Thank you for your heartfelt writing , Steven. Mitch McConnell’s truthful comments about Trump’s culpability rang hollow on that February day, because he chose NOT to join the 57 other Republicans who wanted to hold the former president accountable for his treasonous attempt to overthrow the 2020 Election. If Mitch would have had the integrity and courage to use his role as a leader in service to our country, he would have saved us from the daily toxic damage we are enduring right now.
Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine not ONLY the heartbreak of January 6, but the denial of that political earthquake that has tried to blind us to its painful truth. The attempted coup is still active. We’re in the fight for our lives as Americans. I fear that the song of the American democracy we all aspired to has been forgotten. It is an old melody and its notes are flat and faded. It was catchy and widely shared in our not too distant past. Now no one even remembers how to sing, much less how that tune went.
Add to the insult the pardoning of January 6 insurrectionists, some of whom are determined to seek reparations. All the while we have ignored the bravery and sheer intestinal fortitude of our brave and bloodied Capitol police.
There is so much to say and so much left unsaid. The Capitol may have been cleaned since that fateful day, but not scrubbed of the evil that permeates the walls, like so much smoke still left after the fire has been extinguished. I, for one, will remember that day. I will remember the day before that day, and all the years before, when, in spite of our differences, democracy, the rule of law, and decency ultimately prevailed.
This is the first time I can say I remember ‘when’…so that when we are subsumed by this Russian-backed effort to bury the truth about the day, I will, for now, still be a living witness to what happened on January 6. I will continue to witness to the truth about what we have lived and are living. “The truth is marching on.”
The plaque that was, by law, to be placed in the Capitol honoring the police on Jan 6 is not there. The GOP and DOJ are fighting tooth and nail to keep it out. Dems have responded with the message of the plaque on large signs by their offices.
The truth is, that it will always be the failure of the Republican Senators to stop Trump from ever becoming President again. Their cowardly lack of courage and character is something they will live with for the rest of their lives. And the American people are living with the results of their actions. I will not stop believing that in the end, We the People will prevail and stop the madness and destruction. His sick and demented plan should be clear to Americans and the rest of the world, that he will dominate all of us until he is stopped.
Steven, WE DID NOT MOVE ON. The Republican leadership moved on because they saw doing so as their only opportunity to hold onto power, control, and money. Our system is badly broken. The people are no longer the drivers of legislative policy; money and power are the only things legislators care about. On the day the SCOTUS decided the “Citizens United” case, I knew in my heart that democracy was dead in this country. I challenge anyone to show me I was wrong.
The people saw what happened. We knew who was responsible. We understood what needed to be done. The Republican Party, and to some extent the Democratic Leadership as well, decided, “We don’t care what the people saw. We don’t care what the people knew. We don’t care what the people need.” That is why we are where we are. And sadly, no amount of pressure from the people in this country will move the needle to do what needs to be done. We no longer matter. We live in a corrupt oligarchy, and we aren’t rich enough to matter.
Mildred Lewis Rutherford, one of the authors of the Lost Cause narrative, wrote the playbook on venerating and canonizing Confederate leaders like Lee and Jackson and the thousands of Southern men and women who were killed. She encouraged UDC members to raise "monuments" to the Glorius Dead; she wrote a checklist for public school textbooks that called the Civil War "The War Between the States," and she celebrated the KKK. She would have loved to help Trump. A venous, selfish, callous villain. All the Confederate traitors should have rotted in jail. And yes, I had ancestors who fought for the traitors.
January 6, 2021 was the most hateful day I ever lived through. I am old enough to remember the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and, of course, 9/11, but January 6 was worse because it was Americans who attacked our Capitol. The convicted felon who sits like a blob in our Oval Office is only interested in his own power, money, and adulation. The only way out of this is through, and with the dedication of Americans all over, who support and defend the US Constitution, we can rid our country of the blight caused by the evil regime.
