January 6 is going to be one of those Never Forget days for me, for a long time. Maybe for the rest of my life.
One year ago today, a violent mob of domestic terrorists, inspired and commanded by an impeached fascist who lost a free and fair election, overran the United States Capitol in an attempted coup.
The coup failed in part because the defeated president was and is surrounded by people who were and are as incompetent as him, but by the end of the night, the fascist movement he leads had successfully assumed complete control of what had been called the Republican party, finally bringing into the open its enthusiastic embrace and promotion of white nationalism after keeping it hidden behind dog whistles for decades.
That was the most shocking thing for me, when I think about it. After all that violence, after the horror of it all, after we all watched our Congress come within a doorway of the unthinkable, they still stood by him. I mean. Wow.
I remember, in the evening of January 6 last year, listening to Lindsey Graham — Lindsey Graham, of all people! — declare from the floor of the Senate that he was done with Trump. Lindsey Graham! I listened to Mitch McConnell — the Senate Minority leader — remind everyone, for the Congressional record, that Trump bore responsibility for the attack. I remember watching two powerful, privileged, coddled men who were clearly shaken by what they had experienced. They seemed like people who had felt, maybe for the first time ever, a real threat to their lives, and they knew who was responsible for it. I remember feeling the faintest hope that, now that it was personal for them, the appalling violence of the insurrection would give Congressional Republicans an opportunity to actually put America first (not in the fascist slogan way, in the patriotic way), and purge Trump and his supporters from government. The McConnells and Grahams in the party got a lot out of him in four years: disatrous, unpopular tax cuts for billionaires, the most cruel and inhumane immigration policies imaginable, three SCOTUS seats, countless unqualified political operatives confirmed to lifelong seats in the federal judiciary. They got so much, moved the Overton Window so far to the right, surely they’d celebrate their victories and cut out the malignant cancer that was rotting not just their party but the entire political system in America. Regroup, and come after the Democrats in the midterms with a message that was aimed at the suburban voters who were appalled by Trump, but remain inexplicably cool with all the GOP policies that created him. A clean break was so easy and right there for the taking. I remember thinking, “If Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell are saying this on the record, it’s finally over. Thank God. It’s finally over. They are done protecting him. They’re still repugnant, but at least they aren’t full-on fascists.”
WELP.
As it turned out, instead of forcing Trump and his fascists back to the fringe of their party, those Vichy Quislings put him in charge of the whole thing. It’s almost like they never had a problem with the appalling behavior that repulsed so much of America and the world: his embrace of white supremacists, his embrace and celebration of autocrats and dictators, his cruelty, his corruption, his belligerent refusal to do a single thing to protect us from Covid. It wasn’t until he almost got them killed that some of them were like “Hey, wait a second,” and even that only lasted for a few hours before all was swept under the rug. 147 Republican members of Congress, just hours after hiding from a violent mob that was there to kill their colleagues and hang the vice president of their party, stood with that mob and refused to accept the election results, as commanded by their defeated leader. When he was rightly impeached (becoming the first president in history to be impeached twice) a few weeks later, so-called “mainstream Republicans” [sic] had their clearest opportunity to reject the violence, the man who instigated it, and his movement. It would be a heavy lift with a lot of their voters, but they could do it. They EXCEL at coordinated, disciplined, communication. They could reasonably claim that maybe they got out over their skis a little bit, but now they could at least bring the country back from the brink of civil war. They could have made a vote to convict all about the Constitution. They could have made an argument to his supporters that they still thought he was awesome, but laws are laws and we all have to follow them. They could make the very reasonable argument that instigating that kind of violence and lawlessness was a bridge too far, even for them. It would have been tough for some of them. Some of them would likely face difficult conversations back home with people who believed the Big Lie, but the future of the country was at stake and like John McCain telling that lunatic woman that President Obama wasn’t a terrorist, show real leadership.
But all of that is predicated on what turns out to be the entirely incorrect presumption that there is any daylight at all between Trump and so-called “mainstream Republicans” [sic]. It would require us to believe that Trump and Trumpism was an outlier, not the logical and anticipated consequence of fifty years of Republican policies and Southern Strategy lies. Holding Trump accountable presumes that Republicans respect their oaths of office, that they hold some fundamental values other than the preservation and expansion of their own power, that they are willing to do the hard work of governing a diverse nation during extraordinary times with a commitment to improving the general welfare.
