January 6, 2021, is a day that will live in infamy. There are only three days in American history that are peers of the perfidy of that day. They are April 12, 1861, December 7, 1941, and September 11, 2001. Those three attacks against the United States began wars that killed more than 1,050,000 of our American brothers and sisters of all races, creeds, nationalities and religions. None of those horrific days that unleashed orgies of blood and violence are the equal of January 6, which, 158 years after the end of the American Civil War, marked the high water mark of the Confederate States of America. It was the day the Confederate battle flag finally breached the “citadel of democracy,” and was carried high through the Capitol rotunda. The American flag was desecrated on that day. It became a weapon of violence and sedition as the poles to which it was attached became bludgeons to beat and kill police officers.
We need to bring all involved to justice. Otherwise the ugliness of this cabal will continue to metastasize. “Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone.” - Dorothy Parker
I remember January 6 in the same way I have clear memories of 9/11 & the day JFK was shot while a student in elementary school. Thanks for the succinct description of the meaning of 1/6. The Republican gaslighting of the incident needs to be called out until all those involved are brought to justice.
Trump will come to justice and my hope is all the rest of the traitors will too. That these traitors are still sitting in the house as representatives of the people is disgusting. I say, jail them all. We have to get this cancer out of our government.
What is going on now with this so-called election of Speaker, is as egregious as 1/6 was two years ago in my opinion. This is the detritus left after America foolishly elected Trump as president. Vladimir Putin wanted to create chaos in American democracy and he did. By helping Trump get elected and his breeding of these crackpots that are now in our supposed Congress, we now get to watch the crazy rule over the sane. It is as disgusting a spectacle as anyone could imagine. We are paying for the election of 2016 now, and we will pay forever. What we knew as democracy is no more. Putin wins.
I have to put this in context of having been on the Hill, in my office on Jan 6, and watching the events unfold in real-time, with all the uncertainty and conflicting information that can occur. It is called the "fog of war" for a good reason.
Thank goodness COVID protocols kept the buildings lightly staffed: it made protecting onsite staff and contractors that much less complex. It was watching the US Capitol Police (USCP) running from location to location to protect Members and staff. It was worrying with how much damage the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) staff would need to repair. It was making sure the onsite staff and contractors were safe, protected and when possible, evacuated. In some cases, staff could not be evacuated until late in the evening of January 6.
What was even more surprising was how many staff came onsite immediately after that evening and the next morning. We had a Government to support, and work that needed to be done. The AOC and the USCP met the challenge that day.
Over the last two years my fury has only increased. Watching the hearings and learning how well-planned the "spontaneous" attack occurred, and how many people were involved in the planning was mind-blowing. Those involved in the attack need to be brought to justice.
Even more importantly, those who planned and financed the attack need to be brought to an even higher standard of justice. Those who envisioned and planned the attack need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law: up to and including sedition. No shielding, no current or past position should be taken into consideration. Do it, do it now, and do it well. the evidence is there and we, the people, are waiting.
No one is above the law, and those who bear the greater responsibility should receive the greater punishments. Both for what they did, and for leading others into sedition.
Yes, January 6, 2021, will live in infamy. And, still, for so many skeptics and insurrection deniers, January 6, today, marking the two years after the fact, will be shrugged off as a protest. Why? Because violence to the flesh, to the mind, the cruelty of it, the consequences that beset the victims of it, the power that rises in a victim from such bodily harm inflicted with the force of violence as an actuality, is never captured fully in a photograph, in an audiovisual record, in recounts, in testimonials. It is why those who will choose the comfortable way to address the January 6 violence today, in the Capitol, will choose a fantasy to cloak the events unfolding, where tradition in settling the Speakership of the House is being questioned by so many as not being urgent and necessary for a fully functioning government. I think otherwise, and mostly for security reasons. I think that not one man or woman has risen from the Republican representatives that speaks of freedom of the mind and body. I am convinced that the risk of death threats to such individuals and their families is a diminishment of the real violence that victims endure when standing up for the ideals of democracy. I do not speak in parables or metaphors, nor the invention of the imagination. I spoke and I was violently silenced. My experience is relevant now as a testament of what it means to keep speaking against those who will do anything to shut down whatever voice is deemed a threat to special interests, dark interests, interests that have everything to do with defiling democracy and those who participate in it, not to darken it, not to strike it down, but to bring renewal and understanding of how precious it is to be citizens in freedom and for freedom.
