DC Unrest Megathread

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I am literally crying because of this, how far it's come. I came from a country with no democratic standards. Others have fought and died for democracy and the rule of law and these terrorists are attempting are tearing it to shreds.

I am so sorry that you have to go through this, I had a panic attack while watching the news at like 2:30 so I can only imagine how you are feeling. I know we don't know each other, but if you ever need something please let me know and I'll try to be there for you

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https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1347219326890336262
First leader to propose this other than McGovern right?

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https://twitter.com/Politics1com/status/1347269980841078784?s=20

This, and her other moderate quotes and realistic attitude, makes her by far my favorite GOP Congresswoman and I would want her to stay if she wasn't replacing another excellent Dem representative.

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Regardless of what happens - anyone have a growing anxiety of inevitable violence because of how far the QAnon theories and bullsh**t have gone?

I'm sickened to say that I'm just naturally a Republican, and I want to think the party has a future outside of Trump, but that future must not involve destroying our country over his loss.

If you remain a Republican, you are complicit.

As a leftist I really don't agree with this whole "If you are Republican you basically stormed the capitol!!" schtick. Like having the values of small government, low taxes, social conservative values are all things that would make you vote for Trump, and those people should be Republicans as none of those values are inherently bad. I always say that there is a big difference between Trump "voters" and Trump "supporters." Trump "voters" are people like Kander who recognize that while Trump governed as a moderate Republican president, voted for him in 2016 for change and were mostly turned off by his actions but some still voted for him. Trump "voters" are not the ones in the cult.

The cult, the "supporters" are complicit. Think Fuzzy, Woodbury, those types of people. And even them, I still feel bad because they are being manipulated by Trump and conservative voices to believe things that aren't true about the election and essentially our reality. They have been brainwashed to think a certain way, feel a certain way, all of the negative qualities that we like to pin on Republicans and Trump voters overall. I think that the majority of Trump "voters" either didn't vote for him again in 2020 or held their nose for the economy or taxes, but those are not the same people as the enthusiastic supporters who are the ones committing these acts. Yes, people who voted for Trump, both in 2016 and 2020, are responsible for this happening, but that doesn't mean that all Republicans are responsible for Trump's actions.

I agree with you that the vast majority of elected Republicans are complicit, but you also have to remember that whenever they "vote with Trump" they are just voting the conservative position, which happens to be the same that Trump has latched on to so he wins more votes. Also, especially as tensions begin to heat up in real life between Trump supporters and others, we on here need to be understanding to Republicans and Trump "voters" that now feel regret for voting for him regardless of whether they are switching parties or not. Someone can be honorable while still having conservative ideologies, look at Mitt Romney. Stuck to his guns for 4 years of constant attacks from Trump.

I guess my point is saying that all Republicans are complicit is like saying that everyone who peacefully protested this summer, in any capacity, is responsible for the destruction caused by the rioters. (not a fair comparison)

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Massive convoy of police cars and other emergency personnel passed my apartment complex a little while ago. They were headed in the general direction of Capitol Hill.  

Apparently there is a bomb threat at the Capitol? Some reports are going around saying such

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An interesting perspective: My father, (lifelong Reagan Republican since 92, voted Trump in 2016) has been so radicalized by 2020 that not only did he vote for Biden, he is re-registering as an Independent and thinks that he will never vote for a Republican again.

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I think there are some really bad-faith arguments about conservatives and Republicans in this thread that I want to do my best to address in a level-headed manner and avoid "whataboutism" as much as possible.

Most respectable conservatives- most of whom voted twice for Donald Trump- that I know in real life are equally embarrassed and saddened by this as all Americans are.  What happened is not OK, and we should all be ashamed of that display and how it looks on our country- and especially on our party.  I agree that, after this, Trump should be nowhere near power ever again.  Where I disagree is that I don't think Trump is really a fascist dictator, but rather a petulant crybaby with a massive ego.  His behavior since the election strikes me more like a 5 year old mad that he lost a game to his brother than a wannabe dictator.  Regardless, though, either one is bad enough that he should never be in power again.  And, I will do everything I can to try to encourage my party to move on from this man.  I would even support exercising the 25th Amendment or impeachment.

