When Civility and Decorum Don’t Cut It

Let Congressman Al Green's cane-waving defiance remind us that the Trump regime will exploit the civility and silence of the opposition.

Rep. Al Green of Texas disrupts Trump’s speech. (Photo by Win McNamee/AFP via Getty Images)

On Tuesday night, after Donald Trump said before Congress that he has “a mandate,” Texas Congressman Al Green waved his cane and shouted out, “No mandate for Medicaid!” He created a disruption. He understood the importance of directly and publicly confronting the danger that is Trump. He grasped that Trump is an existential threat to our democracy and America is in crisis. He decided that, in this moment, civility and silence would be a disservice to America.

Yesterday, the United States Congress censured 77-year-old Rep. Green for speaking out and disrupting Donald Trump’s address to a joint session. The vote included 10 Democrats in addition to 214 Republicans. The failure of those Democrats to grasp the crisis facing America—to instead believe their higher duty is to follow traditional norms of civility—is a reminder of the task we have to convince elected officials and others that business as usual is the pathway to America’s demise. The man occupying our White House has made a life of corruption and criminality by exploiting norms of courtesy.

Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes was among those 10 Democrats, many of whom are centrists and represent competitive districts. “I don’t mind being one of 10 Democrats who said ‘no.’ There’s a deeper principle at stake here, which is reverence for this institution,” he said after the vote, adding that lawmakers should act “with the decorum and with the civility that says to the world that we are a serious country.” Himes also told CNN, “I have no love for Donald Trump, but I do have reverence for the Office of the President.”

I also have reverence for the Office of the President, and I’m sure if you’re reading this then you likely do, too. But we are at a precipice in America—how soon before Trump refuses to go along with a ruling of the nation’s highest court?—and I believe our elected officials need to measure this moment with the gravity it deserves.

Donald Trump is empowering an unelected billionaire and his twenty-something team of miscreants to invade our government computer systems, access sensitive private data, decide for themselves what programs and funding to halt. Donald Trump is abandoning our democratic allies in Europe, capitulating to Vladimir Putin and betraying Ukraine, and dismantling the protections against Russian interference in our elections. He is prepared to disband the Department of Eduction and deny the release of previously appropriated spending, both of which are the constitutional right of Congress.

We are only at the beginning of learning what the surrender to Russia, the politicization of the Justice Department and the FBI, the handing over of government power to an unelected billionaire, the undermining of national security, the stripping away of basic benefits to fund billionaire tax cuts, and the growing hostility to court rulings that don’t go Trump’s way will mean for America’s future.

The growing anger expressed in Republican town halls around the country has already led to GOP leadership urging their members to cancel such in-person forums. House Speaker Mike Johnson—in an effort to discredit the public’s deepening opposition—has also been quick to claim these protestations are fueled by Democratic activists. “So why would we give them a forum to do that right now?” he asked disingenuously on Tuesday.

In my live conversation yesterday with Malcolm Nance—a counterterrorism expert, former naval intelligence officer and author of The Plot to Betray America among other bestselling titles—we reflected on possible scenarios for the coming months. The flexing of people power could necessarily include national strikes and street protests well into the millions.

Harvard University political scientist Erica Chenoweth contends that it takes about 3.5 percent of the population—that’s about 12 million Americans—to drive serious political change that can force government to accommodate a movement’s demands or, in extreme cases, disintegrate. Chenoweth’s 2019 research also found that nonviolent campaigns are twice as likely to achieve success than violent ones.

The fiery Nance suggested it may take “a second American Revolution” to, as he described it, “save the values of the first American Revolution”—going to the streets, demanding redress and forcing the resignation of Trump and JD Vance. “However, it has to be sustained, it has to be nonviolent, and it has to have objectives,” he added. “You can't just say, ‘Oh, I don't like Trump. I'm going out in the street.’ You have to call for some form of redress.” (You can listen here to our full conversation about this as well as about Ukraine, Russia and Trump’s betrayal of America.)

These are serious matters. They are not to be taken lightly or driven by reckless hyperbole that can incite deadly responses. We need responsible leadership and responsible citizens, not violence-loving extremism and extremists.

But we should have little doubt that the outcry for action is growing—and it will grow louder particularly if Trump, Musk and the Republicans succeed in stripping away hundreds of billions of dollars from safety net programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid that many tens of millions of Americans depend on.

Which brings me back to Rep. Hines. “Unlike my Republican colleagues and President Trump, I believe that rules, decorum and accountability are important regardless of political party and beliefs,” he posted on Facebook. “If we cannot stand on principle and act with the seriousness our nation deserves, our government will devolve further into the kindergarten it has already become.”

I don’t mean to harp just on Rep. Hines, but it’s important that our elected officials fully grasp these are not normal times and that decorum and silence are being exploited by Trump and his regime. (How many senators took Trump’s nominees at their word when they said they would not politicize their departments if confirmed?)

I would urge them to pay attention to Congressman Hines’ Connecticut colleague, Sen. Chris Murphy, who has worried that the Democrats have been “the party of the status quo.” Murphy has shifted from his previous efforts to seek bipartisan solutions and now asserts the need to mobilize against the “seizure of government by the billionaires and the destruction of our democracy.”

Sen. Murphy further defines the reality and the timeline facing our country:

When somebody is trying to grab power, when somebody is trying to destroy democracy, they benefit from people who are static, who refuse to be nimble. I mean, every Democrat could just continue to run in the same direction they’ve been running for the last 10 years. Or you could realize that this moment is different, that this threat is unique—and to me, you know, we don’t have another year to fight this attempt to destroy democracy. Our democracy might be gone in six months.

Those are urgent words, indeed a rallying cry. I grateful that both Sen. Murphy and Rep. Green are standing up and speaking out. The image and example of Green disrupting Trump’s talk while waving his cane helps convince me that we all need to think hard about what we can and will do in these fateful times. I don’t own a cane, but maybe in solidarity with Green’s intentions, I ought to get one.

One last thing: If you haven’t heard the speech of French senator Claude Malhuret, I urge you to take a few minutes and listen to what he said yesterday. It tells us that the world is watching closely, that our European allies grasp the gravity of Trump’s hostile takeover, and they’re not afraid to tell the truth. “Trump’s message is that being his ally serves no purpose, as he will not defend you,” Malhuret said, speaking on France’s senate floor.

“Never before has a President of the United States supported an aggressor against an ally,” he continued. “Never before has one trampled on the American Constitution, issued so many illegal decrees, dismissed judges who could oppose him, sacked the military leadership in one go, weakened all opponents and taken control of social media. This is not a mere illiberal drift, it is the beginning of a seizure of democracy.”

We have much work ahead of us.

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