As we mark the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection, it’s important to remember how we got to that moment and who was responsible for it. Donald Trump and his allies engaged in a months-long criminal conspiracy after the 2020 election. They spread lies about voter fraud and used those lies to put pressure on state officials to illegally overturn election results. When their scheme to interfere with Congress’s certification of the 2020 election results failed, Trump and his co-conspirators incited a violent mob to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
MAGA Republicans nationwide continued this assault on our democracy by introducing radical voter suppression bills in Congress and state legislatures, spreading false election conspiracy theories, and threatening to overturn election results they disagree with.
Now, Trump is running for president again, and he and his allies are planning for a second term that is even more extreme and authoritarian than the last one. If he is reelected, he plans to pardon himself and his supporters, use the Department of Justice to exact revenge on his enemies, and purge the federal government of anyone who doesn’t agree with him until there’s no one left to say no.
Just last month, Trump said if he was reelected, he would attempt to be a dictator on “day one.” We need to take him at his word. Too much is at stake for the American people to allow Trump to take back power. It’s up to all of us to say no to a second Trump presidency now, before it’s too late.
Jenann Mclennan
San Luis Obispo
This article appears in Jan 4-14, 2024.
Right, because with Biden, everything has gone so remarkably well! Terrible article!
Trump accomplishments:
https://www.magapill.com/
Re: “Too much is at stake to allow another Trump term” shows how remarkably polarized we have become. A majority of voters may want Trump to serve as the next president. It’s amazing that a person who doesn’t like Trump believes that others should not be allowed vote for him. We have descended into magical thinking and ignorance. This is a “republic,” where presumably the interests of the majority are represented in our government. For someone to believe they personally, or a subset of citizens, are entitled to exclude voters from their choice is a clear sign of tyranny. Amazing and disgusting.
You don’t have to like Mr. Trump to appreciate that in a free society, others have an equal right to their opinion. Once you decide others do not have that right, you have lost the concept of democracy entirely. And in this case, you might take into consideration that it appears a majority of citizens may prefer Mr. Trump over whomever you would choose.
“Trump accomplishments”
Nice list, t dick.
I lived through all of those “accomplishments” but I really only remember a few, such as when Trump got in front of the media and said there were good people among a group of Nazis.
I remember when he passed a bill that lowered taxes on the uber-wealthy (such as himself) to the tune of over $7 trillion dollars which was added to the nation’s debt (the largest one term increase in history).
I remember when he kissed the asses of dictators Vladimir Putin and Kim Jung Un.
I also remember his tortured response to the COVID pandemic which cost the nation over one million lives. First, it was “you should wear a mask, but I won’t.” Then it was “simply take some hydroxychloriquine” or “well, if you drink a disinfectant or shine a UV light down your throat you can immunize yourself.”
I also remember seeing him on TV on Jan. 6 whipping up a crowd of extremists by saying that he was cheated and that the election (which his own administration had declared the most secure in American history) was fraudulent. That insurrection cost people’s lives and livelihoods with several participants currently serving prison sentences.
Hopefully, Mr. Trump will be serving a sentence of his own sometime in the near future.
Jenann – your Op-Ed is spot on, 100% accurate in every conceivable way. It cracks me up to read responses that still defend a candidate who, 2 years ago left behind a Capitol encircled with razor-wire fence and 25,000 National Guard troops protecting the federal government from his supporters. A candidate who could not and would not accept an election defeat even though the results had been certified by all 50 States and his own V.P.; a candidate who has wreaked tremendous havoc in our Country. I say “our Country” because I mean it. It doesn’t belong to him or anyone else. If we can’t find a way to somehow get it together and meet in the middle, be flexible, figure out constructive ways to solve tough problems, we’re done. Anyone interested in handing over the keys to him at this point are also willing and looking forward to a one-sided dictatorship / autocracy as they have in Russia and North Korea. Millions love the chaos he brings. Personally, I don’t.
“ For someone to believe they personally, or a subset of citizens, are entitled to exclude voters from their choice is a clear sign of tyranny. ”
OK, who is it that tried to deprive a majority of voters from their choice of Joe Biden over Donald Trump?
If you Democrats are that worried about another Trump presidency, you would do well to quickly “sane up” and engage in a little remedial action. Hold on, this will hurt. First, find a candidate with a pulse, and without such an awful vice president. Second, close the border. The illegals swarming into the country are a bad “look” for you, especially now that they are collapsing the social services in the Northern cities you count on for support. Third, cut down your vote-buying spending, it is causing the inflation that hurts all of us. Do something about crime which has gone up during Biden’s term. The cops aren’t the problem, the criminals are. A finally, are your cultural crusades really necessary? Like the trans thing, which effects just a tiny portion of the population, and is politically important to just progressives Some of your positions seem pretty nutty to most of us.