Something we need to address is that one of the reasons the modern-day Republican party exists is 156 years ago we decided to pardon traitors and 143 years ago we decided to stop trying to ensure traitors didn't do it again.

They got to keep their jobs and property and step back into political power, and most importantly, those white traitors legislated white supremacy through Jim Crow, which ruled the South--alongside unpunished extralegal white supremacist violence--for another 90 years.

Their children and grandchildren spent the early decades of the 20th century erecting monuments and naming federal buildings and military bases after traitors, and rewriting history books depicting their traitor ancestors as noble defenders of "states' rights."

Their not-so-many-great grandchildren today still wield their traitorous battle flag and squawk about Civil War.

What happened Wednesday was the genetic and ideological descendants of 19th century traitors enacting their ancestors' fantasies of destroying the US government.

If we let this act of terror and treason go unpunished, these people will be back again--in a few months, in a few years, in a few decades, to try again. And let's be serious: they're probably going to try this again in a few days regardless.

There should be no pardons. Not for the President. Not for whomever in his cabinet and in law enforcement aided him. Not for the white supremacist organizations who helped organize it. Not for their wealthy backers. Not for the folks who gleefully went along for the ride.

And especially not for the Senators and Representatives who spent months fomenting rebellion.

After Congress votes to remove him from office, I hope they next look to unseating those who helped him incite an insurrection from the Capitol.

We don't have to rewrite laws to punish these folks.

Sedition is a crime.

Insurrection is a crime.

Treason is a crime.

Inciting a mob to kill members of Congress and the Vice President? 100% a crime.

Participating in a mob to kill members of Congress and the Vice President? Definitely a crime.

Knowingly and deliberately leaving the Capitol vulnerable and aiding the mob trying to kill members of Congress and the Vice President? Big ol' crime.

Let's enforce our laws instead of doing the Larry-David-looking-around-confused thing, because we're not sure whether violently overthrowing the government is really a crime when white people do it.