November is just one part of the equation
Everyone knows the common adage that “those on the left think that the right is evil, whereas those on the right just think that the left is wrong.”
Our current political landscape might be better summed up as a battle between those who constitute the Washington-ruling class establishment—including members of both parties—versus those who believe the purpose of government is to serve the interests of its citizenry. The conclusion subsequently changes: We know that they are malicious and power-hungry, and they think that we are just dumb.
There is no better example of this than the shameless utilization of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot as a tool to crush political opposition. The proceedings of the establishment uniparty congressional committee have proven as much. The “really chilling” proof of a “broad … extremely well organized” conspiracy that was promised by Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) has yet to show up. But that was never really the point.
At the same time, the purpose is not just to galvanize voters for the upcoming midterm elections. Making Donald Trump and his supporters look bad to hurt his endorsed candidates is certainly a factor in the equation. By almost any metric, American social, political, and economic life has declined since Joe Biden took office. If establishment politicians don’t want to get crushed in November, deflecting blame is imperative.
Lawrence Summers, the former U.S. treasury secretary under Bill Clinton, perhaps had the most laughable recent example of playing the distraction game:
“The banana Republicans, who are saying that what happened on January 6th was nothing or okay, are undermining the basic credibility of our country’s institutions, and that in turn feeds through for inflation. Because if you can’t trust the country’s government, why would you trust its money.”
The Jan. 6 riot is not only a bludgeon to wield against Trump-adjacent politicians in the upcoming election, however. It is also a tool to keep the former president and his supporters from ever holding office again.