McConnell, like trump, has always been in politics to serve and benefit himself. His goal for decades was to amass personal power. Did he use it to serve Americans? No. As soon as he became Majority Leader he used it to demand all Republicans block any and all legislation in the Obama administration and to block Supreme Court nominees. He is a racist and a liar. He dislikes trump and put some "patriotic" words around condemning the insurrection. But those words are as hollow as he is as evidenced by his quick support of the terrorist regime now installed. McConnell not only failed America during the impeachment vote but throughout his sad and selfish career. In many ways, he and trump are two sides of the same coin but trump is shinier.
On this 5th anniversary of one of the very worst days this country faced, we have evidence that the insurrection was launched by trump (see Jack Smith report and testimony). And we have evidence (per the election of traitor trump) that too many people take our freedoms for granted and either vote on sound bites from disinformation media or don't vote at all. Polls tell us that the most heinous things trump does - like pardoning all the criminal insurrectionists because they are "his" people - is still fine 30% of the people in this country and Republicans. These 30% do NOT share the values outlined in the Constitution. These lawless people do NOT care about the rule of law. They defile the sacrifice of the police officers attacked on January 6, 2021 and they dishonor the ultimate sacrifice of veterans who died to protect our democracy. McConnell and trump and their 30% do NOT represent the majority of people in this country. We do NOT need to live under their tyranny. But we must stand up and take back our country.
I’ll only quibble with calling McConnell a racist. I think he is more of an opportunist. Obama presented a certain opportunity. McConnell was partially successful. Dems lost dozens of seats in the midterms. We forget that this is when the Dems began losing in so many state legislatures. Then redistricting cleared a path to put the GOP in power.
Black GOP staff turned candidate, a different type of opportunity. Child exploitation and terrorism more (legislative) opportunities. His Machiavellian ways have long made him among the least liked politicians in the country. It also enabled him continue to win elections & wield a lot of power in the Senate & KY even when not in the majority.
McConnell initially told those close to him the Dems “are going to take care of our problem.” But he knew there weren’t enough votes to convict. Rather than try to convince his caucus or take a stand, he chose not to risk what power he had. Shameful.
May history bury his memory in shame. All his deliberate actions including his desired legacy of so-called conservative federal judges, the Roberts Court and the role they ALL played in undermining our country and feeding a rising tide of authoritarianism.
What a sad anniversary. When I think about McConnell's speech it saddens me further bc it really shows the contempt and hypocrisy that's permitted (or actually encouraged) within the Republican party. $rump is still calling the shots - more so than ever - and I hope they all go down in flames in November. (Oh yes he is trying to usurp that election but it WILL happen!!)
The Confederate traitors were not decisively dealt with. They should have been held accountable. They took up arms against the US. They should have been tried and imprisoned or executed.
As fervently as I try to act on my conviction that, to borrow from Joyce Vance,“Giving Up Is Unforgivable”, I confess to feeling a pit in my stomach about the likelihood that our nation is close to the brink of destruction. The inertia of too many citizens, the supine, craven (or calculated and cynical) complicity of the Republicans in Congress, and a Supreme Court that is dominated by justices who appear willing to adopt a jurisprudence of whatever manner will benefit Trump’s administration have left me despairing. An untethered, deranged president and cabinet wholly dismissive of the rule of law, convinced of their right to act without restraint… I don’t know how much more we can sustain before America is gone for good.
I have to believe we will. I could not rest if I failed to do what is in my power to resist. I can’t sit idly by in the face of such cruelty, incompetence and assault. Our nation has been through dark times before and through the will of brave people has not just survived but moved closer to its aspirational ideals. But it remains difficult to see an end to the madness especially as the regime grows increasingly desperate and untethered.
“While we look back on that singularly shameful day in our nation’s history and the consequences of Republicans acquitting Trump in the weeks that followed, let’s strengthen our resolve that we will not just move on when the current dark and criminal chapter is over.”
