Fascist ‘Patriot Front’ tonight, Washington, DC. pic.twitter.com/Yqs0SK1Jrd

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) December 5, 2021

 

Armed militias, Trump’s social media, and talks of secession are three things that keep me up at night.

Just to be clear, I am not saying that we shouldn’t worry about COVID-19 anymore. The Omicron variant has the potential to ruin 2022 for all of us, but the three things I am worried about might cause even more damage.

Of course, we are looking at the upcoming midterm elections, and some might be worried about a Republican victory in the midterms. But I am not worried about who wins in 2022; I am worried about how the midterms will be won.

 

 

If Republicans take back the majority in the House and Senate, Democrats will have to accept that. That’s just a part of politics.

After the shameful events on January 6th and the lies about stolen elections, there are several reasons to worry about the upcoming midterm elections—and it’s not about who wins them.

I am mainly scared about how Republicans will approach these elections. There are already signs that it’s going to be a wild ride in 2022.

Here are three things we need to keep an eye on in 2022:

1. Trump’s social media.

After Trump got blocked on social media, he lost his main channel of communicating with his supporters. When he announced that he would start his own social media network, many of us were laughing—but it looks as if he made some progress on this project.

If Trump is able to revive the MAGA cult by using his own social media platform, there won’t be any limitations caused by Trump’s biggest political enemy of all time: facts.

 2. Fascist groups.

It started with the Unite the Right rally in 2018, it continued on January 6th, and it’s still happening. On December 4th, a group that calls itself “Patriot Front” marched in Washington D.C.

Groups like the “Patriot Front” feel entitled to talk about fascism as if it was just another opinion. They openly use white supremacist rhetoric, and the images of their protests speak for themselves.

As much as I reject Nazi analogies, I totally agree with calling these groups fascists.

?#BREAKING : A group of right wingers called the Patriot Front are currently marching to the U.S Capital

?#Washington l #DC

Right now a group of 150-200 called “Patriot Front” know as a right wing is currently marching on the national mall in Washington, DC. pic.twitter.com/lcnOOwHTtP

— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) December 4, 2021

3. Secession movements.

Ron DeSantis talks about a “Florida State Guard,” and Ted Cruz jokes about Texas leaving the United States—just let that sink in for a moment.

There had been talks and wild theories about secession movements in the United States for decades, but this time, we hear elected officials fantasizing about this.

The pandemic might have triggered these events and dangers to democracy, but these problems have already existed for a long time. If Omicron and other variants won’t be stopped anytime soon, this crisis might worsen the ongoing threat to American democracy.

COVID-19 is already bad, but if the majority of Americans reject democracy and facts, we have a much bigger problem that will affect every person on this planet.

This is not about Republicans versus Democrats; this is about armed militias, mass manipulation, and the existence of the United States of America.

 

 

If Republicans win the midterms by using Conservative talking points like trickle-down economics, law and order, and migration policies, I would have to accept that.

But if they decide to continue the MAGA craze by supporting politicians like Ted Cruz, Ron DeSantis, Gregg Abbott, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, and other controversial folks, then we really have a problem.

And this problem might be far worse than anything caused by COVID-19.