Trump Discovers Insurrection Act, America Discovers History
The Hill reports Trump's latest fascination with the Insurrection Act, a law passed in 1807, as if it's some novel tool. What they fail to mention is this act has a storied past of being deployed against American citizens, from suppressing labor strikes in the late 19th century—like the Pullman Strike—to Eisenhower using it belatedly to enforce school desegregation in Little Rock, and Kennedy for
civil rights issues. It’s America’s domestic shock-and-awe when 'order' overrides rights. One might wonder if Trump’s admiration stems from this history of bypassing due process, or perhaps the 'insurrection' part just sounds cool. We saw this movie before: a president musing about extraordinary powers, media covering it as standard political discourse, rather than a potential threat to democratic
norms. These aren't just theoretical powers for a history book; they are tools that have been, and could again be, wielded against the populace. When a former president, who allegedly incited his own insurrection, waxes poetic about an Insurrection Act as the 'strongest power,' perhaps it's less about historical appreciation and more about future intentions. How many times does 'strongest power'
need to be invoked before we recognize the pattern?