Some thoughts on what’s going on right now in DC.
- Trump is deranged. His refusal to condemn the criminals, the rioters, the terrorists who invaded the Capitol and whom he’s egged on demonstrates that this is a man dangerously out of control. So does his praising the mob in the brief, bizarre video he released a little while ago. He’s brought about the very American carnage he decried in his inauguration address.
- The president’s oath of office, from Article II, Section 1, Clause 8 of the Constitution: “Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:–‘I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.’” He’s violated that oath.
- Whether it be impeachment or invoking the 25th Amendment, which basically enables a majority of the Cabinet to declare the president incapable of carrying out his duties and to thereby remove him from office, he has to go now. A major corporate group just issued a call for Vice President Pence to “seriously consider” invoking that amendment.
- The president spurred this violence and treason, both over the course of his presidency and in addressing the mob today before it marched on the Capitol. And a threatening footnote for the law enforcement personnel and others who must deal with the mob: The rioters are mostly maskless; some may well be armed.
- The biggest reason to remove him now is not what he’s done already, but what he could yet do. Whether it’s his possibly invoking the Insurrection Act (which allows the president to deploy the armed forces domestically under circumscribed circumstances), fomenting further violence (whether if be tonight in DC, on Inauguration Day or otherwise) or embarking on some dangerous overseas misadventure, his remaining two weeks in office are two weeks too long.
- Maybe, just maybe, having to flee the floor of the House and shelter in place in places not made public might scare some Republican senators, congresspersons and other leaders to finally turn on this demagogue. Then again, from Trump’s attack on John McCain for getting captured to his utter failure to handle Covid, I would have thought that many more Republican leaders would have turned on him already.
- How in the world were not enough security forces in place to prevent the seizure of the Capitol? It could well be simple incompetence, but were decisions made by Trump Administration officials that contributed to this travesty?
- And why in the world is the security presence and response so much more modest than when Black Lives Matters protesters peacefully gathered in DC last year? I think we all know the answer to that one
- The insurrectionists should be arrested and prosecuted for far more than simple trespass or other minor transgressions. This is far different from going on private land without permission. Yet the rioters are simply walking away from the Capitol on their own.
- Dictators and demagogues all over the world are taking heart from the images and reality of this Trump-inspired attempt to shred our democracy.
- But as dark a day as today is, we saw some good news. The Democrats won both Georgia senatorial races, enabling their control of the Senate. In the process, they elected a Black and a Jew to represent a Deep South state and demonstrated the power of voter mobilization and protection. President-elect Biden showed us what a president should be in his address that condemned the rioters, called on Trump to take action and highlighted what’s best in America. And no matter what Trump does during the next two dangerous weeks, Biden will be inaugurated two weeks from now.
You are so right. I txted Congressman and there is discussion on these steps. I’ll
belive it when I see it.
Amen to everything you said. The next 14 days are so perilous for our country. As for Point #7, Steve, Tim and I are wondering why there was so little preparation for something like this. Trump was fomenting this for weeks… What happened?
K
Good question. Some heads will roll over this. In addition to whatever else did or did not happen, one factor might have been that Trump delayed deploying the national guard:
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/06/us/washington-dc-protests/trump-rebuffed-initial-requests-to-deploy-the-national-guard-to-the-capitol-pence-gave-the-go-ahead
At least get the nuclear codes out of his hands.
Couldn’t agree more. I suspect that in some informal ways that’s already going on. But I don’t want to rely on my suspicions or informal arrangements. And we now know more than ever that he’s capable of anything, including things we might not imagine. Holding our collective breath for two weeks until he’s out of the White House is not a strategy for preventing him from wreaking havoc.
So clear. Thank you.
Invoking the 25th AND Impeachment should both happen. Chick Schumer has publicly called for it and it is even gaining traction among shell shocked Republicans.
There are two silver linings to yesterdays mayhem.
1) The fact that a sitting president needed to resort to an unruly mob to storm the Capitol indicates how weak he is. A stronger, more effective, president might have suspended the constitution under some pretense and called in troops. But his combination of being erratic and insulting the military on frequent occasions kind of blew that for him.