It makes my skin crawl when the media refers to the January 6 coup and insurrection as a "riot" or "protest". It was a bloody and treasonous coup attempt, sedition, conspiracy, attempted murder, murder, assault and battery, extortion, rebellion. It was the crime of the ages. It is the most heinous act of treason against our democracy in its history, outstripping even the Civil War. The perpetrators large and small must be punished!
I’m fascinated by the short-sided focus in the coverage of the Speaker election. The ‘Kornaki-ization’ of data and process, the celebritization of participants, shows the media and tv producers have learned nothing and don’t have the country in their interests. It’s still leading if it’s bleeding and those ‘rebels’ get that, as did Trump.
TV hosts sensationalize minute by minute details but don’t look at the overview.
If you take a step back, like the Jan. 6th Committee eventually did, it becomes obvious that this is not a spontaneous snit-fit about Kevin, but a well-executed plan to, once again, disrupt the peaceful transition of power, only this time in the House rather than the Presidency.
The 20 cannot win legitimately, so they destroy the game. Sound familiar?
A bloodless coup.
It wouldn’t surprise me if this wasn’t another Trumpy plot to wreck the government so he can step in and take over. All in plain view.
He’s been laying too low!
Gaetz didn’t put Trump’s name forward on a personal whim.
Jan 7, 2023·edited Jan 7, 2023Liked by Steve Schmidt
Steve has had many wonderful interviews, but this one from Sept 2020, is by far my favorite: "Who's gonna sign up and step across the line . . . Where the bottomless pit of corruption . . . finally hits its rock-bottom". And now we know who the line crossers are. It's all out in the open who they are. And eventually, we will see how much, if at all, the American public cares about all of it, if they really do have a memory of the past regarding the fighting for freedoms for all and not just for a privileged few. Close to 33% of the population no longer has a memory of the dream that was America at its birth, and that's pretty ominous for the rest to absorb.
I just read an article about former D.C. Metro Police Officer Michael Fanone's book, "Hold the Line," which I now intend to buy. His insights include that he voted for Trump because he was discouraged by the anti-police sentiment on the left, and so he ate up the "comfort food" (his words) offered by Trump and Fox News. He now recognizes, of course, that it was all a lie. He also pushed back against the knee-jerk comparisons between civil unrest during the Black Lives Matter protests and the attack on January 6, stating that trying to overthrow a CVS is not the same thing as trying to overthrow the government.
The fact that there are many people, including many current members of Congress, who continue to insist that January 6 was either not a big deal (just tourists!), or worse yet, a justified response to a "stolen" election, is the greatest danger our nation faces. Like Officer Fanone, we must hold the line.
You are a sober voice in a rage filled world. Your words and insight have helped a nation reckon its demons. I pray, we as a country can move ever forward without back-stepping into a divided America. January 6th was an abomination and should be remembered by history as such. It saddens me to learn that that infamous day will not be discussed on Capitol tours now that Republicans hold a slight majority in the house. Republicans wish to bury that day and not remember their shameful behavior. However, their continued deflection of taking responsibility will haunt them until they can look the Capitol police and the other officers who fought the mob squarely in their eyes without looking away in disgrace. They will know no peace or be given respect. Cowards die a thousand deaths and this is the fate of all who continued to claim the 2020 election was stolen and January 6th was just another tourist day. Our nation deserves our best representation not our worst, like Republicans such as McCarthy, Boebert, Biggs, Jordan and now the next leader of the Republican Party, The dishonorable, George Santos from NY.
I just wanted to say that I am a Canadian but I have been interested in your politics ever since the assassination of JFK. I am so happy that I signed up to 'The warning' because I am learning so much more . I am fascinated with your knowledge of the past, which I did not even know. I am loving the fact that I am learning more. If only people would stop and think for a second about what is going on in the politics. I find it so amazing that your laws are such that many of those who were involved in the act of trying to overthrow the government 2 years ago , are now still in government only because they have not been charged. In other countries they would have been thrown in jail mere weeks after it happened. But I am pulling for all of you. May God Bless you all.
