"At its core, democracy is an act of faith, a shared belief that the people can fairly act in the common good by choosing their leaders. Destroying the faith in the system will destroy the American experiment." -- Garry Kasparov
This in an extraordinary moment and an extraordinary voice has risen to meet it. The brilliant Russian-born chess master Garry Kasparov is uniquely suited to warn Americans of how easily the promise of democracy can devolve into the nightmare of authoritarianism.
He argues that impeachment is the wrong path to prevent our slide downhill. Whether you agree or disagree with him, now is the time to listen and think carefully about what is happening.
Those of us old enough to remember when the Berlin Wall fell, followed by the collapse of the Soviet Union, know how shocking it was when what Reagan called the "evil empire" imploded so quickly and completely.
How that happened is instructive. The hearts of the Russian people changed, and they chose freedom and liberty over the darkness of extremist tyranny.
Today, as out nation teeters on the verge of possible collapse, it is because the hearts of a substantial number of our citizens have been infected with the fatal disease of authoritarianism.
As the Congress prepares to impeach Trump, the man who would be a dictator and is IMHO a traitor, fully 24 percent of the Republican Party still believe his lie that the election was stolen. And 73 percent believe Trump is "protecting" democracy.
According to our highest military and intelligence officials, his supporters are preparing to stage violent riots over the coming days leading to the inauguration of the rightful President, Joe Biden, and probably after that as well.
Getting Biden safely into and Trump out of the White House is not going to end this threat or solve the horrific divide in this nation. The Trump faction not only adheres to the most preposterous conspiracy theories instead of truth, they demonize those of us who do value truth and pray that it will prevail.
Unfortunately, impeachment will not help in that process. As Kasparov warns, political persecution in the heat of the moment is a rush to judgement that will not help the cause of democracy.
IMHO, the best speech in today's debate was by minority leader Kevin McCarthy (R) of California, who denounced Trump but pleaded to his colleagues to reject impeachment. His was the voice of reason, while most Democrats spoke out of anger and revenge and most other Republicans spoke utter nonsense.
I have no doubt that in any coming confrontation, the military and police serving the U.S. government will prevail over the ragtag "militias" blindly devoted to Trump. The leaders of the insurrection of January 6th and whatever further disruptions lie in the immediate future will be hunted down, arrested, jailed, and convicted, and their rebellion will be crushed.
I trust that Trump himself as well as his closest lieutenants will face legal jeopardy for inciting the January 6th riot.
But what is rotten at the core of America will not be cured by repression or political revenge. It also will not be flattened by censorship by tech giants or federal communications regulations.
The difficult work of rooting out the cancer of anti-democratic doctrine will have to be fought person by person, gradually over a long period of time. Those of us who believe in the ideals of this country are going to have to commit to engaging in the hardest work of all -- persuasion.
During the coming stretch of time, our best hope is the governing coalition led by the centrist Joe Biden. This is not the time for the magical thinking by those who think because Trump lost the election, the country embraces a more radical view of how to reform society.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Biden squeaked by Trump nationally by 7 million votes or less than 4.5 percent of the more than 158 million votes counted. Your 3rd grade math teacher will tell you that is not a landslide.
More specifically, by a much smaller margin -- only a few thousand votes here and there in several swing states -- did Biden flip the areas Trump won in 2016. That, in turn, swung the Electoral College vote from the GOP to the Democrats.
As we all know, Trump and his supporters did not accept that result as legitimate and they still don't -- and *that* is the big, big problem. Sure, you can suppress their protest by force, but you will not persuade them to return into believers in the American experiment overnight.
Furthermore, there are many members of the military and the police who sympathize with the sentiments that fueled the extremists who attacked the Capitol. We need them to choose nation over sentiment. They will follow orders but they are watching, too.
The work that needs to be done is going to take many years.
Biden is the right man for the job because he is a centrist and the center is what needs to be strengthened, not the left, nor the right. Those two quarters of the loaf need to absorb the yeast of moderation for the broken bread to have any hope of being reassembled.
Throughout my career as a journalist, when I have produced my biggest stories with the biggest impact, invariably I have come under attack, including death threats, from the sectarian left and the sectarian right. The left attacked me for exposing the thuggery of the SLA and the Black Panthers. The right attacked me for exposing the thuggery of multinational corporations.
They both threaten democracy from opposite directions like two speeding trains bearing down on each other along the same track.
Right now the centrist portion of the country is ascendant, barely. The liberal wing is impatient and the conservative wing is buried beneath the ugly specter of Trumpism. We need to achieve enough unity to proceed with whatever healing is possible.
We need to unify the country. May cooler heads prevail and may the center hold.
