Bitter, Hyper-partisan Politics Rears its Ugly Head

Wednesday's mayhem at the U.S. Capitol was, to use Hillary Clinton's infamous term, deplorable. Four people died, and more than 50 police officers were injured. Despite the abuses perpetrated by the federal government against President Donald Trump and his supporters over the past five years, this type of anarchy is not to be justified. I harshly criticized the left wing mobs that burned cities, tore down statues and assaulted police officers last summer; I won't hold back on criticizing the idiots who trashed the Capitol yesterday.

With that being said, they were just a small minority of the tens of thousands of Trump supporters who gathered to support the president and protest the questionable election procedures that took place this past fall. All movements have their bad apples and crazy yahoos, the Trump contingent included. It is grossly unfair to tarnish the 74 million-plus Trump voters with a broad brush, but the Democrats and abysmal media will undoubtedly do so. It is also possible that Antifa may have infiltrated the mob. Never before have attendees at a Trump rally used clubs and bricks to break windows and storm a building.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the four people who died yesterday, as well as their families. Initial reports say one woman, a U.S. Air Force veteran and Donald Trump supporter, was shot in the neck by a Capitol Police officer, and three people died of medical causes (who knows, maybe one or more had a heart attack due to the excitement and stress of being caught up in a suddenly violent protest).

It's worth keeping in mind that bitter disagreements and long-term polarization can and do lead to violence and death. But by acknowledging that, I am certainly not saying that Trump supporters who have been treated with contempt and disgusted by massive corruption, abuse of power by the federal government and widespread election fraud should simply stand down. Hell no.

Unless they continue to push back hard, the corrupt establishment will continue to contemptuously run roughshod over our liberties and ignore our rights. I am not advocating violence, but those who refuse to accept the media/Democrat/swamp narratives and destructive policies have got to keep the pressure on -- with speeches, marches, rallies, calls to talk radio, letters to the editor, blogs, tweets and in other ways. Pressure, pressure, pressure. The political equivalent of basketball's full-court press -- 24/7.

As the Democrats, media and federal bureaucrats have done to Trump incessantly since 2015, so must Trump supporters do to the Biden-Harris administration and their merry band of hacks going forward. More than 60 Democrats boycotted Trump's inauguration, and the execrable Speaker Nancy Pelosi behaved like a two-year-old in ripping up the president's State of the Union speech on national television. If I were Trump, I would boycott Biden's inauguration. These people do not deserve respect, and it'll be a cold day in hell before they ever grant it to those of us who are conservatives and believe in adherence to the U.S. constitution.

There's a hell of a lot more ground to cover, so let's roll:

• Forgive me if I notice the usual blatant double standard by the corrupt media. While they were fine with the Black Lives Matter and Antifa riots that burned many city business districts to the ground, and caused deaths and injuries, they're suddenly up on their high horse about what happened Wednesday, demanding that the perpetrators be held accountable.
• Have the media jackals forgotten (or are they just covering it up) that last May, left-wing mobs including BLM & Antifa were threatening to breach the walls and fences surrounding the White House? Secret Service agents were joined by U.S. Marshals, DEA officers, and the National Guard to hold back the rioters, many of whom were using fireworks and throwing objects at police. Additionally, extremists briefly took over the Hart Senate Office Building in September 2018 to rage against the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
• One can't help but wonder if Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser deliberately refused to beef up security at the Capitol so as to allow this mayhem to take place. After all, leftist mayors from coast to coast have been telling police to stand down for many months during violent riots.
• Twitter and other social media platforms are rife with various conspiracy theories and supposed "proof"  (photos of Antifa fliers or correspondence, video and other unsubstantiated material), but anyone with an ounce of skepticism must know about Photoshop and AI software that generates fake videos of famous people speaking words they didn't actually speak. Technology makes the spreading of B.S. a lot easier than it used to be. Take it with a grain of salt.
• Let's just see how many of the anarchists are charged with crimes and either enter a plea or go to trial. It will be interesting to learn whether any of them are really leftists disguised as MAGA-hat-wearing Trumpsters. 
• Sometimes there are kooks who may appear to be right-wingers, but are in truth anti-government and anti-police, period. Case in point: The Wolverine Watchmen, the idiots in Michigan who hatched a plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer a few months ago. Several of them hated Trump and the police as much as they despised Democrats. Again, bad apples and outliers are always present when large crowds gather.
• President Trump is finishing a successful presidency on a down note. His constant whining about crooked elections officials and a rigged election during his Monday rally in Georgia was probably responsible for the low turnout by Republican voters, which gives us a Democrat Senate for at least two years. He shot himself in the foot because he couldn't control his rage, and consequently, many of his achievement will be undone by a leftist Congress and administration. At the same time, it's ridiculous and pure petulance by Senate and House Democrats to invoke the 25th Amendment to try to boot Trump out of office with less than two weeks remaining in his term. It ain't gonna happen, because by the time Georgia's two Democrat senators take office, Trump's term will be up. But that won't stop jackass Chuckie Schumer from trying.
• The country is in a bad state these days. Lord knows what the future holds. All we can do is do our best (and for those who believe in a higher power, pray).

Comments

[Jimmyfromkissimmee]

These people never quit, and they will still be blaming Trump four years from now

[Maureen ellen Black]

Great blog post!

[Barbara Zekany]

Excellent commentary, Tom. Keep up the good work!