Honestly, I'm Angry

Yesterday was rough, and now I'm determined to fight even more

If I am being honest, even though is was a nice day here in our new place in Texas, yesterday filled me with anger. You wouldn’t have noticed it, although I am sure Sofia could tell something was on my mind. Then again, she was dealing with anger of her own.

I want to be honest about why I still feel this anger: Cowards. John Boehner used to stress to all of us to be a “Happy warrior.” He always impressed me, we could be in the middle of a government shutdown and John would walk into the conference meeting of Republican members and whistle a happy tune. It would piss us off, because we were all mad at him, mad at the dems, mad at everyone, and he would smile and whistle a tune. Then again, I haven’t seen Boehner engaging in this war for democracy. Many of my old colleagues and friends are lobbyists now, and there truly is nothing wrong with that. However, they have been hamstrung from speaking out because they “still need to talk to Republicans too.” I get it, I do. But…we need courage.

All yesterday I felt like there was a war on the soul of America, on the center of truth. At one point “Happy Jan 6” was trending on twitter. How disgusting. Listen, I’m truly not sure how else I can say this, but the Jan 6 “truthers” know what happened. They know the truth. They just don’t care. They can’t see more than a couple feet in front of their faces, and recognize that what “owns the libs” today will destroy them tomorrow. Violence is the inevitable outcome to failed politics, and most of these pampered people have no idea what that looks and feels like. They wouldn’t last a week (after all, Walgreens will be closed and so they wont get their medicines that keep them alive).

We watched yesterday as a video was released showing the shooting of Ashley Babbit, who provoked law enforcement tasked with protecting members of Congress. The shooting was justified, the video proved it. But now she is a martyr. I watched another video showing former Sheriff Troy Nehls and Markwayne Mullin pleading with the rioters to stop…two chief deniers today. How quickly they pivoted. What is power worth to you? What is it to gain the world and lose your soul?

This morning my wife informed me about a tweet from Nick Ayers, former good guy staffer of Mike Pence, making some typical alt right-pedophile-dem-and-the Republicans-were-peaceful-on-Jan-6 garbage message. Yet another one bites the dust. Nick Ayers was one of the good guys. But in the world of politics, campaign staff need money, and only the Trumpers are paying right now.

There is a solid group of Anti-Trump Republicans and former Republicans that are standing firm. We are on an island defending our positions on all sides. There are many who are sitting in a boat offshore, looking longingly at those defending that position, but too cowardly to row up and join. History is replete with cowards like this, and this lukewarm attitude is spit out of the mouth of history.

I could go on, but it’s a beautiful Sunday out. I write this not to discourage, but strangely to encourage all of us. We’re still in this battle, and this year is the culmination of the last 7 or more. Will we scramble off the island and get lost in the fog of fear, or will we hunker down in the trenches, grit our teeth, and stop the onslaught? I choose to fight.

To my Democratic friends: This is not the year to obsess over differences in world view and domestic policy. We will have plenty of time for that, if we’re lucky. To my Republican friends: the story of your soul is being written now. What do you want that story to say?