The news grabbing the headlines today is the congressional fight over the creation of a bipartisan independent commission to investigate the events surrounding the January 6 insurrection.
This afternoon, I called the local offices of my representatives Senators Cornyn and Cruz to voice my support for a Congressional investigation of January 6. Surprisingly, I spoke with a person both times. Yes, I realize that neither will vote in favor.
I write Senator Susan Collins almost weekly about current issues. I wrote her a full page letter about the January 6th Capitol attack. One of her staffers called me, leaving a message to return her call. I called several times until I connected with a different staffer who told me Collins supported a commission. I continue to write Collins to tell her to be more vocal like Liz Cheney. If everyone who wants to see Washington work for us, preserve and improve democracy called their representatives, they would eventually get the message.
Collins has been like a fart in a wind storm. You never know what direction she's going to go. She should have voted against Kavanaugh, but didn't. The same with her comment about Trump having "learned his lesson".
She's the candidate who, when first running, said a Senator should only serve two terms and she would. That was 5 terms ago. Says all you need to know about her relationship with truth and integrity.
And didn’t she come out with a statement saying that she would vote for a commission only if there were changes and that she was upset with Pelosi for “not consulting “ with McCarthy and McConnell?
I will call senator Susan Collins this morning. My numerous calls and letters have had not had an impact. It may be different this time as she had a difficult re-election. I am sure she is deeply concerned, but maybe Liz Cheney will be a role model for her.
Good for your persistence and constancy in communicating with your legislators. I am likewise a regular pen pal of mine as well. At least Collins will likely again express “her concerns.” My own Texas Representative and Senators, it seems lack the ability to express any concerns and simply have added me to their mailing lists begging for money.
It really does matter that you called. The staff is supposed to keep track of calls and tally the stated positions of the callers. Also, maybe your call could sway the person who answers your call, which is something. We absolutely need to keep calling and making our voices heard, so thank you for doing so today, Cig.
I just called. Senator Collins is concerned about the insurrection, but has not said how she will vote on the investigation. I had a good conversation with her aid. I think we need to let people know how important it is to call her!!
YES. The staff are usually good, hardworking people who care about issues, and are interested in constituent comments (especially if you include a check). And they also care about the next election for their bosses - your call counts.
Marcy your lucky, you’re only visiting Florida, I live here! I call my useless Senators on a weekly bases, Rubio and Scott, enough said. I should, however, mention our Governor, I call his office as well. I was beginning to think it was a waste of time, thank you MaryPat, I will continue to call.
I will do the same thing in the morning. Senator Cruz won't care but I hold out hope that Senator Cornyn while conservative will eventually show that he has a bit of integrity left somewhere deep inside him and may still come back to this reality when it is "safe".
Speaking of MO, I saw the guy (McCloskey?) who pointed a gun at ppl walking in front of his house. He wants to run for senate from MO. A real dynamo. Not.
I appreciate and am grateful for this traditional effort to “communicate” our views to fascist Republicans and Quisling Trump supporters. Frankly, our precious time and money is better spent locating, fielding and supporting candidates with our political ideology to replace or deny Republicans these offices from the county level to Congress. Imagine, once our people are in office all this begging and pleading for decency and support of Democracy will be unnecessary.
Playing the “they must be rational card” when 4/5 of Congress is ready to deny the election is carrying coal to New Castle.
I've tried that. Many of them never take phone calls, and have a Contact Me page that requires entering an in-state name, address, and zip code, so they can screen the rest of us out.
I’ve tried that too, with the same results... Sooo, how DO you connect with reps that don’t represent me but make decisions that impact me as a citizen??
One would think this would have been a nonpartisan vote; but because it was partisan, I applaud these 35 House Republicans who broke with their party to vote in favor of the January 6th Commission:
Thank you for this. We should write, call, email them and thank them for their support of integrity and truth as well as encourage all on our social media to do the same.
Thank you Ellie; I am new to the Community & your link was quite helpful.
As a retired attorney with 30 years experience in State & Federal Courts in Northern Cal, I can supplement HRC's comment about knowing the rules. But. you do not need to know the "FRE" (Federal Rules Of Evidence) to understand DOJ criminal investigations and/ or prosecutions.
I get the Daily email updates from the US Attorneys Office in DC. You can Google "Capitol Breach Cases DOJ". The alphabetical list of Defendants (real cases) has links to the "Statement of Facts", "Complaint" & "Information". The visual evidence is the best evidentiary work I have ever seen particularly when you consider there are hundreds of pending case arising from a chaotic attack.
Some complaints have been Amended to allege Federal Conspiracy charges. Very useful work for the Judges.
Agsin, thank you for the Link. Bryan. N. California.
I suggest being careful with thank you notes. They will have had varying reasons for voting the way they did. And we have no way of knowing what is going on behind the curtains. If you do write, one thing that might work would be to mention something along the lines that you hope the commission will clarify what happened that day so that we all can have a common understanding, and be able to work collaboratively again. I wouldn't assume they think they are doing favors for the Dems. Their situation is tenuous enough as it is.
Agreed. Her vote was disappointing, but likely reflects the wishes of the majority of her constituents. If you’re interested, the statement her office released regarding her vote is in this article. Now we can only hope the senate does the right thing.
Here’s what is on my mind this day and every day since January 6th. And it remains the reason I supported “comeuppance” and “opening a can of whoop ass” to get in the mix in yesterday’s comments. As in the form of a commission.
The question I want answered and do not want to fade away is WHY DID IT TAKE 2 HOURS OR MORE for the National Guard to respond to a violent domestic insurrection in OUR country being televised in real time and being seared into our brains?
You know, there’s this security blanket in America that when a disaster is happening, help is on the way. “The cavalry is coming, on horseback, swords drawn!” Whether it’s planes crashing into Two Towers or a hurricane crashing into our coastlines, help is on the way immediately and many times before, during, and long after the event.
Except not this time. What I will never forget watching and thinking on January 6th is “where are the troops? WTF? Why is the guard being held back in Maryland? Is this real? Why are they still rioting after two hours? Why are there no arrests happening now? WHERE ARE THE TROOPS? And WHAT IS THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF DOING?
And then the ultimate insult. “You’re special. Go home in peace. We love you.”
The cowardice in the house today and sure to follow in the Senate exists to now protect a myth that used to be a reality to citizens in America. “Help is on the way.” Not so much.
It’s the end of May. For me, I thought that would be the first question answered after January 6th.
This is a question that galls me as well. What I would say about that is that the police had just been under attack, and my assumption is that clearing the location may have taken place of turning to an investigative body. After Capitol Police/ Metro PD spent the hours they did defending the Capitol and Congress (to include the VP) expecting them to switch gears and begin an investigation is too much. In my mind, the DOJ should have mobilized front and center, utilized the investigative branches of the FBI, Treasury, and called in any MPD detectives NOT involved in the defense of the Capitol to become the investigative branch of enforcement.
It frankly appalled me to see those insurrectionists just walk out of the building. Not that the officers who defended the Capitol let them go; it was that there was no one to pick up the slack after the fact.
And many, many of those officers were themselves injured and in shock, in no condition physically or even emotionally to switch gears on a dime and start making arrests. The National Guard spokesperson said he was ready to go and had already stationed his troops on buses awaiting the go-ahead, which was hours in coming thanks to those very plants Miller had installed to ensure there would be no interference with the attempted coup.
I thought at the time that the national guard should have blocked every entrance to the capital and only allowed them to exit as they were arrested, every single one of them, we would have known exactly who each of them were
Which is why Stephen Miller et al planted their guys in the Pentagon and elsewhere, some only days before their planned coup - to keep National Guard and Homeland Security from stopping it, or catching the insurrectionists.
I think the idea was to get them the hell out of there so they could rescue the rest of the people in hiding. As Ellen Massey so aptly pointed out "many, many of those officers were themselves injured and in shock, in no condition physically or even emotionally to switch gears on a dime and start making arrests." Thank you, Ellen, well put. There were too few of them, and the wear and tear showed. They did the right thing.
I agree with you Annie, the capital police were indeed in shock, but the national guard were well rested and totally up to the task, the bastards should never have been able to get out of the capital without being arrested. The capital police were in dire need of support from the very beginning which is why we need a January 6th commission with subpoena power to find out exactly why they were not supported and who played what part in the decision to not support them.
Your scenario is simplistic. The insurrectionists were inside. Confronted, they would have entrenched there. As it was, the NG was able to get them out with a minimum of further violence, though not without confrontation. The lives of everyone in that building was at risk, including a number of wounded and exhausted cops as well as remaining congresspeople and staff. However, I agree with the your last sentence. We do need that commission and a close examination of what happened, why, how, and who was involved when and where.
Yeah, my jaw dropped when I heard that one. All of the quotes were along the same lines, but that one was stunning in it's arrogance and disregard for truth. It's not for us, of course, or for the courts. It is to try to set up another alternate reality for those who cling to their fantasies. They must be experiencing cognitive whiplash by now. If the WaDC Trumplicans keep it up, they may succeed in alienating a good portion of the rank and file, who are on about their 3rd or 4th version now. It must be wearing.
Morning, Daria!! Here's a wackadoodle idea. What if the Dems allow an investigation into the summer protests to be tacked on to the 1/6 investigation. The Republicans would have to agree to join in. What am I missing?
Then the House an its representatives need to make the inquiry partisan, play hardball as the rethuglicans did over and over with Benghazi. We have offered enough to show the people that we acted in good faith. Now is the time to step up and play America’s favorite game. And play it until the 2022 elections are over.
I'll never forget watching it in real time on TV, with my 9 year old grandson beside me. He was leaning forward in horror, fully aware that it was actually happening and no-one came to help! I felt I should protect him by turning the TV off, but history was happening and today's kids will have a lot more to face in the future.
Exactly! I so agree. What we all witnessed was so OBVIOUS, even a child could understand what was happening. That they think they can actually gaslight an entire nation speaks volumes - about their egregious lack of patriotism, their enormous egos and hubris, their fear, their lack of awareness of the intelligence of most Americans (perhaps this is because their own base is so pathetic, they confuse their ignorance as being a nationwide phenomenon), and their misplaced confidence that somehow their dear leader will save them.
IMHO, Christine, the troops were following the orders of their commander-in-chief not to respond. D.C. police and guard and MD and VA guard had no authority to intervene until they received a Federal invitation which ultimately came (again, IMHO) from the commander-in-chief. I watched in real-time, too, and was shocked as you were that nothing was happening to counter the siege. To me, it was all BS hearing the Feds say (ala TFG) all these clearances were needed (which took so much time) before help could be deployed.
Right. And that is why the question is rhetorical. “Where were the troops?”
Your opinion, Lynell, is what millions of us know but is the scariest to contemplate. Any autocrat wanting to undo a democracy must have the fealty of the troops. If a commission exposes the fealty of the military to Trump, then therein follows a dedicated promise of action that MUST be made to the American people that the force of the military serves as the offense and defense to preserve OUR democracy and not to support its insurrection.
Thank you, Christine. There are the troops and then there is the Command, command coming from not the top but close (Chris Miller). So all around the barn to say the circumstances demand a 1/6 Commission.
If that question gets answered in truth, regardless of what may come after, then our democracy CAN be on its way to being repaired, restored, reinforced, and respected.
I haven’t felt safe since January 6th. It’s a smarmy feeling. And I don’t like it.
DJT is the greatest mass murderer in American history. The facts are clear this man is the coward who thought Covid would end his reign. He was right because he denied it with all his might. If the iDJT had done what Australia did we would have lost ten thousand people in America. His cowardice was the beginning of the end to his Presidency and he sacrificed more than 490,000 of us in the process. He might be an accomplice to murder in respect to the insurrection, but he is absolutely the greatest single handed killer of Americans in our history period dot.
This. I am going to use your line whenever I come across a reality denying maga fool. If Antifa actually were in that crowd we'd have seen plenty of cracked skulls, I'm sure.
TFG's people had been strategically placed within our Defense Department and other critical offices (some only days before) to impede any response by the National Guard or the military to assist the Capitol Police in stopping the PLANNED insurrection. Early on the morning of January 6th, when the Washington DC Mayor announced they had 360 cops on duty to protect The Capitol, I screamed at my TV " YOU NEED 36 THOUSAND COPS!!" I could see the coup coming, but not the troops to stop it. I was actually surprised it only took 2 hours to bypass Stephen Miller's plants and overcome tRump's henchmen. So, the question this commission must ask is not where were the troops, but WHO held them back.
I heard that the only person to whom the Capitol Police answer is the POTUS. And with his plants installed and poised to carry out the planned coup, I think the real reason Trumplicans are so opposed to a January 6 Commission is that they all know WHO will be ultimately implicated...as if the rest of the country has blinders on and hasn't already figured that one out long ago...like maybe on January 7th. The script for that mob attack is so transparent, even a child could figure out the plot line and point to the villain. The Senate will vote down the Commission, opening the door to House Democrats for hours and hours of testimony before partisan committees with no end in sight, no rules governing who gets subpoenaed, no need to finish an investigation by the end of the year, nada. They are making a huge mistake, squandering any notion of non-partisanship or mutually agreed upon "rules of engagement," implicating themselves and allowing media unfettered access to footage and facts that will dominate the airwaves well into the 2022 election cycle. Have fun Moscow Mitch. Sleep well, buddy. Keep a life raft nearby because your ship is sinking and taking with it you and all your cronies. I, for one, will not miss any of you.
