“The majority of them are paralyzed with fear,” Crow said in a Wednesday MSNBC appearance. “I had a lot of conversations with my Republican colleagues last night, and a couple of them broke down in tears — saying that they are afraid for their lives if they vote for this impeachment.”
Tim Alberta, Politico’s chief political correspondent, found in his own reporting that “Crow was right.”
“I know for a fact several members want to impeach but fear casting that vote could get them or their families murdered,” Alberta writes. “Numerous House Republicans have received death threats in the past week.”
This fear has not only affected the impeachment vote. Rep. Pete Meijer (R-MI) has said that he personally knows several House Republicans who wanted to vote to certify Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral win but were afraid for their lives if they chose to do so.
“I had colleagues who, when it came time to recognize reality and vote to certify Arizona and Pennsylvania in the Electoral College, they knew in their heart of hearts that they should’ve voted to certify, but some had legitimate concerns about the safety of their families,” Meijer told Reason magazine’s Matt Welch. “They felt that that vote would put their families in danger.”
Based on rhetoric alone? Sanders. If you’ll recall, Trump lifted much of his 2016 platform from Sanders’. A lot of Americans turns out really are anti-war and do want money out of politics and want affordable healthcare and education. Trump promised all that in 2016 and to drain the swamp. My father was a Sanders supporter but switched to Trump because he loathed Hillary. This was the case with a lot of people in the US, if you’ll recall.
That being said the political climate surrounding the 2020 presidential election was much different from the 2016. Not saying Sanders could pull it outright, but he’d certainly have a more fervent base than those who “support” Biden. Let’s not confuse popular ideas with populism.
Hard to say, we haven’t seen that happen yet. A lot of Trump voters also go limp when they hear words like “socialist” and I can’t even imagine what that would have been like this year. I’ll go out on a limb and say Trump beats Sanders, the Dems almost blew it as it was. Moderates have still done pretty well. The time to put a more progressive candidate out there is coming, though.
That’s fair. I think the problem is the word democratic socialism. Trump voters are fed a narrative just like Democrats, and it’s not favorable toward socialist countries or policies, regardless of their degree of success (including social services many of them rely on within the US). I think the tv would probably throw it in Trump’s favor too, but maybe not. I don’t think it’s Biden’s “moderate” nature that got him the win, it was literally the fact that he wasn’t Trump.
Had they propped up another near-corpse (Sanders) who was actually articulate and consistent in his values and messaging, it’s hard to really say what the outcome would be. I’m a believer myself, but I respect your opinion. There were heaps of other confounding factors this last election so who knows.
A small number of cadre used the cover of a huge rally to stage its attack. Before it began, I saw from my vantage point on the West Front of the Capitol, what appeared to be four separate cells or units:
Plainclothes militants . Militant, aggressive men in Trump and MAGA gear at a front police line at the base of the temporary presidential inaugural platform;
Agents-provocateurs . Scattered groups of men exhorting the marchers to gather closely and tightly toward the center of the outside of the Capitol building and prevent them from leaving;
Fake Trump protesters . A few young men wearing Trump or MAGA hats backwards and who did not fit in with the rest of the crowd in terms of their actions and demeanor, whom I presumed to be Antifa or other leftist agitators; and
Disciplined, uniformed column of attackers . A column of organized, disciplined men, wearing similar but not identical camouflage uniforms and black gear, some with helmets and GoPro cameras or wearing subdued Punisher skull patches.
Be careful with Nazi analogies. The mod on duty here has a hard time connecting the dots. White facism like the Third Reich was a singular event in history which cannot ever happen again, obviously…
Trumpists really should regard what happened last week as sending the canaries into the coal mine. Save your canaries if you enjoy the company of birds.
THE 20,000 NATIONAL Guard troops preparing for pro-Trump demonstrations this weekend in the nation’s capital will be armed and permitted to use lethal force, the headquarters overseeing them says, marking a striking escalation in the way authorities there are preparing for repeat violence after last week’s deadly mob.
So, I work in Albany, NY. State Capital. My school just sent out of notice on FB that next week we may go virtual due to the terrible things that may happen on Wednesday.
But, keep teaching. Nothing to see here. Now, when what’shisface died, BLM came out and everyone and their brother was encouraged to go and march for justice…literally invited and advertised for in advance. Annnd, the left over riff raff burned the city down when the BLM parade was over.
Just keeping teaching. yikes. Makes a curious guy wonder if he could get outted, doxed, or fired for going down to the Capital for a simple, honest looksee. It is a free country, right? Trump did a rally here in early 2016. The response was large, vocal and close. Makes a body wonder what the left over riff raff might do.
Makes a body wanna stay home and read. maybe read this:
Do you really think your school will be a target for these White Lives Are Very Special crowd? Or do your admins think that the streets in Albany will be risky to walk down?
Stay focused and calm, help your students to learn what they can, and do what you can to make sure they stay safe. As a teacher, that’s all you can do.
