Thomas ZimmerJan 6

January 6 in History

Wrote this two years ago: “If the insurrectionist-in-chief returns to power without ever facing any real consequences and while explicitly declaring his intent to establish a vindictive autocracy, then January 6 will have been successful.”

And here we are.

https://steady.page/en/democracyamericana/posts/653e87bc-1625-42e1-8f00-141ca9602b91

January 6 in History

Was it a key moment in the republic’s eventual demise or a milestone on the road to democracy’s ultimate triumph? The meaning of January 6 is yet to be determined

Steady
Show threadThomas ZimmerJan 6
There was, right after the Insurrection, one possible future scenario in which the attack on the Capitol could have played a crucial role in galvanizing the pro-democracy forces, in getting more people to grapple honestly with the anti-democratic radicalization of the Republican Party.
Show threadThomas ZimmerJan 6
In this scenario, the constitution would have actually been applied to Donald Trump: No longer would his impunity have been justified by exceptionalizing him – for fear of backlash, or because of a self-defeating assumption that Trump was the tribune of “real America.”
Show threadThomas ZimmerJan 6
In this scenario, January 6 would have helped spark a mobilization of civil society in the defense of constitutional government and marked an important moment in an intensified push towards finally realizing the promise of egalitarian, multiracial, pluralistic democracy.
Show threadThomas ZimmerJan 6
That is not how the story has played out, obviously. Instead, those who were nominally tasked with defending democracy and the rule of law proved unable and/or unwilling to hold the line, accommodating extremism instead. A pervasive, system-wide failure.
Show threadThomas ZimmerJan 6
After the Insurrection, the balance of power on the Right shifted further in favor of the authoritarians, the conspiracists, the white supremacists, the tech bro oligarchs who despise nothing more than egalitarian democracy. The result: A Republican Party fully committed to Trumpism.
Show threadThomas ZimmerJan 6
Donald Trump returned to the presidency. And the most blatantly lawless and comically corrupt major politician in history immediately pardoned the January 6 mob of insurrectionists and violent vigilantes. The perverse apotheosis of Trumpism as a political project.
Show threadThomas ZimmerJan 6
As Trump and his supporters see it: The insurrectionists fought for what should have been rightfully theirs; they are the heroes. The democratic order they attacked: “Un-American”; the police officers they assaulted: enemies, traitors. The purest form of Us vs Them.
Show threadThomas ZimmerJan 6
Not only did the man who had tried to nullify the results of a democratic election and incited a violent insurrection return to power without ever being held accountable. He also signaled to the nation that those who commit political violence in his name would be protected and revered.
Show threadThomas Zimmer
The Insurrection didn’t accomplish its immediate goal on January 6, 2021. But it served as a catalyst for the radicalization of the Republican Party, a rallying cry for the Far-Right. It is set to go down in history as a milestone on the path towards democracy’s eventual downfall.
Jan 6 at 3:38pmIvory for iOS
Show threadThomas ZimmerJan 6
However: This is not the end of the story either. In a crucial sense, January 6 isn’t over yet. Its place in U.S. history – just like that of Donald Trump and the authoritarian movement that is currently in power – is yet to be determined by what happens next. That is the chance and the challenge.
Show threadGabriel NJan 6

@tzimmer_history Chávez in Venezuela arrived to politics after a failed coup d’état in 1992.

Judged and condemned with their conspirators to 30 years, they were pardoned by Rafael Caldera in 1994, dooming Venezuela’s democracy.

Chavez ran for president and won in 1998. He got rid of everyone and everything that limited his power.

He never left his throne, dying under opaque circumstances & giving the presidency to Maduro, who ruled with an iron fist till last Saturday.

A rough ride.