Bold Soviet PBS Documentary Documents Right-Deviationist Counterrevolutionary Crimes by Orange Devil Monster!

PBS has just aired a new Soviet-realist documentary on the January 6 insurrection, ironically titled Democracy on Trial, right as a long line of Democratic prosecutors wage lawfare against the Republican presidential frontrunner and Democratic officials throw the Republican frontrunner off the ballot and attempt to transition to single-party elections. But all of that isn’t what they mean by Democracy on Trial, you see.

How honest and careful is this documentary? Here’s a screenshot from the discussion about the formation of the January 6 special committee and the Trump supporters they were preparing to investigate — and no, I’m not kidding:

This is what PBS is actually putting on the air about Donald Trump. Here’s a wider shot of the next frame, and note the chapter title at the bottom versus the image being shown:

New shamelessness accomplishment UNLOCKED!

See, what happened on January 6 is that, um, hooded Klansmen marched against the Capitol, more or less. Or, well, okay, it wasn’t that, but it was just like it. Grand Imperial Wizard Donald Trump!!!!

So yes, we seem to be arriving at the moment where we address the failure of a political narrative by trying to turn up the emotional symbol-play to eleven. Give ‘em three more months, and the news will be saying the words “Donald Trump” over and over as they show you footage of Adolf Hitler ranting from the stage at Nuremberg. By November 1, the news will just be images of dying kittens writhing in agony, with a narrator chanting TRUMP TRUMP TRUMP TRUMP TRUMP under the footage, to Skinner Box your brain into the appropriate love of democracy.

Good evening, this is the nightly news. And now our top story:

DONALD TRUMP IS KITTEN MURDER DONALD TRUMP IS KITTEN MURDER DONALD TRUMP IS KITTEN MURDER DONALD TRUMP IS KITTEN MURDER

And now here’s Jack with the weather.

But the truly remarkable moment in the documentary is an admission against interest that starts at the 11:51 mark, just past the Klan images. Here’s a time-stamped link to this part, or see this video post on Twitter/X from Eric Abbenante. It’s a discussion of the staging of the January 6 committee, proudly covering the way the committee brought on a longtime television producer, James Goldston, to pump up the narrative. “They wanted a storyteller,” the experienced TV guy says. Watch a few minutes of this time-stamped footage to see that the chairman of the committee explicitly wanted the story to “pop,” like a really button-pushing soap opera.

Actual quote from the 14:00 mark: “We wanted to make sure that this was a presentation that would grab the audience and hold onto ‘em.”

They meant it as a prime-time television drama. And they still do. But don’t worry, because Frontline got in all of the most important voices.

I can’t bring myself to stomach the whole thing, but presumably Max Boot and Jennifer Rubin will make an appearance at some point. If you watch it all and you do see them, please don’t tell me about it.

Finally, to clarify the purpose of the “documentary,” here’s a screenshot from the opening minutes — the introduction of the brilliant and ethically flawless career prosecutor Jack Smith:

Not mentioned: the loss in the John Edwards trial, or the time the Supreme Court unanimously threw out Jack Smith’s conviction of the former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell. But he’s brilliant and thorough, trust us, and he always wins and he’s never wrong and oh god please please please nominate that nikki haley person oh sorry did we say that out loud.

I would only ask that PBS bill the DNC for services rendered. People who do a job for a client should expect to be paid.