My Turn: Insurrection at the Capitol

What began as a peaceful protest turned violent when the mob attacked riot gear-clad police officers, who in turn responded with volleys of tear gas. Protestors pushed over barricades and used whatever they could find to break windows. Vehicles were set ablaze. Trash cans and benches were dragged into the streets.

“We thought there would be protests but we didn’t expect violence,” said one observer. “We were hoping for a completely peaceful transfer of power.” More than 200 protestors were arrested.

Jan. 6, 2021? No. These things happened Jan. 19, 2017, as Democrats protested the transfer of power TO Donald Trump at his inauguration.

National news coverage lasted only hours. Those arrested were held overnight, charged the next day and released. Most charges were eventually dropped.

According to Democrats, on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump supporters engaged in an insurrection to overthrow the legitimate leaders and seize control of the government. They claim these acts are an existential threat to democracy itself.

Through the media they have been incessantly pushing the “insurrection” narrative, uniformly reciting talking points of sedition, treason and “threats to democracy." However, the media suffers a serious credibility problem after years of incessant fake stories such as the Russia Collusion hoax, the Charlottesville “Fine People” hoax, the Drinking Bleach hoax, the Nick Sandmann hoax, the Kyle Rittenhouse hoax and others.

Seize control of the government? How exactly would unarmed protesters assume control of the most powerful nation on Earth? Does our nation’s power rest in some Excalibur-like talisman? Will all government agencies pledge fealty to he who possesses the Lectern of Pelosi?

Clearly any claim that a group of unarmed protestors occupying any public building can take control of our nation and pose a serious threat to democracy is absurd on its face, and yet it continues to this day.

Why are they pushing the insurrection narrative so hard and often? Is it because there is a more reasonable explanation that must be suppressed?

The presidential election of 2020 was fraught with anomalies that caused reasonable people to question its accuracy. Late-night ballot drops, denial of access for poll watchers, reports of more ballots than voters, mail-in voting at unprecedented levels, errors in tabulation and many others all contributed to a general mistrust of the declared results.

Those who traveled to DC did not do so to cause a coup; they were there to potentially stop one. They weren’t there to attack democracy; they were there to protect it. They wanted an investigation into allegations of election fraud so they would know the transfer of power was legitimate. Hollow assurances from “fake news” sources were not credible. The courts’ unwillingness to adjudicate claims based on standing was not reassuring.

Attorney General William Barr, who had warned of the danger of mail voting being especially vulnerable to fraud, was now saying, “To date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election.” How can he claim there was insufficient fraud when no one had officially investigated to find fraud? Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

If a credible investigation into the multitude of reported election anomalies had occurred and resulted in reasonable explanations, no Republican would have protested.

Jan. 6 was a terrible day for our nation. Even worse is what has happened since. Of the 700-plus protestors arrested that day, not a single one has been charged with the crime of Insurrection, yet over 70 of them remain in jail awaiting trial. These political prisoners are being held in order to extract confessions and guilty pleas to serve the larger propaganda agenda. There can be no other explanation considering that comparable protestors from four years earlier were charged and released the next day.

For over a year, Democrats have been using public resources and the powers of the state to wage a propaganda campaign against Republicans. The Jan. 6 Select Committee presents us with a scripted, dubbed and highly edited show trial pageant. Teleprompters feed testimony to the participants. No cross examination of witnesses. No rebuttal. Only the chosen narrative is presented. Why?

The Biden administration has been a remarkable failure. The economy, energy, trade, supply chain, border, employment, foreign relations, security, safety and political divisions are all worse now than under Trump.

Democrats desperately need to malign the opposition so that they look better in comparison and to justify their next moves.

It’s just common sense.