“He’s learned his lesson.” Those were the words of Susan Collins and, in a bit of an altered word salad, Lamar Alexander (and, maybe others) used to justify voting to acquit individual 1 after his FIRST IMPEACHMENT. Did he “learn his lesson?” Of course not – just as Adam Schiff predicted in his closing argument. So, we ended up with a completely incompetent response to the COVID pandemic and, of course, an attempted INSURRECTION leading to the deaths of (now) 7 people, injuries (some very serious) to over 140 police officers, and ultimately the SECOND IMPEACHMENT of individual 1. In the SECOND IMPEACHMENT trial republicans had the opportunity to admit Schiff was correct in the FIRST IMPEACHMENT trial and that individual 1 “would not change” so all they had to do was CONVICT him of OBVIOUS “high crimes and misdemeanors.” Seven of them actually voted to acquit, but the rest were COWERING in their boots and, of course, now we have individual 1 attempting to do it all over again.
The republican national committee actually, recently, referred to the ASSAULT on our Capitol where over 140 police officers were injured (one lost an eye, there was at least one with a traumatic brain injury, one was tased with his own taser at least 7 times to where he had a heart attack, and it goes on and on with MOST of the officers ending up with PTSD) as “legitimate political discourse.” I can picture the political ads now – running those words across the screen as video of the INSURRECTION is being played. Even some republican voters who have been sucked into individual 1’s CULT will be able to figure out that WASN’T “legitimate political discourse.” Will they still vote for these thugs? Who knows – we’ll see in November.
I have a (former) friend – who’s head over heals into the CULT – who believes republicans are going to win the midterms in the “biggest landslide ever” – and, of course, I hope he’s wrong. (he predicted individual 1 would win the 2020 election in a landslide – and, oh, by the way, he also predicted “liberals” would riot after the election – he won’t communicate but I suspect he believes the Capitol INSURRECTION was either caused by “antifa” or was an “FBI false flag” or, who knows “legitimate political discourse”) Of late I’ve reluctantly used the word STUPID in referring to republicans in Congress and, sadly, to members of the CULT who I occasionally hear giving their reasoning behind supporting our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president.
I use the term “sadly” in reference to the everyday Americans who actually believe what they’re being “fed” from the right wing media sphere – which includes everything from Fox “news” to the so-called “war room” of alleged (and pardoned – why did he need a pardon?) CRIMINAL Steve Bannon. (OK, I have to add this – it appears Bannon’s CRIMINAL behavior went beyond scamming individual 1’s supporters out of a few MILLION bucks – just sayin) I consider MOST of these Americans flocking toward individual 1 to be hard working honorable people – many are in the category individual 1 referred to as “uneducated voters.” I still remember after he LOST the Iowa Caucuses back in 2016 saying how he loved “uneducated voters.” I suppose he was referring to Rush Limbaugh’s followers who willingly referred to themselves as “ditto heads.”
On top of all the right wing propaganda flowing around the internet we also KNOW the Russian “Active Measures” campaign to spread mis/disinformation across platforms like Facebook is a continuing threat to our republic, Vladimir Putin is a busy man. While he has much of the world focused on Ukraine, he’s busy fomenting discord in one Western “democracy” after another – and it’s working – likely Putin is a big fan, for instance of all the truckers protesting in Canada right now – protests which are spreading to the United States and countries around Europe. Truckers are a hard working bunch, but you don’t need education to drive a truck and they listen to the heirs to Limbaugh’s propaganda all day long as they’re driving from one state (or country) to another. The propaganda works (Just as Hitler predicted when he came up with the “Big Lie” theory). And, by the way, I have to add, I see a parallel to the rise of this disinformation and the rise of Facebook – I don’t do Facebook, but I consider it an “evil” platform – people on the platform have NO idea what Facebook is doing with their “data.” I believe people get “sucked in” to Facebook just as they get “sucked in” to a CULT.
When it comes to “STUPID” regarding members of Congress, the first person who comes to my mind (on a long “waiting list”) is Ted Cruz. He’s been confirming he’s STUPID – despite a Law degree from Harvard – over and over again during his time in the U.S. Senate. I read a few years ago how he was the most “despised” member of the Senate – a bipartisan characterization – (although Josh Hawley is now giving him a “run for his money”) but over the previous year or two Cruz has “cemented” his place in the history of STUPID.
Most people likely remember (I certainly hope Texans do the next time Cruz is up for re-election) Cruz heading off to Cancun last year while Texas was in a severe cold snap and the electrical grid “ERCOT” (which Texas’ leaders knew would not withstand such a “cold snap” but chose to do nothing to protect their residents anyway) had failed – leaving Texans without heat, electricity, and, of course, without water for several days. In the process approximately 700 Texans died and ERCOT raised the wholesale rate for electricity from $25/megawatt to $9000 per megawatt – leaving those who survived the disaster HUGE electric bills along with the broken pipes, etc. And, where did Cruz believe he belonged? Cancun! That was STUPID!
