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Endless Sumter: Can Our Civil, Warless Chief Hold Down the Fort? [1]

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Date: 2023-04-13  

First, in a nutshell, some backstory. In 2020, then-ex-veep Joe Biden chided the incumbent POTUS (a font of deceit who, for once, told the truth when he vowed to try to “get rid of the ballots” that might not suit him) for trading in “malarkey.” Thanks (let’s face it) to Covid, Biden’s mild, pliant brand of mush prevailed at the polls; sure enough, on the Ellipse, the lame duck lord of lords wound up telling his own troop to “fight like hell….to take back our (sic) country.”

That is, to “SAVE AMERICA” by destroying her. If that sounds harsh, ten-hut. To this day, Trump’s party officially calls its J6 search-and-destroy foray “legitimate political discourse”- and so calls for more-and-bigger pushes toward a not-so-pretty putsch.

In figurative terms, we need fewer bon-bons and more blockbusters. Not to say the White House Easter Egg Roll (replete with sweets for gleeful tykes, Bugs-sized bunnies, and so on) can’t provide a fun little breather. But look. It began in 1878. Rutherford B. Hayes had just presided over the effective scuttling of Reconstruction. According to the Wall Street Journal’s Douglas Blackmon, that reversal enabled the South to writhe again in the abject perfidy he calls Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II (quoting the title/subtitle of his 2008 masterwork, of which far too few folks seem to be aware).

Here’s the thing. Biden rarely does press conferences. For the most part, he cedes bully pulpiteering to he likes of Steve Bannon. MTG. Ron DeSantis. Jim Jordan. Ted Cruz. Kevin ‘Not Joe’ McCarthy. And (you guessed it) Big Blonder Himself.

So now- on what happens to be called our South Lawn- Biden chirps “Anything is possible in America if we remember who we are and do it together.”

Oops. Along with much else, that glosses over what economists deem the basis for the economy, stupid: namely, the fight for scarce resources. Not to say comity for the country wouldn’t be a real treat. For that matter, so would endless days of brimful baskets and fuzzy bunnies. Plus (who could forget?) immortality for our family and friends. And- beyond Biden’s- a second non-despotic major American political party.

In lieu of such fine stuff, we’ll do well to deal with what’s real. “Together,” in a sense, the nation has long been ‘joined’ in battle. At this writing, it’s been 162 years (to the day) since US Army Major Robert Anderson indicated he perforce would surrender Fort Sumter to what we often soft-pedal as “rebels” (not to say traitors)- whose latter-day champions still rave about “Northern Aggression.” (Go figure.)

After ostensibly losing the war, the South has won the peace by fighting on. With all due respect to the President (who, by beating Trump, no doubt saved our Union): neo-Confederates/ever-Trumpers strive to trump vote-legitimized governance till the cowed come home. Granted, they lie by the boatload. But such deep enmity as Ginni Thomas’s “There are no rules in war” bespeaks a sincere, traitorous war footing, indeed; to deny, ignore, or shrug it off can avail nothing but further appeasement.

The gist of history tends to repeat. After having fawned on quintessential strongman Benito “Drain the Swamp” Mussolini in the 1920s, Winston Churchill later roared (apropos of Il Duce’s German protegee) “YOU CANNOT REASON WITH A TIGER WHEN YOUR HEAD IS IN ITS MOUTH!”

Some if not all of those who foresaw J6 see worse to follow. In the 1860s as in 2021, the traitors nearly won. They have yet to admit defeat (or to declare victory and go home). Which (be it resolved with eyes wide open) means they have yet to lose.

From Sumter to the Senate chamber (where Trump’s faithful proposed to “start a new government”), one ought to perceive a need for remedial vigilance. So. Enjoy your leftover holiday sweets (if any). Have a lovely mid-Sumter night’s dream. But meanwhile, please conjure with my alternative subtitle for this space: “Is Biden Giving Up the Fort?” (Sad to say, it’s all too apt.)

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/13/2163765/-Endless-Sumter-Can-Our-Civil-Warless-Chief-Hold-Down-the-Fort

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