Authoritarian Shell Games
The Trump Circus is the distraction part of this GOP gambit
The Clown Show in New York
Anyone who has played the shell game knows the key to the trick is that while moving the cups around you distract the player so their brain can’t focus on what you’re doing. The same rule applies to so much of what the Republican Party has been doing for the last seven years. It all hinges on you being distracted by the Donald Trump Circus while they enact their authoritarian agenda.
My inbox is full of pieces about Trump’s indictment this afternoon in New York City. Major media outlets were literally using aerial shots of his various convoys to the airport in Florida and New York yesterday. There is a massive crowd of detractors and a sadder, smaller, crowd of supporters led by the Master Clown of the Trump Circus, Marjorie Taylor Greene at the court house.
Meanwhile the cup with the actual ball is frantically moving around and we can’t even see it.
The Shit Show in Tennessee
GOP cup number one is in Nashville. Last week the nation was shocked yet again when three 9-year old kids and three adult staffers were murdered in their school by a semi-automatic gun wielding monster who fired over 150 bullets before being killed by heroic police. It was yet another act of horrifying gun violence against a generation that has known little else.
But, sadly, that wasn’t the end of the insanity. Students from across the state marched to the Capitol to demand passage of common sense laws and exercise their First Amendment right to petition their government. They flooded the Capitol demanding change. As they chanted from the gallery three Democratic representatives moved to the podium with a megaphone to support them. There was no destruction, no damage, and no violence.
The GOP Super Majority quickly sprung into action to support their constituents demands…I’m kidding…they actually said ‘fuck those kids.’ Instead they sprung into action and filed resolutions to expel Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson in an expedited process. They were stripped of their committees without any due process offered and letters that literally said “Please reach out if you have any questions.”
The chaos continued last night as more protests erupted and Republican members scuffled with Democrats on the floor, removed the media, and had state troopers clear out the students.
The Tennessee legislature has already been enacting increasingly bigoted attacks on drag shows and transgender citizens and now they’re moving forward to use their almost unlimited power to punish their opponents. For perspective just two other House members have ever been ousted from the chamber since the Civil War.
That’s the modern GOP. But wait…there’s more.
The Italian Job in Florida
GOP cup number two is down in Florida where Ron DeSantis continues to use his power and subservient legislature to change laws at will, intimidate anyone who opposes him, and power his authoritarian run for President.
Yesterday he signed a ridiculous new permitless concealed carry law allowing people to wear concealed weapons without going through background screening and training that is currently required to have a license. Polling showed that the Florida permit system worked just fine and the majority of citizens weren’t looking to change it at all but DeSantis’ national ambitions means he has to be a tough guy for the gun crowd so an unneeded rule now means more fools can carry guns anywhere.
But that wasn’t the end of the show. Last night police arrested peaceful protesters gathered sitting in a circle on the grounds of Tallahassee City Hall across from the Capitol. They were there to demonstrate against the latest outrageous expansion of anti-abortion legislation implementing a 6-week ban. In the group was the head of the Florida Democratic Party, Nikki Fried, and Senate minority Lauren Book.
The excuse used was that they had not gotten a permit for “overnight camping” on the city property and were trespassing so a group of cops marched out and scooped them up for using their First Amendment right to free speech.
Seeing a trend here? But that’s not all!
Stacks of cups everywhere
There is a veritable flood of Republican extremism across the country in state houses and local boards and councils. In Missouri a pair of librarians sued the state on their own over a restrictive book law passed last year. So, the Missouri legislature cut all funding for public libraries in the state as punishment. But the Missouri GOP clown show includes State Senator Nick Schroer who posted this bizarre “art” and love letter about Donald Trump’s indictment last week too.
In Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders is moving quickly from her bizarre State of the Union response speech to pass her extreme “education reform” law that will all but defund public schools through vouchers after more mass protests from Arkansas students against the bill. The GOP does not want to hear from Gen Z.
Over in Idaho they are bringing back that old time authoritarianism by passing a new law bringing back death by firing squads because of a continuing shortage of the drug cocktails generally used today as a humane method of execution. They are fifth Republican led state to bring back this gruesome approach.
And…on and on.
The battle for our democracy is happening in states across the country. These aren’t “culture wars” as so many seem to simply want to right them off and not fight back. These supposed culture war issues mean more women will die in childbirth. More LGBTQ kids will commit suicide. More innocent people will be shot by guns in the hands of fools and monsters. More poor kids will have their educations underfunded and futures taken away.
Those aren’t “culture wars” to be ignored. They are America’s future.
I will be enjoying Arraignment Day myself after fighting against Donald Trump for all these years there is a certain satisfaction seeing him finally pay a price but I will go right back to highlighting the real fight we face outside of the bit tent that is the main stage of the Trump Circus of Stupidity.
If you missed it my son came up with a wonderful Indictment Cocktail we called the Orange Jumpsuit.
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Thank you for being one of the few to list some of the other incredibly important issues threatening our democracy today. I would encourage you to spread this far and wide. As important as Trump being held accountable is to our future as a nation, the fact that Republican state houses across the country are doing things like expelling Democratic members for exercising their 1st amendment rights, defunding public schools and libraries, and criminalizing interstate travel is a much more urgent issue.
Great summary, Mr. Wellman. I just wish that there was more good news out there.