Day 4
Foot Soldiers of Democracy. The Hearing.
It’s a harsh awakening for us to relive our ignorance of how democracy works, and to acknowledge how much we take democracy for granted.
Thanks to Day 4’s proceedings much of ‘democracy’ was revisited during live witness and recorded testimony. We had heard about the Trump pressure campaign and election fraud allegations, but the impact of much of the witness testimony had been sacrificed by our collective ignorance of how we elect public officials.
Better to revisit.
One basic reason to revisit the testimony of those closest to the pressure campaign resides in challenging our collective incredulity. Our sense of normalcy is being tested. Perhaps we take for granted the electoral process because its defenses had never before been tested in this way: the electoral process worked, so let it be.
During Day 4 recesses, we caught ourselves playing a new parlor game: count the number of 2020 state vote recounts, and the number of states with recount tallies between November 8 and January 6.
Another reason for revisiting these states’ efforts to defend their votes and vote tally workers — notably Arizona and Georgia — were the blatant lies, the escalating conspiracy claims, the attempts to legitimize ‘alternate electors,’ revealed by the participants themselves, whom one election official described, including himself, as “useful idiots.”
The curious unanswered questions and there were plenty which surfaced like flotsam during Day 4 were one, why didn’t the election fraud attempts stop, and two, how was their failure recycled as evidence that the system was ‘rigged;’ and three, how did our sense of normalcy nurture an attack on our democratic process?
During the testimony of Day 3, Pence and legal handlers were provided the space and time to recap for the audience their conversion to “Democracy.” That we caught ourselves admiring Luttig and Jacobs’ testimonies on Day 3, brought revulsion by Day 4: why didn’t they speak up before January 6; why didn’t Pence, the Vice President speak up and challenge the ‘alternate Presidency?’
During the testimony of Day 4 the audience heard from Republican Party foot-soldiers transforming themselves into democracy foot-soldiers. These Republican Party ‘regulars,’ were tasked to protect democracy under the glare of intense scrutiny and pressure from the White House in real-time. As one Day 4 released phone call conversation between Trump and a Georgia election official revealed, ‘your job is very, very important. I am sure you will do the right thing.’
What individual uses the authority of the Presidency this way?
All Georgia Republican election officials (and Michigan, Pennsylvania and Arizona) wanted Trump to win. Pence wanted Trump to win. But unlike Pence who had the protection of 6 armed Secret Service officers, the end game for these Republican Party regulars was not the the same. Un-availed of Secret Service protection these regulars were also fleeing mobs and threats of violent death.
Speak to ‘revulsion, on Day 4’ — there’s a Republican campaign stop somewhere — former Vice President Mike Pence was introducing himself to the audience of “party regulars,” saying, ‘together we’ve been through a lot, haven’t we?’
No, Mr. Pence, we haven’t. You have your detail and legal team; we are deprived witness protection.
The Capitol Police have a recruitment problem.
And the ranks of election workers are not being filled.
On the anniversary of Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner’s murder (1), black election workers get death threats, white election officials get thrown under the bus. Suited white lawyers turn on their contacts like rats leaving a sinking ship. “Zero responsibility,” becomes the Trump campaign legal team mantra.
Thank you Attorney Jacob, for telling us to expect violence in the streets. Some of us can’t afford ADT.
Ruby Sherman, you know the one Trump called an “election scammer,” is too scared to close her eyes at night. She feels like the walking dead. Her daughter Shaye cautions her not to call out her name in the supermarket.
June 22
Notes
1-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murders_of_Chaney,_Goodman,_and_Schwerner
