Rep. Jamie Raskin's new book is a must-read, but it suggests that our side came to a knife fight with a law journal. Plus, more crypto questions and lessons on relational organizing.
Our side came with the Capitol Police which employs more than 2,000 sworn and civilian personnel. That force is large enough for most protests - including those who were at the Capitol before Donald Trump sent additional rioters from the rally he held near the White House.
Hindsight is always 20/20. The Capitol Police are directly responsible for Capitol security, not the Speaker or Senate Majority Leader. Capitol Police deployed their available forces scaled to the threat described by the intel available to them. So blaming Democratic leaders is a cheap shot.
Have you read Raskin's book? He blames *himself* for not foreseeing the likelihood of mass political violence. There was group-think at work here, and I think it's the same group-think that keeps so many Democrats behaving as if they're dealing with the "honorable opposition."
No I have not read the book and nor was I in any planning meetings. However I was tracking the lead-up to January 6 through mainstream and progressive media and no one foresaw anything like the insurrection. So it wasn't a particular form of Democratic group-think, it was the entire media ecosystem including NY Times, Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC, etc. Perhaps Raskin blames himself for not foreseeing what no one else foresaw, and that is his right to blame himself. But based on the publicly available information ahead of January 6, I don't blame him or any other Democratic leader. No doubt the January 6 Committee will uncover non-public intel that was available to some individuals, and those individuals should take responsibility if that intel was good and they failed to act.
As a thought exercise, let's take the opposite tack - that Nancy Pelosi -ordered the National Guard to surround the Capitol with soldiers in full battle gear ready to exchange fire with irregular insurrectionists carrying Trump flags and sticks. What would the "optics" have been? How viciously would FOX News have attacked Pelosi?
Three points. First, you are right that most of the mainstream media didn't take the threat of violence seriously. One place they get their cues from is our political leaders. Second, there were people worrying about the dangers, including experts on rightwing extremism. They were certainly issuing warnings. Finally, leaving aside the chain of command issue (I don't think Pelosi can command the National Guard) had their been a more robust police presence guarding the Capitol the optics would have been fine. Who cares what Fox News would have said--they make crap up regardless.
Democrats continue to bring a knife to nuclear war. For the love of God Garland must arrest Trump and his henchmen. Instead, Dems are acting like German elites did after Hitlers first coup. Guess what, he returned for part 2 and, well, you know what the world got as a result.
Our side came with the Capitol Police which employs more than 2,000 sworn and civilian personnel. That force is large enough for most protests - including those who were at the Capitol before Donald Trump sent additional rioters from the rally he held near the White House.
Lightly armed, poorly prepped, badly deployed Capitol Police. C'mon Bob, they clearly weren't ready.
Hindsight is always 20/20. The Capitol Police are directly responsible for Capitol security, not the Speaker or Senate Majority Leader. Capitol Police deployed their available forces scaled to the threat described by the intel available to them. So blaming Democratic leaders is a cheap shot.
Have you read Raskin's book? He blames *himself* for not foreseeing the likelihood of mass political violence. There was group-think at work here, and I think it's the same group-think that keeps so many Democrats behaving as if they're dealing with the "honorable opposition."
No I have not read the book and nor was I in any planning meetings. However I was tracking the lead-up to January 6 through mainstream and progressive media and no one foresaw anything like the insurrection. So it wasn't a particular form of Democratic group-think, it was the entire media ecosystem including NY Times, Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC, etc. Perhaps Raskin blames himself for not foreseeing what no one else foresaw, and that is his right to blame himself. But based on the publicly available information ahead of January 6, I don't blame him or any other Democratic leader. No doubt the January 6 Committee will uncover non-public intel that was available to some individuals, and those individuals should take responsibility if that intel was good and they failed to act.
As a thought exercise, let's take the opposite tack - that Nancy Pelosi -ordered the National Guard to surround the Capitol with soldiers in full battle gear ready to exchange fire with irregular insurrectionists carrying Trump flags and sticks. What would the "optics" have been? How viciously would FOX News have attacked Pelosi?
Three points. First, you are right that most of the mainstream media didn't take the threat of violence seriously. One place they get their cues from is our political leaders. Second, there were people worrying about the dangers, including experts on rightwing extremism. They were certainly issuing warnings. Finally, leaving aside the chain of command issue (I don't think Pelosi can command the National Guard) had their been a more robust police presence guarding the Capitol the optics would have been fine. Who cares what Fox News would have said--they make crap up regardless.
Democrats continue to bring a knife to nuclear war. For the love of God Garland must arrest Trump and his henchmen. Instead, Dems are acting like German elites did after Hitlers first coup. Guess what, he returned for part 2 and, well, you know what the world got as a result.