Moving Forward: My thoughts on the Insurrection
Tuesday, January 12, 2021
Like many around the world, I am still recovering from last Wednesday - watching an outright insurrection in our own country. As my 15 year old said, this sad chapter “is like real history. It's the stuff kids will read about someday”.
As my 15 year old said, this sad chapter “is like real history. It's the stuff kids will read about someday”.
Yes, this was a crazy reckless event caught on camera. It cost lives, injured many and left a stain on our Democratic Republic. It was all spurred on, supported, pushed and allowed by a naive crowd of sycophants with no spine and no internal value system. But let's be clear, this post election insurrection was designed, driven, pushed, encouraged and even led by the President of the United States, Donald Trump. In his twisted mind, it is better to go out doing something like this than accept defeat.
Losing sucks. I hate losing. I compete at everything, so much so my mom sent me to a non-competitive sleep away camp. Truly! Imagine a camp where no one keeps score, where you play soccer with no shoes and bat lefty in softball -- all designed to squelch my competitiveness. One eye opening summer camp!
In the end, I am who I am. Today, I risk injury to compete against my boys in ping-pong and pickleball. I have turned dinnertime into “challenge time” with my son Calvin and compete each night in the kitchen for top chef bragging rights. And for the record, my garlic butter basted steak is far better than his!
My competitive streak is just part of my DNA; however, it never holds me back from doing what’s right. When I lost the Colorado Senate District 33 race last year, I accepted defeat and supported my opponent, even putting his yard sign up!
When it was over, I told my supporters and lawyers we would move on. Personally, it was devastating, dare I say gut wrenching and yes, depressing. It was no fun to look at my kids, my amazingly supportive wife, my mother-in-law, and others and say “I lost and it’s over.” Despite everyone’s hard work, the other guy just got more votes. It was as simple as that.
Over sixty legal appeals, multiple recounts and not a single shred of serious election fraud evidence. The election wasn’t a hoax nor was it rigged. Bottom line, Donald Trump lost, and doesn’t want to accept reality.
So President Trump's idea to call the election a fraud is beyond me. Over sixty legal appeals, multiple recounts and not a single shred of serious election fraud evidence. The election wasn’t a hoax nor was it rigged. Bottom line, Donald Trump lost, and doesn’t want to accept reality. Americans chose the other guy by a significant margin - more than three million votes and 306 Electoral Votes. You need 270 to win.
This election fraud lie, perpetuated and endorsed by so many in the Republicans and members of the fringe right wing groups, has now destroyed whatever legacy Trump had and it very well may be the lowest moment in the modern American Presidency. Inciting a violent insurrection against your own Vice President and the Constitutional Duty to certify the State’s Electors.
We can and will rise from the dust; however, to successfully move forward, we must first face the stark reality of what really happened. Without question, there is blood on Donald Trump’s hands.
For over eight weeks, the President and his most ardent supporters rallied, pushed, cajoled and drove a mob into a frenzy of hate and craziness.
They should all be held accountable for their actions to fullest extent of the law (imagine for a second if this had been BLM protesters).
We must also put policy, business and moral pressure on the GOP and the world to accept that facts matters. No longer can we have right wing media vs. left wing media. There are no alternative facts, only the truth. If you lose, you lose. Dust yourself off, re-tool, work harder and come back into the Democratic arena with better ideas, or more organized voters. In the immortal words of Yogi Berra: “Losing is a learning experience. It teaches you humility. It teaches you to work harder. It’s also a powerful motivator.”
AT THE US CAPITOL: I cannot begin to imagine the fear and stress felt by those Americans working inside last Wednesday afternoon.
For a period of my life, Capitol Hill was home. It’s where I worked as a congressional intern, it’s where I met my wife, a legislative staffer, and later, it’s where I honed my skills as a lobbyist with the National Audubon Society. The work never stopped whether you were in the halls, the walkways or areas between the Senate and the House, and having stood in those halls, I cannot begin to imagine the fear and stress felt by those Americans working inside last Wednesday afternoon.
January 6th, 2021 was an awful day for America. We can and must do better, and we must hold the President and his accomplices accountable. With humility and perseverance, we must move forward by doubling down on building a more perfect union. One driven by facts and a passion for freedom, equality and justice for all!
