
<p>In the world of politics, there are always nutcase conspiratorial theories. ; In the conservative movement, they come from those we call “tinfoil hat” folks. ; They are the ever-present part of the fringe. ; Very small in numbers and very void of influence. ; They could never garner serious attention – nor cause serious harm. ; The same is true of the left. ; In the past, they were mostly treated by those on the left much like we on the right treated our nutcases. ; ;</p>



<p>Then there are the nutcases on the right and left who are dangerous. ; They are either lone wolves or small groups who take up violence in support of some imagined cause that preoccupies their twisted minds. ; Historically, they have been treated as whacko individuals or groups that both sides condemn.</p>



<p>But things have changed.</p>



<p>The new left has decided to make the nutcases on the right the center stage – giving them much more credence and power than they deserve. ; The Democratic Party has gone all in on right-wing conspiracy theories as a real threat to the Republic – as have their media allies. ; They smear the entire Republic Party with exaggerated claims and accusations.</p>



<p>What tends to protect President Trump more than anything is the outrageousness of the never-ending accusations that go beyond the facts and into the realm of nutcase conspiracy theories. ; Democrats smear millions of Republican voters with their hyperbolic conspiracy theories.</p>



<p>To understand the extent of their strategic reliance on concocted conspiracy theories, we must remember how they kept the Russian Conspiracy Theory at the top of the news for several years – only to have it totally debunked by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. ; And they even now deny that he debunked it &#8212; although the final report proclaimed that no American conspired with Russia.</p>



<p>Neither humbled nor shamed, they used a protest-turned-riot on Capitol Hill to claim an Arron Burr-level treason on the part of Trump, the GOP leadership, and tens of millions of conservative voters.</p>



<p>In journalism, there is a phenomenon called “story creep.” ; It occurs when a story keeps getting increasingly embellished even though the facts of the situation do not change. ; That is why the Capitol Hill riot rose in the left-wing echo chamber to an insurrection – and onto an attempted coup … and onto an ongoing coup attempt … and on to a prospective civil war.</p>



<p>The left’s conspiracy theory would have us believe that the 246-year-old American Republic was – and is – teetering on the edge of collapse. ; Should Republicans regain power in Washington, democracy in America ends immediately. They actually say that.</p>



<p>Of course, the left’s nutty conspiracy theories are not mental derangement (at least not entirely). ; It is strategic. ; They are peddling it as propaganda in a calculated effort to cling to power after the November midterm elections.</p>



<p>If you examine their conspiratorial claims closely, you will see that they actually report things that never happen as their vision of the future.</p>



<p>You will recall that the left-wing media warned that the riot (their insurrection) was part of a nationwide attempt at a violent takeover of the American government. ; They warned of violence erupting in major communities throughout the nation. ; None of that happened.</p>



<p>On the anniversary of the January 6<sup>th</sup> riot, they warned of violent throngs descending on the Capitol to continue their insurrection. ; This time Speaker Pelosi built a fence around the Capitol Building and deployed the National Guard. ; (We still have not been told why she rejected such protection on the day of the riot.) ; About 100 or so protesters – with proper permits – arrived on the scene. ; They listened to a few speeches and went home peacefully. ; The predicted coincidental nationwide violent protests never happened.</p>



<p>Weeell … you would think that with their various conspiracy theories falling flatter than a fashion model’s chest, the conspiracy theorists on the left would cool it. ; But nooooo. ; They are now trying to sell an even more outrageous theory … a pending civil war. ; (It is hard for me to be kind to folks who profess belief in this garbage. ; Are they just that gullible? ; Are they really that stupid? ; Or are they just dishonest for political purposes?)</p>



<p>There have been several reports on left-wing media that various groups are planning to launch a civil war. ; There may be some nutcases out there who get off on romanticizing such an event – just as we have seen the nutcases on the left romanticizing their version of a revolution to overthrow the government.</p>



<p>What has been missing from the reports is any evidence of a civil war in the offing. ; No amassing of forces on the scale a civil war would require. ; In fact, most Americans have no appetite for political violence – much less a civil war. ; Even in these times of partisan political animosity, the people are not sufficiently distressed to take their pitchforks to the barricades. ;</p>



<p>Following the raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, the left-leaning newsies started to AGAIN raise the notion of widespread violence and the potential of civil war. ; The point to the one nutcase who tried to enter an FBI facility with a nail gun. ; (Maybe he did not know that “nailing” some FBI agents is a metaphor.)</p>



