Tag: Second American Revolution

Mike Pence Is A Coward

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

As things stand, MAGA hates Mike Pence and everyone else thinks he’s a joke whose only honorable act was to fulfill his perfunctory role as the person required to certify the Electoral Vote on January 6th.

But there is one option for Pence that he is simply too big a fucking coward to take — turn on Trump in full throated manner and confess everything he knows about Trump and Trumplandia. If Pence did that, it would be one of those The Day The Earth Stood Still kind of political events that happen every once or so a generation.

Yet, like I said, Pence is a coward.

He somehow thinks that he can square the circle and use his evangelical base to slingshot himself into a direct competitor to Trump in a We-Need-MAGA-Without-Trump type gambit. But, sadly, this is not going to happen.

Pence’s only option is a hail Mary pass where he becomes a #NeverTrumper and joins Liz Cheney in the ranks of people who are absolutely opposed to Trump and MAGA. He won’t even have to change any of his other opinions. The center-Left is so bereft of good leaders at the moment, that he would instantly be hailed as the potential leader of some sort of Unity Ticket — Pence / AOC 2024, anyone?

I know that would never happen, but…we’re in very desperate times at the moment when it comes to the state of our democracy. Something’s gotta give.

Why All The Talk Of ‘Civil War’ On The Part of MAGA Is Bullshit — It’s Blues You Have To Worry About

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I call bullshit on all this talk of “civil war” on the part of the MAGA New Right. They’re trolling Blues. The MAGA New Right is ascendant and, in the end, if Blues “bend a knee” to Reds, lulz, what were we talking about?

Should Blues decide NOT to bend a knee to MAGA, then we’re going to have a civil war. And it won’t be because Billy Bob drinking his Miller Light picked up a gun and starting killing all the latte swilling liberals he could find. It will be because, on a state level, Blues say fuck you and begin the process of seceding from the Union.

Then either the U.S. Military gets involved, or it implodes or God only knows what happens. But all this talk and “ReTRUTHing” on the part of the MAGA New Right about a civil war is extremely dumb trolling. They, at the moment at least, have absolutely no reason to worry about a civil war.

They are getting everything they want politically and they’re well on their way to establishing permanent white minority rule without a shot being fired.

Tech Bros & The Elites Are Oblivious About How Dire The Return Of MAGA Will Be For The American Economy

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

So, I’ve found a new podcast from The Ringer podcast network called Plain English. It’s really good. I’m pleased I’ve discovered it. But I find myself growing aggravated with this specific episode I’m listening to between the host Derek Thompson and Jason Calacanis when it comes to the current state of the economy.

The two of them are obviously Elites. They very casually throw around concepts that are completely alien to a broke, freaky loser like me. The thing that is making me angry is they are so focused on what’s happening Right Now, that they are totally missing the looming clouds that is the return of MAGA in the coming months.

Once MAGA inevitably returns, we’re going to face America as the Corporate State. MAGA is very much like old school fascism. And once MAGA sizes control they’re going to mettle in the economy far, far more than the Democrats ever would. They will have an industrial policy in all but name. They will pick winners and losers and they will come after “woke corporations.”

Of course, the other option is a civil war, which would totally destroy our economy. I doubt that will happen, but…it is something to think about.

Ron DeSantis Is Probably Going To Be Our First American Autocrat

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

As I’ve written before, I don’t hate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, but I do know that if he can just get past dingus Donald Trump he can be America’s first autocrat. I say this because DeSantis is younger and organized and, from what I can tell, an actual adept governor. But he’s also an aspiring autocrat.

If this was 25 years ago, DeSantis would probably just be a basic Republican. He would probably be somewhere on the Bush I or Bush II spectrum of politics. But that’s not what’s going on. DeSantis has one obstacle to becoming very powerful and extremely wealthy: dingus Trump.

We haven’t reached the battle royale that could happen very soon between Trump and DeSantis. It could be, of course, that DeSantis may be co-opted by Trump rather than destroyed. This might come because, in the end, that Trump is a lot weaker than we all — including Trump — current believe.

And, this doesn’t even begin to address the other issue, which is Mike Pence might dive into the little kerfuffle of wannabes who somehow think there can be MAGA without Trump. (Which I think is bullshit.)

