A year ago today on January 6, 2021, a violent mob attacked the US Capitol to try and overturn the election of Joe Biden and keep Donald Trump in office. We all watched the horrifying scenes on TV and many of us cried. The mob would have succeeded if not for the courage and dedication of the Capitol Police, many of whom were seriously injured. The mob was inspired by outrageous lies about a “stolen election” that were repeated endlessly by Trump, Right-wing media and many Republican members of Congress.
During the attack, many members of Congress on both sides of the isle were scared shitless and were cowering up in the balconies. Trump watched the attack with great joy and when the calls came in from Republicans and Fox News personalities asking Trump to call it off, he scoffed. Several hours later he finally made a video telling his supporters to "go home now," while continuing to falsely insist that his reelection was stolen.
After the attack, some Republicans publicly condemned the attack, but when Congress went back to work that night to register the votes there were still 135 Republican members of the House who attempted to halt the process through parliamentary tactics.
Since the attack, Republican members of Congress and the Right-wing media have tried to minimize and downplay the significance of the events on January 6, 2021. They have done everything in their power to avoid any accountability for their actions and have managed to convince over 70% of Republicans that the 2020 election was actually stolen and that Donald Trump should still be president, aka “The Big Lie.”
Because of the Republicans gross dishonesty and enabling, and the Democrats fecklessness, the stage is set for Republican takeover of the House and possibly the Senate in 2022 and the subsequent end of any attempts to investigate and punish those responsible for the Jan 6 insurrection. Failure to hold those accountable will insure that something similar will be tried again and the next time they may well succeed.
