BY THE VILLAGE SUN | January 6 today is known as a date of shame and infamy — a day when an angry, violent mob of more than 2,000 Donald Trump supporters stormed our nation’s Capitol, trying to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s election as president.
Now, two years later, Dan Goldman, the newly elected congressmember for Downtown Manhattan’s 10th District, wants to flip the script on Jan. 6 in a positive way. Turning orange into lemonade…er, lemons into lemonade…he and two colleagues have introduced legislation on the Hill to officially dub the date Democracy Day.
Goldman was the House majority’s lead counsel in Trump’s first impeachment trial.
“On this solemn anniversary of the January 6 insurrection, let us not forget that those in the House that fomented the attack on our democracy that day are still — today — undermining our democracy by failing to organize the Congress,” Goldman said.
He was referring to the deadlocked vote to elect the House speaker, which was dragging out in a historically long manner.
“The forces of authoritarian extremism have not loosened their grip on the Republican Party in the two years since former President Donald Trump incited a violent insurrection in a last, desperate attempt to overturn the results of a Presidential election to remain in power,” Goldman said.
“That is why we must remain vigilant in the fight to preserve and protect our democracy. This fight is far from over but it is an existential one.
“To mark this anniversary, I have announced my intention to work with two of my Democratic colleagues, Representatives Dean Phillips and Jason Crow, to introduce legislation that will permanently designate January 6 as Democracy Day.
“Doing so is a necessary step to ensuring that the horrific attack on the cradle of our democracy is never forgotten. Let this anniversary always guide us to strengthen our values and institutions, as we engage in the hard but important work to turn tragedy into purpose.”
After Kevin McCarthy finally was elected speaker late Friday night, on the 15th vote, Goldman blasted him as a disgrace.
“Unfortunately, in order to end this sad chapter in American history, Republicans have elevated to speaker of the House an election denier and Trump sycophant — Kevin McCarthy,” he said.
“There is a direct through-line,” he said, “from the events of this day, January 6, two years ago, when House Republicans tried to interfere with our Democracy, to today, when many of those same House Republicans continue to interfere with our Democracy.
“This week has laid bare that those right-wing extremists are driving the Republican bus. This is a party that has repeatedly proven that they are simply incapable of governing responsibly.
“The results of the 2022 midterm elections, in which election-deniers and right-wing extremists were rejected across the country, make clear that the American people have no appetite for their brand of destructive politics.
“If Republicans do as they have promised, and remain focused on frivolous investigations of laptops or policy disagreement rather than delivering real results for their constituents, they will be in for a rude awakening at the ballot box in 2024.”
Go, Our Man Dan!🗽🇺🇸
I am glad you’re there to fight the good fight. As much as we hate the #Insurrectionists, and generally GOP 🤮WhatCanYouDo?
Don’t you need to feign at least, hope, 🙏🏼 we can grab bipartisanship, and work across the isles for this Congress to actually function on behalf of the American people, and not the obstructionist waste of time and money investigations and the aims to move us 50 years backwards in progress? Can’t we find at least 20 good guys who really understand the oath of office and the principles on which we stand?
New speaker, who says he never gives up, just showed us how much (we KNOW) he had to give up to gain his throne and gavel.
On the HOMEFRONT/Hoodfront:
I hope that you do not ignore us here in the Lower East Side/East Village/Loisaida areas We Who are so negatively impacted by the East River Park development debacle, and the fight to regain our cultural and community center at 605 E. 9th St., CHARAS/ El Bohio, Auctioned by the evil Goofy Giuliani. We have been working in coalition for over 21 years toward this. So please, Save Our Community Center CHARAS 64 (SOCCC-64) & work with the community in coalition and other elected representatives as well. We can’t wait to meet you!
By the way, he took Trump out of speaking to Mueller; remember Trump wanted to.
Also he had his Merrill documents instead of sending to municipal archives, put them in some warehouse in Long Island cit, which mysteriously had a fire.
And by the way, central business district, it’s not our neighborhoods, we are mostly residential.
A great idea, though it may remain in the womb of time until the insurrectionists and their sympathizers in both the Senate and House are swept away. It is worth introducing, though, to at least memorialize the list of those in Congress who oppose it.
Or why not call it “Howard Beale Day” in reference to the famous Peter Finch speech in the 1976 movie “Network”? Or just let the day alone, unless this will give us another canceled alternate-side-of-the-street parking day. That would be useful.