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A wide array of far-right groups and Trump supporters are planning to descend on the nations capital Saturday amid heightened tensions over the results of the presidential election.

The mix of demonstrators gathering in downtown Washington, D.C., where theyll be met with counterprotesters, is sparking fears that the events could turn violent.

The main rally known by various unofficial namessuch as the Million MAGA March, Stop the Steal DC and March for Trump appears focused on showing an outpouring of support for President TrumpDonald John TrumpBiden has spoken with some GOP senators, chief of staff says Trump told advisers he could announce 2024 bid shortly after certification of Biden win: report Ivy League cancels winter sports amid US COVID-19 pandemic surge MORE as he refuses to concede the race to President-elect Joe BidenJoe BidenBiden has spoken with some GOP senators, chief of staff says Trump told advisers he could announce 2024 bid shortly after certification of Biden win: report Obama 'troubled' by GOP attempts to cast doubt on election results: 'That's a dangerous path' MORE, citing unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud.

Organizers and right-wing media figures, along with the White House officials, have predicted a massive turnout, though similar events during Trumps presidency have fizzled out.

Fox News host Sean HannitySean Patrick HannityRubio: GOP must rebrand as party of 'multiethnic, multiracial, working-class' voters The tribal journalism of cable news is at a crossroads Why this election won't bring us together MORE, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and Trump have all promoted the rally.

Heartwarming to see all of the tremendous support out there, especially the organic Rallies that are springing up all over the Country, including a big one on Saturday in D.C., the president saidin Friday afternoon tweet that was labeled by Twitter. I may even try to stop by and say hello. This Election was Rigged, from Dominion all the way up & down!

The only group to receive a permit by the city was Women for America First. The permit was issued for 10,000 people at Freedom Plaza on Saturday at noon. The group, spearheaded by former Tea Party activist Amy Kremer, was one of the first to promote the March for Trump.

Kremer told USA Today that her organization is not coordinating with any groups planning activities in D.C. on Saturday.

Promotion for the rally started among various online groups that support Trump.

Although I'm sure this rally will have Trump supporters who do not wish to cause harm, are fully intent on protesting peacefully and lawfully, the reason this rally is happening is because the some extreme elements of the right wing movement have come together to organize it, Jared Holt, a visiting fellow at the Atlantic Councils Digital Forensics Research Lab, told The Hill.

The conservative outlet Right Side Broadcasting Network pushed the Million MAGA March moniker.

Nick Fuentes, who has a history of making anti-Semitic and racist remarks, has advertised the rally to his Groyper Army, while Stewart Rhodes, head of the anti-government militia group the Oath Keepers, has said he will be in D.C. and that he has armed men standing by outside of the nations capital.

The head of self-described western chauvinist Proud Boys, known for instigating skirmishes, posted on Telegram that they will have a presence in D.C. on Saturday as well.

The group garnered national attention after Trump said at a presidential debate in September that they should stand back and stand by. After widespread backlash, he said the Proud Boys should stand down.

Supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory who believe in the baseless claim that Trump is working to expose a child-eating cabal of elites in the media and Democratic politics have also said they will be joining the main rally.

Saturdays events are expected to draw of smattering of other right-wing figures, including Infowarss Alex Jones, conspiracy theorist Mike Cernovich, conservative activist Scott Presler, and Andrew Anglin, founder of the neo-Nazi website Daily Stormer.

But the majority of rally participants on Saturday are expected to be more traditional and mainstream Trump supporters, experts said.

Even in their own party theyre very fringe, Holt said. I think what were going to see is these larger crowds of people who are going to this event because it's been plugged by Kayleigh McEnany, Sean Hannity, sort of mainstream GOP figures. Mixed up there there is going to be members of these extremist groups and militia movement groups which is going to make the whole situation from the outside look kind of confusing.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Department said authorities will be monitoring and assessing the situation as it unfolds. The spokesperson also noted that D.C. law prohibits open carry near rallies and that if anyone is found to be in violation of these laws, they would be subject to arrest.

