An opening salvo

The assault on the Capitol had a happy ending. The attackers were cleared out and Congress resumed business. Mark Sumner of Daily Kos discussed how close this were to turning out much worse. Some of the things Sumner noticed: Senate staffers had started to evacuate, then went back for the box containing the Electoral College votes. What if, in their desire to flee, they hadn’t? Even if the attackers made a bonfire of the box and its contents, there are duplicates at the National Archives. And all fifty of them would have been challenged as not the “real” votes. Some members were still sheltering in place when attackers tried to smash through doors of the House. Capitol police got everyone out. But what if there still a few stragglers? They could have become hostages. There were plenty of zip ties at the ready. Or if they were part of the Democratic leadership – or the vice nasty, now seen as a traitor to their cause – they might have been dragged to the gallows that had been erected outside. Three explosive devices were found outside the Capitol. What if one had been inside and not found in time? When the nasty guy began to summon his mob to the Capitol a popular hashtag was #CrossTheRubicon. Sumner concluded:

That statement represents the understanding that Trump’s supporters had even before they left for Washington, D.C.—the understanding that what they were doing was attempting not to save the republic, but to end it. To replace the idea of a democratically elected leader with a self-justified dictator. America should not be complacent that they did not succeed. This time.

Leah McElrath linked to a thread by Faine Greenwood:

just gonna reiterate how *possible* it was yesterday that we’d have had to watch Pelosi and Schumer get murdered by a mob on a Twitch stream.

The McElrath responded:

VERY possible. They brought massive quantities of zip ties—you do that when you’re planning on forcibly restraining people. They were armed. They targeted the offices of the people they hated the most. They urinated, defecated, vandalized, and stole for purpose of defilement.

Greenwood included a quote by House Majority Whip James Clyburn in a radio interview:

My office, if you don’t know where it is, you ain’t going to find it my accident. And the one place where my name is on the door, that office is right on Statuary Hall. They didn’t touch that door, but they went into that other place where I do most of my work, they showed up there harassing my staff. How did they know to go there? … So something else was going on untoward here.

The nasty guy tweeted that he won’t attend the inauguration. It was one of his last tweets because Twitter has now banned him, as has Facebook and Instagram. McElrath quoted that tweet, then turned to a tweet from j.d. durkin:

Trump supporters continue to harass Sen. Graham at Reagan airport this morning — horrifying new reality in our country.

I’m sure that harassment was because Graham recently said that it is time to move on and accept Biden as president. McElrath responded:

Do these sound like people who think it’s over? Do they sound like people who have received a cease and desist message from their cult leader? Or do they sound like people who think they’re just getting warmed up?

In another thread she quoted Dr. Kate Antonova who wonders if the attack this week was “practice for the 20th when Biden & Harris are the targets.” McElrath added:

Exactly. One of my big concerns is the possibility (I would suggest likelihood) that the attack on the Capitol was an opening salvo, not a main event.

Then she wonders if the nasty guy won’t be at the inauguration because he knows something is planned and is avoiding the danger. Jonathan Ladd, a professor of Public Policy and Government, tweeted:

One thing political scientists have found is that failed coups are often followed by successful coups. Sometimes by the same person, sometimes by someone else.

David Cay Johnston responded:

Right and Trump wrote yesterday "this is just the beginning."

Never Again Action, Jews and immigrants acting to abolish ICE, tweeted:

1923: Hitler’s failed coup No real consequences No fundamental changes 1933: Hitler takes power. Consequences Now: 1. Impeach and convict Trump 2. Expel the coup participants 3. Abolish the Electoral College

Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called on the vice nasty to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove the nasty guy. If not, she will move forward with impeachment. She declared justice will be done. Soon to be Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has issued a similar statement. Joan McCarter of Kos added:

With Schumer set to be majority leader in a few weeks, the threat of an impeachment has real teeth now that he's in a position to make it happen. Because Trump can still be impeached and convicted after he's left office on Jan. 20. Not only can he be impeached, he should be. He wants to run again in 2024, he wants to continue to lead an insurrectionist mob into a second civil war. He must be barred by conviction from having any future in public life.

