. It never made sense for the riots across the country and claims of right-wing agitation, and it doesn't make sense here. Lots of people clearly showed up to cause trouble, and if they were all or mostly plants it would have been sniffed out.
Anyway, its all bad, I think too many Americans use politics in place of the religion they are looking for, and then the politicians and culture types capitalize upon that and manipulate it to their own purposes.
Posted by: Dan Lennon | 07 January 2021 at 04:04 PM
@Horace:
"Making safe our American communities has never been a priority of theirs, so making safe their imperial capital is not one of ours. If they feel they are surrounded by hostile people and have to make their city an armed camp, then maybe they are simply recognizing a new reality (of their own creation) more quickly than many of the rest of us."
Spot on! 6 January, 2021 crystallized for all to see just who is more important in the eyes of our masters - who risibly call themselves our "elected" leaders - them or us. It sure ain't us!
Posted by: Kilo 4/11 | 07 January 2021 at 04:07 PM
@Horace: "We viscerally reject the culture of New York City, Washington DC, and Hollywood like we would reject a fetid open sewer running through our front yards."
Me too and I'm what you might consider a lefty.
Trump is a product of New York City culture. And since his claim to fame was as a television personality he also benefited from Hollywood culture.
So please tell me why people who claim they hate NYC and Hollywood seem to think Trump is God's gift to America?
Posted by: Leith | 07 January 2021 at 04:29 PM
Col Lang,
With utmost respect, I disagree and am, frankly, surprised that you would suggest such a thing.
He must remain as a symbol of perseverance to the 74 million Americans that believe in his policies and in fair elections. Those awful bitches, the media, Pelosi and Schumer and those they lead must not be rewarded. The glee they would experience seeing Trump drummed out of office before completing his term would encourage them. Trump's early departure would be twisted into a refutation of everything he stood for and all of those who voted for him. That cannot be permitted.
I do not think that Trump will be able to act on any crazy whim that may cross his mind in the next 13 days. He is as lame as a duck can be.
Posted by: Eric Newhill | 07 January 2021 at 04:51 PM
Eric Newhill
I am afraid for the man. He should get out of Dodge while he can. Until the day Biden is inaugurated, trump commands the armed forces. Never forget that. BTW, I DO NOT think the populist movement is about trump. I never did.
Posted by: turcopolier | 07 January 2021 at 05:02 PM
Re claims Antifa was at the Capitol yesterday.
Congressman Matt Gaetz and others are citing a now disappeared story at the Washington Times saying that a facial recognition company identified Antifa members at the Capitol (and how could they have done that, I wondered, since it seems nobody knows who they are except for the few who've gotten arrested).
In any event, the facial recognition company has a completely different story to tell:
"But XRVision, the company at the center of the story, says the Times story is totally made up. In a statement provided by the company’s attorney, XRVision said its facial recognition software had in fact identified two neo-Nazis and a QAnon supporter.
“We concluded that two of [the] individuals (Jason Tankersley and Matthew Heimbach), were affiliated with the Maryland Skinheads and the National Socialist Movements,” the statement reads. “These two are known Nazi organizations, they are not Antifa. The third individual identified (Jake Angeli) was an actor with some QAnon promotion history. Again, no Antifa identification was made for him either.”
XRVision has demanded a retraction and apology from the paper, according to the statement.
“XRVision takes pride in its technology's precision and deems the Washington Times publication as outright false, misleading, and defamatory,” the statement read. “Our attorney is in contact with the Washington Times and has instructed them to ‘Cease and Desist’ from any claims regarding sourcing of XRVision analytics, to retract the current claims, and publish and (sic) apology.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/group-behind-gaetz-s-antifa-mob-claim-say-it-s-a-lie/ar-BB1cyEht
Posted by: jerseycityjoan | 07 January 2021 at 05:03 PM
Dan Lennon,
I think too many Americans use politics in place of the religion they are looking for, and then the politicians and culture types capitalize upon that and manipulate it to their own purposes.
Very accurate with a small modification - too many Americans use politics in place of the religion that they have willingly spurned and cast out of their own lives and have mocked in the lives of their fellow Americans. They favor politics over religion, because its contradictions are easier to reconcile or overlook, it requires no hard choices, and most importantly it requires no self-discipline, personal restraint, or personal accountability. This is a great trade-off to most people. Our founders were correct in their belief that ours is a system of government suitable only for a religious and moral people. Contemporary American culture is proof of their wisdom and foresight.
Posted by: AK | 07 January 2021 at 05:21 PM
Horace,
They want to micromanage local control over every aspect of every community. If the unifying vision they are demanding we accept were quality, everything would be different. But it is not. It is a filth that we would drown in.
We viscerally reject the culture of New York City, Washington DC, and Hollywood like we would reject a fetid open sewer running through our front yards. Our rejection is biologically primal. It is not going to vanish with some totemic banishing of Donald John Trump.
