A Libertarian Take On The Capitol Siege

January 6th, 2021 will be a day that will live in infamy. Pictures and video from the siege on the Capitol resemble scenes from developing countries such as Colombia and Egypt, but these scenes were from the United States of America, the beacon of freedom and democracy. And yet those who stormed the Capitol called themselves by the liberal title of Libertarian.

As a Libertarian, those that stormed the Capitol haven’t the slightest clue what a libertarian is and what their actions resemble. Political violence is to not be tolerated and is to be shunned by all those that have any form of intelligence in a society. When becoming a Libertarian, I took an oath to not use violence for political gains. Those that laid siege to the Capitol – built on the ideas of liberty, reason, and the rule of law – did not care nor understand any of those ideals.

The insurrectionists who desecrated the most important building in the United States fought not to depose a dictator, oppose a new authoritarian decree, or revolt against a new war – no, they went to the Capitol to oppose an election certified by every state and to support a President that has become increasingly against the rule of law. While the putsch failed, it will have long-lasting effects that we have yet to fully understand. The Bier Hall putsch among many other similar failed attempts in history did not extinguish a movement or idea, often it was the mere beginning of something bigger.

The Libertarian Party of New Hampshire has condemned the activities that took place on the 6th and I stand with the party on this even before they put out a message. I have yet to see the RNC, DNC, nor LNC put out a press release yet. I realize these things take time to craft and put out politically, but time is of the essence and a strong handed message is imperative.

I did not vote for Trump nor Biden, I voted for Jo Jorgensen, but because she lost does not mean I go to the Capitol and cry my heart out with blood and lead. To mature is to not accept authority and the way things are, but is to use reason and logic when no one else is. To devolve to the situation seen on the 6th is a backstab to the reason why this country exists thematically.

The only path forward is pragmatism and unity. Biden certainly has his work cut out for him.

The GOP Now Bears a Heavy Burden. They Can’t Afford to Shirk Their Debt.

Wednesday, January 6, 2021, will be remembered as a sad shameful day in the history of the United States. The appalling, manic, and deeply un-American acts of terrorism committed around and within the Capitol building should, I certainly hope, represent rock-bottom for the Trump Era; an era already rife with moral lows. Perhaps what will remain the saddest legacy of the Trump Administration will be the denial and delusion that will linger after he leaves office.

To be clear: calling what happened Wednesday an act of domestic terrorism should not be a bombastic statement. In the halls of Congress, while the elected representatives of the nation are carrying out the will of the people, a mob that pledged allegiance to one man obstructed and delayed Congress’ carrying out the law. This was nothing close to a protest; this was an attempted coup. These insurrectionist made sure that there would be no peaceful transfer of power; anyone who believes otherwise, we must admit, is part of the problem.

There is no similarity between the George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests of the summer, and the terrorism of Wednesday. Derek Chauvin actually knelt on the neck of George Floyd for 8 minutes and 47 seconds while he begged for air until he died. Breonna Taylor was actually shot five times in her sleep by law-enforcement. The election was not stolen from Donald Trump. Donald Trump is not secretly fighting an underworld cabal of Satanists and pedophiles, as has been suggested by conspiracy theorist groups such as QAnon. The BLM protesters demonstrated because they have legitimate claims and are fighting a righteous cause. Wednesday’s terrorists stormed the Capitol because they believe anything that comes from the mouth of Donald Trump and his MAGA cult of personality.

Wednesday’s terrorism was an example of mass delusion. The thousands of rioters delayed the peaceful transfer of power to President-Elect Joe Biden because they have been convinced without evidence that there was mass fraud and corruption in our election. One man bears responsibility for causing this mass delusion and invigorating these thugs by spewing baseless lies and conspiracy theories from the highest pulpit in the land: President Donald Trump. Trump, in his inability to accept his election loss, incited his supporters to disrupt the sacred process by which his power is transferred to his successor. Trump’s MAGA world is endemic in our society; his fervent supporters can be found in every state and county in the country. Yesterday was evidence that those who continue to support him and his conspiracy theories rest on a dangerous fringe of American politics.

