Republicans Turn on Each Other As COVID Runs Rampant

The David Pakman Show - August 9, 2021

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DHS Warns of Violence By Angry Trump Conspiracists

For months, right-wing conspiracy theorists like pillow salesman Mike Lindell have been arguing that August or September will be the time when Donald Trump is reinstated as President of the United States. There is, of course, no possibility of this happening since the 2020 election has long been over and there isn’t even a process in place for reinstating a former president or defeated candidate. Soon enough, these Trump-supporting conspiracy theorist folks will learn that Trump is not coming back, at least not for now, and that’s making government officials and radicalization experts concerned about the possibility of violence occurring in the near future. Late last week, the Department of Homeland Security issued a statement to state and local offices around the country warning of the possibility of violence from these Trump supporters. It read, “DHS is providing awareness of reports regarding an increasing but modest level of activity online calling for violence in response to unsubstantiated claims of fraud related to the 2020 election and the alleged reinstatement of former President Trump.”

The statement went on to include that there is no specific threat or plan underway for an attack. However, DHS is right to be issuing this warning especially in light of the events of January 6th. Some of Trump’s supporters were worked up into a frenzy over bogus election lies to the point where they took action into their own hands and infiltrated the halls of Congress fighting with police officers and putting lives in danger along the way. Just like these Trump supporters were unable to get what they wanted on January 6th, officials are worried that once again these people could act out when they don’t get their way when the ex-POTUS is not reinstated. Many of the insurrectionists were let off with a slap on the wrist, and according to some judges, have learned nothing. Because of this, DHS has every reason to be concerned and it’s folks like Mike Lindell and everyone else pushing the reinstatement narrative who will be responsible for it.

GOP Senator Turns on Ron DeSantis For Banning Mask Mandates

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana expressed his disapproval of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s ban on mask mandates as both states go through a surge in COVID-19 infections. DeSantis signed an executive order last month preventing any local government or school board from requiring face masks and later threatened to withhold funding from any entity that violated the policy. Now COVID cases are out of control in the Sunshine State, creating pressure on DeSantis to revoke the executive order and threats attached to it. Senator Cassidy is one of the few voices on the right who are speaking out against DeSantis’s decision and explained his point of view on CNN’s State of the Union with Dana Bash.

Cassidy said, “I’m a conservative. I think you govern best when you govern closest to the people being governed. And if a local community is having a — their ICU is full and the people at the local schools see that they’ve got to make sure that they stay open because otherwise children miss out on another year of school and they put in policy, then the local officials should be listened to.” This criticism is one that should actually appeal to conservatives. Right-wingers tend to prioritize local governance over state and federal mandates and what DeSantis is doing in Florida goes against that principle. DeSantis only signed this order into law in the first place to virtue signal to his Republican fanbase. But if it means that hospitals are going to be overrun and schools have to shut down again, it’s going to backfire tremendously on DeSantis and the entire state.

From over the weekend:

Are Trump Supporters Gullible Fools, Or Something Much Worse?

Chauncey DeVega wrote a fascinating piece for Salon last week that argued that most Trump supporters are not gullible victims, but rather are knowing participants in the Trump grift. The fundraising efforts for the Trump 2020 campaign and subsequent “Stop the Steal” effort left the former president with at least $100 million. Some of that money came from people who couldn’t afford to spend it and some of it was scammed from people who didn’t realize their donations came with a pre-checked agreement to set up recurring payments. This would lead many to believe that these Trumpists are being conned. The truth is, as DeVega points out, that many of these people are fine with being swindled in such a way. Many of these folks love Trump so much that they’d be willing to find one way or another to donate to Donald Trump. It doesn’t make any sense at all that these people are so eager to give their hard-earned dollars to a supposed billionaire, yet they do it anyway. This is behavior common for those who belong to a cult and certainly many of those who are on the Trump train at this late stage are part of the cult of Trump.

--More on the show:

--Farron Cousins, host of Farron Balanced and Ring of Fire, fills in for David

--Trump supporters are headed back to the Capitol on September 18th as part of a "Justice for J6" rally

--Trumpist attorney Lin Wood suffers another defeat in the federal courts, this time on a case arguing the rules of the 2021 US Senate runoff elections in Georgia

--A Morning Consult poll finds that 56% of adults believe companies should require COVID-19 vaccinations for their employees and customers

--A former Newsmax host named Dick Farrel dies of complications due to COVID-19 after spending the last year calling coronavirus a "scamdemic" and then having a deathbed conversion about the virus and the vaccine

--Donald Trump is furious with some Senate Republicans for working to pass Joe Biden's infrastructure proposal

--The US Postal Service will pay $120 million to a contractor that Trumpist Postmaster General Louis DeJoy once led and whose family still holds a stake

--The Republican strategy for the next election cycles is to focus on culture war issues and to strawman progressive positions

--A Republican official from Arizona's Maricopa County says that he and his family have received death threats after saying the 2020 election was secure

--On the Bonus Show: Alabama miner strike continues, CNN host wants to name COVID variant after DeSantis, student loan moratorium extended, and much more...

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