Echoes of January 6th.

January 6, 2023

          On January 6th, 2021, insurrectionists assaulted Congress to subvert the Constitution and overturn an election. Two years later, many of those insurrectionists are engaged in a similar assault on Congress. In place of physical violence, they seek to manipulate procedural rules to convert the “people’s House” into a political “hit squad” for the Republican Party. In the process, they are eroding the understructures of Congress and the Constitution. In their fight to gain control of the House through the Speakership, the so-called “Freedom Caucus” is continuing the insurrection that began two years ago.

          The parallels between the January 6th insurrection and the Republican fight over the Speakership are obvious yet nuanced, simple but profound. I will not attempt to repeat the abundant commentary on those parallels but will instead recommend the always excellent Dahlia Lithwick in Slate, Another January, Another Attempt at Destabilizing the Government. In a delightfully descriptive passage about a painful subject, Lithwick writes,

the events of Jan. 6, 2021 and Jan. 3–? of 2023 are not at all unrelated. Nor are they sequential points along a continuum that is leading us to a better place. Instead, they represent the locomotive and the caboose of the same train: Each is a point along a terrifying line of governmental failure; each is a subversion of the principles of lawful transition of power. But certainly they are moving in the same direction, and there should be no joy found in watching the present and past pancaking back on itself.

          It is also worth noting the responsibility of the reactionary majority of the Supreme Court in delivering us to this point, as explained by Dennis Aftergut in Slate, The Chaotic House That SCOTUS Built. Aftergut notes that the Supreme Court gave its blessing to radical partisan gerrymandering in 2019 in its decision Rucho v. Common Cause. Aftergut explains the inevitable fallout of a decision to allow politicians to choose their voters:

From gerrymandered Republican seats come noncompetitive districts that elect hardliners with little to no incentive to compromise on choosing a speaker—or anything else. They gain attention via television and social media and raise money from their MAGA base by standing firm and dropping pipe bombs on the system of governing, and rarely face consequences for the fallout.

          When there are no political consequences for seditious and obstructionist behavior, we should not be surprised when Congress becomes a breeding ground for seditionists and obstructionists. I doubt that is what the Framers intended when they drafted the Constitution, but the reactionary majority on the Supreme Court convinced itself otherwise—to the nation’s great injury.

          The events of January 6th are seared into my memory. I watched the coverage of the insurrection non-stop for fourteen hours and published three newsletters during that time. Those newsletters represent my “real-time” reactions to the violence I was watching in horror (along with millions of Americans). I reviewed those three newsletters today and was transported back to the disturbing moments of January 6th. In remembrance of that day, I excerpt below one of the three newsletters.

          Many of my reactions excerpted below from January 6, 2021, have stood the test of time, though some were wrong or premature. At the end of the excerpt, I include a link to my wife / Managing Editor’s video blog that was included in the newsletter. Her effort to emotionally process what we had just witnessed is worth reviewing two years later.

          The following was published on January 6, 2021:

Today’s Edition (No. 1,063) Failed Rebellion

          Trump’s rebellion failed. But let’s recognize that we are in a moment of crisis. As such, we must speak plainly and truthfully. Calling people who attacked Congress “protesters” or “rioters” is dishonest.  They are terrorists, insurrectionists, and traitors. To state the obvious, if Democratic “protesters” had stormed the Capitol, Republicans would not hesitate to call them terrorists—accurately so. We must do so as well. If we are to overcome this national disgrace, we must not shrink from calling today’s events by name: domestic terrorism, rebellion, and insurrection. Those who perpetrated the violence are traitors and should be prosecuted as such, including Trump.

          The headline of the New York Times said it all: MOB INCITED BY TRUMP STORMS CAPITOL. Yes, it was a Trump-incited mob. Trump made that fact clear by calling them patriots after they attacked the Capitol. Indeed, Donald and Ivanka Trump both tweeted statements that referred to the insurrectionists as “patriots.” Trump tweeted,

          These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!