I don’t begrudge those who voted for Donald Trump in 2016. Had I been of age, I might have voted for him too in my ignorance. I might be able to reconcile my frustration with those who voted for him in 2020, and then abandon ship when Trump began to shatter the walls of our beautiful democracy. I cannot, nor can the institutions of our nation tolerate and incorporate these fringe, dangerous, and undemocratic thoughts into civic life. Nor can we tolerate those who espouse them.

Where do we go from here? How do we move on from this terror and shameful chaos? The responsibility lies with those who supported the President through the past four years and somehow didn’t expect this. The GOP we knew before Trump is dead, and whatever rises out of Wednesday’s misery will and must come from those Republicans who can admit: this was a mistake, enough is enough. The GOP will bear the burden of the last four years, and the biggest burden will be the shame of January 6, 2021.

History will remember what we thought and did yesterday, and we cannot waste any more time pretending as though both sides have merit. The remnants of the Republican Party, most specifically the youngest members of the party, must be called upon to redeem their lost decency, to wipe away the tolerance of Trumpist authoritarianism, and to rebuild a spirit of love for our country, not for one man. These are the burdens the GOP bears and must come to terms with as we rebuild our democracy. There is a price to be paid for supporting a President who encourages acts of terror on our democracy, and I call on the Saint Anselm College Republicans, and all members of the GOP to start to pay that debt by condemning yesterday’s acts, and President Donald J. Trump.

Trump Makes a Case for Law and Order at the R.N.C.

With the Republican National Convention concluded, the Trump Campaign’s message has become clear; Trump will bring law and order to a country that is riddled with crime and violence.

The convention was a departure from several norms of the past, including a stronger focus on the opposing candidate. The GOP stated they did not have a new platform, but rather that they continue to support the President’s platform from 2016. The convention was staged at the White House South Lawn and numerous speakers were White House staffers. Critics have said this convention has clearly violated the Hatch Act. The Hatch Act is an act that prevents civil service employees from engaging in political campaign activities with the exception of the President and Vice President. White House Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows responded to these criticisms with “Nobody outside of the Beltway really cares.”

Frankly, Meadows is right. Few voters actually care about the President using the White House as a staging ground for the convention. To the majority of Americans, the Hatch Act is completely meaningless.  What most people will actually see is an extravagant pageant with the President promising Americans that he will bring safety and security to their home.

Several speakers in the R.N.C. presented Trump as a keeper of peace. Vice President Mike Pence told viewers they “will not be safe in Joe Biden’s America”. The Vice President along with several other speakers emphasized to viewers that they “will always stand with those who stand on the thin blue line”. There were several claims that Joe Biden would defund the police, a claim that has been fact-checked as false and misleading by numerous sources already.

The final night of the convention presented a strong case for President Trump. Ann Marie Dorn, the widow of a retired St. Louis Police Captain David Dorn spoke at the R.N.C. about her husbands death, who was shot and killed during a violent protest in St. Louis, Missouri.  In a heartbreaking and powerful speech, Ann Dorn describes the horror of the night her husband died. “They shot and killed David in cold blood” she said, “and then livestreamed his execution and his last moments”. Compared to the rest of the speakers, Ann Dorn proved herself to be one of the most convincing speakers to sway voters for the incumbent president.

However, David Dorn’s daughters were against his widow speaking at the R.N.C. They have said Dorn was not a Trump supporter and would not have wanted his death to be used to help Trump.

Trump’s personal attorney and former New York City Mayor, Rudy Giuliani also spoke on night four of the R.N.C., delivering an aggressive speech making a case that Joe Biden is “a Trojan horse with Bernie, AOC, Pelosi, Black Lives Matter, and his party’s entire left wing just waiting to execute their pro-criminal, anti-police socialist policies.”

As the President took the stand and accepted the nomination, he unleashed a barrage of accusations and attacks on Joe Biden and Democrats. He called Biden “the destroyer of America’s greatness”. If Joe Biden were elected, Trump said “China would own our country”.

The President also repeated his common claim that he has “done more for the African-American community than any president since Abraham Lincoln.”

The convention showcased the GOP’s concern of losing its moderate white voters. Speakers at the convention were noticeably diverse. A large amount of those speakers were African Americans. Interestingly enough, it appeared the GOP was not interested in appealing to Hispanics and Asian Americans, who vote for them in higher numbers than African Americans. Instead, the GOP was attempting to reassure moderate white voters that they were voting for the right side and avoided trying to sway undecided Black voters to vote with them.

