DC Unrest Megathread

[Del Tachi]

Catharsis.  Not just for those protesting/rioting today, but for all of us.  It takes events like this for our national purpose to be allowed to change and update.  Whatever may come of this, we should relish this opportunity to break the "end of history" ethos that has strangled our spirit for the past 30 years.

If we had a more transformative Democrat as president-elect (i.e., not Biden), he would go on national television tonight to announce the immediate establishment of a provisional government, reconstitute the House and Senate (w/ Ossoff and Perdue being seated immediately) and implement martial law.

Use this opportunity to flip the table and unleash all the pent-up social/political change we've needed since WWII.   

[Del Tachi]

Let's call this by name: It's an attempted fascist coup. Ergo, this is treason.

Coup is a weird way to say riot.

Riot is a weird way to describe storming the Capitol.

How is it any different than BLM protesters storming, occupying and in some cases burning police precinct buildings?  Both types of power are legitimately constituted 

[Del Tachi]

Plus no building is no important than the Capitol. That's just sacred. You don't touch that.

It's great when the neolibs' masks slip just enough that you can plainly see that their true fidelity is to mere physical presentations of state power (i.e., literal buildings) and other objects, lol.  Power resides in people, not buildings.  If the U.S. Capitol ever becomes a symbol of a system of civil government that does not serve the best interests of the people, then it will deserve to be burned to the ground.

Like I said, if Joe Biden had any balls (like I wish he did), he would be declaring provisional government and martial law tonight.  Would he, if successful, destory the system of government that keeps Republicans artifically in power?  Probably yes, but that's the price that has to be paid to reconstitute our belief in a government that works for "the majority" (defined however the mob wishes.)  This isn't a Republican or Democrat thing, it's a matter of renewing our right to self-determination and refreshing the civil state (which really hasn't been seriously updated since the New Deal/WWII.)    

Scott, once again, captures my thoughts on today's happenings almost perfectly:

The system is broken and it needs to be rebuilt from the ground-up. I don't care who sparks it, but this is actually a moment for the disenfranchised and the cynics on both the left and right to retake the country for ourselves.

[Del Tachi]

Also, all the talking heads on CNN calling this a literal "insurrection" will get what they're asking for.  If you go too far in demonizing these protesters/rioters, then you will invariably create the very demons you're supposedly petrified by. 

Law enforcement has learned to deescalate situations for the sake of public safety (which appears to be what's going on at the moment); I only wish our news media had the same sense of civic responsibility. 

The true enemy of the people.  100%

This is deranged, even for you. You are looking at this and what you are seeing is protesters being DEMONIZED? WTF man? Get a grip.

Literally the only thing that makes this any different than BLM riots/protesters is that the building is big and white with a pretty dome and columns and Yasss Kween Nancy Pelosi and Maxine Waters work there.  Occupying and damaging a police precinct building is literally no different that what is going on today.  Police power, the electoral college and Congress are all equally-legitimate manifestations of our civil government.  Its the same s[inks]t, yet the level of vitriol and pearl clutching going on are oceans apart. 

So...a police station and the US Capitol are the same thing now?
Excellent, time to go to my new local US capitol building to propose some new legislation for this country.

Yes.   Police officers have jobs to do.  Members of Congress have jobs to do.  Both operate under the authority given to them by the Constitution. Anyone who tries disrupting that with riots/protests is attempting to delegitimize our system of government.

[Del Tachi]

In this case it appears that the Secret Service did their job & the House leadership were protected... the Secret Service are suppose to be very much on the ball with these things after their failures in the past.

Security details for the Speaker and other Congressional leaders are provided by the Capitol Police.  Backbench members of the House and Senate don't receive any special protective detail. 

[Del Tachi]

Capitol police has charged the following 14 people in relation with yesterday's events:


Unlawful Entry:
Leonard Guthrie, Cape May, N.J.
John Anderson, St. Augustine, Fla.
Matthew Council, Riverview, Fla.
Bradley Ruskelas, Inverness, Ill.
Michael Curzio, Summerfield, Fla
Cindy Fitchett, Cobbs Creek, Va.
Terry Brown, Myerstown, Pa.
Douglas Sweet, Hudgins, Va.
Thomas Gallagher, Bridgewater, N.H.
Zandra Sixkiller-Cramer, Glenwood, Md.

