Tag: ross douthat
Did The January 6 Coup Fail?

Did The January 6 Coup Fail?

January 6 should have been the point of no return, the pivot point at which even the most blinkered sugar-coaters of Trumpism recoiled in disgust from what they had wrought.

For everyone who had convinced themselves that, whatever Trump's flaws, the true threat to the American way of life lay on the left and only on the left, January 6 was a blaring klaxon. Yes, he was a buffoon and incompetent and unfamiliar with the levers of power — and yet this clown nearly brought a 244-year-old democracy to its knees.

The most threatening aspect of January 6 was not the ferocious attack on the Capitol but the response of Republican officeholders thereafter. Even after the unleashing of medieval mob violence, 147 Republican members of Congress voted not to certify Joe Biden as the winner of the presidency. The transformation of the GOP from a political party into an authoritarian personality cult became official that day.

In the year since, most Republicans (with some extremely honorable exceptions) have descended further into cultishness. They blocked the creation of an independent January 6 commission, attempted to pack the congressional January 6 committee with Trump Dobermans like Rep. Jim Jordan, and engaged in flagrant gaslighting about the events of that day. Now, with the arrival of the first anniversary of the most shameful day in recent history, Republicans and right-wing opinion leaders returned to their comfort zone: Blame the media.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, who showed uncharacteristic independence that day, has retreated to media bashing. "I know the media wants to distract from the Biden administration's failed agenda by focusing on one day in January," he told Fox News.

Radio host Erick Erickson tweeted that "there is a genuine obsession in the press about it. It was a bad day, but it doesn't outweigh crime, inflation, COVID, school closures, etc. for voters." Erickson was at pains to emphasize that he isn't now minimizing what happened at the Capitol, but merely responding to a "press corps obsessed with it as the worst thing ever."

This is not to say that there's no such thing as press overreaction or hysteria, but the right has been engaging in evasion for years with the "but the media" trope. In the wake of January 6, it looks not just dishonest but absurd. January 6 is not an "issue" like crime or COVID-19 or inflation. It's the heart of our system. Without bipartisan allegiance to the verdict of voters and the willingness to cede power to those you oppose, no other "issues" can ever be addressed.

Encounter Books editor Roger Kimball mocked the gravity of January 6. "Was it an effort to overthrow the government? Hardly." The trouble, of course, is the media: "To listen to the establishment media and our political masters, the January 6 protest was a dire threat to the very fabric of our nation."

In fact, Kimball claims, the media narrative amounts to a "January 6 insurrection hoax" to pair with the "Russia collusion hoax."

Unlike some of those cited above, New York Times columnist Ross Douthat is not an apologist for Trumpism. He doesn't blame the media, but he doubts that Trump has the wherewithal to subvert our system. Yes, Trump did try to steal the election, Douthat writes, but the courts and state legislatures failed to do his bidding.

That's a comforting thought, but it fails to grapple with two things. One is the GOP's systematic purging of officials who did the right thing in the 2020 election. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has been removed from the board overseeing election certification and is being primaried, as is Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. Across the country, Republican officials who stood in the breach when it counted and did the right thing are being hounded from office. Members who voted to impeach are resigning or close to resigning.

It's true that Trump didn't quite know where the pressure points were last time, but he's learning. He has supported secretary of state candidates who deny the validity of the 2020 result in four swing states. Meanwhile, Republican-controlled legislatures in a number of states have passed laws withdrawing power over election certification from local election administrators and handing it to legislatures.

But the most profound reason to fear a repeat of something like January 6 is that Trump has corrupted the minds of a substantial percentage of Republican party members.

The polls consistently show that about two-thirds of Republicans believe the Big Lie that the election was stolen. Nearly a third believe that "Because things have gotten so far off track, true American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save our country." Among rank-and-file Republicans, January 6 is not even viewed as regrettable. One poll found that 52% identified those who entered the Capitol as "protecting democracy."Institutions are not self-sustaining. They are composed of people, and if people have lost faith in them or have given themselves permission to break the rules, they will crumble.