But, I've seen a lot of posts here suggesting that, by voting for him, we are endorsing the worst traits that he could ever possess.  I think most people would agree that there is no perfect presidential candidate and we always have to prioritize things.  I've always had major misgivings about President Trump.  Just look back to how I talked about him during the 2016 GOP primaries.  Ultimately, I voted for him because I am very issue-focused and care very little about personalities.  I viewed it as just looking at a list of issues and seeing who I agreed with more often.  Maybe I should have been more forceful on a couple of occasions, but, through the years, I feel that I have been willing to criticize the president when he is wrong, and that continues to this day.

Even worse to me is the suggestion that many red avatars have made that we should abandon all of our principles to vote against all Republicans because they are "enablers".  I could not disagree more strongly with that.  First, if all respectable conservatives left the GOP, all you would have left would be the loons who stormed the Capitol, and that's not an outcome anyone wants.  Almost all Republican officeholders, including those who have been staunch allies of Trump to this point, are speaking out vigorously against these riots.  Maybe some Republican officeholders have been too scared to go against Trump, but I understand why.  Like it or not, politicians are almost always trying to make politically calculated moves.  Going against Trump publicly, loudly, and frequently was not going to be in the cards for most officeholders.  With that said, that doesn't mean that their true allegiance is to Trump.  Most officeholders probably really saw him as a "useful idiot" of sorts.  It seems to be becoming more and more clear to me since yesterday's domestic terrorism event that most Republicans in office are going to be steering the party away from Trump.  

And, even if that's not the case, I don't think I could vote for a Democrat because there are issues that I literally view as life and death that I cannot support.  I couldn't ever hold my nose for Trump again, either.  I truly believe that most of us are doing the best we can in a very broken political system, and we should not paint all people in a party with a broad brush of the worst people theoretically on their side.

God Bless!

I know we may have different opinions politically, but I want to tell you that I 100% agree with this statement. Hopefully for the sake of the country the GOP tries to write its wrongs, but I truly have lost faith in their leadership and upcoming stars (MTG, Gaetz, Hawley) to do the right thing.

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https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1347555316863553542

HE DOESNT LEARN

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Massive convoy of police cars and other emergency personnel passed my apartment complex a little while ago. They were headed in the general direction of Capitol Hill. 

To everyone who lives in DC and area: please stay safe tonight!  Appreciate the first hand reports.  I have been jumping back to this thread for over a day now and it has been great.

I don't think the severity of this terrorist attack sunk in right away.  Every network was jammed yesterday.  I went and grabbed a newspaper today, and there was an entire section dedicated to this.  I will file it in with the 9/11, Y2K, the JFK assassination, and orher newspapers that my family has collected over the years.

To everyone being mean or generalizing all 74 million Americans who voted for this guy,  please show compassion.  These terrorists are/were radicals, not ordinary folks.  Much like all the trouble in the summer with the riots in Minneapolis and Kenosha, or the Charlottesville rally and terrorist attack in 2017.  If anything, these events show us the true dangers of extremist ideologies and internet echo chambers.  Right wing terrorism appears to be a big threat now.  Be kind to your neighbors, family, and friends... and even strangers on the internet.  People got duped by a conman, and if they believed the election fraud nonsense, they're rightfully upset right now.  Biden's unity message has a certain panche to it that really resonates well with me.  His speech yesterday was beautiful.

Good post. I agree completely.

After everything the district was put through yesterday, it has to become a state.

Why?  Pretty much everything that happened, happened in the parts that would've  not been part of the proposed Douglas Commonwealth. I really don't see how what happened would have played out differently in any significant manner had Douglas Commonwealth been a thing.

There was about an hour delay between Bowser's request to the DoD for National Guard and its authorization, and it was denied multiple times on Trump's orders. Hogan and Northam tried to send forces but they were also refused while the Capitol was still in danger. If the Douglass Commonwealth was independent, the Governor/Mayor would be able to unilaterally send in the protection needed.

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https://twitter.com/DavidBegnaud/status/1349781522614804480

In my experience school counselors and psychiatrists are usually the ones with the most mental problems