The MAGA morons were out in full force this week, and the key word is force: Kari Lake was urging her supporters to “strap on a Glock” to prepare for the election, while Senator Tom Cotton (R-Dumbkansas) was busy telling his fellow MAGAts to physically assault protesters and maybe even toss them off a bridge or two.
Cotton-brain was referring to those in San Francisco, New York, and Chicago who blocked bridges and roads to protest the war in Gaza.
Now, you may agree or disagree with these people – their beliefs and/or their tactics. But they’re doing what they feel is right to bring attention to a situation that they see as untenable.
There is a history of nonviolent protests in this country that commit illegal acts. The sit-ins of the 1960s were illegal, as were the marches that took place without a permit (usually purposely denied). The die-ins of the 1980s to raise awareness about the AIDS crisis were frequently illegal. And I’m pretty sure the Boston Tea Party was illegal.
This is not to say that it’s not frustrating to be unable to get to work because protesters are blocking a bridge. Or that the protesters themselves shouldn’t consider the danger they might be causing by refusing to allow emergency vehicles to pass (which they should do in the future).
And they should be arrested – they are, after all, committing a crime. Of course, as Dr. King said, if you believe in something, you should be willing to go to jail for it. Most of the protesters in San Fran were released after agreeing to a small fine and five hours of community service, Politico reported.
But the fact that a US senator just endorsed vigilantism and murdering people (and then doubled-down on it) should come as a shock. Unfortunately, it doesn’t, because the MAGAt mob, led by Dirty Donald (Il Douche) have been ratcheting up this type of rhetoric for a long time now. It’s why we saw the attack on Paul Pelosi and why a recent survey found that MAGA Republicans are by far the most likely to believe that there is a coming civil war (30.3% vs. 12.6% for non-Republicans) and to consider violence either usually or always an acceptable means to achieve certain political goals (58.2% vs. 25.1% for non-Republicans).
It's even gotten concerning for other Republicans. This week we also saw Republican Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, who is stepping down this month, explain that he is doing so because he’s been receiving death threats and has been the victim of swatting since he refused to vote to impeach Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.
Chickens coming home to roost.
What’s interesting (to say the least) about Cotton, of course, is that while he believes in throwing “Pro-Hamas” protesters (as he put it) off of bridges, he’s also filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court to free certain January 6th “protesters” (or, more accurately, actual terrorists, as opposed to those people blocking bridges) because the statute that some of them have been prosecuted under was originally intended more for financial crimes. Oddly enough, though, in the announcement of his decision to join Jim Jordan and twenty-one other members of Congress to file the brief, the title doesn’t say anything about a concern for misuse but states that they are opposing “the Biden administration’s criminalization of political conduct.”
On January 6th, in the aftermath of the violence, Cotton had issued a statement with a very different tone, arguing that “Those who attacked the Capitol today should face the full extent of federal law.”
Well, I guess not too full an extent. Or maybe Cotton-brain just doesn’t know what the expression means. One would think he would, considering that he went to Harvard Law, but I guess not.
He’s also, of course, endorsed Donald Trump, the Terrorist-in-Chief. He had no issue with doing that either.
So, if you’re Tom Cotton: throw over people who block a bridge but extend a bridge to those who try to overthrow the government.
This is the American greatness they’re seeking.