Raw Politics: Our Fragile Democracy
Takeaways From The January 6th Committee, And A Warning Of The Dangerous Path That Lies Ahead
By Penfield W. Tate III
For the GPHN
Summer is here, but let’s revisit the spring, and winter, before we move on. After all, if we do not learn from our past. . .
We all witnessed — most of us with shock and dismay — the attempted coup of our government and the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
We have watched as the investigations have uncovered and exposed just how deeply this conspiracy runs. People have pled guilty to charges that there was a conspiracy to overturn the government. It may start with the Former President (hereafter FP because I am as tired of seeing his name in print as much as he loves it). But it goes much farther than we all feared. It includes members of his staff, advisors and cabinet; members of Congress; people in business and industry; and, even the spouse of a Supreme Court Justice.
The first public hearing of the January 6th Committee showed just how significant the situation was, and is. The curtains were pulled back and showed a concerted and intentional planned conspiracy to overturn the presidential election and overthrow our government. And at the center of it all stood the Former President.
It started with bizarre unfounded claims and outright lies about a stolen election, and included coercing state elections officials to lie and change election results (without success) and filing several un-founded lawsuits — all of which were lost. The claims were so persistent and weird, that former Attorney General Bill Barr told FP the allegations were “BS.” Even his own daughter, Ivanka, told the Committee that she agreed with Barr that the claims of election fraud were lies. FP has now taken to attacking them.
What this really is, is a loser unwilling to accept election results.
It was that bad
We now know it was so bad that at least two of FP’s cabinet members discussed invoking the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That Amendment says, in part: “Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.”
The President can claim no disability exists, but if the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet persist, Congress must convene within 48 hours to have hearings and issue a decision on the President’s ability to serve within 21 days. How bad was it that serious people were discussing invoking the amendment?
Do not think for a minute that this is in the rear-view mirror. This is a current and future danger. We now know that members of Congress are part of the conspiracy and asked FP for pardons from prosecution. Why ask for a pardon if you have not committed any crime?
Tina Peters comes to mind
Equally frightening is the length some are willing to go and claim that the conspiracy does not exist and that the attempted coup we all watched unfold never happened.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy still will not state publicly that the FP’s claims are lies, nor that President Biden was legitimately elected. McCarthy is clearly currying favor with FP in the hopes that he, McCarthy, becomes Speaker of the House next year.
It is disturbing how far people will go to “win.” It is ironic when accused criminals claim that it’s someone else who’s misbehaving. This is not just a national phenomenon; it is local as well.
Here in Colorado, Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters comes to mind. Even former Colorado Republican state party chair Dick Wadhams recently described Peters — who is under indictment for election tampering and misconduct — as “professionally, ethically and temperamentally disqualified” for office. In a new twist, in late June Peters told the New York Times that Rep. Lauren Boebert encouraged her to break the law.
New shock to the system
As we were headed to print, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court case establishing a woman’s 14th Amendment right under the law to control her own body and choose to seek an abortion.
The controversial decision was foretold with the leak several weeks ago of an initial draft of the opinion from the case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. In the Dobbs opinion, Justice Samuel Alito argued that Roe v. Wade should be over- turned. Many legal experts believe the opinion was poorly reasoned. Chief Justice John Roberts acknowledged that the leaked document was legitimate.
And on June 24, the Court did exactly that, reversing in a 5-4 vote a decision of nearly 50 years. Joining Alito were four other conservative judges — including Justice Clarence Thomas and the three Justices appointed by the FP: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. As if the ramifications of the decision itself were not enough, Justice Thomas made clear that the flames of the culture wars would continue to be stoked by the Court as he encouraged revisiting prior decisions on contraception, sodomy and same-sex marriage.
Here in Colorado, abortion access will remain legal for women. However, in the wake of the ruling, almost half the states are now expected to outlaw abortion or severely restrict abortion health care services.
The initial leak of the ruling to the press and the decision itself is nearly as shattering as the attempted coup and ongoing conspiracy. Are they related?
In recent weeks it has become clearer that Justice Thomas’ wife, Ginni, was deeply involved in the election lie conspiracy and other conservative causes. This is a role never previously assumed by the spouse of a sitting Justice. Indeed, Ginni Thomas’s name has surfaced in the Jan. 6 proceedings.
The ruling itself, and the leak of the initial draft — along with the tenuous potential link to the Jan. 6 investigation — all make for high drama that the Supreme Court has not seen in years. And, Justice Thomas’ statements seem to foretell of the Court – and its lifetime appointed and unelected members – becoming more politically motivated. The protests were immediate and will not go away soon. It will be an election issue. Where we stand as a nation is a reminder of just how fragile democracy can be.
Happy 4th of July. Let us all be mindful of what we are celebrating.
Penfield W. Tate III is an attorney in Denver. He represented Park Hill in the Colorado House of Representatives from 1997 to 2000, and in the State Senate from 2001 to February 2003. He lives in Park Hill.