Imagine trying to explain to the "you" of 20, 30, 40 years ago that the government needs a plan to stop an outbreak of violence after the next election. You wouldn't believe yourself.
Everyone would have scoffed — this is 'merica! That kind of stuff only happens in backward third world countries. (We called them "third world countries" 20, 30, 40 years ago!)
Well, here we are. This piece in The Atlantic reminds us what we already instinctively know — if he loses, Donald Trump supporters will react violently. And we must prepare now.
No one in law enforcement should be caught off guard if trouble breaks out before, during, or after the November presidential election, because Donald Trump keeps talking as if addressing differences through violence is a normal part of the American political process.
And somehow, this kind of violent rhetoric isn't at all disqualifying for a major segment of the electorate — so I can only assume they approve of it. Maybe they were always this way but there's no question they have been radicalized and activated by Trump and his fine fascist friends.
The January 6th Committee is best remembered for its damning account of what happened that day, and of the forces that led up to those events. But the committee's report points to some of the preparations that urgently need to be made.
We're all frogs, sitting in the boiling water — we've lost track of just how unprecedented and bananas this is.
Personally, I blame Newt Gingrich, Rupert Murdoch and Mark Zuckerberg — Gingrich cast liberals as enemies, Fox amplified and mainstreamed all the meanness and lies, and Facebook supercharged the whole right wing noise machine. I can only hope history judges them harshly.
