With apologies to Edmund Burke, all it takes for Trumpism to thrive is for good men and women in Congress to do nothing.
The Trump mob’s attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 was both a seditious attempt to overthrow the government and an overt act of domestic terrorism. We would all be wise to recognize it as such.
After our country was attacked on 9/11, our response was unified — Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, blue state and red state. We would avenge that attack, and bring those responsible to justice.
We didn’t just make those vows merely to respond to the attack. We did so with the full knowledge that if we did nothing, the enemy would strike us once again.
Our country and its system of government were attacked on Jan. 6, 2021, and our response is disconcertingly divided by party.
Democrats want to hold those responsible for inspiring the insurrection to account — including Trump, his aides and Members of Congress who emboldened his efforts to throw out electoral votes based on his lies.
Yet too many Republicans — Brooklyn and Staten Island Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis included — just want to look the other way and move on from this incident. We can’t just move on from this, and they know it.
They must stop being scared of, and soft on the domestic terrorism threat our country currently faces.
The FBI reported Monday that Trumpists are plotting out yet another attack on or about the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, scheduled for Jan. 20. The report indicates that armed protests are likely in Washington, D.C. and in all 50 state capitals.
Each day Republicans in Congress balk at taking any responsibility or accountability over the Jan. 6 coup attempt is another day in which Trumpist rebels feel more empowered. Each day they fail to fulfill their responsibilities, they put the country in greater danger.
Since the attack, many Republicans have preached unity. On that, we agree.
The country must be united — in rejecting Trumpism, and in holding those responsible for the coup accountable.
All Democrats and Republicans who love this country, care about its future and took an oath to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States” must now stand up in her defense together.
Congress must step forward together to root out Trumpism. We can then heal and rebuild as “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
