Nothing will change the events of January 6th when protesters occupied the US Capitol for a brief period. The images evoke third world banana republics and the antics we were always amused by. We joked at the absurdity of some of the incidents. We never ever imagined the United States of America would be a contender for the most farcical.
As terrible as the breach is, as saddening the death and destruction, if we want to have a country that somehow looks like the great nation we are, this nonsense could have been forecast.
At every turn challenges of the Presidential election process were rebuffed. Some because of poor legal presentation, some because of technicalities, some because the judiciary were cowards in the face of such a monumental issue. Negating, reversing, affirming the results of an election was a bridge too far, even for the US Supreme Court. The courts virtually shut to doors to the claims of fraud and unconstitutional antics of the six swing states. Common sense, past experience and a small amount of intelligence tell us that where there is smoke there is fire. All of the claims could not possibly be false. Even among those that appear to be overblown and not consequential.
From 40,000 feet one can see the states, Attorneys General, local elected officials and the various levels of the court all joined arms and formed a wall beyond which they would not allow challenges. In spite of videos, sworn testimony of witnesses and electronic data analysis the wall held. No real challenge was upheld and allowed to be argued before the bench. Even the loftiest, SCOTUS, would not take up the case. That by itself proved the cowardice of the judicial system to tackle the most important case of our lifetime.
Many legal and political procedures were explored and touted as possible paths to reversing the results of the election. Each was presented as doable and poised for success by the proponents. None was successful. The last resort was the decertification of Electoral College votes to be presented to the joint session of Congress.
A large number of Republican Congressmen and Senators were ready to argue for decertification at least for the six swing states where the most egregious irregularities took place. As the process played out Senator Ted Cruz stood in the well of the chamber opposing the votes of Arizona. It was then that mayhem broke out. The Capitol building was under siege from violent individuals peeling off from the mass protest that was organized to pressure Congress to hear the voice of the people and take up the fight for a legitimate election.
Over 500,000 filled the ellipse between the White House and the Washington monument. Never before had a support rally or gathering of any kind for the Trump administration been anything less than peaceful. All of law enforcement in Washington DC was aware of the non-violent nature of Trump supporters and must have taken that into account when setting up the security measures they thought necessary. In retrospect that was a major mistake. Although I am not sure that any security, short of military power, would have been sufficient for such a large group. It is yet to be seen what the spark was to cause such a change in the temperament of the crowd.
Of course, President Trump is being blamed for inciting a riot. You can go along with that, but individuals are still responsible for their own actions. Saying they were encouraged by and took action because of anything Trump said is ludicrous.
Ultimately the siege was ended in short order, Congress reconvened and certified the election results making Joe Biden the President. One has to muse if Donald Trump was the victor what would have gone on in the streets of America.
Politicians, always known for inflammatory rhetoric, issued knee jerk reactions to events of January 6. Standard were the denunciation of violence, the un-American nature, the condemnation of the mob, the horrific nature of the assault on the heart of America. It was like we had not seen any of the riots, burnings of government buildings, looting and even occupations of whole areas as a sovereign zone that took place over the Summer.
Many government officials have resigned or are contemplating such in the wake of blaming the President for the mob action. Some have even broached using the 25th Amendment to summarily remove Trump from office. Lacking that, the specter of impeachment has been put back on the table by Nancy Pelosi. Okay, fine they are politicians and that is what they do, overreact whenever they believe they will benefit. Granted some are damaged by the occurrence at the Capitol and reached the level where their commitment ran out.
75 million people who voted for Trump are not convinced of the veracity of the election results. How can an incumbent who has accomplished so much in one term lose almost forty percent of the Electoral College? There are many avenues to investigate but as of today that does not assuage the angst of the people who will continue to question the results.
No one, and I mean no one, on either side wants to see violence. Rightly it should be condemned.
When Hilary Clinton painted Trump supporters as a collection of deplorables, those very same supporters wore the mantel as a badge of honor. The events of yesterday have given the high ground of moral certainty to the left who now say we told you so.
If fairness will ever return to our form of government, which is not a sure thing as of now, the citizenry must get active. The days of the rally going, flag waving loyal cadre of the right are over. Effective involvement in the government is the key. Take a page out of the newfound effectiveness of Democrat community organizing. All politics is local. Use it, embrace it, immerse yourselves in it, speak up and do not waiver.
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