Trump/Republican Coup Thread

[Tribble]

Since it’s clear that Biden won the 2020 election, I figured it’s time we call the current events for what they really are.

Media should call GOP election fight an attempted coup, historian says

New York(CNN) The Republican effort to contest the presidential election results on the Senate floor this week is raising questions about how media outlets should cover the moment, and whether the Trump-supported action should be called an attempted "coup."

"Should TV networks show the proceedings live when the GOP objectors are boldly lying?" asked CNN Chief Media Correspondent Brian Stelter. Should they call it a "coup?"

"I've been using that word for months now," historian and author Timothy Snyder told Stelter on "Reliable Sources" Sunday.

"Because he announced in advance, it numbed us all and then we're scared to use the word," Snyder added.

A dozen GOP senators have announced that they will object to counting votes in Biden's clear Electoral College win during what has traditionally been a ceremonial exercise on Capitol Hill. The effort comes despite no credible evidence suggesting widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.

"Is it accurate to call this a coup attempt? ... Is President Trump betraying his oath of office? Are the lawmakers supporting him seditious? These words matter a lot right now," Stelter said at the start of his show.

A whopping 83% of Fox News viewers say Biden was not elected legitimately, according to a new Suffolk University/USA TODAY poll, but Snyder said that "unlike previous elections, we actually did have an election in 2020 that people around the world could admire."

"The coverage has to keep reiterating what is true, what is real."

Before Election Day, right-wing media outlets said "Trump would win and he would only lose if it was rigged," Stelter said. In the "MAGA bubble," the only people you hear from are "Trump supporters and experts who sound very smart," he added.

[Batman]

Trump has betrayed his oath of office roughly every 15 minutes ever since he took it

[The Infidel]

What IS it with republicans still voting for an openly oligarchic borderline fascist party with a shit-for-brains maniac in command? Don't they see that the GOP is sliding into la-la-land? Can't they see it because they themselves are shit-for-brains?

[Lord Revan]

What IS it with republicans still voting for an openly oligarchic borderline fascist party with a shit-for-brains maniac in command? Don't they see that the GOP is sliding into la-la-land? Can't they see it because they themselves are shit-for-brains?

Or they think the openly oligarchic borderline fascist party will only go after the "bad guys" (aka the people said person disagrees with) and not them.

That said I'd call it an attempted coup still, so far it hasn't succeeded.

[Batman]

Oh this is definitely an attempted coup. Thankfully it is being attempted by the most inept wannabe-dictator in history.

[The Infidel]

Oh this is definitely an attempted coup. Thankfully it is being attempted by the most inept wannabe-dictator in history.

An attempted coup? That's treason, right?
What's the punishment for treason in the US?

[Mr Bean]

Oh this is definitely an attempted coup. Thankfully it is being attempted by the most inept wannabe-dictator in history.

An attempted coup? That's treason, right?
What's the punishment for treason in the US?

Pardoning by the next President is traditional.

[Batman]

I hope Biden breaks the tradition

[LadyTevar]

It's worse.

PENNSYLVANIA GOP SENATORS REFUSE TO SEAT DEMOCRAT SENATOR

Pa. GOP senators refused to seat a Democrat and removed Lt. Gov. Fetterman from presiding

HARRISBURG — The new session of the Pennsylvania Senate got off to a chaotic start Tuesday, with Republicans refusing to seat a Democratic senator whose election victory has been certified by state officials.

Amid high emotions and partisan finger-pointing, Republicans also took the rare step of removing the Democratic lieutenant governor, John Fetterman, from presiding over the session. They apparently did so because they did not believe Fetterman was following the rules and recognizing their legislative motions.

Democrats, in turn, responded by refusing to back Sen. Jake Corman (R., Centre) from assuming the chamber’s top leadership position — an unusual maneuver on what is most often a largely ceremonial and bipartisan vote.

[bilateralrope]

Refusing to seat someone who won their vote is going to end up at the Supreme Court unless the Republicans back down. Well, that or the Democrats giving up on democracy.

[Lord Revan]

Oh this is definitely an attempted coup. Thankfully it is being attempted by the most inept wannabe-dictator in history.

An attempted coup? That's treason, right?
What's the punishment for treason in the US?

Well technically yes (well it's called High Treason as legal term but yes), how the threshold of prosecution is quite high for that in any democratic country. IIRC a valid defense could be to say that Trump was too stupid to realize what he was planning constituted High Treason. Essentially to prove Trump guilty of High Treason you'd have to prove he acted knowingly and with intent to perform a criminal act worthy of High Treason, which is gonna be really hard unless he tries to commit a Hard Coup (aka a coup thru military actions).

That said Trump is most likely not gonna get away without any problems with the law, but High Treason seems off the books for now and IIRC punishment for High Treason is Capital punishment (aka Death) though if I was in Biden's shoes I'd commute that to house arrest for life at an undisclosed location.

EDIT:in addition of me being against capital punishment on principle, executing Trump could create a martyr and the last thing we want is a rallying point due to a martyr for these idiots.

[Solauren]

Another defense would be Trump's mental state. His defense team arguing he's going senile/mental health issues would be very easy, given some of his actions and statements. Hell, his defense team could put Trump on the stand, and let him ramble for a few hours. That would be enough to convince judge that he has severe mental health issues.

