January 6 Déjà Vu

by Thomas Coffin

One of my favorite columnists, Dahlia Lithwick, wrote a very insightful column in the 1/4/23 edition of SLATE, which you can find here. The subject is the latest malfunction of Congress, the paralysis of the House because of an historic war within the Republican Caucus in electing a new Speaker in the aftermath of the mid-term elections. She compares the event to the insurrection of 1/6/21, and likens them to the locomotive and the caboose of the same train—noting that each is a point along a terrifying line of government failure.

I completely share her view. In fact, I expressed much the same concerns in my essay Totalitarian Ruin, which was published on the Blackberry Pie Society website on 6/10/21. As I observed then, and as Steve Bannon (a prominent spokesperson for the international authoritarian movement) preached and continues to advocate, the goal is to destroy our present democratic model of government and re-create government in a radically different mode—one that eschews democracy, diversity, basic rights taken as recognized in our present society and is rooted in white nationalism authoritarianism.

We must understand that this chaos we are witnessing in the seat of our government is not about more effective government but is instead about “deconstructing” what the enemies of democracy label “the deep state”, getting rid of agencies such as the FBI, the Treasury Department, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Labor, Department of Justice, etc. The Rule of Law would be abolished, and, as reflected in the only platform the Republican Party approved in its 2020 convention, government would consist of carrying out the will of its leader. That is the model of North Korea, China, Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and every dictatorship that ever existed on the planet.

A classmate of mine whom I copied with Totalitarian Ruin responded with this reminder from our high school history curriculum:

We are seeing more than an example of the tyranny of the minority. Remember that the Bolsheviks were a minority party who were able to seize power by taking advantage of the chaos they themselves created and enhanced over a period of several years. There were some major contributing elements, a stalemated war, a wrecked economy, and an ineffectual executive, but it was the sustained effort by a very vocal and determined minority that resulted in one of the great socio-economic disasters of the last century. And the consequences of that disaster are still with us, as we know.

As I watch and listen to the news unfolding regarding the Speaker squabble, the bartering regarding votes being traded for concessions includes demands to shut down government by not raising the debt limit if necessary to fund government operations. Such an action would constitute the first time in history that the United States was in default on its obligations, including those committed to foreign governments. This would be calamitous to the stability of the economy, and functioning of all government agencies, devastate seniors, veterans, and all social welfare programs that provide necessary aid to the people, put bank accounts in jeopardy as federal insurance of deposits would no longer be in place, and beyond those and other falling dominoes result in the potential collapse of the Nation itself. But this type of chaos may well be the goal of what we are witnessing. As discussed in Totalitarian Ruin, this is part of the Fourth Turning Theory concept, which strategist Bannon evidences adherence to, which holds that every 80 years of American history has been marked by a crisis (Generational Turning) that destroyed the old order and created a new one.

I was a federal prosecutor for 21 years and tried several hundred felony cases to juries during my career. I dealt with cases which had what we call direct evidence, such as eyewitness testimony about the crime (e.g., a victim or other witnesses identifying the perpetrator) and those where the evidence was entirely circumstantial (e.g., fingerprints or DNA at the scene). Circumstantial evidence is entitled to equal weight under the law as direct evidence. Many times it can be more credible, as witnesses can be mistaken or perhaps lying and their credibility may be suspect, while physical evidence is typically factual and the overriding issues boil down to the reasonable inferences that the jury draws from that evidence.

On the second anniversary of the January 6 insurrection, the House of Representatives had a ceremony honoring those law enforcement officers and other responders who risked their lives, were injured, and even died in repelling a violent mob storming the Capitol to obstruct the peaceful transition of power to the newly elected President of the United States. Out of 222 Republicans in the House, only one Republican representative showed up to honor those who literally put their lives on the line to save our democracy. That, members of the people’s jury, is powerful evidence. Whatever feeble excuses they offer for their absence, the conclusion to be drawn is clear — they do not celebrate the victory over the insurrection, but instead view it as a defeat of the objective the insurrectionists and their fallen leader had to forcibly stay in power.

I finish in part by quoting Dahlia Lithwick:

What they (the House hard conservative contingent) are really interested in is chaos…They want to throw sand in the gears of the hated government until it fails and they’ve finally proved that it is beyond saving. Every time they vote down a bill they get another invitation to go on Fox News or talk radio. It’s a narcissistic—and dangerous—feedback loop. Governance is not the point. It’s the enemy.

Lastly, I wish to emphasize the fragile state of our government. We, the People for whom this Nation was founded, have suffered numerous blows in the recent years leading up to this point. By now it should be obvious to all that our Constitution, our government, rule of law, and democracy itself is under attack. Racism is on the rise, religious tolerance on the wane, freedom, rights, and liberty are all at risk. Voting is being made more difficult, especially if you are not white, and elections are disputed without evidence. Volunteers who count the ballots are routinely threatened with violence if the authoritarian candidates are not falsely declared the winner. Gun violence is ubiquitous, and schools, churches, temples, mosques, malls, workplaces, stores, theaters, and even homes are not safe anymore because guns, especially military grade firearms, are the necessary tools of those who strive to overthrow a government that espouses democracy and the rights it bestows on the people.

This peril we are facing can only be defeated if the people react in unison to do so. We can still vote (for now), and we must ask ourselves whether the candidates embrace democracy, the Constitution, civil rights, voting by all the citizens, and equality, or do they instead embrace power, white supremacy, a theocratic authoritarian government, or some sort of “Fourth Turning” totalitarian ruin.

We must choose wisely. That is today’s existential issue. If our political system survives, we can get back to the policy differences that separated candidates in more sane times. In order to do that, we must do our duty to preserve our precious heritage.

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Thomas Coffin was the keynote speaker at the Blackberry Pie Society’s Political Party in February, 2020 and at Politics and Pie in October, 2022. He is a retired federal magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon and a former professor at the UO Law School. Thomas retired in 2016 after 24 years on the bench, prior to which he had a career as a federal prosecutor spanning 21 years. He is married with 7 children. The Blackberry Pie Society is pleased to include a collection of his essays on our website. We will post them as they become available.

posted 1.12.2023