The Barbershop: Dennis Byrne, Proprietor
Can we have a rational discussion about Jan. 6?
A pox on both sides
Some takeaways from the House hearings.
How long do we have to put up the posturing from both political sides about the events of Jan. 6? Must we endlessly be suffocated with the twisted and self-serving narratives of poseurs?
Can’t we have a rational discussion about what happened when a mob assaulted the United States Capitol? If it’s possible, here is my attempt at making some even-handed observations, now that the first day of hearings by a House investigating committee is completed. Please bear with me.
Call it an insurrection, or not
Let’s not get knot-tied over the linguistics. What happened when a mob stormed into the Capitol was a direct assault on the democratic and constitutional process. Essentially, it was an attempt by some to disrupt or halt a function of the federal government.
Not just an ordinary function, but one prescribed in the Constitution that ratifies the election of the president. While it was made worse by the storming of the physical space where the function was occurring–the Capitol–the invasion would have been just as loathsome as if it occurred outside of the Capitol building. Call it what you want; it was an unprecedented assault, an attempt to overthrow an election by coercion or violence.
Yea but, how about….?
The violent assaults last year against a federal courthouse and institutions of justice. Weren’t they just as bad?
The regurgitation of the trope that the actions were “mostly peaceful” is a dodge. You can say the same thing about the Jan, 6 actions, when the thousands who had gathered to protest the result of the election were “mostly peaceful.” From both protests–last year’s and on Jan 6–arose violent action.
More people died or were injured, more property was destroyed and more laws violated when the “mostly peaceful” protests last summer degenerated into violence.
Still, the assault on the Capitol was symbolically worse in that it was on a hallowed place, the place of the Republic’s most solemn actions. The rioters who stormed through the Capitol, assaulting those who were protecting it, were no better than the British troops that burned the Capitol nearly to the ground in the War of 1812. It’s a sight that should frighten everyone.
Trump incited the violence.
Yes and no. Ex-president Donald Trump’s decision to hold a rally in the District of Columbia while not far away the electors were ratifying the election was not just boneheaded. It was dangerous. It was the action of a naive and ego-obsessed president who ignored the dangers. It gave cover to the rioters who showed up planning the assault from the beginning.
Trump’s failure to immediately call off the attackers (yes, they were his supporters, not a bunch of antifa imposters) was gasoline on the fire. Oh sure, he told his supporters to “go home,” but it came much too late.
And yet, Trump’s carelessness was not taken by the vast majority of the crowd as a “command” to invade the Capitol. I know some people who were there; it was not their intention, nor did they do it. It’s a gross insult to the thousands of Americans to argue that they could be so easily manipulated.
But they had no reason to protest in the first place.
Yes they did.
Obviously, they had a right to protest–as does anyone–an election they believe was deeply flawed (i.e.”stolen”). They had cause. Election laws were altered, with the Covid-19 pandemic, as an excuse in a way that favored Democrats. Law suits seeking a closer examination of the allegations mostly were dismissed for “lack of standing” and other technical reasons, rather than on their substantive merits.
And yet, believing that you can overturn an election by violence is not just dangerous, but a fool’s errand. Even now, some people firmly believe that the election can be thrown out and Trump reinstalled as president. There’s no law that permits that. How would such a thing be accomplished? By force?
A military coup?
Speaking of which…. Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, feared that Trump was planning a coup, according to some reports. “What if There Wasn’t a Coup Plot, General Milley?” in the New York Times examines that prospect. The author, Christopher Caldwell, contemplates a military involvement in an election–a prospect that he, and I, find more than troubling. The military has no business in it; this isn’t some South American tin pot dictatorship.
The thought by either Trump’s supporters or his opponents that anyone could void Joe Biden’s election sends shivers down my spine. That Trump still holds out the hope that he can be reinstalled in the oval office is more evidence of his mindlessness and all the more reason that the GOP should find another 2024 presidential candidate. If they give a fig about America.
The reality: As an insurrection, it was a bust.
