DID ANYTHING GOOD COME FROM LAST WEEKS TERRORIST ATTACKS?

 

…President-Elect, Joe Biden was a breath of Spring after the domestic terrorist attacks

 

Yes, there were some good things from the disgusting attacks on the nation’s democracy

 

For some time, and from me, you have been hearing all the negative aspects of President Trump and of course, the attack on the Capitol this week.

But it is also my responsibility to make everyone aware of the possible good things that have occurred from this latest political activity, and even anything good from the domestic terrorist attack on the nation’s Capitol.

The first point seems to be that just perhaps, we are in a turning point in the Republican’s attitude toward their president.  This is only happening because of the resignations of administration officials, including Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, and even additional cabinet members.  All of this, plus the call by the Wall Street Journal editorial board for Trump “to take personal responsibility and resign.”   In addition, the disgust expressed by some congressional Republicans.  All of these are positive portents.  This time, unlike Charlottesville, unlike Helsinki, unlike his “perfect” phone call…President Trump really did go way too far.

Don’t get me wrong.  Much more will be required to cleanse the GOP of the stain of Trump and his “Trumpism”.  His loyal base remains a potent negative force. The Republican National Committee (RNC) must be purged of Trump supporters and Trumpian grifters. The party’s leaders must make it clear that he is responsible for the weakened and morally compromised state in which the GOP now finds itself.  And now without control of the White House or either house of Congress.  What will eventually happen remains an open question.  But at least it is now a real question that must be dealt with.

Still, this is an article about the good that unfolded along with the bad. The next grounds for optimism this week involves the president-elect.

On last Wednesday, Joe Biden rose to the terrible occasion.  After inciting the mob, Trump refused to accept, no less condemn, the consequences of his reckless words.  But Biden stepped up. While Trump sniveled, telling the insurrectionists to go home without condemning their behavior and while asserting his love for them, Biden minced no words. “At this hour, our democracy is under an unprecedented assault,” he said. “This is not dissent.  It is disorder.  It is chaos.  It borders on sedition.  And it must end. Now.”

This is the presidential voice the country needed.

For Democrats who have worried about whether the aging Biden has the fire to lead, it was a comforting sign.  For those Republicans who have been terrorized or deluded into thinking that the country is about to be taken over by socialists, it was a reassuring moment.

Earlier Wednesday, Georgia delivered what is considered a minor miracle. The small Senate majority that Democrats will soon enjoy will make an enormous difference in Biden’s ability to have executive branch officials and judicial nominees confirmed, and in the power to bring legislation to the Senate floor.

But this majority has its limits, imposed by the Senate filibuster that will require 60 votes to pass most measures, and by the reality of the diverse Democratic caucus, which will require the assent of moderates such as West Virginia Senator, Joe Manchin.  This risks generating frustration among the Democratic base, which will demand even more, such as eliminating that filibuster; possibly expanding the Supreme Court, and enacting statehood for both the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.  If this is more than the slim majority can deliver, so be it.  The upside of holding the majority is far greater than the threat of a lot of Democratic grumbling.  Biden has been given, and Trump helped deliver, a glorious and unexpected gift of a majority.

Finally, in filling out his Cabinet, Biden has chosen in Judge Merrick Garland the best possible Attorney General for a most difficult moment.

The Justice Department has seen its morale destroyed and its reputation shredded by four years of Trump and his enablers.  As did Edward Levi in the aftermath of the Nixon presidency, the next AG will have the challenge of repairing the damage and rebuilding the norms that, until Trump and former attorney general William Barr came along, prevented the politicization of law enforcement.

Garland’s task is likely harder than Levi’s, because Garland is apt to be called on to make the highly difficult decisions about whether to investigate or prosecute the former president and his associates. That likelihood became far greater after Trump’s disgusting performance on Wednesday by inciting an attack on the Capitol.

No one could be more suited to this moment than Judge Garland. He is a seasoned veteran of the department. He is an experienced prosecutor. He is judicious, independent and fair-minded; he will not be swayed by partisan passions.  After his selection was announced, Garland visibly choked up as he referred to the violence at the Capitol.

“As everyone who watched yesterday’s events in Washington now understands, if they did not understand before, the rule of law is not just some lawyers’ turn of phrase,” Garland said. “It is the very foundation of our democracy. The essence of the rule of law is that like cases are treated alike. That there not be one rule for Democrats, and another for Republicans, one rule for friends, another for foes, one rule for the powerful, another for the powerless.”

There could be no more important, or more welcome, words in this moment of tragedy, but they are tinged by real hope.

Yes, all these things appear to be positive and hopeful, after Trump and the mob's devastating attack on the nation’s democracy.

Copyright G. Ater 2021