Daily Archives: January 17, 2021

opinion

The right to vote

Gun rights activists often claim the purpose of the Second Amendment is to give the people the means to overthrow the government in the event it becomes tyrannical. Im still waiting to hear who gets to decide when the government crosses that threshold.

Were the armed insurrectionists that stormed the Capitol within their constitutional rights? Was Timothy McVeigh when he blew up the federal building in Oklahoma?

Actually, the weapon the Founding Fathers gave us to defend against a tyrannical government is the ballot box. Thats the weapon Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, Rick Scott, Kat Cammack, et.al. feared. The right to vote is the weapon they tried to confiscate.

Bob Alexander, Keystone Heights

Lessons in acceptance

A Jan. 9 article referenced the School Boards meeting regarding rezoning to fill the new elementary school. Some parents with children at Chiles Elementary felt that their precious children would somehow suffer if students (apparently less precious) from Terwilliger were to attend the same school as their children.

They would do well to consider that not all learning is from books. Perhaps both sets of students could learn the meaning and practice of acceptance, a lesson which of course should begin at home.

Sandy Laipis, Gainesville

Trump couldnt change

Democrats did not win the 2020 election. Donald Trump lost it. For decades Democrats drifted away from Americas economic core working women and men striving to keep jobs, feed families, raise children, pay rent and stay well to the goals of social justice LGBTQ rights, pro-abortion and the like.

Social justice is worthy and essential, but it does not feed hungry stomachs. Crowds of the disaffected migrated to high-sounding Republican economic promises (no matter how hollow). Trump was their man until his vile and empty character inevitably sunk so low that the more thoughtful could no longer tolerate it.

If in August, say, Trump had worn a COVID mask, embraced Dr. Anthony Fauci, called Joe Biden a good but not presidential man and proposed massive economic support for the-out-of-work, he would have sailed into a second term. How lucky we are! The deranged tyrant like the leopard could not change his spots.

Joe Little, Gainesville

Return to religion

This country is seriously divided. But that wasn't always so. For over 200 years we were able to overcome differences to become a place where many yearned to come. Even a disastrous Civil War was unable to bring us down. But things have changed.

Not too long ago, the vast majority of Americans were bound together by a belief in the God of the Bible. Whether Protestants, Catholics or Jews, the country had a solid foundation on which to maintain a connection in spite of differences in how people worshipped Him.

The Biblical God is no longer welcome in a large part of our society. In fact, religion in general is disavowed on many levels.

Only a deep source of unity stronger than the political issues that divide us will allow us to attain the common good. Not Marxism, not socialism, not capitalism nor any combination of these can do the job. If we are to keep this republic, we need a massive dose of "Godism."

Leonard Young, Keystone Heights

Misplaced blame

According to a YouGov poll, a majority of Republican voters said President-elect Joe Biden is at fault for the actions of President Trump's supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. They are certifiably insane.

Paul Hargrave, Gainesville

Excerpt from:
Today's letters: Readers comment on the attack on the Capitol and more - Gainesville Sun

AUSTIN (Nexstar) Texas lawmakers started the legislative session Tuesday amid heightened security at the State Capitol. Both DPS and Texas National Guard had a larger than normal presence inside and outside the building.

Many of them are still on duty at the Capitol.

Thats because of an FBI warning saying armed protests are being planned at capitols in all 50 states in the days leading up to the presidential inauguration. The warning says government buildings could be stormed, similar to what happened earlier this month at the U.S. Capitol.

As lawmakers gathered at the State Capitol on Tuesday, President Donald Trump came to Texas to make his first appearance since the unrest at the nations Capitol.

He visited the Rio Grande Valley, in part to tout the progress of the border wall hes been campaigning on for years.

I kept my promises. And today we celebrate an extraordinary milestone the completion of the promised 450 miles of border wall, Trump said Tuesday from a section of the wall in Alamo, just outside McAllen.

Hundreds of supporters lined the streets to greet the president, although the public was not allowed to attend the event itself.

He supported America, he supported our military. Hes gotten more things done in the last four years than what he even promised to do, and he fulfilled all of his promises, Weslaco native Jim Thalackre said Tuesday.

Im glad hes come down here to the border, Ive been here for 25 years, and I think hes really done a great job for us, Thalackre said.

Were all in support of our president, we love our country, thats what this is all about, said Trump supporter Patty, who made the trip for the presidents visit all the way from Minnesota.

But Democrats call the trip a waste of time.

