We Will Hear About “The Unthinkable” in Just Two Days

abuse of power, current events, democracy, insurrection, US Constitution 3 Minutes

If anyone reading this post has not been planning to watch the January 6 Committee hearings–or listen to them–I urge you to do so. If you’re not available, tape the sessions for later viewing. Even if you’ve turned off politics, it’s imperative that you inform yourself now—for the good of us all.

The first hearing will be aired this Thursday, June 9th, at 8 pm ET. Seven more hearings will be held in June, with the final one also in prime time. Check your local listings ahead of time. ABC, CBS, and CSPAN will carry the hearing. I assume some cable networks will too.

Anti-American Fox “News” will not, of course, be airing the hearings. One wonders what they’re afraid of…

The Committee’s findings will be essential to informing all who care about democracy and want to see a better America.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) has said the hearings will “blow the roof off the House.” He’s also said the most chilling six words were those confirmed to have been uttered by then-VP Mike Pence, whom Trump had been trying to persuade to defy precedent and refuse to carry out his perfunctory role to simply count the Electoral College votes.

Pence had said the Constitution constrained him from doing anything other than his ceremonial role, and Trump and the angry mob knew they couldn’t depend on him. As they chanted “Hang Mike Pence,” the Secret Service were trying to get Pence out of the Capitol. The VP, sensing danger, said: “I won’t get into the car.”

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), the Committee co-chair, has said the threat the Committee will document is “ongoing, extremely broad, extremely well-organized. It’s chilling.”

In an interview, she said: “People must watch, and they must understand how easily our democratic system can unravel if we don’t defend it.”

So we’ve been prepared to learn about events that two seasoned politicians who lived through the Insurrection on January 6th have described as “chilling.”

Over the past month, I spent fifteen hours and eight minutes walking around with Rep. Raskin.

That’s the amount of time it took me to listen to him reading his heart-wrenchingly beautiful memoir, Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of American Democracy.

Raskin weaves together with elegant prose the upending of two constants in his life that he holds most dear: his brilliant and delightful son Tommy ended his life at age 25 after years of battling depression; and the democracy to which he has devoted himself was threatened by the attempted coup.

I have been so captivated by this book and the multiple kernels of wisdom and humanity within it that I also bought the hard copy. I hope to share more of it with you in time.

Raskin has been one of the most vocal and available committee members. His prescience about the attempted coup preceded the study and interviewing that he’d led as the House impeachment manager in formulating the case presented to the Senate for the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump.

More than six months before the 2020 election, Raskin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were discussing their concerns that Trump would not peacefully abide by the transfer of power that has occurred following every Presidential election in our country since its inception—even as the Civil War commenced.

In other words, to reverse the Big Liars’ terminology, the Democrats were the ones who were trying to “Stop the Steal.”

As Raskin wrote in Unthinkable:

“In essence, we had predicted every maneuver coming our way except for one: the unleashing of mob violence to intimidate the vice president and Congress, overwhelm and stop the counting of votes, and provide a pretext and context for Trump to potentially intervene with military force under the Insurrection Act to put down the uprising he himself had helped to organize.”

When Special Counselor Robert S. Mueller had released his report detailing Russian interference with the 2016 Presidential election, Trump’s loyal Attorney General, Bill Barr, preempted public sentiment by rushing to spread a false statement claiming that the findings were not as incriminating as they actually were.

This time, We the People will see and hear firsthand what the Select Committee’s findings are.

These findings will, of course, be spun by right-wing media to tell us not to believe our eyes—just as they did when we watched the horrific January 6th events unfold: hand-to-hand-combat with outnumbered police trying to protect the Capitol and the legislators against violent attackers–for hours–while the President did nothing.

This time, we must fervently hope, reality and truth and justice will prevail.

Then the hard work of shoring up our democracy against the lies and the autocratic thugs who fabricate and mouth them will move into high gear.

Annie

Published by annieasksyou

I've been a nonfiction writer for many years, exploring diverse topics that pique my curiosity, as noted in my first blog posting (Greetings!). I'm seeking dialogue with others committed to joining me in this exploration, sharing my conviction that different views can be exchanged in a respectful, civil discourse where we can learn from one another and be agreeable, even when we disagree. These postings depend for their enrichment on your participation: your ideas, insights, knowledge, opinions, and personal stories.

Published

43 thoughts on “We Will Hear About “The Unthinkable” in Just Two Days”

  1. The hearings must overcome the idea that whatever happened was justified by the imperative of keeping DJT in office, that the ends justified the means. .

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  2. Talked to a guy I was golfing with last week. He said the attack on the capitol was justified because the Dems stole the election from Trump. To quote him directly: ” There is no way Biden got 800,000 more votes than Trump”. Millions of Americans feel the same way. One thing I learned as a teacher. You cannot pry open a closed mind.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

      2. I heard an interesting commentary that Fox never got over having temporarily lost viewers to Newsmax after accurately calling the election for Biden. And of course, their commentators will make appearances in the hearings—Hannity and Ingraham, pleading for trump to stop the chaos!

        Liked by 2 people

      3. I hadn’t heard that, but don’t doubt the veracity at all! We both know that the former guy and his supporters do not ever … EVER forgive or forget. Still, though, Fox seems to have a grip on a large portion of this nation who cannot be bothered to engage their brains and listen to the truth for once.

