Insurrection, a different view
The further we get from Jan. 6, 2021, the more I see political and media figures on the right working to minimize the events of that day. The latest attempt here locally was the recent My Turn column by Mr. Regan, our local Republican Committee Chair.
First, let’s get the election irregularities out of the way. Some fraud happens every election. This time, COVID provided new partisan opportunities to bend the rules. However, the time to set firm election rules and stop fraud from occurring is through pre-election court challenges. You win or lose your case there. Only a fool would believe that absent overwhelming evidence supported by credible individuals, the courts (even the Supreme Court) would overturn a presidential election or delay the orderly transition of power. Left without that avenue of remedy along with a group of our fellow Americans who could be manipulated by the narcissist that is Donald Trump, we got Jan. 6.
I watched the Jan. 6 riots live on FOX News as it unfolded. I watched it through the lens of the retired law enforcement officer and conservative Republican that I am. I have read the reporting and viewed many hours of videos taken that day by all sources. I viewed it with the critical eye gained by 30 years of law enforcement training and experience. There is no justification for what was planned and executed that day.
Yes, planned. It’s no coincidence that several groups showed up with tactical gear, flex cuffs, pepper spray, radios, and small unit identifiers to keep track of each other in the crowds. Their leaders (both political figures and activists on the right) knew that if thousands of folks were willing to travel to D.C. to “stop the steal," they could be easily manipulated by inciting rhetoric to form a mob thereby providing cover for their plan. Crowd psychology is not a new phenomenon. Human beings feed off each other’s emotions as well as crowd anonymity. Crowds act in ways individuals never would if they stood alone and accountable for their actions.
The initial reaction to these events by all but the most partisan among us was a sense of outrage and shame for the actions of our fellow American citizens. In time we quickly retreated to our partisan corners. The Left exploited the day for their own political purposes and the Right tried to find any way to minimize or justify what clearly remains a shameful attempt to disrupt the certification of the 2020 presidential election. This event, for any conservative who believes in the rule of law, was as unjustifiable as the summer of BLM riots.
I do not necessarily disagree with many of Mr. Regan’s stated grievances regarding the double standard by some media, disparate prosecution of lawbreakers or the fact that violent protests are more common on the left. Nor do I ignore the hypocrisy of Congress and our current president who could not be bothered to support the rule of law or police for two years until the fight came to their door. However, none of Mr. Regan’s grievances or excuses justify what happened that day.
Like former President Trump, Mr. Regan attacks honorable men and women who are dutifully testifying to their actions surrounding that fateful day. Former President Trump’s own appointees, family, lawyers, and staff should not be denigrated because their testimony reflects negatively on the actions of some conservatives. Yes, the hearings contain some scripted political theater as well as inflammatory partisan statements designed to settle political scores. Nevertheless, the videos do not lie about the violence unleashed that day.
I assure you, the police officers who stood on those front lines as they were violently attacked by Americans draped in Trump flags carrying riot weapons, felt no less fear or pain than those officers attacked throughout the country in 2020 by far-left Americans dressed in black, carrying their own weapons.
Mr. Regan: Getting at the truth about Jan. 6 will not distract the voters from the train wreck that is our current America under the ruling party. However, encouraging people to act out through incivility both locally and nationally will certainly further the divisiveness we are living through today. I suggest we start working constructively toward repairing our community and nation rather than continuing down the path that led us to this moment.
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Dan Soumas is a resident of Hayden.