Ripples of Hope
What a train wreck the Republican Party is. The Democrats, at worst, might be the party of Wall Street, Silicon Valley, Hollywood -- and the permanent war machine. But at least they can elect a House leader. The Democrats, for their sins, provide the only political stage where people like us can still fight for some democratic control. The GOP is a wholly-owned subsidiary of extractive industries, white supremacists, Christian extremists, gun nuts and other fanatics.
And how about the latest January 6 revelations? As I've written, our democracy is a fragile eggshell in the torrent of history. But only close observers of the January 6 hearings realize HOW fragile it is. According to "Courage Under Fire," a new book by ex-Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, the armed January 6 mob was able to overwhelm his officers and occupy the Capitol because the intelligence agencies failed to alert him to the dangers they knew were coming his way days before January 6, and the Pentagon refused to authorize National Guard support until way too late. According to Pentagon officials, they were worried that President Trump would use the National Guard troops to help him overturn the presIdential election that day. What a fucking mess our country is.
And if you don't think our country is STILL a mess, just wait for the next mass shooting by a far-right nut job. It should occur any hour now.
Thoughts and prayers won't pull together this bleeding nation. Neither will Kevin McCarthy or his political foes... or President Biden for that matter. We need someone historically unique to do that.
Did you see that photo exhibit a few years ago that showed the men, women and children who solemnly lined the tracks to pay their last respects to Bobby Kennedy's funeral train? There were white people and black people and brown people. There were men in suits and overalls. There were mothers with children on their hips. They silently waved American flags and held up hand-scrawled signs. There's been nothing like this all-American display for a political leader since then. The mourners knew they had lost more than RFK -- they had lost their country.
We've been trying to get it back ever since.
