Forty-three Republican senators and over 140 Republican members of the House have sanctioned the use of force, the interdiction of constitutional process, the destruction of governmental property, the taking of lives, armed insurrection, as permissible tools for holding, or obtaining, the office of president of the United States.

Protesters supporting then-President Donald Trump break into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Win McNamee/Getty Images via TNS

They have ignored the popular vote for that office, the Electoral College vote and the fact that these votes were certified in all 50 states, red or blue, by Republican and Democratic administrations in these 50 states. They ignored the fact that claims of election fraud were rejected by 61 different state and federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court – every court in which they were brought.

The fact that 140 House Republicans failed (their vote not to impeach Donald Trump was overridden by House Democrats and a handful of responsible Republicans) does not absolve them; 140 Republicans sanctioned the violence of Jan. 6, and by extension the use of violence in the future. The vote of 43 Senate Republicans, their failure to convict Trump, to see the violence of Jan. 6 as a “high crime or misdemeanor” has ended constitutional rules of law as the only means of obtaining the office of president.

The fact that Trump failed in his effort to wrest the presidency by force of arms is a fortuity; it does not absolve the 43 senators – their vote opened the door. Violence is now an option for Trump and others seeking the office.

Orlando Delogu
Portland