Stand Back and Stand Ready… to Protect Democracy
That should no longer be just a Trump message to the Proud Boys — it should be the motto of democracy’s defenders. It’s now brutally clear that Donald Trump tried to defy the will of the people and declare a dictatorship… up until the final hours of his administration. As the New York Times just revealed, not only was Trump leaning heavily on state officials and judges to overturn the vote and inciting an insurrectionary mob, he was also conspiring with Justice Department Jeffrey Clark to overthrow democracy through extra-legal machinations. (And how many other seemingly milquetoast bureaucrats like Clark are there interspersed throughout the federal government, waiting for their big treasonous moment?)
The Times also reports today that a broad progressive coalition formed immediately to defend the results of the presidential election. This is a bracing evolutionary step for the American Left, which has tended in the past to sheepishly accept whatever authoritarian power grab that Republican wolves engineer. Less encouraging were the members of the progressive coalition, like a woman identified as a leading liberal “messaging” expert, who cautioned strongly against using the word “coup” to describe Trump’s post-election aggression. Well, excuse me, but that is precisely what Trump was attempting until the midnight hour. Why sugarcoat a fascist putsch?
The front page of the Times (which is especially compelling today) also carries a sobering report on the January 6 Capitol invasion and how it inspired a global network of white nationalists, neo-Nazis, QAnon conspiracy freaks and other far-right militants. These anti-democratic forces, by and large, don’t see the spasm of Washington violence as an inglorious defeat, but rather as a harbinger of what their power can accomplish if it’s fully organized (and weaponized).
Most of the MAGA base still regards Trump as their leader — and Trump himself has made it clear that his dark political ambitions are far from vanquished. This is another reason why it’s vital for American democracy to convict Trump in the Senate — and then pursue him until the end of his days in state courts for his endless crimes. If Trump makes a political comeback, or if he acts as kingmaker (or rather dictator-maker) for a demagogue smarter than he is, then American democracy might finally die.
Under these dire circumstances, Democrats should hold their noses and cut a deal with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. Yes, he’s an oozing pustule on the body politic, but McConnell also came to loathe Trump and rightly regards him as poison for the Republican future. Our only hope to convict Trump in the Senate next month — and to drive him from the electoral arena — is by cutting a deal with McConnell.
More important, the forces on the left — and I’m talking about everyone from antifa street fighters to liberal members of Congress — must stay mobilized and on high alert against further attacks on democracy. Those in the post-election progressive coalition who advised against sending Protect-the-Vote protesters into the streets as Trump attempted his coup were probably right. These counter-demonstrations might have played into Trump’s hands by allowing him to scream "Anarchy!” and declare martial law. The system — even Republican election officials — did hold. Democracy’s defenders didn’t have to pour into the streets this time, until Joe Biden was officially declared the victor — and then the demonstrations were dancing in the streets jubilation.
But there will be fire next time — and there WILL be a next time. And we can’t be caught soft and asleep. Yes, as I argued yesterday, channel your passion into the system now — keep pressuring the Biden administration to do the right thing, instead of adding to the nation’s sound and fury. But stand back and stand ready. If Biden fails or is foiled — and if the forces of fascism again threaten U.S. democracy — we must be prepared to fight.