We all know how that turned out. All but seven Republican Senators — forty-three of fifty members in the upper chamber — protected him and embraced his Big Lie. In the year since, they have doubled down on it, and they have not stopped insisting that we did not see what we saw one year ago today with our own eyes.
Depending on one’s point of view, it’s either a bug or a feature, but FIFTY-NINE PERCENT of Republicans still believe the Big Lie. Fifty. Nine. Percent. The next mob is all primed and ready to go. They are even asking when they get to use their guns to go shoot Democrats. Years ago, it was Republican pundit David Frum who said that when Republicans couldn’t win votes in a democratic election, they wouldn’t change their policies to win over more voters, they’d just reject Democracy entirely. That sounded nuts at the time, but holy shit was he right.
I hope that the people behind the coup attempt will be meaningfully held to account, so this never happens again. I hope they’ll go to prison, all of them. Hannity, Meadows, Bannon, Eastman, Gosar, Boebert, Cawthorn, Hawley, all the Trumps, all of them. They are all traitors. I hope that all the Democrats, including the execrable Joe Manchin and the loathsome Krysten Sinema, do whatever it takes to secure free and fair elections in America at the federal level while they still have the chance. Because if they don’t, the next coup, which is already in motion, will succeed.
So on this one year anniversary of Trump’s failed coup, as we continue to hold him to account, do not forget for one second all the Republicans who enabled and continue to enable him. They’re evil, not stupid. They won’t fail a second time.
This was really well said. Thanks Wil.
Ciao Wil, at First Happy New Year 2022 to you all and all the best wishes.. well, personally i think, all the QAnon Freaks from Trump are fucking Nazis.. thank God my grand aunt on my motherside survived the Holocaust in the 1940’s.. but here in germany we had problems with this kind of Rascists too.. people, who are saying, there is no Corona virus, are demonstrating together with people from the AfD and other Nazis, it’s a shame for us all . maybe we all have some problems worldwide with anti-democratic despotes.. so you all please stay safe and many greetings from Brunswick in Germany, here is an older Desktop Wallpaper, i’ve created in 2010 for the 25 Anniversary of the Amiga Computer, have fun..
http://www.amiga-look.org/artwork/25-years-amiga-computer-wallpaper-set
It’s pretty insane how Dick Cheney, of all people, is one of the few remaining voices of reason in the GQP right now.
Right? Darth fucking Cheney? Seriously?
He’s still evil after his own fashion, but he’s not that Trumpist kind of stupid to go with it. Whether that matters or not, and if so, how…yet to be determined.
His daughter Liz is paying the price for calling out Chump and his ilk who prey upon the stupid.
Astonishing, and shows just how insane things have become!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Plot
Excellently said, Wil. Well done.
The sad thing is that what used to be the basis for society is no longer the norm for far too many. Things like ‘honor’ and ‘integrity’ are no longer the foundation for society no matter where the individual stood in the hierarchy. They have been cheapened by those who prefer the ‘what’s in it for me?’ mindset.
I don’t know what is more unsettling (?) the idea of the me!me! attitude or the reality that most of those fools have no idea what comes after they get what they want. To paraphrase Spock, having is far different than wanting. When you have what you want you have to deal with the ownership of that.
Graham and McConnell and their ilk have been coddled and protected which allows them to continue as they have. That won’t last forever – and they know it.
Thanks for spelling it out and your reference to the Vichy govt in France and the Quisling govt in Norway in WW2 is a nice touch. People on the left and in the Democratic party need to understand that most of the Republican party wants power by any means necessary. They dont care about playing by the rule of law, which is what a democracy is based on. They will lie, cheat, steal to get what they want. And the fact that many of them have weapons is scary.
Thank you, Wil. Sometimes it feels like we’re tilting at windmills when refuting and speaking against the psychotic agenda of Trump and his fellow traitors. But remaining silent is not an option. And your analysis/warning is right on.
Thank you, Wil. Sometimes it feels like we’re tilting at windmills when refuting and speaking against the psychotic agenda of Trump and his fellow traitors. But remaining
silent is not an option. And your analysis/warning is right on.
the hardest part of living, for me, right now, is the knowledge that the world i thought i was living in doesn’t exist
So true. I feel the same…but where is the man with the blue & red pills? I want out.
If only we could just say, “Computer, end program”!
You are 100% right, and you put it so eloquently! I don’t see much light at the end of this tunnel!!!