The key thing is — Trump is too lazy and stupid to be a true autocrat. But whomever he picks as his MAGA success (probably his veep) will, in fact, be our first Putin-level autocrat. The person who will establish white minority rule in the United States. Given how nuts Trump is, it’s possible that our first autocrat might be Gen. Mike Flynn. It could really be that bonkers.

If that happened, then we’re probably going to have a civil war.

But if DeSantis somehow cockblocks Trump and is the nominee in 2024, then I believe that through hook or through crook DeSantis will be POTUS in 2025. Then he will, by definition, be America’s first autocrat. He will probably push through a Constitutional Convention and he will, through grift, become fabulously wealthy.

Remember — there are macro trends at work. Around 2024 -2025 we’re either going to become an autocracy or have a civil war. That’s it. No other options. We might punt things down the road a little bit, but we’re totally, completely fucked. Get ready.

The Evil Leftists’ Plot To Help Will Smith’s Career By Destroying It

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

One of my Traditionalist relatives “joked” that The Slap was all a big Leftist plot to help Will Smith’s career. This, on its face, is completely totally fucking bonkers. And, what’s more, it makes me very angry because it’s such thinking that gave us the whole fucking Qanon situation.

And the fact that anyone would think that Leftists have the wherewithal to conceive of a plot complex enough to destroy Will Smith’s career short term and potentially help it long term(?) gives us some insight into what the Right thinks of the power of the Left.

It’s all very fucking bonkers. The center-Left is completely powerless while the Right is ascendant. The whole thing is very frustrating. At its core, the Right will not stop until they establishment permanent white minority rule. Then, in their paranoia about the all-powerful Left, they’re going to hunt down Leftists and murder them in cold blood — or put them in a camp, or whatever.

If that sounds hysterical — it does — then what about how another thing that we thought sounded hysterical, the end of Roe, is now here? So, we need to admit that our future is pretty dark.

The Circle Jerk That Is Trying To Hold Trump Accountable

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I often talk to my Traditionalist relatives about the clusterfuck that is trying to hold Trumplandia accountable. We endup talking in circles. I talk about holding Trump and his ilk accountable and they say if he’s done something illegal, then charge him. Then I say that we don’t have any political will to do that and we won’t have that political will until Traditionalists stop supporting MAGA (which they will never do.)

So, we’re stuck.

The only way to get any accountability for Trump is for the very people who are protecting him — Traditionalists — to stop supporting him to the point that when Trump freaks out and calls for blood he spews whenever he’s indicted he’s ignored.

In other words, someone, somewhere needs to have the balls necessary to stand up to Trump and I just don’t see that happening. We live in a post-accountability era of lawlessness because we don’t have the political will to go after Trump.

There is no easy answer. All I got is maybe if we had a civil war then after Blue States win that maybe we’ll have some Second Reconstruction Trump accountability at last.

‘Heading North’

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I continue to think about what the fuck I’m going to do if we actually do have a civil war. At the moment, I’m heading north. I’m a Blue speck in a sea of Red and if things have gotten so bad that I feel it necessary to head north, then there will probably be an infrastructure in place to help me do just that.

I thought you were dead.

It is both exciting and abjectly terrifying that there could come a point in the near future when everything will be thrown up in the air. Heroes will be made. Cowards will be named. Both will live in our memories forever. In other words, if things get as bad as my absolute worst scenario, even a freaky weirdo loser like me might find a moment to shine.

Which, of course is very tragic — why would things have to get that bad in the first place?

But my state, Virginia, is one of several states that will likely implode if there is a civil war. The state is just too internally divided for that not to happen. But that’s really the worst case scenario. What’s more likely to happen is we’ll slip peacefully into autocracy and that will be that.

I’ll cross the autocrat and find myself in a camp.

Apocalypse America

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Jesus Christ. The Republicans are moving the goal posts AGAIN. Now that they’ve caught the car of overturning abortion in Red States, the goal they are going to fundraise with now is the total, complete ban on abortion (and birth control) across all 50 states.

And, given how ascendant they are politically, one has every reason to believe they’re going to catch this particular car. The question is, of course, when does catching the car actually hurt the Republican dog? Ever? Will there ever be a moment when Blue States get woke and realize that Republicans want permanent white minority rule?