We need to bring all involved to justice. Otherwise the ugliness of this cabal will continue to metastasize. “Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone.” - Dorothy Parker
I remember January 6 in the same way I have clear memories of 9/11 & the day JFK was shot while a student in elementary school. Thanks for the succinct description of the meaning of 1/6. The Republican gaslighting of the incident needs to be called out until all those involved are brought to justice.
Trump will come to justice and my hope is all the rest of the traitors will too. That these traitors are still sitting in the house as representatives of the people is disgusting. I say, jail them all. We have to get this cancer out of our government.
What is going on now with this so-called election of Speaker, is as egregious as 1/6 was two years ago in my opinion. This is the detritus left after America foolishly elected Trump as president. Vladimir Putin wanted to create chaos in American democracy and he did. By helping Trump get elected and his breeding of these crackpots that are now in our supposed Congress, we now get to watch the crazy rule over the sane. It is as disgusting a spectacle as anyone could imagine. We are paying for the election of 2016 now, and we will pay forever. What we knew as democracy is no more. Putin wins.
I have to put this in context of having been on the Hill, in my office on Jan 6, and watching the events unfold in real-time, with all the uncertainty and conflicting information that can occur. It is called the "fog of war" for a good reason.
Thank goodness COVID protocols kept the buildings lightly staffed: it made protecting onsite staff and contractors that much less complex. It was watching the US Capitol Police (USCP) running from location to location to protect Members and staff. It was worrying with how much damage the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) staff would need to repair. It was making sure the onsite staff and contractors were safe, protected and when possible, evacuated. In some cases, staff could not be evacuated until late in the evening of January 6.
What was even more surprising was how many staff came onsite immediately after that evening and the next morning. We had a Government to support, and work that needed to be done. The AOC and the USCP met the challenge that day.
Over the last two years my fury has only increased. Watching the hearings and learning how well-planned the "spontaneous" attack occurred, and how many people were involved in the planning was mind-blowing. Those involved in the attack need to be brought to justice.
Even more importantly, those who planned and financed the attack need to be brought to an even higher standard of justice. Those who envisioned and planned the attack need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law: up to and including sedition. No shielding, no current or past position should be taken into consideration. Do it, do it now, and do it well. the evidence is there and we, the people, are waiting.
No one is above the law, and those who bear the greater responsibility should receive the greater punishments. Both for what they did, and for leading others into sedition.
Yes, January 6, 2021, will live in infamy. And, still, for so many skeptics and insurrection deniers, January 6, today, marking the two years after the fact, will be shrugged off as a protest. Why? Because violence to the flesh, to the mind, the cruelty of it, the consequences that beset the victims of it, the power that rises in a victim from such bodily harm inflicted with the force of violence as an actuality, is never captured fully in a photograph, in an audiovisual record, in recounts, in testimonials. It is why those who will choose the comfortable way to address the January 6 violence today, in the Capitol, will choose a fantasy to cloak the events unfolding, where tradition in settling the Speakership of the House is being questioned by so many as not being urgent and necessary for a fully functioning government. I think otherwise, and mostly for security reasons. I think that not one man or woman has risen from the Republican representatives that speaks of freedom of the mind and body. I am convinced that the risk of death threats to such individuals and their families is a diminishment of the real violence that victims endure when standing up for the ideals of democracy. I do not speak in parables or metaphors, nor the invention of the imagination. I spoke and I was violently silenced. My experience is relevant now as a testament of what it means to keep speaking against those who will do anything to shut down whatever voice is deemed a threat to special interests, dark interests, interests that have everything to do with defiling democracy and those who participate in it, not to darken it, not to strike it down, but to bring renewal and understanding of how precious it is to be citizens in freedom and for freedom.
Superb piece here, Steve. Thank you once again for being a poignant voice of sanity about these matters.