I assume you are referring to "the criminals among us" as the regime. Unfortunately, there are no do-overs to bring justice to the violent actors on J6, 2021. I keep trying to find my bearings, to straighten and strengthen my resolve, but Trump and Company keep throwing more chum into the republic's water. Venezuela. Cuba. Greenland. I have no fear that the true history of what happened on J6 will be lost, no matter how hard the White House lies and tries to reshape the narrative. The whole world was watching, mouths agape, stomachs churning. That spectacle will not be forgotten and it behooves each and every one of us to makes sure to pass down to our children and their children and...the true story of what one man's wounded ego wrought on a cold and blustery day in Washington, D.C. And a post script: there must be something REALLY terrible in those Epstein files; why else all the bombs, guns and shiny objects these last two weeks?
January 6th is behind us and perhaps will be a lesson in patriotism among those of us who found it abhorrent. And find the maga movement that persists reprehensible. But there's a bigger snake in the swamp: the so-called unitary executive which tries to concentrate government power into the executive branch.
If the Democratic Party gains majorities in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate this November, we can hope and pray that the new congressional leadership will have a modicum of basic courage to reign in trump and all his minions as well as all future presidents.
The problematic mindset of trump and cohorts was said this week by presidential Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt commenting on the military serizure of Greenland.
“[A]nd of course, utilizing the U.S. Military is always an option at the Commander in Chief’s disposal,” said a written statement supposedly written by her.
WHAT?
The U.S. military is not the private military of this or any president.
Perhaps the Constitution should be amended to remove all military power from the chief executive officer and put it into the hands of a nonpartisan elected official. Especially since Congress has shown its wretched timidity over the past six or seven decades to control any president.
Thank you for your heartfelt writing , Steven. Mitch McConnell’s truthful comments about Trump’s culpability rang hollow on that February day, because he chose NOT to join the 57 other Republicans who wanted to hold the former president accountable for his treasonous attempt to overthrow the 2020 Election. If Mitch would have had the integrity and courage to use his role as a leader in service to our country, he would have saved us from the daily toxic damage we are enduring right now.
Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine not ONLY the heartbreak of January 6, but the denial of that political earthquake that has tried to blind us to its painful truth. The attempted coup is still active. We’re in the fight for our lives as Americans. I fear that the song of the American democracy we all aspired to has been forgotten. It is an old melody and its notes are flat and faded. It was catchy and widely shared in our not too distant past. Now no one even remembers how to sing, much less how that tune went.
Add to the insult the pardoning of January 6 insurrectionists, some of whom are determined to seek reparations. All the while we have ignored the bravery and sheer intestinal fortitude of our brave and bloodied Capitol police.
There is so much to say and so much left unsaid. The Capitol may have been cleaned since that fateful day, but not scrubbed of the evil that permeates the walls, like so much smoke still left after the fire has been extinguished. I, for one, will remember that day. I will remember the day before that day, and all the years before, when, in spite of our differences, democracy, the rule of law, and decency ultimately prevailed.
This is the first time I can say I remember ‘when’…so that when we are subsumed by this Russian-backed effort to bury the truth about the day, I will, for now, still be a living witness to what happened on January 6. I will continue to witness to the truth about what we have lived and are living. “The truth is marching on.”
This regime is a constant assault on our senses.
The plaque that was, by law, to be placed in the Capitol honoring the police on Jan 6 is not there. The GOP and DOJ are fighting tooth and nail to keep it out. Dems have responded with the message of the plaque on large signs by their offices.
https://www.npr.org/2026/01/06/nx-s1-5668076/january-6-plaque-law-enforcement-capitol
The truth is, that it will always be the failure of the Republican Senators to stop Trump from ever becoming President again. Their cowardly lack of courage and character is something they will live with for the rest of their lives. And the American people are living with the results of their actions. I will not stop believing that in the end, We the People will prevail and stop the madness and destruction. His sick and demented plan should be clear to Americans and the rest of the world, that he will dominate all of us until he is stopped.