It wasn’t the Storming of the Bastille that kicked off the French Revolution and decades of violent and deadly turmoil. Chewbacca Man had no chance of bringing down the government. It terms of lives lost, people injured, small businesses ruined and lasting damage to respect for law and order, those riots last year were more lasting and damaging.
Meanwhile, what about reports that hundreds of people are being held without bail on nonviolent charges stemming from their alleged participation in the storming of the Capitol? Don’t we deserve those details, if true? Where’s the media on this one?
While hundreds of people who were arrested and face prosecution for storming the Capitol, where are the hundreds, the thousands, who participated in the riots under the cover of seeking justice for black and brown people? Few arrested. Those arrested were bailed out by the woke left and not prosecuted. Turning the other way has made a joke of the criminal justice system.
Speaking of jokes, take the House committee. Please.
The House investigation is politically motived, a transparent and crass attempt by Democrats to keep Jan. 6 alive until Nov. 8, 2022–election day. Indeed, it’s what Republicans deserve for trying to down-play the riot’s importance. Trying to deflect partisan criticism of Trump’s role is a lost cause.
And Republican rhetoric that “we don’t need another investigation because the justice system is prosecuting” the invaders is irrelevant. For me, the more investigations, the better the public is served.
As for being transparent and accountable, the public deserves an explanation of how and why air force veteran Ashli Babbitt was shot and killed. Just saying that the shooting was justified is grossly insufficient.
As long as the probes are thorough, balanced and honest.
Which the Democratic-run House investigation appears not to be. At least not yet. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has made that abundantly clear. She over-represented Democrats on the committee, and–for the first time in my memory–dictated whom the opposing party could put on a congressional committee. After vetoing a couple of Republican members, she appointed two GOP members who are strong Trump critics. Who will ask the tough questions? It amounts to a star chamber proceeding.
As political theater, the first day of hearings was a spectacular win for the Democrats. The testimony of the four police officers who heroically attempted to halt the mob was riveting. And saddening. You don’t dishonor an American flag on a pole to batter your way into the Capitol on the pretext of saving America.
And yet. Notice that all four officers opened their statements by making clear that their views were theirs alone and not representative of the police department’s views. So what are those official views? Will they even be asked. Note too that all four loaded copious left-wing political views into their statements. Is anyone going to bother looking into their political backgrounds?
So, how the hell was it allowed to happen?
The odds are that the Democratic-controlled committee, appointed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will never get around to calling any witnesses to ask the Capitol was left so unprotected.
Is it because Pelosi had responsibility for ensuring the safety of the first branch of government and she failed miserably? Because of her incompetence? Failure to answer that question only fuels the speculation that she wanted the riots to happen because it would shame Republicans. More–God forbid–that she abetted the break-in by withholding adequate protections.
Ironically, Pelosi now is exercising dictatorial-like powers, keeping the fencing up surrounding the Capitol grounds longer than necessary and making lawmakers to wear masks. Why wasn’t she so protective at the beginning?
Why were the police deserted–yes, deserted? Is Pelosi really naive enough to think that the electors didn’t need protection? Did she have confidence that no one in the crowd would try to turn to violence? Really?
Trump’s unforgivable betrayal.
Trump crapped on Vice President Mike Pence. The guy was one of Trump’s most loyal supporters, but he would not, nor could not, do whatever the hell Trump wanted him to do. Proclaim that the electoral college was meeting illegally? Disqualify the certified votes of key states? Provoke a constitutional crisis that could have plunged the country into who-knows-what nightmare?
For following the law, Trump so dirtied Pence that it virtually ruined his chance to run for president. Republicans who condemn Pence for doing the right thing have got it all wrong. Pence should be honored. If anything shows Trump at his worst, his betrayal does.
There’s more to criticize. But you’ve probably seen enough, if you have read this far. Suffice to say that this has not been America’s finest hour.
The next hearing won’t be for a month or so. Is it possible that we can put the partisan blathering aside and come up with some workable and reasonable recommendations so we never see anything like this ever again?
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