The 'insurrection' that never was

With the anniversary of January 6, we were handed a crafted feast prepared by the Democrats and the media.  They equated January 6 with the attack on Pearl Harbor.  You equate a riot with the deaths of 2,403 service persons who died in a sneak attack?  They said it was another 9/11.  How obscene.  Moreover, Biden laid the blame for this at the doorstep of former president Trump, claiming, "He tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob reached the Capitol."

The argument seems foolhardy and bombastic at best, but there is a logic behind this — one aimed at the 2022 and 2024 elections.  This is all about instilling fear.  Their reason for doing this is simple — they intend this to be a major point of contention in the upcoming election cycles.  

January 6 was an embarrassment, to be sure.  It was tragic, in that a life was lost that day and police officers were injured.

Was it a threat to democracy?  

Even the language the left uses to describe those events — "insurrection," "traitors," "domestic terrorists," "seditionists" — is designed to inflame passions and emotions.  These phrases and words are specifically aimed at instilling fear in the general public.  When 70 of their protesters attempted to force their way into the Capitol during the Brent Kavanaugh hearings, none of these phrases were applied.  Like with the rioting, looting, and destruction during the summer of 2020, the left dodges its blatant hypocrisy.   

Can you have an insurrection where there is no plan to overthrow the government?  How many insurrections were, for the most part, unarmed in the last century?  Can you have an insurrection if no one is charged with insurrection?  Even if they coerced Congress to certify Trump as president, there was no way that vote would stand.  In fact, despite all of the posturing, there is no sane or logical scenario where Trump would have remained president, but we are all led to believe that it was his wicked scheme all along. 

Let's savor a bit of reality.  The FBI reported last August that there was no overarching plot in the events that took place.  Even Merrick Garland's comments about the prosecution of those involved did not use the word "insurrection" or references to domestic terrorism.  While the Democrats have claimed that there were plans to kill specific members of their party, no one has been charged with attempted murder.   

If there was a plot, by now we would have seen the documents detailing such a despicable plan.  Instead, what we have are trespassing and vandalism charges, along with weapons charges against people for having canes, crutches, and mace.  While some firearms were confiscated, the authorities have not said how many protesters were "armed."  One thing is for certain: if hundreds were armed with guns, we would have seen footage of that as proof that this was an armed coup attempt.  Is there such a thing as a disarmed insurrection?  

The media still claim that five people were killed in the attack, despite the fact that only one individual, a protester, was killed that day.  She was unarmed.

So why are the Democrats lying and inflating this embarrassing event?  The party that loves labeling people and groups, and assigning negative attributes and collective guilt, wants to tie every Republican candidate to this event.  It is their contention that this was a Republican conspiracy from the start, hence the whining about Democrat members of Congress being afraid of their Republican counterparts.  They will seek to place every conservative head for the next eight years into a noose they call an insurrection that was really just a riot.  

They intend to force Republicans to turn on each other.  They will be pressured in debates to denounce an insurrection, whether that was what it was or not.  The Democrats will demand capitulation on the part of Republican candidates and require them to denounce President Trump and anyone involved with the rioting that took place.  If they do, the hope is it diminishes Trump.  If they refuse, then it makes them look complicit in the rioting that took place. 

The Democrats (and a handful of Republicans) still fear Donald Trump.  Despite their best efforts, his is a voice that has to be reckoned with.  They believe that making him the evil villain in a plot to overthrow the government is their path to permanent power.  It plays well with people who already loathe Trump, but for the rest of America, it seems disingenuous.  

So the spectacle of this last week was just that: a spectacle.  It was theater.  It is intended to frame arguments that will be aimed at every single Republican in the years to come. 

Blaine L. Pardoe is author of Blue Dawn: The most chilling "what-if" in history...the progressive overthrow of the United States.  Pardoe is an award winning New York Times bestselling author who lives in Virginia.  He is the author of numerous science fiction, military history, true crime, horror, and business leadership books.

Image: Tyler Merbler.

If you experience technical problems, please write to helpdesk@americanthinker.com