politics

I don't know much about Doug Jones, but this seems like a suicidally stupid idea at first glance. What kind of Democrat does it take to get elected senator in Alabama? That sounds like the kind of conciliatory milquetoast centrist bullshit that has gotten us into this mess.

When a group of people decides that they are no longer going to respect democracy, and they are willing to burn down the republic for their own gain, milquetoast centrism is suicidal. Going easy on these bastards didn't make them stop. They're still denying they lost, and they're still trying to steal the election. Historically, this type of authoritarian movement that seeks to destroy democracies only ends up one of two ways. Either the authoritarians end up winning, or everyone remotely involved gets multi-decade prison sentences. While the Justice Department has tried a lot of the low-level people, Garland's intransigence has protected the real people in power, the ringleaders behind the whole thing. Trump hasn't faced justice. The Republican Congressional members involved in the scheme haven't faced justice. The media that deliberately fomented the rebellion hasn't faced justice.

Compare this to something like the Guy Fawkes's attempt to blow up the English parliament. They didn't give those people a slap on the wrist and say, "it's time for the nation to heal." Back then they rounded up everyone remotely involved and publicly executed them via torture. Historically, the absolute worst punishments a state could apply were reserved for treason and rebellion. And they were applied liberally after any serious attempt at overthrowing a government.

Now, we're not in that era anymore. We don't need to resort to mass summary executions or public executions by torture. We hopefully are a bit more enlightened now. But these people still cannot just be allowed to run around and continue their attempts at overthrowing the government. The people who organized it? The people on the ground? The legislatorss involved? The prominent media figures who deliberately spread lies about the election being stolen? All of them should never see the light of day again.

And yes, that includes people in the media. Look at how the Union states cracked down on Southern-sympathetic press during the Civil War. That's we what we should be doing now. I'm sorry, but if you are deliberately spreading lies about an election being stolen, you should be in jail for attempting to foment a rebellion. You're as guilty as Goebbels or any Nazi propaganda minister. The first amendment does not protect conspiracy to treason.

Instead we did nothing. Milquetoast centrist bullshit led us to ignore the scale of the problem. Now these same bastards are attempting to foment a pogrom against Haitian immigrants in Ohio. THAT is what treating these people with kid gloves gets you. It doesn't let the nation heal, it just gives the traitors another bite at the apple.

We do not need another limp-wristed centrist leading the Justice Department. We need someone willing to come down like Hammer of God on these people. Maybe I'm being unfair to Doug Jones. But the fact that he was able to get elected as a senator in Alabama hints that we might just be making the mistake all over again.