Steven, WE DID NOT MOVE ON. The Republican leadership moved on because they saw doing so as their only opportunity to hold onto power, control, and money. Our system is badly broken. The people are no longer the drivers of legislative policy; money and power are the only things legislators care about. On the day the SCOTUS decided the “Citizens United” case, I knew in my heart that democracy was dead in this country. I challenge anyone to show me I was wrong.
The people saw what happened. We knew who was responsible. We understood what needed to be done. The Republican Party, and to some extent the Democratic Leadership as well, decided, “We don’t care what the people saw. We don’t care what the people knew. We don’t care what the people need.” That is why we are where we are. And sadly, no amount of pressure from the people in this country will move the needle to do what needs to be done. We no longer matter. We live in a corrupt oligarchy, and we aren’t rich enough to matter.
Kyle, Sad but True....your comment says it all!!!! Good writing!!!
Thanks Bob
Mildred Lewis Rutherford, one of the authors of the Lost Cause narrative, wrote the playbook on venerating and canonizing Confederate leaders like Lee and Jackson and the thousands of Southern men and women who were killed. She encouraged UDC members to raise "monuments" to the Glorius Dead; she wrote a checklist for public school textbooks that called the Civil War "The War Between the States," and she celebrated the KKK. She would have loved to help Trump. A venous, selfish, callous villain. All the Confederate traitors should have rotted in jail. And yes, I had ancestors who fought for the traitors.
January 6, 2021 was the most hateful day I ever lived through. I am old enough to remember the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and, of course, 9/11, but January 6 was worse because it was Americans who attacked our Capitol. The convicted felon who sits like a blob in our Oval Office is only interested in his own power, money, and adulation. The only way out of this is through, and with the dedication of Americans all over, who support and defend the US Constitution, we can rid our country of the blight caused by the evil regime.
McConnell, like trump, has always been in politics to serve and benefit himself. His goal for decades was to amass personal power. Did he use it to serve Americans? No. As soon as he became Majority Leader he used it to demand all Republicans block any and all legislation in the Obama administration and to block Supreme Court nominees. He is a racist and a liar. He dislikes trump and put some "patriotic" words around condemning the insurrection. But those words are as hollow as he is as evidenced by his quick support of the terrorist regime now installed. McConnell not only failed America during the impeachment vote but throughout his sad and selfish career. In many ways, he and trump are two sides of the same coin but trump is shinier.
On this 5th anniversary of one of the very worst days this country faced, we have evidence that the insurrection was launched by trump (see Jack Smith report and testimony). And we have evidence (per the election of traitor trump) that too many people take our freedoms for granted and either vote on sound bites from disinformation media or don't vote at all. Polls tell us that the most heinous things trump does - like pardoning all the criminal insurrectionists because they are "his" people - is still fine 30% of the people in this country and Republicans. These 30% do NOT share the values outlined in the Constitution. These lawless people do NOT care about the rule of law. They defile the sacrifice of the police officers attacked on January 6, 2021 and they dishonor the ultimate sacrifice of veterans who died to protect our democracy. McConnell and trump and their 30% do NOT represent the majority of people in this country. We do NOT need to live under their tyranny. But we must stand up and take back our country.
I’ll only quibble with calling McConnell a racist. I think he is more of an opportunist. Obama presented a certain opportunity. McConnell was partially successful. Dems lost dozens of seats in the midterms. We forget that this is when the Dems began losing in so many state legislatures. Then redistricting cleared a path to put the GOP in power.
Black GOP staff turned candidate, a different type of opportunity. Child exploitation and terrorism more (legislative) opportunities. His Machiavellian ways have long made him among the least liked politicians in the country. It also enabled him continue to win elections & wield a lot of power in the Senate & KY even when not in the majority.
McConnell initially told those close to him the Dems “are going to take care of our problem.” But he knew there weren’t enough votes to convict. Rather than try to convince his caucus or take a stand, he chose not to risk what power he had. Shameful.
May history bury his memory in shame. All his deliberate actions including his desired legacy of so-called conservative federal judges, the Roberts Court and the role they ALL played in undermining our country and feeding a rising tide of authoritarianism.
