First off: my blog, my thoughts, my place to ‘get it out’ to keep myself sane.
Today is January 4th and in two days we will be remembering back 4 years ago on that January 6th when Congress prepared to certify the results of the presidential election. It’s been 4 years since our president at the time, Donald Trump, after months of denying the election results, bad-mouthing and accusing people, filing lawsuits, and more, used a ‘last resort’ in his mind. He encouraged his most dedicated (and one could say most gullible) MAGA followers, along with white supremacy groups, to come to Washington. The days before Jan. 6th he, along with others on social media, told his people to ‘stand down’ for something really big.
And many came from around the country. The eve before, on Jan. 5th, Pres. Trump looked out his White House window and saw the crowds forming, and heard chanting.
Then the morning of the 6th he was the main speaker at a rally held between the White House and the nation’s Capitol. He told the group to ‘stop the steal’ and the mass of people moved up Pennsylvania Avenue with the intent to halt the certification. All of Congress was in the House chambers while Trump’s people fought the police outside, broke through barricades, and smashed in doors and windows of the center of our democracy, the Capitol. Officers were injured. One later died.
One of the people who participated in this Insurrection, in her attempt to stop the proceedings of our government, was shot and killed inside. Others there stole papers, and furniture, and they destroyed items, and parts of the walls of this sacred building.
Cameras in and around the Capitol were on and allowed us all to see what was going on with our own eyes – as it happened. President Trump sat in his private dining room in the White House and watched it unfold on a TV. He did nothing for a couple of hours, even though he was the president and these were the Congressmen and women of the United States under attack. His own Vice President was there also.
Since that day we have had hundreds of eye-witness accounts, and a special committee was convened to gather all the information leading up to January 6th, and about the events of the day. The committee determined that President Trump should be impeached because of his actions in the set up to the Insurrection, and also due to his negligence of defending our nation.
The actions of the Insurrectionists did not stop the certification of the election because Congress, together (one of the rare times Reps and Dems did something together), made sure the process was completed later that night and VP Mike Pence signed off on the accuracy of the vote.
The next day many Congressmen and women, from both sides of the aisle, spoke publicly in the House chamber about Trump’s involvement, and about the fear they experienced during the attack.
But…. After that day the tide turned, and political ‘smear games’ started, and the political division showed up again, and many backpedaled about what they experienced.
4 year later here we are. We are still hearing from Trump and his leadership of the Republican Party, including the Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, that the election results were wrong. They are still not willing to admit the defeat.
And, since then all kinds of conspiracy theories have been spread. Lies. Trying to downplay what happened. I actually heard just recently from a Trump supporter that she thinks the Insurrection was ‘acted out’ like it was a big performance, and it was the Democrats who were responsible for it. Holding Trump flags. Wearing MAGA hats. Totally false. But she believes it.
America watched. We saw what happened. Many of those involved have now been tried in a court of law and found guilty, and they are now serving time for acts of Insurrection. I believe they should not be pardoned. They were guilty. They need to serve the time.
On Monday, 4 years after, I hope the media, ALL the media, again show the videos from that day. We need to be reminded of the mob that climbed the walls, broke through barriers, broke into the Capitol, hit police officers with flag poles and other weapons. They hung a noose for the Vice President. They chanted, and looked for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and ransacked her office. Some reports said that human feces was found smeared on the Capitol walls. People acted like animals. Determined to do the job for Trump. They were so devoted to him.
I will never forget that Donald Trump was totally in on what happened. He helped plan it, he urged people on, he then sat back and watched it on his television set, safely in the White House. His staff came in and said he should call the insurrection mob off, but he waited. He was the President of the United States. He sat back and enjoyed watching what was happening.
And, heaven help us, he is about to be president of the United States again. It is beyond me to understand how half of the people in this country felt that his planning of the insurrection, his actions, and his denial about it all, was acceptable, that it didn’t matter to them…. He was a human being watching, but also a narcissist, a politician, and the leader of our country.
So: where is our decency? How can we allow physical attacks on our legislators, on our amazing Capitol building, on our democratic system of laws, to happen? Yes, the Insurrectionists are serving time but NOT the master minds. Not THE ONE who could have stopped it. But, he did not want to stop it.
And so for me, it is inexcusable.
Teflon Don.
He abuses power. He acts illegally. He allows others to take the fall for his doings. He has no remorse.
And he is our next president of the United States.
Marla’s Musings 