What was destined to be a historic day with the election of the first black senator from Georgia and the certification of President Elect Joe Biden has turned historic for another reason as President Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol Building during the early stages of the joint session of Congress to certify the election of Joseph Biden. It is a sight I never thought I would ever see in my lifetime, but I cannot say I am surprised, especially after listening to President Trump’s speech to his supporters yesterday encouraging them to protest at the Capitol Building.
In August 2015, I was driving to Petoskey by myself and decided to listen to the first Republican presidential debate, which included Donald Trump. I figured the debate would be entertaining and would help pass the time during my drive. I listened to Donald Trump being the only candidate who indicated he would not commit to supporting any of the other Republican candidates in the presidential election if he didn’t get the nomination. I then was appalled by Trump’s behavior toward moderator Megyn Kelly during the debate and in the days following. After the debate was over, I thought to myself, there is no way this guy will ever get the nomination. Following the debate, he continued his attack in a brutal fashion on the other candidates, including making fun of Carly Fiorina’s looks and the size of Jeb Bush’s penis. I kept saying to myself, Trump will never win the nomination. I was wrong.
Trump got the Republican nomination and Hillary Clinton was his Demomocrat nomination. We had to choose between two presidential candidates we couldn’t trust for different reasons.
In January 2017 prior to Trump’s inauguration, I attended a meeting where many of the people were concerned about Trump’s upcoming presidency and the damage he could do. I said, “They were overreacting. We survived the period between 1963 through 1974. The constitution provided the checks and balances that were needed to protect us from Nixon. It will also protect us from anything Trump can do. ” Little did I know how divisive one person could be. He fed his followers with stories they wanted to hear, and they believed his version of the truth.
It is now 2021, and the country is reaping what Trump has sowed. Accepting defeat in a election which was lost by 7 million votes is not acceptable to Trump and so many of his followers, including members of Congress. The peaceful transfer of power is no longer acceptable to Trump and so many of his followers. The things that make our democracy great are no longer acceptable to Trump and so many of his followers.
The legacy of President Trump’s presidency will be based on what has happened in the last 24 hours. His legacy will be him encouraging his followers to march to the U.S. Capitol to protest the election. His legacy will be his followers storming the U.S Capital during the middle of the certification of the electoral college votes for Joe Biden. His legacy will be of him going on national television today in a tape recorded message sheepishly asking the protestors to go home in between rants about the election being stolen from him. His legacy will be based on the seeds that he sowed.
I am normally an optimist, but today, I am concerned about the future of our country. Today marks a crossroads. We can either continue down the path of self destruction, or we can learn to work together for the common good. I will be praying for our country tonight.
Stay safe, wash your hands regularly, social distance and wear your mask in public.
Today’s quote of the day comes from Senator Mitch McConnell, who had his finest hour on the senate floor during the senate’s debate about accepting the electoral vote of the State of Arizona. “Our duty is to govern for the public good. The United States Senate has a higher calling than an endless spiral of partisan vengeance. Congress will either override the voters, overrule them, the voters, the states, and the courts for the first time ever, or honor the people’s decision. We’ll either guarantee democrats’ delegitimizing efforts after 2016 become a permanent new routine for both sides or declare that our nation deserves a lot better than this. We’ll either hasten down a poisonous path where only the winners of an election actually accept the results or show we can still muster the patriotic courage that our forebears showed not only in victory but in defeat.”
Here is Mitch McConnell’s full speech.