U.S. Capitol Placed on Lockdown as Election Protests Grow Violent

[rjpalmer]

You saw those people on TV, and their very appearance cried out for special treatment, like the freaky dude with viking hat. You can easily guess that these people were marginally employed at best and likely had health issues and lacked proper care. All this started with economic hardship, my friend.

That nut-case in the wolf costume and the walking stick is the son of a wealthy and prominent judge in Brooklyn, New York. (See link) His elevator doesn't appear to go all the way to the top floor, but he's hardly a member of an economically depressed underclass.

And one of the women arrested, who happens to be from my neck-of-the-woods, was an affluent Trump campaign lobbyist who had organized a Trump Boat Parade in Portland, Oregon.

I'm not entirely disputing your sentiments, but, in my humble opinion--and the jury is still out; we'll be analyzing this for years---Trump appealed to a more fundamental aspect of the reptilian brainstem than mere economic need; like a parasite, he noticed that Kulturkampf has been fomenting for years, egged-on by partisan "news" pundits; he took advantage of it to invade and infiltrate a major political party.

Trump Fur-Ever: Costumed Capitol Rioter Is Son Of Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge - Gothamist

[YomRippur]

This has nothing to do with economic well-being, it's a cultural problem on the american right that has this generally unpleasant mix of guns, god, anti-science and government wrapped in white supremacy. There are plenty of $60K trucks at Trump rallys and Trump's enablers in the House and Senate who voted to object to the result of a democratic election AFTER the Capitol had been stormed by Trump supporters can not reasonably be called destitute. Likewise, urban areas where there is economic hardship have not been captured by craziness that is Trumpism.

the first time I noticed that there was something fishy going on in american politics is when this senator came into the chamber with a snow-ball in the middle of February as "proof" that global warming did not exist. The next thing was when in 2010 I asked a colleague of mine from Arizona what he thought of US citizens finally getting universal Health care, he said he hated it because it took away his freedom to chose his own health care (or lack thereof). Then you throw in Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Fox News and you have your reasons for the rise of Trumpism. All indications are it will get even worse. People are flocking over to Newsmax because it seems that Fox is no longer crazy enough for them. So, people are constantly being subjected to crazy sh!t and there is no end in sight. Things will not improve until there is a consensus that News and information on political events need to be fact-based and yes, I agree that this is difficult to achieve because you would need to accept some kind of arbiter which likely to be a deal breaker for most people. Trump was right in one thing: The swamp needs to be drained but it must be from the grass-roots and anti-democratic senators and house-members need to be primaried and voted out of office. This way, a new generation of politicians will bubble-up into government. For example, I always wonder how someone like Louie Gohmert gets elected. I mean, how is this even possible? His continuous re-election is probably a good indicator on why the current electoral system is failing the country. Figure out why HE gets elected, fix the problem and the future will probably look a lot brighter.

Economic problems are more DIRECT than cultural problems: if you can't eat, you go crazy, simple as that. Trump's base is poorer and less educated, and the American economy has also been in a downfall, with wage stagnation and widening wealth gap. And some people in this group are in (much) worse financial shape than others, and could become volatile in the right circumstance such as yesterday, because they feel they had "nothing to lose" and could go out in a blaze of glory. You saw those people on TV, and their very appearance cried out for special treatment, like the freaky dude with viking hat. You can easily guess that these people were marginally employed at best and likely had health issues and lacked proper care. All this started with economic hardship, my friend.

30 years ago, white Americans had the highest income, wealth, best health, lowest unemployment, best standing in every social index. Today, it is Asian Americans who are in that position instead; even Trump tweeted about it. Go to any big American city and find me a beggar or homeless person on the street who is Asian -- you can't. This is another economic factor that fed into the resentment and anger of the most vociferous Trump supporters. Throughout history, there have been two things that drove human behavior: the economic driver, and the war driver. We go to war because we don't want to die. And we want economic prosperity because we don't want to die poor. Nearly all the struggles between the two parties are about them fighting over which side should get how much money.

