Advoken's Blog

The mobs retreated from the U.S. Capitol Building, but not until they had draped that august structure with the odors of hatred.  Sadly, these hordes of American citizens left their mark.  Make no mistake: Trumpism is not dead, even if that poisonous individual peacefully leaves the White House on Jan. 20^th.

As we approach the inauguration, we’re seeing some signs of sanity returning to the leaders of the Republican Party, most of whom have spent the last four years feeding into the actions of the egomaniac who has occupied the Presidency for the last four years.  Mitch McConnell (that sour-faced Doctor No) is suddenly being praised for being a statesman by not going along with the “stolen election” lies; yet, it was McConnell, whose iron-fisted leadership permitted the orange-haired nut to continue tweeting his lies and spreading his divisive hatred throughout the nation.  And other leaders of the GOP, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley, among too many others, cheered on Trump’s dangerous, chaotic behavior.

Whether the GOP leaders will continue their return to sanity is open to question; remember there were over 140 Republican Representatives and eight Senators who voted against certifying the election results.  Several of them, like Hawley and Cruz, have Presidential ambitions for 2024 and may be using their Jan. 6^th behavior as a badge of honor to claim Trump’s base in the party.

Might these mobs soon be seen as “heroes” or “courageous patriots” for storming the Capitol?  Some rightwingers are calling them that now.  A case in point is that of Kyle Rittenhouse, who shot three persons, killing two, during the demonstrations after the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha in August.  Rittenhouse has become a hero among some groups, and there’s been robust fund-raising among groups (In just a few days after the incident, various groups had raised $900,000.)

Right now, Trump has few supporters among the established leadership of this nation or among the nation’s “mainstream media.”  Let’s hope that doesn’t change, but there are signs that Trumpism has plenty of media support, in including that of the social media type.  Fox News for a brief moment seemed to accept Joe Biden’s victory, but already, just a few days after the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol, you can hear the network returning to their past evil ways. 

Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have all suspended Trump from their platforms, but there will continue to be plenty of ways through alternative sites for Trump and his cronies to spread their lies and their messages of hate.   Cable news channels like Newsmax and One America News have become the go-to viewing of more and more Trump supporters. 

These media outfits are already harping on the point that the Jan. 6 mobs of nearly 100% whites caused less damage and harm than the numerous Black Lives Matter demonstrations of last summer.  They are still trying to claim the election was “stolen,” a truly ludicrous claim given that Biden-Harris got seven million more votes than Trump-Pence.  One America News is running pleas on how to make contributions to those Senators and Representatives who stuck with Trump in the election certification votes.

Sadly, it appears there will still be plenty of ways for this right-wing cabal to continue spreading its messages of hate and divisiveness.  And, virtually all of their words will be nothing but lies meant to deceive their followers . . . all with the hope of expanding the ranks of “believers.”

Too many Americans will continue to be receptive to the demagogic appeal of the Trump message.  These misguided folks are everywhere among our own families, our neighbors, our workmates and even our closest friends.  Many are kind and generous in their personal life and some, of course, are mere thugs.  Trump offered the false appeal that he’d fight for the little guy and that he was a strong leader; both proved false, but too many people still are believers.  And, there was the racism inherent in his message, and that stirred much of his support.

President-elect Joe Biden’s basic message of building a more equitable economic society where working people can be assured of a decent living standard is the right message; it’s what most Americans desire and need.  He will face one helluva challenge to deliver on that message, but it’s got to be his No. 1 priority (after resolving the pandemic, of course). 

Meanwhile, the country will face the cancer of Trumpism that will fester among too many of our citizens.  The question is:  Can we come up with the therapy needed to halt this cancer from metastasizing?   — Ken Germanson, Jan 10, 2021.