December 7.
September 11.
As we recall the third anniversary of the U.S. Capitol being seized by rioters, January 6 has joined the ranks of the most horrible days in American history. In the words FDR applied to Pearl Harbor, it is “a date which will live in infamy.”
Thankfully, the January 6, 2021 insurrection did not wreak nearly the massive deaths nor physical havoc of those other two days. But in one crucial respect, it’s proven even worse.
The Nightmare Continues…
How so? In the wake of December 7, 1941 and September 11, 2001, the country came together in the face of massive challenges to our democracy and way of life. In contrast, the time since Insurrection Day has seen us more divided than ever.
What’s more, we face the distinct prospect of the person who prompted the insurrection – and a wide array of other attempts to subvert the 2020 election results – being returned to the presidency this year. For those who can take it, here’s a graphic, upsetting reminder of the violence he sparked that day (the video age-restricted apparently because of that violence) – as well as the heroism of the police who were mauled:
Lies have been piled on lies. Trump praises the insurrectionists and promises to pardon them if reelected. A quarter of Americans believe that the FBI probably or definitely organized and encouraged the attack; fewer than half of us say that it probably or definitely did not do so.
Even Republican Judges and Lawyers Agree: Not Stolen.
The original, underlying sin of the insurrection and Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election was his misbegotten claim that Joe Biden stole it. Yet, as former Rep. Liz Cheney has pointed out, “There were over 60 court cases where judges, including judges appointed by President Trump and other Republican presidents, looked at the evidence in many cases and said there is not widespread fraud.”
To further hammer home this same point, eight leading Republican legal luminaries published a 2022 report that explained that the 2020 election was lost by Trump, not stolen by Biden. The group included two former U.S. senators, two former federal judges and a former chief of staff to two Republican congressional majority leaders. He asserted his Republican credentials even while in insisting that Biden’s election was valid: “I’m certainly not a ‘Never-Trumper.’ I voted for Donald Trump twice for President.”
Trump’s legal allies failed in 61 of 64 cases. Even their three “wins” were minor, technical exceptions to the rule, all in Pennsylvania and none of them undercutting the validity of Biden’s victory there: They “threw out 270 provisional ballots lacking signatures, separated Election Day provisional ballots from those cast afterward, and moved back Pa.’s deadline for absentee voters to present voter ID by three days.”
I’m belaboring the point about these lawsuits because the conclusions by Republican judges and attorneys constitute key parts of the overwhelming proof that Trump has misled his followers – the many hundreds of insurrectionists and the many millions of others – about 2020. Yet an August 2023 CNN poll found that two-thirds of Republican still attribute his loss to voter fraud.
December 7 and September 11 Ended. January 6 Hasn’t.
Which brings us back to the insurrection, and the one respect in which January 6 transcends December 7 and September 11, for all of their horrors.
Here’s how it’s worse: The drive to undermine our democracy continues. It includes Trump’s election denialism, as well as his Hitleresque attacks on political opponents as “vermin” and on undocumented aliens as “poisoning the blood of our country.”
But it also includes so much more. Just a partial compilation of Trump’s anti-democratic attitudes, actions statements and online activity includes his: suggesting that the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff deserved execution; accusing NBC of treason and threatening to deny it airwaves access; threatening and otherwise attempting to intimidate judicial system personnel and witnesses; stating that he has “no choice” but to lock up certain political opponents if reelected – even contemplating indicting Biden; praising Hungary’s authoritarian leader (as well as like-minded figures such as Vladimir Putin); and planning to gut the federal civil service so that it will do his political bidding.
Making November 5 a Much Better Day to Remember…
However, there’s another compilation we can take into account as we ponder January 6. It lists what we can do to prevent that date of infamy from defining not just our recent past, but our impending future, how we can help save democracy come Election Day, November 5. Here are a few such actions from that lengthy list:
First and foremost, voting for democracy, which means for Biden (or, in the unlikely event he does not run, whomever else the Democrats nominate). Personally, I believe he’s accomplished a lot. But you don’t have to be a fan to cast your vote for him. Recognizing the threat that Trump represents, a very conservative friend of mine (who thinks that Biden is lousy) intends to vote for Joe.
Not voting for a third party candidate, and not simply sitting out the election, even if you’re a progressive who feels Biden has fallen short. The choice is either/or: not voting for Biden only helps install Trump, a quasi-fascist and potential dictator, in power. This election will be decided by voter turnout and whom people turn out for – we need only bear in mind 2000 and 2016 to recall the consequences of third party presidential candidates’ impacts.
Finally, a biggie: Becoming politically active, whether it’s through donations, phone banks, canvassing, writing letters to editors, helping out in toss-up states or seeking to influence friends and relatives on the fence. Democracy is not a spectator sport.
I agree completely with your analysis of Trump and the threat he poses. And I feel Biden has done a good job given the circumstances of his term. But, nonetheless, I wish the Democratic party would have an open primary where other candidates could put themselves forward. Biden did, after all, say his would be a “transitional” Presidency.
And the Dems do have a deep bench of qualified people (Governors Whitmer and Newsom, Senators Brown and Klobuchar, Secretary Buttigieg). Each of them could beat Trump, but Biden alone suffers from poor approval marks and the medias constant focus on his age.
In blue California we are free to vote for someone else in the primary if there were an open one. But in the end, a vote against Trump is the bottom line required of us all.
Of course this was worse. Pearl Harbor and 9/11 were attacks from other countries. January 6 was an attack by our own citizens, determined to overthrow our government.
As to Biden changing our election system on his own, that too would be attacked as his trying to overstep his authority. Unfortunately, the attacks he has endured by disgruntled voters are not based on his performance in his job as much as the misinformation that is now a part of our collective mentality. We need to get through this election and allow both parties to regroup. I remember the trash that was The National Enquirer when I was a child. Sadly, Americans have accepted the lowest common denominator as our culture today, rather than lifting up to the best that we have to offer. I used to teach my children when they were little about humor. I told them that everyone poops, so it’s easy to make a lot of people laugh at a joke about poop. They all understand it. But if they could tell a joke on a higher level, they might not get as many laughs, but they will matter more. This is how I feel now about people wanting a lot of “ likes “ online. Sad thirst for popularity.
As you say, voter turnout is key. A great way to improve voter turnout is to work with Vote Forward (votefwd.org). They provide easy ways to write personal letters to Democratic-registered or Democratic-leaning voters who don’t consistently turn out, encouraging them to vote. Their work yields a significant improvement in voter participation. I think writing personal letters is more effective than phone calls, and is more feasible than traveling to swing states to walk door-to-door.
Thank you
Thanks for your thoughts, Steve and Richard.
Steve, in view of his poor survey ratings and age-related concerns about his candidacy, I too wish that Biden faced some real competition in the primaries. But it unfortunately looks like that’s not going to happen.
Richard, thanks for the Vote Forward information and link. I fully agree that turnout is crucial, and anything that increases Dem turnout is a good thing.