But, as usual with republicans, there’s always more. Recently Cruz had a “brain fart” and actually told the TRUTH in a Senate hearing when he referred to the ASSAULT on the Capitol on January 6th, 2021 as a “violent terrorist attack.” OMG – how did Fox “news” and Tucker Carlson respond to that? Well, Carlson didn’t like that characterization and called out Cruz on his propaganda show. Not surprisingly, Cruz was soon groveling back saying he was “dumb” to say that and almost begging for Carlson’s forgiveness. Talk about more STUPID! Of course, Cruz has his sights set on the “White House” and knows he can’t get there without all the white nationalist support which is funneled through Carlson’s propaganda network/show so he showed once again there’s no level too LOW for him.
Naturally, there’s a bunch of others. I mentioned Hawley – who is now “infamous” for giving a (seemingly Hitler) salute to the INSURRECTIONISTS just prior to individual 1 “sacking” them onto Hawley’s workplace. I’m not going to attempt to list a “string” of STUPID stuff Hawley has said, other than to say he’s also got his eyes on the “White House” and he’s presuming republican voters are STUPID. On that front, the line forms behind individual 1, Ron DeSantis (I’m not going to get into his STUPID because he’s much more calculating), and Cruz (and Kristi Noem, and Greg Abbott, etc. etc.). All these republicans have learned from individual 1 to “love uneducated voters.”
Representative Andrew Clyde of Georgia, who is seen in photos helping to barricade the doors of the House Chamber during the INSURRECTION later referred to it as “a normal tourist visit.” OK, I don’t think I need to point out, that was STUPID. And, the STUPID just continues to flow from members of the House – Kevin McCarthy (videos of him on both sides of individual 1’s “fence”), Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs – both apparent white nationalists from Arizona – they say STUPID stuff all the time – and, somehow, remain in office, and Marjorie Taylor Green OMG, the list is a long one with her – beginning with “space lasers” starting fires in California to benefit Jerry Brown, the power company, and an investment bank run by Jews – yikes!
But, of course, there’s more – with republicans, there’s always more. Here’s some of the STUPID stuff which has come out of MTG’s mouth: An airplane never hit the Pentagon on September 11th – my (former) friend mentioned above believes the same thing – and MTG accused Hillary Clinton of “slicing off a child’s face and wearing it.” No matter the context of where that was said, it was STUPID!
There’s Louie Gohmert of Texas – giving Cruz a “run for his money” as the STUPIDEST member of Congress from Texas. Remember, as far as Texan’s are concerned, everything’s bigger in Texas. When you “visit” Gohmert’s list of STUPID things he’s said you can see he’s really concerned that some people happen to have been born “gay.” Here’s a (short) list: “I’m against gun control because Gay Marriage leads to sex with animals.” (Yikes!) Here’s another one: “If you let “gays” (my quotes) in the military they’ll massage each other and we’ll be too relaxed to win wars.” OMG But, there’s more: “Foreign mothers have babies in the U.S. just to turn them into terrorists.” I guess the good part of that one is he wasn’t referring to “gays.” This dude is incredibly STUPID!
I could go on and on with these people, but I hope you get my point – there are several others who fall in the really STUPID (or believe “we the people are “really stupid”) – but, STUPID permeates republican decisionmaking as well. I’ve pointed this out before, but the reason individual 1 LOST the 2020 election, in my view, comes from his combined STUPID with Moscow Mitch. During the first year of the COVID pandemic – even as individual 1 was claiming the pandemic was a “democrat hoax” (everything he doesn’t like seems to be a “hoax”) – Nancy Pelosi and the democrats attempted to get a bill through Congress which they referred to as the “HEROES Act” – it was designed to “crush the virus.” Both individual 1 and Moscow Mitch said it was “dead on arrival” in the Senate. I believe, had they passed that bill COVID would be less of a problem now – except for the strong possibility individual 1’s reign would be continuing. Calling that bill DOA was STUPID.
And, of course, individual 1, himself, proved his STUPID bonafides over and over again while he was occupying the Oval Office. For example, the hydroxychloroquine fiasco was STUPID. And, injecting Bleach was REALLY STUPID – possibly the STUPIDEST thing our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president said during his reign, but there’s always more. He also suggested finding a way to (I’m uncomfortable even imaging this one, because there’s only one possibility I can think of) put ultraviolet light “inside the body.” That was also REALLY STUPID! He LIED, by all accounts, over 10,000 times while our so-called president which I always considered STUPID, but people I know who are republicans, several of them, have told me they don’t believe he’s a LIAR. Yikes! To me, that’s STUPID!
