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**JANUARY 12, 2021**

Kuttner on TAP

Lefties: Stay Away From This Weekend's Disruptions

****

The left got very lucky when the far right laid siege to the U.S.
Capitol. The whole thing unfolded so fast that there was no time to
organize counterprotests.

We should be thankful for that. There was no muddling of what occurred.
Trump and his right-wing marauders reaped the blame.

This was a neofascist attempted coup, pure and simple. It was not
left-wingers street-fighting with right-wingers. Even the brief attempt
by some on far-right media to blame antifa (if antifa even exists) fell
flat.

Next weekend, there will be violent, disruptive actions at state
capitols. Law enforcement, massively embarrassed by the security failure
at the U.S. Capitol, will be out in force.

The spectacle, and the story, will be right-wing thugs versus the
police, getting busted. It just doesn't get any better than that.

And we should keep it that way.

The last thing we need is left protesters challenging the right, or
trying to help law enforcement, or just showing up to make a point-and
becoming a target when armed thugs are kept away from government
buildings.

This can degenerate all too quickly into a mutual riot, with culpability
diffused and confused. The story is simple, and needs to stay that
way-right-wing militias mounting more failed insurrections.

A few far-left groups will relish the moment to heighten the
contradictions, bash the right, or provoke the cops. Please, no.

Napoleon put it well: "Never interfere with your enemy when he is making
a mistake."

There are times to insist on our right to "take back the streets." This
is not one of those times.

So stay home, follow it on TV or social media, and watch the far right
overreach, get arrested, and take all the blame.

~ ROBERT KUTTNER

Follow Robert Kuttner on Twitter

Robert Kuttner's latest book is
The Stakes: 2020 and the Survival of American Democracy
.

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