No, let Trump trash and wail (so long as it doesn't go anywhere), and then let the various lawsuits that have been pending against him proceed unopposed with full backing from the DOJ. Let it all come out publically, let his own actions finish destroying his reputation, his brand, and his fortune, and just let the man fade into infamy.

[Ziggy Stardust]

What IS it with republicans still voting for an openly oligarchic borderline fascist party with a shit-for-brains maniac in command? Don't they see that the GOP is sliding into la-la-land? Can't they see it because they themselves are shit-for-brains?

Because they've been radicalized for decades by Fox News, Breitbart, and similar outlets with the same basic tactics used by ISIS. Seriously, the playbooks there really aren't all that different.

[Vendetta]

What IS it with republicans still voting for an openly oligarchic borderline fascist party with a shit-for-brains maniac in command? Don't they see that the GOP is sliding into la-la-land? Can't they see it because they themselves are shit-for-brains?

Because they themselves think like fascists. They have been trained for generations to percieve a certain sort of people as "the undeserving" people who are just after handouts from the state, not hard working folks like them. The important bit there is not like them. This is turbocharged by racism by presenting the "undeserving" as primarily black or hispanic by eg. stereotyping people who use food assistance as primarily black.

An ingroup and outgroup has been created which has a fundamental racism at its core and uses that to leverage people to vote against their own interests, voting against social programs they themselves would benefit from because they'd rather suffer themselves than let someone they think is "undeserving" benefit from it.

And this isn't new, it isn't fox news radicalisation, it's just how racist white America* has always worked. You can see it in the desegregation era, where the majority of public amenities like public pools were forced to desegregate, and rather than share with the blacks white american councils just closed them down. White people suffered, willingly in a lot of cases, rather than share a public good with black people because they've been trained to the idea that they don't "deserve it".

The Republican voters don't see the party as sliding into la-la land. They see the party doing exactly the thing they want it to do. Hurt the other, even if they are themselves hurt just as much by the exact same actions.




*Not exclusively America, but race has been a bigger issue for longer. See also: Brexit.

[Tribble]

And the Republican voter base isn’t going to change for the better for the foreseeable future. If anything what they’ll take out of this election / attempted coup is that Trump / current Republican establishment is still too soft.

Remember they voted Trump in on a promise that he’d throw Clinton and other Democrats in jail.

From their view Trump showing leniency by not arresting the Democrats when he had the chance was a mistake as Democrats were able to “steal” the election from him.

Odds are good that the voter base will make sure that when the next Republican candidate says he’ll jail the opposition once in office, he means it.

[GuppyShark]

Coup is doomed. McConnel and Pence wouldn't support Trump's Hail Mary.

Now the MAGA fanatics are getting teargassed outside the Capital building.

[Napoleon the Clown]

What IS it with republicans still voting for an openly oligarchic borderline fascist party with a shit-for-brains maniac in command? Don't they see that the GOP is sliding into la-la-land? Can't they see it because they themselves are shit-for-brains?

Or they think the openly oligarchic borderline fascist party will only go after the "bad guys" (aka the people said person disagrees with) and not them.

That said I'd call it an attempted coup still, so far it hasn't succeeded.

Have you considered that they themselves are fascists and consider the racism to be more important than their own well-being? That it isn't a case of being misled or mistaken in some way, but genuinely shitty people? Perhaps they enjoy seeing their "lessers" being stomped upon even though they too get stomped on because someone else is getting it worse?

Benefit of the doubt can go only so far.

[Gandalf]

The Republican party makes the most sense to me when placed in the context of this quote;

There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of life. All competing pleasures will be destroyed. But always — do not forget this, Winston — always there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — forever.

For most of the last twenty or so years, the easily stompable enemy was whatever bit of the Middle East. Now that movement is more domestically focused than it has been for a while.

[Napoleon the Clown]

Right-wing terrorists have breached the capitol.

[Solauren]

Well, since Trump basically told his supporters to storm the capital, I would say it's actually a Coup in progress now.

Hopefully, the police and military can deal with this.

[Napoleon the Clown]

Apparently the DoD has declined to send in the National Guard.

Trump should be impeached, convicted, and in a supermax prison (solitary confinement) before the end of the day. Should. But probably won't. Probably won't even be impeached.

[Vendetta]

Apparently the DoD has declined to send in the National Guard.

Trump should be impeached, convicted, and in a supermax prison (solitary confinement) before the end of the day. Should. But probably won't. Probably won't even be impeached.

Nah, leave him in general population in Rikers.

[Napoleon the Clown]

I don't want his terrorist followers to be able to find him and try to bust him out. Send his to an undisclosed supermax facility and toss his ass in solitary. He's an existential threat.

[Solauren]

I don't want his terrorist followers to be able to find him and try to bust him out.

Why not?

They try to bust him out, they'll get stopped (either shot and arrested, or shot and killed), and end up in jail themselves.

[Solauren]

Oh look, they're on camera without masks on!

So, in addition to now being identifiable for arrest, they're also probably getting infected with Covid-19. Expect a spike in cases in Washington.