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Teri Kanefield Profile picture
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Feb 9 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
I think the real question is what a post-Trump GOP will look like.

If white power militias, hardcore reactionaries, and zany conspiracy theorists still have a place in the GOP, the problem won't leave with Trump.
morningshots.thebulwark.com/p/a-gop-cracku…
The reactionary Supreme Court justices, for example, have shown that they have no interest in saving Trump, but they're committed to promoting the agenda of the "religious right," for example, by taking the teeth from the Voting Rights Act.
Exactly.

The problem is what political scientist @dziblatt
calls the "Conservative Dilemma," which in a nutshell says that conservative economic policies (when presented truthfully) are unpopular so to win elections, they invite in the right-wing fringe.
Right, and I don't think they're willing to do that. Some minority communities are traditionally conservative and, should the GOP shed the fringe elements, could lure them in.

But first, they have to reject the crazies, which means losing a few elections.

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More from @Teri_Kanefield

Teri Kanefield Profile picture
Feb 10
Interesting tidbit: The obstruction statute being used to prosecute lots of the insurrection cases, U.S.C. 1512(c)(2) was part of an Act passed in 2002 in the wake of the Enron scandal specifically to prosecute destruction of records that might be needed in future proceedings.
Of course, this is the law so it's never as easy as it seems.

If there is a tricky word in this statute, it would be "official proceeding."

Would there need to be a specific proceeding on the horizon?

The Enron executives . . . Image
. . . the Enron (Arthur Anderson) executives started shredding documents after an investigation was opened into their corrupt practices, but before a subpoena was issued.
Read 5 tweets
Teri Kanefield Profile picture
Feb 7
Timothy Snyder calls them Internet Triggers.

He explains that they're bad for democracy because they prevent us from thinking complex thoughts.

People see these Triggers on social media because they are directed at them. . .
This happens partly because of algorithms and partly because you tend to follow accounts that have built your trust by tweeting things you agree with.

People mindlessly repeat these triggers. They are then transformed into "repeaters of targeted memes" . . .
Snyder finds this terrifying because democracy depends on us having “some sense of time beyond our immediate outrage.”

A good example would be Tweeting this ⤵️after 768 indictments as part of an ongoing investigation during a pandemic. . . .
Read 9 tweets
Teri Kanefield Profile picture
Feb 4
I've been hoping for a turning point (a split in the party) for years . . .but Trump still controls the RNC, and mostly they still line up.

I don't see a split until they suffer an electoral bloodbath, either because enough voters turn against them or Trump turns on the party.
The strength they have is in local elections. See my earlier Tweet about what's happening in Shasta County.

Infighting among leaders won't change what's happening at the base, and what's happening at the base is where the danger is.
In other words, even if big shots start turning on each other, these people will still be fighting for control of local election boards and local school boards.
sacbee.com/news/californi…
Extremists won't give up even if Trump goes down.
They need to LOSE elections at every level.
Read 4 tweets
Teri Kanefield Profile picture
Feb 4
I've been saying that the way to save democracy is through civic engagement, particularly at the local level.

The right-wing understands that.

Let me tell you what's been happening in Shasta County, CA.

sacbee.com/news/californi…
The extremists, backed by outside money, are working to take over county leadership including local boards.

They want to oust conservatives who are not "conservative" enough. . . meaning they are not reactionary coup-loving extremists.
thenation.com/article/politi…
These extremists know that Trump planned and supported that coup and they love him anyway.

They know he supports white supremacists and they love him anyway.

I want Trump indicted, but I don't delude myself into thinking indicting Trump will "save" democracy.
Read 6 tweets
Teri Kanefield Profile picture
Feb 3
Screenshot so I don't give airtime to people who trade on despair, even though it seems stingy of me to deny people such an easy route to popularity and attention.

Facts:

🔹Nobody knows what is happening inside the DOJ except people who work there.

1/
🔹People who speculate on what is happening based on evidence are, well, speculating.

🔹One problem is distinguishing fact from speculation.

🔹Here's the shocker: Just because someone is a well-known lawyer doesn't mean they are right when they speculate.

2/
🔹Another shocker: Not all lawyers are smart or good lawyers.

🔹It can be very difficult to distinguish legal facts from legal opinions. If you're a nonlawyer, this is harder than distinguishing facts or speculation.

Some things are legal facts. Others are legal opinions.

3/
Read 15 tweets
Teri Kanefield Profile picture
Feb 2
I think you mean "punished." Indictment simply means "charged with a crime" or accused.

People think Rule of Law requires that all people who break the law get punished. Nope. Let me explain.

A government needs a source of authority . . .
. . . sociologist Max Weber outlined 3 sources of authority.

The first traditional. This is the authority underlying monarchies.

Second is rule of law. This is the authority underlying democracy.

Third is what he called "charismatic leader."
Today we'd say "demagogue" or "strongman." This is the source of authority underlying fascist governments.

So if the source of authority is a body of law and not the whim of a king or the commands of a strongman, you have a democracy.

When rule of law breaks down . . .
Read 8 tweets

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