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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMike 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.
In the time I spent with Mike Lindell, I came to learn that he is affable, devout, philanthropicand 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 dont 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 arent). A philanthropist. A good boss. A patriotor so he sayswho 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 Januaryon the 9th, he says carefully, placing the date after the 6tha 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.
Thats why Lindell has spent moneya lot of it, tens of millions, he told mevalidating the packets, and its 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 Dakotas 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/
LakeArenal
(29,949 posts)I think hes just a troll. You know the kind under the bridge.
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)Mike Nelson
(10,943 posts)... 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)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.
viva la
(4,586 posts)Lost lots of business because of Trump. Hopes radio ads will bring in lots of buyers, LOL.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.businessinsider.com/mike-lindell-mypillow-infomercials-revenue-retailers-radio-podcast-sales-profit-2021-4%3famp
spanone
(141,393 posts)Me.
(35,454 posts)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?
See my post below. I was working on it while you were posting your reply.
Bristlecone
(11,091 posts)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)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.
Me.
(35,454 posts)Mme. Defarge
(9,005 posts)rickyhall
(5,509 posts)Chainfire
(17,757 posts)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.