Today is the second anniversary of the January 6 attempted coup, and things are very different .Last year, on the one year anniversary, we asked you to support Cori Bush’s resolution calling for insurrectionists to be expelled from Congress.
Today, those same members — including but not limited to Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Andy Biggs of Arizona, and Louie Gohmert of Texas — are the core of the “rump group” that is denying Kevin McCarthy the last dozen or so votes he needs to be Speaker.
As we explain in our video, it’s good sport to watch, but there’s not a lot of good news or positive outcomes to expect from the present turmoil in the Republican party. In large part, that’s because the chances to hold fossil fueled fascists accountable for their specific fossil fueled fascist behavior are slim to none.
But there is one chance: Democrats in Congress have drafted a bill clarifying that Trump is unable to run again under the 14th Amendment. Will you sign on as a citizen co-sponsor?
We also made a quick video explainer, which you can use and share to remind more people this January 6 that we haven’t forgotten about fossil fueled fascists and their coup attempt two years ago.
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Cicilline’s bill is unlikely to pass the House of Representatives with a Republican majority, but the open “anything goes” rules that the Republicans are considering might give us more chances to force a vote or debate. And that alone would be a huge victory and give us leverage in the courts and mass media to force more consideration of whether and how to hold Trump and his crew accountable.
As we feared and warned you last year, the January 6 committee did a fantastic job documenting what happened on January 6, and how the fossil fuel fascist movement in America was built by Trump and others in the lead up to the deadly insurrection at the capitol; But the Congressional committee had no law enforcement powers, and Congress chose not to exercise its own disciplinary action by censuring or expelling the insurrectionists in their midsts. As a result, while we (and, presumably, the Justice Department) know a lot more about who did what and when in the lead up to and attack on the capitol on January 6 2021, exactly none of the elected officials who participated in, supported, or planned the attempted coup have been held accountable.
But the 14th Amendment already prohibits anyone who previously took an oath to support the Constitution but then engaged in “insurrection or rebellion” from holding any office, civil or military, under the the United States. Since we’re talking about McCarthy and the Republican speaker election, which has now gone to more ballots than any election since the 1850s, it’s worth remembering that in the 1860s 11 Senators and three Representatives were expelled from Congress for supporting the Confederacy. So there is precedent and legal history, no more obscure than what’s happening today with the House Speaker’s vote, to support expelling insurrectionist members, and barring their leaders from running for office.
Trump, in particular, was impeached (the second time) for inciting the January 6th insurrection. He and his accomplices tried to coerce election officials to falsify election results, and he urged his supporters to march on the Capitol building with the intention of using violence and intimidation to interfere with the certification of the 2020 election.
In addition to these clear violations of the 14th Amendment, the January 6th Committee has uncovered overwhelming evidence that Trump intended to subvert our democracy to stay in power. Criminal referrals are being sent to the Department of Justice, where there are already pending investigations into his criminal behavior.