Researchers warn that there are elevated risks of violence at the rally, especially given the Proud Boyss penchant for brawls and threats from militia groups, though groups like the Oath Keepers have not followed through on previous threats.

This rally comes at a time where passions among Trump supporters are extremely high, Holt said. And some of the more extreme groups that are planning to show up here have been speaking in increasingly exaggerated rhetoric, talking about coups and civil wars.

While the disparate groups expected to be in attendance Saturday have distinct goals, according to Media Matters for America President Angelo Carusone, one unifying desire is to back Trump after his election loss.

There's a core of people that believe that if they show up that will either inspire Trump into ascending into a more aggressive posture, or that it will sort of ward off, or signal to all the others ... that Trump has this massive show of support, he told The Hill.

The risk of violence becomes more likely if the right-wing antagonists are able to provoke responses from counterprotesters.

The They/Them collective has planned a F*ck MAGA counterprotest at the Supreme Court when the Trump-focused rally is slated to kick off, while local antifacist group All Out DC has scheduled another demonstration nearby.

In addition to local police, D.C. Mayor Muriel BowserMuriel BowserMcEnany predicts 'quite large' turnout at 'Million MAGA March' in DC DC, Washington metro area set new records for COVID-19 cases DC officials preparing for Proud Boys protest over the weekend MORE (D) has said the District will be keeping a close eye on planned activities.

Christopher Rodriguez, director of homeland security and emergency management for the city, said that officials are expecting relatively small turnout.

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Far-right groups plan DC rallies for Trump as tensions grow | TheHill - The Hill

The day has come: Donald Trump has been voted out of office. While many Americans are taking this time to celebrate Joe Biden and Kamala Harris success, it would be naive to think that Trumpism, Trumps particular brand of populist ideology, is leaving with him. Like it or not, Trump shattered the Republican status quo, inspiring a reordering of U.S. politics that will land him among the most influential people of the decade, if not the century. Many people across the political spectrum are now wondering what is in store for the future of the Grand Old Party (GOP)a party that, because of Trump, is now sitting on a platform virtually unrecognizable from where it was just a decade ago.

A common sentiment that arises in assessing Trumpist politics is that he did not explicitly start a movement; he simply poured gasoline on a preexisting flame. This claim is essentially true, but is slightly misleading and makes broad generalizations about the GOP. Since the Cold War era, the Republican Party has tied its evangelical and business-elite libertarian wings together through the process of fusionism. These two factions developed separately but were bonded via their shared belief in a strong American military presence to quell what was seen then as the global threat of communism.

The party was actively guided by the business elite wing, and grew to outwardly represent globalism and free-market trade practices. The business-elite libertarians, epitomized by Ronald Reagan, sought to keep in check the nativist, isolationist faction by suppressing its members influence, while relying on their party loyalty. But underneath the surface, intra-party tension was bubbling, evident in the establishment of the Tea Party sect of the GOP in 2009merely one year after the Great Recession in 2008. Many low-income, undereducated evangelical Republicans started to care less (if they ever cared at all) about conservative Republicanism, and instead began to develop a populist, anti-elitist attitude aimed at both Democratic and Republican elitespeople whom they perceived as apathetic to their needs, especially regarding their losses in the financial crisis.

This effect was thoroughly overlooked by the Republican establishment of libertarian business elites. Trump harnessed the Tea Party energy as a political outsider and emboldened the growing sect of the party that never came to terms with Republicanism as the globalist, multicultural free market-praising ideology candidates like George Bush wanted it to be. While other presidential candidates attempted to coast off the Bush familys version of Republicanism, Trump flipped that vision on its head. Unearthing the charade that the libertarians still maintained dominance of the party, Trump spoke up for the evangelical sect that had never consented to the globalization development in Republicanism and felt like they were not being heard. Instead of relying on typical Republican tropes like arguing for less government or protecting Second Amendment rights, Trump opted for an aggressively protectionist and socially conservative approach aimed at targeting working class Americans.

