This Just In – to govern ourselves, we must have courage. The real kind.
If you’ve seen the recently released January 6 video from Alexandra Pelosi and HBO, you know that if you’re ever in a tight spot, Nancy Pelosi is who you want to lead you out.
The footage was shot by Pelosi’s daughter, an excellent documentarian who frequently brings a fresh, unexpected perspective to politics. This is certainly not what she expected to capture on January 6.
What we’ve seen in this footage is the courage that’s needed to keep our democracy. Not just in calling the Defense Department and area governors to bring the National Guard to DC to defend the Capitol. Not just in cutting through some remarkably bureaucratic answers from the Secretary of the Army about getting troops to the Capitol.
Those things were important, but I found amazing inspiration in this… Pelosi got on the phone with the Vice President. Pelosi was at Ft. McNair at this point, a few miles away from the Capitol. Pence told her he was still at the Capitol, refusing to leave the building. “God bless you,” she said. “Don’t tell anyone else where you are.”
There are many other fascinating details about that footage, but that’s for another day. On January 6, Pelosi, Schumer and Pence prevented an attack on the U.S. government from having its intended catastrophic result.
More than just an attack on the Capitol and an attempt to interrupt the peaceful transfer of power, this was a physical, life-threatening attack on the Legislative branch of government – an attack led by the Executive branch. These are co-equal branches of government and one had launched a war on the other.
The devastating events that followed are evidence of a Constitutional breakdown that is still unfolding, but they start with this: The sun rose on January 7 and the cleanup began in the U.S. Capitol. National Guard troops slept in the hallways and in parking garages. Fences were erected to harden the target of the Capitol for Joe Biden’s upcoming inauguration. The nation tried to catch its breath to even begin to understand what unfolded on live television the day before.
In the Administration, there were Cabinet Secretaries who were stunned, shocked, horrified by what had happened and the president’s refusal to act quickly to stop it was just too much for them to tolerate, they said.
So along with Attorney General Bill Barr a few weeks before and many others over the previous year, one by one, they said:
That’s it.
He’s unfit.
I quit.
Elaine Chao (Transportation), Betsy DeVos (Education), Alex Azar (Health & Human Services) – all fully confirmed Cabinet Secretaries – all resigned as a result of the president’s conduct related to the January 6 attack. The problem is, they took the easy way out.
They should have marched into the Vice President’s office on January 7 and demanded that he invoke the 25th Amendment to remove the president from power immediately.
Only the Vice President can initiate such removal and he, too, failed this test. If the 25th Amendment was somehow not justified in this case, we might as well scratch it out of the Constitution and admit it just didn’t work out. The Amendment isn’t the problem, though. It’s not an EASY way to remove a president from power. It shouldn’t be easy. It’s just the LEGITIMATE way to do so in only the most extreme of circumstances – when clinging to legitimacy is what can save the Republic.
We saw Speaker Pelosi stand up in the Cabinet room years ago and point at the President, famously scolding him “With you, all roads lead to Putin.” That took real courage. That’s a defense of democracy and American self-governance, not just a frustrated Democrat. That’s an American leader standing squarely at a domestic enemy and naming him for what he is.
Our democracy – our process of self-governance – cannot depend on the audacity of an octogenarian grandmother (and she’d be the first to say so) or any other individual. It depends on our defense and exercise of our own rights.
We also saw a stunning level of widespread courage just two years ago when, despite a global pandemic and no vaccines at that point, Americans turned out to vote. We stood in long lines. We ordered pizza. We handed out bottled water. We helped each other and yes, regardless of party, we said “God bless you – stay safe.”
Legitimate elections with overwhelming turnout numbers are the best way that we the people can display our courage in defense of our democracy. Early voting in North Carolina starts TODAY. Remember, it’s cold & flu season and waiting until Election Day can put your vote at risk. Get out there and make your voice heard.
https://www.orangecountync.gov/1116/Early-Voting
Jean Bolduc is a freelance writer and the host of the Weekend Watercooler on 97.9 The Hill. She is the author of “African Americans of Durham & Orange Counties: An Oral History” (History Press, 2016) and has served on Orange County’s Human Relations Commission, The Alliance of AIDS Services-Carolina, the Orange County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, and the Orange County Schools’ Equity Task Force. She was a featured columnist and reporter for the Chapel Hill Herald and the News & Observer.
Readers can reach Jean via email – jean@penandinc.com and via Twitter @JeanBolduc
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