I'm incensed . . .

Trump to White Rioters: "Go home, we love you, you're very special."
Trump to Black Rioters: "When the looting starts, the shooting starts."

 

I don't use Parler, but the plan to storm the capitol has apparently been openly talked about for days on there. @CoinBlazer have you seen anything to this effect? I think you said you've used Parler.

 

Then there's also this, rioters today being let through to the capitol by police

https://i.redd.it/5su8wm36ts961.gif

 

"Be there, will be wild!." (December 20)

"And after this, we're going to walk down there, and I'll be there with you, we're going to walk down ... to the Capitol and we are going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women. And we're probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them. Because you'll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong."

"We will never give up. We will never concede. It doesn't happen. You don't concede when there's theft involved. Our country has had enough. We're not going to take it anymore." (January 6)

With these stirring words ringing in their ears, fine upstanding Americans went to "show their strength." I honestly don't put all that much blame on the majority of those people. They've been fed lies by the current president for months and years. They've been listening to walking cesspits like Limbaugh, Hannity, Carlson, and Ingraham who've spared no effort to rile them up. Most of them truly believe that they're "defending democracy." They took a fat dose of incendiary rhetoric from their beloved leader and proceeded with righteousness to attempt to oppose what he told them was a terrible wrong.

Many people, once they're in a mass like that, will behave in ways that they'd never consider in a normal setting. They'll be incited to extreme actions by those among them who are ready and willing to go the whole hog. Probably most of the people who participated in the attack on Congress are good-hearted and generous in their daily lives, but they have allowed themselves to be deceived and led by a completely rotten wannabe autocrat. Their gullibility isn't even all that exceptional.

It's not only the despicable grifter currently in the White House who bears responsibility for what happened, it's opportunistic creeps like Hawley and Cruz who've encouraged their belief in his lies, and the pernicious propaganda of Trumpist media that stoked their delusional outrage.

"Trump summoned supporters to "wild" protest, and told them to fight. They did" | Reuters

 

I said that you defend Trump. As you did in this thread.

 

So, why is it then, that 70 million others of us, also supposedly led to evil acts by POTUS Trump, sat in disbelief as we watched our Capitol under siege? If we are so compelled to action by Trump, why were the numbers on Capitol Hill not much greater?

No, these were the acts of extremist conservatives with little self control.

We’re all disturbed by the outcome of the election, but the vast majority of us are not as driven by Trump as you contend. Rather, Trump was driven to the presidency by the realization that many of his beliefs aligned with a large segment of the population . . . Not the other way around. Live in denial, if you will, but resistance to your agenda will not abate with Trump’s departure from the White House.

 

Wrong again . . . “die hard Trump supporter” . . . Your words.

 

Really? My exact words were...."You have been a diehard Trump supporter/defender the entire time."

While trying to learn to take responsibility, please also try to learn how to accept reality.

 

You are as delusional as Trump. Just because we didn't see all of the Trump supporters riot in the capital today doesn't mean that you weren't with them in spirit. (Your logic)

 

I am no acolyte, and have been on both sides of the fence regarding Trump. I've never liked the guy, criticized him where warranted, but also defended him against unwarranted criticism . . . all too often coming from the blindly opposed, such as yourself. Your views of him are unbalanced . . . not giving credit for constructive actions he took, instead searching high and low for ways to portray even his brighter moments in a bad light. You are dishonest with yourself about that.

My wife could attest to my lamenting his hasty, ill-considered statements, made almost daily. That you perceive me to defend him so much more than I criticize him is likely because most of the dialogue we have here surrounds attacks rooted in views which oppose my own. He's done bad things, and he's done good, but when he's done good, you fail to acknowledge them because that would undermine your political / philosophical allegiances.

 

I don't agree that Trump supporters can be lumped together like that. The people who made the effort to come to DC are among those who're willing to back up their rhetoric and beliefs with action. Even then, I don't think that the majority of them came with violence in mind, but once the assault on the Capitol started, mob mentality found fertile ground.

On the other hand, there is some truth to being "with them in spirit" as shown by defensive reactions. Straight-forward criticism of the assault on the Capitol is taken as aimed at all Trumpists. I believe this is because Trumpism is at heart an anti-democratic ideology. Someplace in their minds many Trumpists know that, even if they don't admit it to themselves.

When such an ideology flourishes, an unadorned attack on democratic processes isn't out of the question. The ginned up outrage and willingness to support the blatant lies of Trump are essentially a rejection of democracy. The anti-democratic impulse manifested on the 6th is there at the heart of Trumpism even if it isn't acted upon, and when others do act upon it there is a twinge of recognition.

 

Any disingenuous claims about how there was little warning fall flat. This was posted here weeks ago:

 

My claims were not disingenuous . . . I had not seen this. Moreover, my reply regarding security during the BLM protest was in reference to the Capitol in particular, and had nothing to do with election workers.

Unlike the BLM march on Washington which was publicized fully 10 weeks beforehand, I was, and remain completely unaware that the MAGA Mob gathering at Capitol Hill had been publicized well in advance.

 

My views of him are exactly right. If today proves nothing else, it proves once again that you are blind to who Trump is, who Trump was before he was elected, and who he will be until the day he dies. What I will credit Trump with is not creating the mob of Right-wing grievance mongers. They were here before Trump ever came along. The GOP has been cultivating them since Reagan. Trump merely came along and rather than dog whistle to these racists, these white supremacists, these hicks and yokels, he said out loud exactly what they have been hearing from the GOP all along, only without the wink and the nod. That was all they needed. A champion in the White House. Trump became that and his blind followers, oh say YOU, made every excuse for anything that came out of his mouth. An occasional tepid criticism was usually all you could muster while pretending he was God's gift to this country. Backpedaling now is just a life preserver for your pride. I prefer to watch you and the rest of your ilk go under. There is no rescue that you deserve or can hope to receive. But I will be happy to toss you an anvil. The warnings were all there from multiple, multiple sources including a few from within the GOP ranks and many, many that had worked hand-in-hand with Trump over the last 4 years. They were called RINO's and dismissed by Trump's loyal minions. The price came due today. Your party is finished.

 

I occasionally use Parler but I have not been active enough on it for the last few days to confirm anything. However that isn’t me claiming there wasn’t anything to be concerned about, only that I have no awareness of such.

 

Just to clear things up, it was the antifa. Sarah Palin saw pictures.

"Fox News Stars: America Had It Coming. Also Antifa Did It." | The Daily Beast

 

Yeah right! It was just a handful of crazies. Like I said, they all wish that they had been there. This party is so broken.

More Republicans Approve of Storming the Capitol
Source: PoliticalWire
January 7, 2021 at 9:50 am EST By Taegan Goddard

A new YouGov poll found that 45% of Republican voters approved of the storming of the U.S. Capitol, while 43% opposed it.

Just 27% of Republicans think this action should be considered a threat to democracy, with 68% saying otherwise.

Read more: https://politicalwire.com/2021/01/07/more-republicans-approve-of-storming-the-capitol/

 

Yes, that's correct FD, and we
should make sure that every one
of the perpetrators who vandalized
or damaged statues, monuments and
other federal property this year gets
every bit as much punishment as the
idiots who caused damage on
Capitol Hill this week.

Simpletons . . . every last one of them.​

.​