That is one of the key questions. And the answer is pretty straightforward, from the news I read at the time: individuals in the chain-of-command that would normally have released National Guard troops to the Capitol were replaced after TFO (The Former Occupant) got spanked in the November election, and those replacements changed procedure to require that all requests go to the top. When the call came through, the requests flowed upstream, but did not flow back downstream. I won't quote names because I'll probably get them wrong, but Christopher Miller was in the mix.
I thought it telling that the troops showed up shortly after it could be reasonably concluded that the coup had failed. It was a hail-mary coup in the first place, done with noisy amateurs. Its chance of success relied on at least finding and destroying the state ballots. Having failed at that, and at finding and murdering/kidnapping members of Congress (and Pence), it was clear that there was nothing further to be gained from letting the occupation continue.
I have listened to every single one of her video chats of the past year (go to her YouTube channel). Tonight I was catching up with this one as I was walking my dog. I stopped to type a note on my phone about “steering wheel.” Then I stopped again, and again, to type more notes. This was the single most remarkable of her talks.
Toward the end, Heather talked about the status of voting rights and the HR1/S1 For The People Act. She commented that if it does not pass, “we’re done,” the Republicans “will have locked up a one party system…”
Then Heather said, “Here’s what you can do…what I’ve been telling you people all along is right. That you need to make your voices heard…You can’t just sit back and say, ‘what’s gonna happen next.’ We need to go out and make whatever happens happen…Reach out to other voters, participate in campaigns, run for office…Or simply make phone calls, write letters to the editor…This is our hands on deck moment. Because if they are permitted to do this, I don’t see a way back, at least in my lifetime.”
Some HCR Substackers are already experienced activists writing postcards, letters, text banking, making phone calls. Come share your expertise to grow the skills of others.
Some HCR Substackers ask, “What can I do?” “What should I say?” Leave a Reply here that you want to learn what you can do and what you can say for an effective message.
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HCR Substacker comments are full of great discussion. Now is the time to walk the talk. Heather has sounded the clarion call: “This is our hands on deck moment!”
Participating in a campaign and running for a local seat in 2020 was a real eye opener for me. The experience was invaluable. Earlier today I posted what I consider the most burning rhetorical question from the Jan 6 explosion and implosion. I encourage HCR readers to not only to find answers on this stream but decide on the right questions to pose within all interactions and debates with friends, neighbors, strangers, postcard recipients, etc. The questions that will not incite more division but will be insightful for our collaboration.
Thank you Ellie for the corrected link to Heather's video chat.
Read, 'Army of 16-Year-Olds' Presses Democrats a Tweet at a Time' on the front page of today's NY Times. Link below. A group in MA, called 'Markeyverse' is credited with contributing to Edward Markey's victory over primary challenger Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III. It was big surprise. I think all subscribers will find this story fascinating. Youth, even before voting age, can make a difference. Clearly, this is a front page story, so it will not be missed by members of the political class. The techniques used by younger organizers and participants are digitally sophisticated, perhaps, in other ways different than common techniques. Grass-roots organizing by young people may be more widespread than realized. This suggests that there are depths to plumb for campaign strategies and vibrancy to boost our Pro-DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT.
Fern has shared something very important! My local Progressive Democratic 'youth movement' canvassed my neighborhood door to door last week. THEY FOUND ME! (the old-fashioned way). Their position paper dealt with a myriad of social justice, accountability and transparency in government issues, as well as important local environmental concerns. They are entering 4 candidates for the County Committee, which selects local representatives at the voting district level. Committee representatives are responsible for vetting and nominating council members, filling municipal vacancies, establishing the direction of the party (listed in a 'What We Stand For' section) and listening to and representing their constituents. The election is on June 8th. As Fern noted, young activists are digitally sophisticated and are already more engaged than many of us may realize.I had no idea that this young grass roots group was organized and fielding candidates in my district. I told them about LFAA. They had never heard of LFAA ........and how many young people are active and engaged NOW that are unknown to us? If Heather is calling for Activism NOW, "a hands on deck moment" in her words..... it seems like we need to go outside and find our local activist kids and find the issues we can support together. Please read the NYT story that Fern referenced. Thank you to Ellie and Fern and HCR. I will be looking for more regional activist youth groups in NJ. Just as an aside, when I saw the activism of the kids from Marjorie Stoneman Douglas HS, I thought that this was something new, something that wasn't going away. Atleast I hope not. Be well and be safe as towns and cities go maskless.
br, You are a treasure. I am hoping that at some point we'll have a chance to talk. Your dedication and spunk brighten my screen and a whole lot more. Ellie is politically active. Perhaps, you will have contact with her. I cannot avoid mentioning my support for your health, rest and all that is best for you. We will stay in touch.
Fern, in following your early advice of how to reach other people in my area, I explored what is thought to be the best local town municipal web page. It checked all of the boxes/suggestions you had mentioned in your first post to me.. It is a real cornucopia of real-time, current information, even those obits I think you mentioned! I don't know if it is professionally produced or a hands on community effort. But I will find out. It does appear to have multiple contributors. Lots of great information. But even more important was the sense of community support and engagement on a civil, respectful level. Thanks for everything.
What a find. Indeed there can be existing eggs in community' baskets. Hatching is another set of skills, but what a wonderful start. br, you are a splendid detective and from home base. I am so impressed! Do you might if I copy your comments and get them to Ellie?
I'm know Ellie and you are far more capable in all areas and I would welcome any input. I'm tired of being in Trumptown, NJ. Finding these young progressives is like manna from Heaven. But I'm still living next to 'Big Lie' believers and I want very much to get through to them about what is really the truth, without fracturing what relationship we do have.
Go visit in person the offices of your Congress people.....do it now so you don't have to show up later on the streets protesting the takeover by a Republican installed authoritarian which will happen unless Biden begins to unfold his tongue and come down to earth where the fires of hell escape the mouths of Republicans every day reinforcing their fabrications of reality easily sucked into vulnerable brains. Exactly how many millions voted for Agent Chaos? "How many are supporting their state legislatures to suppress the vote? n, at least 55 restrictive bills in 24 states are moving through legislatures: 29 have passed at least one chamber, while another 26 have had some sort of committee action (e.g., a hearing, an amendment, or a committee vote). " (Bennan Ctr for Justice)
I always watch her Tuesday talks too. Those of us who have the time and the inclination must have "hands on deck". Now that we're vaccinated, we've spent time with the adult younger generation in our family. They're overwhelmed by their own lives and daily pressures, don't have time (yet they're going to be more affected for longer than my generation) so, people, we need to step up for their sakes!
Ellie, it appears the chats take awhile to show up on her youtube page? The latest I see today is the 4/27 chat. Just trying to see how folks who don’t want to support FB might be able to see it.
Yes. If you have a FB friend, I believe they can share the link with you through a message, email etc so that you can view it. Ask them to do so. Also, it will be on YouTube in near future.
Ellie corrected herself below. It was her Tuesday chat. If you can’t listen in real time, you can listen on FB after the fact. I usually listen later in the evening over din Ed with my husband who has become hooked too.
Heather's Tuesday and Thursday video chats get posted on her YouTube channel about 2 weeks after her Facebook Live talk, but then have a closed caption option.
I tried to join (?) For the Vote (not sure I'm remembering the name correctly) and sent a sample letter, and I never heard back. I send postcards, but in my experience, calling angers many, and I was hung up on most of the time. Any more suggestions?
One thing I do is write letters through Vote Forward (www.votefwd.org). Vote Forward makes it easy to take some meaningful action that is targeted to states and voters. Here’s a short introductory video about Vote Forward: https://youtu.be/fudmGjmUrW0
Anna, I just responded to Annette’s comment with information about Vote Forward (www.votefwd.org). With the lengthy threads in this Substack discussion forum, perhaps you won’t see it, so here, once again, is a short introductory video about Vote Forward: https://youtu.be/fudmGjmUrW0
She’s referring to this commenting section. You are an HCR Substacker if you are reading and commenting in this forum. Ellie has a more activist forum “Heathersherd”
I'd like to see a concerted campaign to sue Republican Members of Congress and Senators who vote against establishing a Congressional Investigation into the January 6 insurrection as aiders and abetting of that attempted coup d' etat. Venue would be in federal district Court in Washington DC, seeking a declaratory judgment that the defendants have allied themselves with the insurrectionists by failing to perform their duties under the Constitution and in violation of their statutorily-required Oath "...to protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and to bear true faith and allegiance to the same." (5 U.S.C. 3331). The Fourteenth Amendment, in its section 3, disqualifies from federal office anyone who participates in an insurrection or rebellion, or who lend aid and comfort thereto. A refusal to investigate the assault, to which those Members of Congress were present to witness that assault, and could be called to testify about what they experienced and observed, constitutes willful indifference. There is no privilege to avoid compelling their testimony. They are not charged with crimes, but they, and each of them, were present to bear witness to criminal acts done by others, and the violence that was done at the Capitol. They were in the Capitol to vote on whether to accept the votes of the Electoral College and count those votes; several of them lodged objections to Congress accepting several of those state's Electoral College vote counts, for no other reason that their preferred candidate, Donald J. Trump, came up short in those vote counts, and lost the election. They know that no fewer than 60 courts entertained Trump's objections to those state vote counts, and he lost every one of them. Asserting a belief that the election was tainted by fraud would call into question their own election or reelection to office.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy spoke directly to Trump, a conversation he related to other members of the Republican Party's delegation in the House of Representatives. He therefore has personal knowledge of Trump's refusal to call for assistance. He has a personal interest in withholding his sworn testimony that is inconsistent with fulfilling his Oath to protect and defend the Constitution. By refusing to vote to authorize a formal inquiry, Congressman McCarthy allied himself with Trump and the insurrectionists.
Mitch McConnell gave a speech on the floor of the Senate in which he directly implicated Trump in the insurrection. Now he turns a blind eye toward what happened on the spurious grounds that the bill approved by the House of Representatives does not investigate mass protests that occurred in various cities over the murder in police custody of George Floyd. That sort of 'whataboutism' is legally and constitutionally irrelevant to the House bill.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's speech attesting to the factual truth of Trump's conniving in the insurrection, and his subsequent volte-face, establish McConnell's tolerance of treason and insurrection, by his own admission. He and those who support him in his refusal to render an honest accounting establish McConnell's willingness to ignore his sworn duty to protect and defend the Constitution against its domestic enemies, all to feather his own nest and gain an unconstitutional advantage to himself and his party. That personal acknowledgment of the truth, and McConnell's subsequent refusal to act on that knowledge makes him an aider and comforter of insurrection, therefore disqualifying him from office.
So there we have it. Conspiracy. Complicity. Duty, and it's denial. A pathetic attempt to rewrite history by partisan fiat. Hoping that the American people are too stupid or lethargic to notice or object. The Fourteenth Amendment gives us a remedy, and we damn well ought to use it. We cannot afford to be Tom Lehrer's 'Folk Song Army', having all the good songs celebrating progressive politics, to and fail use the one remedy that, if pursued diligently, could disqualify them from office. If you may recall, in Lehrer's song, the Fascists won all the battles. The Cancel-Culture isn't going to win this battle, but insistence on a robust patriotism just might do the job. Duty. We do our duty to our country, our citizens, and ourselves, without fear or favor. Obligation. We affirm the that we subscribe to our Oath voluntarily, and without ulterior motive or mental reservation. That eliminates all of those miscreants, excepting Liz Cheney and those thirty-four Republican Members of the House of Representatives who voted to create this commission of inquiry. That is Duty Fulfilled. That's the job, regardless of repercussions.
A coterie of Democratic Members of Congress and Senators could be the aggrieved plaintiffs, after all, because Congress is deadlocked. The counter to that is that Democrats could eliminate the 60 vote minimum needed for the Senate to act. Such a political defense would be inadmissible on a suit over the Republicans refusal to do their sworn Constitutional duty and their supine acceptance and tolerance for riot and insurrection. Changing the rules to avoid impasse and deadlock is not incumbent on the Democrats who voted to launch an investigation. The Oath embodies specific duties that must be performed, and loyalties to our constitutional form of government and its Constitution. Faced with armed insurrection, refusal to act, coupled with denial of the consequences, constitutes a tacit complicity and a conspiracy against our Constitution.
You nailed it in your 5th paragraph when you wrote...”Hoping that the American people are too stupid or lethargic to notice or object.” I agree but I would also add they are counting on average Joe/Jane Citizen who doesn’t track their Senators and Reps every move because they’re consumed with the task of just living, raising a family, keeping a roof over their head and getting by day by day. It is our job, those of us who have the time to pay attention, to make our voices heard.
Unfortunantely I can't see the Democrats taking action against the Republican members of Congress. I agree with you and wish they would but given what we have seen so far.... It has really bothered me that there have been no consequences for refusal to uphold their sworn oath, it makes what once was a a most serious duty and turns it into words said for tradition's sake. Republicans have gotten away with so much, they really are not afraid anything will happen.
In order to maintain a suit in thefederal courts, the suing party needs to have a particularity legal right or obligation that the suit seeks to vindicate. It's an open question what particularity injury would be sufficient to confer standing in an insurrection case. Other members of Congress who honor their oath of loyalty would be sufficiently injured by the insurrectionists' misconduct to confer standing on the remainder if that misconduct involves disloyaltyto the country and refusal to honor their oath of office. I don't think the question has ever come before the courts for adjudication. Previously, the federal Department of Justice had statutory authority to challenge the credentials of someone who had fought for the South in the Civil War. I argue that the Fourteenth Amendment prohibition is self enforcing, depending on a proper foundation of facts proving the elements of disqualification to a court having the jurisdiction to hear the case.
Thank you for your reply, artsilen. Sounds like an uphill battle. The latest I read is the Democrats can pursue a 1/6 commission without Republican support. Not optimum, but at least the citizenry would have some answers.
