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Flags, ties and insurrections … and other leftwing myths

Flags, ties and insurrections … and other leftwing myths

Having been involved in politics for more than half a century, I can honestly say that I have never seen an election season in which the political narratives are so outrageous. 

It is not my imagination.  You hear it all the time.  “It never used to be like this,” is the common refrain (except for the Civil War, of course.)  The Democrat and anti-Trump establishment would have us voters believe that the American Republic will become a dictatorship if President Trump is returned to the White House.  There will never again be free elections.  Trump will seize control of the judiciary.  The military will capitulate.  The Congress will be a rubber stamp.  Political enemies will be tracked down, jailed or … killed.  There is a secret MAGA army ready to engage in a new Civil War.

This is not a movie script, but what politicians and the left-wing media are saying … literally.  The Democrats’ entire campaign is based on fearmongering Trump.  He is openly compared to Hitler – a reference that was taboo in American politics in the past.

Granted, Trump is not like any President in the past – but not entirely unlike some past presidents.  President Theodore Roosevelt and Andrew Jackson were tough-talking bullies in their time.  Jackson, who is honored by the Democrat Party, was far worse than Trump.  He was a lethal white supremacist, who caused the deaths of thousands of Native Americans.

If you talk about an American dictatorship, you have to look to Franklin Roosevelt.  He amassed and used – abused – more presidential power than any President prior or since.  He was a white supremacist who oppressed Black Americans – and crafted his New Deal programs to take jobs from Black workers for the benefit of the Depression-deprived White workers.  There is a reason he was dubbed “The First American Dictator.”   He was such a danger to the Republic that upon his death, the Congress quickly passed the 22nd Amendment limiting presidents to two terms. 

That limit would apply to Trump if he should win reelection.  Those who suggest otherwise are either tin hat nutcases or people pushing an absurd agenda out of political desperation.

Since Democrats are losing the support of votes on virtually every key issue, they cannot run on the economy, inflation, immigration, crime, the Fentanyl crisis, foreign policy, or anything else that matters to every American.  So, they are stuck with abortion and demonizing Trump – AND every American who supports him, which just may be a majority of American voters. 

American hyperbole gained a foothold in the 2020 presidential election – although Trump Derangement Syndrome and the Trump Resistance Movement started the day after his election in 2016.

Most of the end-of-the-Republic rhetoric is founded on a false premise – that what happened on January 6, 2021, was an insurrection. That is what they call it even though it is more accurately described as a riot – and not the worst one America has seen over many years.  They wrongfully call it an attempted coup – and claim that the forces of Trump are poised to take over America by force.

They accuse a Supreme Court justice of complicity in the grand MAGA scheme to bring down the Republic because of an upside-down flag his wife put up in a feud with a neighbor …or the flying of the historic Revolutionary War Pine Tree Flag at a summer home.  A flag that to this day is the official maritime standard for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  For more than 200 years, it – and other historic flags – have been flown as symbols of freedom.  Yes, it was seen on Capitol Hill on January  6th, but so were many other historic American banners – including the “Don’t Tread on Me” flag.

The left claims that members of Congress showing support for Trump during his so-called Hush Money Trial were all wearing red ties and dark suits as a symbol of their MAGA affiliation.  First of all, they were NOT all wearing the same red ties – some even had predominantly blue ties.  In fact, they looked like what you see in the halls of Congress every day.  There was no symbolic uniform.  Just House members wearing what you see on Republicans AND Democrats in the halls of Congress every day.

Democrats and their media allies keep getting more and more extreme in the fearmonger strategy for one simple reason.  It has not been working, so they believe they have not yet scared the public sufficiently.  They think they need to double down. They are taking their own snake oil medicine – and when it fails to work, they think more is needed.  But … people are too smart.  They know political bullsh*t when they see it – even when it is being produced in record amounts.

If there is any threat to the Republic – and to the personal constitutional freedoms of the people – it is coming from the authoritarian progressives, who believe in a powerful regulatory central government run by an entrenched elite establishment that rules over – not for – the people.

Yes, this is an important election in 2020.  Neither candidate is the people’s choice.  One is pugnacious and the other is losing it.  That appears to be the choice we face when real voting begins.  If the election were today, most analysts on both sides believe Trump would win.

If Democrats and the media keep peddling the patently bogus end-of-the- Republic narrative – and insulting the loyalty of half the American people and the intelligence of all of us– I suspect Trump will triumph in November. 

So, there ‘tis.