Assaulting a Police Officer, Unlawful Entry, Resisting Arrest:
Mark Leffingerwell, No fixed address

CPWL & Unregistered ammunition:
Grant Moore, Buford, Ga.

CPWL, Unregistered Firearm, Unregistered Ammunition:
Lonnie Zoffman, Falkville, Al.

Assaulting a Police Officer:
David Blair, Clarksburg, Md.

Lots of Florida Men in this list.

Three? 

[Del Tachi]

Capitol police has charged the following 14 people in relation with yesterday's events:


Unlawful Entry:
Leonard Guthrie, Cape May, N.J.
John Anderson, St. Augustine, Fla.
Matthew Council, Riverview, Fla.
Bradley Ruskelas, Inverness, Ill.
Michael Curzio, Summerfield, Fla
Cindy Fitchett, Cobbs Creek, Va.
Terry Brown, Myerstown, Pa.
Douglas Sweet, Hudgins, Va.
Thomas Gallagher, Bridgewater, N.H.
Zandra Sixkiller-Cramer, Glenwood, Md.

Assaulting a Police Officer, Unlawful Entry, Resisting Arrest:
Mark Leffingerwell, No fixed address

CPWL & Unregistered ammunition:
Grant Moore, Buford, Ga.

CPWL, Unregistered Firearm, Unregistered Ammunition:
Lonnie Zoffman, Falkville, Al.

Assaulting a Police Officer:
David Blair, Clarksburg, Md.

Very disappointed to see someone from Inverness on this list. I used to live very close to there.

crazy people live everywhere.  Is this really news? 

[Del Tachi]

Capitol police has charged the following 14 people in relation with yesterday's events:


Unlawful Entry:
Leonard Guthrie, Cape May, N.J.
John Anderson, St. Augustine, Fla.
Matthew Council, Riverview, Fla.
Bradley Ruskelas, Inverness, Ill.
Michael Curzio, Summerfield, Fla
Cindy Fitchett, Cobbs Creek, Va.
Terry Brown, Myerstown, Pa.
Douglas Sweet, Hudgins, Va.
Thomas Gallagher, Bridgewater, N.H.
Zandra Sixkiller-Cramer, Glenwood, Md.

Assaulting a Police Officer, Unlawful Entry, Resisting Arrest:
Mark Leffingerwell, No fixed address

CPWL & Unregistered ammunition:
Grant Moore, Buford, Ga.

CPWL, Unregistered Firearm, Unregistered Ammunition:
Lonnie Zoffman, Falkville, Al.

Assaulting a Police Officer:
David Blair, Clarksburg, Md.

Very disappointed to see someone from Inverness on this list. I used to live very close to there.

crazy people live everywhere.  Is this really news? 

Of course, crazy people live everywhere, but that doesn't mean one cannot condemn them or express their disappointment about them. Now, I have a question of my own. Do you hold Trump responsible for what happened yesterday? If not, why?

I categorically condemn what happened yesterday as an unlawful disruption of the proceedings of our Constitutional government.  I believe Trump's rhetoric has enabled certain agitators to be more bold and brazen than they otherwise would have been.  He deserves criticism not only for this rhetoric but especially for a slow and lax response yesterday that allowed the situation to spiral into violence and anarchy.   He is no commander-in-chief, and he cannot be trusted to enforce the rule of law over his final 13 days in office.  For that, he must be removed from office ASAP.   

Yesterday's events are an abject law enforcement failure on behalf of the U.S. Capitol Police, who failed to maintain a secure perimeter around our Capitol while both houses of Congress were convened inside.  The first priority should be a thorough investigation into why a secure perimeter around the Capitol was not maintained as well as ensuring enhanced security in advance of the January 20th inauguration.  What happened is, above all, a law enforcement issue - not a matter of rebellion or national insurrection. 

