A COVID-stricken President Trump began the week with “ROID RAGE” following what sure looks like a superspreader event (the Rose Garden announcement of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett). Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) was photographed hugging and kissing fellow attendees at this same event, and he has since announced his COVID-19-positive status. During his isolation time, Lee watched the VP debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris, and he did not enjoy himself. Maybe it was the fact that a grody eye and an iconic fly upstaged his dude, but whatever the case, he decided to tell Twitter that Democracy is bad while eschewing spellcheck.
“Democracy isn’t the objective; liberty, peace, and prospefity are,” Lee tweeted. “We want the human condition to flourish. Rank democracy can thwart that.”
Democracy isn’t the objective; liberty, peace, and prospefity are. We want the human condition to flourish. Rank democracy can thwart that.
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) October 8, 2020
To which NBC and MSNBC legal analyst Barb McQuade immediately declared, “Scariest tweet ever.”
Scariest tweet ever. https://t.co/Po9GIzOt2s
— Barb McQuade (@BarbMcQuade) October 8, 2020
Lee tweeted a lot throughout the evening, including his claim that “[w]e’re not a democracy.” He also urged Kamala Harris to come to the dark side of the Force.
We’re not a democracy.
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) October 8, 2020
@KamalaHarris here’s why you should agree that we’re not a democracy: the whole point of a constitution is to tell majorities what they can’t do, regardless of how badly the majority wants them. Free speech protections? Totally anti-Democratic.
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) October 8, 2020
The COVID-afflicted Senator appears to not realize that, although the United States was mapped out as a constitutional republic, it is most certainly a representative democracy. He simply didn’t grasp the point, which led to CUNY professor Angus Johnston pointing out, “This is how people talk when they’ve given up on winning elections.”
This is what you say when you’ve given up on winning elections. https://t.co/z1Kd2hCkFV
— Angus Johnston (@studentactivism) October 8, 2020
When they’ve given up on both elections and spellcheck.
— Angus Johnston (@studentactivism) October 8, 2020
From there, the dictator (and other) jokes began and would not stop.
Most Americans like living in this American republic. Democracy is the whole reason for this nation’s existence. People of my grandfather’s generation knew what to do about fascists. Now a member of Congress is urging us to join them. I wonder what made you hate America so much.
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) October 8, 2020
RANK DEMOCRACY CAN THWART THAT pic.twitter.com/mGWydncDkw
— A.R. Moxon—Preorder THE REVISIONARIES In Paperback (@JuliusGoat) October 8, 2020
— Victor Samuel Huckabee (@popesaintvictor) October 8, 2020
— Kayley (@JanekKayley) October 8, 2020
You know you’re not meant to say this sort of stuff out loud till Bond is strapped to a table with a laser pointed at his testicles
— James Felton (@JimMFelton) October 8, 2020
Call me crazy but I think democracy defines America.
— Philip Beckert (@zoobadger) October 8, 2020
“Democracy isn’t the objective”. Our suspicions are confirmed.
— Frank Figliuzzi (@FrankFigliuzzi1) October 8, 2020
What are you talk about? What drugs are you on?
— Amy Siskind (@Amy_Siskind) October 8, 2020
— Matt Streckfuss (@StreckfussMatt) October 8, 2020
— Grant Stern (@grantstern) October 8, 2020
Election day’s less than a month away in the United States.