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Today marks the 2nd anniversary of the January 6th insurrection, one of the darkest days in our nation’s history. It took $30 million to clean the stains from the Capitol. Much of the fencing and protective barriers are gone. However, the scars still linger on the nation’s soul. From that day forward, none of us would ever take our democracy for granted.
Democracy has once again proven to be messy and chaotic. As of this writing, there is still no Speaker of the House after 12 votes. The American public has been able to watch live the proceedings of the House and to get a glimpse of what is to come from the GOP. Eventually there will be a Speaker, but the extreme wing of the GOP has shown that they will continue to be a disruptive force in Congress.
After a long hiatus, JAC returned to Washington, DC for the swearings in of the candidates we helped elect, in the midst of the Speaker vote debacle. Even though uncertainty filled the air on the House side, there was still such energy and optimism from our young new members, many of whom brought their children to witness their parents' special moment. Instead they saw disfunction on the House floor.
The new members are eager to get to work, but until they are officially sworn in they can’t even get their offices up and running. Not only are their computers and email non-functioning, they can’t even get office supplies.
There was a strong collegial feeling among the Senators and Representatives as they stopped by the offices of their new colleagues to offer good wishes. Even Rep. Nancy Pelosi (CA) made the rounds before she went to the House floor for the Speaker’s vote.
The excitement can not mask the bitter partisanship that pervades Congress. Election deniers still walk the halls of Congress. But hopefully this will not temper the enthusiasm of the incoming Members of Congress. All of the JAC candidates that you helped send to Congress stand ready to work to ensure that our rights are protected and our democracy remains vibrant — whenever that time comes. JAC stands ready to work with them as well.
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