          Trump did not condemn the violence; instead, he glorified it by saying, “Remember this day forever.” (Twitter has suspended Trump’s account and deleted the tweet so I can’t link to it.) Trump’s breezy observation that “these are the things that happen” when ‘people don’t get their way’ is a damnable lie. The violence happened because Trump urged his followers to resort to violence by using inflammatory language in a volatile situation. Hours before the attack, Trump urged a crowd of supporters to march on the Capitol, telling them,

          This election was stolen from you, from me, from the country . .  . You'll never take back our country with weakness.

          Senator Josh Hawley likewise incited violence when he walked into the Capitol and raised a clenched fist in solidarity with terrorist mobs on their way to storm the Capitol. More on Hawley in a moment. For now, see Washington Post, “Trump, Hawley and Cruz will each wear the scarlet ‘S’ of a seditionist.”

          In an earlier newsletter today, I urged that Trump be prosecuted for insurrection against the United States. While I still believe Trump should be prosecuted (because a conviction will put him in prison), more immediate action is necessary: He should be removed from office under the 25th Amendment, or he should be impeached and removed from office, posthaste. The only question is whether the Cabinet or Congress will rouse themselves to protect the Constitution. David Frum has suggested that Trump be removed from office tonight. See David Frum, The Atlantic, “Remove Trump Tonight.” There are unconfirmed reports that some members of the Cabinet are considering invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump. (This per Rachel Maddow during the 9:00 PM hour.)

          Senator Josh Hawley should also resign or be forced from office by the Senate. He played a pivotal role in encouraging the violence. Hawley’s hometown newspaper published an editorial saying that Hawley “has blood on his hands.” Per the Kansas City Star, Hawley sent a fundraising appeal while terrorists were attacking Congress. See Kansas City Star, “Editorial: Assault on democracy: Sen. Josh Hawley has blood on his hands in Capitol coup attempt.”

          No one other than President Donald Trump himself is more responsible for Wednesday’s coup attempt at the U.S. Capitol than one Joshua David Hawley, the 41-year-old junior senator from Missouri, who put out a fundraising appeal while the siege was underway.

          For readers who are nervous about Trump’s future actions, I acknowledge your fear has a basis in fact. But it appears that the national security apparatus of the United States has begun to circumvent Trump. His press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, issued a false statement claiming that Trump called in the National Guard after the Capitol was invaded. The New York Times is reporting that it was Vice President Mike Pence (not Trump) who ordered the deployment of the National Guard. Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller issued a statement about the deployment of the National Guard that conspicuously omitted any mention of Trump. Miller said,

          The D.C. Guard has been mobilized to provide support to federal law enforcement in the District. Acting Secretary Miller has been in contact with congressional leadership, and Secretary McCarthy has been working with the D.C. government. The law enforcement response will be led by the Department of Justice.

          Moreover, well-known Trump loyalist Robert O’Brien, National Security Adviser, issued a tweet mid-afternoon in which he praised Mike Pence, saying that Pence is a “fine and decent man [who] exhibited courage today.” O’Brien did not mention Trump—a significant oversight for a presidential hopeful in 2024 who presumably needs Trump’s support.

Congress Reconvenes to Count Electoral Votes

          After order was restored in the Capitol, congressional leadership wisely decided to resume the count of Electoral votes. Vice President Pence—who bears substantial responsibility for encouraging the election fraud theory that led to the violence—made a strong statement saying that insurrectionists would not interfere with the people’s business. Mitch McConnell then spoke, condemning the effort to overturn the election—an effort he abetted by his long silence in recognizing Joe Biden’s victory.

          Debate then followed in both the Senate and House. A half-dozen Republican Senators who previously said they would support objections reversed course and voted to overrule the objections by Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley. The final vote in the Senate was 93 votes to overrule the objections, 6 votes in favor. Notably, outgoing Senator Kelly Loeffler said that in light of the violence, she was withdrawing her objection to the Electoral votes from the Georgia delegation.

          There were notable speeches on both sides in the Senate. Although I did not see all of the speeches, those by Senator Cory Booker and Mitt Romney stood out. Booker noted that the terrorists waved two flags during the assault on Congress—one flag with the name of a despot, Trump, and one for the racist legacy of the Old South. Mitt Romney blamed Trump for the violence, saying that this was “an insurrection, incited by the president of the United States.” Romney drew a sustained round of applause when he said that the best way to convince Trump supporters that there was no fraud “was to tell them the truth.”