Girard Magliocca's analysis of U.S. Const. Amendment 14, section 3, follows my line of reasoning, but veers off when he implies that a Congressional finding alone might not be sufficient to disqualify an insurrectionist from holding federal office. He does not (or so it would appear) address the formal Oath of Office that, first,, requires oathtakers to swear or affirm that they will support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and second, that in taking that Oath, they are doing so voluntarily, and with no purpose of evasion or mental reservation. They are making a sworn statement as to their present and future state of mind as to their intent regarding their commitment to the Constitution, and their future actions and behavior. At a minimum, that statement, in and of itself, is subject to the penalties and prospective punishment set forth in the False Statements Act, 18 U.S.C. 1001, the violation of which constitutes a fraud on the United States, ipso facto.
By implication, said section 3, contains within its language a private right of action, where a private citizen may bring an action sounding in Quo Warranto, bringing suit qui tam, and are part of Anglo-American jurisprudence since the Fifteenth Century. This would be appropriate where government is so deadlocked that it cannot effectively police itself.
A legislative finding of fact, such as a Bill of Impeachment, is not dispositive evidence that the found facts are true; but as a rule of evidence, if not controverted by competent evidence in a subsequent judicial proceeding, those legislative facts are deemed to be true for all purposes as 'substantial evidence' bearing on the ultimate issue in the case.
President Trump's Second Impeachment contains an extensive indictment of his complicity in the January 6 assault on the Capitol. That Second Bill of Impeachment constitutes a body of legislative facts, the denial of which, standing alone does not negate those prima facie facts in evidence color purposes of the subsequent proceeding, which is subsidiary to the Second Impeachment. He who would oppose disqualification for failing to do his sworn duty under the Constitution needs to negate either the fact of the violent insurrection by making a proffer of facts that contradict those legislatively-found facts (which is impossible to do, becausewe cannot travel back in time), or prove that he conducted himself such that, objectively seen and considered, no case can be made that he, the defendant, failed in performing his Constitution duty as required by either the Oath of Office he voluntarily took, or any other operative statute, law, rule, or other standard of conduct he was bound to acknowledge and comply with. Republicans are now denying that January 6 was an insurrection. 'A group of well-behaved tourist (!)' one of them said this past week. Not a wild mob that forced its way into the Capitol and turned it into a shamble. All of that posturing and nonsense was put on display to avoid having to take a vote on whether to appoint a formal commission to investigate the full facts and circumstances of the attack, thereby giving avid and comfort to those who took either an active or passive part in that assault on the principal symbols of democracy and representative government. To prevail they are bound to do better. They are insurrectionists when they willfully fail to do what the Constitution and their respective oaths of office require them to do. Their passive aggressivity in confounding their sworn duty to protect and defend the Constitution condemns them as aiders and comforters of those who actively attacked the Capitol. That failure of nerve or actual connivance in the attack, or to shield others from the consequences of their treachery, violated their own Oath as to the sincerity of their purpose in taking that oath, and the penal provisions of the False Statements Act.
The fact that they did so openly and publicly doesn't take the sting of criminality away from what they did, knowingly and voluntarily. Ergo, they have no defense that the Law would recognize against a finding by a District Court that they are ineligible for the respective offices they occupy.
We apply the same rule of logic and law when we revoke the naturalized citizenship of former Nazi concentration camp guards for misstating their wartime occupational histories. The only difference is that those occupational histories are prospective, but their professed intent, if not followed by their promised follow-through, is prosecutable. Promising to do one thing, and then doing something entirely different, and knowing the falsity of the promise at the time it was made, are prosecutable under 18 U.S.C. 1001. And that is a fact. It also constitutes the predicate act that triggers disqualification from office under the Fourteenth Amendment, section 3.
Consequently, a District Court could find, on the foregoing analysis, that the Fourteenth Amendment can be enforced by judicial finding that Republicans swearing falsely and refusing to perform their duties as required by said oaths. The fact that they do so en masse saves none of them. If anything, it includes a potential charge of criminal conspiracy into the mix. They're guilt; they know it; and none of them deserve to remain in office.
Good to see you Art. I take it all's well up in Sack-A-Tomatoes?
Republicans know every day that the reason they exist is because H.L. Mencken was right: "Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people."
On Monday, I called the offices of my state senators (CA) and my representative, as well as the representative next door to my district because it is helmed by the indomitable Katie Porter. The reason for my call was to insist that in light of the Republican House vote last week to unseat Liz Cheney as a punishment for her definitive stand against the former president, House Republicans must recuse themselves from participation in any bipartisan January 6 Commission. This because they are biased in favor of the former president and persist in believing and acting to perpetuate 45's big lie. I also insisted that the Democrats not agree to Republican entreaties to expand the scope of the Commission to include the summer 2020 protests that erupted in response to the killing of George Floyd. I also contacted my local Democratic Club regarding the same. Finally, I suggested that my two daughters contact their members of Congress with a similar message. I absolutely want a Commission to investigate January 6 insurrection. I just do not believe Republicans can ever pretend to be impartial participants. The only Republicans who can lay claim to impartiality are the 10 who voted in favor of 45's second impeachment. (Even though a strong case could be made that the events regarding the first impeachment are linked to the subsequent insistence on the big lie and the ensuing insurrection.)
I want those treasonous cowards either out of Congress or having to defend themselves against a provable charge of being in cahoots with traitors and insurrectionists. There's a great deal of difference between knowing the facts abstractly, and witnessing the physical assault on the Capitol. They are denying what they know to be true, and for the crassest political and selfish reasons. Political power doesn't 'belong to them. Under our system of government, power is delegated by the people through the people's representatives in Congress and in the individual states. These Republicans want to transform a temporary elevation in status to something approaching a hereditary or cultural right or prerogative. The insurrection was an act of rebellion, instigated by Trump, and aided and abetted by autocratic forces who stood to gain from Trump's treason. I think the appropriate penalty is to expel these traitors from public life. Their treasonous acts are numerous and interconnected. We need to make an example of them by disempowering them from ever holding public office in their lifetimes.
I have a great deal of respect for Ari Melber. He is a good lawyer, but I do not know how long he was in active law practice. In this matter, I have no idea as to whether, and to what extent, Ari considered the arguments that I raised. As for Twitter, I refuse to have an account. As you can see, the comment I wrote required a great deal of thinking and reflection, something that Twitter (and tweeting) definitely do not encourage.
Very true. Your thoughtful post would simply fall apart on a platform like twitter...bits and pieces that would diminish as they were splintered into small segments! Possibly the best vehicle would be an "old fashioned" (lol) email!
Tim Ryan became King for a Day today. He certainly expressed every emotion that we normal people have felt for over 4 years. I hope to someday see him wield a lot of power in Congress.
Mitch speaks with a forked tongue. After the Jan. 6th event, he faced the Senate and the cameras telling us that Fake45 incited everything that took place. He made it sound like he was glad The Don would be held responsible but lo and behold, he has protected this schmuck. It all has to do with greed, power, dark money, and lots and lots more power. I envision the Grim Reaper leaning back in his easy chair and cackling like a witch.
Then there’s Qevin, the main butt kisser. He really wants to be Speaker some day. I say let’s place him in one of the circles of Hell in Dante’s Inferno. Well actually, mostly all of the Repubs could fit into every category.
Everyday, it’s a shitshow. I am so ready for some sort of normalcy, something to really cheer about. I guess the best news we have had is that children are slowly but surely reuniting with their families.
Yes Marlene the children being reunited shows the effectiveness on the Biden efforts. Also the repugs are already squirming in some phase of hell. McCarthy seems just really stupid at this point and He’s embarrassing them instead of leading.
Rather than stupid, I think he's never been so scared in his life because he knows if the collusion by some Republican members of Congress on the events of Jan. 6 and the information McCarthy himself has a few careers will be toast including his.
I think the man looks like a fool toadying up to Cheeto— he should realize Cheeto throws everybody under the bus. Yes he should be scared. We need that impartial investigation of Jan 6.
And most media outlets are embarrassing themselves by not more prominently reporting on the effectiveness of this administration at the border. They are doing the hard work, getting children out of detention centers and into homes, being quietly competent. But because there is no drama involved, most of them are ignoring the border entirely.
I agree!! Wondering if genius’s here have any great ideas on voicing concerns about the decreasing quality and sometimes abject deplorability of our fourth estate in a way that could bring change. I use what funds I can to support good journalism and I am careful with my purchasing power. I often voice concerns to specific MSNBC personalities. What else can we do to improve the “news”our country is fed.
It's a very sad state of affairs. News outlets are thoroughly tied to advertising dollars and those dollars are being siphoned off by tech giants which generate revenue from content generated by others. It feels like a death spiral. I agree that one of our strongest actions can be paying directly for the news we consume. If you find yourself repeatedly reading posts on FB copied from a news outlet you respect, subscribe!
I wish more people would comprehend just how important it is to support good investigative journalism. With that said we are up against another Mount Everest when it comes to this battle: http://www.unkochmycampus.org/funding-report
Right now, subscribing to support what you like and respect is the only way. Why I give $100/year to TPM (the folks who got the "obscene quote" from the Qanon Shaman's defense lawyer that everyone else from CNN to the NYT was quoting yesterday. And to HRC.
Try not to click on articles that keep the dumpster fire going. I figure if articles don't get read, journalists will find something else to write about. I might be an optimist....
When I watch msnbc they tune into some progress at the border. I just read in the Nytimes an article highlighting the progress of finding more parents.
True enough. But compared to the blaring headlines earlier in the year, media outlets are being pretty demure about the current state of affairs. I understand that competence doesn't yield as many clicks as outrage. Still, I do wish they would be at least somewhat proportional in their coverage of the solutions that have been implemented at the border and, in particular, the role the VP has played. But I also wish there were unicorns and elves, and I haven't had any luck there, either.😎
I just received an email from my lame Republican congressman, Gus Bilirakis, with a “survey” on the crisis at the border. Apparently he will be traveling to El Paso to see it for himself. This “survey “ may be another chance for me to give him yet another piece of my mind.
Infuriating. Gaslighting taken to an entirely different level among the Rs. Not only do they assume that if they speak a lie often enough it will become true, but that if they tell enough lies we will be too exhausted to respond to them all. Good for you for keeping his feet to the fire. 😡
I agree but I guess cnn etc look for the tragic drama to pull people in—and sell tv ads— hey I bought a great pair of unicorn pajamas to cheer myself up so we must think alike!🙌🏻
"Sun continues to rise in the east" will never get a headling.
Remember: "If it bleeds, it leads." And we have only ourselves to blame for the fact that is true (not necessarily you, specifically, but the great mass of us - yeah)
The video clip of Ryan was very satisfying to see, just happened to catch it earlier tonight when I flipped on the news briefly after I got home from work. We live in interesting times, indeed.
"Representative Tim Ryan (D-OH) spoke for those of us who are gobsmacked that anyone could say we do not need to investigate the most profound attack on our democracy in our history."
"...After years of weaponizing investigations—Benghazi, Secretary of State Clinton’s emails, Hunter Biden—the Republicans are facing an investigation, based in reality, that likely will reflect badly on them. They want no part of it.". This quote is going in an email to my Congressman who did NOT support the formation of a 1/6 commission.
Imagine that you're a House member and endured firsthand the trauma of the attack on the Capitol. And that the attackers hunted and wanted to kill your brother, the vice president. Of course you're going to want a commission to investigate this outrage. Well, not if your Rep. Greg Pence, who voted with 194 other Republicans to oppose the commission.
Michael, Your comment alerted me to contacting all the senators to let them know that we want to know why the siege took place of the Capitol on 1/6, the parties responsible for it, inadequate law enforcement, etc. Senators unlikely to vote 'yea' merit repeated calls and notes.
Thanks for the link. That last sentence: "That you have one party which has as a singular goal evading responsibility and covering up what happened is almost beyond description." It is unbefrickingleavable.
Trump doesn’t care if m pence dies. Greg doesn’t care if his brother dies. Gee, I’d feel a little insecure if I were the sacrificial lamb on the altar of trump ...
I waited to see Pence’s response to Jan 6th. Well, his brother’s response yesterday sealed that deal. Pence knew everything and continued with his preservation for 2022 and 24. A non partisan commission with NO members of Congress will lay bare his treason, cowardice, and not so blind loyalty to the former president.
What brother is going to vote for that? One that prioritizes his oath to the Constitution correctly.
Greg Pence? Not so much. Listen up Indiana. Get that can of whoop ass ready.
It isn’t quite June 2 yet when my subscription ends so I am still here evaluating my information intake for mornings. My first cup of coffee is just for me. I don’t start reading till the second cup and commenting requires a third. I dilute my half-caf so caffeine OD isn’t an issue.
I have discovered that HCR does have a certain way to push my buttons. She writes so well and connects so many dots that I just read along as if I can hear her thoughts and understand something behind the lines. That is the quality I like in reading regardless of the content and it is not common. And yet there is the moment when she will throw in an apparent zinger and then just leave it there like fishing bait hanging just above the surface of the water.
I have taken to only scanning the comments and I feel a little guilty about that because I know their authors are well thought and rich individuals with opinions that are worth at least what mine are but there are a great many by the time of my second cup and what I am really looking for is how HCR’s other readers have reacted to the zinger. What I find is that they didn’t.
It is also a thing now that when the many kind people respond to a comment I make it is couched in the context created by my cancer. There is a correlation actually within me and my emotional make up but from inside here it feels like the political realities we face create similar emotions and a similar background for the future. It is not that political discourse makes my experience of early cancer more difficult or that I need to focus on my personal health particularly since really this, part of cancer is just about going through the motions learning the stats, the options, and riding the events. It isn’t hard but it has given me a perspective where I recognize the energetic synergy.
