Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Nexus2

(1,261 posts)
Sun Aug 1, 2021, 10:19 AM Aug 2021

Mike Lindell's Plot to Destroy America - The Atlantic

The guy would be funny if he wasn't real, but he's genuinely frightening. He's a zealous True Believer, not cynical, not a grifter, former crack addict now a fanatic gifted with drive a convert to the Trumpian Mythology.

THE MYPILLOW GUY REALLY COULD DESTROY DEMOCRACY
In the time I spent with Mike Lindell, I came to learn that he is affable, devout, philanthropic—and a clear threat to the nation.

By Anne Applebaum

When you contemplate the end of democracy in America, what kind of person do you think will bring it about? Maybe you picture a sinister billionaire in a bespoke suit, slipping brown envelopes to politicians. Maybe your nightmare is a rogue general, hijacking the nuclear football. Maybe you think of a jackbooted thug leading a horde of men in white sheets, all carrying burning crosses.

Here is what you probably don’t imagine: an affable, self-made midwesterner, one of those goofy businessmen who makes his own infomercials. A recovered crack addict, no less, who laughs good-naturedly when jokes are made at his expense. A man who will talk to anyone willing to listen (and to many who aren’t). A philanthropist. A good boss. A patriot—or so he says—who may well be doing more damage to American democracy than anyone since Jefferson Davis.

SNIP...

Even in this group, Lindell stands out. Not only is he presumably much richer than Garland Favorito and Willis @treekiller35; he is willing to spend his money on the cause. MyPillow has long been an important advertiser on Fox News, so much so that even Trump noticed Lindell (“That guy is on TV more than I am”), but has since widened its net. MyPillow spent tens of thousands of dollars advertising on Newsmax just in the week following the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

And now Lindell is spending on more than just advertising. Last January—on the 9th, he says carefully, placing the date after the 6th—a group of still-unidentified concerned citizens brought him some computer data. These were, allegedly, packet captures, intercepted data proving that the Chinese Communist Party altered electoral results … in all 50 states. This is a conspiracy theory more elaborate than the purported Venezuelan manipulation of voting machines, more improbable than the allegation that millions of supposedly fake ballots were mailed in, more baroque than the belief that thousands of dead people voted. This one has potentially profound geopolitical implications.

That’s why Lindell has spent money—a lot of it, “tens of millions,” he told me—“validating” the packets, and it’s why he is planning to spend a lot more. Starting on August 10, he is holding a three-day symposium in Sioux Falls (because he admires South Dakota’s gun-toting governor, Kristi Noem), where the validators, whoever they may be, will present their results publicly. He has invited all interested computer scientists, university professors, elected federal officials, foreign officials, reporters, and editors to the symposium. He has booked, he says variously, “1,000 hotel rooms” or “all the hotel rooms in the city” to accommodate them. (As of Wednesday, Booking.com was still showing plenty of rooms available in Sioux Falls.)


More at link

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/07/mike-lindells-plot-destroy-america/619593/






14 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Mike Lindell's Plot to Destroy America - The Atlantic (Original Post) Nexus2 Aug 2021 OP
I think the longer he erupts the more insane he is. LakeArenal Aug 2021 #1
And he's in need of some serious psychiatric help. n/t RKP5637 Aug 2021 #2
Hmm... Mike Nelson Aug 2021 #3
I doubt he's really that rich. viva la Aug 2021 #4
Private company, so he self reports revenues... viva la Aug 2021 #5
He's an idiot. Doesn't deserve all this ink. spanone Aug 2021 #6
Not This Again Me. Aug 2021 #7
Ha! Mme. Defarge Aug 2021 #10
I think he is cynical and a grifter. Bristlecone Aug 2021 #8
I have been a long time Atlantic Monthly fan but Mme. Defarge Aug 2021 #9
great minds? Me. Aug 2021 #13
Moi aussi! Mme. Defarge Aug 2021 #14
Maybe he snorts his mysterious pillow filler (shredded memory foam). rickyhall Aug 2021 #11
Lindell is a symptom of a declining civilization Chainfire Aug 2021 #12

LakeArenal

(29,949 posts)
1. I think the longer he erupts the more insane he is.
Sun Aug 1, 2021, 10:24 AM
Aug 2021

I think he’s just a troll. You know the kind under the bridge.

Mike Nelson

(10,943 posts)
3. Hmm...
Sun Aug 1, 2021, 10:34 AM
Aug 2021

... conspiracy theorists are thinking the Democrats put something is in the vaccine... Maybe they should wonder what Mr. Lindell put in his pillows...

viva la

(4,586 posts)
4. I doubt he's really that rich.
Sun Aug 1, 2021, 10:35 AM
Aug 2021

Who knows these days. But his company sells pillows. How many people buy pillows from a guy on TV rather than Target or Bed Bath and Beyond? How many pillows does anyone buy in a year?

Of course, he's probably grifting off the dumb Trumpers. But if he's actually spending millions for Trump, i wonder how long his pillow dollars will hold out.

Me.

(35,454 posts)
7. Not This Again
Sun Aug 1, 2021, 10:41 AM
Aug 2021

The sky is not falling Anne Applebaum and Lindell is not going to destroy America. Also, tens of millions...the proof? And I guess he is walking back TFG's ascension to the throne on the 13th.

What has happened to the Atlantic lately?

Bristlecone

(11,091 posts)
8. I think he is cynical and a grifter.
Sun Aug 1, 2021, 10:51 AM
Aug 2021

He consistently undermines a free and fair democratic presidential election in favor of a con-man with bullshit “evidence” that only he has access to AND he hawks chopped up foam pillows on TV to suckers - Constantly at odds with the BBB.

Mme. Defarge

(9,005 posts)
9. I have been a long time Atlantic Monthly fan but
Sun Aug 1, 2021, 12:02 PM
Aug 2021

the recent slew of “the sky is falling” articles has been something of a turnoff. So much unrelenting pessimism can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

 

Chainfire

(17,757 posts)
12. Lindell is a symptom of a declining civilization
Sun Aug 1, 2021, 12:36 PM
Aug 2021

25 years ago, he would have been laughed out of town and could not have gotten two minutes of news coverage unless it was a local station filming him getting into a van wearing a straight jacket. This is where Republicans in government have taken us. Everyone who associates themselves with the party are responsible for the insanity on the theory that if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.





Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Mike Lindell's Plot to De...