I also believe everyone saw what they wanted to yesterday.  If you already believed Trump and his supporters to be fascist demagogues, as many have for 4+ years, then you probably interpret what happened yesterday as nothing short of an attempt to overthrow our government:  an insurrection, a coup, a literal terrorist attack.  If you believe in "law and order," then you see what happened at the Capitol yesterday as no worse than the chaos and anarchy that overtook multiple American cities for weeks on end this past summer.  I happen to lean more towards the latter interpretation.

There is something stomach-churning to watching MSM talking heads, establishment politicians, and F500 execs all aghast at yesterday's property damage when they hand-waved or even celebrated the same when it was being done in the name of "racial justice."  They say this is an attack on our "democracy" but make no mistake, their indignation results from what they perceive to be an attack on a system that has been built to personally enrich and benefit themselves.  They have no similar concern for democracy or the rule of law when lawless criminals enforce their will upon citizens living in our inner-cities and loot from our neighbors.  They are speaking only for themselves; unfortunately, there is no one speaking for the business owners and shopkeepers who saw their livelihoods decimated -- first by COVID-19 lockdowns and then by looting/rioting done in the name of BLM.       

Yesterday, all of the nuance Democrats have insisted on when separating "peaceful protesters" and "rioters" went out the window as soon as the partisan roles were reversed.  You've read it here on the Forum and seen it spoken by Members of Congress, the liberal orthodoxy is now that every single Trump supporter is complicit in a treasonous attempt to overthrow our government.  That is not the language of reconciliation.  Our country will be worse off if the partisan response is to replace perceived grievance with actual grievance.

[Del Tachi]

Just to show how close to disaster we were:


https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/12/us/capitol-police-eugene-goodman-riots-senate-chambers-trnd/index.html

(CNN) -- A US Capitol Police officer bounded up the stairs of the Capitol building, a growing mob of insurrectionists behind him. Using himself as "bait," he lured the rioters away from the entrance to the Senate chambers, where lawmakers were still debating an objection to Arizona's Electoral College vote count.

[...]

At one point, Goodman arrives at a landing and looks to a hallway to his left. A door in that hallway led to the Senate chambers, Wilson wrote in a tweet. Goodman then leads the rioters to the right, away from the Senate chambers -- and their "targets," Wilson said.

Goodman leads them into a larger hall, and backup officers arrive -- still outnumbered by rioters. Bobic stopped recording and was evacuated shortly afterward, he said.

Bobic said Goodman herded the rioters away from the Senate Chambers at 2:14 p.m. Senators were alerted that protesters had breached the Capitol building just one minute earlier, according to CNN's timeline of events from Wednesday's riot. Vice President Mike Pence wouldn't be evacuated from the Senate until 2:30 p.m.

[...]

It could have been a hostage situation or worse.

I'm unconvinced of serious malintent on the part of the rioters if they could be lured "off-course" by a single USCP officer, lol

If this was a serious attempt at insurrection or a coup, don't you think they maybe *wouldn't have followed a police officer?  or maybe done a bit more research into how the Capitol is laid out?  Floor plans showing the location of the House and Senate chambers are publicly available, lol

[Del Tachi]

I wonder how many GOP senators secretly want a Trump conviction so he's not a primary threat in 2024.

Impeachment doesn't make you ineligible to run for a second term.

[Del Tachi]

Lawmaker is an occupation, however long it is held, the same way dishwasher is an occupation. I don't care if that occupation is classified as employee, independent contractor, or whatever. It comes with an array of special privileges and perks, to be sure, but none of these include lawmakers existing in some legal gray area where they are exempt from security rules that every other member of society must follow.

lolwut?

The bolded is just patently untrue.  Members of Congress enjoy multiple, Constitutional privileges related to their free movement and immunity from civil/criminal action resulting from their role as legislators. 

Maybe you should try, I dunno, reading something sometime?  or taking a high school government class?