The priorities of the nation should be getting the COVID-19 vaccines out to the people, talking about how we unite the country, especially after that violent attack that we had at the Capitol, said Congressman Henry Cuellar, a Democrat representing the states 28th district along the border.

Trump did address the chaos at our nations Capitol Tuesday.

We believe in respecting Americas history and traditions, not tearing them down. We believe in the rule of law, not in violence or rioting, the president said. Now is the time for our nation to heal. And its time for peace and for calm. Respect for law enforcement.

But Democrats, including Cuellar and Congressman Vicente Gonzalez, representative of border District 15, said the trip is more deflection.

He now is coming to our border to try to give a better last image, if you will of his presidency. Hes trying to appease his base, Gonzalez said Tuesday.

Democrats also question the amount of the border wall the Trump administration can take credit for.

He talks about 450 miles of fencing a wall thats not even correct. The new miles are only about 25 miles. So that means hes built only a little bit over four miles, about six miles every year, in the last four years, Cuellar said.

Customs and Border Protection said about 20% of the administrations wall has been completed in new territories.

President Trumps visit to Texas came one day before the U.S. House voted to impeach him for the second time. This time, the impeachment is for his role in inciting the violence at the Capitol.

This president took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution. Instead he has chosen to betray and attack our sacred democracy, Houston Democrat Sylvia Garcia said during the proceedings. Garcia was one of the managers in Trumps first impeachment.

The vote went mostly along party lines. Texas Republican Pat Fallon called the impeachment a sham as he spoke on the floor in opposition.

This is just political grandstanding at its worst, Fallon said.

Central Texas Republican Chip Roy also criticized the articles of impeachment presented by Democrats. But he had strong criticism for President Trumps actions.

The President of the United States deserves universal condemnation for what was clearly, in my opinion, impeachable conduct, pressuring the vice president to violate his oath of the Constitution to count the electors, Roy said.

However, he said the focus on inciting insurrection made the articles drafted by Democrats flawed and unsupportable.

Gov. Greg Abbott promised to lure more businesses to Texas and punish cities that defund police while sharing his agenda for the 87th Legislative Session on Thursday.

Abbott participated in an indoor event hosted by the Texas Public Policy Foundation in Austin, where hospitals are critically full, and the city is at its highest level of COVID-19 risk.

About half of the attendees wore masks at the indoor event.

2021 is going to be even better than 2020, Abbott said, citing businesses like Tesla and HP that have relocated to Texas. The United States needs Texas to lead.

Abbott made little mention of the coronavirus pandemic as he outlined his priorities for lawmakers who returned to the Capitol this week.

He instead called for a law that would allow the state to withhold sales tax revenue from cities that defund police, vowed to fight federal government overreach by the incoming Biden administration and expressed a desire to make Texas a second amendment sanctuary state.

Hes talking about issues that dont matter to Texans, said Abhi Rahman, communications director for the Texas Democratic Party. Hes talking about issues that really stand to benefit himself.

Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston, heard what sounded like the beginnings of a national campaign.

In an interview in November, Abbott said he was focused on being re-elected to the governors Office in 2022 butdid not close thedoor on a bid for the White House in 2024.

It was definitely bigger than just a State of the State address, Rottinghaus said. (Abbott) at the end was very clear that he thought this was a model that the U.S. could use. Texas can lead the way on conservative values and a strong economy.

This is exactly what George W. Bush did when he ran for president. Its exactly what Rick Perry did when he ran for president. Greg Abbott is following that model to a tee.

Abbott said he wants to protect Texans with pre-existing conditions and expand telemedicine this legislative session.

At no time during the 30-minute discussion did Abbott mention the states coronavirus vaccine rollout or the more than 31,000 Texans who have died from the virus a challenge Rottinghaus said he wont be able to avoid.

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If he cant get past this moment where theres a tremendous health crisis which is proceeding a tremendous policy crisis then its going to be a black mark on his candidacy in Texas and possibly nationally, Rottinghaus said.

Abbott has not yet announced his emergency priorities for the legislative session which are the first order of business for lawmakers. Those priorities are typically unveiled during the State of the State address.

Republican Dade Phelan is outlining his priorities for the new legislative session as he becomes the Speaker of the House.

Phelan announced in early November he expected to have enough votes to take on the positionwhich presides over the Texas House of Representatives and maintains order during debates.

Phelan has represented House District 21, which includes Orange County and part of Jefferson County in Southeast Texas since 2015.

Phelan told Nexstars Wes Rapaport Monday morning that public education would be a top priority this year, in addition to building up the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Were gonna do our best to make sure our commitment to public education is strong, Phelan said.