Trump continued his blaming of Democrats for the violence and crime in America.

“In the strongest possible terms, the Republican Party condemns the rioting, looting, arson, and violence we have seen in Democrat-run cities all, like Kenosha, Minneapolis, Portland, Chicago, and New York, and many others, Democrat-run,” Trump said, referring to protests that sparked over police brutality and racism in the United States.

Whether or not Trump’s message of law and order is working has yet to be clearly seen. The Morning Consult conducted two polls at the start and end of the R.N.C. Prior to the convention, Biden led Trump 52% to 42%. Following the convention, Trump narrowed the lead, reducing Biden’s advantage to four points, with Biden at 50% and Trump at 44%

The State of the Union: Trump’s Vision for the Nation

On the evening of February 4, 2020, President Donald J. Trump addressed the nation in his third State of the Union address since he ascended to the presidency in 2016. This address focused on many key factors that the President has actively been working towards since he was elected. He claimed that “The state of our union is stronger than ever before.” These are three major takeaways from the evening’s speech that should be taken into consideration in the upcoming weeks, months, and even year:

1. President Trump Kept His Campaign Promises

Throughout his speech to the nation, Trump made many remarks about how he has been successful in completing many of the promises he vowed to work towards during his Presidency. He spoke of how the border wall he promised in 2016 is being erected, bragging that over 100 miles of new wall has been built and over 500 miles will soon be constructed. This border wall was a key platform piece of his campaign in 2016, and remains to be in 2020. He is reassuring the American people that he has kept his promise and will continue to do so if elected in 2020.

Trump also praised many border officials and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers during his speech. This section of the address received audible booing from many Democrats in attendance and an eruption of cheers from Republicans. President Trump offered condolences to Jony Jones, a man whose brother was attacked and killed by an illegal immigrant. He also praised Deputy Chief Raul Ortiz, a Border Patrol Officer whom the President claimed has been vital in protecting our Southern border from immigrants attempting to illegally cross into the country. The president wants the American people to know he has and always will keep his promises.

2. Impeachment was Never Mentioned

In what was an unexpected contrast to the perceived social media buzz, Donald Trump did not acknowledge his own impeachment even in the midst of a likely vote the following day. Sitting in the audience were the seven House impeachment managers deliberately together to the President’s right. This may be because Donald Trump’s main goal of this address was to prove to the American public that he is worthy of another term in office. Republican colleagues in the audience even began a “four more years” chant as the President entered the House Chamber. 

3. The 2020 Election will Boil Down to the Economy

The President opened his address by mounting what he claimed to be the “Great American Comeback”. As many have assumed, President Trump is very proud of where the United States’ economy lies. He noted that “The unemployment rate for African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and Asian-Americans has reached the lowest levels in history.” Donald Trump continues to tell the American people how successful he has been in helping the middle class as well. He claimed that the nation was in the midst of a “blue-collar boom,” and that wages were increasing. This is true, but the increase isn’t nearly as dramatic as he may have made it sound. Wages on average have risen faster than inflation; however, wage gains have fallen stagnant in recent months.    

Trump also discussed how 7 million new jobs have been created under his presidency and how drastically that counters the “failed growth of the past administration.” The president is avoiding the truth but not explicitly lying. It’s true the rate of job creation and active working fell during Obama’s two terms in office, partly because the population was aging. It has since rebounded this year, but the economy created 11.6 million jobs during Obama’s two terms, and job creation under Trump has increased at a slightly slower rate than Obama’s administration. The President is likely trying to woo voters in the upcoming election.

One thing is for certain, Donald Trump and the Republicans are not necessarily looking to work with the Democrats in the future to get things done. At the beginning of the address, Speaker Nancy Pelosi offered a handshake to the President prior to his speech which he subtly ignored. Pelosi then ripped the copy of the address she had been given. Both sides seemed to belittle the other regarding how they handled this interaction. Party polarization is on the rise, and the State of the Union Address showcased just how poor the situation has become.

America’s Question: The Impeachment of Donald J. Trump

An impeachment proceeding is the formal process in which the sitting president of the United States may be accused of wrongdoing in some capacity. It is a quasi-political process and not a true criminal proceeding. Section 4 of Article 2 of the United States Constitution states that “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”   

The process begins in the House of Representatives, where any member may propose a launch of an impeachment proceeding. It is then up to the Speaker of the House, as leader of the majority party, to determine whether or not to proceed with an inquiry into the alleged wrongdoing. Committees within the house will then hear witnesses and decide whether or not to draft articles of impeachment which then are debated and put to a vote on the full house floor. This is where the recent vote comes into play.

