Election fraud fabulist and pillow salesman, Mike Lindell’s company is in serious financial trouble. Lindell tells The Star Tribune, “…MyPillow lost $100 million from ‘attacks by box stores, the shopping networks, the shopping channels, all of them did cancel culture on us.’”

The term cancel culture is framed by far-right extremists as an unreasonable reaction even an “unconstitutional” deterrent to free speech rights. Free speech does not include defamation as the whopping $787.5 million settlement Fox agreed to pay to Dominion Voting Systems demonstrates. Fox faces even more multibillion dollars lawsuits stemming from their continued lies about election fraud. Serial liars and defamers like Lindell and Donald Trump refuse to understand that conspiratorial election denial, and outright attacks on democracy may have far reaching consequences.

Unrepentant liars and defamers Denesa Rains, Diane Rich, Pam Lewis and of course, Rod Taylor might take heed. Still, aside from a story on NPR that paints an unflattering picture of both their character and conduct, they have each of them gotten off scot-free and Lewis and Rich continue to try and grift off their lies about election fraud. Rains continues to fund hate speech and election misinformation on radio and in print with her advertising dollars.

The authoritarian and fascist agenda of extremist white Christian nationalism is a serious threat to democracy. How do we fight back, then? What can we do to restore decency and democracy in our little corner of Oregon? The following are nothing more than suggestions and possibilities to perhaps grease the wheels of action.

  1. Rod Taylor has served six months and could now technically be recalled by a vote of the people. I don’t personally hold much hope for this option but it’s worth mentioning and there wouldn’t be much difficulty demonstrating his lack of judgement and competence.
  2. Taylor, a Bandon Port Commissioner and on the CCAT board would have sworn an oath to uphold the US Constitution prior to January 6, 2021. According to Section 3 of the 14th Amendment – “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.” Taylor is a January 6th insurrectionist, a traitor to our country. Would it be possible for a citizen group to bring a civil action demanding his removal as unfit based upon this amendment? Something similar happened in New Mexico. Any lawyers out there who want to weigh in please let me know if this is an avenue worth exploring.
  3. Wearing sidearms to public meetings. If the county is going to allow Rod Taylor to wear a sidearm, then the county should provide ballistic vests to the public because he isn’t likely to shoot his fellow commissioners. Taylor has already been cautioned by police for using his gun to menace unarmed demonstrators, so we know he lacks self-control. Or perhaps sequester Taylor behind bullet proof glass to protect the audience. Or let’s pressure the commission to stop coddling his childish behavior because guns have no place in public discourse and it’s embarrassing as well as dangerous to enable his personal insecurities. If a few hundred people write the commissioners to complain, perhaps we can do something about this.
  4. On the topic of guns, why not consider a citizen initiative to enact some local restrictions on gun ownership. An uphill climb but allowing masked extremists to walk around with assault weapons is absurd.

Coos County is basically Oregon’s Texas. We can do better than this. We must do better than this. There is no place for book burning and bullying children for being themselves and harassing government workers for simply doing their jobs. We are gaining national attention for all the wrong reasons. This has to change but if we don’t step up in numbers and with a plan, cash strapped Coos County may end up being run by the State.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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