When you go look at your personal budget back home, or my personal budget in my house, or my, you know, the budget that I have in my business whatever I spend the most money on is the most important thing, Phelan said.. And the most important thing here in Texas is education.

In his role as Speaker, Phelan becomes one of the Big Three in Texas, which includes the governor and lieutenant governor. Phelan said hes looking forward to getting to know Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick more over weekly breakfasts.

Im getting to know them, Phelan said of Abbott and Patrick. You know, they are theyre good people, I really respect them and they work hard.

Weve had some preliminary conversations, Phelan continued. Well have a lot more conversations and well spend a lot more time together, but were all committed to get Texas economy back up and running.

The Speakers role also includes giving out committee assignments in the House. Although there is some push for him to appoint only Republicans as committee chairs, he indicated he planned to do what his predecessors have and give some assignments to Democrats as well.

We will continue the the legacy that my predecessors have had both Republican and Democrat, Phelan said. When Republicans were in the minority, Democrats gave them a proportionate share of chairmanships, and then Republicans came into power, they gave Democrats proportionate share of chairmanships, and thats not going to end.

Democrats will have a more difficult time in the upper chamber at the Capitol. In an 18-13 vote along party lines, the Texas Senate adopted a key rule change that lowers the threshold for a bill to come to the floor for a vote.

The effort was led by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who aimed to ensure Republicans (who are in the majority) have more power to override Democrats wishing to block legislation.

The balance of power in the chamber is 18 Republicans and 13 Democrats with the addition of new members from the 2020 election.

We cant do anything you want us to do, if we dont change the rule, Patrick told guests at a luncheon hosted by a conservative public policy think tank. Anything thats important, conservative bills will be blocked, gun bills, life bills, tax bills will be blocked.

We have to do it, Patrick continued. Thats what you elected us to do.

That threshold has dipped at the start of the last two sessions, from 21 votes to 19 votes and after Wednesday, 18 votes needed to consider a bill.

Democrats say Patrick is moving the goalposts.

I grew up in Whitney, Texas, and I will be darned if I remember us studying what 5/9 is, State Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, said. 2/3 yes, 3/5 yes, but 5/9? We just never contemplated somebody standing up trying to say they wanted to be governed by 5/9.

Patrick said elections matter.

Were the majority, he said at Wednesdays luncheon.Electionsmatter.

So its going to be 16 a simple majority plus two, he explained. And they said, well thats its political. I said, Yes, were the majority.

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The Senate also discussedcoronavirus protocolsas well as operations for the Redistricting Committee, tasked with redrawing district boundaries.

The Texas House and Senate both held swearing-in ceremonies for members on Tuesday. That launched the 140-day biennium legislative session in a state where the coronavirus continues to strain health care systems and thwart the economy.

On Monday, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar told lawmakers that theywill face a $1 billion budgetshortfall in the upcoming session, a relief compared to the $4.6 billion shortfall estimate he made in July.

The state of vaccines in Texas: Gov. Greg Abbott gives the numbers

State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, an Austin Democrat, brings with her a background in shaping budgets from her time as the Travis County judge.

Im looking forward to learning how to rebuild a state infrastructure that responds even in good times to Texas residents, Eckhardt said.

Rep. Donna Howard of Austin was first elected to the Texas House in 2006 and served through the housing market crash and recession.

Howard, a Democrat, said the state is only now recovering from billions of dollars of cuts that were made to public education, a mistake it cant afford to make again.

It was very grueling, actually, because there was clearly a demarcation between those who wanted to maintain services and those who wanted to cut, Howard said.

Rural school district creates free internet service to keep students connected

Republican Rep. John Cyrier of Lockhart represents Central Texas most rural district.

He believes some pandemic-related issues, like broadband access for students learning from home, may force lawmakers to bridge the gap between rural and urban Texans.

To me, its more education, Cyrier said. Its more of just understanding our way of life.

Both the Texas House and Senate adopted rules for their respective chambers this week, and in them regulations on how to balance public health with their ability to legislate.

The Senatevoted on its rules Wednesday. The Housepassed its rules Thursday.

Lawmakers are taking different approaches to how they and their staff will interact with constituents.

State Rep. Michelle Beckley, D-Carrollton, skipped Tuesdays swearing-in ceremony, calling it a superspreader event. Her Capitol office is closed to the public, but she is still taking virtual meetings.

I bought an air purifier for this office, she said. Everybodys facing walls instead of facing each other. We keep the masks on in the office.

