Randy sent this to me, thank you Randy. This line below sums up the maga movement perfectly. It’s a political movement of election denying extremists, many of whom have threatened or committed violence. Feels like there’s a word to describe this. There is it is called terrorist. It is time we be honest about what the maga republican base is, they are a gang of thugs demanding their way through the use of threats and violence. They do not believe in common decency, civil debate, or any compromise. They do not believe in anyone having rights but them. They do not believe in democracy. They are a minority that is demanding through violence that the majority of people act and live as the maga thugs want you to, with no exceptions. They are the US Taliban. They demand that we ignore advancements in science, biology, social understandings and return to an ignorant past where they felt comfortable, but which was mostly myth and misinformation anyway. Hugs
It’s a political movement of election denying extremists, many of whom have threatened or committed violence. Feels like there’s a word to describe this.
Wajahat Ali
OPINION
Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty
If we are to be blunt and honest, this “hate-fueled violence” that is threatening all of our communities is primarily coming from a single source: an incestuous network of MAGA actors, promoted by the GOP and right-wing media, who have increasingly threatened law enforcement, Democrats, educators, poll watchers, doctors, Republicans who don’t support Trump, and anyone and every institution that stands in the way of their white Christian nationalist utopia.
Earlier this week, Igor Lanis, a 53-year-old Trump fanatic in Michigan, murdered his wife and badly injured one of his children. He, in turn, was killed after firing his shotgun at the police. His daughter, Rebecca Lanis, told The Daily Beast that her father’s embrace of the QAnon conspiracy theory was a “very big contributor to what happened.” She said he was once an “extremely loving” father with no history of violence but all of that changed after Trump’s loss in 2020. According to Lanis, her father latched on to the Big Lie and started going down “crazy rabbit holes” which eventually radicalized him and culminated in bloodshed.
It’s worth remembering that Ashli Babbitt, who was shot and killed by the Capitol police on Jan. 6 after attempting to illegally enter the Capitol building, was also radicalized in part by QAnon conspiracies. She is now praised by Rep. Paul Gosar, an ally of white nationalists, and seen in some right-wing quarters as a martyr.
Pacific Press/Getty
In 2019, the FBI declared QAnon a domestic terror threat in an internal memo. The hateful conspiracy theory believes a deep state of liberals is secretly conducting an international pedophile sex trafficking ring. The FBI warned that QAnon had the potential to radicalize individuals or groups leading up to the 2020 election.
The year is now 2022 and the former president has spent the past weeks promoting QAnon content on his Truth Social platform, ever since the FBI searched his Mar-a-Lago residence and found hundreds of top secret, highly classified documents. Media Matters Senior Researcher Alex Kaplan reports that Trump has boosted at least 50 QAnon-supporting accounts to his 4 million followers. Since the summer, more than a dozen QAnon-supporting Republican candidates have won their primaries. It is very likely that some of these potential terror threats will be roaming the halls of Congress in 2023.
Influential right-wing peddlers of hate—such as the woman behind the Libs of TikTok account and Matt Walsh of The Daily Wire—have picked up the “groomer” panic and used it to attack medical professionals and hospitals.
Rachael Rollins, middle, United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, Joseph R. Bonavolonta, left, FBI special agent in charge of the Boston Field Office, and Michael Cox, right, Boston Police Commissioner announcing Catherine Leavy, 37, of Westfield was arrested for willfully making a false bomb threat towards Childrens Hospital at the US District Attorney’s office in the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse.
Boston Globe/Getty
A quick recap: a domestic terror threat is being amplified by the former President of the United States, who is the figurehead of the GOP—a party that is currently supporting and championing extremist candidates, and working with pundits who promote hateful conspiracies that have radicalized individuals to harass, intimidate, and threaten violence.
One would think these revelations in light of the recent violence would be leading the news cycle. However, since Trump is a white man, and the criminal suspects aren’t Muslim, there is no War on Terror. Instead, some media outlets are bending over backward to court Republican viewers and criticize President Biden for speaking in front of U.S. marines, like Republican and Democratic presidents have done many times before him.
The lesson is that it’s good to be a white MAGA extremist. Just look at Arizona state Rep. Mark Finchem.
