Thursday, December 31, 2020

After January 6

 After Congress votes on the results of the Electoral College, who will be the targets of revenge, retribution, and retaliation? What form will it take?


Will there be calls for insurrection? Who will issue them? Who will respond and how?


Will there be a grand exit from the White House to distract from the inauguration? Or will there be an eviction?


Will the removed tenant trash the house? or trash the country? or even trash the GOP?


 How long before a third Trump divorce?


Four years ago Republicans lauded the wisdom of the Electoral College because it "protected" the country from a popular vote electing Hillary Clinton to be President. Now some Republicans are fighting to overthrow (or undermine) the Electoral College because they don't like the result. I find it sadly ironic and appalling that Republicans, who have been the vocal champions of civil order and the rule of law are investing so much energy in undermining trust in the very institutions they have claimed to revere. They are sowing distrust of electoral process and institutions, the courts, Congress and their own party. This seems to me to be similar to undermining trust in the CDC a year ago when the covid-19 pandemic was just emerging, only now on a much broader scale I am seeing increasing frequency of labeling the country's long established institutions as instruments of tyranny as a justification for insurrection, even violence.   


Does Donald Trump recognize the damage he is doing to the Republican Party, the reputations and careers of those who have supported his fraud claims, public confidence in the country's elections? If he does, does he care?


Will there be a call for insurrection, maybe even armed? Will protests January 6-20 ff purposely provoke violence to justify armed insurrection? My own sense is that the Proud Boys et al have no interest in Donald Trump himself, only that he has provided them a platform for their own agenda.

I can't help but wonder if in 2021 the Republican party will split between the genuine conservatives (e.g. David Brooks, George Will, etc.) and the MAGA Trumpettes. Which one will claim the Republican identity? Will one faction bolt or will the other faction expel them?


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