U.S. House Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson just lost a big bet. A few weeks ago he said the following:
“I encourage you to watch the Hate America rallies that’ll happen Saturday. I bet you’ll see pro-Hamas supporters. I bet you’ll see Antifa types. I bet you’ll see the Marxists on full display – the people who don’t want to stand and defend the foundation and truths of this Republic. And we do! And that’s what we’re doing every single day and I – we’ll – continue to come in every morning until the American people (inaudible verbal stumble here) get the plain and simple facts. Because the facts are going to win the day here. The American people are not stupid! They see what’s going on.”
Yes, Mr. Speaker, we Americans (not stupid) do see what’s going on, and what’s going on are assaults that every loving American should intensely abhor. We see you lied when you said you are all there at the Capitol working so hard. In fact, almost all of you were absent during the weeks of the government shutdown.
Johnson, we also see you lied about the “No King” protests being a bunch of America haters. Your Trump & Co. demonization of good people is backfiring. Our facts “won the day,” not Johnson’s propaganda “facts.”
WE do “stand and defend the foundations and truths of this Republic.” Mr. Speaker, maybe you, your boss-man and his other legislative ring-kissers should do the same. It’s about time you should all stand and defend the U.S. Constitution, its Bill of Rights, the Rule of Law and the checks-and-balances among the three branches of our government.
The “No Kings” protests took place Oct. 18 in 2,500 cities throughout America and attracted 7 million participants, including 7,000 right here in St. Cloud. It was the largest collective protest in American history. They were the same kind of peaceful gatherings held during the June 14 “No Kings” events, attended by 5 million people nationwide and several thousand in St. Cloud. Some participants included disillusioned Republicans who finally “woke” up from the snoring slumber caused by Trump’s empty promises and hate-filled attacks on Americans.
The “No Kings” people are not “America haters.” Quite the contrary. They – we – love America. What we do abhor are autocratic police-state tactics to erode/destroy Representative Democracy, the Rule of Law and Government Agencies. Those tactics comprise a war-time “shock and awe” rampage during this second reign of the Royal Trump and his enabling flunkies.
Speaker Johnson lost his bets big-time. There were no reports of violence, rioting, property damage or physical assaults at any of the protests. They were, in fact, just the opposite of the vicious insurrection attempt at the nation’s Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. How appropriate that one of the Capitol police officers brutalized during that riot, Michael Fanone, proudly attended a “No Kings” event.
Suffering is rapidly approaching for many Americans because of Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” (Huge, Ugly Assault.) There will be hunger, rising health-insurance premiums, hospitals closing, firings and lay-offs, more presidential pardons for convicted felons, more vengeful indictments of public servants, more brutal round-ups of people, more crooked gerrymandering, more dismissive scoffing at court injunctions. Lawsuits, appeals, delay schemes will proliferate.
The latest self-aggrandizing outrage is Trump’s royal decree ordering demolition of the East Wing of the White House. It was like seeing a visual equivalent of his demolition of Democracy. A glitzy ballroom will be built – a venue probably for oligarch billionaires to gather for $50,000-a-plate dinners.
Trump is transforming the White House into a gaudy-gilt palace fit for a king. He’ll feel right at home. The giddy king will likely proclaim it to be “the Biggest, the Best, the Most Beautiful Palace of all time!” and then he’ll add, as he often does when he’s bragging and lying, “Can you believe it?”
The answer is “No!”
