For Both Parties, Jan. 6 Has Become a Litmus Test
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Barrels of ink have rightly been cracked this week to mark the one-year anniversary of the violent attempted insurrection in the U.S. Capitol last Jan. 6, when rioters sought to change the results of the 2020 election and keep then-President Donald Trump’s in power.
But no scene more completely captured just how much has changed on Capitol Hill in the last year than the one that unfolded midday on Thursday on the floor of the U.S. House. There, in his old stomping grounds, former Vice President Dick Cheney stood patiently—and masked—next to his daughter, current Rep. Liz Cheney. He gamely greeted his daughter’s colleagues, who were introduced to him simply with a “this is Dad.” Though Democrats despised him during the eight years he was President George W. Bush’s governing partner, likening him to Darth Vader, four years of Trump recalibrated their contempt.
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When members of the House took a moment of silence to honor the Capitol Police officers who likely saved scores of lawmakers’ lives during the attack and to remember those who lost their lives that day and after, the two Cheneys rose from their front-row seats. They were the only Republicans in the chamber. The other 211 House Republicans declined to participate, and across the Capitol, not one of the 50 Republican Senators went to the floor for remarks.
It was the perfect illustration of how two very different Washingtons marked the anniversary. Democrats, including President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, held vigils and spoke of defending democracy against threats like the one Trump agitated a year earlier when he told a rally near the White House to head to the Capitol and “fight like hell” to stop Congress from affirming Biden’s victory. Republicans, meanwhile, engaged in a total rewrite of history that Soviet…
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Source : time
