The Second Coup, And What Needs To Be Done Now

March 4, 1801 might be the most important day in the history of freedom. Everyone knows about July 4, 1776, but March 4 mattered even more. That was the day that John Adams, a Federalist President, handed over power to Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican. No one was sure it would happen. The Governor of Virginia even mobilized the state militia just in case. But Adams yielded and established a precedent for the peaceful transfer of power, and not just in the United States.

It was the first peaceful transfer of power via an election in history.

A defeated leader peacefully conceding is an American invention. It may be our greatest gift to the world.

What happened yesterday was the greatest imaginable violation of that legacy. Armed insurgents stormed the Capitol at the behest of the President to overturn an election. It was the worst assault on the American government since 9/11, and the worst breach of the Capitol since British soldiers burned it in 1814. It was a coup.

But it was not the first. It was the second.

The first coup happened on November 10, 1898 in Wilmington, North Carolina. White vigilantes revolted against the election of an integrated government in cooperation with local militias and city leaders. White leaders said they would “choke the current of the Cape Fear with carcasses” rather than accept Blacks in government. They did. They murdered between 60 and 250 Black Americans and forced more than 100 Black government officials from office. More than 100,000 Black voters fled the city. No Black citizen served in a public office there for more than 75 years.

And tellingly: Not one person was punished for the massacre.

Yesterday’s coup, like that one, was fueled by white elites who stoked racism out of malice to secure their own power. Any euphemisms are an insult to democracy. The President stoked a racist mob to attempt to overthrow the government. Call it what it is.

What we saw was, entirely and without justification or mitigation, the fault of President Donald Trump and his enablers like Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Josh Hawley (R-MO), Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL), and private citizens like Newt Gingrich and Rudy Giuliani (who, the morning of the attack, proclaimed his desire for a “trial by combat”). Trump lost. The election was not close. Instead of conceding, he lied that he had won. His lies were supported by Republicans in the House and Senate.

If Trump and his sycophants were speaking the truth, a popular revolt would be justified. That’s what the Declaration of Independence says. Governments “derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Elections are how we give that consent. A government installed through a fraudulent election is illegitimate, and Americans should revolt against it, just as Washington did.

If.

But Trump’s claims are lies of the most contemptible sort. Trump may be so delusional he believes them, but that is not true of Hawley or Cruz. They know that Trump’s claims are pure fiction. 60 courts have ruled they are lies. The President threatened Georgia’s Secretary of State with prison unless he can “find 11,780 votes” is trying to steal an election. They know all of that. Conservative Republican Senator Ben Sasse wrote that the answer to the question of if there was voter fraud, quite simply, is “No.” Trump’s lawyers have never even alleged such fraud in court. They have reserved those lies for the public, where there are no legal consequences. As Mitt Romney said to his Republican colleagues as they fled the Senate floor, "This is what you’ve gotten, guys."

So, what must be done in a democracy under siege? The Congress, which was attacked, must respond. It must certify President-elect Biden’s victory immediately (which it did, early in the morning on Thursday). Senate Majority (soon to be Minority) leader Mitch McConnell should tell objecting Republican Senators that they will be permanently stripped of all committee assignments. It should then move, immediately, to impeach and remove Trump and, as laid out in Article I Section 3, ban him from holding office. They must because democracy requires it, and because, as Trump’s Twitter feed makes clear, he will continue these assaults if he retains the Presidency.

Congress, however, must not act alone. For American democracy to survive, we all must do our part. Leaders in every sector of American life need to stand up. Business in particular – the most powerful group in the United States – needs to use its power. When business acts in unison, it gets what it wants. If business leaders tell Republicans that they will not donate to any Republican who challenges Biden’s election or who opposes Trump’s removal, they will pay attention. If business leaders promise to support Democratic opponents of Trump sycophants, Republicans will respond.

If you’re an American citizen, you have a responsibility to act. You have power. Use it. It will never be more important. History has its eyes on you. Your children will ask you what you did today.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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