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solarbirdI meant to bring these over here at the time, but I never quite got to it. These are more originally-on-twitter writings, but were initially collected on tumblr, due to screencaps, the way those work over there, and frankly, a dramatically larger audience (thousands, vs. dozens).
This post in particular is more or less "notes from the coup." It's failed, but the damage will last, and they'll be working to make that damage worse over the next four years.
Part 3 of 3.
Washington Post article | Morning Consult poll
This is a massively dumbass take:
Let’s take it apart a little bit.
1) They were planning this _before_ the election. Well before. It was in the news. Some of it was on the record. He’s been selling this election as fraudulent (unless he wins) for months.
If they were planning only now, it might be a less dumbass take. But they were already working on this, _in front of everyone_, for _months_.
2) “He went golfing this weekend.”
Where do old-school businessmen like Donald Trump to deals? Where do they make the big decisions?
Sure, in offices, sometimes. You always work out the details in offices. In board rooms. Whatever. Your people do that. But.
A lot of deals are worked out at the club.
At dinner.
Or on the links.
That’s why all those male-only clubs were such a big deal for so long. It’s one of the places where you agree to make the deal.
I’m not saying he did that this weekend; I have no idea who he might have been talking to, if anyone, this past weekend. He’s been working to discredit this election for months, I don’t think much new needed to be done.
But to say that nothing gets done on the course is nuts.
3) “It’s not like he’s plotting how to prevent Joe Biden from taking power on Jan. 20.”
That’s literally what he’s SAYING that he’s DOING.
That’s what he SAID he would do IN ADVANCE.
It’s what he said in 2016, too, only this time, he _actually has the presidency_.
There are all these people (from whom I largely expected better) saying that this is paranoia.
Remember 2016? When he was just running to buff his brand? When it was all just nonsense? That when he asked Russia for help on live television - and got it - that it wasn’t real?
Do we all want to make the same fucking mistake _again?!_
We _know_ the _plan._ We know the plan from _Republicans_. Fuck, we know the plan from _him._
He doesn’t care that we know.
It’s not a good plan! It doesn’t have to work! It won’t work, if people don’t _let_ it work!
And all these people are pretending _laws_ will stop him.
Are you _mad?!_
They haven’t stopped him _yet_, now, have they?
Laws are no more than the willingness to enforce them.
Laws are no better than the judge in front of you.
And a third of them are _his_, and on the Supreme Court, _six_ of them are _Republican._
You think the _law_ is enough? When we are _here?_ After _these last four years_?
I have spent my entire. life. literally _begging_ people to acknowledge what _is_, rather than what they _want_ to be, or what they think _should_ be.
This is one of those times. I’m begging you. Literally begging you.
We can win this. We _should_ win this. This attempted coup _should_ fail.
I don’t have any Republican reps or Republican family to pressure. Some of you do.
_Get that pressure the fuck on them, and now._
Senate GOP leadership is hedging bets, and they need to _pay_ for that.
Most are still silent. They need _not_ to be, and they need _not_ to be silent _immediately_.
This needs to be shut the fuck down, right now. Not “let it play out,” not “let the old man have his fun.” Now.
While it’s still a joke.
Not when we’re scrambling in three weeks’ time to figure out how the fuck they’ve convinced two Republican legislatures to send in separate Trump electors despite Biden’s wins.
Now.
And when I say be ready for a general strike, I mean, _be ready for a general strike._
We shouldn’t need it.
_But we might._
Particularly with surveys showing shit like this. [Poll showing only 26% of Republicans think the election was free and fair.]
Trump’s lies have convinced Republicans the election was fraudulent.
They’d _welcome_ a coup.
Be ready.
This post in particular is more or less "notes from the coup." It's failed, but the damage will last, and they'll be working to make that damage worse over the next four years.
Part 3 of 3.
Washington Post article | Morning Consult poll
This is a massively dumbass take:
“What is the downside for humoring him…? No one seriously thinks the results will change,” said one senior Republican official. “He went golfing this weekend. It’s not like he’s plotting how to prevent Joe Biden from taking power on Jan. 20.”A dumbass take spoken by a Republican, I might add. One of his many, many enablers. Which doesn’t matter.
Let’s take it apart a little bit.
1) They were planning this _before_ the election. Well before. It was in the news. Some of it was on the record. He’s been selling this election as fraudulent (unless he wins) for months.
If they were planning only now, it might be a less dumbass take. But they were already working on this, _in front of everyone_, for _months_.
2) “He went golfing this weekend.”
Where do old-school businessmen like Donald Trump to deals? Where do they make the big decisions?
Sure, in offices, sometimes. You always work out the details in offices. In board rooms. Whatever. Your people do that. But.
A lot of deals are worked out at the club.
At dinner.
Or on the links.
That’s why all those male-only clubs were such a big deal for so long. It’s one of the places where you agree to make the deal.
I’m not saying he did that this weekend; I have no idea who he might have been talking to, if anyone, this past weekend. He’s been working to discredit this election for months, I don’t think much new needed to be done.
But to say that nothing gets done on the course is nuts.
3) “It’s not like he’s plotting how to prevent Joe Biden from taking power on Jan. 20.”
That’s literally what he’s SAYING that he’s DOING.
That’s what he SAID he would do IN ADVANCE.
It’s what he said in 2016, too, only this time, he _actually has the presidency_.
There are all these people (from whom I largely expected better) saying that this is paranoia.
Remember 2016? When he was just running to buff his brand? When it was all just nonsense? That when he asked Russia for help on live television - and got it - that it wasn’t real?
Do we all want to make the same fucking mistake _again?!_
We _know_ the _plan._ We know the plan from _Republicans_. Fuck, we know the plan from _him._
He doesn’t care that we know.
It’s not a good plan! It doesn’t have to work! It won’t work, if people don’t _let_ it work!
And all these people are pretending _laws_ will stop him.
Are you _mad?!_
They haven’t stopped him _yet_, now, have they?
Laws are no more than the willingness to enforce them.
Laws are no better than the judge in front of you.
And a third of them are _his_, and on the Supreme Court, _six_ of them are _Republican._
You think the _law_ is enough? When we are _here?_ After _these last four years_?
I have spent my entire. life. literally _begging_ people to acknowledge what _is_, rather than what they _want_ to be, or what they think _should_ be.
This is one of those times. I’m begging you. Literally begging you.
We can win this. We _should_ win this. This attempted coup _should_ fail.
I don’t have any Republican reps or Republican family to pressure. Some of you do.
_Get that pressure the fuck on them, and now._
Senate GOP leadership is hedging bets, and they need to _pay_ for that.
Most are still silent. They need _not_ to be, and they need _not_ to be silent _immediately_.
This needs to be shut the fuck down, right now. Not “let it play out,” not “let the old man have his fun.” Now.
While it’s still a joke.
Not when we’re scrambling in three weeks’ time to figure out how the fuck they’ve convinced two Republican legislatures to send in separate Trump electors despite Biden’s wins.
Now.
And when I say be ready for a general strike, I mean, _be ready for a general strike._
We shouldn’t need it.
_But we might._
Particularly with surveys showing shit like this. [Poll showing only 26% of Republicans think the election was free and fair.]
Trump’s lies have convinced Republicans the election was fraudulent.
They’d _welcome_ a coup.
Be ready.
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Date: 2020-11-30 02:39 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2020-11-30 07:20 am (UTC)The more probable way forward is to build up the ressentiment movement, running a constant campaign of sabotage through to 2024. The rest of the GOP will go along with that just fine, and that's how they'll patch things up. Then he'll try to take the nomination again - and he might get it, it is a cult - but his moment overall, I think, has passed.