<p>That action resulted and grave warnings of potential assaults on FBI agents. ; The Agency sent out directives and warnings. ; The government and media response was overwhelming – even claiming that Trump was responsible for the attack. ; Pretty heavy stuff. ; (You might have noticed that the left-wing nutcase who planned to kill Justice Brett Kavanaugh did not get anything near the reaction from Democrats or the left-leaning media. ; No warnings about left-wing terrorism. ; It is a point worth noting,) ; ;</p>



<p>Perhaps the best example of this sort of baseless fearmongering conspiratorial reporting is (you will not be surprised) CNN’s supposed media analyst Brian Stelter.</p>



<p>(CNN is supposedly trying to move to a more moderate reporting position, but their plan will fail as long as they keep guys like Stelter on the payroll. ; But I digress.)</p>



<p>In portending real violence, Stelter claimed that after the raid on Trump’s home, there was a noticeable increase in violent chatter on social media. ; Stelter – and others – take terms such as “lock and load” and “target Democrats” as literal calls to shoot government officials. ; In one case, he read an online posting by Jim Barnes, who tweeted that “Republicans have a moral duty to fight back” as evidence of a call for violence. ; That was the entire tweet. ; Using that as an example of a call for violence is dishonest. ; It is not a bridge too far since no bridge can span Stelter’s report and reality. ; Those terms are all metaphors that are commonly used in political campaigns (𡨠also a military term) and Stelter knows it. ; ;</p>



<p>MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough went into one of his iconic rants about the criticism of the FBI after the raid on Trump’s home. ; He repeatedly said it COULD lead to violence. ; But like Stelter’s report, there was no hint of mass violence in the wake of the raid on Mar-a-Lago. ; In fact, the only serious incident of political violence in the current news was the arrest of a terrorist intending to assassinate a conservative political figure, Trump’s former White House foreign policy advisor John Bolton.</p>



<p>Stelter and Scarborough know that there is no evidence of any real organized political violence – and certainly nothing that warrants claims of insurrection or coup attempts. ; It is all malarky. ; It is disinformation. ; It is a left-wing political spin.</p>



<p>Yes, there can be periodic violence from nutcases on the American right AND the left – and an occasional terrorist. ; But these anecdotal cases do not suggest anything close to a widespread uprising against the government any more than one of those senseless mass shootings represents a “movement.” ; Folks mentally bent on violence will find their excuse – and sometimes is political.</p>



<p>For sure, America is sharply divided along partisan and philosophic lines. ; There is a general dissatisfaction with the great institutions – law enforcement, the courts, news media, government, religious institutions, schools, etc.</p>



<p>It is occurring on both sides of the divide. ; The left stands up for the FBI and the Capitol Hill police but condemns the Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and local community police. ; Ironically, the left’s attacks on local policing have been a major factor in the surge of non-political street violence. ; That is very real.</p>



<p>Compare the criminal street violence that Democrat policies and officials protect to the amount of violence coming from the imaginary ongoing insurrection and it is a million to zero. (I exaggerate, but you get the point.)</p>



<p>We can all agree that Trump and his associates were very aggressive in trying to flip the initial results of the 2020 election. ; Most of their attempts were both legal and constitutional – even if some were unprecedented and repugnant to one’s sensibilities.</p>



<p>It is entirely possible that some actions by some folks were outside the limits of law and constitutionality – and that is what the various investigations are all about. ; The Select Committee investigation is nothing more than political posturing and overheated Trump hatred. ; The actions of the Department of Justice and various local prosecutors are the only games that count. ; Whether they are politically motivated, they still have the force of law – and they still have to convince 12 jurors that there is guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. ; We are a long way from those decisions.</p>



<p>In the meantime, take heart and abandon all fear. ; There was no real insurrection – and there is no ongoing coup attempt. ; We are not on the edge of civil war. ; The American Republic remains sound. ; It is not about to fall – and was not close to falling on January 6, 2021. The rhetoric coming from the left does not represent reality. ; It is shameful political disinformation. ; ;</p>



<p>On the other hand, if you want to focus on the real long-term threat to the America’s democratic Republic, look to the growing power and oppression of the federal government. ; America is not in imminent danger of a sudden coup as much as it is from a slow evolution to national authoritarianism coming from the left – and from the political party that believes in ruling over the populace without opposition. ; But a closer look at that will have to wait for a future commentary.</p>



<p>So, there ‘tis.</p>

Coup attempts, insurrection, political violence, civil war … the left wallows in conspiracy theories