Trump wanted to pull the evangelical sect back into the conversation as a punch in the gut to the libertarian business elites, who the evangelicals felt had condescended them for too long. And it worked. By strategically choosing Mike Pence as Vice President, a faithful evangelical who also received backing from the Koch brothers, Trump curried favor with born-again America, reeling in more than 80 percent of the white evangelical vote in the 2016 election.

It is worth mentioning the trend during the Republican primaries of self-proclaimed Never Trumpers turning into Trump loyalists. These conservative politicians, like Lindsey Graham, quickly saw their bases mesmerized by Trump, and feared that if they did not abandon their Never Trump stance and align with his populist politics they would be ousted by someone in the primary contests who did. So having caused such a collateral impact, what does Trumps absence now mean for the Republican party?

Without Trump there to pick and choose who succeeds and who does not, politicians may have a little more wiggle room in adapting their platforms. However, they do have to keep in mind that in many cases, their base was also Trumps base, so diverting from the former Presidents stances could be interpreted as sacrilegious by their constituencies. For the libertarian business elite to make a comeback, Trumps presence will need to take up significantly less space in the party, a choice that he does not appear to be making anytime soon. On the other hand, his bombastic energy is so personal that it would be extremely hard to replicate, except by perhaps Donald Trump Jr., whom many speculate might make a presidential run in 2024.

Furthermore, the 2020 election results are telling as to where the party is heading and what voter blocs they are targeting, both of which pertain to Trumpisms internal influence on the GOP. Trumps entire political character centers around economic nationalism coupled with extreme social conservatism. Right now, that nationalism hinges on white supremacy, but this election showcased a migration of Latinx voters (historically a voting bloc for the Democratic Party as well as Americas fastest growing minority population) to the GOP. This means that Trumps economic nationalism could turn into civic nationalismif Trumpists ditch the race-baiting tactics they could build a young, multi-racial coalition of Republicans. Republicanism is slowly becoming favorable among poor American districts as wealth inequality spreads. Ironically, the Democrats have traditionally pitched themselves as the peoples party, but are now overwhelmingly supported in the nations richest counties. Meanwhile, Republicans are starting to sneakily co-opt social programs presented by progressives without calling them left-wing.

Take, for instance, Bernie Sanders primary success over Joe Biden in states such as California and Nevada with high Latinx populations. In the presidential election Biden significantly underperformed nationally with Latinx voters, a concerning foreshadowing for the Democratic National Conventions (DNC) relation with Americas fastest growing ethnic population. As the right starts to out-left the left, the DNC is quickly losing its credibility, particularly among working American Latinx voters. The GOP knows that this growing Latinx voter-bloc is relatively socially conservative, yet economically liberal. Since Latinx voters are less likely to identify outright as liberal than white Democrats, the election results show that its easier for them to jump from backing a Sanders platform to backing a GOP contender if the GOP can appropriate left-leaning economic policies without explicitly calling them left-wing. For example, Marco Rubio recently called for common-good capitalism, in a speech in which he criticized the ethics of businesses making excessive profits while excluding workers from sharing in those profits.

Trump has tapped into an aspect of economic nationalism that is explicitly racialized. But the Republican takeaway is that it doesnt necessarily have to be. With traditional geopolitical barriers having been broken and reorganized, and the Democratic Party transitioning from the peoples party to that of the elites, the working-class vote is up for grabs. If the now-imploded Republican Party can sponsor a Trumpist ideology in 2024 that drops the race-baiting and transforms economic nationalism into civic nationalism, they may be able to convince a majority of working-class Americans to adopt Republicanism. This approach would entail a nuanced take on the Republican Party that denounces neoliberal free-market ideologies, while promising working-class Americans social programs typically reserved for far-left supporters of Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. You might think this approach is strange for Republicans, but remember, Trump won with a non-traditional emphasis that abandoned the tenets of 20th-century conservatism. If the DNC wont listen to the progressive wing of their party, they are leaving a fiscally liberal gap for conservatives to seize in the name of anti-elitism and anti-neoliberalism.