P.S. Regarding your comment about these people having $60k cars, I don't care if they have $100k cars or live in mansions. You can't see their true financial well being by just looking at their possessions. We've all heard stories about people putting up a facade of living well and then one day all their possessions are foreclosed and their neighbors are in shock, and then it turns out they have nothing but debts.

[caz]

These people will continue to grow as long as the social and financial well being of a large number of Americans continue to drop. So the only way to fix this is improve the quality of life in America. If more people live a good life, there will be fewer of these groups. Lack of social and financial well being leads to poor education, hopelessness, fearfulness, susceptibility to wild theories, etc., all the trademarks of these groups. And when their hopelessness and desperation reach the lowest point where they feel they have "nothing to lose," they do and say wild things, unsurprisingly. If the economy doesn't pick up fast, expect this to continue. Yes, you bet the Dems will take the blame if this situation doesn't improve on their watch. Whenever bad things happen, the incumbent party always takes the rap. It happened to Trump and the GOP, and it would happen to Dems the next 4 years if certain key things didn't improve (refer to the "13 keys" I mentioned earlier).

And calling these groups "terrorists" would be an insult to real terrorists! The kind of terrorism we have faced since 9/11 is organized, well-planned, and formidable. Do these adjectives really describe the Capitol Hill protestors?? If we called them terrorists, then those who piss on the sidewalk or smash windows with trashcans would be terrorists too! The people yesterday were some of the weakest people we have, both in minds and bodies and overall well-being.

The people who lack social, educational and financial privileges are being shamefully exploited, by those who need all the 'support' they can get to push their own selfish political agenda. They don't care about these people or their well being. They use them, then wash their hands of them when they go too far. Cannon fodder.

[caz]

One of the first claims Trump did on camera in 2016 was, extend his arms and claim, "..how I love the uneducated!".

Well, we always knew he loved himself, Jon.

Reminds me of the old joke about why the Pope wears trunks in the bath - he doesn't want to look down on the unemployed.

[Svensson]

These people will continue to grow as long as the social and financial well being of a large number of Americans continue to drop. So the only way to fix this is improve the quality of life in America. If more people live a good life, there will be fewer of these groups. Lack of social and financial well being leads to poor education, hopelessness, fearfulness, susceptibility to wild theories, etc., all the trademarks of these groups. And when their hopelessness and desperation reach the lowest point where they feel they have "nothing to lose," they do and say wild things, unsurprisingly. If the economy doesn't pick up fast, expect this to continue. Yes, you bet the Dems will take the blame if this situation doesn't improve on their watch. Whenever bad things happen, the incumbent party always takes the rap. It happened to Trump and the GOP, and it would happen to Dems the next 4 years if certain key things didn't improve (refer to the "13 keys" I mentioned earlier).

This has nothing to do with economic well-being, it's a cultural problem on the american right that has this generally unpleasant mix of guns, god, anti-science and government wrapped in white supremacy. There are plenty of $60K trucks at Trump rallys and Trump's enablers in the House and Senate who voted to object to the result of a democratic election AFTER the Capitol had been stormed by Trump supporters can not reasonably be called destitute. Likewise, urban areas where there is economic hardship have not been captured by craziness that is Trumpism.

the first time I noticed that there was something fishy going on in american politics is when this senator came into the chamber with a snow-ball in the middle of February as "proof" that global warming did not exist. The next thing was when in 2010 I asked a colleague of mine from Arizona what he thought of US citizens finally getting universal Health care, he said he hated it because it took away his freedom to chose his own health care (or lack thereof). Then you throw in Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Fox News and you have your reasons for the rise of Trumpism. All indications are it will get even worse. People are flocking over to Newsmax because it seems that Fox is no longer crazy enough for them. So, people are constantly being subjected to crazy sh!t and there is no end in sight. Things will not improve until there is a consensus that News and information on political events need to be fact-based and yes, I agree that this is difficult to achieve because you would need to accept some kind of arbiter which likely to be a deal breaker for most people. Trump was right in one thing: The swamp needs to be drained but it must be from the grass-roots and anti-democratic senators and house-members need to be primaried and voted out of office. This way, a new generation of politicians will bubble-up into government. For example, I always wonder how someone like Louie Gohmert gets elected. I mean, how is this even possible? His continuous re-election is probably a good indicator on why the current electoral system is failing the country. Figure out why HE gets elected, fix the problem and the future will probably look a lot brighter.

