Political Thoughts by Richard Bleil
Assuming that all is going as planned, today a rally is scheduled to happen in Washington D.C. focused on the events of January 6. The rally is in support of those that marched on the Capitol, scaled walls, overran barriers and attempted to usurp the US Constitution by stopping the certification of the legitimate election that legally went to President Biden. The rally is to glorify those patriots who wanted to overthrow the government, the peaceful visitors who vandalized Congress and smeared feces on the walls, the supporters of law enforcement who beat and murdered Capitol police. But it’s no concern, really. The government is so sure that the rally will be peaceful that the fence barrier has been re-installed.
And here we are, nine months later, and the nation that is supposed to be a shining example of government stability and the power of democracy, with the former president still spouting off about rigged elections despite the fact that absolutely no evidence has been found to support the claim. I’ll be honest, as time goes on, I’m increasingly ashamed to call myself an American. Thanks to Trump, we are no longer a nation of the peaceful Democratic process. Thanks to those who put Trump in office, we are more divided than ever. Thanks to the continuing Trump supporters, we are again reminded of the shame that is the Trump legacy. And again. And again.
The rally has been organized by Matt Braynard who, if the name sounds familiar, was one of Trump’s campaign strategists. He was quoted in July of saying that he is “so proud of all of the brave patriots who participated in these rallies under the same threat to their rights of so many who are being held in prison now for a non-violent expression of their First Amendment rights.” He is now claiming that the over six hundred people arrested for the insurrection are “political prisoners”, and scores have settled their cases through plea bargaining.
Those familiar with the gaslighting and abuse of a narcissist should find these developments familiar. It’s a standard technique of denial and victim blaming. The events of January six were real enough that all of Congress had to cower in “safe locations” waiting to be rescued from what amounts to an armed insurrection. That’s reality. Anyone who says otherwise is standing on the graves of those who lost their lives in the uprising as their pulpit. In a true ability of the ability of politicians to brazenly lie, some Congress members are now saying that the resurrection was not that bad after all, amounting to little more than calm and peaceful visitors to the Capitol because, apparently, visitors kill six people every day in the Capitol if we are to believe this.
The typical narcissist, as the Republican Party has emulated time and time again, has a few standard tricks in their bag. They will deny that the events ever actually happened. They might say “I never hit you,” or “yes but it was with an open hand so it doesn’t count” much some are now saying “yes but it was a peaceful protest.” They will blame the victim by saying something like “well, you shouldn’t have said that,” just as Trump and his supporters are now saying “yes, but the election was stolen”. Any Republican, in office or not, who repeats these lies is attempting to whitewash reality and is repeating the lies of party narcissists.
Having worked with the police and under the umbrella of the investigations branch, I’ve learned a few things about liars. There are tells when somebody lies, the biggest of which is the changing story. We’ve seen that here, as it was at first called a justified response to the stolen election, then it was called a violent masquerade put on by liberals posing as Republicans, then it was a peaceful march, and now it’s a patriotic uprising. As a Congressional committee investigates the incident, Republicans are desperate to sweep it under the rug, and rightly so. It’s a blight on the Republican Party that it happened in the first place, especially since part of the investigation seems to be focused on cooperation with certain Republican Congressmen and even Trump himself.
Today, more and more Republicans are changing their tune, trying to say that they are not the “party of Trump.” More Republicans are coming out and admitting that the election was legitimate, and that Biden fairly defeated Trump in the election that was not rigged despite the fact that they continue to use the election to pass laws to restrict free voting as an excuse to make elections “more secure”. To this day, there is no evidence that has ever been presented to suggest that there were any problems in the election (including the illegal Maricopa County recount from a private firm paid for by Trump himself that was supposed to have released their final report weeks ago and yet has been oddly quiet) and yet, Trump and his supporters continue to spread the “Big Lie”. These lies, rallies such as the one scheduled for today, and news organizations that spread the vile toxins of the conservative lies are eroding American Democracy, and it’s shameful.
Bleil's Banter 