Democrats have held a majority in the House of Representatives since the 2018 midterm elections, and since then impeachment has been on the minds of many both within the government and the American public. Democratic leadership has been wary about the subject in the past. Much earlier in the presidency of Donald Trump, the question of impeachment was first posed following the Mueller report, but nothing signifying true obstruction of justice was certain and Democratic leadership didn’t feel as though launching an impeachment inquiry was the right thing to do. Public opinion also showed a low favorability of impeachment at that time. Shortly after the release of the report in August of 2019 a poll from Politico showed 37 percent of voters believe that Congress should begin impeachment proceedings against Trump while 46 percent believe that Congress should not begin proceedings, leaving 16 percent of voters undecided. 

However the Ukraine call and its fallout have flipped the script and led to a national majority in favor of impeachment. Democrats’ efforts gained traction after a whistleblower complaint about a controversial phone call’s transcript between Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky was released which many critics argued included a quid pro quo for political gain. After much debate, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the formal opening of an impeachment inquiry on September 24, citing what she called Trump’s “betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of our national security, and betrayal of the integrity of our elections”. The full House voted on October 31 to authorize the inquiry, leading to the opening of formal impeachment proceedings.

Trump has called the inquiry the continuation of a “witch hunt” that has plagued his presidency from the beginning. He has constantly berated Democratic leaders about how he has done nothing wrong and how his presidency has been under fire from the beginning. Republican members of Congress have attacked the process as a sham that disregards the president’s due process rights and impedes his ability to conduct presidential duties and responsibilities. Republicans are likely to stand by the President through much of the impeachment process going forward. But what is this process and what does it mean for Trump and the country as a whole?

In the case of Donald Trump and the current impeachment proceedings, the House Intelligence Committee was tasked with the investigation into the phone call and any other vital information that would show President Trump acting outside his constitutional powers. Following this investigation, the matter was then turned over to the House Judiciary Committee where articles of impeachment were drafted and then passed by the committee. A simple majority of the members of the committee had to vote in favor of approving an article or multiple articles of impeachment in order to proceed to a vote by the full House. The House Judiciary Committee currently consists of 24 Democrats and 17 Republicans; 21 votes in favor would yield a majority. House Democrats announced two articles of impeachment, one for abuse of power and the other for obstruction of Congress, on December 10. The articles are meant to address his abuse of power with Ukraine, and his obstruction of Congress by telling officials who were legally subpoenaed by Congress to not appear before House committees.

On the night of December 18, 2019, Donald J. Trump was officially impeached. By a vote of 230-197-4 on the first article, and 229-198-4 on the second, the articles of impeachment passed the House of Representatives and will be sent to the Senate for their consideration. President Trump has become one of only three sitting presidents to have been impeached, the others being Bill Clinton in 1998 and Andrew Johnson in 1868. This vote was split almost perfectly along party lines. Only 3 Democrats voted in opposition to impeachment, and not a single Republican voted in favor. This historic vote came after a full day of debate that focused primarily on opposing party members pleading for the opposition to join their side and “do what is right for our democracy.”

The Senate is now tasked with handling the impeachment trial, which is presided over by the Chief Justice of the United States. The Senate acts as a “jury” in the impeachment process and must vote on whether or not the president should be removed from office. To remove a president from office, two-thirds of the members (67 Senators) must vote in favor of removal. If the Senate fails to convict, a president is considered impeached but not removed from office, as was the case with both Clinton and Johnson. 

The trial to be held in the Senate will likely fall along party lines just as the House vote did. The Senate currently sits with 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats, and 2 Independents who usually vote with the Democrats. This means that a vote for removal is unlikely, but still possible. It may seem like a long shot, but some Republican senators are very opposed to President Trump and may be willing to vote for removal if the evidence provides for a “high crime or misdemeanor”. As the nation holds its breath, the American public can now only sit and wait to see how the Senate handles this impeachment trial with hopes that it will not add to this ever-growing disease facing our great nation: party polarization.