“Side by side at ground zero on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a Republican governor read from the Gettysburg Address and a Democratic governor read from the Declaration of Independence as Americans everywhere mourned and remembered as one people.
“On Thursday (January 6, 2022), in contrast, the anniversary of the assault on the U.S. Capitol exposed a nation of two peoples.
“Democrats, led by one angry president standing in the gleaming hall of statues overrun a year ago by the pro-Trump mob, remembered. Republicans in large measure moved on.
“How a nation mourns and remembers has long been fundamental to America’s glossy ideal of shared values, common purpose and familiar sense of history. The division on this day showed a country far removed from that.”
(Calvin Woodward. “Americans do not remember Jan. 6 Capitol riot as one people.” Associated Press. January 07, 2022.)
The AP noted that for his January 6 remarks, Biden chose the scene of the crime – the seat of democracy. He spoke from a platform in Statuary Hall. He and Vice President Kamala Harris had no live audience before them for their televised remarks.
Calvin Woodward wrote …
“Biden’s raw edge showed through his carefully-scripted speech as he called out Donald Trump repeatedly, not by name but by position – 'the former president. He’s a defeated former president,' Biden said, practically spitting out 'defeated.'
“'You can’t love your country only when you win,' he said of the attackers whom some Republicans brand as 'American patriots.'
“With revulsion, he recalled the American flags brandished as spears by the rioters and the mock gallows they erected outside for Vice President Mike Pence when he was inside, preparing to carry out his ceremonial duty of affirming the election result.
“'I will allow no one to place a dagger at the throat of democracy,' Biden said.
“'How dare anyone – anyone – diminish, belittle or deny the hell they were put through?”\' Biden demanded. 'We saw it with our own eyes. ... The lies that drive the anger and madness we saw in this place, they have not abated.'”
(Calvin Woodward. “Americans do not remember Jan. 6 Capitol riot as one people.” Associated Press. January 07, 2022.)
Last year, the events of January 6, 2021 brought a measure of unity in the first shockwaves as top Republicans joined Democrats in assailing Trump’s exhortation to his followers to “fight like hell” at the Capitol.
In the days after the riot, a number of Republicans laid blame for it at Trump’s feet, with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) saying the president “bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on Congress” and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) saying “President Trump is responsible for provoking the events of the day.”
In truth, it appears any commonality dissolved within hours, after shaken lawmakers regrouped to certify Biden’s victory. Trump’s hold on the party has only tightened since.
The cave-in began almost immediately. House minority leader Kevin McCarthy reversed himself on Trump’s responsibility before the month was up, insisting on Jan. 21: “I don’t believe he provoked it.” By February, McConnell voted to acquit Trump on impeachment charges.
Tim Dickinson of Rolling Stone reports …
“By spring, the gravity of the events of January 6 seemed to pale in comparison to the political gravity of the 45th president. Trump loyalists were soon busy recasting history. Sen. Ron Jonson of Wisconsin called the insurrection a 'peaceful protest.' Back benchers like Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia likened the mob violence to “a normal tourist visit.”
(Tim Dickinson. “Republicans Promised to Banish Jan. 6 Insurrectionists. A Year Later, They’ve Purged Jan. 6 Critics.” Rolling Stone. January 5, 2022.)
Now, that message is fully embedded. For example, after the attack, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina notably said he was through with Trump. This proved to be a separation that was not the “forever” he suggested.
Just one year later – on the first anniversary of the Capitol riot – Graham acknowledged January 6, 2021, was a “dark day in American history.” However, he accused Biden of mining it for political gain.
“What brazen politicization of January 6 by President Biden,” Graham tweeted.
It should be noted that the commemoration of January 6 was wholly unlike September 11, 2002, when doves were sent aloft, cannons fired and choirs across the country sang Mozart’s “Requiem.” New York’s Republican governor, New Jersey’s Democratic governor, the ex-mayor (and future Trump lawyer) Rudy Giuliani and Republican President George W. Bush joined New York City crowds in commemoration of a day honored worldwide.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney paid a surprise visit to the Capitol on Thursday, as Democrats in Congress solemnly marked the one-year anniversary of the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.