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Trumpism evolves in the Republican Party post-Trump defeat - Miscellany News

We knew when we asked Boston.com readers to name their best-ever Boston-area concert that wed get some interesting, varied and possibly kind of loopy responses. What we didnt know was whether there would be a clear winner for the best concert in the citys modern history.

But believe it or not, it turns out there was in fact one single show that stood out among the rest. And by a wide margin too.

But first, some statistics: More than 300 people responded to our poll, naming more than 150 different artists and upwards of 75 venues (although several involved different names for the same place, owing to Bostons impossible-to-follow, ever-changing concert scene). And the responses mentioned well over 200 individual shows, ranging from a 1960 performance of Joan Baez at Club 47 (later Club Passim) in Harvard Square, to a fans-only Garth Brooks show at Six String Grill & Stage in Patriot Place this past February, just before the pandemic put the kibosh on live music.

But what about that top show? Our question was prompted by a re-release of U2s Live in Boston featuring a full Fleet Center show from 2001, so its only appropriate that Bono and company should take the title. But it wasnt that concert, but rather the legendary Irish bands March 17, 1992 St. Patricks Day stop at the old Boston Garden that got the nod, with 10 separate respondents citing it as their top show ever.

Part of the bands Zoo TV tour in support of 1991s Achtung Baby, the setlist featured most of that now-classic disc, along with early favorites like Bad, rarities like Van Diemens Land, and a cover of Lou Reeds Satellite of Love. Heres what some Boston.com readers remembered about the night:

No other single show came close, although Pearl Jams April 1994 stint at the old Garden got five shout-outs, with their September 2018 Fenway Park stop getting four. And Bruce Springsteen managed four mentions for his shows in the shadow of the Green Monster in August 2012, with three for his September 2003 Fenway appearance, the first-ever concert there.

In terms of most-mentioned artists overall, 17 acts got four or more votes in our poll, and there were some clear favorites who would seem to indicate most of our respondents may have been Of A Certain Age. (We know who we are.) Check them out in the chart below, keeping in mind that more than 100 artists that got three votes or fewer didnt make the cut those included acts as diverse as Andrea Bocelli, Ariana Grande, Beyonc and Jay-Z, Buddy Guy, Chance the Rapper, Fugazi, Human Sexual Response, Julianna Hatfield, New Kids on the Block, Pat Benatar, Paul McCartney, Sonny & Cher, and Til Tuesday, which sounds like the lineup for the craziest Coachella ever.

There were even three folks who got to list The Beatles, two at the Garden in 1964 and one at Suffolk Downs in 1966; three who pointed to the famous July 1972 Rolling Stones show when Boston Mayor Kevin White had to get the boys out of jail in Providence; one who checked out James Brown at The Channel in 1987; and three who were lucky enough to see Jimi Hendrix in 1968, one at the Garden and two at the Carousel Theater in Framingham. Excuse me while I kiss the sky; in the meantime you can see the full list here.

Youve probably noticed the Boston Garden the original one, with its rickety rafters and bad sight lines getting a lot of love here. In fact, it was by far the most-mentioned venue, with 67 of the shows mentioned taking place in its hallowed halls. (Its successor, TD Garden ne Fleet Center, garnered a mere 25.) Also impressive is the second-place finish for Fenway Park, which has only been hosting concerts since 2003, and only during the summer when the Sox are away. (Although this past season they would have been more than welcome on game nights.) It still managed to host 44 of the shows mentioned.

Any venue that got at least four votes in our poll is represented in the chart below, although parsing out which were unique venues and which were just Avalon by another name, for instance, was kind of tricky. And there were plenty of less-mentioned sites past and present that didnt make the chart but are still worthy of note, like Agganis Arena, Cape Cod Coliseum, Great Scott, Middle East Downstairs, Jonathan Swifts, TT the Bears, Tsongas Arena and The Roxy. Check out the full list here.

If youre really eager to take a deep dive, you can see the full poll results as submitted here, warts and all. Meanwhile, keep watching those Internet livestreams, singing in the shower, and spinning your old copy of Frampton Comes Alive. With a little luck and hopefully a vaccine live music will be back in our lives faster than you can count off to four (in your best Springsteen counting voice, of course).