        Liked by 2 people

  3. The Republican Party needs more Liz Cheneys—people who are willing to speak truth to power, even if that means risking their jobs. Here’s hoping the January 6 Committee hearings result in indictments that go straight to the top, knocking 45 off his perch and officially labeling him the criminal he is.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    2. I see two dangers: if tried, DJT might be acquitted; trial and conviction might provoke undesirable backlash. As distasteful as it would be, I think a timely pardon would be best for the country.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      2. Just like Ford’s pardon of Nixon saved us from so much worse! Sorry part of my parallel life must have seeped in.

        Liked by 2 people

      3. Richard, I’m unclear on your point. Did you approve of Ford’s pardon then, and do you now? Why or why not?

        Like

      4. Futile attempt after futile attempt has yet to convince me that this time I will succeed at writing satire. 😦
        I might be able to go along with a true pardon. Nixon did not get one nor will Drump ever qualify. A pardon is absolution of a sin/crime. Nixon did not and Drump never will admit guilt. Martin Luther split from Catholicism over the willingness of the church to forgive persons for crimes/sins they were ABOUT to commit. Ford caused the car to spin, one more time we will need a new car.

        Liked by 1 person

      5. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? Donald standing before the nation, acknowledging his sins, lies, and other evil acts, begging forgiveness!

        Did you see Ivanka, looking like a blond Morticia, acknowledging she knew her father was lying? Would have loved to hear that familial postmortem on the hearings!

        Like

  4. I’m a Raskin fan and will put the memoir on my list. As to the hearings, let’s hope this time the facts will ring loudly and wake some people up. I’m looking for accountability and indictments. The least we can do for our democracy.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. I watched a bit of the gun hearings this morning….the most horrifying one to me was the pediatrician’s testimony….I can’t even imagine.

        Like

      2. Yes. It’s unfathomable that elected officials will not act knowing what they know. And yet Steve Scalise, number 2 Republican in the House, who almost died after being shot on a baseball field, said what’s needed aren’t gun laws—it’s prayer in the schools.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. One day I blurted out how things would be when I was a millionaire. My Grandfather said to me, “Great but be careful. Usually once you’ve earned your first million all you can think about is earning a second.” Much later I got to meet a magical woman who fit the definition of crone without the maleficence. Hooked nose, corncob pipe and a tar paper shack with dirt floors. The shack however was built on the edge of a bluff overlooking a bend in the Ohio River with a view that literally took you breath away. She said to me “The secret to happiness is not “getting what you want” but in “wanting what you have”. The American education system has failed at every level to inform all of us, and especially our “leader class” of what “enough” really means or what to do with the surplus. (Hint: it is not “buy a bigger boat”)

        Liked by 1 person

      5. I’m with your magical crone. Now if we can only get enough Americans to elect enough legislators who really care about inequities and are committed to reversing them.

        Like

  6. I will be watching … I hope he’s right and it “blows the roof off the House”. I hope that at least a measurable portion of Republicans finally come to understand how very much corruption was involved, and that the goal was to replace our democratic republic with an authoritarian government. And, I hope Attorney General Garland takes his cue and starts charging some of those closest to Trump, if not Trump himself!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    2. In the depth of a cave the tiniest spark is as the sun. Merrick has chosen to hit two toadies with the hammer of contempt. My hope and belief is that he is positioning the other two to drop the anvil of sedition on them. Bigger fish need a bigger pan.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      2. The hearings are riveting! After each one, the consensus seems to be “that was the most important to date.” I believe we’ve passed the point at which the Justice Dept decides whether to charge the former President. The questions now are for which crimes and how long this sad and scary and hopeful process will take.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. There’s certainly reason for skepticism, Neil, but if the evidence is overwhelming… My “sources”—podcasts I listen to while you’re more healthily listening to upbeat music—have moved from skeptical to cautiously optimistic.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  10. ‘The VP, sensing danger, said: “I won’t get into the car.” ‘
    It isn’t totally clear what he meant.
    Did he fear he was going to be harmed if he got into a car controlled by trump’s SS?
    Did he fear that he would be removed from the premises, and his absence used as an excuse for the next-in-line to be put in place to do trump’s bidding?
    With the chaos surrounding the place, it seems that the first is more likely, but it is not totally clear from what I’ve read.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. Not sure Pence will be entirely truthful. I mean, he might have thought both, but if it comes to picking one he’ll go for whichever gives the best results for him, he thinks.
        If he wants to demonstrate how depraved he believes trump is, he feared what they’d do to him.
        If he wants to look noble, risking his safety to do his job, definitely will believe that he heeds to stay to preserve democracy. (unless he thinks democracy is a bad thing)

        Like

      2. I wasn’t thinking of Pence himself; two close aides cooperated with the committee. Marc Short was reported to have been the one who notified the Secret Service of his concerns about Pence’s safety after Pence made it clear he wouldn’t play the role trump insisted upon.

        Liked by 1 person

    2. He will be under penalty of perjury. Elevator pitch 30 seconds; I’m 63 with 200k/yr banked, this is going very very bad and Liz is not going down she is shooting up (1st she/her pres). Swear me in on live TV, right after “so help me God!” “Give me immunity and I’ll tell you everything.” We should know what any decent salesman then does.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s