The Case for the 14th Amendment
There can only be one reason for the events of January 6, 2021 — republican political culture officially sanctioned “insurrection, terrorism and treason.” A collection of racist and fascist sympathizers sought to murder the Vice President and members of Congress.
We discussed this eventuality on December 26, 2016:
“Under any conceivable scenario, the current situation is very bad, and I mean toxic, for democratic institutions in general and for people of color specifically. Bottom line: our Fully Adjusted Return Forecast** indicates that, over time, things will get much, much worse…..” From: Trumpism. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/trumpism-william-michael-cunningham-am-mba/
Now, the power of right-wing lobbyists, conservative think tanks and fanatic media outlets have directed American public policy in support of extremism and militarism.
In order to understand what happened, we must recognize that the key motivational force was Trump’s call to violence. Only a statement by ten (10) former secretaries of defense may have prevented a military coup.
The extremist philosophy known as free market economics is also guilty. Globalism failed to provide, broadly, the benefits promised. Self-directed retirement savings accounts or 401k’s, siphoned off trillions in cash to financial institutions as opposed to more beneficial defined benefit plans. These financial institutions operate beyond state control, having caused a massive $19 trillion loss resulting from the 2008 financial institution fraud, failure and the resulting crisis.
There are a number of reasons for the failure of free market economics, but the main factor is that this system of thinking was never designed to promote fairness. It was designed to protect wealth held by a narrow group of non-minority individuals.
As Pope Francis stated in 2013, and as proven by 2020,
“Today everything comes under the laws of competition and the survival of the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the powerless. As a consequence, masses of people find themselves excluded and marginalized: without work, without possibilities, without any means of escape.
Just as the commandment ‘Thou shalt not kill’ sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life, today we also have to say ‘thou shalt not’ to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills….”
From: APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION EVANGELII GAUDIUM Pope Francis. November 24, 2013.
To generate a means of escape, GOP supporters were fed a steady diet of irrational conspiracy theories. This led to efforts on January 6th to correct what is a fabricated election controversy.
Republican party entities not only supported Trump’s January 6 rally, but financed attendance, in some cases paying for buses to DC. We also know that over 130 “House Republicans voted to nullify the results of” the election after, not before, the riot.
Legislative and government responses must invoke Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to remove insurrectionists in the House and Senate. Corporate campaign funding must also be cut, along with social media access. Insurrectionists should be added to the no-fly list, as well.
Appeals to leniency for the sake of “unity” are worse than useless in this situation. They are dangerous. These people must be disciplined.
We can discuss reconciliation after we apply the rule of law.