If you’re MAGA, you can hold office, be an active member of a far-right hate group that took part in the Jan. 6 coup attempt, and inch ever closer to becoming the secretary of state of Arizona. Finchem, who actively promotes the Big Lie, recently accused former Vice President Mike Pence of orchestrating a coup against Trump. He is also a proud member of the Oath Keepers, whose leaders are headed to trial this month on seditious conspiracy charges for allegedly helping Trump in his failed coup.
“The year is now 2022 and the former president has spent the past weeks promoting QAnon content on his Truth Social platform, ever since the FBI searched his Mar-a-Lago residence and found hundreds of top secret, highly classified documents. ”
A member of the right-wing group Oath Keepers stands guard during a rally in front of the U.S. Supreme Court Building on January 5, 2021 in Washington, DC.
We can’t dismiss them as outliers. They are not the exception. They are the GOP’s base.
More than half of Republican Senate candidates have “rejected, cast doubt upon or tried to overturn the 2020 election results.” This includes retired U.S. Army Brig. Gen Don Bolduc, who just won the GOP primary for the New Hampshire senate seat—despite a super PAC aligned with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell spending $4 million to support Bolduc’s less crazy GOP primary opponent, Chuck Morse. Buldoc, for his part, channeled Leonidas and celebrated his victory with cosplay—appearing with a small shield with arrows to symbolize his triumphant victory over the GOP establishment. (Bizarrely, two days after winning his primary, Buldoc flip-flopped, admitting Biden is the “legitimate” president.)
The sad reality is that Bolduc, Finchem, Gosar—along with Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebart, Matt Gaetz, and Pennsylvania GOP candidate Doug Mastriano are the present and future of the Republican Party.
Republican Senate candidate Don Bolduc greets supporters at a town hall event on September 10, 2022 in Laconia, New Hampshire.
Scott Eisen/Getty
If we don’t speak out, then we will be complicit in normalizing their antisemitic conspiracy theories, hate, threats, and “wanton” recklessness simply because they are conservative, white, and Republican. If MAGA’s radicalized violence is not terrorism, then the word should be retired for good, or we should finally admit we’re only comfortable using it when the suspects are Black and brown people.
Nonetheless, President Biden, elected officials, law enforcement, and leaders from various institutions now have an opportunity to build upon Biden’s bold statements and go step a further to save our fledgling democracy: Declare MAGA as an active terror threat to our nation and finally treat them as such— instead of coddling them under the pretense of civility, the delusion of bipartisanship, and the hope for good TV ratings.
I am an older gay guy in a long-term wonderful relationship. My spouse and I are in our 33rd year together. I love politics and news. I enjoy civil discussions and have no taboo subjects. My pronouns are he / him / his and my email is scottiesplaytime@gmail.com
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7 thoughts on “It’s Time to Call MAGA a National Security Threat”
I realize this could all turn into a “war on words” but even so, the Dems need to stand up to these thugs –in PUBLIC– and let people see them for what they really are. Sure, there are news articles galore (which you share abundantly) railing against them, but as I’ve said before … there is a limited amount of people who pay attention to this stuff. IMO, more condemnation needs to come from the “good guys.”
Hello Nan. No argument from me. That was the argument against Biden who until recently couldn’t bring himself to say a negative word against republicans. Pelosi keeps saying we need a strong republican party, but you never hear a republican leader say we need a strong democratic party. That is why Fetterman is doing so well in Pennsylvania. He stands up and looks strong. People want strong in their politicians. Not thugs, well the right wing maga crowd does that is why the love trump, the left likes strong decent people. People who they know will return the insult, who is sharp witted enough to return the verbal jab. And I think the democrats are learning that. Newsom is saying he will run for president if Biden doesn’t, and I like that idea. He is not super old, he is smart and combative. He also is more on the progressive side. Hugs
Re: Newsom — he would definitely make a worthy opponent if tRump were to run again. But on his own, I’m concerned that he might be just a bit “over-the-top.” Democrats, as a rule, tend to be more staid and reserved (which I admit has definitely worked against them these past few years!) so his flamboyancy could work against him among the Democratic voting crowd.
I TRULY hope Biden doesn’t run again!!! For a TON of reasons! However, if he continues on his recent path of winning some worthy battles for the Dems, I would not be surprised if his name ends up on the ballot. sigh
Hello Nan. I don’t think Biden will run again. He has had plenty of chances to firmly say he will and he has hedged. But as I have said before it ruins him before the midterms to say he wont. He needs to keep that doubt out there for another year if possible.
