State of the Unity Address

As the clock was ticking earlier this week to the end of the Trump disaster, a friend sent me one of his periodic head-exploding emails, where his legitimate concerns get blown a bit off-course the more he has time to think about them and worry about them and get distressed about them -- and then need to be talked off the ledge.

His latest concern, as he watch the administration ending and Trump not in jail and his children not in jail and his top cabinet officials and advisers not in jail and the most-complicit Republicans in Congress not in jail, and no investigations even started yet, is that none of this sedition to overthrow democracy will be "investigated, exposed and prosecuted."

And so it was my responsibility to...well, again, talk him off the ledge.

​I feel comfortable saying that there is NO way in heaven and earth that this won’t be investigated, exposed and prosecuted.  Already, the FBI is investigating and have almost 100 arrests, and it will build from there.  Already, Nancy Pelosi announced an investigation headed by the wonderful Russel Honoré.  And then on January 20, the Democrats take control of the Senate – and you know there will be hearings and investigations there.

And there is NO way this will be forestalled or put aside under the “galling appeal for unity.”  I say that with certainty not only from all the scathing, red-hot infuriated responses I see from those in Congress on social media when replying directly to Republicans crying to “move forward” and “unity” without any admission of guilt or consequences or not only because Democrats actually know in the core of their beings that it was an attempt to overthrow the government – but for another far-more basic reason:  the reality that every member in Congress quite literally had their lives at risk, hiding out for hours – hiding with Republicans some of whom were likely actually complicit in the attacks, but also many who refused to wear masks and who put all their lives even further at risk and laughed about it.  Some were calling home to say goodbye.  That is not something you forget and put aside to “move forward” for any reason, let alone “unity.” Republicans may want to move forward, but that’s because they’re terrified of the results of investigation, not to have “unity.”  Democrats KNOW that there was an insurrection to overthrow the government, KNOW that they lived throw four years of this, KNOW that many of them were threatened for four year and KNOW that their lives were truly at risk while hiding out for two hours.  They are not sweeping this under the rug.  No way on earth.  They are enraged. 

And the FBI is investigating with everything they’ve got.  In part because it’s what they do, and in part because they’ve lived through four years of Trump and had their agency dismantled as part of this sedition.

And more to the point, the horror of this will only grow as more stories and videos and information comes out.  Our galled, furious reaction is only from the tip of the iceberg.  The moment something as singular as just one Republican in Congress or the administration is shown involved, the roof will be blown off – and the whole party will be tarnished.  And Republicans will know that they are all tarnished, and so some -- no, not many, but a few -- will do everything to protect themselves and the party, and try to show how clean they are and patriotic by helping Democrats prosecute all the “real perpetrators” to the fullest.  But they’ll still all be tarnished.  And I feel pretty confident saying that there is at the very least just one Republican in Congress or the administration who was involved.  Probably several.  If not many.

This is a GOP disaster and one that will unravel once people start trying to save their skin.  Not to mention most of the insurrectionists trying to save their skin, especially those who were more “caught up” in it, rather than organized it.

I don’t know if everything here will come to pass.  I think it will or most.  But I do know that Democrats who had their lives at literal risk are not letting this “move forward” without there being consequences.

And with that, my friend laughed, got off the ledge, and said, yes, that's right.  And lived to get utterly furious another day.