A people deluded and propagandized cannot be trusted to uphold the pillars of the democratic process. Trump failed at his improvised coup, but he succeeded in warping enough of the electorate to make another attempt — and even success — all too possible.

Mona Charen is policy editor of The Bulwark and host of the "Beg to Differ" podcast. Her most recent book is Sex Matters: How Modern Feminism Lost Touch with Science, Love, and Common Sense. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

This Week In Crazy: Ross Douthat’s WASP Sting, Scott Walker’s Whining, And More

This Week In Crazy: Ross Douthat’s WASP Sting, Scott Walker’s Whining, And More

Janitors conjuring the powers of God, the end of democracy as we know it, and Trump lovers make love in the name of hate. No, this isn’t a night on the town with the Proud Boys. It’s This Week in Crazy!

5. Ross Douthat

The New York Times is usually President Trump’s favorite brand of toilet paper, but he may want to actually read Ross Douthat’s column before he wipes. The columnist claims that White Anglo Saxon Protestant (WASP) leaders are more successful than their “more meritocratic, diverse and secular successors.” Oh yeah, Douthat DID that.

Douthat’s buzzing about WASPs was inspired by the passing of the Episcopalian Caucasian superman, George H.W. Bush. Tripping down the memory lane of white privilege, Douthat credited WASPs for the success of blacks and Jews. He even went so far as to suggest that both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney “imitated WASP habits.” Ouch. 

4. Christy Edwards Lawton

Even haters need love. That’s what entrepreneur Christy Edwards Lawton thought when she saw a woman alone in a New York bar. A confused Lawton described that woman as “stunning,” and wondered, why are men respecting such a beautiful woman?

To see why no one was drooling over this beauty, Lawton asked, discovering to her delight that the woman is a Trump supporter. Apparently, that’s a turn-off to hipsters and men parading around the city’s Meat Packing District in glitter.

This experience got Christy Edwards Lawton thinking about the evening when Sarah Sanders was refused service in a Virginia restaurant.  

See, Virginia is for lovers so it all clicked for Lawton. The would-be matchmaker for decided to start a Tinder for Trump supporters. That’s right, now it’s easier for Trump lovers to come together and spread their…anger.

The name of her project, expected to launch next month, is “Righter.”  With a name like that, it couldn’t go wronger.

3. Scott Walker

In typical GOP fashion, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is handling his midterm election defeat by Tony Evers like a true crybaby. With two months left in office, Walker rushed the appointment of 82 members to civil service jobs. The departing governor supported his decision by stating: “Members of the Legislature were elected not on a term that ended on Election Day —they were elected in a term that ends in January, just like my term ends in January.”

Of course, Walker derided exactly this logic when he defeated Jim Doyle in 2010. In fact, his press release about the subject still lives on his official website. By pushing his agenda through, new laws will limit in-person early-voting to two weeks. Also, Wisconsin Senate members can now find their own lawyers to pursue the state’s withdrawal from Obamacare. That means incoming Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, will have a hard time keeping Wisconsin in the health care program — depriving hundreds of thousands of families of coverage.

2. Dana Perino

Here’s a novel defense for the president: “It’s not obstruction of justice if we do it right in front of your eyes.” That’s the position now advocated by Dana Perino of Fox News, responding to those who consider the President’s tweet lauding Roger Stone as an obstruction of justice. After all, the “most powerful man in the world” is commenting about a federal investigation on a public forum.

“I mean can you actually obstruct justice if you’re not doing it in secret?” asked Perino innocently.

 

1. Georgian Banov

Now it’s time to call in the police van. President Trump asked “Prophet” Georgian Banov to bless each door in the White House. Like a great servant (of God that it is), religious musician and “healer” Banov worked hard, anointing every opening for over 11 hours.

Originally, Trump reached out to Washington prophet Bill Johnson and asked him, “Hey, you got some of that oil stuff?” That didn’t work out.) But Banov showed up, dressed as a janitor so he wouldn’t distract White House staffers. Evidently the presence of a strange man dressed in janitor clothes throwing oil at doorways left them unfazed.