Joan Baez, Club 47, March 20, 1960. That voice! Doris, Lincoln

The Beatles, Boston Garden, Oct. 12, 1964. As a young high school student from Boston it was my first concert and the atmosphere was exhilarating. We had no idea what icons they would become. Paula, Boston

Buddy Guy, Club 47, Jan. 10, 1967. It was back in the heyday of the blues, and Buddy Guy who Clapton calls the greatest blues guitarist ever was in his prime. It was Buddy, and Jack Meyers on bass, and A.C. Reed on sax. About the finest of the Chicago bluesmen. He was like a controlled Hendrix so smooth! Pickin with his teeth, behind his back He even climbed up on the piano, in the low-ceilinged little venue, and pinned the guitar up against the ceiling and was picking it with the same hand! He had an extra long cord, and walked out on the street (it was 10 degrees out in January!) while the bass player and drummer remained on stage, the sax man and trumpet player were behind each shoulder. Never forget it! Scott, Newton

Jimi Hendrix, Boston Garden, July 15, 1968. I was in the U.S. Army stationed here before going overseas. I was on a first date w/ the girl who would be my girlfriend for the last five months of my Boston stay. It was also my first contact high from the marijuana wafting up from the floor. Hendrix was nothing less than astonishing. Chris, back in Boston 50 years after posting

Led Zeppelin, Boston Tea Party, Jan. 4, 1969. Just about when they released their first album. The Boston Tea Party was in a converted church and we were maybe 20 feet from Jimmy Page, John Bonham, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones just on the left side of the stage. Talk about Dazed and Confused! That was a very big year quite a way to start it off! Steve, Arlington

The Doors, Boston Arena at Northeastern University, April 10, 1970. Ill never forget it. I was 19. The first show was at 7 and we had tickets to the 10 p.m. show which didnt start until after midnight because apparently Jim was busy getting inebriated. It wasnt the best quality show I was ever at but certainly the most memorable. Jim wouldnt leave the stage so they cut the power off. It was a lot of fun! Ed, South Shore

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Boston Garden, May 29, 1970. VIVID MEMORY: 25 days after four students were shot dead by the Ohio National Guard at Kent State. Midway through the concert Stephen Stills said, Our next song is a new one that Neil just finished writing, weve never played it for anyone before, youre the first ones to hear it, so here goes. Even though no one had ever heard the song before, very quickly almost everyone knew exactly what it was about and by the end of the song 18,000 people were singing 4 dead in O-H-I-O. John, Springfield

The Rolling Stones, Boston Garden, July 19, 1972. I was 16 years old and this was the night that two Stones were arrested at the Green Airport in Rhode Island. The concert was delayed for hours. Mayor White got them out of jail, arranged a police escort to Boston, and they went on just after midnight. The mayor kept the trains running so I was able to get back to Lowell around 4 a.m. Couldnt sleep. The band was on fire, as they were for the whole 1972 tour, but this night was special. Jack, Orange

Boz Scaggs, Fleetwood Mac, Eagles, Schaeffer Stadium, July 26, 1976. Boz Scaggs really surprised me, but both Fleetwood Mac (at the time, Rumors had just been released) and the Eagles (supporting On the Border) were at their early peaks, and it was a tremendous opportunity to see all of them together. Bob, Palm Harbor, Fla.

Bob Marley, Harvard Stadium, July 21, 1979. Bob Marley in his prime, outdoors on beautiful summers day, at a classic stadium, with Dick Gregory and Patty Labelle, to celebrate the ongoing liberation of the people of Africa. See for yourself.

U2, Paradise Rock Club, March 6, 1981. It was U2s second time through Boston and BCN had built the buzz around the concert. They were still figuring out the larger concerts and still had the raw pub band energy, which translated perfectly to the Paradise. Saw them later at the Orpheum and there was more show and a bit less grit (still pretty good concert but not quite as memorable as the first time). Never really felt the need to see them in a stadium setting. Grant, Boston

Prince, Orpheum Theater, Jan. 18, 1982. Prince was amazing; it was early in his career and he outdid himself. Not only was Prince prime The Time opened off the show with so much emotion that Prince took it to the next level once he began. It was also most likely the loudest concert I ever attended.

