Pelosi's Attacker Is A Q-anon Nut, A Bigot, And A Trumper

It should come as no surprise that the man attacking Mr. Pelosi was a right-wing scumbag. Here's some of what the Los Angeles Times says about him:

In the months before police accused him of attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband Friday morning, David DePape had been drifting further into the world of far-right conspiracies, antisemitism and hate, according to a Times review of his online accounts.

In a personal blog that DePape maintained, posts include such topics as “Manipulation of History,” “Holohoax” and “It’s OK to be white.” He mentioned 4chan, a favorite message board of the far right. He posted videos about conspiracies involving COVID-19 vaccines and the war in Ukraine being a ploy for Jewish people to buy land.

DePape’s screeds included posts about QAnon, an unfounded theory that former President Trump is at war with a cabal of Satan-worshipping elites who run a child sex ring and control the world. In an Aug. 23 entry titled “Q,” DePape wrote: “Either Q is Trump himself or Q is the deepstate moles within Trumps inner circle.”. . .

DePape followed a number of conservative creators online, including Tim Pool, Glenn Beck, DailyWire+ and the Epoch Times. He also followed an account on YouTube called Black Pilled and reposted several of its videos on his blog. “Blackpilling” is internet slang for coming to believe supposedly unacceptable facts about society, and the reposted videos include accusations such as the FBI covering up child rape. . . .

When DePape was sounding off about QAnon, he posted: “Remember when the UK arrested parents for trying to rescue their children from being gang banged at pedo rape parties and f— LET the pedo’s CONTINUE their kiddie rape orgies,” he continued.

Another post referenced “pizzagate,” a bogus conspiracy theory that posited that children were trapped in a sexual abuse ring in a Washington, D.C., pizzeria run by Hillary Clinton and a chief aide.

“Pizza gate is connected to Epstien hahahahha,” a post from Aug. 23 read. “My friends would be like pizza gate was debunked their is NO such thing as elite pedophile sex rings and I’m like HELLO Epstein what planet are you on?”

In another, he called “equity” a leftist dog whistle “for the systematic oppression of white people” and “diversity” a “dog whistle for the genocide of the white race.” In others, he posted separate videos questioning the Holocaust and alleging Jewish bankers were responsible for Hitler’s rise to power. . . .

DePape posted videos to Facebook by MyPillow Chief Executive Mike Lindell saying that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, according to reports.

He also linked to sites with claims about the deadliness of COVID-19 vaccines.

About 42% of The Unvaccinated Are QAnon Believers

This chart is from a new Public Religion Research Institute survey -- done between June 7th and 23rd of a national sample of 5,123 adults, with a 1.65 point margin of error.

It shows that 42% of vaccine refusers are believers in QAnon. It's going to be very hard to convince these people to change their minds and get vaccinated, because they don't live in the real world of provable facts.

U.S. Public Has A Very Unfavorable Opinion Of QAnon

The chart above reflects the results of the latest Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between July 10th and 13th of a national sample of 1,500 adults (including 1,292 registered voters). The margin of error for adults and registered voters is 3 points.

The believers in the nutty QAnon conspiracies are running in local elections (especially for school boards). They see this as their path to taking over in this country.

We must prevent that. They are not believers in democracy, or our democratic system, and it would be in danger if they actually come into power.

Fortunately, an overwhelming majority of Americans (65% of adults and 69% of registered voters) have an unfavorable opinion of QAnon. Democrats must identify the QAnon believers that are running in local races, and they must make sure the voters know who these people are.

The American Voters Overwhelmingly Dislike QAnon

 The chart above reflects the results of the latest Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between February 6th and 9th of a national sample of 1,306 registered voters, with a 3.1 point margin of error.

Trump's Ready To Profit From QAnon's New Craziness

The followers of QAnon were the most disappointed people in the country on January 20th. They had been convinced that on that day, Trump would magically be sworn in for a second term and he would arrest Democratic leaders -- executing some and imprisoning many others. 

As they watched Joe Biden take the oath and become president, there dream was shattered. What were they going to do?

Well, some came to their senses while others joined other militant Trump-supporting groups (like militias). But a lot of them just found a new theory to embrace. They now believe that Biden is not really president, and their hero (Donald Trump) will take the oath of office for a second term on March 4th.

Here's a capsule of the new QAnon belief from Joshua Zitser at Business Insider:

The importance of March 4 for QAnon supporters is rooted in the bizarre beliefs of the "sovereign citizen" movement. 

The basis for that conspiracy theory is that a law enacted in 1871 secretly turned the US into a corporation. It posits that some Americans are therefore not subject to a variety of federal laws.

Supporters of the theory believe that every president who's been inaugurated since then is illegitimate; they believe that Ulysses S. Grant was the last legitimate president.

Grant, like other presidents in the 19th century, was inaugurated on March 4. The sovereign-citizen movement posits that the republic will be restored and that Trump will become the US's 19th president on March 4, 2021.