[C. F. Leon]

Worst President EVER!

January 20th can't arrive too soon. I suspect something similar will happen to the White House on Inauguration Day, probably to cover the Nut-Job's looting of everything valuable from it.

Damn, I miss Nixon.

[Wickerman]

Few things say "I'm stupid" quite like filming yourself committing a felony/-ies and then posting it online and boast about it. It's considered a confession.

One of the first claims Trump did on camera in 2016 was, extend his arms and claim, "..how I love the uneducated!".

[Wickerman]

Do you think Mexico is rethinking it's attitude to the wall?

Word is, they've volunteered to pay for it, to get it done!

[YomRippur]

There aren't enough decent Republicans left to make any meaningful decisions. By far the majority of Republicans are spineless, an embarrassment to their party. Too frightened of upsetting Trump's base to 'do the right thing'.

After all this is over, once Biden takes power, I don't feel confident his administration will encourage pursuing the people who instigate, and will continue to instigate revolt & rioting.
Biden's position is all too likely to be to let sleeping dogs lie, not to make things worse, put this all behind us. This view, often taken as 'the high road' only emboldens the anarchists.
It is for this approach, I suspect Democrats will be held responsible. We'll have to see what transpires. These radical groups have been ignored and tolerated across the US for way too long. They need to be stamped out or they will continue to grow.

These people will continue to grow as long as the social and financial well being of a large number of Americans continue to drop. So the only way to fix this is improve the quality of life in America. If more people live a good life, there will be fewer of these groups. Lack of social and financial well being leads to poor education, hopelessness, fearfulness, susceptibility to wild theories, etc., all the trademarks of these groups. And when their hopelessness and desperation reach the lowest point where they feel they have "nothing to lose," they do and say wild things, unsurprisingly. If the economy doesn't pick up fast, expect this to continue. Yes, you bet the Dems will take the blame if this situation doesn't improve on their watch. Whenever bad things happen, the incumbent party always takes the rap. It happened to Trump and the GOP, and it would happen to Dems the next 4 years if certain key things didn't improve (refer to the "13 keys" I mentioned earlier).

And calling these groups "terrorists" would be an insult to real terrorists! The kind of terrorism we have faced since 9/11 is organized, well-planned, and formidable. Do these adjectives really describe the Capitol Hill protestors?? If we called them terrorists, then those who piss on the sidewalk or smash windows with trashcans would be terrorists too! The people yesterday were some of the weakest people we have, both in minds and bodies and overall well-being.

[C. F. Leon]

Few things say "I'm stupid" quite like filming yourself committing a felony/-ies and then posting it online and boast about it. It's considered a confession.

[barnflatwyngarde]

Do you think Mexico is rethinking it's attitude to the wall?

[rjpalmer]

White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney has just resigned

I should have written 'former' Chief of Staff. They switch hats so often under Trump it's hard to keep track.

Evidently, Trump is still agitated this morning. He's just four putted on the 7th green at Bedminster.

[Svensson]

Biden's position is all too likely to be to let sleeping dogs lie, not to make things worse, put this all behind us. This view, often taken as 'the high road' only emboldens the anarchists.

Yes, I think Biden missed a trick by not nominating Hillary Clinton for AG. She would have come after Trumpists like there's no tomorrow.

[Svensson]

And there was I, thinking the UK had been a political embarrassment since 2016...

yes but we corrected this misperception by putting an ACTUAL clown in charge. No more mixed messages :P

[rjpalmer]

This attempted coup, not a very well executed one, was organised by Trump and his right wing backers.

Agreed. This was not an outburst of spontaneous emotion. Despite a major rally, security was at a minimum. Someone saw to that. By now, most of the world has watched the video of a startling small group of officers--5 or 6--opening up barricades at one end of the Capitol grounds, letting a mob flood in, unimpeded. It's being reported that one 'protester' had a fist full of zip ties.

The clumsiness of the operation suggests the messy fingerprints of Giuliani and/or Kushner, but there were others.

White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney has just resigned. Interpret that how you want.