Madeleine Dean, Philadelphia Inquirer
I will never forget the sound of the pounding on the House Chamber doors, as I mouthed the word shame and prepared my gas mask. On Jan. 6, I was with many other lawmakers and press in the Gallery of the Capitol, as we counted the electoral votes, certifying Joe Biden’s win in the presidential election.
The certification of an election has not been known as an eventful day; it is ministerial and pales in comparison with, say, an inauguration. Yet on Jan. 6, 2021, I was excited — to bear witness to and participate in the peaceful transfer of power.
But I was also concerned. My staff were working from home, as together we prepared my arguments against the false Pennsylvania challenge to the state’s vote count in favor of Biden. We knew of the protesters in D.C. — of the tidal wave of lies by a president who had lost and a Republican Party that had gone too far — but had no idea of the danger and violence that would soon overtake the Capitol.
As the protesters morphed into insurrectionists, we were rushed to a safe room — where we waited for hours as Capitol Police held off a medieval mob. Americans using the American flag and the Trump flag to beat and batter.
In the end, at least five people lost their lives, and more than 100 were injured. And members of Congress, staff, press, and police were left traumatized.
A year ago, I believed the attack on the cathedral of our democracy — during a bipartisan joint session of Congress with Vice President Mike Pence — would expose the dangers of antidemocratic lies of a “stolen” election, as well as the precious fragility of our Republic. I hoped it would pull us together as a people. I was wrong.
The lies that stormed the Capitol remain a threat to our democracy.
When the election was finally certified in the early morning hours of the 7th, and we could all look forward to returning home to our worried families, I surveyed the damage: overturned furniture, blood and feces in the halls, broken glass. A shattered window too-swiftly repaired.
In the days that followed, I remember wishing that window was not fixed — that some remnants of the historic damage would have lingered to remind us of what happened there.
Yet sadly, we do not need the broken glass to remind us; its shards are everywhere.
In Pennsylvania alone, we are watching a Republican primary in both the gubernatorial and Senate races where the Big Lie has become a false-idol litmus test for “conservatism.” And these lies are affecting more than our federal and state elections. School board meetings and elections have turned shamefully volatile.
It’s now commonplace for school board members to be threatened with violence and for a police presence to be needed during monthly meetings to deter or break up fights among parents. All as some states have passed restrictive voting laws that seek to undermine the very foundation of our democracy. And a complicit Supreme Court erodes the historically important protections of our Constitution. Campaigns of anger, fear, and misinformation are spreading like a virus across the nation.
I am sad to see the slow pace of commitment to the truth — and a recommitment to democracy and the rule of law – but I am I buoyed by the tireless work of the House’s Jan. 6 committee, which will reveal the roles of those involved. Its members will bring justice to the men and women who sought to desecrate our democracy.
But that’s not enough — Jan. 6 happened on our watch, and so it is our responsibility to hold antidemocratic forces accountable.
Enough with the Big Lie. We must renounce the peddling of false claims of a stolen election, and we must take steps to prevent all campaigns of misinformation and lies.
We know what is at stake — 2022 is the time to act. Both the House and the Senate have committed to pass voting-rights protection. And President Biden has expressed support for a carve-out of the filibuster for voting rights.
We all have a role to play, a duty, to speak only the truth and to recommit ourselves to the protection of our democracy. Only then will the memories of that horrible day — of Americans attacking Americans, the pounding on the doors, the breaking of glass, the whirring of gas masks — begin to fade.
Only then will we return to the path of creating a more perfect union for ourselves and for our children.
Rep. Madeleine Dean represents Pennsylvania’s Fourth Congressional District in Montgomery County.
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