Jan. 6 Committee sends clear message
Rep. Stefanik continues to defend Trump, promises retribution
By Ken Tingley
The January 6 Committee did not tell us anything we did not know already.
We saw the attack on the Capitol with our own eyes.
We were witnesses to the violence.
We saw this symbol of democracy desecrated.
We asked each other as it happened: Where is the National Guard?
We wondered why the president did nothing.
Some are now willing to overlook that. They do not believe that President Trump’s speech was enough to incite the mob. They don’t believe his invitation to supporters to come to Washington on Jan. 6 was proof of a plan to remain in power. They don’t believe he wished any harm toward his own vice president.
But the corruption did not start there.
President Trump’s actions in the days after his defeat in the presidential election have also been well reported.
He said on national television on election night the vote count should stop.
He refused to accept there was no mass fraud in the presidential election and filed dozens of lawsuits without merit. All but one was dismissed.
He attempted to coerce election officials from his own party to do his bidding and find votes that were not cast for him. He asked Georgia officials to commit fraud.
He accused regular rank and file poll workers of criminal acts without evidence, putting them in danger.
We’ve heard it all before.
None of this new.
It was all done before our eyes and reported in the news.
What the January 6 Committee did over the past year was to assemble the information into one coherent report where it could be cohesively understood. Their television hearings should win an Emmy Award - and that’s not a bad thing - for its ability to tell the factual story succinctly and clearly for a public weary of the divisions and unwilling to delve into the controversy for more than an hour at a time.
I don’t write about national politics very often, but it is a critical moment in our country’s history. I truly believe that. Each and every one of us was a witness to this challenge to our democracy.
If you had not seen any of the January 6 Committee hearings, you should make that a priority to review its findings - holidays be damned.
If you are not aware of the testimony, the details from the hundreds of officials who worked in the Trump administration, you should ask them why they would lie.
This is not a trumped up Bengazi-style political hearing. We all know that because we were witnesses. We saw it happen. The Republicans chose not to participate. And the two Republicans who did participate should be applauded for putting country over party.
They are patriots.
Here at home, we have a different problem - Elise Stefanik.
She does not believe in the findings of the January 6 Committee.
She believes it is a political attack on the former president despite the sworn testimony from those who worked the closest with him. She believes this a conspiracy of grand proportions.
She still supports Trump.
She still will vote for him for president.
Most of us see the world through a right vs. wrong lens.
Stefanik sees only politics.
She does not believe people stand up and do the right thing when it is not in their best interest.
She does not believe they have character.
That tells you something about her own character.
Rep. Elise Stefanik released this statement on Monday:
“House Democrats and Vicious Never Trumpers, who were run out of Congress by the American people, continue to desperately and unconstitutionally target President Trump and Republicans. The American people see through this partisan charade, which is why they fired Nancy Pelosi once and for all. The Republican Majority will hold House Democrats accountable for their illegitimate abuse of power.”
What Rep. Elise Stefanik did with that statement was to promise justice, but to threaten revenge.
She is promising that her party will be the party of revenge because when the people are divided, people like Stefanik thrive.
Her lack of ethics and morality has never been more clear.
We know that because we saw what happened on January 6. Stefanik was there so she knows it as well.
Latest interview
David Goodman, an award winning journalist and author based in Vermont, had a podcast on the VTDigger website called “The Vermont Conversation.”
On Monday, we talked about my new book “The Last American Newspaper.” Of all the interviews I have done over the past three months, David was clearly the most prepared. He had read a lot of the book and was familiar with the plight of small community newspapers.
It was a great in-depth conversation with David asking some tough questions.
You can listen to the interview on WDEV Radio (96.1/96.5) FM on Wednesday at 1 ap.m.
You can also check it out online on the VTDigger website.
I agree, I think the Congresswoman lacks character. She is pandering to the worst part of her base for personal political gain. Which would be bad enough in any circumstances, but in one where many believe our democracy is at stake, there are no words .. I am confident, however, after the heat of the present moment, history will write her off as being on the wrong side, if anyone remembers her at all. My husband and I did not vote for her this past election; I won't ever vote for anyone ever who was implicated in January 6 or who obstructed efforts to bring them to justice
In addition to all of your salient points about Stefanik, the fact that she thinks Nancy Pelosi was "fired" speaks to her ignorance. House Speakers are not "hired," any more than Representatives. They should, however, work for US, which Stefanik does not. I consider her "self employed."