Sen Paul and the repub’s who want to end American Democracy, Belong in Russia

The Courier Journal

‘I hope they clog up cities’: Sen. Rand Paul hopes Canada trucker protest spreads to US

Lucas Aulbach, Louisville Courier Journal – February 11, 2022

Sen. Rand Paul has watched the protests in Canada over coronavirus restrictions shut down several blocks in Ottawa for weeks and bring traffic along key nearby crossings to a halt.

Now, he’s ready to roll out the welcome wagon for the protesters in the U.S.

In an interview Thursday with the Daily Signal, a conservative media site, the U.S. senator from Kentucky said “it’d be great” if the protests spread to Washington, D.C., when asked about his thoughts on the protests and how the nation’s capital would react if they spread south across the border.

“The thing is, it wouldn’t shut the city down because the government workers haven’t come to work in two years anyway, so I don’t know if it’d affect D.C.,” Paul joked. “It’d be nice change. We’d actually have some traffic.”

Just under 25% of office workers in Washington, D.C., were working out of their offices as of September 2021, according to a survey from the DowntownDC Business Improvement District, as more employees opted to work from home amid the pandemic, which has frequently closed schools and upended child care options.

The protests in Canada, referred to as the “Freedom Convoy” by supporters, are set to enter their third consecutive weekend. Led by a group of truck drivers who started in British Columbia and drove to Ottawa, the country’s capital, protesters involved have called for the government to put an end to a mandate approved by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that requires truckers entering the Canada from the U.S. to have been fully vaccinated or face additional quarantining and testing.

The protesters have set up camp in downtown Ottawa, shutting down several city blocks and disrupting day-to-day life in the city’s core, with Mayor Jim Watson at one point calling a state of emergency due to “serious danger and threat to the safety and security of residents.” A separate state of emergency was put in place for the entire province of Ontario by Premier Doug Ford on Friday as three border crossings have been closed due to the demonstrations.

Paul, a frequent critic of U.S. COVID policies, told the Daily Signal that the protests were an example of civil disobedience – a “time-honored tradition in our country.”

“I hope the truckers do come to America, and I hope they clog up cities,” Paul said. “We’re seeing a break in the dam now. Several Democratic governors are finally sort of relinquishing. What they’re finding is moms and dads are upset about this, they’re not just Republicans. Everybody is upset about this.”

Paul might just get his wish.

The Super Bowl is set to take place Sunday in Los Angeles, and the Department of Homeland Security warned state and local law enforcement departments Tuesday that protests could potentially begin in California before convoying through the U.S. to make it to the nation’s capital by March 1, the day President Joe Biden is set to give his State of the Union address.

“While there are currently no indications of planned violence, if hundreds of trucks converge in a major metropolitan city, the potential exists to severely disrupt transportation, federal government operations, commercial facilities, and emergency services through gridlock and potential counterprotests,” the memo said, according to USA TODAY.

Paul’s office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Friday.

Author: John Hanno

Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. Bogan High School. Worked in Alaska after the earthquake. Joined U.S. Army at 17. Sergeant, B Battery, 3rd Battalion, 84th Artillery, 7th Army. Member of 12 different unions, including 4 different locals of the I.B.E.W. Worked for fortune 50, 100 and 200 companies as an industrial electrician, electrical/electronic technician.