Minerva @ Midnight: the 1/6 commission must succeed because the insurrection was no “tourist visit”
It does seem clear that in the name of “bipartisanship, there may be pro-Trumpists chosen who will attempt to sabotage such a commission, because some will accept the same false premises manufactured in both Trump impeachments.
Perhaps the most important thing is that it focuses the scope of the commission on “the facts and causes” related to the Jan. 6 attack and to “the interference with the peaceful transfer of power.” It will also look at the “influencing factors” that “fomented” this attack.
Importantly, it describes Jan. 6 as a “domestic terrorist attack” waged against “American representative democracy.” That counters the GOP whitewash effort by framing the mission around the need to explore the deep radicalization that led to an effort to overthrow U.S. democracy itself.
Here's my reading on how the 1/6 commission would work, with legal expert @rgoodlaw.
Short version: It defines the scope well. Focus is on the terror attack on US democracy. Rs can pull mischief, but Dems have real control over investigative direction:https://t.co/3zaLVI3f7F pic.twitter.com/FcWi4tBTQ5
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) May 14, 2021
@mentions Here’s my reading on how the 1/6 commission would work, with legal expert .
Short version: It defines the scope well. Focus is on the terror attack on US democracy. Rs can pull mischief, but Dems have real control over investigative direction:
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
As the despicable GOP whitewashing of the Jan. 6 insurrection continues apace, House Democrats are set to force a vote on the creation of a commission to examine the assault.
If you want to see why this should throw Republicans on the defensive, watch two videos. The first video shows D.C. police officer Michael Fanone angrily telling CNN that this GOP whitewashing is made up of “lies” and “bulls–t,” and that it’s “disgraceful.”
The second video shows Rep. Andrew S. Clyde (R-Ga.) smugly refusing to back down from his widely circulated suggestion that Jan. 6 was akin to a “normal tourist visit.”
In a surprising bit of good news, House Democrats just announced a bipartisan deal on the makeup of the commission to scrutinize the attack. It was negotiated between the Democratic and Republican leaders of the Homeland Security Committee.
He smirked as if he’s untouchable in his power to whitewash what we all saw with our own eyes.
Put that up against Officer Fanone skewering GOP “bullshit”:
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
This is Rep. Andrew Clyde (Q-GA) saying the January 6 insurrection looked like “a normal tourist visit” inside the Capitol.
Just batsh*t crazy.
Has anyone told him it’s all on video?https://t.co/iUtoDTneD2
— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) May 12, 2021
Life will dramatically change under brutal American oligarchy https://t.co/veAbkOkN5E
— #TuckFrump (@realTuckFrumper) May 15, 2021
A lot of names have been bandied around to describe the form of government Donald Trump tried to impose on us during his administration. “Fascism” was used commonly, as were words like “little dictator,” and “cult of personality.”
But really what Donald Trump was proposing and trying to institute is a fairly common form of government, a variation of authoritarianism called oligarchy.
We are seeing it played out around the world in governments controlled by rich elites and run by authoritarians like Duterte, Bolsonaro, Netanyahu, Erdowan, Putin, Orban, Modi, and Duda.
They seem like they are increasingly becoming one-man-rule governments, but authoritarianism is just the midpoint after oligarchs begin corrupting democratic governments that have not yet become full-blown fascist oligarchies.
Because they are rarely stable, these midpoint authoritarian governments usually are grown in, and rise up to seize control of democracies, as has happened several times in the Philippines, for example, where the biggest businesses are inextricably intertwined with the state, corruption is rampant, and the media, the courts and the legislature are all essentially under the control of the billionaire or oligarchic class.
Oligarchy is when the very rich rule a country largely for their own benefit. They typically bring along a charismatic but compliant leader at the top (often an oligarch himself, and if he doesn’t start out that way he certainly ends that way), and are supported at the bottom by “authoritarian followers” who feel insecure about their personal and economic prospects and want a “big daddy” who will soothe their anxieties, affirm their victimhood and outrage, and help them sleep at night.
A NEW VIDEO: #PartyofTheInsane pic.twitter.com/8zq80QgmJx
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) May 12, 2021
