Roundup Top Ten for January 8, 2021

A Confederate Flag at the Capitol Summons America's Demons

by Rhae Lynn Barnes and Keri Leigh Merritt

The presence of Confederate iconography in the Capitol building riots is no coincidence; Trumpers are following the playbook of the slaveocracy in crafting a Lost Cause narrative of grievance and betrayal.

Will the Democrats Win in Georgia?

by Jason Sokol

Eugene Talmadge served three terms as Georgia's governor through a combination of racism, attacks on government, and a state electoral system that grossly overrepresented rural whites. The January 5 runoff will test whether at least one of those dynamics has changed in Georgia politics.

The Deep Origins of Latino Support for Trump

by Geraldo Cadava

"In the White House, Joe Biden will have the opportunity to show Latinos that they’re important to the Democratic coalition. First, though, Democrats will have to acknowledge that a shift did, in fact, take place."

Trump’s Supporters Think They’re Being Patriotic. And That’s The Problem

by Christine Adams

The September Massacres of 1792 finished the overthrow of the French monarchy and paved the way to the Reign of Terror; the significance of conspiracy theory, rumor, and identification of enemies of the people were echoed in Wednesday's Capitol riots (though with, as yet, less bloodshed).

Ted Cruz’s Proposed Election Commission Can Only Hurt the Country

by Stuart MacKay

The 1878 Potter Committee, set up by supporters of Samuel Tilden to prove corruption by the 1877 commission that awarded Rutherford Hayes the presidency, ultimately devolved into a farce. Trump supporters might wish to rethink the idea of such a commission, even if they continue to complain of "fraud" in the 2020 vote.

How U.S. Pandemic Restrictions Became a Constitutional Battlefield

by John Fabian Witt and Kiki Manzur

Conservative attacks on COVID-related restrictions on social gatherings are rooted in a selective and false interpretation of the history of the application of the police power to support public health.

Stop Worrying About Upper-Class Suburbanites

by Lily Geismer and Matthew Lassiter

Two suburban historians argue that the changing demographics and political composition of American suburbs mean the Democrats' strategy of courting white moderates will foreclose building the ethnically and economically diverse coalition they need to win.