Thomas ZimmerOn the second anniversary of an unprecedented, violent assault on democratic self-government, America doesn’t have much time for commemoration or reflection, because the same anti-democratic, anti-government forces are usurping the House from within. It’s terrifying. #January6th
Let it serve as a reminder that the problem is not just Trump, not even primarily Trump: It’s the party that elevated him in the first place, the party that embraces and elevates far-right extremists like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz.
The problem is the party that has been completely taken over by the far-right “populist” energies that conservative elites have been fueling for decades, always believing they could harness and control them in a quest to entrench traditional hierarchies, but never succeeding.
The problem is the party that is dominated by people who are not just skeptical of “big government,” but hostile to government itself, who reject functional governance and are entirely uninterested in any kind of constructive public policy.
The problem is the party that doesn’t care about majoritarian principles, democratic self-government, or the rule of law because it is comprised of people who consider white conservatives the sole proponents of “real America” and therefore entitled to rule.
The problem is the party whose anti-democratic radicalization has outpaced what even most critical observers imagined, the party serving as the political arm of an escalating reactionary counter-mobilization that would rather tear the whole system down than accept pluralism.
The problem is the party ruled by people who have long given themselves permission to cross any line, to embrace any extremists, in that defining struggle against what they constantly play up as a totalitarian threat from “the Left” to the essence of the nation.
The problem is the party full of people who absolutely will go *that far* - because they have convinced themselves and their radicalizing base that the other side has already gone *much further* and will stop at nothing.
In a healthy democratic system and political culture, anyone associated with the deranged extremism of people like Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene would be shunned and ostracized, and the party that elevates such forces would no longer be considered a viable option.
Instead, enabled by the many anti-democratic distortions in the constitution and the political system, the door has been left wide open for that party and the extremist forces that control it - they have been put in a position to undermine and subvert democracy on all levels.
On the second anniversary of an unprecedented, violent assault on democratic self-government, the same anti-democratic, anti-government forces managed to capture the House from within.
The insurrection ended in triumph.
There is a real danger that the January 6 attack will go down in history not as a failure, but as a catalyst for the GOP’s radicalization, a rallying cry for the Far-Right, and a milestone on the path towards democracy’s downfall.
Last night brought us closer to that scenario. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/27/january-6-changed-america-here-are-two-directions-the-country-could-go-now?CMP=twt_b-usopinion_c-us
All that talk about Trump being so weak? Last night was a good night for Trump. Or, at least: It was a good night for Trumpism. Which is really just party orthodoxy at this point. The forces that led to Trump’s rise rose with him and keep rising with it without him.
One of the most “If they tell you who they really are, believe them” moments you’ll ever encounter.
What’s shocking (though not surprising) about this is the level of shamelessness: Exactly two years after #January6th, he’s basically saying: “Donald, look, we finally did it!”
McCarthy represents the Republican establishment. That doesn’t mean he’s a “moderate.” It means the GOP establishment is fully embracing the extremism as the party has moved so far to the right that yesterday’s radical fringe is now firmly in the center of conservative politics.
Richard@tzimmer_history Not a single "moderate" balked at McCarthy's concessions to the nutters and dropped their support. The nascent fistfight may have been a show of frustration, but every single Republican that voted for McCarthy is fully on board with the places these concessions will take us.
Realworldrj@tzimmer_history McCarthy got what he wanted (a title), Taylor got what she wanted (recognition), and the country surely is going to suffer for both
C0ppertop@tzimmer_history then an asteroid impact would be timely.
schoolingdiana@tzimmer_history McCarthy is not conservative. I’m not even sure he’s fascist. He’s a thug and a bully, and is set to out-Truss Liz Truss. Shout out to a head of lettuce cuz this guy won’t last 2 weeks! He made it so he’s ousted if only one Republican complains about him. IMO, as someone who spent 40yrs in the GOP at multiple levels, McCarthy just stabbed the GOP to death. It’s done. Logical thinking people left the GOP starting a decade ago.
🌊Ann Morris🐕🍀🌎🌊🌊@schoolingdiana @tzimmer_history McCarthy isn’t a thug or bully. He’s a spineless, weak, simpleton, trump/Russian puppet. Everything he’s doing right now is for his handlers. The American people are screwed.
Laure@tzimmer_history well they’re certainly dominating the news like they want #mccarthy
@tzimmer_history Nah , it just feels that way.. democrats have moved far left and we have been complacent and comfortable and dare I say desensitized with it.
Natanael ⚠️@aijustice @tzimmer_history as a European, calling US Democrats far left is a very bad joke. All of you are right wing, some much further right
JD
onecaliberal@tzimmer_history These are the people who@voted against certifying Joe Biden. I hope people are paying attention.
Simon ZerafaThe fascists are in charge. Or they will do their best to fuck up everything if they can't take it over.
Scenario@tzimmer_history Yep. The key is, it’s the House of Representatives. It’s time to stop pretending that a full third of Americans wouldn’t embrace Christofascism. They literally voted in more Christofascists.
ChuffMeister@tzimmer_history racists gonna rascist
sandywb14
Aris Teon@tzimmer_history this is a party of far right terrorists. I think people should pay more attention to their removal of the security measures put in place after Jan 6. To me that seems like an invitation to their extremist foot soldiers ...
Katherine ☘️@tzimmer_history Remember when they all said they were done with Trump after 2022 and the media all fell for it
Natasha Bates"The Second Insurrection ...worse than the first one" - Jim Stewartson
https://jimstewartson.substack.com/p/the-second-insurrection
#Jan6TheSequel #Speaker #AmericanCoup #Fascism #McCarthy #Trump #MAGA
Jeff Stone@tzimmer_history disgusting
KLB@tzimmer_history I’m disgusted by this entire thing.
AaronHuertas@tzimmer_history The fact that elections swung back to near 50-50 parity is downstream of a lot of factors, but is one of the most worrisome trends, imo. Easy to see a worse version of the party not suffering much more of an electoral penalty beyond what we already saw in '22.
Mary Nelson@tzimmer_history and it may not have succeeded had those insurrectionists in Congress been removed as they should have! On January 7, 2021
Michael Vilain@tzimmer_history I guess he finally found some lube for that dildo. He wasn't smiling the 1st 14 times.
3wombats@tzimmer_history @Orangejuice Unbelievable
Palin@tzimmer_history
Oh look, it's McBarfy & his nutsack...
Oh look, it's McBarfy & his nutsack...
A-A-Ron@tzimmer_history so is he sucking her dick or is he sucking his own?
katie
FrogBoiling@tzimmer_history
100% accurate.
100% accurate.
Nathan Kalmoe@tzimmer_history I think “hostile to government “ is too generous, accepting their own principled terms. They’re not principled ideologues. They love government for controlling non-dominant groups.
@NathanKalmoe I wasn't trying to be generous at all - and you are totally right. They are hostile to the state/government if it's in service to the "wrong" people. I do think, however, that makes them pretty ideological - at least in the sense that they have a pretty clear vision of the kind of order they want to impose on the country. They are not simply nihilists.
Zhi Zhu 🕸️Republican John Boehner described the modern GOP in his memoir:
"What they're really interested in is chaos… They want to throw sand in the gears of the hated federal government until it fails and they've finally proved that it's beyond saving.”
Since what many GOP pols (the sand-throwers) want to accomplish is obstructionism, NOT governance, this deadlock is a massive WIN for the GOP.
They've achieved 100% obstruction of the House of Reps.