About The Author

Larry Horist

So, there ‘tis… The opinions, perspectives and analyses of businessman, conservative writer and political strategist Larry Horist. Larry has an extensive background in economics and public policy. For more than 40 years, he ran his own Chicago based consulting firm. His clients included such conservative icons as Steve Forbes and Milton Friedman. He has served as a consultant to the Nixon White House and travelled the country as a spokesman for President Reagan’s economic reforms. Larry professional emphasis has been on civil rights and education. He was consultant to both the Chicago and the Detroit boards of education, the Educational Choice Foundation, the Chicago Teachers Academy and the Chicago Academy for the Performing Arts. Larry has testified as an expert witness before numerous legislative bodies, including the U. S. Congress, and has lectured at colleges and universities, including Harvard, Northwestern and DePaul. He served as Executive Director of the City Club of Chicago, where he led a successful two-year campaign to save the historic Chicago Theatre from the wrecking ball. Larry has been a guest on hundreds of public affairs talk shows, and hosted his own program, “Chicago In Sight,” on WIND radio. An award-winning debater, his insightful and sometimes controversial commentaries have appeared on the editorial pages of newspapers across the nation. He is praised by audiences for his style, substance and sense of humor. Larry retired from his consulting business to devote his time to writing. His books include a humorous look at collecting, “The Acrapulators’ Guide”, and a more serious history of the Democratic Party’s role in de facto institutional racism, “Who Put Blacks in That PLACE? -- The Long Sad History of the Democratic Party’s Oppression of Black Americans ... to This Day”. Larry currently lives in Boca Raton, Florida.

6 Comments

  1. Frank stetson

    This is the funniest Horist yet. Before I go into detail, one has to wonder his purpose, his divine use of half a century experience to collect a series of Captain Obvious sound bites to ;

    Have his followers, Trumplicants, cheer.

    Call Democrats outrageous in their beliefs and stupid to voice them.

    Beyond the cataloging of grievances, no new news and no one will be persuaded from their beliefs over this rant.

    Thanks for the laughs though.

    • Darren

      And yet you still comment!

  2. frank stetson

    My goodness but Horist is a thrashing. The polls says Trump winning, but like Trump, Horist lives in fear he is losing. Gonna be a hot summer. I just loved this part: “The left claims that members of Congress showing support for Trump during his so-called Hush Money Trial were all wearing red ties and dark suits as a symbol of their MAGA affiliation.” Uh…..claim? There’s a picture Sherlock, they all have red ties and dark suits. They all support MAGA. They were there, wasting our tax dollars, to support Trump. Do you deny any of that?

    And if you have such a commanding lead, why the photo op over another Trump trial, as a political stunt? Why did they need that and why do you need to defend? So afraid. Just like your leader, Trump, the best on your team.

    Not even Melania or Ivanka are standing by their man the way you do.

    “First of all, they were NOT all wearing the same red ties” That’s just funny. We said “red ties,” you say “wrong, not the same tie.” You have to prove “some even had predominantly blue ties.” And tell us were the blackconservative podcast is while you are fact checking….. oh right, you don’t need to be accurate in your sourcing or stories, just like your role model — Trump.

    “In fact, they looked like what you see in the halls of Congress every day.” This is just not true. There are many pages of Congressional group pictures of Republicans, there are profile pages; I looked. Lucky to find 20% ties of the red persuasion. Look for yourself, you cannot find a room full of red ties. There is a reason. In business, the red tie is the power tie, should be used sparingly. No way would you find a room full of them. My power tie: woven silk, navy with tiny little quail running across. Killer with my pinstriped HSM’s that were impeccable at 50 feet, according to company lore. Add a slight break, some pleats, cuffs, no belt, just straps, and vest. Navy-blue button-down Oxford to complete, never could wear white. A old hand taught me to only have suits that match my single oxford blue with corresponding ties so I could dress in the dark and still be matched. And oxfords, not brogues to finish the affair. Given the hours, sage advise. Trump too has a uniform and if you could not see the boys dressing similarly, you are blind.

    Have you noticed that since the red tie incident, Trump went to alternative colors? That’s funny too.

    “There was no symbolic uniform. Just House members wearing what you see on Republicans AND Democrats in the halls of Congress every day.” The everyday part is BUSTED. This was as unusual as the two lawyers on the jury. As to the symbolic nature, come on, they looked like little Trumpian brown shirts, vying for his favor, attempting to gain that VP slot that Pence will never have again for doing the patriotic thing. Get real Horist, for this was a prime example of “power corrupts.” Another is either Trump or Biden running in the first place and you and I supporting it, to our respective allegiances. Absolute power corrupts even more. Gonna be a hot summer all right.

  3. frank stetson

    Cutting to the chase. I have no idea what an average Democrat thinks, neither does Horist.

    I do hear the pundits, they exaggerate, from either side. Take it with a grain of salt. Horist’s favorite role model, Trump, convict, lies, never walks it back, and it’s often about important stuff, so you just discount that in general or accept, after second-sourcing it. Biden is pretty spot on until he gets to the personal stuff, he often walks errors back, and it’s hardly ever about the important stuff, just urban family lore, so yeah, I tend to believe him MORE. I still second source.