This fantasy has gained traction with the hardcore QAnon adherents trying to make sense of President Joe Biden's recent inauguration.

Donald Trump is not pushing this farcical theory, and probably couldn't do it if he wanted to (since he has lost his social media presence). But he's not ignoring it either. He's planning to profit from it.

He knows that the hotel of choice for these QAnon believers is his own Washington hotel, so what does he do? Does he lower the costs for his followers? NO! The hotel has tripled the price of their rooms for March 3rd and 4th!

Trump's misguided followers have yet to understand that Trump only has one value -- GREED! And he will continue to con them out of their money as long as he can.

Will Trump's QAnon followers finally come to their senses after he is NOT sworn in on March 4th? probably not. They haven't shown much ability for rational thinking. It will be interesting to see what new theory they come up with after March 4th. Only two things are certain -- it will not make sense to sane people, and Trump will try to make money from it.

Public Has An Overwhelmingly Negative Opinion Of QAnon

 

The chart above reflects the results of a new Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between January 24th and 26th of a national sample of 1,500 U.S. adults, with a 3.4 point margin of error.

The followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory are truly on the right-wing fringe. They believed Trump was the savior of this country, and would arrest leading Democrats (who they believed were cannibalistic pedophiles). They make up a large portion of Trump rally crowds, and of the rioters who broke into the Capitol.

They make a lot of noise, and that could give the impression they are a popular group with the American public. They are NOT! Only 17% have a favorable opinion of them (which I admit is far too many), while 71% have a negative opinion of them. And that is true of all groups -- with the negative opinion being much higher than the favorable one. It is even true among Republicans (where 23% approve and a majority of 53% disapprove).

QAnon Nuts Are Actually Hurting Efforts To Help Children

The QAnon conspiracy continues to grow. These are the people who believe that a cabal of Democrats and Hollywood people are stealing children for pedophilia and cannibalism. They have no proof of this, but that doesn't matter to them. They believe it because they want to believe it.

But while they claim to be trying to protect children, their actions are actually harming efforts to protect abused children.

The following is just part of an excellent article at CNN.com:

Child welfare organizations for months have felt the full weight of the coronavirus pandemic, navigating concerns about unreported abuse and ensuring their resources are available to at-risk children. 

But now, deeper into the outbreak, a new challenge is emerging that's complicating their critical outreach efforts: the QAnon conspiracy theory. 

The most basic QAnon belief -- entirely divorced from reality -- casts President Donald Trump as the hero in a fight against the "deep state" and a sinister cabal of Democratic politicians and celebrities who abuse children. It features an anonymous government insider called "Q" who purportedly shares secret information about that fight via cryptic online posts.

And it's the behavior of those who follow the conspiracy theory -- their supposed efforts to help abused children -- that's putting an increasing strain on the resources of actual child welfare groups. 

The problem has become so severe that one such organization, Childhelp, says it had to set up an auto-response message on its crisis hotline to filter out QAnon callers after their name appeared in a QAnon meme. 

"If you have a hotline counselor who is taking time to speak to someone discussing a debunked conspiracy theory, there may be a child holding on the next line," Daphne Young, chief communications officer for Childhelp, told CNN.

The rise of QAnon -- and its movement off the internet and onto the hotlines of child welfare organizations -- marks just the latest wrinkle in the effort to protect at-risk children during the pandemic. 

Figures provided to CNN from states across the country in the early months of the outbreak showed considerable drops in child abuse reports as social distancing measures kept kids out of school. While that would usually be welcome news, experts say the decline might really mean more cases are going unnoticed.

As a result, welfare groups like Childhelp have shouldered the burden of making themselves increasingly available for assistance, especially given the muted response from the US Department of Education.

But now the QAnon conspiracy theory is further straining their efforts, and Young says the damage is far more corrosive than people realize. 

Beyond the calls to their hotline, Young explains that QAnon does "psychic damage to our work, which is the crying wolf phenomenon."

"If you get people constantly crying about abuse day in and day out on social media that is not real -- that is, everybody in Hollywood is part of a mass cabal drinking the blood of children, which is literally one of the conspiracy theories, drinking from their adrenal glands to stay young -- this madness drowns out a child asking for help, a parent that needs resources," she said.

"It drowns out anyone that's a survivor who is trying to get in touch with us, and it's not only 'cries wolf,' but I think that it also gives -- in a strange way -- it gives predators a little protection, because if everybody's crying abuse, then maybe the guy down the street didn't do it either."

That message has been echoed by other child welfare groups, which have become increasingly vocal with concerns that QAnon supporters are blurring the difference between their conspiracy theories and the work of real welfare and advocacy organizations. 

The KidSafe Foundation, which aims to protect children from sexual abuse and trauma, now boasts a forceful statement on its website deriding QAnon promoters as "parasites" trying to "hijack the good names of organizations leading the fight" against real abuse.

