As talking heads in media comment on this anniversary of the January 6, 2021 insurrection of the US Capitol–an event that brought home the deep and growing attack on US Democracy to the general populace–allow me to share some of my reflections as well of the past few days on the subject. Here are some of my twitter feeds and commentary on the topic. (Check out my forthcoming extended post as well, ‘The Neoliberal Origins of January 6 and Crisis of US Democracy’)
#Jan6
How to explain McCarthy(McConnell, Graham, etc.)blamed Trump for riot on Jan. 7, then joined Trump cult after McCarthy visited Mar-a-Lago? Per the ‘fly on the wall’, I’ve been told Trump likely threatened to break up the Republican party & start new one. McCarthy & friends would have been jobless in 2023
#Jan6
Was the insurrection a culmination of months-long efforts to subvert the election process? Yes. Was it also the start of a more serious undermining of Democracy by a wing of US capitalist elites and their paid for politicians? Yes. Is the other wing failing to stop it? Yes
#Jan6
Looking for historical parallels, can we call Jan 6 the US radical right and Trump’s ‘Beer Hall Putsch’? (that was the Nazis’ initial failed insurrection in 1923 Germany, after which Nazi party became Hitler’s cult and it purged any internal voices of challenge to Hitler)
#Jan6thCommittee
Here’s a Prediction: Cong. hearings will never touch the big politicians & financiers behind Jan 6 riot + after Repubs take House in Nov. 22, prosecutions will be halted, pardons granted, and if voting rights bill pass this yr (big ‘if’ per Joe Manchin) it’ll be reversed
#Jan6
On this anniversary of the insurrection & riot in DC we’ll hear a lot of talking heads lamenting the attack & crisis of democracy today. Listen close. You’ll not hear much in the way of actions to address that crisis besides Cong. hearings (to be forgotten after Nov. ’22)
#USA
Progressives & leftists think 1930s New Deal was ‘normal’ America. No, that era was historical aberration. America today has all but shed New Deal + WW2 programs & policies. Its now reverting to true USA culture, economy & society of pre-1930s period. 2020s more like 1920s
#January6
Does Jan. 6 reveals the Republican party is now at the stage of Germany in 1926. Only then did Hitler become infallible ‘leader’ of Nazi party, purging all other challengers to him internally + uniting under the Nazi party all the scum on the right. German depression began 1927-28. Liberals allowed him under the tent which he then burned down with the infamous ‘Reichstag Fire’.
#Democracy
Another ‘marker’ of its USA decline: collapse of mainstream political parties. Republican party is now a ‘cult’ with Trump in complete charge & Democrats are led by octogenarians at loss of what to do to save it, dragging their feet, debating ad nauseum, afraid to confront Trump. Wanna bet they never indict him?
#Manchin
Is playing his ‘move the goalpost’ game again, this time re. voting rights bills & filibuster. Says he doesn’t like lifting it, even temporarily, but voted to do so a month ago to pass the Dec. $768B defense bill. Says he’ll maybe support it later, but only if Republicans agree as well. (That means never, of course, as he knows well)
#January6
Democracy dies when its elites begin to abandon it. Jan 6 insurrection = tip of iceberg. In 2020, 440 anti voting bills were introduced; 88 still pending. 34 passed in 19 states. More than 130 nonpartisan state elections county directors now taken over & replaced by red state legislatures. From Supreme Ct to Senate to State legislatures, attacks on voting & democracy accelerating.
#Manchin
Dem leaders now formally give up on passing Build Back Better. Instead turn to passing Voting Rights Act. Manchin now opposed to that as well. And says he’s against changing filibuster too. Deja Vu further collapse of Dem Party. What kind of party would keep a Manchin?
#January6
Just released polls show only 10% of Republicans think January 6 riot was an insurrection. And 61% believe none of it was violent. Meanwhile, AG Garland remains AWOL & US House plods along as midterms approach, after which it will all be dropped. Dems have no strategy to check the local level ground attacks on Democracy, besides House hearings which won’t stop it
Dear Mr. Rasmus,
I love reading your work very, very much. I come to you for so much of my analysis of economic and political events. I would ask you to please consider/ address the following two perspectives:
1. Fascist plots in the U.S.: Contemporary lessons from the 1934 “Business Plot” by Gabriel Rockhill on Jan 4, 2022
(https://www.liberationschool.org/fascist-plots-in-the-u-s-contemporary-lessons-from-the-1934-business-plot/); and
2. The Empire Files: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKDcsH2XXQI
Thank you,
Aaron Albrecht
I agree with all the comments that there is a systemic assault on democracy by Republicans which the Democrats are passively enabling. With have not one but two “do nothing” Joe’s in charge, Biden and Manchin. But the only way out of the multiple crisis we have, jobs, climate change, covid is sustained collective action aka democracy. Sustained collective action is what government is all about and anathema to the theologians of Neoliberalism. As Ronald Reagan put it, “gov’ment (his pronunciation) is the problem not the solution.” Reagan’s expression of Neoliberalism demonstrates its fundamentally anti democratic nature. But you can’t deal with climate change, jobs, or covid without sustained collective action which is what we did in WWII [ up to 40% of GDP in fiscal spending almost 100% employment] which gave us the unprecedented prosperity of the 1950’s and 1960’s. Think about the dual threat of climate change and covid to the economy. Examples abound. The travel industry—-a huge industry—-is in free fall due to covid thousands of plane flights canceled, hundreds sick on cruise ships The banking industry and insurance industry are under enormous pressure from climate change: huge losses occasioned by the Colorado wildfires—-at least 1000 structures destroyed. Plus the Kentucky tornadoes. Plus Hurricane Ida. And everyone with a working brain cell knows this is just the beginning. Are the Neoliberals just going to let the travel industry, banking industry, insurance industry and other major industries go under because of their repugnance for democracy and their heartfelt religious fervor for Neoliberalism? People do as Chevron tell us.