Where's the Red Line?

     Well, this is depressing and dispiriting.

     "In the new poll, the percentage who called the [January 6 rioters] 'criminals' has dropped significantly, to 48%. Those who agreed that 'they went too far, but they had a point' rose to 37%. In 2021, 2% called their actions appropriate; now 6% do."

     The plain fact is, this was the first time the Capitol was seriously attacked in 207 years. The Nazis never succeeded in doing that. The Soviets never succeeded in doing that. But we had. The last time it happened was under the invading force of another nation: Great Britain. The January 6th rioters caused one cop, Brian Sicknick, to die of a stroke. The violence caused four other cops, who all fought the rioters, to commit suicide. I guess that wasn't the red line we're vainly searching for.

     They came within 40 feet of getting their hands on Mike Pence. That's two thirds of the distance between the pitcher's rubber and home plate. I guess that wasn't the red line, either.

     While the 12th Amendment ratified by the 8th Congress doesn't specify a date for the electoral votes to be counted, only that March 4th be a cutoff date for the House to elect a president should the Electoral College not agree on a winner, 3 U.S. Code § 15 stipulates that the counting of the Electoral College ballots shall take place on January 6th after a general election. On that, it is quite unambiguous.

     However, in 2021, for the first time since the adoption of the 12th amendment and the passage of 3 U.S. Code § 15, the electoral votes were not counted on January 6th but January 7th because Pence didn't bang the gavel for the final time and announce Joe Biden won the election until about 1:30 in the morning on the 7th. I'm amazed that not one person has brought this up in the three years since the insurrection.

     That meant someone violated the Constitution and the US Code in a historic way and I fail to see how Donald Trump has not been, or ever will be, held completely responsible, the guy who summoned all those lunatics to the Capitol for that express purpose.

     I guess the interruption of a pro forma but still vital function of the Constitution and the Congress wasn't a red line, either. Plain and simple, we're getting January 6 fatigue and we're coming dangerously close, if we haven't already, to having insurrection or the threat of it becoming a normal aspect of life in this country. One rioter, Jacob Lang, who was put away for his part in the riot, said Trump's promise to pardon the rioters was a "beautiful" one and that the next time he vowed to be more violent than before.

     My personal opinion is that these people should get stiffer sentences, not lesser ones than prosecutors are asking for. We can't afford to normalize this behavior. It doesn't comport with history's intent nor that of the people who'd midwifed that history into being.

     (Tip o' the tinfoil hat to Constant Reader, CC)