Thank you, Mr. Beschloss.
Accountability and Telling the Truth:
Jan 6 2021 was a terrible day. I started early listening to all the lie filled angry hate filled speeches.
TRUTH or rather the Abuse of Truth has been and is this regime’s oil rig drill bit undermining our Democracy.
Thank you for remembering and reminding and encouraging us to stay strong.
We must vigorously pursue and share Truth
Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274):
Integrated Greek thought with Christianity, seeing truth as a divine attribute and aligning intellect with reality.
What a sad anniversary. When I think about McConnell's speech it saddens me further bc it really shows the contempt and hypocrisy that's permitted (or actually encouraged) within the Republican party. $rump is still calling the shots - more so than ever - and I hope they all go down in flames in November. (Oh yes he is trying to usurp that election but it WILL happen!!)
The Confederate traitors were not decisively dealt with. They should have been held accountable. They took up arms against the US. They should have been tried and imprisoned or executed.
As fervently as I try to act on my conviction that, to borrow from Joyce Vance,“Giving Up Is Unforgivable”, I confess to feeling a pit in my stomach about the likelihood that our nation is close to the brink of destruction. The inertia of too many citizens, the supine, craven (or calculated and cynical) complicity of the Republicans in Congress, and a Supreme Court that is dominated by justices who appear willing to adopt a jurisprudence of whatever manner will benefit Trump’s administration have left me despairing. An untethered, deranged president and cabinet wholly dismissive of the rule of law, convinced of their right to act without restraint… I don’t know how much more we can sustain before America is gone for good.
I agree with Joyce Vance. We will overcome this.
I have to believe we will. I could not rest if I failed to do what is in my power to resist. I can’t sit idly by in the face of such cruelty, incompetence and assault. Our nation has been through dark times before and through the will of brave people has not just survived but moved closer to its aspirational ideals. But it remains difficult to see an end to the madness especially as the regime grows increasingly desperate and untethered.
True
Thanks. Well put.
Re-reading:
Excerpt
“While we look back on that singularly shameful day in our nation’s history and the consequences of Republicans acquitting Trump in the weeks that followed, let’s strengthen our resolve that we will not just move on when the current dark and criminal chapter is over.”
💙🇺🇸💙
I assume you are referring to "the criminals among us" as the regime. Unfortunately, there are no do-overs to bring justice to the violent actors on J6, 2021. I keep trying to find my bearings, to straighten and strengthen my resolve, but Trump and Company keep throwing more chum into the republic's water. Venezuela. Cuba. Greenland. I have no fear that the true history of what happened on J6 will be lost, no matter how hard the White House lies and tries to reshape the narrative. The whole world was watching, mouths agape, stomachs churning. That spectacle will not be forgotten and it behooves each and every one of us to makes sure to pass down to our children and their children and...the true story of what one man's wounded ego wrought on a cold and blustery day in Washington, D.C. And a post script: there must be something REALLY terrible in those Epstein files; why else all the bombs, guns and shiny objects these last two weeks?
January 6th is behind us and perhaps will be a lesson in patriotism among those of us who found it abhorrent. And find the maga movement that persists reprehensible. But there's a bigger snake in the swamp: the so-called unitary executive which tries to concentrate government power into the executive branch.
If the Democratic Party gains majorities in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate this November, we can hope and pray that the new congressional leadership will have a modicum of basic courage to reign in trump and all his minions as well as all future presidents.
The problematic mindset of trump and cohorts was said this week by presidential Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt commenting on the military serizure of Greenland.
“[A]nd of course, utilizing the U.S. Military is always an option at the Commander in Chief’s disposal,” said a written statement supposedly written by her.
WHAT?
The U.S. military is not the private military of this or any president.
Perhaps the Constitution should be amended to remove all military power from the chief executive officer and put it into the hands of a nonpartisan elected official. Especially since Congress has shown its wretched timidity over the past six or seven decades to control any president.