I have been thinking these exact same thoughts. Like literally, almost word for word. I was just mentioning to my significant other how I thought that maybe, just maybe, the congressional republicans would finally break free of Trump after January 6th since so many of them spoke publicly about it and decried Trump. But to my disappointment, within weeks, they one by one went down to Mar-a-Lago to kiss his ring and swear allegiance again. My heart sank so much when that all happened. They had such a perfect chance and excuse to gain their freedom but they were all either too scared, or too greedy. I hope in my heart of hearts that the January 6th committee gets SOMETHING done to hold them accountable. You can’t just take part i a coup and get off with nothing. That could break the foundation of America, and our future as a country.
Let’s put it behind us and come together as a nation indivisible. Come together because if we don’t the authors of the constitution will be remembered as wasting time and energy to make us free from tyranny. We need to pump fresh blood into our senate and congress and oust the old timers. One Nation!
Well said, Wil. How I wish you were wrong, but you are correct.😢
Thanks, Wil, for such a wonderful post. It just reinforces to me the mindset that allowed thousands of Germans to blindly support Hitler; they believed the Big Lie that Jews were to blame for everything. And when they were faced with their national disgrace, they said it never happened, even today. It also smacks of 1984 – 2+2=5 was believed by the world because their leader said it was so and anyone believing differently, believing the truth, was put into “re-education” camps until they believed it. Dictatorships begin with a Big Lie. Unfortunately, too many have had a big cup of the Kool-Aid and are asking for more. I’m only glad my Dad, a life-long Republican, isn’t alive to see this.
Germany has done a lot of truth and reconciliation type work, though. They have tried really hard to work on their national psychology. The US hasn’t even gotten a good start on dealing with the genocide of Native Americans or slavery yet. We need to do so much better.
What needs to become common knowledge in the collective unconscious is that for the most part, fascists’ minds are gone. Sure, you can redeem an ideological 16 year old. But once they’re 25 it’s a lot harder. By the time they’re 40, good luck, and by the time they’re 50 nothing will ever change the way they think. Their minds are gone. Fascists are not redeemable, and they cannot be appeased. This is directly in conflict with the youth movement to tolerate everything. Karl Popper addressed it, and it can be read on the short Wikipedia page on the Paradox of Tolerance. Any society that tolerates fascism simply won’t last. And they don’t deserve to.
I started asking a qualification question before I discuss anything political. A simple yes or no question. Did fascists need bullets in their heads in the 1940s? If the other person can’t give a simple yes, it’s not worth talking to them. Republicans are at the bottom of the moral ladder, and way, way down in the negative. But here’s an interesting question for a future column perhaps: are the complacent who tolerate and appease them even worse, ie even lower on the moral value scale? I think perhaps they are. I call them zombie food.
Don’t zombies eat brains? They’d starve to (un)death on that crowd. 😉
Yes.
Did you see the TV series “BrainDead” that started around the beginning of the T administration? Alien bugs took over the brains of a bunch of Congresspeople and a lot of others in DC, bending them to the will of the hive mind. It was great science fiction, hilarious, and a perfect metaphor. Sadly, it’s now shown itself to be truer than ever.
It’s gross how it’s party over country, not the other way around. And yep. You nailed it. Sigh.
“I hope that all the Democrats, including the execrable Joe Manchin and the loathsome Krysten Sinema, do whatever it takes to secure free and fair elections in America at the federal level while they still have the chance.”
As we say at the poker table, “Hope is not a strategy.”
Though I hate to admit it to myself, I believe The Stupids have won. America is on a long, slow decline towards national irrelvancy.
As I watch you on Big Bang as speak, you brome your tears. All you said is pure truth. I’m so afraid for my daughter with Autism & her future. Living in Texas doesn’t help. Ty for this post. Absolutely pure facts. Stay amazing.
I wrote poetry and allegories to cope with the Trump “Presidency”. Some are pretty gritty but consider the subject matter. https:www.Apeintheovaloffice.home.blog
“…but the future of the country was at stake and like John McCain telling that lunatic woman that President Obama wasn’t a terrorist…”
McCain didn’t tell that woman that Obama wasn’t a terrorist. Because she didn’t call him a terrorist.
She called him an “Arab.”
There’s an important distinction between the two, though perhaps not to them, which underscores just how racist they are. Please don’t sanitize the vileness of that moment or those beliefs.
The original clip: https://youtu.be/jrnRU3ocIH4?t=40