Treason Day, 2023

Barry Dredze
4 min readJan 6, 2023
House Republicans, Hal Rogers of Kentucky, left, and Steve Womack of Arkansas, struggle to stay engaged in House business during the eleventh round of votes on the third day of trying to elect a speaker and convene the 118th Congress. (Photo by Alex Brandon, AP)

Treason Day. And the traitors are busy in their fourth day of trying to elect the 118th Congress’ Speaker of the House. The 117th Congress adjourned Tuesday morning but the newly and re-elected lawmakers remain formally unseated while the spectacle of democracy holds up their swearing-in ceremonies as well as all other House business.

On Wednesday, January 4, while the House Republican Caucus was in their second day of trying to elect a Speaker, the Associated Press reported that “dozens” of US military veterans fanned out in the Capitol hand-delivering copies of a letter urging Majority Leader and aspiring House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and others to publicly condemn political violence on the approach of the second anniversary of the January 6 MAGA riot. The letter was written by former Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, who was beaten to an inch of his life by the rioters, testified in the first hearing of the January 6 Special Committee along with other police who battled the rioters that day, and was among the veterans at the Capitol delivering copies of his letter. The visit was an effort of two groups, Common Defense and Courage for America, to encourage Republican lawmakers to not only condemn political violence but also, Fanone wrote, “promise to hold members of your conference accountable for endorsing violence or espousing violent rhetoric towards those who disagree with them politically.” Over…

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Barry Dredze

Just another mortal, tweaking my cognitive map on the fly.