Photo: January 6 Committee - Facebook
January 6 Committee
January 6 Committee
In its last scheduled public hearing before the midterms, the bipartisan House January 6 Committee summarized its most damning evidence. The violent mob attempt to overthrow the government of the United States on Jan. 6, 2021, wasn’t just planned, incited and inflamed by President Trump, but he did nothing to stop the rampage for hours, hoping to retain the presidency through violence after his defeat by the American people.
There are lots of other issues in the midterm elections on Nov. 8 including rising prices, abortion rights, gun violence, voting rights and a climate crisis threatening life on earth, but American democracy will also be on the ballot. In an ideal world, both parties would be working together to make sure our democracy is never again threatened by violent, homegrown, unAmerican terrorists. Sadly, that’s not yet true.
The January 6 Committee has laid out a compelling case to hold accountable those who devised that historic assault on America as well as the riotous mob that publicly participated in the mayhem and destruction. The committee will issue a final report before the current session ends recommending steps Congress should take to prevent another violent attack on democracy.
Republican Obstruction
Image: January 6 Committee - Facebook
January 6 Committee
But no one really expects any legislation to try to prevent another violent insurrection to pass until Republicans join Democrats in protecting the outcomes of elections in our democracy. Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney and Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger were the only two House Republicans out of 212 willing to join the January 6 Committee to recommend ways to protect the results of free and fair elections in America. As a result, it has ended their Republican political careers.
But that doesn’t mean the January 6 Committee hasn’t already made an invaluable contribution to the future of democracy. The measure of the committee’s success was never whether it changed the minds of Republicans who believed Trump’s preposterous lies that a nonexistent landslide victory was stolen from him. They simply stuck their fingers in their ears and recited nursery rhymes during months of compelling public testimony.
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But here’s something the committee has changed. When the committee’s televised hearings began in June, there was widespread commentary by legal experts Atty. Gen. Merrick Garland might be reluctant to criminally indict Trump because taking such an action against a president would be unprecedented. It’s no longer considered unlikely. Multiple crimes involving Trump are under active investigation by the U.S. Justice Department because January 6 itself was unprecedented.
Stone: ‘Claim Victory’
In a documentary film interview shown by the committee, Roger Stone, Trump’s crude, unethical political advisor, revealed months before the election Trump intended to claim he won and remain in office if he was defeated. “The key thing to do is to claim victory,” Stone said. “Possession is nine-tenths of the law. ‘No, we won. Fuck you.’ We’ll have to start smashing pumpkins if you know what I mean.”
Jason Miller, another political advisor, bragged in a text on January 6 to Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows: “I got the base fired up.” As proof, he proudly forwarded violent online comments from Trump supporters including “Our ‘lawmakers’ in Congress can leave in one of two ways: 1. In a bodybag. 2. After rightfully certifying Trump the winner.” Here’s another one: “Keep your guns hidden. Don’t fuck around, full kits, 180 rounds minimum.”
The detailed revelations of what was going on in the White House from Election Day through January 6, mostly provided by Republican appointees and staff, have been shocking. Just as shocking has been the reluctance of elected Republicans to distance themselves from it out of fear of losing votes or possibly their lives from Trump’s most dangerous supporters.
Think About Your Vote
When we vote for major state and national candidates in the midterms, we can’t escape thinking about which party represents the country we want to live in. That determines how elected officials approach every issue directly affecting our lives.
Wisconsin voters continue to be frustrated by their inability to have any control over their radically gerrymandered Republican state legislature still fighting over how to sabotage Biden’s election victory two years ago. Statewide elections for Gov. Tony Evers, U.S. Senator Mandela Barnes and Atty. Gen. Josh Kaul are among the few elections Republicans can’t corruptly gerrymander allowing voters to make their voices heard.
There is nothing recognizably conservative about the Republican Party that has been remade in Trump’s angry, hateful image. Its major candidates in Wisconsin and across the country are loyal Trumpians. Republican leaders clearly won’t have the political courage to rid their party of all those who attempted to destroy democracy on January 6 until it starts costing them elections.
If it doesn’t happen in the midterms, we’ll have to fight for our democracy again in two years. We’ve had two national elections in a row with record turnouts supporting American democracy. We need to make it three.