I live in a very loving relationship in a very beautiful place. My children are well into their lives and successful. My parents are both gone now but both are clearly felt in spirit and my understanding of life after death is such that it generates more curiosity than fear. In short all is very groovy except the cancer itself. Like truth with a capital T this has a certain feel to it.
That feeling is the same one I feel reading HCR this morning. Our country is quite prosperous. Though we have challenges in many areas like civil rights, election reform, international relations, climate and so on I feel that we are generally up to the tasks at hand and president Biden’s performance confirms this feeling. It is all good, like my life, interesting and beautiful and challenging except there is the cancer.
Today’s zinger was this sentence. “The bill now goes to the Senate, where Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has announced he will not support it.” This sentence tells so much and the fact that the rest of the letter goes on with no more mention of what this means is the cancer we are all living with. That the minority leader of the senate can just say “I don’t like it” and that is basically it, game over. All the rest is posturing for the cameras. That this fact doesn’t take over the new cycle and catapult the failure of the senate to govern as the intolerable national cancer that it is, is well, just intolerable to me.
And, that isn’t because I have my own cancer. Dealing with my cancer has a clear path. It is that I feel that dealing with this national cancer does also. We are just not following it. Instead we are hoping it is really not malignant or that it will just go away if,,, something less than radical surgery (filibuster reform). But it won’t. Even if he died the next version of him would step up.
We can’t heal as a nation until this dysfunction in the senate is fixed. As many have commented before, perhaps Biden’s long game as the statesman will win the day. And, perhaps Face Book and conspiracy theorists and the misinformed minority of white power will wake up. Yeah. Maybe. But, we all know that if I treated my cancer like that the results would be statistically predictable. Perhaps there would be a miracle and I do believe in miracles as outlier events that need close study but I don’t expect them to happen.
BTW Yesterday's zinger was "But it seems hard for him (Biden) to get media attention as the Republicans continue to make more dramatic news." Right, Chr--st!
As usual, Patrick, you express what is on my mind as well. I too come to HCR's letter after I've gone through the news of the day with caffeine infusion #1, and after thoroughly digesting the day's events and issues AND after caffeine infusion #2. I already got Heather's "zinger" for today a couple hours ago and even posted a story on it on my page in social media. McConnell's attempt to label the creation of this commission a "distraction" REALLY teed me off. I wonder if Republicans might just regret trying to sweep this under the rug. The PR might get brutal for them. We can only hope it eats them up.
Drawing a comparison to the "cancer" in our government is also something I have done ever since the "Orange Menace" first raised his fake blonde head. I have long compared his effect on the Republican party and on our government as a cancer. I also get disheartened that it isn't recognised and cut out, but allowed to spread. My hope and prayer is that yours can be effectively dealt with, AND that its presence in our government can be "diagnosed" and got rid of as well. We're seeing just how insipid the filibuster (I love your comparing its reform to "radical surgery"...brilliant) is and how it is basically stopping the will of the people from being acted on. Manchin and Sinema need to stop obstructing everything!
Hang in there, bud. You have a lot of people on here pulling for you!!
Beautifully-written, Patrick. Had my own run-in with cancer in the early 2000's, and like you, I think the analogy of cancer in the body politic -- and the denial of it -- is quite apt.
I'm betting there are many of us with one form or other of cancer. Mine mainly seems to be the melanoma from all the sun when I was young, and one less kidney. But I feel fortunate that it isnt as bad as it could be. As Bruce said, hang in there, Patrick AND Kathy. You have many friends here.
Yeah, great points. I posted something from Jonathan V. Last at The Bulwark that speaks to what you said. Here's the portion that goes directly to this:
One of our political parties is trying to lower the temperature in American politics and find compromise on pretty basic issues. The other party is trying to restrict voting and lay the predicate for overturning the electoral results of the next presidential election.
The 1/6 commission bill makes this very clear. If the filibuster allows the party that incited the insurrection to prevent Congress from forming a nonpartisan commission to investigate and document the insurrection, then what, really, is the benefit of keeping the filibuster?
Because if you cannot get 10 Republican votes in the Senate for a 1/6 commission, then there is no conceivable way to get 10 Republican votes in the Senate for infrastructure. Or voting rights. Or any other piece of meaningful legislation.
What a wise realist and critical thinker you are, Patrick! Your dual analysis of your cancer with our present political situation brings out a thought process in me that needs to be addressed more profoundly. I'll have to return to those thoughts another day. Without a doubt, the emotional and physical pain of living with cancer must be likened to facing the threat of political defeat to white supremacy, the abuses of human rights, and injustice.
By the way, just an fyi, I did pick up on yesterday's zinger and addressed it.
So delighted that you're in a wonderful relationship, live within an idyllic environment, and are blessed with spirituality. Those are the great gifts of life that we must capture in our hearts and visually ponder to make it through. I wish you time, peace, and inner wellness, always.
I, too, share your personal cancer journey right now, and your comparison is so apt. Wishing you a good response to your treatment, if you’re doing that, and sharing with you that you’re not alone. I will keep you in my thoughts.
My mother has had 3 cancer battles..breast, colon and melanoma. She was 37 for the first one, (breast). She is now 86 and still working as a librarian. There is life after cancer, as hard as that may seem on rough days. As Kathy says, you are not alone, here at LFAA.
Your analogy made me think of John Dean's famous (infamous?) statement to Nixon. I discovered a transcript of the taped discussion . https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/secret-white-house-tapes/cancer-on-the-presidency It is not really that hard to substitute the names of the players. I think the Republicans are more concerned that there is a Trump equivalent of the secret Nixon tapes. They are thinking Watergate, not 9/11.
I hope you stick around in this forum. Our national cancer will make us moribund unless Joe and Kamala make magic happen with a filibuster. Or, whatever it takes. The wish I hold inside is that Joe DOES have a solution based on his experience and wisdom. I cannot see an option other than busting the filibuster.
And the media...could I just say that I miss Walter Cronkite?
Thank you for this clear and beautifully pithy overview of today's episode of the Republican soap opera: "Grand Ole Prevaricators." It just gets better and better -- I lie (please note the sarcasm).
Not only do we need a commission to decipher the nitty gritty of what went down before, during, and after 6th January, we need to know when these blatant aggressors will cease to play the roles of wide-eyed innocents with such aplomb.
The longer they are left to their own devices, the longer justice is delayed, and the more it plays into the white supremacists' game of justice denied. These blood-thirsty, Constitution-denying thugs who assume GOP ringleader roles committed blatant treasonous acts that must be distilled into categories of guilt and responsibility. Who had access? Who knew how? How did they know where to go? Why were the Capitol police so ill-informed of the dangers?
How much longer must we wait to know the answers? The Capitol is the people's house. How much longer must we, the people, wait to have the violent squatter brigade's head honchos identified, tried, and brought to justice?
Correct me if I'm wrong here, but the House does not require Senate acquiescence to begin an investigation through one of their committees, right? I understand the impulse to want bipartisan buy-in to avoid the image of using the investigation politically, but once the Rs reject this commission, there is nothing keeping a House committee from doing their own investigation. Or am I missing something?
You're not missing anything, Reid, but the bipartisan buy-in is critical, because investigative commissions can be expensive and may run over budget, which means that Senate may have to be involved since the funds must be taken from the budget, I believe.
Interesting. It seems pretty antidemocratic if a filibustered Senate could block the funds for the other chamber to do their constitutionally-protected work, but in the current environment I wouldn't be a bit surprised.
It was a House Select Committee controlled by rethuglicans that spent millions to try to crucify Clinton - and could not. There could be another House Select Committee formed by the democrats to investigate 1/6. I hope that is what happens! Screw the thuglicans - get the Senate "no" votes out of the way and then either side of Congress, who have subpoena power, can Get.To.Work
This isn't the first time Tim Ryan has read the riot act to Republicans. His 2004 speech on the war is one for the history books (link below). He's announced his plans to replace Rob Portman in the Senate. Being a blue-collar Democrat in now red Ohio bodes well for his campaign. His speech yesterday is the tough kind of talk most low information voters will respect.
This: “A number of Republicans have said they believe that “Antifa” was behind the riot; if they really thought that were the case, wouldn’t they want an investigation?”
Here's the text of the email to my Trump sycophant U.S. Representative. Dear Representative Moolenaar, I was not surprised to see that your name was not on the list of Republican Representatives who supported the formation of January 6th Commission. In Dr. Heather Cox Richardson,5/19/2021 Letters from An American, she wrote "After years of weaponizing investigations—Benghazi, Secretary of State Clinton’s emails, Hunter Biden—the Republicans are facing an investigation, based in reality, that likely will reflect badly on them. They want no part of it." Yesterday, Representative Ryan from Ohio expressed a similar sentiment. Again, you continue to disappoint. You would rather work to force people to return to minimum wage jobs during a pandemic than get to the bottom of what happened on that deplorable day.
Organization under “criminal” investigation, January 6th Commission vote and continuing voter suppression and recount fiascos. What they all have in common is how far Republicans have fallen and how they will stop at nothing to remain in power. The 2022 elections seem more susceptible to manipulation allowing the minority to regain control and move the country farther to the right. We cannot allow this to happen, the consequences are far too great. The counter to this is an legitimate accountability of the crimes by the formers and their supporters and enablers. The failure to do this will be disastrous.
This afternoon, I called the local offices of my representatives Senators Cornyn and Cruz to voice my support for a Congressional investigation of January 6. Surprisingly, I spoke with a person both times. Yes, I realize that neither will vote in favor.
The nation deserves a full investigation.
I write Senator Susan Collins almost weekly about current issues. I wrote her a full page letter about the January 6th Capitol attack. One of her staffers called me, leaving a message to return her call. I called several times until I connected with a different staffer who told me Collins supported a commission. I continue to write Collins to tell her to be more vocal like Liz Cheney. If everyone who wants to see Washington work for us, preserve and improve democracy called their representatives, they would eventually get the message.
Collins has been like a fart in a wind storm. You never know what direction she's going to go. She should have voted against Kavanaugh, but didn't. The same with her comment about Trump having "learned his lesson".
She's the candidate who, when first running, said a Senator should only serve two terms and she would. That was 5 terms ago. Says all you need to know about her relationship with truth and integrity.
And didn’t she come out with a statement saying that she would vote for a commission only if there were changes and that she was upset with Pelosi for “not consulting “ with McCarthy and McConnell?
I believe she did a couple of weeks ago during a hearing.
I will call senator Susan Collins this morning. My numerous calls and letters have had not had an impact. It may be different this time as she had a difficult re-election. I am sure she is deeply concerned, but maybe Liz Cheney will be a role model for her.
She is so decrepit, surely she can see the end of days. Time for her to do the right thing really.
Good for your persistence and constancy in communicating with your legislators. I am likewise a regular pen pal of mine as well. At least Collins will likely again express “her concerns.” My own Texas Representative and Senators, it seems lack the ability to express any concerns and simply have added me to their mailing lists begging for money.
I love this! Thanks for your efforts David.
It really does matter that you called. The staff is supposed to keep track of calls and tally the stated positions of the callers. Also, maybe your call could sway the person who answers your call, which is something. We absolutely need to keep calling and making our voices heard, so thank you for doing so today, Cig.
I had not thought we may influence the staff who might have some influence.
I just called. Senator Collins is concerned about the insurrection, but has not said how she will vote on the investigation. I had a good conversation with her aid. I think we need to let people know how important it is to call her!!
Senator Collins is always 'concerned' but doesn't always act. Prime example is the first impeachment.
And every other issue of even the slightest consequence. It doesn't matter she's not a far right winger - she always votes with them.
YES. The staff are usually good, hardworking people who care about issues, and are interested in constituent comments (especially if you include a check). And they also care about the next election for their bosses - your call counts.
I’m in FL on vacation but I’m going to call my two useless senators today too.
Marcy your lucky, you’re only visiting Florida, I live here! I call my useless Senators on a weekly bases, Rubio and Scott, enough said. I should, however, mention our Governor, I call his office as well. I was beginning to think it was a waste of time, thank you MaryPat, I will continue to call.
I will do the same thing in the morning. Senator Cruz won't care but I hold out hope that Senator Cornyn while conservative will eventually show that he has a bit of integrity left somewhere deep inside him and may still come back to this reality when it is "safe".
Cornyn lost his integrity back when he was singing "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth."
TC, your image made me laugh -- the senator's dad was a US Air Force dentist in Japan, where Cornyn attended high school.
Integrity may not ever motivate them but tally of potential voters will
I am so glad you called! It is our right and duty to do so.
And many many such calls.
Speaking of MO, I saw the guy (McCloskey?) who pointed a gun at ppl walking in front of his house. He wants to run for senate from MO. A real dynamo. Not.
I got real humans yesterday on my calls too. None of them hung up on me...
It's their job to sit there and play tiddlywinks while you go on and on and on. :-)
I appreciate and am grateful for this traditional effort to “communicate” our views to fascist Republicans and Quisling Trump supporters. Frankly, our precious time and money is better spent locating, fielding and supporting candidates with our political ideology to replace or deny Republicans these offices from the county level to Congress. Imagine, once our people are in office all this begging and pleading for decency and support of Democracy will be unnecessary.
Playing the “they must be rational card” when 4/5 of Congress is ready to deny the election is carrying coal to New Castle.
I've tried that. Many of them never take phone calls, and have a Contact Me page that requires entering an in-state name, address, and zip code, so they can screen the rest of us out.
I’ve tried that too, with the same results... Sooo, how DO you connect with reps that don’t represent me but make decisions that impact me as a citizen??
