Was January 6th an Existential Threat to American Democracy?
Topics: Law, Politics
Public Release Date: January 06, 2023
By now it is clear, the Red Wave election-denying candidates had hoped to ride left most still waiting on the beach. Those who questioned the outcome of the 2020 election lost key midterm races, which seemed to calm the nerves of many of those fearful as to where the Republic itself was headed. But as the parties begin to prepare for their respective presidential runs, a bigger question looms; one that has taken its cues from President Biden himself.
Shortly after the January 6th attacks on the Capitol — which were prompted by unfounded messaging about the election’s illegitimacy — Biden sought to convey the severity of what had just happened. “The insurrection was an existential crisis — a test of whether our democracy could survive,” he said. Now, on the heels of the midterms, many not only openly wonder whether that democracy crisis is over, but also question if the words Biden chose were overblown in the first place.
It is in that context, and as the 2024 elections come into focus, that we debate this question: Was January 6 an existential threat to American democracy?
ARGUING YES:
Rebekah Caruthers: Election Strategist, Managing Partner at CAE Strategies, Vice President of the Fair Elections Center
ARGUING NO:
Andrew Keen: Author, “How to Fix Democracy” podcast host
MODERATOR-IN-CHIEF:
John Donvan: Emmy award-winning journalist