***
The headlines, annotated:
* Garry Kasparov: What happens next. "As terrible as the events of Jan. 6 were -- and I'm on the record warning of 'the unimaginable' -- I'm going to repeat what I said after Election Day: It's not over. This battle against anti-democratic extremism didn't end when a right-wing mob invaded the United States Capitol and five people died, including one police officer. It didn't end when Twitter and other social media platforms finally muzzled President Donald Trump -- although that was a heavier blow in this fight than most. And it won't end when Joe Biden is inaugurated on January 20." (CNN) This essay is a must-read for anyone who cares what happens to our democracy. (DW)
* Exclusive: Facebook is tracking a rise in violent rhetoric tied to U.S. presidential inauguration (Reuters) This is a major warning flag. (DW)
* Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has reportedly told those close to him that he believes Trump committed impeachable offenses by supporting insurrectionists who violently attacked the U.S. Capitol last week, an incredible shift in thinking as Democrats take steps to remove the president from office. McConnell has privately indicated he is pleased with the Democrats’ effort, believing it's a chance for the Republican Party to purge Trump. [HuffPost] McConnell is a very smart politician. Impeachment is a trap. (DW)
* Secret Service launches massive security operation to protect Biden inauguration (WashPo) I hope this works. (DW)
* Google to pause all political ads from Jan. 14 (Reuters) Too little, too late. (DW)
* Evidence emerged that top officials, including at the F.B.I., had warnings about violence before the riot at the Capitol. (NYT) We need to know more. (DW)
* Before riot, Trump said ‘we got to get rid’ of Rep. Liz Cheney. Now she supports impeaching him. (WashPo) If I were her, I would too. (DW)
* Lawmakers Were Feet and Seconds Away From Confrontation With Mob (WSJ) Bless our Capitol Police. (DW)
* How the Republican Party Could Break -- After the Capitol Hill riot, the divide between reality and fantasy may become too wide to bridge. (NYT) This would be bad for the country. (DW)
* A growing chorus of congressional Republicans announced their support for the impeachment of President Donald Trump, a remarkable turn for a party that has been marching in lockstep with Trump for years. (HuffPost) That doesn't make it the right move. (DW)
* Trump defiant and unapologetic about his role in inciting Capitol mob attack (WashPo) Trump is an asshole. (DW)
* Prosecutors Expect to Arrest ‘Hundreds’ Tied to Capitol Riot (NYT) Good. (DW)
* As part of new safety precautions in response to last week's insurrection, lawmakers at the Capitol must now walk through metal detectors to enter the chamber and vote. But many Republican members of Congress threw a fit at the idea of going through the same security check that everyone else does when entering the Capitol. Democratic Rep. Cori Bush lambasted her Republican colleagues, saying lawmakers who refused to use new metal detectors should get another job. [HuffPost] Leave your guns at home. (DW)
* YouTube bans Trump from uploading videos for at least a week, cites ongoing potential for violence (WashPo) May it help. (DW)
* States Told to Vaccinate Everyone 65 and Over as Deaths Surge (NYT) Finally. (DW)
* Since last week's riot, inside cops-only message boards and other pro-law enforcement media groups online, police officers are grappling with how a group that usually proclaims “Blue Lives Matter” could turn its wrath on them. Instead of facing the uncomfortable implications of the Capitol siege, many are pushing the debunked conspiracy theory that the chaos was orchestrated by anti-fascist activists. [HuffPost] Major warning flag! (DW)
* Backlash to riot at Capitol hobbles Trump’s business as banks, partners flee the brand (WashPo) Good. (DW)
* National Guard Deployment to Grow to 20,000 Strong, Officials Say (WSJ) Fine. (DW)
* Hundreds of federally funded senior centers and regional agencies are holding together a frayed safety net for the elderly while teetering on the edge of a financial cliff. Financed by Congress under the Older Americans Act, these centers coordinate iconic programs such as Meals on Wheels. In the two COVID-19 relief bills passed in March, Congress set aside $1.05 billion in extra funds for the Older Americans Act, a fraction of the overall need. [HuffPost] This is a true crisis. (DW)
* Threats of ‘armed protests’ in multiple cities challenge National Guard support for inauguration (WashPo) God save us all. (DW)
* Amazon warned Parler about violent content before cutoff - court filing (Reuters) So? (DW)
* New York City will terminate business contracts with President Donald Trump after last week’s insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Wednesday. (AP) Good. (DW)
* As coronavirus stalks Brazil's Amazon, many die untreated at home (Reuters) This is a true tragedy. As they die, so does the Amazon. (DW)
* Second year of pandemic 'could even be tougher': WHO's Ryan (Reuters) Damn. (DW)
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