You and I may think that Maxine Waters is an unhinged lunatic--she is, after all, an unhinged lunatic--but she is one of the most powerful Democrats in Congress. 

As the Democratic Chief Deputy Whip, she has held positions of enormous power, including chairing the Committee on Financial Services and now serving as its Ranking Member. She sits on the DNC and is one of the most vocal members of Congress. She has served as an advisor to Democrat presidential candidates since 1980. 

JUST IN: Rep. Maxine Waters launches new conspiracy theory that Trump supporters are “training up in the hills” for a coordinated attack.

Waters also called on the DOJ to investigate this made up threat in her head.

“I tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to ask the Justice… pic.twitter.com/x4WFCGsSzZ

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 6, 2024

Waters has challenged every Republican victory in presidential races since 2000, voting not to accept electoral votes that favor Republicans--making her one of the most prolific election deniers in America, but that's OK, she is a Democrat. 

Her latest rant about how Donald Trump has militias training to commit guerilla warfare against, presumably, minorities is particularly unhinged. But again, that doesn't matter. She spent the Trump years inciting assaults on Trump officials and Democrats loved her for it. 

Lest you think that this nuttiness doesn't matter, let me set you straight. You and I are not the audience for this rhetoric; we are its targets. Waters has a long history of inciting and approving political violence. The idea is to turn up the rhetorical heat, mobilize the troops, and put a target on the backs of Trump supporters. 

She legitimizes the othering of a group and gives permission to ordinary Democrats to look the other way as harassment (and worse) is aimed at Republicans. Think of the campaign against Supreme Court justices, only turned up to 11. 

Then there is the call for the FBI to harass Trump supporters, and that is already happening. Catholics, pro-lifers, people posting memes (one has been thrown in JAIL for a meme), and investigations into Facebook posts. SWAT teams are being used to arrest people for misdemeanors committed as Republicans. 

FBI agents hassled an Oklahoma woman over her Facebook posts.

"We do this every day, all day long," one of the agents said.https://t.co/AQSrgw3nlt

— reason (@reason) March 30, 2024

Imagine what the FBI would do to people they accuse of being militia members plotting to commit political terrorism. 

The FBI keeps insisting that Right-wing terrorists are the biggest threat to America despite there being precisely zero evidence that they exist. Trans activists are committing mass shootings, protesters are screaming about decolonizing America (Death to America is a real chant at these rallies), and students are teaching the wonders of the Houthis, Hamas, and North Korea while musing about killing all Zionists. 

LEFT: Maxine Waters says she wants the DOJ to investigate Trump supporters for potential violence if he loses the election in 2024.

RIGHT: Hillary Clinton supporters go on violent rampage in Washington DC because she lost the election in 2016. pic.twitter.com/6OhWudtQ7x

— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) May 6, 2024

The media, though, is downplaying the threats and platforming the rants of Maxine Waters because it serves their purpose. They want to make Republicans radioactive. 

Ironically, it isn't working electorally. Ordinary Americans are recoiling, but I'm not sure the goal is electoral for all these people. If you listen to people at the encampments, it sure isn't. 

For Waters? I think it is mostly about winning elections by mobilizing her base. But her base is not the base of the Democrat Party and certainly not the majority of America. 

But it is the viewers of MSNBC, who eat it up.