If you call, you only need a zip code......which you can look up! Or send a postcard. They might not read it, but staff does.
My congressman is a member of the sedition caucus.
One would think this would have been a nonpartisan vote; but because it was partisan, I applaud these 35 House Republicans who broke with their party to vote in favor of the January 6th Commission:
* French Hill of Arkansas
* Steve Womack of Arkansas
* David Valadao of California
* Carlos Gimenez of Florida
* Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida
* Mike Simpson of Idaho
* Adam Kinzinger of Illinois
* Rodney Davis of Illinois
* Trey Hollingsworth of Indiana
* Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa
* Fred Upton of Michigan
* Peter Meijer of Michigan
* Michael Guest of Mississippi
* Don Bacon of Nebraska
* Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska
* Chris Smith of New Jersey
* Andrew Garbarino of New York
* Chris Jacobs of New York
* John Katko of New York
* Tom Reed of New York
* Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio
* David Joyce of Ohio
* Stephanie Bice of Oklahoma
* Cliff Bentz of Oregon
* Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania
* Tom Rice of South Carolina
* Dusty Johnson of South Dakota
* Tony Gonzales of Texas
* Van Taylor of Texas
* Blake Moore of Utah
* John Curtis of Utah
* Dan Newhouse of Washington
* Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington
* David McKinley of West Virginia
* Liz Cheney of Wyoming
Thank you for this list of the 35 House Rs who voted for the Jan 6 Commission, and here's a link for future reference:
https://twitter.com/svdate/status/1395180320874500101?s=20
Ellie I am interested in your group Heather’s herders .
https://groups.io/g/heathersherd
Thank you for this. We should write, call, email them and thank them for their support of integrity and truth as well as encourage all on our social media to do the same.
I will do it
Thank you Ellie; I am new to the Community & your link was quite helpful.
As a retired attorney with 30 years experience in State & Federal Courts in Northern Cal, I can supplement HRC's comment about knowing the rules. But. you do not need to know the "FRE" (Federal Rules Of Evidence) to understand DOJ criminal investigations and/ or prosecutions.
I get the Daily email updates from the US Attorneys Office in DC. You can Google "Capitol Breach Cases DOJ". The alphabetical list of Defendants (real cases) has links to the "Statement of Facts", "Complaint" & "Information". The visual evidence is the best evidentiary work I have ever seen particularly when you consider there are hundreds of pending case arising from a chaotic attack.
Some complaints have been Amended to allege Federal Conspiracy charges. Very useful work for the Judges.
Agsin, thank you for the Link. Bryan. N. California.
I'll be sending each a thank you note. Sadly, they are all being censured.
I suggest being careful with thank you notes. They will have had varying reasons for voting the way they did. And we have no way of knowing what is going on behind the curtains. If you do write, one thing that might work would be to mention something along the lines that you hope the commission will clarify what happened that day so that we all can have a common understanding, and be able to work collaboratively again. I wouldn't assume they think they are doing favors for the Dems. Their situation is tenuous enough as it is.
Karen can you expand on "they are all being censured"
thank you
I was hoping to find out who the R's were who supported the commission. So, thank you, Catherine!
Two from Texas! Wow! A small measure of comfort, but I'll take it.
2 from Texas is AMAZING!
Thanks for this information!
I was sad to see that Cathy McMorris Rodgers was not on the list....but she doesn't seem to have independent thoughts.
The article: https://www.krem.com/amp/article/news/politics/washington-idaho-representatives-vote-on-creating-panel-to-probe-jan-6-capitol-riot/293-ea6f96d1-576a-4599-9f66-730a7ec0c466
I wish she had some of her own thoughts. She's really good at parroting the party line.
Agreed. Her vote was disappointing, but likely reflects the wishes of the majority of her constituents. If you’re interested, the statement her office released regarding her vote is in this article. Now we can only hope the senate does the right thing.
This is the list of the RINO’s who will have serious, well funded primary challengers come midterms.
thank you so much for posting this, saved me time and I appreciate it....
Here’s what is on my mind this day and every day since January 6th. And it remains the reason I supported “comeuppance” and “opening a can of whoop ass” to get in the mix in yesterday’s comments. As in the form of a commission.
The question I want answered and do not want to fade away is WHY DID IT TAKE 2 HOURS OR MORE for the National Guard to respond to a violent domestic insurrection in OUR country being televised in real time and being seared into our brains?
You know, there’s this security blanket in America that when a disaster is happening, help is on the way. “The cavalry is coming, on horseback, swords drawn!” Whether it’s planes crashing into Two Towers or a hurricane crashing into our coastlines, help is on the way immediately and many times before, during, and long after the event.
Except not this time. What I will never forget watching and thinking on January 6th is “where are the troops? WTF? Why is the guard being held back in Maryland? Is this real? Why are they still rioting after two hours? Why are there no arrests happening now? WHERE ARE THE TROOPS? And WHAT IS THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF DOING?
And then the ultimate insult. “You’re special. Go home in peace. We love you.”
The cowardice in the house today and sure to follow in the Senate exists to now protect a myth that used to be a reality to citizens in America. “Help is on the way.” Not so much.
It’s the end of May. For me, I thought that would be the first question answered after January 6th.
“Where were the troops?”
And WHY were the rioters allowed walk out of the Capital they had just literally and figuratively desecrated, and go home?!?!?! 😡😡😡😡
This is a question that galls me as well. What I would say about that is that the police had just been under attack, and my assumption is that clearing the location may have taken place of turning to an investigative body. After Capitol Police/ Metro PD spent the hours they did defending the Capitol and Congress (to include the VP) expecting them to switch gears and begin an investigation is too much. In my mind, the DOJ should have mobilized front and center, utilized the investigative branches of the FBI, Treasury, and called in any MPD detectives NOT involved in the defense of the Capitol to become the investigative branch of enforcement.
It frankly appalled me to see those insurrectionists just walk out of the building. Not that the officers who defended the Capitol let them go; it was that there was no one to pick up the slack after the fact.
And many, many of those officers were themselves injured and in shock, in no condition physically or even emotionally to switch gears on a dime and start making arrests. The National Guard spokesperson said he was ready to go and had already stationed his troops on buses awaiting the go-ahead, which was hours in coming thanks to those very plants Miller had installed to ensure there would be no interference with the attempted coup.
I thought at the time that the national guard should have blocked every entrance to the capital and only allowed them to exit as they were arrested, every single one of them, we would have known exactly who each of them were
Which is why Stephen Miller et al planted their guys in the Pentagon and elsewhere, some only days before their planned coup - to keep National Guard and Homeland Security from stopping it, or catching the insurrectionists.
I think the idea was to get them the hell out of there so they could rescue the rest of the people in hiding. As Ellen Massey so aptly pointed out "many, many of those officers were themselves injured and in shock, in no condition physically or even emotionally to switch gears on a dime and start making arrests." Thank you, Ellen, well put. There were too few of them, and the wear and tear showed. They did the right thing.
I agree with you Annie, the capital police were indeed in shock, but the national guard were well rested and totally up to the task, the bastards should never have been able to get out of the capital without being arrested. The capital police were in dire need of support from the very beginning which is why we need a January 6th commission with subpoena power to find out exactly why they were not supported and who played what part in the decision to not support them.
Your scenario is simplistic. The insurrectionists were inside. Confronted, they would have entrenched there. As it was, the NG was able to get them out with a minimum of further violence, though not without confrontation. The lives of everyone in that building was at risk, including a number of wounded and exhausted cops as well as remaining congresspeople and staff. However, I agree with the your last sentence. We do need that commission and a close examination of what happened, why, how, and who was involved when and where.
I totally agree!!
And can anyone tell me how Republicans have the nerve to call the January 6th insurrection a peaceful demonstration?
They were just your average everyday tourists. Right
Yeah, my jaw dropped when I heard that one. All of the quotes were along the same lines, but that one was stunning in it's arrogance and disregard for truth. It's not for us, of course, or for the courts. It is to try to set up another alternate reality for those who cling to their fantasies. They must be experiencing cognitive whiplash by now. If the WaDC Trumplicans keep it up, they may succeed in alienating a good portion of the rank and file, who are on about their 3rd or 4th version now. It must be wearing.
Gaslighting...
Morning, Daria!! Here's a wackadoodle idea. What if the Dems allow an investigation into the summer protests to be tacked on to the 1/6 investigation. The Republicans would have to agree to join in. What am I missing?
The Republicans will muddy the issue so badly, using the unrelated BLM protests as a scapegoat, that the January 6 investigation gets lost completely.
My mistake...seems the Dems already agreed to that in this latest iteration that passed the House but still will be stuck in the Senate.
Then the House an its representatives need to make the inquiry partisan, play hardball as the rethuglicans did over and over with Benghazi. We have offered enough to show the people that we acted in good faith. Now is the time to step up and play America’s favorite game. And play it until the 2022 elections are over.
I'll never forget watching it in real time on TV, with my 9 year old grandson beside me. He was leaning forward in horror, fully aware that it was actually happening and no-one came to help! I felt I should protect him by turning the TV off, but history was happening and today's kids will have a lot more to face in the future.
Exactly! I so agree. What we all witnessed was so OBVIOUS, even a child could understand what was happening. That they think they can actually gaslight an entire nation speaks volumes - about their egregious lack of patriotism, their enormous egos and hubris, their fear, their lack of awareness of the intelligence of most Americans (perhaps this is because their own base is so pathetic, they confuse their ignorance as being a nationwide phenomenon), and their misplaced confidence that somehow their dear leader will save them.
Ellen, I hadn't thought of it in those terms. Of course a child could see how wrong and dangerous it was!
IMHO, Christine, the troops were following the orders of their commander-in-chief not to respond. D.C. police and guard and MD and VA guard had no authority to intervene until they received a Federal invitation which ultimately came (again, IMHO) from the commander-in-chief. I watched in real-time, too, and was shocked as you were that nothing was happening to counter the siege. To me, it was all BS hearing the Feds say (ala TFG) all these clearances were needed (which took so much time) before help could be deployed.
Right. And that is why the question is rhetorical. “Where were the troops?”
Your opinion, Lynell, is what millions of us know but is the scariest to contemplate. Any autocrat wanting to undo a democracy must have the fealty of the troops. If a commission exposes the fealty of the military to Trump, then therein follows a dedicated promise of action that MUST be made to the American people that the force of the military serves as the offense and defense to preserve OUR democracy and not to support its insurrection.
Do so at the wrath of its people.
No small consequence in my mind.
Thank you, Christine. There are the troops and then there is the Command, command coming from not the top but close (Chris Miller). So all around the barn to say the circumstances demand a 1/6 Commission.
Sorry, Christine. It just occurred to me your questions on this page may have been rhetorical!
Love you. You are really smart about relationship.
If that question gets answered in truth, regardless of what may come after, then our democracy CAN be on its way to being repaired, restored, reinforced, and respected.
I haven’t felt safe since January 6th. It’s a smarmy feeling. And I don’t like it.
If they weren’t white I wonder how it would have gone down. Wait, naw, i don’t wonder. Not at all.
Not. At. All. Also, if they had truly been that loose outfit known as antifa, the results would have been stunningly different.
If they had been "antifa" it'd have been all over in 15 minutes because there would've been no breach.
It was DT’s riot. He withheld troops because he wanted the election certification stopped.
That’s a pretty big statement. Can you imagine if it’s actually proved? He actually would be an accomplice to murder.
DJT is the greatest mass murderer in American history. The facts are clear this man is the coward who thought Covid would end his reign. He was right because he denied it with all his might. If the iDJT had done what Australia did we would have lost ten thousand people in America. His cowardice was the beginning of the end to his Presidency and he sacrificed more than 490,000 of us in the process. He might be an accomplice to murder in respect to the insurrection, but he is absolutely the greatest single handed killer of Americans in our history period dot.
This. I am going to use your line whenever I come across a reality denying maga fool. If Antifa actually were in that crowd we'd have seen plenty of cracked skulls, I'm sure.
TFG's people had been strategically placed within our Defense Department and other critical offices (some only days before) to impede any response by the National Guard or the military to assist the Capitol Police in stopping the PLANNED insurrection. Early on the morning of January 6th, when the Washington DC Mayor announced they had 360 cops on duty to protect The Capitol, I screamed at my TV " YOU NEED 36 THOUSAND COPS!!" I could see the coup coming, but not the troops to stop it. I was actually surprised it only took 2 hours to bypass Stephen Miller's plants and overcome tRump's henchmen. So, the question this commission must ask is not where were the troops, but WHO held them back.
I heard that the only person to whom the Capitol Police answer is the POTUS. And with his plants installed and poised to carry out the planned coup, I think the real reason Trumplicans are so opposed to a January 6 Commission is that they all know WHO will be ultimately implicated...as if the rest of the country has blinders on and hasn't already figured that one out long ago...like maybe on January 7th. The script for that mob attack is so transparent, even a child could figure out the plot line and point to the villain. The Senate will vote down the Commission, opening the door to House Democrats for hours and hours of testimony before partisan committees with no end in sight, no rules governing who gets subpoenaed, no need to finish an investigation by the end of the year, nada. They are making a huge mistake, squandering any notion of non-partisanship or mutually agreed upon "rules of engagement," implicating themselves and allowing media unfettered access to footage and facts that will dominate the airwaves well into the 2022 election cycle. Have fun Moscow Mitch. Sleep well, buddy. Keep a life raft nearby because your ship is sinking and taking with it you and all your cronies. I, for one, will not miss any of you.
Yes MaryPat you have asked the key question. And we will be lucky to place them in jail, all thanks to partisan politics.
