USA Politics (redux)

[Herman]

Looks like there won't be a Republican-elected president for quite some time after all this chaos is over.

Unfortunately that's a non sequitur.

[ritter]

I really thought I'd seen it all regarding Trump and some of his supporters (I realize not all Trump supporters are extreme and unreasonable).

But I still have to encounter a Trump supporter who wouldn't say that the President's statements and actions that led to this mess weren't "legitimate", "perfectly within the law", etc., etc.

A tragic day, but perhaps hopefully also a cathartic one that may end this type of political discourse...

[BasilValentine]

Trump was told by Secret Service to hunker down in the Oval Office. He's the monster that fueled this fire and now he's scared. If he has a spine at all, he'll extinguish this madness, but he doesn't, so people are going to get hurt.

Why on earth would you think he has any inclination to stop the coup? This is exactly what he wants.

[Mirror Image]

Why on earth would you think he has any inclination to stop the coup? This is exactly what he wants.

Indeed. I hope he's locked up for treason.

[BasilValentine]

Indeed. I hope he's locked up for treason.

Josh Hawley also actively encouraged the insurrection, signaling the clowns with a raised fist. Censure and impeachment are called for in his case. Trump should be indicted — well, for all sorts of things, actually.

[vandermolen]

Very sorry to see what's going on in Washington at the moment.

[T. D.]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-06/ap-newsalert-dc-police-chief-says-protesters-deployed-chemical-irritants-on-police-to-gain-access-to-us-capitol

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/06/ex-defense-secretary-trumps-cabinet-should-invoke-25th-amendment-to-remove-him-from-office-.html

Former Defense Secretary William Cohen told CNBC on Wednesday that President Donald Trump's Cabinet should invoke the 25th Amendment to remove him from office after pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol.

"I don't know where his Cabinet has been all this time, but it's long overdue for the 25th Amendment because this man is no longer capable of serving the United States of America," Cohen said on "Closing Bell." Cohen, who led the Defense Department during Bill Clinton's presidency, is also a former GOP senator and congressman from Maine.

The 25th amendment outlines how a president can be removed by the vice president and Cabinet members if deemed unable to carry out the duties of the office.

And another item:

The National Association of Manufacturers is out with a strong denunciation of today's events, and of the president. The industry group says, in part:
"The outgoing president incited violence in an attempt to retain power, and any elected leader defending him is violating their oath to the Constitution and rejecting democracy in favor of anarchy. Anyone indulging conspiracy theories to raise campaign dollars is complicit. Vice President Pence, who was evacuated from the Capitol, should seriously consider working with the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to preserve democracy."
The 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution establishes procedures to remove a sitting president if he is deemed "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office."

[Herman]

Former Defense Secretary William Cohen told CNBC on Wednesday that President Donald Trump's Cabinet should invoke the 25th Amendment to remove him from office after pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol.

And Ilhan Omar is talking about yet another impeachment. None of this, however, is going to happen in these last two weeks. Core Republicans like the despicable Cruz will not cooperate.

At some point Trump will escape to Scotland, and from there at some later point he'll disappear to a safe place that doesn't do extraditions to the US.

[71 dB]

Americans must be so proud of their democracy and respect of democratic process right now! 

I didn't expect this to get this bad, but I am not surprised either. This was all coming...

[Mirror Image]

Josh Hawley also actively encouraged the insurrection, signaling the clowns with a raised fist. Censure and impeachment are called for in his case. Trump should be indicted — well, for all sorts of things, actually.

All of those with any involvement in this national embarrassment need to be locked up.

[T. D.]

Lincoln Project calls for immediate House impeachment and Senate conviction of Trump to force his expedited removal from office.

viz.,

Today's violence and insurrection in Washington and in state capitols is the direct responsibility of Donald Trump. This shameful culmination of four years of lies, propaganda, dog whistles, gaslighting, and conspiracy theories at the hands of a dangerous, unstable president has now put our Constitutional system of government at risk.

While our democracy has been under attack since Donald Trump was elected in 2016, today's domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol highlights just how much Trump and his enablers have entirely abandoned the principles of the Constitution and the Republic.

This is no longer simply about Donald Trump's charade. It is an armed, violent, and planned insurrection against the United States of America.  It is a moment where the tenets of Trumpism replaced the tenets of American democracy with the inevitable, violent results."