The former vice president told reporters he was there to support his daughter, Liz Cheney, the Wyoming Republican who is vice chair of the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack. But he also wanted to come to Washington to commemorate the dark day.
But there at the Capitol, it was starkly obvious how many Republicans shared the former VP’s view of the day’s importance: Save for the two Cheneys and an aide, every seat on the Republican half of the massive chamber was empty.
The only Republican-led event on Thursday to commemorate January 6 was hosted by two lawmakers on the fringes of the party, Representatives Matt Gaetz of Florida and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia. Seeking to deflect blame from Mr. Trump, they held a news conference to elevate unproven conspiracy theories about the origins of the assault on the Capitol.
“I think it’s a reflection of where our party is,” Ms. Cheney told reporters. “Very concerning.”
(Catie Edmondson. “‘A Reflection of Where Our Party Is’: Republicans Avoid Jan. 6 Observances.” The New York Times. January 06, 2022.)
And, outside Washington, vigils planned for the day were scattered and largely split along ideological or party lines.
The Incredible Division
The fighting at the Capitol in 2021 was so primitive and ferocious that one Capitol Police officer described it as “medieval” and another as a “trip to hell.” It left more than 100 law enforcement personnel injured, some beaten with their own weapons.
Despite the anger, the mayhem, and the graphic violence that unfolded before the cameras on January 6, 2021, only about four in 10 Republicans recall the attack as very or extremely violent, compared with nine in 10 Democrats, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
About 3 in 10 Republicans say the attack was not violent, and about another 3 in 10 say it was somewhat violent.
(Farnoush Amir. “Despite brutal video, only GOP minority say 1/6 very violent.” Associated Press – NORC Center for Public Affairs Research January 04, 2022.)
According to data from Pew Research Center, from March to September of 2021 there was a 22 percentage point drop in the share of Republicans who say law enforcement needs to track down and prosecute those who stormed the Capitol that day.
A false portrayal of the siege has taken hold despite extensive footage that shows the ransacking of the building in harrowing detail. Trump and some allies in Congress and conservative media have played it down, falsely characterizing the attack as a minor civil disturbance. Refusing to acknowledge evidence and their own eyes, many Republicans continue to believe that representation.
Research shows that Republicans continue to defend the events of January 6 and those who perpetrated the attacks on the capitol, with 80% describing the events as a “protest,” while the majority (55%) of all respondents of the poll use the term “riot.”
While 62% of Republicans said the perpetrators were “protestors,” more than a quarter (26%) deemed the pro-Trump horde “patriots,” while similar numbers (27%) also said they were “Antifa.” Democrats, meanwhile, nearly equally described them as “insurrectionists,” “white nationalists” and “rioters” (68% each), a “mob” (67%) and “terrorists” (64%).
(Tatishe Nteta. “One Year Later, New UMass Amherst Poll Finds Continued National Political Division Over the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol.” University of Massachusetts Amhearst Research. December 28, 2021. )
In addition, Fifty-two percent or Republicans said they’d be less likely to support a candidate who “voted to create a commission to investigate the events of January 6”; only 17 percent said they’d be more likely. The poll also indicated that Republican candidates would lose support in primaries if they had voted to certify the 2020 election, but they would gain support if they refused to “denounce the events of January 6th.”
(Tim Dickinson. “Republicans Promised to Banish Jan. 6 Insurrectionists. A Year Later, They’ve Purged Jan. 6 Critics.” Rolling Stone. January 5, 2022.)
Why Reject The Truth?
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer offers this simple, straightforward answer: “Just about every one of them is so afraid of Donald Trump.”
Schumer says, “Even when they whisper to us that they don’t like what he’s saying, don’t agree with what he’s saying, they’re afraid to resist him. He has a power over the Republican Party right now that is damaging.”
