Our Divide
We have a precipitous divide in American politics. The numbers are available, stark, and essentially terrifying. More than twenty million American voters believe the 2020 election was stolen from Donald J. Trump. They know it in their hearts: it was stolen, cheated, ripped off. To use a football analogy, “…we won on the field, but lost on the scoreboard”. And not because the other team scored more points. No, they lost on the scoreboard because someone rigged the board to give more points for the other team’s touchdowns, and less points for theirs.
They believe, because it’s a “prophecy fulfilled”. Their leaders, with the 45th President of the United States in front, convinced them that if he lost, the election was stolen. The “ground was softened” by years of preparation, from even before the 2016 election. They could not trust the outcome, nor the counters, nor the ballots themselves. They could not trust that their vote for Trump was counted for Trump. The Democrats, or the Chinese, or the George Soros himself rigged the system.
They aren’t the only ones who questioned the election process. Those of us who voted for Hillary Clinton asked some of the same questions after the 2016 results. Over two years later in April of 2019 as the Russiagate scandal broke, I wrote about those doubts in Put On My Foil Hat. But since even the “doubters” could never find final proof, most never crossed the line into “true-believers”. But the twenty million have.
De-Construction
Steve Bannon, the “Svengali” behind the plan, called it “De-Construction” of the government. I wrote about it over four years ago in November of 2017, (The Bully and Bannon). But even as I did, I didn’t understand the full import of his goals. When Bannon said don’t trust government, he didn’t make a distinction between Federal, State or Local. He didn’t even divine out Republicans versus Democrats. It wasn’t until November of 2020, when the “Stop the Steal” movement turned on Republicans running local and state election offices across the country, that I realized the full depth of his “De-Construction” plan.
If everything is corrupt, then it should be no problem that Trump, the sitting President, was on the phone with the chief election official in Georgia demanding “just enough” votes to win. Because, according to him, it’s all rigged anyway, so rig it for me. And since the counters are all crooked; they deserve the threats and the screamers, the folks with semi-automatic weapons parading on the sidewalks outside of their homes.
Seventy-Seven Minutemen
And speaking of weapons, the twenty million need to arm themselves. There will come a day when their weapons may be needed to make sure their “truth” is revealed. It’s no mistake that Stop the Steal and the Second Amendment are totally intertwined. The idea: Don’t let them get your guns; it’s the only way you will be able to fight back. Bannon doesn’t believe “The Establishment” will go down without a fight. There were Seventy-seven Minuteman on the Lexington Green. They started the American Revolution. It’s the true import of the “Don’t Tread on Me” flag. So be ready.
That’s because it’s really true. The guy down the street from me is ready to hold his AR-15 up against the 82nd Airborne para-roping from the Black Helicopters. It’s like a scene from the original Red Dawn, as the brat pack of Patrick Swayze, C Thomas Howell, Jennifer Gray and Charlie Sheen stood up against the entire Soviet Army. They believe it. And they have legal armories where they practice, right down the road, right out in the open, because it IS legal to do so.
Gospel According to Fox
That inherent mistrust, fueled by years of Fox News and other propaganda spread like a slow pandemic. And when the real pandemic hit, the logic became convoluted. President Trump seemed to lose the election because of Covid, so Biden won because of Covid, so anything he does to stop Covid is benefitting his illegitimate Presidency, so don’t get vaccinated. And since Fox and the rest can provide “facts” and “experts” to back why vaccines don’t work, they have their “proof”.
The Alternative to the gospel of Bannon, otherwise known as the mainstream media, are part of the “Constructed Establishment”. So don’t believe, don’t listen, don’t even engage with those that mistakenly trust what the AP or New York Times or other independent news organizations might say. As one of my friends once told me; “do you wonder why no one reads your “blogs” anymore?” I don’t wonder, I see the statistics behind each essay. I know people read my essays. But the early years of great debates about Trump World, mostly on Facebook, are over. Don’t engage, because it might cause you to question.
A Rising Tide
They are “true believers”. Don’t underestimate their power, will and desire. After 2016, they thought they had it made. When the 2020 vote came in, they reacted. But January 6th was a small disorganized protest compared to what’s coming. Now, their power is represented by the co-opted Republican Party. They are legally rigging the states, so that Trump/Republican legislatures can LEGALLY overturn the vote of the people. And come 2024, they will be so much better prepared, and financed, and determined.
Democrats do have a chance to counter at least the “legal” rigging of the state elections. But that chance is right now, and will quickly slip away unless action is taken. The House is ready, the President is sort of ready, but the Senate is not. So many of our nation’s critical issues are dependent on two votes in the Senate. And there is no sense that those votes will come, even though they claim to be Democrats.
But don’t be fooled – even if the voting and election certification issues are fixed, there are still twenty million true believers. That won’t change, even as Democrats get excited about Build Back Better and the January 6th Committee. Like standing at the edge of the sea, the sand is slipping beneath their feet, and the tide is rising. Will Democrats happily watch our boats go to the horizon, enjoying the view – until we drown?
