The hour is late for the American experiment, and insurrection is on the breeze. The country’s chattering class has been hard at work for months recasting the January 6th, 2021 attack on the Capitol into Just A Big Misunderstanding to manufacture consent for Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office. Just this week, 25 states’ governors, all Republicans naturally, publicly proclaimed solidarity with Texas Gov. Greg Abbot’s open challenge of the federal government’s monopoly on racist border violence. I could go on, but I won’t, because you already know the deal, and I have a more specific point to make today.
It’s this: Of the dozens of potential sparks that could ignite this Powder Keg of Democracy™️, I think the odds are pretty good that whatever eventually sets it off will involve alcohol.