America Assaulted

AN UNACCEPTABLE

An America assaulted is horrified by the unacceptable stain upon our democracy and desecration of our Capitol on January 6, 2021. Moreover, the record 74-million patriotic Americans who voted two months earlier for an unorthodox incumbent share this national epiphany. However, on this solemn Christian feast day, an unexceptional president failed a nation paralyzed by pandemic and partisan rancor. Consequently, we have come to an inglorious and surreal moment when his self-centeredness provoked constitutional chaos. Incredibly, he helped incite a mob assault on our Capitol the very day that his undocumented and unrelenting rejection of the late election cost Republicans control of the Senate. Furthermore, he also simultaneously managed to jettison his heretofore loyal Vice President, skilled Senate GOP Leader, articulate House GOP Leader, and all the principled Republicans who choose to defend our Constitution and Electoral College.

NIXON ROLE MODEL

Our Electoral College is the bedrock guarantor of the states’ rights and national balance that thoughtful conservatives treasure and protect. Likewise, our tradition of peaceful political transition is a cornerstone of American exceptionalism. Therefore, states have the right and duty to certify elections and nominate electors. Demanding extra-constitutional remedies and provoking disgruntled admirers to storm the Capitol is reckless However, there is a rational way to correct verified election irregularities. Consequently, that includes initiatives to reform elections on a state and local level, as Florida finally accomplished. Indeed, absentee, and mail-in voting issues must be objectively addressed without partisan acrimony. Moreover, this should be the focus of a judicious former president. Consider the forbearance and role model of Vice President Richard M. Nixon following the 1960 election. He refused legitimate recounts for the good of the nation, even when actual evidence of fraud existed.         

PROPER PRECEDENT

In January 1961, Republican Vice President Nixon presided over the Senate and confirmed Democratic Sen. John F. Kennedy as president elect. Likewise, in January 2001, Democratic Vice President Al Gore presided and confirmed Republican Gov. George W. Bush as president elect following the heated Florida recount and Supreme Court decision. Therefore, in January 2021, despite an America assaulted, Republican Vice President Mike Pence has presided and confirmed former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden as president-elect.

MOVING ON

With america assaulted, the outgoing president has sadly squandered his achievements and legacy. He lost a winnable election by making himself the issue and now endangers our democracy by doubling down — rather than accepting reality with perspective and grace.  Against all odds, this resilient if outlandish optimist overcame an establishment coup d’état, media bias and a flawed impeachment. But he has now succeeded in rationalizing his critics’ brutal assessment of him. Meanwhile, he has also inexplicably abandoned all who entrusted him with their votes and political support. Consequently, he must now withdraw into quiet retirement, an evolution that will be difficult for him. The nation must move on. However, his opponents must also move on from him as well, for the good of “E Pluribus Unum,” the ever-ascendant America.

COMMON PURPOSE

As Oliver Cromwell announced to Parliament on April 20, 1653, “You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!” Consequently, on May 7, 1940, British Conservative MP, Leo Amery, hurled a version of these words at Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain during a ferocious House of Commons debate. Three days later, as Nazi armored columns thrust into the Low Countries and France, defiant Winston Churchill replaced Chamberlain and the rest is history.

In conclusion, the United States faces serious challenges, not the least of which is the People’s Republic of China. Strengthening alliances (including a post-Brexit Britain) and unifying Washington, Wall Street and Silicon Valley to effectively compete is paramount. All thoughtful Americans condemn both the unacceptable assault on the Capitol as well as the intolerable leftist urban violence of 2020. We cannot allow the extremes to manipulate and divide us. Conscientious leaders of both parties must now work without recrimination to bring Americans back together in common purpose. To quote Churchill, let us now “move forward together.” May we never again experience the madness of January 6. 2021, with America assaulted.