          In the House debate (which I did not see), Kevin McCarthy refused to back down, offering the same election fraud conspiracy theories that led to the attack on Congress.

          As it appears that the debate may continue for several hours, I will break here to send the second newsletter of the day. I may send a short coda later this evening, and promise not to send three newsletters per day in the future.

The Passive Response by the Capitol Police

          The apparent weak response by the D.C. Capitol Police needs to be investigated. The security failure is unforgivable; that alone deserves investigation. But the D.C. Police seemed to be in a “stand down” mode that allowed the terrorists to breach the security perimeter without resistance. See this disturbing video, which seems to show D.C. Police escorting the insurrectionists into the Capitol. Video here.

          We should not engage in conspiracy theories, but something is seriously wrong with the police conduct shown in the video. Moreover, once the terrorists were inside the Capitol, it appears that they were allowed to roam free without challenge—at times, at least. (I haven’t seen all of the available video, and I have heard the repeated praise by members of Congress for the actions of the D.C. Police, so I have an open mind.) But video of confrontations between the Capitol Police and terrorists seem to show a double standard. The Capitol Police seem to view white terrorists as peaceful protesters to be treated with respect and deference. That response stands in stark contrast to the militarized police violence against Black Lives Matter protesters in D.C. during the demonstrations following George Floyd’s murder.  

The Role of Racism in the Insurrection

          The insurrection today is the dying gasp of the Old South. One Trump terrorist paraded in the Capitol with a Confederate flag—the modern symbol of racism. Another group of terrorists attempted to replace the U.S. flag over the Capitol with a Confederate flag. See People Magazine, “D.C. Rioters Attempt to Replace American Flag with Trump Flag at U.S. Capitol Building.” The message could not be clearer: The Old South will not recognize the legitimacy of an election where Black voters played a critical role in electing the President. They have found their voice in Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, who proved his racist bona fides by giving a clenched fist salute to the insurrectionists as they advanced on the Capitol.

Concluding Thoughts.

          I received a thoughtful note from a reader who said that my earlier statement today calling the Republican Party a “domestic terrorist organization” went too far. He suggested I had spoken in anger and would withdraw my comment after appropriate reflection. My response was that the Republican Party had the burden of convincing people like me that they do not support domestic terrorism. For four years, Republicans have ignored, excused, or rationalized Trump’s calls for violence to achieve political ends (“Oh, that’s just the way Trump speaks. He doesn’t mean it.”)  Republicans can prove they do not support Trump’s call to violence by removing him from office—now. In the absence of decisive action by Republicans to remove Trump from office, any other response is the functional equivalent of, “Oh, those violent attacks on Congress are just the way Trump supporters express themselves. They don’t mean it.”

          This has been an extraordinarily emotional day for many. My Managing Editor publishes a separate video blog that usually focuses on lighter subjects. In today’s video blog, she discusses the emotional impact of today’s events at the Capitol. If you are feeling battered and bruised, hearing her reaction may be helpful. See “Jill's Reaction to the Capitol Insurrection: January 6, 2020.”

          Of course, we also have much to celebrate today: the double victory in the Georgia Senate races.

          I will update as events warrant.

Concluding Thoughts for January 6, 2023.

          Despite the chaos in Congress, we have made great strides over the last two years in re-establishing the rule of law. The greatest progress was made by using the powerful tool granted by the Framers—the right of the people to elect their leaders. The strong showing by Democrats in the 2022 midterms allowed democracy to regain its footing. We did not achieve complete victory. We never will. But we have greatly weakened those who believed they could gain power through violence, intimidation, and fraud. The stalemate in Congress between the “Freedom Caucus” and the rest of the Republican Party is a direct result of our strong showing in 2022. That fact should give us hope. We can finally prevail over the insurrection that began on January 6th by engaging in the most fundamental act of democracy—voting.

          Talk to you tomorrow!