That is one of the key questions. And the answer is pretty straightforward, from the news I read at the time: individuals in the chain-of-command that would normally have released National Guard troops to the Capitol were replaced after TFO (The Former Occupant) got spanked in the November election, and those replacements changed procedure to require that all requests go to the top. When the call came through, the requests flowed upstream, but did not flow back downstream. I won't quote names because I'll probably get them wrong, but Christopher Miller was in the mix.
I thought it telling that the troops showed up shortly after it could be reasonably concluded that the coup had failed. It was a hail-mary coup in the first place, done with noisy amateurs. Its chance of success relied on at least finding and destroying the state ballots. Having failed at that, and at finding and murdering/kidnapping members of Congress (and Pence), it was clear that there was nothing further to be gained from letting the occupation continue.
People.
If you haven’t already listened to Heather’s video chat from yesterday (5/19/2021), treat yourself to one hour:
https://fb.watch/5BT42eFyxW/
I have listened to every single one of her video chats of the past year (go to her YouTube channel). Tonight I was catching up with this one as I was walking my dog. I stopped to type a note on my phone about “steering wheel.” Then I stopped again, and again, to type more notes. This was the single most remarkable of her talks.
Toward the end, Heather talked about the status of voting rights and the HR1/S1 For The People Act. She commented that if it does not pass, “we’re done,” the Republicans “will have locked up a one party system…”
Then Heather said, “Here’s what you can do…what I’ve been telling you people all along is right. That you need to make your voices heard…You can’t just sit back and say, ‘what’s gonna happen next.’ We need to go out and make whatever happens happen…Reach out to other voters, participate in campaigns, run for office…Or simply make phone calls, write letters to the editor…This is our hands on deck moment. Because if they are permitted to do this, I don’t see a way back, at least in my lifetime.”
Some HCR Substackers are already experienced activists writing postcards, letters, text banking, making phone calls. Come share your expertise to grow the skills of others.
Some HCR Substackers ask, “What can I do?” “What should I say?” Leave a Reply here that you want to learn what you can do and what you can say for an effective message.
Some HCR Substackers have already left a Reply and got busy, or lost in the email inbox, or…If you don’t find your email, just leave another Reply here for follow up.
HCR Substacker comments are full of great discussion. Now is the time to walk the talk. Heather has sounded the clarion call: “This is our hands on deck moment!”
Participating in a campaign and running for a local seat in 2020 was a real eye opener for me. The experience was invaluable. Earlier today I posted what I consider the most burning rhetorical question from the Jan 6 explosion and implosion. I encourage HCR readers to not only to find answers on this stream but decide on the right questions to pose within all interactions and debates with friends, neighbors, strangers, postcard recipients, etc. The questions that will not incite more division but will be insightful for our collaboration.
Thank you Ellie for the corrected link to Heather's video chat.
Read, 'Army of 16-Year-Olds' Presses Democrats a Tweet at a Time' on the front page of today's NY Times. Link below. A group in MA, called 'Markeyverse' is credited with contributing to Edward Markey's victory over primary challenger Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III. It was big surprise. I think all subscribers will find this story fascinating. Youth, even before voting age, can make a difference. Clearly, this is a front page story, so it will not be missed by members of the political class. The techniques used by younger organizers and participants are digitally sophisticated, perhaps, in other ways different than common techniques. Grass-roots organizing by young people may be more widespread than realized. This suggests that there are depths to plumb for campaign strategies and vibrancy to boost our Pro-DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/19/us/teens-massachusetts-elections.html
Fern has shared something very important! My local Progressive Democratic 'youth movement' canvassed my neighborhood door to door last week. THEY FOUND ME! (the old-fashioned way). Their position paper dealt with a myriad of social justice, accountability and transparency in government issues, as well as important local environmental concerns. They are entering 4 candidates for the County Committee, which selects local representatives at the voting district level. Committee representatives are responsible for vetting and nominating council members, filling municipal vacancies, establishing the direction of the party (listed in a 'What We Stand For' section) and listening to and representing their constituents. The election is on June 8th. As Fern noted, young activists are digitally sophisticated and are already more engaged than many of us may realize.I had no idea that this young grass roots group was organized and fielding candidates in my district. I told them about LFAA. They had never heard of LFAA ........and how many young people are active and engaged NOW that are unknown to us? If Heather is calling for Activism NOW, "a hands on deck moment" in her words..... it seems like we need to go outside and find our local activist kids and find the issues we can support together. Please read the NYT story that Fern referenced. Thank you to Ellie and Fern and HCR. I will be looking for more regional activist youth groups in NJ. Just as an aside, when I saw the activism of the kids from Marjorie Stoneman Douglas HS, I thought that this was something new, something that wasn't going away. Atleast I hope not. Be well and be safe as towns and cities go maskless.
br, You are a treasure. I am hoping that at some point we'll have a chance to talk. Your dedication and spunk brighten my screen and a whole lot more. Ellie is politically active. Perhaps, you will have contact with her. I cannot avoid mentioning my support for your health, rest and all that is best for you. We will stay in touch.
Fern, in following your early advice of how to reach other people in my area, I explored what is thought to be the best local town municipal web page. It checked all of the boxes/suggestions you had mentioned in your first post to me.. It is a real cornucopia of real-time, current information, even those obits I think you mentioned! I don't know if it is professionally produced or a hands on community effort. But I will find out. It does appear to have multiple contributors. Lots of great information. But even more important was the sense of community support and engagement on a civil, respectful level. Thanks for everything.
What a find. Indeed there can be existing eggs in community' baskets. Hatching is another set of skills, but what a wonderful start. br, you are a splendid detective and from home base. I am so impressed! Do you might if I copy your comments and get them to Ellie?
I'm know Ellie and you are far more capable in all areas and I would welcome any input. I'm tired of being in Trumptown, NJ. Finding these young progressives is like manna from Heaven. But I'm still living next to 'Big Lie' believers and I want very much to get through to them about what is really the truth, without fracturing what relationship we do have.
Go visit in person the offices of your Congress people.....do it now so you don't have to show up later on the streets protesting the takeover by a Republican installed authoritarian which will happen unless Biden begins to unfold his tongue and come down to earth where the fires of hell escape the mouths of Republicans every day reinforcing their fabrications of reality easily sucked into vulnerable brains. Exactly how many millions voted for Agent Chaos? "How many are supporting their state legislatures to suppress the vote? n, at least 55 restrictive bills in 24 states are moving through legislatures: 29 have passed at least one chamber, while another 26 have had some sort of committee action (e.g., a hearing, an amendment, or a committee vote). " (Bennan Ctr for Justice)
I always watch her Tuesday talks too. Those of us who have the time and the inclination must have "hands on deck". Now that we're vaccinated, we've spent time with the adult younger generation in our family. They're overwhelmed by their own lives and daily pressures, don't have time (yet they're going to be more affected for longer than my generation) so, people, we need to step up for their sakes!
Correction, HCR's video chat of May 18:
https://fb.watch/5BT42eFyxW/
Ellie, it appears the chats take awhile to show up on her youtube page? The latest I see today is the 4/27 chat. Just trying to see how folks who don’t want to support FB might be able to see it.
I don't do FB. Checked her youtube channel and it wasn't there. Any other ideas of how to access it? Tx.
Yes. If you have a FB friend, I believe they can share the link with you through a message, email etc so that you can view it. Ask them to do so. Also, it will be on YouTube in near future.
Thanks, I didn't even know there were video chats.
Oh yes, they are brilliant.
She posts them on Facebook live and then later they are available on her YouTube channel
Every Tuesday and Thursday. I was surprised to see one on Wednesday—to which Ellie referred—but I’m going to check it out.
Ellie corrected herself below. It was her Tuesday chat. If you can’t listen in real time, you can listen on FB after the fact. I usually listen later in the evening over din Ed with my husband who has become hooked too.
Thanks Ellie for transcribing this critical part of Heather's chat. I will copy and post, and share and emphasize, and...
Heather's Tuesday and Thursday video chats get posted on her YouTube channel about 2 weeks after her Facebook Live talk, but then have a closed caption option.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=heather+cox+richardson+youtube
On her Twitter today, she is starting a podcast with Dr. Joanne Freeman called Now&Then:
https://twitter.com/voxmedia/status/1395377797254811655
I tried to join (?) For the Vote (not sure I'm remembering the name correctly) and sent a sample letter, and I never heard back. I send postcards, but in my experience, calling angers many, and I was hung up on most of the time. Any more suggestions?
One thing I do is write letters through Vote Forward (www.votefwd.org). Vote Forward makes it easy to take some meaningful action that is targeted to states and voters. Here’s a short introductory video about Vote Forward: https://youtu.be/fudmGjmUrW0
What is an HCR Substacker, please? I would very much like to write postcards, and letters, but don't know where to start.
a reader of Heather Cox Richardson on Substack.
Anna, I just responded to Annette’s comment with information about Vote Forward (www.votefwd.org). With the lengthy threads in this Substack discussion forum, perhaps you won’t see it, so here, once again, is a short introductory video about Vote Forward: https://youtu.be/fudmGjmUrW0
Thanks very much!
I’ve been writing since 2018 for this group. It’s easy and enjoyable. https://postcardstovoters.org/
She’s referring to this commenting section. You are an HCR Substacker if you are reading and commenting in this forum. Ellie has a more activist forum “Heathersherd”
“Hi. A group of HCR Substackers has formed to support activism. You can email: heathersherd@gmail.com”
Thank you Christy, for the info.
You are most welcome ❤️
Here’s an upcoming event from LWV (League of Women Voters) that folks might like to participate in if they can. It’s not just for women. 😁. Unfortunately it seems Facebook doesn’t have great competition for these live streaming events yet. https://m.facebook.com/events/775519433160180/?acontext=%7B%22ref%22%3A%2252%22%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22%5B%7B%5C%22surface%5C%22%3A%5C%22share_link%5C%22%2C%5C%22mechanism%5C%22%3A%5C%22share_link%5C%22%2C%5C%22extra_data%5C%22%3A%7B%5C%22invite_link_id%5C%22%3A771787836846856%7D%7D%5D%22%7D&_rdr
I'd like to see a concerted campaign to sue Republican Members of Congress and Senators who vote against establishing a Congressional Investigation into the January 6 insurrection as aiders and abetting of that attempted coup d' etat. Venue would be in federal district Court in Washington DC, seeking a declaratory judgment that the defendants have allied themselves with the insurrectionists by failing to perform their duties under the Constitution and in violation of their statutorily-required Oath "...to protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and to bear true faith and allegiance to the same." (5 U.S.C. 3331). The Fourteenth Amendment, in its section 3, disqualifies from federal office anyone who participates in an insurrection or rebellion, or who lend aid and comfort thereto. A refusal to investigate the assault, to which those Members of Congress were present to witness that assault, and could be called to testify about what they experienced and observed, constitutes willful indifference. There is no privilege to avoid compelling their testimony. They are not charged with crimes, but they, and each of them, were present to bear witness to criminal acts done by others, and the violence that was done at the Capitol. They were in the Capitol to vote on whether to accept the votes of the Electoral College and count those votes; several of them lodged objections to Congress accepting several of those state's Electoral College vote counts, for no other reason that their preferred candidate, Donald J. Trump, came up short in those vote counts, and lost the election. They know that no fewer than 60 courts entertained Trump's objections to those state vote counts, and he lost every one of them. Asserting a belief that the election was tainted by fraud would call into question their own election or reelection to office.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy spoke directly to Trump, a conversation he related to other members of the Republican Party's delegation in the House of Representatives. He therefore has personal knowledge of Trump's refusal to call for assistance. He has a personal interest in withholding his sworn testimony that is inconsistent with fulfilling his Oath to protect and defend the Constitution. By refusing to vote to authorize a formal inquiry, Congressman McCarthy allied himself with Trump and the insurrectionists.
Mitch McConnell gave a speech on the floor of the Senate in which he directly implicated Trump in the insurrection. Now he turns a blind eye toward what happened on the spurious grounds that the bill approved by the House of Representatives does not investigate mass protests that occurred in various cities over the murder in police custody of George Floyd. That sort of 'whataboutism' is legally and constitutionally irrelevant to the House bill.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's speech attesting to the factual truth of Trump's conniving in the insurrection, and his subsequent volte-face, establish McConnell's tolerance of treason and insurrection, by his own admission. He and those who support him in his refusal to render an honest accounting establish McConnell's willingness to ignore his sworn duty to protect and defend the Constitution against its domestic enemies, all to feather his own nest and gain an unconstitutional advantage to himself and his party. That personal acknowledgment of the truth, and McConnell's subsequent refusal to act on that knowledge makes him an aider and comforter of insurrection, therefore disqualifying him from office.
So there we have it. Conspiracy. Complicity. Duty, and it's denial. A pathetic attempt to rewrite history by partisan fiat. Hoping that the American people are too stupid or lethargic to notice or object. The Fourteenth Amendment gives us a remedy, and we damn well ought to use it. We cannot afford to be Tom Lehrer's 'Folk Song Army', having all the good songs celebrating progressive politics, to and fail use the one remedy that, if pursued diligently, could disqualify them from office. If you may recall, in Lehrer's song, the Fascists won all the battles. The Cancel-Culture isn't going to win this battle, but insistence on a robust patriotism just might do the job. Duty. We do our duty to our country, our citizens, and ourselves, without fear or favor. Obligation. We affirm the that we subscribe to our Oath voluntarily, and without ulterior motive or mental reservation. That eliminates all of those miscreants, excepting Liz Cheney and those thirty-four Republican Members of the House of Representatives who voted to create this commission of inquiry. That is Duty Fulfilled. That's the job, regardless of repercussions.