"To grow their footprint, gain credibility, and spread misinformation, they associate their message of hate and bigotry with well-known, well-regarded organizations -- specifically those working to end child sexual abuse and sex trafficking. That strategy threatens to diminish our identities, tarnish our reputations and harm our good works," the statement says. 

Cherie Benjoseph, the chief program officer and co-founder of the foundation, separately told CNN that the rise of QAnon has become especially problematic because people are already "reluctant enough to accept the reality of child sexual abuse without being driven away by QAnon's despicable presence."

Half Of Trump Voters Believe The QAnon Conspiracy Is True

The definition of QAnon is from The New York Times. The chart is from the recent Yahoo News / YouGov Poll -- done between October 16th and 18th of a national sample of 1,583 registered voters, with a 4 point margin of error.

The poll shows that half of Donald Trump's voters believe the QAnon conspiracy theory is true, and 33% are not sure if it's true or not. Only 17% know that it is not true.

This is why the Republican Party is in trouble. Too many of it's members are not connected to reality. 

The GOP Is Becoming A Party Of Racists & Q-anon Nuts

The Republican Party used to be a party that embraced conservative values. That party could debate the more liberal Democratic Party in Congress, and negotiate a middle ground that would move the country forward. Unfortunately, that is no longer true.

The current Republican Party is a party of the far-right and racists, and are not interested in negotiating with anyone. And it's in danger of moving even faster to the right by embracing the Q-anon conspiracy theorist nuts. They are no longer interested in facts or reality.

Here is how Max Boot describes this phenomenon in The Washington Post:

On Tuesday, Marjorie Taylor Greene, a racist conspiracy-monger, won a Republican primary in Georgia that will almost certainly result in her winning a congressional seat in a deep-red district. . . .

Greene . . . is unrepentant in her racism and conspiracy mongering. She has falsely claimed that George Soros, a liberal Jewish financier, is a “Nazi himself trying to continue what was not finished.” She has described the election of Omar and another Muslim woman to Congress as an “Islamic invasion of our government.” She has suggested that “the most mistreated group of people in the United States today are White males.”

As if that weren’t bad enough, Greene is also a supporter of QAnon. This cult, which has been linked to acts of violence, believes that President Trump is fighting a secret clique of “deep state” child molesters. Greene said in a video: “There’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take this global cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles out, and I think we have the president to do it.”

Some Republican members of Congress have denounced Greene for her “disgusting” comments, but House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) didn’t lift a finger to block her election, and Trump welcomed her win. He called her a “future Republican Star” who is “strong on everything and never gives up — a real WINNER!”

And why shouldn’t Trump welcome this QAnon wing nut to his party? She fits right in. Media Matters for America found that 53 congressional candidates have promoted QAnon this year. Besides Greene, they include Lauren Boebert, who defeated a Republican incumbent in a congressional primary in Colorado, and Jo Rae Perkins, who won the Republican Senate primary in Oregon. NBC News wasn’t kidding when it suggested Congress could soon have a “QAnon caucus.”

When the Republican Party was under assault from the conspiracy-minded John Birch Society in the 1960s, responsible conservatives such as Richard Nixon and William F. Buckley Jr. marginalized them. That isn’t happening today. Trump has regularly retweeted QAnon accounts, his son Eric posted a giant “Q” as well as the group’s slogan (“Where we go one, we go all”) on his Instagram account, and Donald Trump Jr. has echoed the group’s deranged claims that Joe Biden is a pedophile.

The president might not be a full-fledged QAnon adherent, but he is a racist and a conspiracy-monger in his own right. The conspiracy theoriesthat he has promoted — Joe Scarborough is a murderer, former president Barack Obama wasn’t born in the United States, Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Tex.) father killed John F. Kennedy, etc. — are nearly as nutty as the ones promulgated by QAnon. And Trump is appointing officials with similarly noxious beliefs: His choice for a senior Pentagon post said that Obama is a sleeper agent for Hamas and a “terrorist leader.” His choice for ambassador to Germany said that country has been overrun by “Muslim invaders.” And his choice to run the Office of Personnel Management said Hillary Clinton campaign manager John Podesta took part in satanic rituals. Trump’s first national security adviser — Michael Flynn — has even pledged allegiance to QAnon.

Trump is also becoming increasingly blatant in his appeals to White bigots. He tweeted on Wednesday that “the ‘suburban housewife’ will be voting for me,” because under a Biden presidency “low income housing would invade their neighborhood.” Trump claimed that the person in charge of this plot would be African American Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.). This isn’t a racist dog whistle; this is a wolf whistle.

Under Trump, the GOP has become a party of white nationalists and conspiracy-mongers. I had feared that the Republican swing to the far right would lead the Democrats to go to the far left — and Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) brief run as the Democratic front-runner had confirmed my concerns. But the ticket of Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala D. Harris (Calif.) is as mainstream and moderate as you can get. Trump & Co. can bellow all day long that they are lackeys for Sanders and “the Squad,” but it’s simply not credible. The Republican Party, by contrast, isn’t just catering to extremists — it’s led by one.