by Joseph Levendusky
The events of Wednesday January 6, 2021 shocked our nation profoundly. Until recently, it had been widely thought that such things could not happen in the United States. Countless souls immigrate here from troubled spots around the world expressly because the political violence they have become inured to does not happen in our land.
As welcome as they may be at the moment, pronouncements by Republicans about democracy, rule of law and the sanctity of the American political process contain massive globs of hypocrisy. Republicans hear this: Without question, the Frankenstein that invaded your citadel on Wednesday was a monster of your own creation.
Donald Trump doubtlessly incited the storming of the Capitol building. But that has been a five-year project beginning with “Lock her up!” . . . And all along the way, since Trump gained the Republican nomination, there has been no shortage of sycophants, enablers and cowards in the GOP who must share responsibility.
Donald Trump doubtlessly incited the storming of the Capitol building. But that has been a five-year project beginning with “Lock her up!” Mr. Trump has spent his political career sowing division and inducing Americans to hate each other. He has spent that time prevaricating and mocking Americans who disagree with him. He has stoked the anger of his base for his own loathsome ends. He has behaved more like a thug than a statesman. And all along the way, since Trump gained the Republican nomination, there has been no shortage of sycophants, enablers and cowards in the GOP who must share responsibility.
The time has come for plain words: There has been a fascist, racist, authoritarian movement brewing in this country for decades. Donald J. Trump is only a symptom of this disease.
Americans like Ronald Reagan, Roger Ailes and Lee Atwater paved the way with their own bigotry, mendacity and fatuous oversimplifications of complicated problems. Newt Gingrich instituted a scorched earth political warfare that that made villains out of opponents and lacked even a shred of human decency. Karl Rove innovated and improved on the Republican playbook of division and slander.
Countless Republicans have made hay by falsely branding opponents socialist, un-patriotic and worse. Republicans have relentlessly flogged the bogus issue of voter fraud in order to disenfranchise Americans who were unlikely to vote for them. Media figures like Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, among others, have stirred up the foulest human prejudices in pursuit of political power for their patrons and great fortunes for themselves.
Fox News, Sinclair Broadcasting, One America Network and Newsmax have spread noxious falsehoods and counterfeit conspiracy theories that have poisoned America’s political groundwater. Even the Wall Street Journal has, on its editorial page, provided irresponsible cover for Trumpian misdeeds. This is presumably because its readership enjoys Republican tax breaks and doesn’t mind the social cost.
Five Americans have died—including an Air Force Veteran and Trump supporter and a Capitol Policeman—because of seditious lies about non-existent election fraud spread by the President, Congressmen, Senators, Republican functionaries and right-wing media. All of them have blood on their hands.
Donald Trump is a man who is unhinged and desperate. In his current mental state, he is clearly unfit to hold office, if he ever was. Further, he has command of America’s military and its nuclear arsenal. For the safety of the American people, and the entire world, he must be removed from office immediately.
Once Trump’s hands are safely off the nuclear football, we must begin a thorough and honest process of self-reflection to begin to understand how we could have descended to this predicament. The future of the American democracy depends on it.
