If Men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and the next place, oblige it to control itself.
James Madison: Federalist No. 51
On Tuesday, January 6, the nation’s Capitol was overrun by a few thousand pro-Trump extremists. Their actions were treasonous, and it would be a disservice to our Democracy to call the events in the Capitol anything less than an insurrection.
Summary of events:
- On the morning of January 6, president Trump and Rudy Giuliani addressed a crowd of pro-Trump protesters in Washington, DC
- In the address, Trump fell short of directly inciting violence, but encouraged those in attendance to “fight like hell” and to “stop the steal” of the 2020 election
- After the address, the protestors started a planned march to the Capitol building to protest the certification of the election that will result in Joe Biden elected president of the United States
- During the Electoral College vote count, a group of extremists stormed the Capitol building and disrupted the Electoral College vote:
- Congress was evacuated
- Rioters broke windows, vandalized the building, and gained access to Congressional computers
- Pipe bombs were left in the RNC and DNC headquarters
- 5 people were killed during the insurrection
Is our democracy at risk?
The cornerstone of American democracy has been the peaceful transition of power from president to president. As Ronald Reagan observed in 1981:
“To a few of us here today this is a solemn and most momentous occasion, and yet in the history of our nation it is a commonplace occurrence. The orderly transfer of authority as called for in the Constitution routinely takes place, as it has for almost two centuries, and few of us stop to think how unique we really are. In the eyes of many in the world, this every-four-year ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle.”
Ronald Reagan
Reagan would not be pleased with the state of affairs. Throughout the last year, president Trump refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power to president-elect Biden:
President Trump refused to acknowledge a legitimate loss of the election (both in popular vote and through the Electoral College. He actively encouraged electoral fraud in Georgia (one could argue that encouraged is too soft a word). Through a disinformation campaign, Trump convinced hundreds of thousands of Americans that the result of the election is fraudulent. Committing to a peaceful transition of power on January 8, does not absolve him of his previous anti-democratic actions.
The Trump presidency tested the mettle of the United States. This post started with a passage from the Federalist Papers about the principal struggle in establishing government. The structure and institution of government proved that the Constitution of the United States continues to be sufficient to limit the power of man throughout the Trump presidency.
Trump’s most extreme policies have not survived the Supreme Court of the United States. The Supreme Court allowed New York to subpoena Trump’s financial records, prevented the president from adding an additional question to the US Census, prevented the president from eliminating DACA, and upheld environmental protection against governmental action. The Court has not been a perfect shield from extreme policies, transgendered individuals cannot enlist in the military, and versions of Trump’s travel bans remain in law, after challenges in the courts failed. However, Trump was unsuccessful when using the Court to undermine democratic process. President Trump’s campaign filed 62 lawsuits in state and federal courts in a series of attempts to overturn election results. 61 of those challenges failed. The only successful legal challenge from his campaign, which required identification by November 9 for mail-in ballots, did not change the result of the state’s election.
Congress has not been as successful as the Court in limiting presidential overreach. However, Congress too was able to redress illegal action. Congress impeached president Trump in 2019, after the president attempted to barter military aid in exchange for Ukrainian investigations into Joe and Hunter Biden.
The framers aimed to put into place an executive with enough checks-and-balances, and sufficiently limited power, to ensure that the president of the United States would never become a king. The structures of government proved to be a resilient enough bulwark against tyranny to ensure democracy.
The will of the people may not be so resilient. Trump encouraged millions to distrust the results of a national election, he encouraged the 74 million Americans that voted for him to reject Biden as president-elect. Distrust of both the government and the press are at historic lows. Conducting democracy in an environment where citizens trust neither the government nor the press is a futile exercise.
The insurrection of January 6 highlighted the lack of will in government and citizenry to moderate extreme action. Allowing entry to the capitol was a choice. If a similar-sized crowd attempts to disrupt the inauguration of president Biden, they will not find the same success. Pentagon officials sent memos on January 4 and January 5 banning DC guardsmen from receiving ammo and riot gear, engaging with protesters (except for self-defense), sharing equipment with local police, or using surveillance or air assets without explicit approval from Trump’s acting Defense Secretary, Christopher Miller.
Only 53% of registered Republicans believe there should be a smooth transition of power to the Biden administration in January. Even reactions to the storming of the Capitol itself are mixed. The will of the people to perpetuate democracy is not strong.
Is it wrong to compare these actions with the Black Lives Matter protests of the last couple of years?
It is not fair to compare the actions of extremists with the actions of peaceful protestors. And those that compare the entirety of the BLM movement with the actions of rioters on January 6, are making an unfair comparison. However, those that compare the state of the East Precinct in Seattle to the entirety of Trump’s supporters are no better. The ability to protest peacefully must be protected in a democracy for all positions (within reason).
The language for reporting protests must be standardized. Not everyone that attended Trump’s address on the morning of the 6th is a rioter. Most didn’t take part in an insurrection, they protested peacefully. The vast majority of those who attend a Black Lives Matter rally are not rioters. They protest peacefully.
The storming and abandonment CHOP in Seattle and the Capitol in Washington DC are examples of insurrection and should be reported as such. Similarly riots that destroy property, result in violence, or encourage lawless action, should be reported as such.
In even the extreme cases of insurrection, protestors exist. Attending a rally should not be reported as proto-criminal activity.
Comparing any two political movements is appropriate. It isn’t unfair or morally wrong to compare a pro-Trump movement with the Black Lives Matter movement. However, it is unfair to turn one example into a strawman to bolster another movement. In valuing democracy we must allow space for all opinions, especially unsavory ones, unless they incite imminent lawless action.
Putting it all together
We do not yet know how much the actions of a few thousand people on January 6 threatened the United States. During the insurrection, rioters gained access to strategic IT and physical resources that could easily be used in future threats against the US by foreign or domestic actors. The political will of the United States to respond to lawless action is weak. Trust in government institutions and the press is low.
Ironically, the institutions of government themselves have proven resilient to both the president and the number of citizens that wish to halt democratic process. At present, trust in institutions, especially the Court, should be much higher. The levees held.
There are other reasons to be optimistic as well. The election of 2020 was referendum against Trump the candidate. Down ballot Republicans significantly outperformed the president. The Georgia Senate race was trending toward a GOP victory in the polls before Trump asked the Secretary of State for more votes. The tides within his party appear to be shifting away from Trump.
Polly Wanna Math 