January 6 was fork in the road

We will always wonder what would have happened if Republicans had stood by their principles and the rule of law instead of Trump.

Yesterday was the fifth anniversary of the most egregious attack on our country by US citizens since the Civil War. The aftermath exposed the Republican Party as a dishonest, anti-patriotic, and authoritarian organization determined to seize control of the government. Principled conservatives largely left the party, maintaining their personal integrity and political values. It’s very difficult to respect or trust those who remain.

If social media is good for one thing, it’s the recording of people’s responses and reactions to events. Almost every elected Republican and conservative influencer knew that what happened on January 6 was treasonous and illegal. They condemned Donald Trump and they demanded accountability.

Then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy called the attackers “un-American” and said they should all go to jail. Senator Lindsey Graham called them “domestic terrorists” and vowed to spend the rest of his six-year term demanding accountability. Mitch McConnell said, “If this isn’t impeachable, I don’t know what is.” They all voted against impeachment and supported Trump’s re-election.

At the time, Erick Erickson tweeted, “Shoot the protesters. Waive the rules, impeach. Waive the rules, convict. Wave the rules, deny the ability to run for election again.” While one protester was shot, Republicans blocked impeachment and Trump never faced trial. He not only ran again, he won.

Yesterday, Erickson tweeted, “Frankly, and bluntly, a nation that moves on from school shootings in 48 hours cannot be expected to wring its hands every January 6 because Democrats want us to.”

Also yesterday, The White House put up a website that rewrites history, blaming the Capitol police for the assault on the Capitol. It calls the rioters “peaceful patriotic protesters.” It claims the election was stolen and that Mike Pence betrayed the president. It says Ashli Babbit was murdered. It’s disgraceful and disrespectful to the people who defended the Capitol and our democracy.

A group of January 6 supporters protested at the Capitol. They taunted Capitol police officers with racist tropes. You won’t see the GOP repudiating them.

None of the Republicans who blamed Trump five years ago will stand up to refute the dishonest conspiracy theories being distributed by the President of the United States today. They will slink away at best and echo the lies at worst. They are all complicit in a cover up.

Joseph Stalin famously rewrote Russian history in realtime, removing public figures from photos and even text books. Trump and MAGA are doing the same thing. They are telling us not to believe what we saw and what we know is true. Too many people will fall for it, either out of tribal loyalty, ignorance, or political self-preservation. The press won’t ask many Republicans about it.

As conservative writer Ed Whelan tweeted, “If you were appalled and outraged by the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol while it was happening but now minimize it and harshly criticize folks who continue to regard it as you once did, maybe you've managed to gaslight yourself.”

January 6, though, was really a beginning. It exposed Republicans for who they really are. In the years that followed, they dropped any pretense of holding people accountable. The fought investigations and downplayed the attack. They became increasingly anti-democratic and authoritarian in their rhetoric and their actions.

In North Carolina, the GOP-led Supreme Court tried to change the rules of an election after it was over in order to disqualify voters. After a federal judge prevented them from stealing the election, the Republican legislature removed control of the State Board of Elections from the Governor’s office and put it under the authority of the Republican state auditor. The board is now led by partisans instead of election professionals. The state Supreme Court upheld the move.

For his part, Trump has been brazen in his corruption and abuse of power. The Department of Justice has been weaponized, acting in Trump’s interest and harassing his political enemies. He’s blatantly selling pardons to corrupt politicians and business people. He’s using the office of the presidency to enrich his family and friends. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel see their role as protecting the president instead of acting as independent defenders of justice.

Trump is governing by decree, issuing executive orders at an unprecedented rate. Congress has surrendered its power to the executive branch, refusing to provide the checks that the Constitution demands. He has no significant opposition from Republicans holding office. Those who would push back are resigning or retiring.

The great debates within the GOP are no longer about how much to cut taxes or how far to deregulate industry. They are about whether to accept white supremacists and antisemites as an integral part of their coalition. Conspiracy theories and blatant lies like the ones the White House posted yesterday are already an accepted part of the GOP narrative and political strategy.

January 6 was a fork in the GOP road. The party could continue as a traditional conservative party, respectful of the democratic tradition and the restraints of the Constitution, or it could embrace the right-wing populism and authoritarianism that’s really the core of Trumpism. The traditionalists kept Trump in check for most of his first term, but could not constrain him after his loss to Joe Biden on November 3, 2020.

In the aftermath of January 6, Republicans had to choose their principles or their party as Trump consolidated his control over the GOP. Some, like Senator Thom Tillis, believed, or at least hoped, that a second Trump term would be like his first, full of bad impulses that were constrained by more level heads. They were obviously wrong. They sacrificed their moral integrity to help an undemocratic and unpatriotic Republican Party regain power. Now, many will work to see that they maintain power by any means necessary.

We will always wonder what would have happened if people like Mitch McConnell, Thom Tillis, Kevin McCarthy, and Lindsey Graham had stood up for what they knew was right and held Trump accountable. I believe Republicans would still have won the presidency in 2024 since inflation would have dominated the election and Biden still would have decided to run before dropping out. MAGA might be a significant factor in the GOP, but with a disgraced and absent Trump, a more traditional candidate like a US Senator or governor would likely have been the nominee.

But they didn’t stand up. They cowered, putting party before country. They’ve left the GOP a dishonest and anti-democratic organization in control of our country. And they’ve left the nation at risk. That’s why we should remember January 6.