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What youre trying to do is if one person gets COVID, that your whole office doesnt get COVID, Beckley, entering her second term in the statehouse, said.

You can still be open, you just arent face to face, she explained.

Across the dome, State Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, is keeping his new office open to the public.

We welcome folks to make appointments; we welcome folks to come by, Hughes said. That hasnt changed.

Were here, weve all tested negative, Hughes mentioned, citing Senate rules he crafted requiring regular testing of members and staff.

MOST READ: How to pre-register for the COVID-19 vaccine through Austin Public Health

Masks are worn in the common areas of the Capitol, Hughes stated. When were on the Senate floor, we wear a mask until we get to our desk.

The start of the legislative session, combined with potential protests at state Capitols around the nation following the unrest at the nations Capitol, has spurred a stronger law enforcement presence at the Texas Capitol Complex. Extra state troopers were called in to protect the building and its occupants. The Texas Department of Public Safetyconfirmed it deployed additional personnel, but refused to discuss operational specifics.

Capitol visitors are required to wear masks in public spaces of the building. Free COVID-19 testing is available in front of the north entrance. Testing is optional for entry, but some lawmakers may require a negative test to enter their office, and the Senate requires a negative test to enter the chamber.

Both the House and Senate adjourned until Jan. 26.

See original here:
State of Texas: Time of tension at the Capitol - KXAN.com

Throngs of self-styled conservatives and Republicans have now reached the thunderous realization that Donald Trump is not just a harmless clown. Former White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney acknowledged to Chuck Todd that Trump's rhetoric was incendiary, but insisted that this kind of incitement was par for the course in politics, and he was shocked that people took Trump literally.

It seems we have an entire party stocked with Captain Renaults.

While it's good to see some lines being drawn at long last, it may be too late. As with the response to the coronavirus, timing is everything. Republicans had many, many chances to curtail the spread and isolate the superspreader, but they kept saying there was nothing to Trumpism, or it would simply go away, or it was all a hoax perpetrated by the left to install socialism.

I like a conversion as much as the next person, but sorry, there was always a whiff of fascism about Trump. Don't tell us you're just discovering it now. His fascination with strength instead of values, his promises to commit war crimes, his twisted admiration of strongmen, his avalanche of lies, his ignorance of and contempt for law, his targeting of minority groups, his stoking of grievance and victimhood. It was all there. Yes, it was interspersed with humor and entertainment. Think that means it can't be dangerous? Have you ever seen a Hugo Chavez or Rodrigo Duterte speech?

Didn't Republicans see him encouraging violence among his followers at rallies in 2016? Don't they remember the thuggish threats his people issued during the 2016 campaign?

In April 2016, Trump and Ted Cruz were still battling for delegates. Trump's recently pardoned consigliere, Roger Stone, alleged (falsely) at the time that he had proof Cruz's victories were all based on "massive voter fraud." Threatening "days of rage" in Cleveland, Stone continued: "We're going to have protests, demonstrations. We will disclose the hotels and the room numbers of those delegates who are directly involved in the steal."

Stone didn't even bother to clothe his threats of physical violence in humor.

Trump was always clear about his attraction to political violence. Speaking of Hillary Clinton, he warned that if elected, she could curtail gun rights. "If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks." The crowd booed. He then added: "Although the Second Amendment peoplemaybe there is, I don't know."

That became a tick. He would invoke the Second Amendment as a code for encouraging his supporters to resort to violence. "LIBERATE VIRGINIA," he tweeted in 2020, "and save your great 2nd amendment. It's under siege." "LIBERATE MICHIGAN!" Trump screamed from his keyboard. Heavily armed protesters showed up at the Michigan Statehouse.

Even after some members of that mob were arrested for plotting to kidnap and possibly assassinate the governor and blow up the capitol, Trump continued his incitement against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Appearing at a rally in Michigan, he joked about the attempt on her life.

Let that sink in. The FBI had arrested a group of domestic terrorists who were planning an attack on a sitting governor, and the president of the United States made light of it: "I'm the one, it was our people that helped her out with her problem. I mean, we'll have to see if it's a problem. Right? People are entitled to say maybe it was a problem, maybe it wasn't."

Did Mick Mulvaney & Co. miss that? Did they not notice when Trump loyalists cheered on vigilantism? When rioting broke out after the George Floyd killing, Trump lapdog Rep. Matt Gaetz tweeted, "Now that we clearly see Antifa as terrorists, can we hunt them down like we do those in the Middle East?"