Kerry Eleveld of Kos reported the nasty guy is seething because some White House aides are weighing resigning. Some have, though they are mostly inconsequential. One that is of consequence is Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, whose resignation was reported on Michigan Radio. Invoking the 25th Amendment depends, of course, on the vice nasty. Hunter of Kos described the 25th Amendment, then reported:

All of this, then, relies on Vice President Mike Pence agreeing that fomenting acts of sedition amounts to unfitness for office. Though widely described to be upset at Trump's actions, perhaps in largest part due to the physical danger it put Pence's own family in during the breach of the U.S. Capitol, Pence has made no indication he does not stand by Trump even now. He is allegedly refusing calls from House and Senate leaders asking him to consider the matter. At this moment, Pence continues not just to protect Trump, but to enable further acts by Trump to stoke violence. If that does not change then all further talk of removing Trump via the 25th Amendment procedure is irrelevant.

Those cabinet members who can vote to approve the nasty guy’s removal are the ones who have received Senate confirmation. Many of the existing crowd are merely acting secretaries. DeVos has resigned, as has Elaine Cho, wife of Moscow Mitch. I haven’t heard of others. McElrath tweeted:

Cabinet members resigning now are cowards, escaping to avoid invoking the 25th Amendment. By their leaving, they’re further endangering us. We’re going to be left with Trump wandering the WH halls with the nuclear football surrounded only by family and lacking ALL constraints.

Lori Brass added:

So. The solution for this most dire and urgent crisis we’re currently in, is to look to the sycophantic cowards who’ve done nothing but enable a sociopath for 4 years, and wait for them to grow a spine, a clue and a conscience and remove said sociopath?

Yesterday I noted the Senate is in recess, and did so in a way that is not easy to call them back. Then I didn’t notice why it was strange. I heard today that the House is also adjourned. Here’s the strange bit: Why does it make sense to adjourn the day after a coup attempt? How can they impeach when they’re adjourned? Brittney Cooper tweeted:

I am tired of liberal white complicity with this bulls---. Why didn’t y’all expel the fools who protested the vote? Why didn’t the house impeach the president? Why are you recessing when their was a coup attempt yesterday? Why are you leaving a madman in power?!

Versha Sharma responded:

Yesterday should have shaken all members of Congress to the core - I know it did for some - but how is it possible that they are adjourning right now? At this moment in time? The House doesn’t have to follow Mitch McConnell’s lead. I am absolutely gobsmacked at this. If you are a member of Congress pushing for action - like Cori Bush and Ilhan Omar did immediately yesterday - please update the public on why nothing is happening today. It’s shocking. I’d assume Dems would be in absolute organized uproar over this; it’s the least they can offer.

Sarah Kendzior tweeted about the adjourned Congress:

What are they going to do when another attack happens? What are they doing to hold the perpetrators and enablers accountable? What are they doing for the people of the United States, who are not only dealing with domestic terrorists but mass death in a pandemic?

I’ve again heard that Pelosi is doing just enough to make us think she’s on our side. Laura Clawson of Kos reported that nasty guy supporters gathered at a few state capitols while the attack in Washington was going on. There were protests in Salt Lake City, Sacramento, Olympia, and Lansing. Capitols in Santa Fe and Austin were closed. There were threats in these places. But since they weren’t actually attacked, the media seemed to think these were no big deal. Walter Einenkel of Kos reported that the FBI is asking for help in identifying those who attacked the Capitol. Einenkel is one of many online who have identified several. When one is anti-mask, one doesn’t wear a mask, meaning the whole face is visible and recognizable in the many selfies and videos posted to social media (“Look at what I did!”). Posting to their own account is also a clue. Most of Einenkel’s post is naming perpetrators. William C. tweeted:

Lives have been neglected and lost to the tune of countless dead. It will take studies to actually count how many people have died as a result of this pandemic. But it took things getting to the point of an attack on the Capitol to make some people say 'enough.' How can you have any respect for a country that tells you your life amounts to nothing?