Not one more day: The insurrectionist must go

Apresidency that began with a bleak speech about American carnage overtaking the land has ended with insurrectionists in the U.S. Capitol, interrupting the business of certifying the presidential election.

The Capitol was invaded Wednesday, to the shame of the United States and to all who enabled Donald Trump over his four-year efforts to tear down the basic norms of this democratic republic.

Incredibly, the United States was the world’s banana republic on Jan. 6, 2021.

In four years, Trump has caused damage that can’t be measured in the heat of this moment. But surely, this most recent day of infamy will linger through time.

This was Trump’s insurrection. He incited violence against the state — the very definition of sedition. While it remains unlikely, Trump should be removed from office. Now.

If his previous four years (and one impeachment) weren’t evidence enough for such action, take the events of Jan. 6, 2021.

With his encouragement, Trump’s backers took over the Capitol, threatening our elected representatives. Vice President Mike Pence had to be rushed to safety. Members of Congress had to hide under desks, be hidden away, while these homegrown anarchists took over. In an interview with The New Mexican on Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger

Fernandez of Santa Fe could hear the chaos going on around her. Sen. Ben Ray Luján described being evacuated for safe-keeping before senators were able to return to do the business of certifying the election.

How this happened so easily is an investigation for another day, but the breaching of the Capitol was a failure of police and must be explained.

And yet, none of this is a surprise, is it?

Since November, Trump has refused to accept the results of this election. Since long before November, he lied about voter fraud. In recent days, he pressured officials to manufacture votes. All along, he has continued to incite discontent and wink at violence.

And on Wednesday, he told his supporters to march on the Capitol. They listened.

The damage to our country — for one man’s ego — is incalculable.

Jan. 6, 2021. It’s a stain as deep as Sept. 11, 2001, or Dec. 7, 1941. Now, to the future.

To start the way back, GOP senators and representatives who challenged the election must set aside their fake objections so the certified vote from the states can be accepted and confirmed, a process that continued late Wednesday. These lawmakers, including New Mexico’s Yvette Herrell, need to apologize to the country and to President-elect Joe Biden.

When this moment is done, the Senate and the House should discuss what penalties their members should face — not accepting the results of an election seriously violates our democratic norms. The senators and representatives who were raising specious objections knew Biden won; they were putting on a show to win rabid Trump supporters in hopes of capturing the next election (it’s always about the next election, isn’t it?). Their cynical ploy blew up in their faces, and if they had a smidgen of honor, they would resign.

They, along with Trump, are responsible for this catastrophe. The mobs who stormed the Capitol are guilty of sedition and insurrection. They are not patriots. They are terrorists who have shamed our nation before the world.

Now we need to move from this period of chaos and ugliness. As Biden said, we must begin the “restoration of democracy.” That will include Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20. The United States will have a peaceful transition of power. The inaugural ceremony likely will be heavily guarded — that’s what comes of insurrection — and mostly virtual, given the pandemic.

But better days are ahead. And the sooner Trump exits the national stage, the better off our nation will be.

Jan. 6, 2021. Remember the date. And let’s vow to never let it happen again.