Here’s my point, individual 1 is MORE dangerous now than he was in the “White House” simply because republicans have allowed him to be so. The January 6th Select Committee is collecting a mammouth amount of information and testimony regarding the ASSAULT on our Capitol which implies the “Seditious Conspiracy” goes all the way up to the “White House.” Yet, our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president goes around “doubling down” on the so-called “Big Lie” (Joseph Goebbels would be proud as I kind of said above) – and his CULT followers keep sucking it up. He even ADMITTED to the crime – when he publicly said, “Mike Pense should be investigated because he COULD have OVERTURNED the election.” STUPID!
America will NOT “heal” until (long after) individual 1 is spending his time behind bars. Keep in mind, investigators in New York and Atlanta have RICO (look it up) experts involved in their investigations – which, in the case of New York would imply individual 1’s children are allegedly up to their eyeballs in the alleged fraud just as their daddy. This is what happens when you put individuals with a history of organized crime activity in places of public honor. And, of course, “honor” is not something in their vocabulary. Once individual 1 is INDICTED, his base is going to revolt, because he’s been the “mechanism” white nationalists have used to, in their words, get into the “mainstream” of American politics. So far, it’s worked for them.
You can see examples of the DAMAGE (I’ve used that word over and over since the day individual 1 took [LIED about] his “oath” to his office) of this confluence of our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president with people like David Duke, Don Black, the “Oathkeepers,” The “Proud Boys” of “Stand back and stand by” fame, the 3 percenters, and other neo-Nazi groups who’ve come out from “under the rocks” because of individual 1’s “win” in 2016 – these are the “deplorables” Hillary Clinton warned us about. (Despite the fact it was TRUE – she didn’t fully explain who she was talking about which rendered THAT statement as STUPID as well)
The result of all this has been the “Jim Crow 2.0” anti-democratic voter suppression bills which have been “popping” up in one state after another where republicans control the legislature. These bills are aimed at making it possible for individual 1, or one of the other LYING republican candidates – whoever grovels enough to Tucker Carlson to get the nomination – to pull off the “coup d’etat” the next time around – where the state legislature can overturn the results in that state should the voters figure a way to still vote despite their (the legislature’s) attempt to suppress them. Just think, though, in 2024 should individual 1 somehow manage to CHEAT and get other republicans to CHEAT as well, it will be Kamala Harris overseeing the certification of the Electoral College results. Would she have the right, in individual 1’s mind, to overturn the results if he somehow managed to CHEAT to “win?” Obviously, the BEST solution to this problem lays in the “hands” of Merrick Garland! Stay tuned……………..
Final Thought: I have to say, “we the people” MUST expunge this nation of MULTIPLE members of republicans in Congress for the “healing” I referred to above in order for it to happen. I listed a group of the ones who’ve been at the forefront of the “STUPID” but it goes well beyond those I pointed out (for example, I said nothing about Ron Johnson, Rand Paul, Elise Stefanik, etc. etc.) – the reality is virtually EVERY member of the republican caucus in Congress is fully aware Joe Biden prevailed in the “most secure election in U.S. history” yet they’re AFRAID to say so. The level of the COWARDICE permeating the present day republican party is nauseating. I usually focus on the CRIMINAL behavior of individual 1 because I believe him being held CRIMINALLY accountable for his actions is paramount in our country being able to move on as a democratic republic. Yet, virtually all republicans in Congress are living in FEAR of our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president – which, to me, makes them all LOSERS! (whether they win their elections or NOT!) For SHAME!
I have to add: I’m a strong believer in the EV movement. My wife drives a Nissan Leaf – which is an amazing car that gets up to 260 miles on a single charge – and I drive a Chevrolet Volt (which I love – other than it’s pretty small) plus I used MOST of my retirement savings to put Solar panels on our property. That being said, I always wondered if someday I could afford to purchase a Tesla. Well, that was before I got my fill up to my eyeballs from listening to/reading about Elon Musk. Personally, I put him in the same stratosphere as Mark Zuckerberg. Their both “genius” in their fields, but NEITHER one of them seems to understand the importance of us regular folk and our best interests. The other day when I heard Musk encouraging the truckers who are blocking the U.S./Canada borders with their “big rigs” because, apparently Musk is an “anti-vaxxer” it became clear to me – I’ll NEVER own a Tesla. (Actually, I believe the Leaf is a worthy substitute – and I can go wherever I want and as far as I want in my Volt) As you can surmise, I don’t have a soft spot for tech “wizkids” who act like students I had in school (6th grade) who were autisitic – they seem to have NO social common sense. Yikes! once again.
A sidenote: I once predicted individual 1 (I was still calling him by his surname at the time) would “rue the day he decided to run for president.” Well, despite the fact he seems to be a willing “sponge” for all the media attention, good AND bad, I think that “day” is on the horizon. Letitia James has her sights set on his “organization” and Liz Cheney and Fani Willis have their sights set on his freedom. (As SHOULD Merrick Garland) Drip, drip, drip!