Un-American Activities

Now that the inauguration of Joe Biden has taken place without a hitch, Americans may be tempted to breathe a sigh of relief and try to forget the violent attack at the U.S. Capitol that occurred a mere week before. We are tired and want to be hopeful about the future, not frightened. But forgetting the blatant assault on our democracy by a group of white supremacists would be a grave mistake.

We should not delude ourselves into believing that the mob action that occurred at the Capitol was a spontaneous, one-time occurrence. Far right groups had been planning the siege online in the aftermath of an election result they did not like. They came equipped with weapons, ropes, zip ties and a purpose: to shut down the certification of the lawful democratic vote for president and demand that Congress reinstall the petty despot they so admire. Although it might be tempting to laugh at some of the more lame behaviors and the bizarre costumes of this crowd, their actions were nothing short of treasonous.

Not only does justice demand that the rioters be tried and punished, the consequences of taking the Capitol siege lightly are serious. Such groups as the Proud Boys and other white nationalist organizations have not given up the fight. Indeed, the inauguration had to take place under unprecedented security because of continued threats by these groups. Many of their members have arsenals of sophisticated weapons. All they would need would be some sympathetic government officials and members of the military to stage a coup.

Indeed, Americans should be disturbed that many of the rioters were ex-military or law enforcement officers. And a number of National Guardsmen were removed from the inaugural security detail when it was discovered that they had ties to right wing extremist groups. Add to that insiders from the Justice Department insisting that the election results were questionable along with more than 100 legislators voting against certifying results in a couple of states. And they had the nerve to vote this way after the mob threatened the safety of their fellow Congress members.

All of this leads, of course, to the incitement provided by none other than the president and commander-in-chief of our armed forces. Donald Trump is especially responsible for encouraging white nationalists toward violent actions in general and the Capitol attack in particular. For four years, he has given tacit acceptance to the extremist, hateful views of these people through his rhetoric, through his policies of discrimination against minorities and foreigners, and through his inaction when white supremacists practiced violence and intimidation.

Some have suggested that it would be a mistake, if Trump is convicted in the Senate, to vote to bar him from running for president in the future. They reason that millions of Americans who don’t accept the results of the 2020 election will be incensed and perhaps further radicalized by such an action. I say we cannot afford not to convict and ban Trump from political office. Only by clearly signaling that our country will not tolerate insurrection will we be able to make unlikely a repeat of such a horrible spectacle as a Capitol building overrun by a mob.

If Islamic fundamentalists, communicating through social media channels and bearing such apparatus as was found on the person of the Capitol rioters, had stormed our Capitol, they would be sitting in Guantanamo cells or, more likely, dead. To see the actual mob courteously escorted out of the building by besieged Capitol police was infuriating to me. And it should be to any American who values the rule of law and the principles upon which our country was founded.

Dealing decisively with the insurrectionists in our midst will not heal our divisions, that is true. But it will send a signal that the United States of America stands ready to defend itself against all enemies, both within and outside our borders. Only when Americans feel safe will we be able to work on the state of division in which we unfortunately find ourselves.

A Craven Lot

The rats are abandoning the sinking ship. Two of Trump’s Cabinet secretaries resigned in the wake of the Capitol riot sparked by none other than the President of the United States. I’d like to think the resignations have to do with a sense of integrity on their part. But I think Elaine Chao and Betsy DeVos just don’t want to be called upon to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove their fearless leader from office.

It’s too little, too late for many Republican officials who finally seemed to awaken from their Trump-induced stupor to uphold our democratic standards. The pious protestations of the likes of Mitch McConnell and Linsday Graham ring hollow after four years of kowtowing to a would-be despot in exchange for political power and tax cuts. It’s a shame these two shameless men were re-elected to the Senate in November. It would have been satisfying to witness their lame duck terms wither away under the smoke from Trump’s fires.

I’m not sure whether either impeachment or invoking the 25th Amendment are practical two weeks before the inauguration of a new president. There is some speculation that Vice President Mike Pence would be pressured to pardon Trump if he became president in the wake of Trump’s removal. And if there’s anything the American people deserve, it is to see Donald Trump held accountable for his myriad corrupt and even treasonous statements and behaviors.

The Republican Party has lost its moral compass. Their platforms and ideas are bankrupt, and the only way they know how to win elections is to enact statutes of voter suppression and make unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud – which, of course, only takes place among liberals. The same Republicans who won office in November have the nerve to cry foul over Donald Trump’s defeat without acknowledging that if, indeed, their accusations were true, it should call into question their own victories. But this is how the Republican Party works.

With apologies to a certain horror movie master, the word “craven” truly applies to Trump’s enablers. The dictionary defines the word as meaning “cowardly; mean-spirited; characterized by abject fear.” Even as Trump descended into a kind of madness during these past several months, his administration and others who owed their political fortunes to his patronage were loath to condemn him. Hell hath no fury like a Donald scorned.

Of course, there are many conservative apologists who tried to explain away and justify the actions of the rioters. Sean Hannity commented, “People feel like their voices aren’t being heard, and they’re angry.” Funny, I never heard Hannity make the same rationalization for rioting on the part of Black Lives Matter protestors. Many have rightly compared the response of Capitol police to the Trump “protestors” and the massive military-style response to a Black Lives Matter protest at the Capitol earlier this year. There were a handful of deaths associated with Wednesday’s riots. Imagine how much more brutal the crackdown would have been if the mobs who breached Capitol security had been people of color.

One bright light on the day of the terrible threat to our democracy was the double win of Democrats in the Georgia runoff election. Despite all the attempts to challenge the Georgia election results in November and the myriad ways Southern legislatures have tried to suppress the black vote for generations, Rep. Stacey Abrams’ efforts to enfranchise millions of minority voters paid off big time. Perhaps the Republican defeat will be a wakeup call to the party to reexamine its outdated and inhumane beliefs.

Also gratifying to see was our Congress reconvening in the wee hours of the night to complete the certification of votes and declare Joe Biden the 46th President of the United States. Notwithstanding attempts by the likes of Ted Cruz to challenge the electoral votes, our elected officials did the right thing and made sure that our democracy would not cave to the supporters of a vain, despotic, and self-aggrandizing leader.

As the smoke clears and the damage is repaired at the U.S. Capitol, I have hope for a brighter tomorrow for our citizens. Republicans, take note. The American people want something better than the fear and division you are peddling.