We can’t forget

Today marks the anniversary of the January 6th, 2021 attacks on the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. – three years since insurrectionists stormed Congress with the explicit goal of preventing the certification of a free and fair election and seizing power by force for Donald Trump.

The Republican party – still under Trump's spell today – would sooner forget that this happened. In the three years since this attack on our democracy, the Republican Establishment has gone from (briefly) sharing our deep anger and sadness that such an event could transpire on American soil, to making excuses for and even defending the insurrectionists.

Let me be clear: there is nothing acceptable about what happened that day. The January 6th attacks were a direct affront to the values and ideas enshrined in our constitution and directly caused by the Republican Party's coddling and encouragement of anti-democracy extremists.

Even though nearly 1,200 people have been prosecuted for their participation in the attacks, the threat still remains. Donald Trump is still giving speeches and holding rallies in which he fantasizes about "being a dictator on day one" and his supporters are as zealous as ever.

On this somber occasion, it is vital that we remember exactly what is at stake in the upcoming election: our democracy.

Our elections are the lifeblood of our democracy, and we cannot allow them to be mired in partisan gamesmanship. We are going to redouble our efforts in Congress to pass legislation that strengthens our democracy and ensures our elections remain free and fair. In the meantime, we have to organize hard, win in 2024, and hold Republicans accountable for their obstruction and extremism at the ballot box and beyond.

Onward,

Ron