January 7, 2021
Yesterday will go down as one of the darkest days in U.S. history. The president fomented his supporters to march on Congress and take action to prevent the representatives of the people from performing their constitutional duty of confirming the 2020 election results.
It was not a peaceful protest. It was a treasonous attempt by a riotous mob at a coup d’etat.
Every time I have walked the hallowed halls of the Capitol, I am filled with awe thinking of the giants of our nation who have walked those same halls before me. Yesterday those halls were stained by the seditious acts of traitors, not patriots.
The genius of our democracy is we do not subject ourselves to a person but to a set of ideals codified in our Constitution, the peaceful transfer of power being the most important.
Unfortunately the events of yesterday were not surprising. 4 years ago, prior to President Trump’s inauguration, I remember people who supported him saying “Don’t worry, what harm can he do?”.
Since then we have witnessed the damage he could inflict on our nation, culminating with his continued attack on the legitimacy of the election and yesterday’s terrible events after the president incited them to take action.
The insurrection that attempted to prevent Congress from performing its constitutional duty failed.
However,the risk to our republic still exists as long as President Trump retains power and promotes his own self-serving efforts to stay in office.
The Constitution has a mechanism to ensure our nation’s stability through January 20: Vice-President Pence and the cabinet must invoke the 25th Amendment to ensure the rule of law prevails during this tumultuous time.
– Mark C. Poloncarz