2) The ineffectiveness of the Capitol Police to control the mob, although very worrisome and clearly less aggressive than what left wing protesters have experienced, actually backfired in a spectacular way for the right wing terrorists who were caught on camera (they filmed themselves!!??) desecrating the Capitol and looting it. If the police had bludgeoned them and dragged then into police vans then they would have been seen as innocent protesters being oppressed by those conspired against them.
Instead, their antics lost them the support many (but, not enough) Republicans and probably did lasting damage to Trump’s political future.
This is so severe that the right wing idiots (Gaetz, Brooks, Palin) are trying to blame Antifa for the violence. I could not think of a better way to destroy your remaining credibility with everyone than denying what they all could see AND to make sure all the MAGA fanatics distrust anyone wearing Trump gear as possible false flag carriers and Antifa spies. Way to go!
The next two weeks are going to be excruciatingly long.
Really great points.
I disagree that about the de facto fascists destroying their “remaining credibility with everyone,” in that many millions will still see all this as justified, or not that bad, or the fault of BLM or antifa, or yet another product of some Deep State conspiracy. (I’d guess that last possibility becomes the dominant narrative.) But still, there can’t be any clearer proof or clearer argument about where the threat to the nation lies than the mob seizing the Capitol, nor about who’s defiling the flag and law & order.
And it is indeed a depiction of Trump’s weakness and incompetence. Though also a road map for someone coming down the pike (Hawley? Cruz? Cotton?) who’ll be much more strategic if given the chance.
I recall a film from the childhood of many of us and before others of us were even born: Seven Days in May. (I vaguely recall the theme of a potential military coup in the United States; I never even saw the movie.) I now feel like we’re living through Thirteen Days in January. I’m not worried about a successful coup, but there’s enough other stuff to be worried about.
Well, maybe not everyone. Trump will have the support of 35% of the electorate no matter what he says or does, but as we have seen in Georgia, clinging to his coattails is not going to win statewide election in a changing electorate. It’s the fence sitters and independents (AKA suburban women) that matter for elections and they tend not to go with people pretending to be Attila the Hun.
What will be interesting to see is how Mike Pence is going to react to Nancy Pelosi’s public call for him to enact the 25th. His security detail had to call in the National Guard to protect him in the Capitol Building after Trump incited the riot and then failed to call in the Guard himself. And that was after Trump’s supporters were calling for him to be executed for treason. I can only imagine how terrified he was. What I can’t imagine is why he would continue being a loyal supporter.
Very interesting indeed. Pence will do what’s best for Pence. He or others might even be polling the cabinet today to see where it’s members stand on invoking the 25th. Maybe that’s why Transportation Secretary Chao (McConell’s wife) resigned – she didn’t want to have to participate in a potential vote. I’d guess that Pence will see it in his own interest not to act. I hope I’m wrong. (It wouldn’t be the first time!)
Lies should be nipped in the bud. With a reality-TV personality like Trump as a leader, a population willing to ignore smaller lies while believing more insidious lies, and a cybersphere able to propagate lies to millions in seconds, the creation of a cult was nearly inevitable. To nip political cults in the bud, democracy loving citizens should have a 3-strikes-and-you’re-out policy with lies. Seemingly meaningless lies such as crowd size should not be ignored.
I certainly agree with the spirit of this, though enforcing it in practice might be tough. But then again, if it had applied to Trump, he would have been out on the first day and lots of pain, misery and above all loss of life (due to Covid) would have been avoided.
I agree that you can’t enforce a no lying rule with law. I think it has to be a a movement. Lies from an office holder should be abhorrent instead of annoying. I liked the recent Arnold Schwarzenegger video where he repeated how lies were used to get the Nazzies in power. I’d like to see more strong messages like that from our leaders.
https://www.cnet.com/news/in-powerful-video-arnold-schwarzenegger-links-capitol-attack-to-nazi-germany/
I agree with your agreement, including about Schwarzenegger’s great video.
Stephen, you need to update the findings and ruling from the FBI about the January “rioting.”
Where is your stand now with this decision?
Why is it you are silent about our new President’s decision-making in the past seven months. Why aren’t you calling on Congress to take a vote on the 25th amendment about Biden’s decision-making and competence?
You are NOT a reporter, but an opinionated Democrat that likes to use BUZZ WORDS instead of the FACTS from both sides?