7·
2 hours agoQuick history moment:
The US government has always treated politically motivated vandalism as domestic terrorism.
The FBI defined Earth First!, Earth Liberation Front, and similar radical environmental groups as terrorist organizations decades ago, because they spiked trees and burnt subdivisions and SUV dealerships.
The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act makes it an act of terrorism to vandalize a factory farm or animal research lab - even nonviolent protest that “intimidates” employees is illegal.
Some of y’all are acting like burning car dealerships was legal before Trump. Come on.
If you want to understand why Schumer and Dem leadership caved to Trump’s budget yesterday, read this article.
Trump is promising political prosecutions of his most prominent political opponents.
Schumer believes him.
Schumer doesn’t have the guts to take that heat.
Schumer - and the Democrat old guard in general - made their bones in an America where political opposition to the ruling party came with little or no personal or financial risk. Schumer and his ilk built careers and comfortable fortunes, enjoyed the financial benefits of corporate lobbying, dabbled in what was technically insider trading and tax evasion and campaign finance violations, secure in the knowledge the FBI would pursue only the most egregious cases of fraud and they could enjoy the benefits of power as long as they didn’t get too greedy.
And now Schumer is looking at an America where political opposition comes with very real personal consequences. Where opposing the ruling party means law enforcement will go through your record with a fine toothed comb looking for skeletons to drag out of your closet.
Civil rights warriors of the 60s signed up for that. The men and women who risked beatings and jail time to march against segregation aren’t going to back down from threats of prosecution now.
Leftists and anarchists signed up for that. The people who risked arrest to protest George Floyd’s murder, who marched in protests where windows were smashed and cars firebombed knowing Patriot Act provisions could see every one of them charged as terrorists for the actions of a few - people who know the FBI is monitoring them already and looking for an excuse - aren’t going to stop just because Trump confirmed rhe FBI is out to get them.
Fat happy pampered Senators who’ve never seen the inside of a jail cell in their life?
Fat happy pampered Senators who’ve been getting rich off dubiously legal campaign donations and insider trading for decades?
Yeah, they’re going to back down and submit to Trump rather than risk making themselves a target of Trump’s FBI.
And yesterday they did.
An America where the opposition party leadership is the target of political prosecutions needs leadership willing to risk those prosecutions. Willing to lead the opposition from jail if that’s what it takes to stand up for what they believe in.
Fighting authoritarianism means risking your life and freedom for what you believe in.
Current Dem leadership don’t have the guts.