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Again, you don't seize power by attacking a particular meeting. If Pence had somehow used ritual features of the rulebook and declared the electoral college in
by prionassembly 6y ago
Again, you don't seize power by attacking a particular meeting.
If Pence had somehow used ritual features of the rulebook and declared the electoral college invalid, then this would have been a coup (or "self-coup") by the Republican Party. Pence would only have done this if (besides an inclination to "kill democracy") he had secured the allegiance of a number of institutions and set in place the actual conditions for a functioning Trump dictatorship.
Coups are frequently preceded by mass demonstrations clamoring for something radical to be done. But these are not "the seizure of power by a political faction"; they're (1) a symptom of the generalized social dysfunction under which a coup is even thinkable and (2) a legitimizing excuse that new rulers-to-be can invoke to minimize general opposition to their claim to power. The seizure of power takes place elsewhere. Sometimes this is even gradual -- in preparation for a coup, loyalists are put in charge of major institutions, particularly security ones: National Guard, branches of the military, intelligence agencies and so on.
What you had was a protest. An ugly one too; not all protests are "mostly nonviolent".
- tylerhou 6y ago> Again, you don't seize power by attacking a particular meeting. Agreed, but that's not my claim. My claim is: these people thought that they could seize power by attacking this particular meaning (however absurd that belief might be). This is documented by posts stating their intent on social media, as well as their actions within the capitol. They also acted on their belief and committed a criminal act. So morally speaking, they had the necessary mens rea and actus reus to be guilty of the crime of an attempted coup. I completely agree with your statement that this attempted coup was inept and therefore ineffective. I also agree that attempt did not share the characteristics of a historically effective coup. However, I disagree with your contention that a skilled implementation of a coup is necessary for an "attempted coup." Skill in an act is sufficient, but not necessary for an "attempt" of the act.