It makes my skin crawl when the media refers to the January 6 coup and insurrection as a "riot" or "protest". It was a bloody and treasonous coup attempt, sedition, conspiracy, attempted murder, murder, assault and battery, extortion, rebellion. It was the crime of the ages. It is the most heinous act of treason against our democracy in its history, outstripping even the Civil War. The perpetrators large and small must be punished!
Steve
Twenty five years from now, the personification of American Traitor will no longer be Benedict Arnold - it will have another name.
I’m fascinated by the short-sided focus in the coverage of the Speaker election. The ‘Kornaki-ization’ of data and process, the celebritization of participants, shows the media and tv producers have learned nothing and don’t have the country in their interests. It’s still leading if it’s bleeding and those ‘rebels’ get that, as did Trump.
TV hosts sensationalize minute by minute details but don’t look at the overview.
If you take a step back, like the Jan. 6th Committee eventually did, it becomes obvious that this is not a spontaneous snit-fit about Kevin, but a well-executed plan to, once again, disrupt the peaceful transition of power, only this time in the House rather than the Presidency.
The 20 cannot win legitimately, so they destroy the game. Sound familiar?
A bloodless coup.
It wouldn’t surprise me if this wasn’t another Trumpy plot to wreck the government so he can step in and take over. All in plain view.
He’s been laying too low!
Gaetz didn’t put Trump’s name forward on a personal whim.
I loved that you are getting your audacious speeches out even to Australia. You go guy, spread the news so the whole world hears.
Amen and Amen--may we never forget!
Steve has had many wonderful interviews, but this one from Sept 2020, is by far my favorite: "Who's gonna sign up and step across the line . . . Where the bottomless pit of corruption . . . finally hits its rock-bottom". And now we know who the line crossers are. It's all out in the open who they are. And eventually, we will see how much, if at all, the American public cares about all of it, if they really do have a memory of the past regarding the fighting for freedoms for all and not just for a privileged few. Close to 33% of the population no longer has a memory of the dream that was America at its birth, and that's pretty ominous for the rest to absorb.
I just read an article about former D.C. Metro Police Officer Michael Fanone's book, "Hold the Line," which I now intend to buy. His insights include that he voted for Trump because he was discouraged by the anti-police sentiment on the left, and so he ate up the "comfort food" (his words) offered by Trump and Fox News. He now recognizes, of course, that it was all a lie. He also pushed back against the knee-jerk comparisons between civil unrest during the Black Lives Matter protests and the attack on January 6, stating that trying to overthrow a CVS is not the same thing as trying to overthrow the government.
The fact that there are many people, including many current members of Congress, who continue to insist that January 6 was either not a big deal (just tourists!), or worse yet, a justified response to a "stolen" election, is the greatest danger our nation faces. Like Officer Fanone, we must hold the line.
You are a sober voice in a rage filled world. Your words and insight have helped a nation reckon its demons. I pray, we as a country can move ever forward without back-stepping into a divided America. January 6th was an abomination and should be remembered by history as such. It saddens me to learn that that infamous day will not be discussed on Capitol tours now that Republicans hold a slight majority in the house. Republicans wish to bury that day and not remember their shameful behavior. However, their continued deflection of taking responsibility will haunt them until they can look the Capitol police and the other officers who fought the mob squarely in their eyes without looking away in disgrace. They will know no peace or be given respect. Cowards die a thousand deaths and this is the fate of all who continued to claim the 2020 election was stolen and January 6th was just another tourist day. Our nation deserves our best representation not our worst, like Republicans such as McCarthy, Boebert, Biggs, Jordan and now the next leader of the Republican Party, The dishonorable, George Santos from NY.
I just wanted to say that I am a Canadian but I have been interested in your politics ever since the assassination of JFK. I am so happy that I signed up to 'The warning' because I am learning so much more . I am fascinated with your knowledge of the past, which I did not even know. I am loving the fact that I am learning more. If only people would stop and think for a second about what is going on in the politics. I find it so amazing that your laws are such that many of those who were involved in the act of trying to overthrow the government 2 years ago , are now still in government only because they have not been charged. In other countries they would have been thrown in jail mere weeks after it happened. But I am pulling for all of you. May God Bless you all.