KOMO-AM (Seattle, WA)

what does this chaos and rioting at the Capitol mean for American democracy come as jeff Beaujolais spoke with Mark allen Smith a professor of political science at the University of Washington I might put this in the category of a of political violence in it think of it in that respect it isn't so unusual we the situation in 19th century protect when the civil war you know Caney knows what one Senator another Senator you know had tools we had a fascination of Robert F Kennedy so if you if you think of a political violence more generally and I think we can put this sort of thing and in that broad category would you say this is a pill and attempted to for sure and that Donald Trump is based we tried everything kind of threw both legal means then now not not illegal means so he tried to work through the course to challenge the election results you know Lost every case that matters including cases presided over by judges he had pointed to try to work through the courts famously over over the weekend but really that's when the call was was released that he worked on the Georgia Secretary of state to laugh but Georgia Secretary of state to find 11000 votes which sounds like an at a direct order to use whatever shenanigans with be available in order to try to manufacture some some boats so he tried a variety of tactics he's he's planning his own vice President had legal authority to block the certification of electoral vote by certain States which would therefore allow them to be excluded and andy you don't Trump majority with the remaining States to be they tried everything this is sort of the last the last thing it doesn't mean that it's not work a mob of protesters can overrun the Capital building but that that by itself does not constitute EEC to you fearful for American democracy is it teetering on the edge I am fearful I'm 50 years old now and it's a pretty stable country from what I've been alive and it does not really feel stable bullying anymore I'm not just talking about you know changes power and movements arise beenen and big changes in public policy and someone we've we've had that before but I mean you know isn't going away from the Roman Republic in the Roman empire at nearly 80 regime shift it's not happened this time but was posing for a photo of you know say 5 or 6 States being super close it really won decisive state we can focus all the attention on that one state and Let's suppose instead of the evidence of voter fraud beams flimsy that they're actually pretty good evidence of voter fraud but it was also still little ambiguous you could kind of argument either way you know rpo that's kind of nice said situation like that Michael definitely imagine are institutions breaking down on no no path forward do we will be the winner and I could I could imagine two really great in a situation like that is that typically what happens wind Democracy's reached there and Yeah when you look at democracy reaching there and it's it's generally been because P because seeing institutions could not at into old be the scale of the threat perhaps most famously in the Aymara Republican breaking down and becoming the Nazi regime and when when that started it was kind of using the existing institutions and pushing the boundaries and stuffed it not quite legal but you could sort of make a case any you do not enough times and then pretty soon you have crossed a line Mike said we're up not there at this point but I could at least one imagine that happening Weir if you've got the same question 5 years ago I would've said no way no way could ever happen in this country and that is come Moaz Jeff Poe Odula speaking with Mark allen Smith a professor of political science at the University of Washington