There have been times in history when both parties were comparably engaged in corruption and misconduct. This is not one of those times. Right now, evil and the Republican party have never been more closely aligned. (I'm not the only one who thinks so.)
Fanning Domestic Terrorism
The far right holds a near monopoly on political violence (see also here):
Heidi Beirich, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project says that “if you go back to the 1960s, you see all kinds of left-wing terrorism, but since then it’s been exceedingly rare.” She notes that eco- and animal-rights extremists caused extensive property damage in the 1990s, but didn’t target people.
In just 72 hours this week a Trump zealot sent 14 pipe bombs in the mail to the enemies Trump has identified again and again in campaign rallies. A Neo-Nazi Trump follower killed eleven people and injured six more (including four police officers) at a synagogue in Pittsburg in the worst incident of anti-semitic violence in U.S. history. And, a white supremacist killed two African-Americans in a Kroger in Kentucky after the shooter couldn't manage to get into a locked black church. Earlier this week another white supremacist plotting a school shooting in Kentucky was thwarted based upon a Facebook post driven tip. Earlier this month, white supremacist threats caused a black female legislator in Vermont to resign from office. An Uber driver in Colorado Springs threatened to kill a Muslim passenger.
The atmosphere of politically motivated right wing violence and threats of violence is palpable in the mid-term election season this year.
He blamed the media and political figures targeted by the bomber for the violence directed at them. Trump and other conservatives argued absurdly that it was a false flag conspiracy. Trump blamed the synagogue for the massacre it experienced and has absurdly suggested that anti-semitic violence is a self-inflicted false flag operation.
The atmosphere of politically motivated right wing violence and threats of violence is palpable in the mid-term election season this year.
He blamed the media and political figures targeted by the bomber for the violence directed at them. Trump and other conservatives argued absurdly that it was a false flag conspiracy. Trump blamed the synagogue for the massacre it experienced and has absurdly suggested that anti-semitic violence is a self-inflicted false flag operation.
He is a stochastic terrorist. His routine endorsements of political violence in his rallies have predictably produced a wave of hate crimes. There has, for example, been a surge in anti-semitic violence since Trump was elected (also anti-semitic online harassment). Trump's unprecedentedly extreme tirades against the media probably also contributed to a mass shooting at a newspaper. Emboldened by Trump, white supremacists and Nazis have come out of the closet.
His rhetoric was already stirring up and motivating three men to launch a bombing campaign against Somali refugees two years ago on the eve of his election in Kansas (they were caught before they could carry out their plan). Some of his other supporters on the eve of that election burned down a black church.
His rhetoric was already stirring up and motivating three men to launch a bombing campaign against Somali refugees two years ago on the eve of his election in Kansas (they were caught before they could carry out their plan). Some of his other supporters on the eve of that election burned down a black church.
He called the rallying Nazi's in Charlotte "good people" with blame on both sides, when one of those Nazis murdered a counter-protestor and committed dozens of other felonies. He has called himself a "Nationalist", and called for banning protests and shutting down newspapers.
Misconduct and Corruption
The list of corrupt activities that Trump has engaged in is a long one, which the New York Times summarizes.
One after another senior Republican affiliated with Trump has pleaded guilty to serious crimes. He endorsed for U.S. Senate an old man who'd had such a penchant for pursuing jail bait girls in his younger days that he had been banned from a mall who is also known for defying the U.S. Supreme Court's authority. The line between the Republican party organization and Neo-Nazi street gangs has blurred.
One after another senior Republican affiliated with Trump has pleaded guilty to serious crimes. He endorsed for U.S. Senate an old man who'd had such a penchant for pursuing jail bait girls in his younger days that he had been banned from a mall who is also known for defying the U.S. Supreme Court's authority. The line between the Republican party organization and Neo-Nazi street gangs has blurred.
Trump lies, constantly, about almost everything, in easily provable ways. Trump has confessed on audio tape to sexual assault and allegedly has committed multiple sexual assaults, was denied a casino license in Australia for possible mafia connections, has settled a high dollar fraud cause involving Trump University (and is the subject of multiple other fraud allegations), and has paid off at least one mistress with whom he had sex while married to his current wife (having cheated on his previous two wives as well).
Brett Kavanaugh, his latest U.S. Supreme Court appointee, who has also lied to Congress, both in previous hearings and in his most recent confirmation hearing in provable ways, and has committed multiple sexual assaults, and didn't manage to keep his cool and a judicial demeanor in his confirmation hearing.
Support For Bad Actors Abroad
Trump tried to point blame away from the Saudi Arabian regime for the torture-murder of a Washington Post journalist in their Turkish embassy, in the face of overwhelming proof to the contrary.
Brett Kavanaugh, his latest U.S. Supreme Court appointee, who has also lied to Congress, both in previous hearings and in his most recent confirmation hearing in provable ways, and has committed multiple sexual assaults, and didn't manage to keep his cool and a judicial demeanor in his confirmation hearing.
Support For Bad Actors Abroad
Trump tried to point blame away from the Saudi Arabian regime for the torture-murder of a Washington Post journalist in their Turkish embassy, in the face of overwhelming proof to the contrary.
Trump is beholden financially to Saudi Arabia and Russia, both of whom have been treated well by his administration. His son in law is in close communication with the Crown Prince of the Kingdom. His son is also carrying water for them.
Aided And Abetted By Evangelicals
Aided And Abetted By Evangelicals
One has to go back to the antebellum and Jim Crow South to find a time period when a political faction was so indisputably evil.
Evangelical Christians, in contrast, have been evil since at least the Second Great Awakening that gave rise to their religious movement, and remain as committed to evil as they have almost always been, if not worse. Their most prominent leaders are constantly making the most deplorable pronouncements. Trump has stirred up pastors that support him to the point where they are urging people to assassinate liberal figures and develop a "more violent Christianity."
Wow, you've gone bananas (and don't seem to understand what "evangelicals" actually are if you tie it all to the Second Great Awakening).
ReplyDeleteTo be frank you terrify me. You don't even see the hatred and pseudo-religious fervor in your post, and think your virtuous. People like you are the ones who smash the windows and man the guillotines, and think you're righteous doing it.
I'll bet you just three years from now, you'll be screaming for the deaths of the people you just "othered". I won't be around to collect on that bet, but hopefully your conscience will.
Oh yeah, your picture was staged. Google it.
I entirely acknowledge that it could be staged, although in fairness to me, I did a bit of research on it and didn't find anything.
ReplyDeleteI do understand what "Evangelicals" are very well and think that the Second Great Awakening is really as close as you can come to the birthplace of the American Evangelical movement. This is when the Southeast transformed from the most secular to the most religious region in America and what many of its distinctive ideologies emerged. Before then, there was really no branch of Christianity comparable to American Evangelical Christianity.
Of course, I do not mean "Evangelical" in this post to mean simply folks who are trying to win converts, but to people who are part of a specific U.S. based religious movement.
If we don't recognize the stakes and fight a cultural war for survival against these folks, pretty much everything decent in America will be crushed. I think that this is worth fighting for. Recognition and determination would be closer than hatred, but yes, these are very bad people. Rotten to the core. Many are unredeemable.
But, it isn't people like me who smash the windows and man the guillotines. As I note with citations, this is almost exclusively a right wing move in modern American history, and will remain so.
To avoid any question, I've removed the questionable photograph and commentary on it.
ReplyDelete