    I do know what Frank Stetson thinks. Frank Stetson is worried that a potential President as a top first 100 days priority, desires retribution against all of his perceived enemies, Trump knows better about what he is doing than 2017, how to go about it, and has said some pretty terrible things he will do to American citizens. I can probably survive that, no issue, just a small fish. So it’s the unknown of what happens after he accomplishes his first priority and has an entire infrastructure of experts for these tasks who would be lying about looking for another list to fill their time and budgets. That, and the potential uprising of lone wolf’s into packs, yeah, that concerns me as a real possibility. He respects HOW Putin acts.

    So, yeah, Mr. Horist, I have most of those thoughts based on Trump’s words, but more importantly, his actions. On 1/6/2021, his actions were deplorable. It’s a bell that can not be un-rung. And now he’s a convicted criminal on 34 felony counts running for President and he has Horist’s vote.

  4. frank stetson

    So, why my concern? In his first term Trump faced many guardrails, inexperience inertia, and still a good number of people serving the Constitution before the President. My sense, and it’s pretty much common sense in this case, is that a Trump second term begins at the end of the first, as in 1.6.2021 when he unleashed holy hell upon our land in the form of a failed insurrection to stop the election and retain himself upon the throne. His crime at the end of his term: he sat for over three hours as the Capitol burned, figuratively, but our Country’s core officials were literally assaulted, the election faulted, and the insurrectionists honored their exulted by stopping the election process of The United States of America, on that day. The Big Lie answered. Trump’s, who Horist admires, lies. His make-believe army on that day had onlookers, zealots, believers, and included at his invitation, special groups like the Oath Keepers, Proud Boys, Three Percenters, QAnon, Last Sons of Liberty,v Rod of Iron Ministries, Groyper Army, NSC-131 and Super Happy Fun America.. Not all were part of the concerted attack effort but many collaborated with other squads to form a larger Army for Trump’s assault on America. These are Trump’s people and they are connected. They are still a major element of Team Trump and Trump will seal that loyalty deal by pardoning them all if elected. Again, his crime was sitting back and watching what he created. And his second term will focus his hatred and vitriol on his perceived enemies and grievances. But this time, he will have HIS people in place with little to check his actions. Probably will all wear red ties and blue coats.

    So, yeah, Hitler references. Like Hitler’s Beer Hall Putsch, the Capitol insurrection failed. And like Hitler, Trump is back for another shot at the title. Hitler was charged with treason, got a judge like Cannon in FL, got five years, served nine months and then came back for a try for another term…. That worked for him. Like Trump, Hitler too had his brownshirt SS, Gestapo, and after he got in —- the Einsatzgruppen to cleanse the nation of inferiors. Could Trump go there? Easily. His secret service is already Trump loyal. After 1.6.2021, with him munching burgers and sitting back, watching the insurrection on his tv, I think he’s part-way there already.

    Look at this site: I am satan’s spawn, a demon, the devil himself, that would be better off dead, and worse. Look at America: lone wolf Republicans are killing Democrats because of political affilation. May be small numbers spread out across the land, yet it’s happening all the time, and more than is acceptable under any circumstances. It’s hard to have a different opinion than Trump when Trump is in power, and those who do get Cheney’d, if they are lucky. Pretty sure that would not have been the easy fate for Pence or Pelosi if caught on that fateful day.

    But wait, there’s more: unlike the first term, there will be few guardrails in his second term. That’s the big one that will make term 2 very different than term 1. And he knows what to do now. There will be no Constitutional patriots, they will literally pledge loyalty to all-things-Trump instead of the Constitution. He has asked people to pledge loyalty before. Many times. He will complete his Mafiosi management model for modern America hiring friends, fiends, and family into top trusted positions. And therein lies the rub: no transparency, a lot of lies, and he will rip us off again.

    And then he will do what he promises: dictator for a day, revenge and retribution first against those who stood against him. Like he put Cohen back in jail, he will weaponize DOJ to his bidding. Already, repeatedly, Trump requested DOJ to prosecute his detractors. Lock her up, arrest Mueller, torch Abedin, get Pocahontas, and hundreds more. And we don’t know what went on in private sessions. Speaking of which, Sessions in 2017 wanted to open an Uranium One re-investigation and did open one on Hillary’s email. It sputtered and failed. All to please Lord Trump. Look at today’s Republican House: all investigations, no law. Hell, they are going after protesting college kids — Congress wants to investigate college protests? Haven’t caught anyone, but one can imagine what happens when DOJ is in their pocket.

    He asked Comey for a pledge of loyalty. Is that the sane action of a President of our Democratic Republic? Will you be loyal to the man or the idea? Trump or Constitution will be the question. And he has many that will willingly say TRUMP. He has already done this, but this time he will be totally unleashed. He is always unvarnished.