A coterie of Democratic Members of Congress and Senators could be the aggrieved plaintiffs, after all, because Congress is deadlocked. The counter to that is that Democrats could eliminate the 60 vote minimum needed for the Senate to act. Such a political defense would be inadmissible on a suit over the Republicans refusal to do their sworn Constitutional duty and their supine acceptance and tolerance for riot and insurrection. Changing the rules to avoid impasse and deadlock is not incumbent on the Democrats who voted to launch an investigation. The Oath embodies specific duties that must be performed, and loyalties to our constitutional form of government and its Constitution. Faced with armed insurrection, refusal to act, coupled with denial of the consequences, constitutes a tacit complicity and a conspiracy against our Constitution.
You nailed it in your 5th paragraph when you wrote...”Hoping that the American people are too stupid or lethargic to notice or object.” I agree but I would also add they are counting on average Joe/Jane Citizen who doesn’t track their Senators and Reps every move because they’re consumed with the task of just living, raising a family, keeping a roof over their head and getting by day by day. It is our job, those of us who have the time to pay attention, to make our voices heard.
Unfortunantely I can't see the Democrats taking action against the Republican members of Congress. I agree with you and wish they would but given what we have seen so far.... It has really bothered me that there have been no consequences for refusal to uphold their sworn oath, it makes what once was a a most serious duty and turns it into words said for tradition's sake. Republicans have gotten away with so much, they really are not afraid anything will happen.
Artsilen, is there any reason us ordinary citizens could not file a class action suit? Seriously.
In order to maintain a suit in thefederal courts, the suing party needs to have a particularity legal right or obligation that the suit seeks to vindicate. It's an open question what particularity injury would be sufficient to confer standing in an insurrection case. Other members of Congress who honor their oath of loyalty would be sufficiently injured by the insurrectionists' misconduct to confer standing on the remainder if that misconduct involves disloyaltyto the country and refusal to honor their oath of office. I don't think the question has ever come before the courts for adjudication. Previously, the federal Department of Justice had statutory authority to challenge the credentials of someone who had fought for the South in the Civil War. I argue that the Fourteenth Amendment prohibition is self enforcing, depending on a proper foundation of facts proving the elements of disqualification to a court having the jurisdiction to hear the case.
Thank you for your reply, artsilen. Sounds like an uphill battle. The latest I read is the Democrats can pursue a 1/6 commission without Republican support. Not optimum, but at least the citizenry would have some answers.
Morning Artsilen ... You might find this of interest: https://www.lawfareblog.com/14th-amendments-disqualification-provision-and-events-jan-6
Girard Magliocca's analysis of U.S. Const. Amendment 14, section 3, follows my line of reasoning, but veers off when he implies that a Congressional finding alone might not be sufficient to disqualify an insurrectionist from holding federal office. He does not (or so it would appear) address the formal Oath of Office that, first,, requires oathtakers to swear or affirm that they will support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and second, that in taking that Oath, they are doing so voluntarily, and with no purpose of evasion or mental reservation. They are making a sworn statement as to their present and future state of mind as to their intent regarding their commitment to the Constitution, and their future actions and behavior. At a minimum, that statement, in and of itself, is subject to the penalties and prospective punishment set forth in the False Statements Act, 18 U.S.C. 1001, the violation of which constitutes a fraud on the United States, ipso facto.
By implication, said section 3, contains within its language a private right of action, where a private citizen may bring an action sounding in Quo Warranto, bringing suit qui tam, and are part of Anglo-American jurisprudence since the Fifteenth Century. This would be appropriate where government is so deadlocked that it cannot effectively police itself.
A legislative finding of fact, such as a Bill of Impeachment, is not dispositive evidence that the found facts are true; but as a rule of evidence, if not controverted by competent evidence in a subsequent judicial proceeding, those legislative facts are deemed to be true for all purposes as 'substantial evidence' bearing on the ultimate issue in the case.
President Trump's Second Impeachment contains an extensive indictment of his complicity in the January 6 assault on the Capitol. That Second Bill of Impeachment constitutes a body of legislative facts, the denial of which, standing alone does not negate those prima facie facts in evidence color purposes of the subsequent proceeding, which is subsidiary to the Second Impeachment. He who would oppose disqualification for failing to do his sworn duty under the Constitution needs to negate either the fact of the violent insurrection by making a proffer of facts that contradict those legislatively-found facts (which is impossible to do, becausewe cannot travel back in time), or prove that he conducted himself such that, objectively seen and considered, no case can be made that he, the defendant, failed in performing his Constitution duty as required by either the Oath of Office he voluntarily took, or any other operative statute, law, rule, or other standard of conduct he was bound to acknowledge and comply with. Republicans are now denying that January 6 was an insurrection. 'A group of well-behaved tourist (!)' one of them said this past week. Not a wild mob that forced its way into the Capitol and turned it into a shamble. All of that posturing and nonsense was put on display to avoid having to take a vote on whether to appoint a formal commission to investigate the full facts and circumstances of the attack, thereby giving avid and comfort to those who took either an active or passive part in that assault on the principal symbols of democracy and representative government. To prevail they are bound to do better. They are insurrectionists when they willfully fail to do what the Constitution and their respective oaths of office require them to do. Their passive aggressivity in confounding their sworn duty to protect and defend the Constitution condemns them as aiders and comforters of those who actively attacked the Capitol. That failure of nerve or actual connivance in the attack, or to shield others from the consequences of their treachery, violated their own Oath as to the sincerity of their purpose in taking that oath, and the penal provisions of the False Statements Act.
The fact that they did so openly and publicly doesn't take the sting of criminality away from what they did, knowingly and voluntarily. Ergo, they have no defense that the Law would recognize against a finding by a District Court that they are ineligible for the respective offices they occupy.
We apply the same rule of logic and law when we revoke the naturalized citizenship of former Nazi concentration camp guards for misstating their wartime occupational histories. The only difference is that those occupational histories are prospective, but their professed intent, if not followed by their promised follow-through, is prosecutable. Promising to do one thing, and then doing something entirely different, and knowing the falsity of the promise at the time it was made, are prosecutable under 18 U.S.C. 1001. And that is a fact. It also constitutes the predicate act that triggers disqualification from office under the Fourteenth Amendment, section 3.
Consequently, a District Court could find, on the foregoing analysis, that the Fourteenth Amendment can be enforced by judicial finding that Republicans swearing falsely and refusing to perform their duties as required by said oaths. The fact that they do so en masse saves none of them. If anything, it includes a potential charge of criminal conspiracy into the mix. They're guilt; they know it; and none of them deserve to remain in office.
Thanks for the reference.
All that needs to happen is for someone to have the stones to enforce that.
May the stones be with us.
And honor. All these originalists forget that one’s honor was paramount in the culture of our founding fathers. Where is theirs?
"Honor? Honor?! We don't need no steenking honor, steenking lib'rul!"
(With apologies to The Treasure of the Sierra Madre)
Good to see you Art. I take it all's well up in Sack-A-Tomatoes?
Republicans know every day that the reason they exist is because H.L. Mencken was right: "Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people."
On Monday, I called the offices of my state senators (CA) and my representative, as well as the representative next door to my district because it is helmed by the indomitable Katie Porter. The reason for my call was to insist that in light of the Republican House vote last week to unseat Liz Cheney as a punishment for her definitive stand against the former president, House Republicans must recuse themselves from participation in any bipartisan January 6 Commission. This because they are biased in favor of the former president and persist in believing and acting to perpetuate 45's big lie. I also insisted that the Democrats not agree to Republican entreaties to expand the scope of the Commission to include the summer 2020 protests that erupted in response to the killing of George Floyd. I also contacted my local Democratic Club regarding the same. Finally, I suggested that my two daughters contact their members of Congress with a similar message. I absolutely want a Commission to investigate January 6 insurrection. I just do not believe Republicans can ever pretend to be impartial participants. The only Republicans who can lay claim to impartiality are the 10 who voted in favor of 45's second impeachment. (Even though a strong case could be made that the events regarding the first impeachment are linked to the subsequent insistence on the big lie and the ensuing insurrection.)
I want those treasonous cowards either out of Congress or having to defend themselves against a provable charge of being in cahoots with traitors and insurrectionists. There's a great deal of difference between knowing the facts abstractly, and witnessing the physical assault on the Capitol. They are denying what they know to be true, and for the crassest political and selfish reasons. Political power doesn't 'belong to them. Under our system of government, power is delegated by the people through the people's representatives in Congress and in the individual states. These Republicans want to transform a temporary elevation in status to something approaching a hereditary or cultural right or prerogative. The insurrection was an act of rebellion, instigated by Trump, and aided and abetted by autocratic forces who stood to gain from Trump's treason. I think the appropriate penalty is to expel these traitors from public life. Their treasonous acts are numerous and interconnected. We need to make an example of them by disempowering them from ever holding public office in their lifetimes.
This is an excellent idea. May I share it?
When pigs fly.
Second reply: I wish you'd tweet this to network hosts, particularly Ari Melber. Thanks.
I have a great deal of respect for Ari Melber. He is a good lawyer, but I do not know how long he was in active law practice. In this matter, I have no idea as to whether, and to what extent, Ari considered the arguments that I raised. As for Twitter, I refuse to have an account. As you can see, the comment I wrote required a great deal of thinking and reflection, something that Twitter (and tweeting) definitely do not encourage.
Very true. Your thoughtful post would simply fall apart on a platform like twitter...bits and pieces that would diminish as they were splintered into small segments! Possibly the best vehicle would be an "old fashioned" (lol) email!
Tim Ryan became King for a Day today. He certainly expressed every emotion that we normal people have felt for over 4 years. I hope to someday see him wield a lot of power in Congress.
Mitch speaks with a forked tongue. After the Jan. 6th event, he faced the Senate and the cameras telling us that Fake45 incited everything that took place. He made it sound like he was glad The Don would be held responsible but lo and behold, he has protected this schmuck. It all has to do with greed, power, dark money, and lots and lots more power. I envision the Grim Reaper leaning back in his easy chair and cackling like a witch.
Then there’s Qevin, the main butt kisser. He really wants to be Speaker some day. I say let’s place him in one of the circles of Hell in Dante’s Inferno. Well actually, mostly all of the Repubs could fit into every category.
Everyday, it’s a shitshow. I am so ready for some sort of normalcy, something to really cheer about. I guess the best news we have had is that children are slowly but surely reuniting with their families.
Yes Marlene the children being reunited shows the effectiveness on the Biden efforts. Also the repugs are already squirming in some phase of hell. McCarthy seems just really stupid at this point and He’s embarrassing them instead of leading.
Rather than stupid, I think he's never been so scared in his life because he knows if the collusion by some Republican members of Congress on the events of Jan. 6 and the information McCarthy himself has a few careers will be toast including his.
It is my profound hope that more than just an elected "career" is at stake.
I think the man looks like a fool toadying up to Cheeto— he should realize Cheeto throws everybody under the bus. Yes he should be scared. We need that impartial investigation of Jan 6.
We can hope, yes?
And most media outlets are embarrassing themselves by not more prominently reporting on the effectiveness of this administration at the border. They are doing the hard work, getting children out of detention centers and into homes, being quietly competent. But because there is no drama involved, most of them are ignoring the border entirely.
I agree!! Wondering if genius’s here have any great ideas on voicing concerns about the decreasing quality and sometimes abject deplorability of our fourth estate in a way that could bring change. I use what funds I can to support good journalism and I am careful with my purchasing power. I often voice concerns to specific MSNBC personalities. What else can we do to improve the “news”our country is fed.
It's a very sad state of affairs. News outlets are thoroughly tied to advertising dollars and those dollars are being siphoned off by tech giants which generate revenue from content generated by others. It feels like a death spiral. I agree that one of our strongest actions can be paying directly for the news we consume. If you find yourself repeatedly reading posts on FB copied from a news outlet you respect, subscribe!
I wish more people would comprehend just how important it is to support good investigative journalism. With that said we are up against another Mount Everest when it comes to this battle: http://www.unkochmycampus.org/funding-report
*Sigh* The hits keep on coming....
Right now, subscribing to support what you like and respect is the only way. Why I give $100/year to TPM (the folks who got the "obscene quote" from the Qanon Shaman's defense lawyer that everyone else from CNN to the NYT was quoting yesterday. And to HRC.
Try not to click on articles that keep the dumpster fire going. I figure if articles don't get read, journalists will find something else to write about. I might be an optimist....
When I watch msnbc they tune into some progress at the border. I just read in the Nytimes an article highlighting the progress of finding more parents.
True enough. But compared to the blaring headlines earlier in the year, media outlets are being pretty demure about the current state of affairs. I understand that competence doesn't yield as many clicks as outrage. Still, I do wish they would be at least somewhat proportional in their coverage of the solutions that have been implemented at the border and, in particular, the role the VP has played. But I also wish there were unicorns and elves, and I haven't had any luck there, either.😎
I just received an email from my lame Republican congressman, Gus Bilirakis, with a “survey” on the crisis at the border. Apparently he will be traveling to El Paso to see it for himself. This “survey “ may be another chance for me to give him yet another piece of my mind.
Infuriating. Gaslighting taken to an entirely different level among the Rs. Not only do they assume that if they speak a lie often enough it will become true, but that if they tell enough lies we will be too exhausted to respond to them all. Good for you for keeping his feet to the fire. 😡
I agree but I guess cnn etc look for the tragic drama to pull people in—and sell tv ads— hey I bought a great pair of unicorn pajamas to cheer myself up so we must think alike!🙌🏻
"Sun continues to rise in the east" will never get a headling.
