The Empire Squeaks Back
My Experience of the "No Kings" Protests: Sometimes Good Things Happen Too
Dear Reader,
Marx said that history does repeat, in sets of two, “the first as tragedy, then as farce.”1
And that seems to be the best description of the sad military parade last Saturday.
Tank Man’s Revenge
I wrote a piece about Tank Man last week that, in hindsight, seems a bit histrionic.
And I’m glad for that. Our worst fears—military takeover, No Kings protests being dispersed by force as promised—did not come to pass.
There were of course tragedies—the murders and other attacks in Minnesota that could not have coincidentally ‘just happened’ on the day of the protests; the car ramming in Culpepper, VA that mercifully did not kill; the death of a bystander when protest security marshals in Utah shot to neutralize an attacker armed with a long gun.
But despite it all, close to 2 percent of the U.S. population turned out, largely peacefully. Even in Minnesota, where the governor canceled official assemblies because of the security risk.
Meanwhile, the “Army’s” birthday parade was poorly attended and an overall bust. There are even suggestions that the soldiers marched out-of-step in an act of defiance.
Squeaky Tank, Squeaky Tank…
…does whatever a squeaky tank does.
So what the President thought he was getting was this:
And what he got was this:
I do feel bad for the Army. Military parades aren’t really the American style, but if it had actually been for the Army, I would have been open to it. (My proposal would have been to expand the festival on the mall with a tank petting zoo—Army, call me for your 275th, ok?)
The Empire Will Squeak Strike Back
In Arlington, a human chain five miles long formed from the Key Bridge into D.C. all the way to the opposite county line. After my shift in the chain, I drove several miles down the line, windows rolled down, blaring patriotic music. People were packed in like sardines.
We had no fear.
Hold on to that feeling. He will retaliate.
To distract from his humiliation, this President is toying with yet another war in the Middle East, this one started by Netanyahu, who knows that only war will keep him from being removed from office and sent to jail.
He has also sent a further 2000 National Guardsmen to L.A., despite the city being calm. And he is threatening to federalize the National Guard everywhere.
And as Sen. Alex Padilla pointed out: the DHS Secretary promised the federal troops would “liberate” the city from its elected officials—from democracy.
They may be ‘distractions’ but they are important issues to address.
Always point out though that weakness underlies all the decisions made.
Example: “I oppose the President’s unconstitutional assumption of Congress’s war powers, which are a sign of his weakness and unpopularity, as seen at the mass protests…”
Or, “I oppose the deployment of the National Guard to suppress First Amendment and states’ rights, which are a sign of the President’s political and personal weakness, demonstrated by the 12 million who protested him last week…”
Keep the opposition from falling out of the news by linking his reactions back to their cause.
Outro
Thematically appropriate music to play us out.
Opening line, 18th Brumaire of Louis Napoleon