English Beat, The Channel, Sept. 8, 1982. I was just getting into ska. The English Beat had the whole place dancing. The Clash played The Orpheum the same night, and they were dancing in front of the stage with the rest of us.

Bob Dylan, Boston Opera House, Oct. 24, 1989. The beginning of the great Dylan comeback, the Oh Mercy tour. Spellbinding acoustic set including Boots of Spanish Leather and Hattie Carroll. Top notch backing band led by G.E. Smith. The master rediscovering his genius.

Nirvana, Axis, Sept. 23, 1991. Saw Nirvana in a small club when one of greatest albums of all time, Nevermind, came out in September 1991. Nick, Lexington

Pearl Jam, Boston Garden, April 11, 1994. Just days after Kurt Cobains suicide when everything seemed to be coming apart, watching Pearl Jam leave everything on stage was beautifully life affirming. Chris, A-Town

Oasis, Local 186 in Allston, Oct. 24, 1994. After an unremarkable opening band criticized Oasis manager, Oasis road crew threw their equipment (drums, mike stands, amps) off the front of the stage. After a small scuffle and lots of profanity, Oasis came out pumped up and played a blistering set of songs from Definitely Maybe.

Julianna Hatfield, Middle East Downstairs, Oct. 24, 1995. Local band on top of their game and iconic small venue.

Coldplay, Paradise Rock Club, Aug. 6, 2002. Small venue for a band that eventually became one of the biggest in the world.

J. Geils/Aerosmith, Fenway Park, Aug. 14, 2010. This was the most Boston of concerts, ever. Two of our biggest bands playing outside in our venerated baseball cathedral. Steven Tyler, alone at a piano on top of the Green Monster playing the opening bars to Dream On, was beyond amazing. Jon, North Andover

Bruce Springsteen, Fenway Park, Aug. 15, 2012. Springsteen concerts are always by far the best of the best, but this one was something special even for his standards. Now, the first night on 8/14 was good, and the 8/18 show at Gillette was good, but this one sandwiched in the middle was downright LEGENDARY As a result of refusing to let anyone go home for bedtime, he got fined for playing too long past curfew (which Im pretty sure happened at every local show he has played at Fenway, Great Woods, and Gillette since 2008), and any time this man decides that the POWER OF ROCK N ROLL is mightier than the money or the rules, its a great night. And listen, you dont have to take my word for it. Go to any Springsteen fan site and ask their opinion of this concert, its an easy way to get us going. Bill, East Bridgewater

Bosstones, Lemonheads, Buffalo Tom, Boston Common, July 20, 2013. Post-Marathon bombing. Great great vibe as Boston bounced back from the violence. Free and open on the Common. Beautiful.

The Pixies, TT the Bears Place, June 18, 2015. The day started with a surprise announcement of a secret show to celebrate the closing of TT the Bears. Only those with the bracelet got in. Thats part of what made this night special was the fact that everyone in the crowd at some point took off work or other responsibilities to wait in the hot sun for a ticket. So when we got to the show, we already had a shared experience. Then, it started. And what followed was 2+ hours of straight music. No conversation, no pauses, just song after song. The air was filled with a fog from the heat of the crowd. The sound was loud and ripped through your body. There were many times during the show when my feet werent on the ground because the crowd was one big mass pulsating and pushing me to and fro. It was loud, dirty and glorious just as rock n roll should be. Josh, Dedham

Foo Fighters, Fenway Park, July 1, 2016. Amazing performance, high energy was the summer of [Dave Grohls] broken femur and the doctor came on stage to join the band Carolyn, Londonderry, N.H.

