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Pro-Trump protesters gather in front of the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C.
(Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty Images)
We Still Have Not Learned the Lessons of January 6
And why we need a roadmap for more safe and secure elections in 2024 and beyond.
Jan 05, 2024
This Saturday marks three years since an armed mob stormed the Capitol to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. We now know this was not just a crazed crowd egged on by a defeated candidate, but a part of an earnest if ham-fisted plot to overthrow American democracy.
How has our country responded? Reform often follows scandal — but not always. When National Guard troops still were bivouacking under the dome, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) called Donald Trump “practically and morally responsible” for the insurrection. The bipartisan January 6 congressional committee did extraordinary work to expose the facts. But Trump’s grip over his party has only strengthened. He now describes January 6 as a “beautiful day” and calls the criminals who participated in the attack “hostages.” Republicans chose the legal architect of the election denier movement to be speaker of the House.
So this upcoming election year requires us not only to ensure free and fair elections but to guarantee nothing like January 6 can happen again.
That demands legal accountability, of course. Fitfully that has started to happen, with the former president finally facing federal and state charges. We must strengthen guardrails, too. In 2022, Congress enacted a worthwhile update of the creaky Electoral Count Act, but there is much more to do. And we must confidently advance a compelling plan for how to fortify American democracy.
There’s much, much more to be done to protect and strengthen our democracy in 2024.
On this page here, you’ll find links to some of the Brennan Center’s most important work identifying the biggest threats to a safe and secure election, followed by clear-eyed and specific proposals to avert them. We offer guidance to state legislators, prosecutors, and members of Congress, who all have a major role to play in confronting election denial and election sabotage.
It’s not enough to “wave the bloody shirt,” as was said after the Civil War. In 2020, we didn’t see January 6 coming. Now if election deniers succeed in destroying the world’s oldest democracy, we will have nobody to blame but ourselves.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
© 2023 Brennan Center for Justice
Michael Waldman
Michael Waldman is President of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, a nonpartisan law and policy institute that focuses on improving the systems of democracy and justice.
This Saturday marks three years since an armed mob stormed the Capitol to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. We now know this was not just a crazed crowd egged on by a defeated candidate, but a part of an earnest if ham-fisted plot to overthrow American democracy.
How has our country responded? Reform often follows scandal — but not always. When National Guard troops still were bivouacking under the dome, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) called Donald Trump “practically and morally responsible” for the insurrection. The bipartisan January 6 congressional committee did extraordinary work to expose the facts. But Trump’s grip over his party has only strengthened. He now describes January 6 as a “beautiful day” and calls the criminals who participated in the attack “hostages.” Republicans chose the legal architect of the election denier movement to be speaker of the House.
So this upcoming election year requires us not only to ensure free and fair elections but to guarantee nothing like January 6 can happen again.
That demands legal accountability, of course. Fitfully that has started to happen, with the former president finally facing federal and state charges. We must strengthen guardrails, too. In 2022, Congress enacted a worthwhile update of the creaky Electoral Count Act, but there is much more to do. And we must confidently advance a compelling plan for how to fortify American democracy.
There’s much, much more to be done to protect and strengthen our democracy in 2024.
On this page here, you’ll find links to some of the Brennan Center’s most important work identifying the biggest threats to a safe and secure election, followed by clear-eyed and specific proposals to avert them. We offer guidance to state legislators, prosecutors, and members of Congress, who all have a major role to play in confronting election denial and election sabotage.
It’s not enough to “wave the bloody shirt,” as was said after the Civil War. In 2020, we didn’t see January 6 coming. Now if election deniers succeed in destroying the world’s oldest democracy, we will have nobody to blame but ourselves.
Michael Waldman
Michael Waldman is President of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, a nonpartisan law and policy institute that focuses on improving the systems of democracy and justice.
This Saturday marks three years since an armed mob stormed the Capitol to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. We now know this was not just a crazed crowd egged on by a defeated candidate, but a part of an earnest if ham-fisted plot to overthrow American democracy.
How has our country responded? Reform often follows scandal — but not always. When National Guard troops still were bivouacking under the dome, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) called Donald Trump “practically and morally responsible” for the insurrection. The bipartisan January 6 congressional committee did extraordinary work to expose the facts. But Trump’s grip over his party has only strengthened. He now describes January 6 as a “beautiful day” and calls the criminals who participated in the attack “hostages.” Republicans chose the legal architect of the election denier movement to be speaker of the House.
So this upcoming election year requires us not only to ensure free and fair elections but to guarantee nothing like January 6 can happen again.
That demands legal accountability, of course. Fitfully that has started to happen, with the former president finally facing federal and state charges. We must strengthen guardrails, too. In 2022, Congress enacted a worthwhile update of the creaky Electoral Count Act, but there is much more to do. And we must confidently advance a compelling plan for how to fortify American democracy.
There’s much, much more to be done to protect and strengthen our democracy in 2024.
On this page here, you’ll find links to some of the Brennan Center’s most important work identifying the biggest threats to a safe and secure election, followed by clear-eyed and specific proposals to avert them. We offer guidance to state legislators, prosecutors, and members of Congress, who all have a major role to play in confronting election denial and election sabotage.
It’s not enough to “wave the bloody shirt,” as was said after the Civil War. In 2020, we didn’t see January 6 coming. Now if election deniers succeed in destroying the world’s oldest democracy, we will have nobody to blame but ourselves.
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