Remember: "If it bleeds, it leads." And we have only ourselves to blame for the fact that is true (not necessarily you, specifically, but the great mass of us - yeah)
Unicorn pajamas! Now I have pajama envy. 🦄
Bruno Amato is running against McCarthy. We need to support him and publicize his candidacy. Follow him on Twitter @BrunoAmato_1.
"...cackling like a witch" and cracking a whip, ready to put this evil duplitious creep away.
I have been lobbying for a re-write of The Inferno for nine years so far. It fits so much better than anything else!
The video clip of Ryan was very satisfying to see, just happened to catch it earlier tonight when I flipped on the news briefly after I got home from work. We live in interesting times, indeed.
"Representative Tim Ryan (D-OH) spoke for those of us who are gobsmacked that anyone could say we do not need to investigate the most profound attack on our democracy in our history."
"...After years of weaponizing investigations—Benghazi, Secretary of State Clinton’s emails, Hunter Biden—the Republicans are facing an investigation, based in reality, that likely will reflect badly on them. They want no part of it.". This quote is going in an email to my Congressman who did NOT support the formation of a 1/6 commission.
Imagine that you're a House member and endured firsthand the trauma of the attack on the Capitol. And that the attackers hunted and wanted to kill your brother, the vice president. Of course you're going to want a commission to investigate this outrage. Well, not if your Rep. Greg Pence, who voted with 194 other Republicans to oppose the commission.
We know the commission will die in the Senate, thanks to the filibuster. But there are alternatives, which congressional scholar Norm Ornstein discussed with Washington Post columnist Greg Sargent. Step right up, Merrick Garland! https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/05/19/other-options-jan-6-commission-ornstein/
Garland will just keep arresting them and offering deals for those who can "trade up."
I certainly hope so, TC!
Michael, Your comment alerted me to contacting all the senators to let them know that we want to know why the siege took place of the Capitol on 1/6, the parties responsible for it, inadequate law enforcement, etc. Senators unlikely to vote 'yea' merit repeated calls and notes.
Thanks for the link. That last sentence: "That you have one party which has as a singular goal evading responsibility and covering up what happened is almost beyond description." It is unbefrickingleavable.
Trump doesn’t care if m pence dies. Greg doesn’t care if his brother dies. Gee, I’d feel a little insecure if I were the sacrificial lamb on the altar of trump ...
I waited to see Pence’s response to Jan 6th. Well, his brother’s response yesterday sealed that deal. Pence knew everything and continued with his preservation for 2022 and 24. A non partisan commission with NO members of Congress will lay bare his treason, cowardice, and not so blind loyalty to the former president.
What brother is going to vote for that? One that prioritizes his oath to the Constitution correctly.
Greg Pence? Not so much. Listen up Indiana. Get that can of whoop ass ready.
Thanks for sharing that, Michael.
Ornstein really lays out a plan. There's hope!
It isn’t quite June 2 yet when my subscription ends so I am still here evaluating my information intake for mornings. My first cup of coffee is just for me. I don’t start reading till the second cup and commenting requires a third. I dilute my half-caf so caffeine OD isn’t an issue.
I have discovered that HCR does have a certain way to push my buttons. She writes so well and connects so many dots that I just read along as if I can hear her thoughts and understand something behind the lines. That is the quality I like in reading regardless of the content and it is not common. And yet there is the moment when she will throw in an apparent zinger and then just leave it there like fishing bait hanging just above the surface of the water.
I have taken to only scanning the comments and I feel a little guilty about that because I know their authors are well thought and rich individuals with opinions that are worth at least what mine are but there are a great many by the time of my second cup and what I am really looking for is how HCR’s other readers have reacted to the zinger. What I find is that they didn’t.
It is also a thing now that when the many kind people respond to a comment I make it is couched in the context created by my cancer. There is a correlation actually within me and my emotional make up but from inside here it feels like the political realities we face create similar emotions and a similar background for the future. It is not that political discourse makes my experience of early cancer more difficult or that I need to focus on my personal health particularly since really this, part of cancer is just about going through the motions learning the stats, the options, and riding the events. It isn’t hard but it has given me a perspective where I recognize the energetic synergy.
I live in a very loving relationship in a very beautiful place. My children are well into their lives and successful. My parents are both gone now but both are clearly felt in spirit and my understanding of life after death is such that it generates more curiosity than fear. In short all is very groovy except the cancer itself. Like truth with a capital T this has a certain feel to it.
That feeling is the same one I feel reading HCR this morning. Our country is quite prosperous. Though we have challenges in many areas like civil rights, election reform, international relations, climate and so on I feel that we are generally up to the tasks at hand and president Biden’s performance confirms this feeling. It is all good, like my life, interesting and beautiful and challenging except there is the cancer.
Today’s zinger was this sentence. “The bill now goes to the Senate, where Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has announced he will not support it.” This sentence tells so much and the fact that the rest of the letter goes on with no more mention of what this means is the cancer we are all living with. That the minority leader of the senate can just say “I don’t like it” and that is basically it, game over. All the rest is posturing for the cameras. That this fact doesn’t take over the new cycle and catapult the failure of the senate to govern as the intolerable national cancer that it is, is well, just intolerable to me.
And, that isn’t because I have my own cancer. Dealing with my cancer has a clear path. It is that I feel that dealing with this national cancer does also. We are just not following it. Instead we are hoping it is really not malignant or that it will just go away if,,, something less than radical surgery (filibuster reform). But it won’t. Even if he died the next version of him would step up.
We can’t heal as a nation until this dysfunction in the senate is fixed. As many have commented before, perhaps Biden’s long game as the statesman will win the day. And, perhaps Face Book and conspiracy theorists and the misinformed minority of white power will wake up. Yeah. Maybe. But, we all know that if I treated my cancer like that the results would be statistically predictable. Perhaps there would be a miracle and I do believe in miracles as outlier events that need close study but I don’t expect them to happen.
BTW Yesterday's zinger was "But it seems hard for him (Biden) to get media attention as the Republicans continue to make more dramatic news." Right, Chr--st!
As usual, Patrick, you express what is on my mind as well. I too come to HCR's letter after I've gone through the news of the day with caffeine infusion #1, and after thoroughly digesting the day's events and issues AND after caffeine infusion #2. I already got Heather's "zinger" for today a couple hours ago and even posted a story on it on my page in social media. McConnell's attempt to label the creation of this commission a "distraction" REALLY teed me off. I wonder if Republicans might just regret trying to sweep this under the rug. The PR might get brutal for them. We can only hope it eats them up.
Drawing a comparison to the "cancer" in our government is also something I have done ever since the "Orange Menace" first raised his fake blonde head. I have long compared his effect on the Republican party and on our government as a cancer. I also get disheartened that it isn't recognised and cut out, but allowed to spread. My hope and prayer is that yours can be effectively dealt with, AND that its presence in our government can be "diagnosed" and got rid of as well. We're seeing just how insipid the filibuster (I love your comparing its reform to "radical surgery"...brilliant) is and how it is basically stopping the will of the people from being acted on. Manchin and Sinema need to stop obstructing everything!
Hang in there, bud. You have a lot of people on here pulling for you!!
Beautifully-written, Patrick. Had my own run-in with cancer in the early 2000's, and like you, I think the analogy of cancer in the body politic -- and the denial of it -- is quite apt.
I'm betting there are many of us with one form or other of cancer. Mine mainly seems to be the melanoma from all the sun when I was young, and one less kidney. But I feel fortunate that it isnt as bad as it could be. As Bruce said, hang in there, Patrick AND Kathy. You have many friends here.
Yeah, great points. I posted something from Jonathan V. Last at The Bulwark that speaks to what you said. Here's the portion that goes directly to this:
One of our political parties is trying to lower the temperature in American politics and find compromise on pretty basic issues. The other party is trying to restrict voting and lay the predicate for overturning the electoral results of the next presidential election.
The 1/6 commission bill makes this very clear. If the filibuster allows the party that incited the insurrection to prevent Congress from forming a nonpartisan commission to investigate and document the insurrection, then what, really, is the benefit of keeping the filibuster?
Because if you cannot get 10 Republican votes in the Senate for a 1/6 commission, then there is no conceivable way to get 10 Republican votes in the Senate for infrastructure. Or voting rights. Or any other piece of meaningful legislation.
What a wise realist and critical thinker you are, Patrick! Your dual analysis of your cancer with our present political situation brings out a thought process in me that needs to be addressed more profoundly. I'll have to return to those thoughts another day. Without a doubt, the emotional and physical pain of living with cancer must be likened to facing the threat of political defeat to white supremacy, the abuses of human rights, and injustice.
By the way, just an fyi, I did pick up on yesterday's zinger and addressed it.
So delighted that you're in a wonderful relationship, live within an idyllic environment, and are blessed with spirituality. Those are the great gifts of life that we must capture in our hearts and visually ponder to make it through. I wish you time, peace, and inner wellness, always.
I, too, share your personal cancer journey right now, and your comparison is so apt. Wishing you a good response to your treatment, if you’re doing that, and sharing with you that you’re not alone. I will keep you in my thoughts.
And you in ours, Kathy.
My mother has had 3 cancer battles..breast, colon and melanoma. She was 37 for the first one, (breast). She is now 86 and still working as a librarian. There is life after cancer, as hard as that may seem on rough days. As Kathy says, you are not alone, here at LFAA.
Your analogy made me think of John Dean's famous (infamous?) statement to Nixon. I discovered a transcript of the taped discussion . https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/secret-white-house-tapes/cancer-on-the-presidency It is not really that hard to substitute the names of the players. I think the Republicans are more concerned that there is a Trump equivalent of the secret Nixon tapes. They are thinking Watergate, not 9/11.
I hope you stick around in this forum. Our national cancer will make us moribund unless Joe and Kamala make magic happen with a filibuster. Or, whatever it takes. The wish I hold inside is that Joe DOES have a solution based on his experience and wisdom. I cannot see an option other than busting the filibuster.
And the media...could I just say that I miss Walter Cronkite?
Dear Prof. HCR,
Thank you for this clear and beautifully pithy overview of today's episode of the Republican soap opera: "Grand Ole Prevaricators." It just gets better and better -- I lie (please note the sarcasm).
Not only do we need a commission to decipher the nitty gritty of what went down before, during, and after 6th January, we need to know when these blatant aggressors will cease to play the roles of wide-eyed innocents with such aplomb.
The longer they are left to their own devices, the longer justice is delayed, and the more it plays into the white supremacists' game of justice denied. These blood-thirsty, Constitution-denying thugs who assume GOP ringleader roles committed blatant treasonous acts that must be distilled into categories of guilt and responsibility. Who had access? Who knew how? How did they know where to go? Why were the Capitol police so ill-informed of the dangers?
How much longer must we wait to know the answers? The Capitol is the people's house. How much longer must we, the people, wait to have the violent squatter brigade's head honchos identified, tried, and brought to justice?
Correct me if I'm wrong here, but the House does not require Senate acquiescence to begin an investigation through one of their committees, right? I understand the impulse to want bipartisan buy-in to avoid the image of using the investigation politically, but once the Rs reject this commission, there is nothing keeping a House committee from doing their own investigation. Or am I missing something?
You're not missing anything, Reid, but the bipartisan buy-in is critical, because investigative commissions can be expensive and may run over budget, which means that Senate may have to be involved since the funds must be taken from the budget, I believe.
Interesting. It seems pretty antidemocratic if a filibustered Senate could block the funds for the other chamber to do their constitutionally-protected work, but in the current environment I wouldn't be a bit surprised.
Neither would I!
It was a House Select Committee controlled by rethuglicans that spent millions to try to crucify Clinton - and could not. There could be another House Select Committee formed by the democrats to investigate 1/6. I hope that is what happens! Screw the thuglicans - get the Senate "no" votes out of the way and then either side of Congress, who have subpoena power, can Get.To.Work
This isn't the first time Tim Ryan has read the riot act to Republicans. His 2004 speech on the war is one for the history books (link below). He's announced his plans to replace Rob Portman in the Senate. Being a blue-collar Democrat in now red Ohio bodes well for his campaign. His speech yesterday is the tough kind of talk most low information voters will respect.
https://youtu.be/DVaxkG0yZCA
Watched it. He echoed just what I was thinking. I would vote for him I. A heartbeat
Thank you for keeping me sane, Professor Richardson. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your thorough and accurate reflection of real events.
This: “A number of Republicans have said they believe that “Antifa” was behind the riot; if they really thought that were the case, wouldn’t they want an investigation?”
Of course they don’t want the truth to come out.
Here's the text of the email to my Trump sycophant U.S. Representative. Dear Representative Moolenaar, I was not surprised to see that your name was not on the list of Republican Representatives who supported the formation of January 6th Commission. In Dr. Heather Cox Richardson,5/19/2021 Letters from An American, she wrote "After years of weaponizing investigations—Benghazi, Secretary of State Clinton’s emails, Hunter Biden—the Republicans are facing an investigation, based in reality, that likely will reflect badly on them. They want no part of it." Yesterday, Representative Ryan from Ohio expressed a similar sentiment. Again, you continue to disappoint. You would rather work to force people to return to minimum wage jobs during a pandemic than get to the bottom of what happened on that deplorable day.
Interesting confluence of events. Trump
Organization under “criminal” investigation, January 6th Commission vote and continuing voter suppression and recount fiascos. What they all have in common is how far Republicans have fallen and how they will stop at nothing to remain in power. The 2022 elections seem more susceptible to manipulation allowing the minority to regain control and move the country farther to the right. We cannot allow this to happen, the consequences are far too great. The counter to this is an legitimate accountability of the crimes by the formers and their supporters and enablers. The failure to do this will be disastrous.