As to Newsom being over the top can you tell me how. Because one of the most heard complaints about him is he is another corporate middle of the road democrat. There are plenty of people in California politics that think Newsom is too much a moderate. I even thought that my self but what is attracting me to him is his willingness to attack the republican governors Abbott and DeathSantis by name. He did not say something vague or parsed. He openly called out the red governors and delivered the receipts on it. As we were talking about we need democrats with spines that will stand up and talk back to the republicans I like what Newsom is doing, but he really is no Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren. Hugs
Just because he stands up to the idiocy of certain Repukes does not necessarily mean he can run the country. I LIKE that he’s calling out the governors, but again, I would have to know more about his goals as POTUS before I could back him.
Having said that, I would like to see him in a debate with some of the loud-mouth Repukes.
Hello Nan. California is huge as you know being from that area of the country and has a GDP / economy that if they were a country would be the 6th largest in the world. I think that is a good sign he can handle the rest of the country. But time will tell. From what I have read today the cold war between trump and DeathSantis is heating up into a war of words by anonymous sources. It will soon break open after the midterms. Right now DeathSantis doesn’t dare piss off the maga base that he needs to win the governorship again, but trump is not known for his patience. Hugs
Reblogged this on NEW BLOG HERE >> https:/BOOKS.ESLARN-NET.DE.
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Democrats can be such wimps at times …
I realize this could all turn into a “war on words” but even so, the Dems need to stand up to these thugs –in PUBLIC– and let people see them for what they really are. Sure, there are news articles galore (which you share abundantly) railing against them, but as I’ve said before … there is a limited amount of people who pay attention to this stuff. IMO, more condemnation needs to come from the “good guys.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hello Nan. No argument from me. That was the argument against Biden who until recently couldn’t bring himself to say a negative word against republicans. Pelosi keeps saying we need a strong republican party, but you never hear a republican leader say we need a strong democratic party. That is why Fetterman is doing so well in Pennsylvania. He stands up and looks strong. People want strong in their politicians. Not thugs, well the right wing maga crowd does that is why the love trump, the left likes strong decent people. People who they know will return the insult, who is sharp witted enough to return the verbal jab. And I think the democrats are learning that. Newsom is saying he will run for president if Biden doesn’t, and I like that idea. He is not super old, he is smart and combative. He also is more on the progressive side. Hugs
LikeLiked by 1 person
Re: Newsom — he would definitely make a worthy opponent if tRump were to run again. But on his own, I’m concerned that he might be just a bit “over-the-top.” Democrats, as a rule, tend to be more staid and reserved (which I admit has definitely worked against them these past few years!) so his flamboyancy could work against him among the Democratic voting crowd.
I TRULY hope Biden doesn’t run again!!! For a TON of reasons! However, if he continues on his recent path of winning some worthy battles for the Dems, I would not be surprised if his name ends up on the ballot. sigh
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hello Nan. I don’t think Biden will run again. He has had plenty of chances to firmly say he will and he has hedged. But as I have said before it ruins him before the midterms to say he wont. He needs to keep that doubt out there for another year if possible.
As to Newsom being over the top can you tell me how. Because one of the most heard complaints about him is he is another corporate middle of the road democrat. There are plenty of people in California politics that think Newsom is too much a moderate. I even thought that my self but what is attracting me to him is his willingness to attack the republican governors Abbott and DeathSantis by name. He did not say something vague or parsed. He openly called out the red governors and delivered the receipts on it. As we were talking about we need democrats with spines that will stand up and talk back to the republicans I like what Newsom is doing, but he really is no Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren. Hugs
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Just because he stands up to the idiocy of certain Repukes does not necessarily mean he can run the country. I LIKE that he’s calling out the governors, but again, I would have to know more about his goals as POTUS before I could back him.
Having said that, I would like to see him in a debate with some of the loud-mouth Repukes.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hello Nan. California is huge as you know being from that area of the country and has a GDP / economy that if they were a country would be the 6th largest in the world. I think that is a good sign he can handle the rest of the country. But time will tell. From what I have read today the cold war between trump and DeathSantis is heating up into a war of words by anonymous sources. It will soon break open after the midterms. Right now DeathSantis doesn’t dare piss off the maga base that he needs to win the governorship again, but trump is not known for his patience. Hugs
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