Did it work?
Today marks the anniversary of the January 6th attacks on our Capitol: the day that insurrectionists who stormed Congress had the explicit goal of overturning the results of a free and fair election in order to seize power for Donald Trump.
As one of the last people evacuated off the House floor that day, I feel responsible to preserve the crucial memory of what exactly happened: an attack on our democracy.
It was surreal, frightening, visually stunning, and remains a horrific stain on our history. Despite this harrowing experience, it didn't take long for my Republican colleagues to be shaken out of their shock and get straight to work lying to the American people about the events that just occurred.
They dedicated the last few years to trying to rewrite history. Did it work?
They want us to forget that they radicalized homegrown fascists with lies and capitalized on fear to get their policy objectives into the mainstream, to win elections, and to drive us all backward.
They want us to believe that the insurrectionists were "patriots."
They want us to accept this behavior as reasonable and expect this outcome when they fail to get their way.
It's up to us to combat their revisionist history by continuing to shout the truth: MAGA Republicans incited an insurrection. For me, their efforts to rewrite the narrative underscores our duty to reinforce an accurate memory of the day. We owe it to ourselves, to one another, and to our country to fight against the GOP's enabling of fascism.
Now, as we look toward Inauguration Day — which I anticipate will have the energy of some sort of dystopian Groundhog's Day — I am redoubling my commitment from 4 years ago to ensure that such an attack never happens again and that their version of events doesn't become the dominant narrative.
Together in this fight,
Jim