Kenny Chesney, Gillette Stadium, Aug. 25, 2016. When he sings his famous song about Boston, its a highlight! I love Kenny performing in Foxboro the tailgating, end of the summer vibes! Lindsay, Boston

New Kids on the Block, Fenway Park, July 8, 2017. The energy was off the charts. Thunderstorm rolled through before they came on so the field was wet, but the boys took advantage and performed on the wet infield, sliding into puddles, then climbed on top of the dugouts for a song. Such a fun night and wonderful memory. Katherine, Boston, MA

Mt. Joy, Great Scott, June 12, 2018. Great Scotts original location is now only fleeting memories of sticky floors and sweaty bodies packed into that tiny venue on Comm Ave. However, [promoter] Carl Lavin has saved the spirit of Great Scott: that is booking small, up-and-coming indie bands. Mt. Joy is one of the finest examples of that. This show was perfect; a sold-out night where the crowd sang along to every word. Just weeks before the pandemic hit Mt. Joy was playing shows for 30,000 people. I feel grateful for these nights and Boston is better for them. SAVE LOCAL VENUES! I want Boston.com to pose this question 5 years from now and I hope someone will share these same memories. Ryan, Somerville

Garth Brooks, Six String Grill & Stage in Foxboro, Feb. 5, 2020. Garth Brooks Dive Bar Tour stop in Foxboro was the greatest local concert for so many reasons. First, it was truly just for fans (it was free and you had to win tickets on a local radio contest). So everyone screamed every word to every song all night. It was such an intimate experience, and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The show itself was amazing, and Ive never stood so close to an artist at a concert. It was also basically one of the last public things we did before the pandemic shut down things like this, so I think back to it fondly all the time! Erinn, Foxboro

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We asked readers for their best Boston concert ever and there was a clear winner - Boston.com

Gusts of wind tumbling over pink table cloths and vines of plastic flowers didnt stop Elena Hussan from opening up her business new home for tea parties in Bixby Knolls, Sunday morning.

Hussan, owner of Dream Come True Tea & Party Room, has been waiting 17 years to debut a permanent venue, originally slated to open this past summer, but was deterred by the coronavirus pandemic.

Its exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time, Hussan said about her venues first day in business. More than anything, she said she was grateful that she didnt lose her business, giving thanks to a dozen individuals, including her mother and boyfriend, who helped her dream come true.

Hussan invited the public to view the space, adorned with tall, pink walls and a ceiling mural as well as vintage China tea sets and hand-painted flowers around the bathroom mirror.

The venue specializes in theme parties with style and charm, from hosting fairy and princess parties for children to tea time for adults.

After hearing word of the grand opening, Lucy He, 26, came all the way from the San Fernando Valley with a Long Beach friend to see the room for herself.

It always reminds me of all the Victorian movies, she said with excitement. He, wearing a white, ruffled mask and pink ribbons on her hair, said she became interested in this aesthetic in college.

Her friend, 35-year-old Lauren Nishikawa, has been fond of the style since she was a child. Its very whimsical here, she said about the venue. I love it.

After taking pictures and gazing upon the different textures of the venue, Nishikawa and He were then seated for their reservation at the tents behind the business in the parking lota tea party experience Hussan hopes customers will still enjoy.

We made the outdoor tent as cute as possible, Hussan said.

Dream Come True Tea & Party Room is located at 3924 Atlantic Ave. Long Beach, CA 90807.

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'Cute' and 'whimsical' party room opens with teas and pinks in Bixby Knolls the Hi-lo - Long Beach Post

About 70% of Republicans apparently believe the 2020 presidential election to have been neither free nor fair.

Thats a big chunk of voters rejecting, on entirely bogus grounds, the legitimacy of the new president.

And its not the first time either.

From 2011, Donald Trump engendered support for his own tilt at the White House by questioning the legality of the Obama presidency. He built his political career upon the embrace of birtherism, a racist conspiracy that emerged during the election of 2008.

Back then, rightwing blogs and talk radio shows claimed Obama was not a natural-born citizen of the US, and thus ineligible for office under Article Two of the constitution.

A Harris Poll in 2010 found an astonishing 25% of respondents questioned Obamas right to serve, as the birthers tried to persuade electoral college voters, the supreme court and members of the college to block his certification.