"Make no mistake, this is sedition and insurrection," said Lincoln Project co-founder Rick Wilson, "People have long asked why the Lincoln Project has targeted Trump's Republican allies, and today they have their answer. Those Republicans who have endorsed and encouraged Trump's lawless coup attempt in the House and Senate deserve to be prosecuted, not seated in the halls of government. The House should immediately impeach Donald Trump for directing and provoking this attack. The United States Senate should immediately vote to convict and remove him from office. Any Member of Congress who refuses to do so should be considered a co-conspirator.

The Lincoln Project is a group of former Republicans who worked to defeat Donald J. Trump's reelection and will continue to battle Trumpism in America. To learn more about The Lincoln Project, go to www.lincolnproject.us."

[BasilValentine]

And Ilhan Omar is talking about yet another impeachment. None of this, however, is going to happen in these last two weeks. Core Republicans like the despicable Cruz will not cooperate.

At some point Trump will escape to Scotland, and from there at some later point he'll disappear to a safe place that doesn't do extraditions to the US.

Oh Herman, you've missed the funniest news of the past 24 hours! More than a handful of Scottish officials have made it clear that Trump will not be allowed into the country. A couple made the point by saying Scotland would not harbor him in his attempt to escape prosecution in the US.

[Mirror Image]

Lincoln Project calls for immediate House impeachment and Senate conviction of Trump to force his expedited removal from office.

All of this wouldn't have happened had he accepted his defeat like a man, but he's no man, but a mere child with a short fuse.

[T. D.]

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/06/ex-defense-secretary-blasts-authorities-f-preparation-to-prevent-capitol-siege.html

Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Wednesday sharply criticized federal law enforcement in Washington, contending that inadequate preparation was taken to prevent the siege of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump.

"What the hell was law enforcement on Capitol Hill thinking by not having secured the Capitol today?" Panetta said on CNBC's "Closing Bell," shortly after the National Guard was mobilized in response to the pro-Trump mob occupying the Capitol building.
...
"Everybody knew that there would be a disturbance," Panetta told CNBC. "Everybody knew that there would be people who were interested in doing nothing else but creating havoc in the Capitol. And very frankly, it was the responsibility of law enforcement and the Capitol Hill police to secure the Capitol and I'm not sure what happened that allowed this event."

Other former U.S. national security officials also are questioning whether federal law enforcement should have been more adequately prepared to secure the Capitol, knowing that the House and Senate would be in session to confirm the Electoral College vote.

"I think it's the most shocking failure of security imaginable to place the Congress of the United states at physical risk in an occupied congressional chamber because they weren't prepared to deal with it," Ret. Gen. Barry McCaffrey said earlier on "Closing Bell."
...

And:

Bloomberg's Greg Farrell checked in on former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who once told Congress that if the president lost the 2020 election, there wouldn't be a peaceful transfer of power. Few believed him at the time.
Cohen's message now is simple.
"I told you so," he said.

[vandermolen]

All of this wouldn't have happened had he accepted his defeat like a man, but he's no man, but a mere child with a short fuse.

Totally agree.

[Mirror Image]

Americans must be so proud of their democracy and respect of democratic process right now! 

I didn't expect this to get this bad, but I am not surprised either. This was all coming...

There certainly have been many who have tried to tear down our country and Trump is no exception. He'll get his in the end. Every person who has elicited chaos and unlawfulness over order will get theirs. I don't have faith in Trump's Washington, but I do have faith that every devil has what is coming to them soon or later.

[Mirror Image]

Totally agree.

The clock is running down on his presidency. Hopefully, the madness will be over soon.

[milk]

Pence is, indeed, impaled on the horns of a dilemma. I predict that when all is said and done, he will simply read the decision of Congress. He might make a comment that he personally considers the result invalid, but maybe not even that. I could be wrong.

you called it. Or close to it. I think he's a worm, but even he couldn't bring himself to wear the hat and bells. Haven't seen Todd around here, BTW.

[Brahmsian]

Haven't seen Todd around here, BTW.

Maybe he is at the "protest"?

[vandermolen]

The clock is running down on his presidency. Hopefully, the madness will be over soon.

+1