Trump and his apologists, enablers, and yes men have — at least for the rank-and-file of the Republican base — succeeded in warping reality. That late-December poll by the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, tells the story: Only 6 percent of Republicans surveyed believe the election of Joe Biden was “definitely legitimate.”
Trump's “power over the GOP” is rooted in what else? Money. He is its top fund-raiser – the dominant fund-raising force among the party’s grass-roots donors.
By early summer, Mr. Trump was almost single-handedly matching the entire Republican Party apparatus online. The R.N.C., plus the House and Senate campaign committees, raised a combined $2.34 million online in the last five days of June. Mr. Trump’s committees raised $2.29 million.
(Shane Goldmacher and Maggie Haberman. “A Year After Capitol Riot, Trump’s Hold on G.O.P. Is Unrivaled.” The New York Times. January 05, 2022.)
And now, Trump is planning a bigger public profile in 2022, scaling up a political operation and a more intense travel schedule of rallies. He has said he will not announce his plans for 2024 until after the midterms.
But when conservative talk radio host Hugh Hewitt asked what would happen to his base if he did not run, Mr. Trump was quick with a reply.
“If I do decide that,” he said, “I think my base is going to be very angry.”
(Shane Goldmacher and Maggie Haberman. “A Year After Capitol Riot, Trump’s Hold on G.O.P. Is Unrivaled.” The New York Times. January 05, 2022.)
“Despite Trump being limited to one more term as president and being a two-time popular vote loser, the majority of the Republican electorate seems to favor him being the GOP standard bearer in 2024,” Alexander Theodoridis, associate professor of political science at UMass Amherst says.
Theodoridis continues: “More than half list him as their first choice and three out of four Republicans have him in their top three. There is every reason to believe Trump’s decision to run or not will dictate the shape of the Republican field heading into 2024.”
(Jared Sharpe New UMass Amherst Poll on Election Reforms Shows Continued National Support for Expanding Voting Rights.” University of Massachusetts Amhearst Research. January 5, 2022.)
Where is the backbone and the conscience of the Republican Party? On the one-year anniversary of the January 6 Capitol insurrection, the GOP cannot ignore that Donald Trump with his divisive White nationalist views and conspiratorial lies has inflicted irreparable harm on the government of the United States of America. He has evidently done so with the consent of much of the American electorate. It is evident that he intends to run once again for president in 2024 on a platform of revenge against anyone who opposed his nonsensical, narcissistic and violent policies and views.
All that is required for national healing to continue is that Republicans reject a Trump candidacy and nominate a leader worthy of the office. The party's desire for political gain – motivated by fear and money – will likely prevent this from happening. We have seen the consequences of putting Donald Trump in the office of the most powerful person on earth. Yet, his party is busy planning for another failed term in office.
The deadly events of January 6, 2021 – inspired and coordinated by Trump – will forever be a symbol of the GOP's misguided, wicked creation. If given the chance to hold office again, Trump, by his own admission, will unleash his uncontrollable anger to further his personal gain. I, for one, encourage everyone to remember the Capitol riot and insurrection. Put the blame for that terrible day where it belongs by punishing all of those responsible … chief among the guilty is ex-President Donald Trump.
It
finally took trespassing hands
and broken glass, crying flags,
and smoke,
not cigars, but canisters for war.
The paintings
and statues only watch
with
side-eyes. Would they be cut, painted
with a shade of flat black,
forced to walk
in our full streets of loud sedition
off wire
hanger and naked plinth?
Out
on the lawn, a hot dog vendor,
stuffing pink feed into maskless
mouth,
selling comfort for a weak tribe where
craving is too
much for the toxic.
Later,
in a white hotel lobby,
left alone, unshackled, they clatter
beer
glasses and flag poles, wrapped in red,
sealed in the stone of
lies and more lies,
scrolling
to sharpen their broken sword,
lost in riotous calm, pretending
to
be hurt, and actually hurt
by spasm-stabbing their own closed
eye.
By Trapper Markelz, January 07, 2021
https://trappermarkelz.medium.com/january-6-2021-afae829ecab8
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