More than any other figure, Trump brought that rejection of Obamas legitimacy into the mainstream.

If he wasnt born in this country, which is a real possibility ... he told NBCs Today Show in 2011, then he has pulled one of the great cons in the history of politics.

For the Tea Party movement and the Republican fringe, birtherism underpinned a rightwing conviction that Obamas presidency represented a kind of coup.

Mind you, after the 2016 election, a significant proportion of Democrats thought the same about Trumps victory.

As David Greenberg notes, Hillary Clinton, Jimmy Carter and John Lewis were among those who publicly labelled Trump illegitimate, elected only as the result of Russian meddling. Some Democrats blamed Vladimir Putin for the WikiLeaks release of the Podesta emails or suggested Russian social bots fixed the outcome; others falsely claimed that voting booths had been rigged or that Trump was in fact a Manchurian candidate employed in Putins service.

For such people, Trump wasnt merely an odious, rightwing demagogue. He was also an impostor, whose presence in the Oval Office signified systemic institutional failure.

The refusal by Trumps supporters to accept the 2020 result as genuine didnt then come entirely from nowhere. Indeed, its been a long time since partisans of a defeated presidential candidate havent denounced the process that allowed their opponent to win.

Perhaps we shouldnt be surprised.

For years, surveys have revealed a massive and ongoing decline in trust in basic institutions, including those associated with democracy.

In early 2020, for instance, the communications firm Edelman polled 34,000 people in 28 countries for its Trust Barometer report. It found a tremendous decrease in the publics respect for institutions, with almost everywhere government and media perceived as both incompetent and unethical.

Fifty-seven percent of those surveyed believed the media to be contaminated with untrustworthy information and 66% did not expect government leaders to successfully address our countrys challenges.

Even in Australia, one of the wealthiest and most secure nations in the world, more than half of people polled saw the system as failing them, and a large majority no longer possessed confidence in the media.

We might think this cynicism would favour progressives, given the lefts longstanding critique of institutional power.

But its not as simple as that.

Obama won office because George W Bush had plunged America into permanent, unpopular wars. Trump triumphed in 2016 because he faced a weak opponent; he lost in 2020 when his response to Covid-19 revealed his utter ineptitude.

In other words, you dont need to cry fraud to explain recent presidential elections. You can understand the outcomes easily enough in terms of decisions by voters.

But only if you acknowledge voters ability to make such decisions.

Conspiracy theories proceed on an entirely different basis. They present ordinary people as gulls, the perpetual dupes of power; they suggest events unfold, always and everywhere, according to the will of hidden string pullers.

Rather than asking why their candidate didnt appeal to electors, the conspiracist looks for external manipulation implicitly accepting that only the elite can make history.

In different circumstances, a widespread cynicism about the existing institutions might propel a movement to deepen and widen participation in political affairs. Right now, however, it seems to be linked to a prevailing pessimism about democratic agency, one that can all too easily provide openings for authoritarian demagogues.

Joe Biden takes office as the embodiment of American business-as-usual. Despite polling far more votes than Trump, he remains the ultimate insider, associated with many of the most consistently hated policies in recent years (from the Iraq war, which he championed, to mass incarceration, which he helped initiate).

Not surprisingly, if you survey rightwing social media, you can see the new argument cohering at a frightening speed, with more and more accounts claiming that Biden was illegitimately foisted on honest Americans by a nefarious elite. Far-right agitators, many of whom had long since given up on Trump, have embraced the #stopthesteal campaign with enthusiasm, with the upcoming Million Maga march potentially bringing together motley white nationalist and fascist groups in what looks very much like an attempted reprise of the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally.

Just as Trumps rise inspired imitators elsewhere, we should expect the rights narrative to spread internationally. Already, baseless allegations of electoral fraud have been echoed by Australian politicians and its still early days yet.

Trump might be gone but, until we can rekindle faith in ordinary peoples ability to reshape the world, Trumpism will remain very much with us.

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Trumpism will persist until we rekindle faith in peoples ability to reshape the world - The Guardian