Multiple events over the past year and a half have made it clear that Donald Trump and the Republican Party he leads are enemies of democracy. From Trump’s false claim of a stolen election, the violent Jan. 6 insurrection he provoked, to dozens of state voter suppression laws, extreme partisan gerrymandering and the explicit goal of some GOP candidates to subvert future election results if their party doesn’t win, today’s Republican Party constitutes a clear and present danger to American democracy.
In recent weeks, the House Committee investigating the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol by Trump supporters and the multi-pronged plot to overturn the 2020 presidential election and install Trump as a defacto dictator – committee members have revealed irrefutable evidence of Trump and his inner circle’s complicity in crimes against the Constitution.
The July 12 Committee hearing presented evidence that Trump directly and indirectly communicated with armed, tactically-trained white supremacist terrorist groups the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys to gather in Washington on Jan. 6. These groups led others to assault the Capitol to prevent the certification of Joe Biden victory in the presidential election, while also targeting Vice President Mike Pence and other legislators for capture and possible execution. Between The Lines’ Scott Harris spoke with Mark Green, the first elected public advocate for New York City and author, who urges Democrats to adopt the campaign slogan, “Stop Dangerous GOP Extremists,” for this November’s critical midterm congressional election.
MARK GREEN: There is no other term — perhaps maybe authoritarian — for a white supremacist, neofascist party.
Now, there have always been dangerous extremists. The John Birch Society. The Klan, obviously. But they never tried to and got close to running the government. I mean, something like — if you combine George Wallace and Joe McCarthy — and that person won the presidency.
So we are dealing with something to the best of my experience or knowledge is clearly the most dangerous domestic moment, certainly since 1860, on an issue that was slavery — perhaps ever, because the issue now the equivalent issue now is democracy. The GOP now are trying to change the rules so that their losers will win the Electoral College, with the gerrymandering, plus the money disparity in politics.
And now numerous states passing voter suppression laws — have put the thumb on the scale. So Democrats have to win something like 57 percent of the House or the Senate vote — even the presidency — by seven points in order to win. So here we are today. And the Republicans, they want to kill majority rule and keep it minority rule for a long time.
And that means exploiting the racial divide and stealing elections by voter suppression. And they came close in the year 2020. And now it’s an open coup. And we’re arriving at a moment where — since we can’t rely on the Supreme Court, obviously after a variety of quirks and deaths — is now 6-3 for the far right.
We can’t depend on the mainstream media. There are some liberal organizations like yours and The Nation.
We can’t depend on a stymied Senate. Because of the filibuster, nothing gets done.
Add to this two things: The vote this November on where the Democrats can maintain or stay in control of both chambers.
Or Garland. Merrick Garland and the Georgia prosecutor, in the face of a mountain of evidence of criminal misconduct — Is it too dangerous to indict a president because you have to establish that possible precedent?
Or is it more dangerous not to indict him? Because that then gives license to future despots, future Trumps and current Proud Boy-type people who think, “Oh, I can get away with it.”
So this is at most a four- or five-month moment of extraordinary peril, probably in our national history.
SCOTT HARRIS: You know, Democrats have been roundly criticized for not aggressively responding to the Republican threat to democracy and don’t seem prepared right now to raise this threat in the upcoming 2022 mid-term election campaign. In your article, you talk about the necessity for the Democrats not only to emphasize the positive results of Biden’s presidency thus far, but to speak very boldly and loudly about the threat that the Republicans present to democracy and civil society.
MARK GREEN: The article had the headline, “Let’s Call Them Dangerous Extremists.” After Judge Luttig, a conservative circuit court judge said in his testimony under oath to the House January 6 committee, “The Republican Party — his party presents — a clear and present danger to America,” I thought, okay, they can call us extremists. We can call them extremists. And, you know, I have an opinion about that.
But they believe that AOC or someone is somehow as extreme as Marjorie Taylor Greene. But we can call them accurately and memorably. They’re dangerous extremists. And so every time there’s another law that suppresses the vote, every time a white supremacist, like in Buffalo or Robb Elementary commits violence, every time the MAGA mob harasses and threatens local officials, we can say, “You see? They are dangerous extremists.”
Over time, people will believe that Trump, twice impeached, deplatformed, about to be ideally indicted — no one would believe that Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi are dangerous extremists. It’s a 60-40 issue that the public will say, “Well, they all lie.”
But the Republicans are a menace. And the 1/6 hearings have been way over-performing and brilliant about calmly prosecuting the case that they are dangerous extremists.
And we have visual evidence on Jan. 6 and criminal evidence that’s slowly coming out, ideally, that will be prosecuted. Because we if don’t prosecute this, there’ll be more of it.
Listen to Scott Harris’ in-depth interview with Mark Green (28:18) and see more articles and opinion pieces in the Related Links section of this page.
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