Trump, Ron Johnson Stained With Dishonor
Republican Liz Cheney says Trump 'formed the mob, incited the mob, lit the flame.'
Last week began with Democratic Senate wins in Georgia and control of the Senate. Senator-elect Raphael Warnock said: “We are sending an African-American pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King, Jr. served, and also Jon Ossoff, a young Jewish man, the son of an immigrant, to the U.S. Senate. … In this moment, we’ve got to bring people together in order to do the hard work.”
Then a racist mob, waving Confederate flags and some wearing clothing adorned with “Camp Auschwitz”, stormed the U.S. Capitol, killing a Capitol Police officer and desecrating the Capitol, including a memorial to civil rights icon Georgia Democratic Representative John Lewis. The mob had marched to the Capitol after Donald Trump called his presidential election loss an “egregious assault on our democracy” and told his followers to “walk down to the Capitol” and not show “weakness.”
However, a group of historians and constitutional scholars said: “Never before in our history has a president who lost reelection tried to stay in office by subverting the democratic process set down by the Constitution. … Unable to accept his defeat, President Trump and his collaborators have falsely charged massive electoral fraud … They have concocted and spread falsehoods that inflame Americans against their own government, and against each other.” Moreover, the voters have spoken, courts rejected Trump’s lawsuits and the Electoral College ratified Joe Biden’s win. But Johnson disingenuously said: “We are not acting to thwart the democratic process – we are acting to protect it.” A lie.
Before Congress reconvened, the National Association of Manufacturers issued an extraordinary statement: “Armed violent protestors who support the baseless claim by outgoing President Trump that he somehow won an election that he overwhelmingly lost have stormed the U.S. Capitol today, attacking police officers and first responders, because Trump refused to accept defeat in a free and fair election. … This is not law and order.” A chastened Johnson dropped his objections. It doesn’t remove his stain of dishonor.
Johnson hears conspiratorial voices, but doesn’t hear those fearful of losing their pensions, healthcare or jobs, or small dairy farmers crushed by market forces beyond their control. He must be defeated if he runs for reelection in 2022.
Impeaching Trump or invoking the 25th Amendment are fool’s errands. Moreover, Congress officially confirmed Biden’s victory. He takes office January 20, hitting the ground running to begin an economic recovery and end the worsening pandemic.
Bill Kaplan wrote a guest column from Washington, D.C., for the Wisconsin State Journal from 1995 – 2009.
More about the Chaos at the Capitol
- Two Priests Blame Antifa for Capitol Riot - Henry Redman - Jan 20th, 2021
- Black History and the Trump Uprising - Isiah Holmes - Jan 18th, 2021
- Authorities Monitoring State Capitol - WPR Staff - Jan 17th, 2021
- Statement Relating to 2018 Contribution to Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) - Wisconsin REALTORS® Association - Jan 17th, 2021
- Op Ed: Scott Fitzgerald Has Very Bad Week - James Rowen - Jan 17th, 2021
- Uihleins Gave $4 Million to Group Pushing Capitol Rally - Melanie Conklin - Jan 16th, 2021
- Campaign Cash: State Businesses Supported Group Pushing Capitol Rally - Wisconsin Democracy Campaign - Jan 14th, 2021
- GOP State Legislators Asked Pence to Not Certify Election - Melanie Conklin - Jan 14th, 2021
- Wisconsin Delegation Votes Party Line on Impeachment - Rob Mentzer - Jan 14th, 2021
- Rep. Hintz: Condemns Republican Legislators’ Lies and Dangerous Rhetoric - State Rep. Gordon Hintz - Jan 14th, 2021
Read more about Chaos at the Capitol here
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It is not a fool’s errand to impose political and legal sanctions for Trump’s role in the Capitol Melee. The reasons for impeaching Trump a second time are many, but one takes precedence:
Sending a clear and unambiguous message to anyone — present or future — who would incite an insurrection against a duly elected governing body in these United States, that such treasonous acts will be dealt with swiftly and without mercy.
These consequences must include lifetime bans from holding any government position, elected or appointed. This is not about revenge, as some Republicans have been saying. This about safeguarding our democratic republic against the next trump.
Ron Johnson fabricated the conspiracy theory that Hillary Clinton had something to do with the massacre of American Diplomatic staff at Benghazi even though it was a spontaneous uprising in a small diplomatic outpost. Rojo as head of the Homeland Security Committee, can’t even keep track of the Country’s home grown terrorists who turned up at the Capitol. In Trump terms, he is a “loser”.