Perhaps today's "aware" Republicans were otherwise engaged when Trump and his gang made Kyle Rittenhouse a hero, and offered a Republican Convention speaking slot to the gun-brandishing lawyers from St. Louis? What did they make of Trump's tweet, "When the looting starts, the shooting starts"?

Even his famous boast about the loyalty of his followers was revealing. He said he could "shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose any followers." As we now see, he might gain some.

Since Republicans said hardly a word, one must conclude that they were not alarmed when Trump phoned the Georgia secretary of state and instructed him to "find" 11,780 votes in other words to steal the election he was accusing his opponents of stealing. As historian Timothy Snyder put it, "Post truth is pre-fascist."

Republicans who are drawing a line now and saying that they never imagined Trump's personal militias would smash cops' heads with fire extinguishers and defecate in the halls of the Capitol must also answer this question: What else do you expect when you falsely allege a stolen election? Faith in elections is the sine qua non of a functioning democracy. If elections are not free and fair, what alternative is there to violence?

Now Mulvaney and Nikki Haley and Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell and many others are finding a line they think is too far. Inciting a mob to invade the Capitol in order to stop the certification of the election is the one thing, the only thing, that got their attention. Good for them. But while they and nearly the entire Republican Party and its opinion-shaping satellites were averting their eyes, cooperating and enabling, the Trump virus spread. It's now an epidemic, and there is no vaccine on the horizon.

Mona Charen is policy editor of The Bulwark and host of the "Beg to Differ" podcast. Her most recent book is "Sex Matters: How Modern Feminism Lost Touch with Science, Love, and Common Sense." To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at http://www.creators.com.

See the article here:
Charen: Trump always had a whiff of fascism - Standard-Examiner

If tradition holds (and who knows about that anymore), on a cold night this February Joe Biden will motorcade from his new home at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. up Capitol Hill, and a new House sergeant-at-arms will proclaim, Madame Speaker, the president of the United States!

In front of that so-familiar flag, the 46th president will ask a joint session of Congress for unprecedented, bipartisan help in facing the worst domestic crises since FDR and the Great Depression a race to vaccinate millions of Americans as thousands die daily, amid food lines of the many unable to work.

Yet as Biden looks out over the House chamber, he will see staring back at him the blank faces of 147 lawmakers who just days earlier had voted to suspend not just the basic tenets of U.S. democracy but the very notion of rational truth in voting to halt the certification of the Democrats election, on utterly unfounded voter fraud claims. And arguably thats not the worst of it.

Sprinkled among those scores of Republican truth-deniers are some who based on credible allegations and what we already know about the stunning Jan. 6 insurrection that occurred at the U.S. Capitol met with or gave verbal encouragement to the mob that stormed the building in the rampage that left five people dead.

Its likely that the 117th Congress, in its first weeks, will be knee-deep into a Democrat-sought probe into whether some of its members gave tours to the 1/6 rioters the day before, or shared knowledge about how to find the hidden office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Bidens likely plea for bipartisanship and unity in the face of the worst pandemic in 100 years will encounter the angry glare of new extremist members like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, R-QAnon, who if her words uttered on Newsmax this week can be taken seriously will have introduced an impeachment resolution against the new president on Jan. 21 and Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Youcrazy? if the heat-packing Coloradan hasnt been stopped at the metal detectors.

As the dust settles from Wednesdays unprecedented (and totally warranted) vote to impeach President Donald Trump a second time, in the waning hours of his destructive four-year term, everyday Americans need more help from Washington than any time since 1933.

And yet our Congress has never been more divided and wracked by anger and paranoia, understandable since some GOP members sure seemed on the same side as an armed mob that erected a gallows in its fantasies of hanging Democrats.

In a stunning interview with my Inquirer colleague Jessica Calefati, western Pennsylvania Rep. Conor Lamb one of the most moderate Democrats on Capitol Hill, who calls for working with Republicans and occasionally does so said his trust is shattered, and that some of his GOP colleagues have become morally blind to the consequences of their own actions.

The distrust over the insurrection isnt even the end of it. Democrats are also furious over the refusal of many Republicans to take the deadly coronavirus threat seriously and wear masks, with two members including 75-year-old cancer survivor Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey and a congressional spouse infected after sheltering with mask-less GOPers during the siege.

Among Republicans, Second Amendment zealots like Boebert are furious over the presence of metal detectors that might curb their heat-packing ways. Amid this rancor, an army of 20,000 National Guard troops protects the Capitol in the biggest force since the Civil War, or maybe we should now call it Civil War I.

