Welcome to a discussion about the upcoming 5th Revolution in the US, which I’ve titled the “Revenge Revolution.” For more about the Revenge Revolution and the author, Entry #1. Periodically I write a “sense check” to assess whether a revolution in the US is possible or whether the entire exercise is based on a statistical aberration — i.e., a roughly 50-year cycle between major upheavals in the US. Entry #430 was the most recent “sense check.”
BEGIN ENTRY #444: Over the 8+ years writing this blog, I tried to focus political comments on behavior rather than focusing on a particular political party. During the Trump administration it was very difficult to maintain balance, given the number of stunning acts by Trump and staff.
Since President Biden took office, the number of crazy acts by Trump and allies has slowed but the intensity of each act has increased. The past few weeks the behaviors of Trump et al have set a new standard. The individuals involved could be categorized as dumb, dumber and dumbest. Welcome to the Trump trifecta.
Most of the bizarre comments by Trump-touting Republicans have centered on three events:
- Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing regarding nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to SCOTUS
- Discussions about Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Texts by the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas encouraging White House staff et al to overturn the election
During the Judicial Committee hearings four Republicans demonstrated why the approval rating of Congress rivals the approval rating of a used-car salesman, with the rating for Congress possibly lower.
Judge Jackson who currently sits on the DC Circuit, was berated by Senators Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham, Josh Hawley and Marsha Blackburn – an appropriate name for insulting Judge Jackson.
As is wont for Republicans of late, claims were made based on statements taken out of context and/or data that was distorted or cherrypicked from a more comprehensive data set, all in an effort to discredit Judge Jackson. The distortions were intended to “prove” Judge Jackson was soft on pedophiles, supported the theory that babies are born racist and a host of other spurious claims.
Virtually every question related to decisions prior to Judge Jackson’s arrival on the DC circuit. In previous hearings before this same committee regarding her nomination to a higher court, none of the same, or even similar questions were asked.
The Republican protagonists, all of whom likely want to run for president, apparently felt compelled to throw red meat to the hard right Republican primary voters. While the questions were insulting and frustrating, more disturbing was the lack of any effort by the other members of Congress to distance themselves from the foolish foursome of Senators.
In addition, it seems the cat got the tongue of all Republican senators with respect to comments by Trump and the Fox talking head Tucker Carlson. Both Trump and Carlson have continued to support the Russian invasion of Ukraine. At a recent political rally in Atlanta, Trump again repeated the assertion that Putin was a genius.
Given the sorry state of the Russian economy and how poorly Russian troops have performed in Ukraine, why would anyone call Putin a genius? Unless, of course, Putin had Trump by the short hairs over some financial transaction or illicit activity.
There seems to be more than ample evidence much of the money Trump used to expand the business, including buying golf courses, was provided by Russian sources. When Trump purchased a private Country Club on the north side of Charlotte, NC, Donald Trump, Junior proudly stated that Russian money was the source of funding.
As far as the behavior of Tucker Carlson, I’m sure Republicans would remain silent if a nightly commentator on MSNBC or CNN made similar comments during the broadcast. Tucker Carlson seems more like a modern day Tokyo Rose.
Completing the trifecta for Republican dumbness was the publication of information about texts by Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Mrs. Thomas’ texts encouraged Mark Meadows, then White House chief of staff, and others to help overturn the 2020 election. Thomas continued those texts until the January 6th insurrection and even participated in some events prior to the storming of the Capitol.
Clarence Thomas, who so far has refused to recuse himself from any cases before SCOTUS involving Trump, apparently has no intention of doing so in the future. And where have Republicans been during these revelations? Apparently, the cat still has their tongue because no comments at all.
You’d think the pillars of integrity of the Republicans, you know like Representative Jim Jordan (OH), would take a stand in favor of integrity. On a more realistic note, where are Mitt Romney, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowsky and even Richard Burr? You’d think Burr might speak up since he’s not running for reelection. What does he have to lose by taking a stand? (On a side note, at least Senator Collins agreed to support the nomination of Judge Jackson. So far the only Republican. Senators Murkowsky and Romney later joined Senator Collins in voting for Judge Jackson.)
What does the behavior Republicans have exhibited the past few weeks and especially the past five years have to do with the likelihood of a 5th US Revolution? For certain the behavior of Republicans has increased the odds of a revolution beyond 50:50. In fact, with each passing week part of the US population seems to be speeding toward instigating a revolution rather than working on solving the problems we face. END OF ENTRY #444
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