The U.S. must punish sedition — or risk more of it

Stopping this rot in the political order will require accountability. That begins with the president, who deserves every legal and constitutional consequence our system offers. He should be impeached for sedition. He should be prevented from holding any further elective office. He should be stripped of all the perks of the post-presidency. He should be prosecuted for insurrection against the U.S. government. But the responsibility does not end with a single man. Many elected Republicans enabled the president’s political rise. Trump could only attempt the occupation of the Capitol because he had already occupied the Republican Party — in that case, with little resistance. Elected Republicans who cheered that takeover deserve to lose, and lose, and lose, until their party is either destroyed or transformed. There are also harder cases. Some elected Republicans did more than spread the lies that empowered the insurrection. They voted to confirm those lies after the Capitol had been assaulted. Not even physical danger — not even the humiliation of their country and the attempted murder of their colleagues — could overcome their moral cowardice and political ambition. That justifies ethics investigations of people such as Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and McCarthy, leading to their possible expulsion. These legislators urged surrender to the pernicious lies and seditious demands of violent insurrectionists who had just left the building. That is the betrayal of the oath they took to defend the Constitution. This is the sad reality of our beleaguered democracy: If the United States does not punish sedition, we will see more of it. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-us-must-punish-sedition--or-risk-more-of-it/2021/01/11/97907746-5438-11eb-a931-5b162d0d033d_story.html

Let the anti-constitutional Republicans reveal themselves

This attack on the constitutional order has led Republican populism into direct conflict with conservatism. Those who once claimed to endorse law and order have come to endorse lawless attacks on the public order. Those who once called themselves constitutionalists now treat the constitutional system with contempt. Those who once warned against tyranny now submissively serve a president with authoritarian pretensions. Those who once stood for federalism now demand that the federal government invalidate state-run elections. Those who once demanded judicial restraint now want courts to overrule democracy on a breathtaking scale. This is a movement fueled by high-octane hypocrisy. ~Michael Gerson, Conservative writer for President George W. Bush https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/let-the-anti-constitutional-republicans-reveal-themselves/2021/01/04/d3fafee0-4eb6-11eb-83e3-322644d82356_story.html