    Trump says: “But we’ve watched this for a long time (weaponizing DOJ), and it’s not unique, but it’s unique for the United States. Yeah. If they do this and they’ve already done it, but if they want to follow through on this, yeah, it could certainly happen in reverse. It could certainly happen in reverse. What they’ve done is they’ve released the genie out of the box.” Trump says the red line has been crossed and he will retaliate in kind or better. Since he started it, took a bold stand to do it, and he is more experienced on the mechanics now, it could portend a very different DOJ. He has told us he will weaponize DOJ to attack his enemies. I guess because a Trump enemy will now be an enemy of the State. Or is that the Kingdom?

    Now, none of this affects me personally at this level. However, that’s what the good Germans said as Hitler, like Trump, came to power after defeat with a huge chip on his shoulder, a long list of grievances, and a longer list of names. He has a target, he knows what to do, and he has the experience to pull it off this time. That’s what I see.

    And then it’s the old —- first they came for Trump’s list, but that was not me…….

    That’s what I see, as a Clintonian Democrat, Mr. Horist. And one parting shot: I most certainly did not hate Trump immediately upon inauguration. I’m from NJ, many who dislike the ACTIONS of Trump, started much earlier. I have disliked this man’s actions well before 2017 and not much between 2017 and 1.6.2021 changed that.

    So, you can have your doddering pants-shitting criminal King; I’ll stick to doddering embellisher of family history. Being part Irish, I get it.

  5. frank stetson

    PBP comedy hour by Horist: “The Democrat and anti-Trump establishment would have us voters believe that the American Republic will become a dictatorship if President Trump is returned to the White House.”

    Trump says about Hannity. “Hannity says, ‘You’re not going to be a dictator, are you?’ I said: ‘No, no, no, other than day one. We’re closing the border, and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I’m not a dictator.” Hey kids, raise your hand if you know a dictator that voluntarily stopped after a day? A week? A month? He has promised revenge and retribution. Close enough for me.

    “There will never again be free elections.” On 1/6/2021, the voting process was stopped, as in NOT FREE, for six hours as insurrectionists stormed and stopped Congress. He rigged the 2016 and the 2020, and while I doubt he would try again, he is Trump.

    “Trump will seize control of the judiciary.” He already did, can you say Barr? But also: on the Smith indictment: Trump said there will be “repercussions far greater than anything that Biden or his Thugs could understand” with a “Pandora’s Box” of retribution.

    “The military will capitulate” which I have never heard.

    “The Congress will be a rubber stamp.” Might be better than useless rubbers. Truth is he has always co-opted hard right ideas from Congress. And if you don’t see Republicans as little red-tied brownshirts Seig Heiling all the way, ask Cheney what happens when you don’t rubber stamp. Halley knows, she took a knee.

    “Political enemies will be tracked down, jailed or … killed.” Killed, I did not see that one at my last Demo meeting….. But tracked down? He’s got the list, he already knows.

    “There is a secret MAGA army ready to engage in a new Civil War.” There is a secret MAGA army. It is ready. As Horist himself notes, we are in the era of the lone wolf, the ultimate guerilla protest. It’s a distributed network fed by the assholes on Truth Social, X, and worse hate havens on the internet. They communicate as a team but act one by one.

    In 2022 in Ohio: “Combs admitted to shooting King several times with a revolve because he was a Democrat, the sheriff said.”

    In 2023 Michigan, a teenager asked a prominent Lansing Democrat for a dollar before pulling a handgun and fatally shooting him on a north Lansing street. The kid couldn’t even vote.

    In 2021, a guy named “Popp” at a friend’s home, smoking pot, argues with Donald Henry, about Trump and business. Popp noted that some of Trump’s ventures ended in bankruptcy; Henry blamed the failures on Trump’s business partners. The two began fighting and Henry, who was sharpening a kitchen knife, plunged the blade into Popp’s chest, according to police. Popp staggered outside, collapsed and died.
    Democratic Mayor Craig Greenberg of Louisville, Kentucky, as he campaigned for his first term in office in February 2022. Quintez Brown, a left-wing social justice activist, barged into Greenberg’s campaign headquarters and fired six shots, missing Greenberg so closely that one bullet grazed his sweater, prosecutors said.

    Benjamin Smith shot five people near Normandale Park on Feb. 19, 2022. He killed June Knightly, 60, a longtime racial justice activist. Four other unnamed victims were seriously injured.

    Starting in 2022, A failed Republican state candidate in New Mexico was charged by federal authorities on Wednesday for a shooting spree targeting the homes of four elected Democratic officials, the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement. He shot up four houses, used a machine gun, and has co-conspirators.

    These are just a few of the political acts lone wolf Republicans are staging across the nation. Enough.

  1. What, Larry? With Election Day so close and the margin is closer still you choose Biden for your whipping person…