This is what I cannot, for the life of me, get my leftist friends and family to understand. They simply will not abide with the notion that there are people who live thousands of miles away from them who do not want to think and live just like them and that they should be permitted to think and live as they best see fit.
Posted by: AK | 07 January 2021 at 05:27 PM
... Iran General Soleimani while he was invited to Iraq through the request of Trump himself to reduce the tensions ...
Posted by: IRUS | 07 January 2021 at 04:03 PM
slight variation I don't have heard/seen framed exactly that way before.
Would be highly interesting though, if true. Source?
Posted by: vig | 07 January 2021 at 05:32 PM
The whole point of Pelosi and Schumer trying to invoke the 25th amendment is to make it impossible for Trump to run in 2024.
Posted by: roberto | 07 January 2021 at 05:42 PM
Deap,
Either a bunch of pro-Trump folks who attended the rally then decided to riot inside the Capitol , or a small group of Antifa infiltrators easily convinced a bunch of pro-Trump folks to riot inside the Capitol. The woman who was killed wasn't an Antifa agitator (unless she has been undercover as a pro-Trumper for a long, long time).
You pick your narrative from the two explanations. Neither reflects well on the pro-Trump folks that took part in yesterday's assclownery.
Somehow folks are shocked that the media will condemn right-wing "riots" after supporting left-wing "protests?" Rule Number One: Know your operational environment. Yesterday's actions played perfectly to the media and D.C. establishment's narrative about Trump and his supporters.
Trump is finished, and his brand is finished. The media and the establishment will also be painting anyone who dares dissent as part of that brand.
That is all.
JMG
Posted by: JM Gavin | 07 January 2021 at 06:00 PM
Colonel,
"Nevertheless, The president's actions since November 3 have grown more and more erratic and have now culminated in what can only be called an incitement of mob violence directed at the Congress."
Thank you for saying this.
Watching the scene of the mob violence, I am really sad and worried for the country.
Posted by: TonyL | 07 January 2021 at 06:14 PM
JMG,
"The media and the establishment will also be painting anyone who dares dissent as part of that brand."
They've been doing that since he rode down the escalator in NYC.
Posted by: Fred | 07 January 2021 at 06:33 PM
Thank you for your honesty.
Posted by: Laura Wilson | 07 January 2021 at 06:46 PM
Just because this is worth repeating:
....... "If Americans' takeaway from the COVID-19 pandemic is that centralized government is the all-purpose solution, they're taking precisely the lesson most likely to end in mass death in the future......." (Ben Shapiro)
Posted by: Deap | 07 January 2021 at 07:14 PM
vig:
It has been reported in many places. According to the Iraqi PM:
Abdul-Mahdi added as per the publication that he was expecting a meeting with Soleimani the day the commander was killed in a US-sanctioned airstrike. “He came to deliver me a message from Iran, responding to the message we delivered from Saudi Arabia to Iran,” the Iraqi prime minister said, according to Washington Post.
"What happened was a political assassination," Abdul Mahdi added. He noted that TRUMP HAD ASKED HIM TO INTERVENE AND ARBITRATE A DISCUSSION WITH IRAN AFTER PROTESTS OUTSIDE THE US EMBASSY IN BAGHDAD.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/594521-iraq-pm-reveals-reason-why-soleimani-was-in-baghdad-before-death
You can also read a short sequence of events here:
https://twitter.com/ejmalrai/status/1345613144920625153
1. The #US allowed #Israel to bomb Hashd al-Shaabi HQs and killing of a commander by an Israeli drone
2. #US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper informed (did not ask permission) PM Adel Abdel Mahdi that he will bomb Hashd al-Shaabi positions. The Iraqi Prime Minister warned him of the consequences. The US unlawfully attacked an Iraqi HQ at the borders with #Syria, monitoring #ISIS.
3. #US killed soldiers and officers of the Iraqi army, the Federal Police and Hashd al-Shaabi in a clear violation of their role in #Iraq, the international law and with no accountability. Hashd, Army and FP reacted against the US embassy in Baghdad, angry about the US killing.
4. The 31st of December 2019, Pr. @realDonaldTrump called #Iraq PM Adel Abdel Mahdi and asked him to intervene with #Iran to de-escalate following the US killing of 28 Iraqi security forces at al-Qaem and the reaction of their companions in arms against the US embassy in Baghdad. Prime Minister Abdel Mahdi promised @realdonaldtrump to do talk to #Iran and asked his office to contact Sardar Soleimani inviting him to #Baghdad. Soleimani travelled to Lebanon, slept a night in #Damascus and arrived to #Baghdad to the request of the Prime Minister.
5. And once he arrived he was assassinted by direct order of Trump.
Posted by: IRUS | 07 January 2021 at 07:16 PM