Almost 2 months ago I wrote about my deep distress in seeing the attempts then to overturn the results of the presidential election.
I'm writing again because I've been nearly paralyzed for the last week at the events now unfolding before our eyes, starting with the assault on Congress. I've read a lot about that appalling situation and have come to 3 conclusions.
Conclusion #1:
The people participating in the assault truly believed they were fighting to save democracy, because they truly believe that a staggering scale of election fraud occurred and Trump truly won the presidency. They still believe this.
Reasoning: A few days after the election, the president came to the conclusion that he had indeed lost the election and that Joe Biden really would be the next president. Trump is a man of very fragile ego who has never even been able to admit he made a mistake. He sees things only in black and white, so if he's not a winner then he's a loser and, to him, losing is nearly the worst thing that can happen.
So this nearly drowning man grabbed desperately for the lifeline that he was thrown by Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and others, who all claimed they could prove he had actually won the election, not lost it.
Trump is also a man who has long been willing to swallow conspiracy theories, regardless of how illogical or even impossible they might be (e.g. Obama was born in Kenya and his birth announcements were therefore planted in the Honolulu papers all those years ago by someone who knew way back then that this Kenyan baby would run for US president?). His associates and former associates have almost all reported that he believes only what he chooses to and won't listen to anything that contradicts his beliefs.
Those facts made him a sitting duck for the Giuliani group, who told him what he wanted to hear and fed him conspiracy theories to prove it was true.
Trump then joyfully spread the information to his millions of supporters that he'd actually won the election, that people were committing crimes to take it away from him, and that the proof was or would soon be available. Of course, the only "proof" that has ever been presented has been thoroughly debunked, but true to his nature, Trump refused to listen to the debunking because it wasn't what he wanted to hear.
Trump has inspired millions of Americans with a belief that he works for them and that he always tells them the truth. Millions of Americans believe that he never lies, that he's the only straight-shooter in the government. So when he told them the election was being stolen from them, they believed him. They believed him completely.
They believed their president when he told them to come to Washington to let Congress know it should throw out Biden's votes and give the election to Trump. They believed they were standing up for democracy. They really believed it.
Conclusion 2:
As bad as the assault on the Capitol was last Wednesday, it was very nearly much much worse and far more tragic.
Reasoning: Many videos recorded quite a few of the people both inside and outside the Capitol chanting, "Where's Mike Pence?" and "Hang Mike Pence." Over and over. Photos have shown beyond doubt that some of those people carried zip ties, used by police for mass arrests. Videos have shown that some of those people were actively searching in the Capitol offices for legislators, asking where they were.
It was apparently a matter of mere minutes, sheer luck, and true heroism on the part of some of the Capitol Guards that these folks found no legislators. But imagine to yourself what could have happened. Say they'd actually found Mike Pence. Or one of their other hated objects - say, Nancy Pelosi or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. People do things in mobs that they'd never dream of doing on their own.
These folks believed they were acting on behalf of democracy and on behalf of their country. More than that, they also believed anyone who thought differently was a traitor, because after all only traitors would act in opposition to democracy. Therefore, with that logic, traitors should be captured and tried and executed, which is almost certainly what some of them planned to do with Mike Pence, and possibly with almost any other legislator they came across. After all, Trump sent out a tweet while they were searching the Capitol that said Pence didn't have the courage to do what was right.
In other words, our country came very very close to watching a mob of US citizens killing the vice president of the US at the (implied) behest of the president. We've heard reports that, far from being dismayed by the violence, Trump was buoyed by seeing on TV the violence that was being unleashed by his own words. He refused for a long time to try to stop the violence, and even then what he said was don't hurt the police (though not a word about not hurting anyone else).
We very nearly had a tragedy that's almost impossible to comprehend.
Conclusion #3:
Most of those involved in any part of the demonstration or subsequent assault on the Capitol still think as they did then, and still believe Trump is the legally elected president. This means things could get much farther out of hand than they were last week.
Reasoning: On January 20th, we will inaugurate the 46th president of the United States. Given the online chatter both the FBI and Facebook have picked up, it's almost certain there will be some violence somewhere. All 50 state capitals are expecting demonstrations, and some may include militant elements. The US capital is absolutely expecting demonstrations that will almost certainly include militant elements. We will be extremely lucky if we make it through the day with no loss of life.
On January 21st, what we will have is a country where almost half our citizens will completely believe that the president is illegitimate, that he's in office only because of fraud.
We will have a country where one man (Trump) has the ability to summon an army (armed) of many thousands of citizens who are willing to do his bidding and fight to the death for him, because they believe he's the true president and he's standing up for our country and for democracy.
Some of his followers refer to him as GEOTUS: God Emperor of the United States. Are you as nervous as I am about that?
There are still many in the Republican party who are willing to enable this situation. I'm sure some have actually swallowed everything Trump's said, just as many of this followers have, and they believe it all. And I've learned there are others who don't believe it but are afraid for their lives and the lives of their families if they oppose him. And I'm confident there are still others who just think it might further their political ambitions to say they believe him.
Whatever the reason, it means to me we no longer have a functioning Republican party, though some are trying valiantly. Instead, we have a Democratic party (with all its factions, the result of having a big tent) and a Trump party. And that's where we will be on January 21st.
And I am becoming more terrified for my country the longer I watch this unfold and the more I learn about what's been happening. I think people who believe once Trump is out of office things can get back to normal aren't paying enough attention. I think those (like Sen. Roy Blunt) who believe that Trump's learned his lesson are definitely not paying enough attention. Having watched Trump savage Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for 4 years, as if both were his political opponents, I feel confident I know what he'll say about Joe Biden who, after all, has stolen the presidency from him by fraud, he claims.
I've gotten to the point that I wish someone would point out to Trump that he could get out of all this trouble by suddenly discovering that Giuliani et al. have been lying to him and tricking him with fake evidence of fraud and realizing that the election had been legitimate after all. It would be poetic justice for him to dump these folks into the fire, as they've had no compunction about doing to others. And Trump always turns on everybody sooner or later so it shouldn't bother him to blame them for it.
Trump would never have to say straight out that Biden won, just say the election was legitimate. His supporters could keep their faith in him and still support him for his honesty in confessing he had been hoodwinked by these untrustworthy people. That would relieve most of the tension in the country. And Giuliani et al. could just go back to the obscurity they'd been heading for when all this started.
Short of a miracle like that, I am seriously afraid for my country.
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