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There used to be an old joke that there were more members of the FBI who were members of the American Communist party than there were actual believers in rule from Moscow. Something like that seems to have occurred with the much ballyhooed ‘Justice for J6’ rally in Washington DC.
Justice, schmustice.
Much as I had expected, almost no one rallied to the rally. A grand total of two people were arrested. Seldom has Washington seemed more peaceful. The notion that DC was about to be stormed may have given a lascivious pleasure to those liberals convinced that the enemy is not just at the gates but within them already. But that was never in the cards.
Having been caught napping on January 6, there was no way a repetition of those sanguinary events would recur. No less than eight police agencies were represented, not to mention 100 members of the National Guard. Perimeter fencing was established around the Capitol.
Anyway, bear spray is out in Biden’s Washington. Emollient words are in. The real question is why the media, which should have known better, went into such a hugger-mugger. Once again it wildly exaggerated the potential for violence. Instead of reporting coolly that the rally was likely to be a dud, it fed the hysteria.
The truth is that nothing would have been better for the fortunes of Joe Biden and the Democrats than a violent uprising on the mall. Nothing would have been better calculated to revive memories of the original attack on the Capitol when Trump’s hordes tried to stage a new storming of the Winter Palace.
But Donald Trump knew that. So did Republican lawmakers who avoided the rally, if it even merits that word. The Proud Boys took no pride in it. In reality, it was a few stone cold losers, to use one of Trump’s favorite terms, shuffling around downtown. Perhaps there will be some more action in the future. But for now it seems that the right has been cowed.
Given the loss that Trumpists just suffered in California, the steam may well be going out of the movement itself as it becomes clear that Trump is a millstone for the GOP.
