Peaceful transfer of power has long been held as central to democracy, an American example for the world to follow. Even after the bitterest of contests, Republicans and Democrats who have lost presidential elections have congratulated the winner, accepting the result as, “the people have spoken.”

Presidents leaving office have cooperated with the incoming administration, aiding the transition, and attending the inauguration ceremony. Until now, that is.

In the wake of invasion of the Capitol by violent extremists that included an attempt to capture, and possibly execute, Vice President Pence and House Speaker Pelosi; lawmakers with their very lives in danger; murder of a Capitol police officer; and six deaths; Washington, D.C. is as of this writing an armed fortress. The Capitol and surrounding area is protected by more troops than are stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, combined. 

President Trump, having decisively lost both the popular vote and the Electoral College, has taken the presidency to a new low. He denounced the election as fraudulent, claiming that he won a decisive victory. This, in spite of results that were counted, recounted, verified, certified, and litigated. Court challenges were rejected by Judges, including those appointed by Republicans, including Trump. Just as disingenuously, a majority of Republican House members and a handful of Republican senators joined in rejecting the ceremonial congressional certification of Electoral College votes. 

Far worse than denying the election results was the President using incendiary language, urging an armed mob to intimidate the congress to overturn the election. The mob took that as encouragement to invade the Capitol. A gallows had been erected on the Capitol grounds, ostensibly ready for V.P. Pence who Trump had denounced as “cowardly” for his unwillingness to reject certification of the election results.

If a president using incendiary language to rev up an armed angry crowd to overturn an election and “take our country back” is not impeachable, what is? After the violence, Trump assured the rioters that, “We love you, you’re very special.”

The Democratically controlled House quickly voted to impeach. Ten Republicans including Wyoming’s Liz Chaney, daughter of former V.P. Richard Chaney, joined the Democrats in voting for impeachment. Republican members who support Trump are now threatening to punish Rep. Chaney by removing her from her number three position in the House Republican caucus.

Other dissident Republicans report that they are receiving death threats. Some members of Congress even fear physical harm from other House members. Congressional members are now authorized to purchase body armor, as a “reimbursable expense.”

The nation should have paid more attention to the foiled plot to kidnap and execute Michigan’s governor, and the invasion of its Capitol by gunmen carrying military style weapons. They got away without even a slap on the wrist for carrying those lethal weapons because it was legal. The real “crime” is that gun laws are so lax that in much of the nation that it is legal for gunmen to brandish assault weapons in public. But that’s another story.

Republican senators and members of the House are urging that we put Trump’s incendiary language and invasion of the Capitol behind us and “move on,” insisting that impeachment proceedings will “further divide the country.” It’s the height of hypocrisy for these same Republicans who refused to accept results of the election to accuse Democrats of “dividing the country.” It was this very refusal of Republicans to accept election results, insisting the “election was stolen,” that the gang of insurgents used as reason to storm the Capitol.

It is reported that Senate Majority — soon to be Minority — Leader McConnell has privately indicated that impeaching Trump would be a way to “be rid of him.” But McConnell plays his own game, and is likely to retain his modus operandi as “obstructionist in chief” during the Biden administration. Moreover, given the absolute cowardice of Senate Republicans thus far, it is unlikely that even the deadly assault on the Capitol has stiffened their spines as they continue to live in fear of Trump’s revenge.

Then there is the argument that impeachment proceedings will impede progress on Biden’s legislative agenda. That is a weak argument on several counts. First, Trump’s transgression was so absolutely egregious that it cannot be ignored and left unpunished.

Second, Trump’s words and actions are so clearly out there for the world to see that proceedings should move rapidly without endless repetitive arguments of denial.

And third, for likely Republican intransigence and resistance to Biden’s program, any excuse will do. While sure to be used as an excuse, impeachment proceedings will change nothing regarding Senators’ positions on nominees and program. But it will put Republicans on record. Is Trump’s incitement of violence and assault on our own government acceptable behavior for a president or not? This will be a test that Senate Republicans would rather not take.

So the nation is faced with the need to address a raging pandemic out of control, with over 25 million cases and over 400,000 COVID deaths. Vaccines are available, but the program is moving slower than molasses in January. 

We have an economy with billionaires accumulating ever more wealth even as we have long lines of people in food lines and struggling to pay their bills.

We need action on criminal justice reform, immigration, climate, environment, and foreign affairs.

This is capped by a president having spoken before a mob of angry, violent extremists with language that they took as permission, even encouragement, to storm the Capitol, resulting in such violence that our nation’s lawmakers had to take cover for fear of their very lives. This followed the president and powerful Republicans claiming that the election was all a lie, a president who refuses to celebrate the democratic tradition of peaceful transition of power — his supporters arguing that since he’s leaving anyway, “Let’s just ignore it.”

Our capital city is now necessarily an armed camp, a scene heretofore resembling a third-rate banana republic.

As Vince Lombardy exclaimed when the Packers were underperforming, “What the hell’s going on out there?”

— John Waelti is a retired professor of economics. His column appears every Saturday in the Times. He can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net.