Spin and whataboutism: GOP senators must distance Trump from his mob even as they cannot quit them

Already this is wackadoodle. Seems like the defense is trying to tell us not to believe what we saw. This lawyer has the audacity to say that the people assembled at Trump's speech were peaceful patriots

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— Jennifer Taub (@jentaub) February 12, 2021

A central paradox of the trial:

(1) Trump’s lawyers will argue that Trump’s supporters on Jan 6 were not controlled by Trump.

(2) Republican Senators will vote to acquit because they believe that Trump’s supporters are highly controlled by Trump.

(h/t: Prof. Stephen Holmes)

— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw) February 11, 2021

They must recognize we are in new political environment in which one party has been radicalized by authoritarian, racist demagogues while the other earnestly tries to engage in problem-solving. Journalists are not diligently covering either half https://t.co/gYsRToyMX1

— Jennifer 'pro-voting' Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) February 12, 2021

I wrote this, seeking to explain this phenomenon, last summer. But we are in new territory here. https://t.co/N9FQqZBjHE

— Anne Applebaum (@anneapplebaum) February 10, 2021

Here’s the account @MikeLeeforUtah gave his local newspaper about intercepting a call from Trump meant for @SenTuberville during the insurrection.
Not clear how this differs from the one offered today by House managers to which Lee vehemently objected.https://t.co/8VonmjfD9C

— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) February 11, 2021

To be clear: the source of the story, claiming that Trump and Giuliani had called Mike Lee on Jan. 6, was Mike Lee's own spokesman. https://t.co/jbVVcSrMVG https://t.co/EwTHd5DJoQ

— Ted Genoways (@TedGenoways) February 11, 2021

Trump attacked Mike Pence in a tweet just minutes after learning that his VP’s life was in danger, GOP Senator Tommy Tuberville inadvertently revealed. https://t.co/TQ3ED0rNDV

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) February 11, 2021

“The word ‘democracy’,” the Republican Senator Mike Lee recently noted, “appears nowhere in the Constitution.” The reason, he thought, was “because our form of government is not a democracy.” “If what you wanted was a fascist form of government” the senator added, “you could get there far more efficiently, far more completely, using a pure form of democracy.” “Democracy,” he concluded over his Twitter feed, “isn’t the objective,” “liberty, peace, and prosperity are.” This view, while rarely stated publicly by elected officials, is nevertheless common among avid readers of the work of neoliberal founding fathers such as Friedrich von Hayek. In his 1944 best seller The Road to Serfdom, the Nobel Prize winner had explicitly argued that “democracy” was probably the easiest way towards “complete despotism” unless legally limited. Hayek’s aim was nothing less than the “dethronement of politics.”

tocqueville21.com/…

I’ve been a trial lawyer for over 40 years & I have seen some mighty good lawyering. The House Managers’ performance today ranks right up there. I’ve also seen some mighty bad lawyering & the performance of the former President’s legal team ranks at or near the top of that list.

— Doug Jones (@DougJones) February 10, 2021

The Capitol Hill Police communications are chilling. Any Republican that votes against conviction should be named and shamed often as #TeamSedition. They support murder.

— Malcolm Nance (@MalcolmNance) February 10, 2021

annieli

“You’re not mopping fast enough. (Laughter) That’s a socialist mop. (Laughter and applause) Grab a mop — let’s get to work.” – Barack Obama (2009); “Soyez réalistes, demandez l’impossible!”

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