Living Americans have never seen anything quite like this, although, as Yale historian Joanne Freeman chronicled in her remarkable 2018 book The Field of Blood, Congress was marred by a stunning number of fistfights, canings and duels in the run-up to that first Civil War. How do we get out of this mess? It wont be easy, but heres a couple of thoughts.

First, Congress will need to separate out the completely unacceptable direct involvement egging on the murderous mob at the Capitol from the also-troubling but, arguably, not criminal support for blocking the rightful 2020 election results.

For example, an investigation needs to look at the roles of Reps. Paul Gosar and Andy Briggs of Arizona and Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama. In a since-deleted video, Ali Alexander, the right-wing activist who was central in organizing the Jan. 6 events that culminated in the Capitol assault, claims that the three GOP congressmen helped plan the entire affair, including the notion of applying maximum pressure to flip Republican votes on certifying Bidens election by hearing our loud roar from outside.

The House just voted to impeach Trump for inciting the violence. If the claim by Alexander about Gosar whod insisted at a December rally that Bidens presidency could be stopped once we conquer the Hill Biggs and Brooks can be confirmed, the three must be expelled from Congress for insurrection. Period, end of story.

But the problems may not end there. On Wednesday, New Jersey Rep. Mikie Sherrill like Lamb, one of the most centrist and least confrontational Democrats on Capitol Hill made the stunning allegation, later joined by more than 30 of her colleagues, that some members may have offered reconnaissance tours to the soon-to-be-rioters on Jan. 5, the day before. Democrats are demanding a probe of that, and troubling aspects of the attack insurrectionists knowing where to find the secret offices of Pelosi and Majority Whip James Clyburn, or the panic buttons ripped out of the office of Rep. Ayanna Pressley that suggest the coup plotters had inside help.

Anyone who aided the coup plotters should be expelled. That would take a two-thirds vote, which would need to include Republicans (although knowing these blood-red districts would send new Republicans to Washington might sway them, if the evidence is damning enough). But there is precedent. During the Civil War, Congress expelled 14 insurrectionists. Its stunning that this would be relevant in America in 2021, but here we are.

But thats only part of the problem. The 117th Congress now includes those 147 Republicans eight senators and 139 members of the U.S. House who voted last week, even before the cleanup from the insurrection had begun, to buy into the same American version of The Big Lie that had motivated these rioters and thugs, the complete fantasy that some kind of election fraud denied Trump his rightful victory.

In the days since, Ive seen numerous calls from progressives on Twitter for any or all of these 147 to be expelled from Congress. Whatever the moral validity of that argument, its just not realistic, politically, that two-thirds will kick out the other one-third over their vote, regardless of how harmful it was to democracy. Its a marshal of the Supreme Court-level fantasy.

Some GOP senators like Missouris Josh Hawley and Texass Ted Cruz have seen the largest newspapers in their home states beg them to resign. But they are not going to resign. They will be in the Senate for the next four years, taking votes on whether you get evicted from your apartment or whether you can get a vaccine in time before you get sick.

For many Americans, probably many of the 82 million who voted for Joe Biden, the new Congress is already illegitimate with 147 members on the record as voting against reality. This truly is a Civil War-sized dilemma, and I only see one possible way admittedly, a long shot, although not quite as unlikely as mass expulsion out of this bind, short of that second Civil War. Congress needs to create a Truth and Reconciliation process a commission, perhaps, or even just an open forum that will allow some or hopefully most to acknowledge Bidens victory, state for the record that there was no election fraud in 2020, and maybe even apologize for saying otherwise.

Last year before we had any idea the 45th president would incite an insurrection against the U.S. government some of us called for a national Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address the lies and the anti-democratic policies of the Trump years. For that idea, we were vilified by some right-wingers who acted as if we were proposing a Nuremberg-war-crimes-trial kind of operation. But in fact a Truth and Reconciliation Commission as successfully pulled off in South Africa and other strife-riven countries is a chance for finding a common national story, for amnesty and a new beginning.

Id be shocked if this happened, but I dont know any other peaceful path forward. If Congress doesnt somehow address its growing rift and descent into hatred and fear, a lot more than five Americans will needlessly die, either from an unchecked disease, or from hunger and depredation, or from growing civil conflict. Lincoln was right: A House and Senate divided against itself cannot stand.

Expel the criminals. Acknowledge the truth. Then reconcile and start tackling Americas real problems before its too late.

Here is the original post:
Commentary: Congress needs to create a 'Truth and Reconciliation' process - Concord Monitor