As Jack Smith leads the fight to put down insurrection, General Sherman rides again.

"You come after me and I come after you," didn't work so well Jeff Davis, and it won't work for Donald Trump.

Have you ever looked at someone and been suddenly reminded of an old photo or painting of someone else? Like two people in different eras were really twins separated at birth? The moment I saw Jack Smith I thought of William Tecumseh Sherman. The intensity of his glare, the determination in his posture, the straightforward clarity of his language.

Sherman, of course, was the Civil War General who sacked Atlanta and subsequently marched to Savannah destroying the Confederate’s ability to support their rebellion. Incidentally, many people think his victory was essential to Lincoln’s reelection.

Smith is the prosecutor who wrested stolen national secrets from Mar-a-Lago and whose subsequent indictment of Mr. Trump for conspiracy to overturn a Presidential election will, possibly, mortally wound this new insurrection. Won’t hurt Joe Biden either.

Separated at birth? Prosecutor Jack Smith and Gen William Tecumsah Sherman

Speaking of insurrection, among the many terrible things in the most recent indictment of Mr. Trump, there was this at paragraph 81:

On the afternoon of January 3, Co-Conspirator 4 spoke with a Deputy White House Counsel. The previous month, the Deputy White House Counsel had informed the Defendant that "there is no world, there is no option in which you do not leave the White House [o]n January 20th Now, the same Deputy White House Counsel tried to dissuade Co-Conspirator 4 from assuming the role of Acting Attorney General. The Deputy White House Counsel reiterated to Co-Conspirator 4 that there had not been outcome-determinative fraud in the election and that if the Defendant remained in office none the less, there would be riots in every major city in the United States. Co-Conspirator 4 responded, Well, [Deputy White House Counsel], that's why there's an Insurrection Act.

And there you have it. In the view of these conspirators, the US Army would be called out to enforce the continued occupation of the White House by a usurper president. The Insurrection Act would be used by the insurrectionists to quell democratic dissent.

This puts forced removal of protesters from Lafayette Square near the White House in June of 2020 in a new light. Recall that on that day, peaceful protestors were confronted by a set of forces, many without insignias, so it was not clear who they were. What we do know is that they used force against peaceful demonstrators for no legitimate purpose. Perhaps this was a test run for the imposition of rule by force.

That’s who these folks are. And today, we see them, a determined minority, using the power they have, to impose their will on the majority of Americans. They forced radical anti-abortion laws upon populations that did not want them. They ensured the rampant and irresponsible proliferation of guns to every corner of America. They created the path for dark money to pollute our politics, and their addiction to fossil fuel contributions is why Phoenix suffered more than 31 straight days with temperatures above 110 degrees. Americans don’t want any of this. But an empowered minority forced it upon us.

This is who they are

Even now, they are banning books, they are imposing biased curriculum in our universities. They are undermining voting rights and election integrity. And they are still legislating in favor of fossil fuels. This is not a bipartisan problem. This is not an, “oh everybody does it,” sort of thing. This radical abuse of power belongs to the Republicans alone, a once great American political party now destroyed by the greed and cowardice of its leaders in the face of Donald Trump.

And now we know, if they get anywhere near the White House, they plan to use the US military to enforce their rule.

This is who we are

But it is not who we are. The vast majority of Americans know that democracy is messy, but still better than any order someone else imposes. We know that to love your neighbor is better than to fear him. We also know that if we work hard and work together, we won’t just meet the big challenges we face, we will also find ways to capitalize on the incredible new opportunities this moment presents for us.

We are also stronger than they imagine. Because of our work, not theirs, the rule of law is holding. Though the Supreme Court itself has been captured, the judiciary remains largely independent.

As Jack Smith reenacts the march to the sea, and crushes the insurrection’s continued ability to sustain itself, the rest of us are doing our part.

The fight for Democracy in the states

This week, that work began in Tennessee where the two men expelled by the MAGA state legislature for leading a rally to support common sense gun laws were re-elected. Maybe the good people of Tennessee will wonder why they just spent all that money on a special election.  And, of course, this week all eyes turn to Ohio.

I’ve been in touch with folk on the ground in the state. They are fired up and cheered on by the support they’ve been getting from around the country. Just like Jack Smith, they know they are making history- pushing the autocratic forces that have so damaged that state onto the defensive for the first time in a generation. Last week, up in Wisconsin, a case was filed with the newly independent state Supreme Court, challenging that state’s outrageous gerrymandering.  These are deeply red bastions where we are making progress. Meanwhile, in places where we are further along, like Michigan, Illinois, and Minnesota folks are doing the hard work to make life better for everyone.

Meanwhile, because of the Biden Administration and the work of the last Congress, the US economy now looks to be on track to avoid a recession and tame inflation. Jaime Dimon, the head of J.P. Morgan Chase, said this week that the US economy was the strongest in the world. Look to a desperate and defensive GOP to do all they can to derail it.

Meanwhile, back on the legal battlefield, more than 1,100 people have been charged in connection with the January 6th attack. Now, Jack Smith is going after the conspirators who set it in motion. Why do the bad guys always underestimate the determination and strength our great democracy has to defend itself when it must?