Thanks to the House select committee, we now know to what extent the January 6th insurrection was planned and coordinated. I went into the hearings knowing that Trump had deliberately incited the crowd to attack the capitol that day, but even at that I was surprised to learn just how deep and blatant the former president’s ties to extremist organizations like the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys really are. It rattled me, especially when there is a real possibility that the American people will re-elect this man, even after what he has done, and tried to do, to American democracy. This is the burning question: Will the findings of the select committee be enough to end Trump’s political career and, even more importantly, counteract the Big Lie? Will they be able to reach people like Stephen Ayres, who are ultimately the source of Trump’s power?
For those of us who accept, beyond a doubt, that the attack on the capitol was not some kind of spontaneous outpouring, but a deliberately and well-planned attempt to overturn the election and instate a leader who did not win a free and fair election, the question becomes–where next for America? Increasingly, it looks like Trump may be charged with a crime, a necessary step. But, let us not get convinced that that will be the end of the Big Lie.
Even without Trump, Trumpism is still out there. All across the nation, Trump supporters are gearing up to disrupt the midterm elections. Their actions will be just as deliberate and just as destructive, if not more, than January 6th was. And, many state legislatures and local governments are woefully underprepared.
What makes the Big Lie one of the most dangerous conspiracies in American history is not so much the leveling of bogus (or as Trump’s own former attorney general put it “nonsense”) claims of voter fraud; it is the organizing idea that his followers adhere to that they cannot legitimately lose. More than anything else, what makes Trump and his followers dangerous is their unwillingness to concede under any circumstances. The Big Lie has nothing whatsoever to do with voter fraud. Voter fraud is a smokescreen for a movement that has declared itself above the will of the people.
If we learn anything from the January 6th hearings, let it be that Trump is a movement, not a spontaneous mob caught up in the moment. His followers have carefully crafted a political apparatus through calculated political and legal maneuvering. The January 6th select committee will be a springboard, but it must only be the beginning. Those who care about American democracy will have to out-maneuver, out-mobilize and out-organize and do it today. It will take every ounce of passion and every ounce of fight we have even as we will have to stay firmly attached to principles of nonviolence, lest we give our opponents ammunition. Voting for Democrats is simply not enough. We need a movement to change the soul of America.
Progressive Without Apology 