It doesn't matter what we call the January 6th attack on the Capitol. "Coup" is not a magic word, nor is it a legal definition with consequences. I understand others use it differently and many don't care. What matters is that we share a description, analysis & prescription.

I see an insurrection whipped up by a political leader who is using none of their vast formal authorities. To me this suggests he is weak & points out ways to contain him. For example, he should be treated like any normal citizen & his Twitter/FB accounts fully suspended.

The mainstream news media should treat him like any other American who is giving support to violent attacks on the state. They should stop mincing words about what he is doing & clearly identify misinformation. Without mass media, Trump is severely impaired.

I realize there are other media outlets and social media, but if he is restricted largely to OANN, RT, the Epoch Times, 4Chan and Parler until he changes his rhetoric, his ability to cause problems will be severely impaired.

Right now Trump is using few of the legal authorities he has access to. This means that much of his power comes from the willing participation of opportunistic politicians who support his mendacious claims, provide respectability, and enable his actions.

It's not that they are true believers, it's that there is a benefit in supporting Trump as long as he retains strong support among the base. I think we should change that cost-benefit calculation. Party leaders & donors should make it clear this sort of behavior has consequences.

There should be no return to normal for them afterwards. For the rest of their lives, they should be associated with their anti-democratic behavior. This will shut off the cushy jobs that comes later. They should understand they will not be lobbyists or work at hedge funds.

They will not be invited to be guest professors at universities or give graduation speeches. And they should be socially shunned. Can you imagine how Ted Cruz might behave if there were very real consequences for his behavior from a variety of different sources?

If Ted Cruz understood that none of the big money GOP PACs would support him in a future bid for the Presidency, his cynical defense of undemocratic behavior might vanish & he would return to the Cruz of 2016. And without allies like Cruz, Trump's threat diminishes.

There is a flip side to understanding the attack on the Capitol as an insurrection. It's realizing that this threat (unlike an autogolpe) may not diminish after Trump leaves office. Because he is not using his position to launch attacks on democracy, he may remain a threat.

All of these points I am making about the role of the media, politicians, civic actors, comes out of my understanding of this incident as an insurrection. If you want to call it something else, that's fine. But my point is that this is (with current information) NOT about the mil

Nor, I feel, is it about the tactical danger posed by a small rabble who broke into the Capitol but who could easily have been contained & managed by the NYPD SWAT.

There are other consequences of the analysis and other actors who need to be pressured in various ways to strengthen democracy and reduce the threat from this moment. We can discuss them & ways to move forward. Lets do THAT.