Thread by @FreedomFriesInc

Thread: Republicans and Uvalde

John Cornyn, like every other Republican trying to defend the indefensible, doesn't care how bad he looks to most Americans. All he has to do is please his donors and the extremists in the base that vote for him out of fear of "communism."

One of the main reasons I switched from left to right in 2016 was my enduring support for LEOs & military.

I believed Republican lies about the subject until I saw the abject lawlessness of 1/6. A week prior, I publicly predicted violence, but not the large scale of it.

My support for Republicans had been waning after the 2020 election but it was 1/6 that pushed me out of what I had reluctantly observed was a "cult of personality."

Every R who has obstructed the restoration of the rule of law after #BidenWon, has ONGOING blood on their hands.

I didn't want to resume an identity as a full supporter of the Democratic party but I have had no choice.

Republicans must be stopped. (Of course, by using only lawful means.)

And they can be stopped.

I do support the 2nd Amendment, but I interpret it differently to the way Republicans do.

It is perfectly constitutional for certain existing limits on gun rights to be expanded.

But it will take proper Democrat majorities, all over.

Addressing school shootings and mass shootings will need actions on multiple fronts, not just on the gun front.

School shootings are a separate category from other mass shootings, for multiple reasons.

We already have adequate research data to inform decision making.

The quickest and easiest way for you to see what I think Americans need to do, is to watch this short video by an activist I greatly respect, @BeauTFC.

I agree with Republicans that communism is bad. I also know that fascism is bad, and that 1920s and 1930s fascists in Europe focused a heck of lot on the fact that communism is bad.

Communism is vestigial in the world. Fascism is on the rise.

IMO, Republican leadership shifted to an authoritarian endgame during the presidency of Richard Nixon. I didn't realize this until 2021.

I didn't understand that their goal was to influence their voters to believe anti-communism should be at the heart of their ideology.

Democrats do want to "take" some of "your" guns.

But not because that will enable them to take over your country by force with little to no resistance.

You realize that belief is a really dumb conspiracy "theory," right?

Democrats and most other Americans want reasonable limits on legal access to guns so that, for example, mentally unstable 18 year olds can't easily buy them on their birthday then victimize little kids, or anyone else.

It's very hard to run a system addressing mental health.

But we should still try.

I think the easiest and most reasonable first step is to raise the age to 21. I've heard all the assertions against that and I don't care.

Better background checking has 91% support.

91%.

This ties in with the big picture concerning the US system of government.

Multiple policies have majority support, eg keeping Roe v Wade has reportedly about 70% support.

Republicans have been able to exploit the system's design, to ensure minority rule.

If that's not authoritarianism / autocracy / anti-democracy / fascism then I don't know what the hell is.

Republicans say that 2A protects all the other amendments.

Nope. 14A does.

The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments are the "reconstruction amendments" made between 1865 and 1870 (according to what I have recently read.)

Republicans' little secret Roe draft spells out in very clear terms their desire to gut the precious rights affirmed in these amendments.

It's no coincidence that these particular amendments are the target of the party representing large proportions of Southern state voters.

The same folk who are just fine about the Confederate flag being proudly displayed in prominent places, incl. the hands of 1/6 militants.

Inside Cult 45, the "party switch" is seen as a myth. It is rare for any R voter to take the time to learn some of the actual history of the USA, which does not support their talking points concerning this subject.

They genuinely believe rn that they are the party of Lincoln.

From what I can tell, the voters of Uvalde largely elected Republicans for their local, state, & federal offices. The town is not deep red, nor is it 51-49 red. This matters because: the Mayor & Sheriff are (AFAIK) Republicans.

The bosses of the #19cowards who aided the killer.

After equally cowardly inaction by Sheriff's deputies in Parkland, FL on 2/14/18, Republicans on Twitter were apoplectic with rage.

But this time? Crickets.

During the recent manhunt for Alabamian former LEO Vicky White, I pointed out that PDs of 50 staff are utterly incapable of providing a modern and effective service to their communities. They cannot possibly keep up with in-service training, etc.

It's a very hard problem to solve, the tiny scale of local PDs that do things like aiding school shooters and have the temerity to reluctantly say afterwards that "we could have been shot."

Jesus H. Christ on a stick.

John Cornyn tries to play the role of Ted Cruz's good cop (vs bad cop), stooge, or foil.

They're both utterly and criminally inept and ideologically extremist. Like all the other Republican Senators. The only two Republicans with a shred of conscience are in the House.

I have to keep my mood up, in the face of these examples of the dire state of American democracy right now. I work to see the glass as half full, because I can't afford to dwell on the negatives for too long.

Please #VoteBlueToSaveAmerica this year, & find 5 new D voters. TY.

An interesting development, a large crowd of Americans booing their governor as he visits the site of the Uvalde massacre, which he did nothing to prevent, and everything to deflect and blame on others.

#NeverForget

This reminds me of when the lawfully and overwhelmingly elected President Biden said of Covidiot extremists like Ron DeSantis: "AT LEAST get out of the way" of those who are TRYING to help save lives.

The Coward Cops of Uvalde are NOT an isolated case.

All US citizens (and visitors present in the country) have the right to basic public health and safety steps being taken on their behalf by elected officials.

Republicans have shown time and again they don't care how many of you die, as long as they & their family are OK.

Take a look at the way local law enforcement is carried out where you live. Is there an elected sheriff? Does the mayor appoint the police chief? How many LEOs do they employ? Is proper, up to date, modern skills training carried out? Are bad cops removed from post immediately?

Republican extremists LOVE to denigrate the FBI, ATF, and so on. On and since 1/6 they blamed the local LEOs that were beaten almost to death by "maga" goons.

Frankly, federal and so-called "liberal" LEOs are more likely to risk their life for your kids, and you.

These peaceful, vocal protesters in Uvalde today are not a manufactured, bussed-in crowd. Republicans will claim they are.

Around 40% of Uvalde county voted blue in 2020. (See below)

In 2020, the R candidate won CD-23, and Uvalde Co. by around 20 points.

It's not a deep red county. Around 4,000 people voted blue, around 6,000 voted red.

I believe Rs will have lost ground since then.

From a starting point of 4,000 D voters in 2020 in the county, and given the proximity of thousands of anti-GOP people close by, it would have been easy-peasy to attract a large crowd there in this week since the shooting.

And notice how peaceful they are. No violence at all.

Most of my readers are pro-democracy and anti Republican. Often they reply with cynicism and extreme frustration.

Massive, sustained, and (obviously) peaceful protest has secured progress in the USA before, & it can do so again.

Use the rights you still have! Get involved.

Protest early and often, and back it up with action across every possible lawful avenue, to restore American democracy in letter & in spirit.

Republicans are self-exposing their extremism, recklessness, & hypocrisy every day. Several times a day.

Our task is relatively easy.