Let me be clear yet again — I hate violence and certainly don’t want a Second American Civil War. But I will note the fucking fascist Republicans are doing everything in their power to put a knee on the throat of Blue States. As I keep saying, Blue States will face the existential choice in 2024 – 2025 of bending a knee to a MAGA New Right themed autocracy, or attempting a “National Divorce” by seceding from the Union.

And, as I also keep saying, any “National Divorce” will be messy, messy, messy and bloody, bloody, bloody. And that doesn’t even begin to address the fact that WW3 will start should there be a Second American Civil War.

But Republicans will have only themselves to blame if Blue States decide to leave the Union (or try to.) The differences between Red and Blue have grown so absolutely extreme that something’s gotta give. Either we implode into autocracy or we explode into a civil war.

While, yes, there is something of a spectrum in all of this with civil war on one end and autocracy on the other, in reality when the time comes, we’re going to have to pick one or the other.

For the time being, my general belief that we’re just going to become an autocracy still stands. But I would keep an eye on the reaction when Roe is officially overturned. The key element is Blue States just don’t have the leadership they need to successfully leave the Union.

And I just don’t see any reason for Red States to leave the Union since they’re kind of the bullies of this particular moment in our nation’s history.

2024: The Year The Olds Step Aside?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Even I, as an Old, am growing frustrated with how other Olds are clinging on to political and cultural dominance. It seems as though we’re way, way, way overdue for a major “vibe shift,” the likes of which we’ve not seen since about 1960.

AOC 2024

And here’s how it might happen — Joe Biden, citing his advanced age — bows out of the 2024 election. And who suddenly becomes the front runner? The newly married (and potentially great with child) AOC. She would be compared to JFK right off the bat. She would BARELY be 35 — her birthday is late in the year, as I understand. (It’s actually in October and she’s 32 now, so, yes, she could pull it off.)

And if she was pregnant while she was running for POTUS that would make the Washington press spooge their pants. There would be talk of how she’s putting her baby’s life at risk from all the campaign stress, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Anyway, the point is — the vibe shift between now and around 2025 (if we don’t endup blowing ourselves up in a civil war) could be rather dramatic and AOC running for POTUS when she’s barely, barely 35 would be the tip of the spear for such a thing to happen.

But the Western World is ripe for a Changing of The Guard. I mean, there are sooooo many Olds who just need to retire. Around 2025, Lorne Michaels of SNL fame is also said to be thinking of retiring, so there you go.

It will be interesting to see how the vibe shift shakes out. It could be we wake up one morning and realize rock and punk are back, superhero movies have been replaced with the gritty movies of the 1970s and….the Olds have all gone to The Villages to become MAGA New Right Republicans?

Does ‘Woke Cancel Culture’ Even Exist?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

One thing I struggle a lot with is how real “woke cancel culture” even is beyond the fevered political wet dreams of MAGA New Right Republicans. It seems to me that a number of different things are happening and they’re being all referenced as the same thing — “woke cancel culture.”

I do think that on social issues younger people — the ones who are the most Very Online — do have different expectations than the Olds. As such, when Olds do something that crosses them, they’re the first to flip out on Twitter about it.

Another thing that is going on is Republicans are using any sign of the above to stoke their base’ absolute visceral paranoia about being “canceled” just for being conservative. I know from my Traditionalist relatives that the abstract fear of being “canceled” is at the very forefront of their minds. Their fear is, in general, that they will say something Not Leftist in public, it will be recorded by someone with a smartphone, it will go viral and their Lives With Be Ruined.

But there’s more going on even all that which makes things even murkier. The #MeToo movement was a revolution in gender politics that, like all revolutions, kind of went to extremes at points. (All the name brand people who were brought down by the #MeToo movement definitely deserved it, but the Aziz Ansari event is something I struggle with because of its complexity.)

And, lastly, a number of the people associated with being “victims” of “woke cancel culture” either deserved it or are doing quite well, thank you. I mean, Dave Chappelle continues, to this day, to tell “transphobic” jokes and he’s the biggest comic in the world.

Tell me, Fox News, how he’s been canceled.

I don’t know. I just don’t know. It’s all very complicated and needs a nuanced response, something that is impossible to get in an age that lacks subtly.