Honestly, it’s not my purpose to embarrass anyone. Let’s face it. The strident, hyper-thymotic* few in the House of Representatives are already setting records in embarrassment. They do not need my help.
The real purpose of my Own Goal project is to enhance the probability that the public — those who were not paying attention to the Select Committee hearings in the summer of 2022 — will watch and learn the truth.
I have faith in the good will and good sense of the American voting population. Most of us take our responsibilities as citizens seriously. Most of us want to bequeath to our children and our children’s children a nation we can be proud of.
To summarize:
In early February, Representative Matt Gaetz (Florida 01) proudly introduced and announced his House Resolution 1001.
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that
former President Donald J. Trump did not engage in insurrection or rebellion
against the United States, or give aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.
Seriously! And dozens of his fellow Re-Confederates rushed to support that tendentious falsehood.
I am asking you readers of Daily KOS to take the time to call upon your respective representatives to insist on convening hearings on House Resolution 1001. The resolution should not be allowed to gather dust in the archives of the Committee on the Judiciary.
No Democrat should endorse the resolution, but surely Democrats understand the immense importance of the debate. H Res 1001 bluntly and boldly raises the essential question that has been bedeviling public conversations and hiding in plain sight since January, 2021.
If you are represented by a Republican in the House, take the opportunity at his or her next public coffee hour or rally to ask the question: “Can’t you use your influence and demand a series of hearings on House Resolution 1001? The courts have said that the question of Mr Trump’s disqualification under the Fourteenth Amendment must be decided by the legislature. Debate on Mr Gaetz’s resolution is the way to get there. Call for hearings on H Res 1001.”
It’s simple, really. One should expect that a representative who endorses a proposed resolution will be ready and anxious to debate it in public.
I want to hear from my fellow KOS readers. Tell me what response you get from your representative. Your demand is a reasonable one. Make it!
\Vince S
* thymotic [adjective] — I thank syndicated columnist Armstrong Williams (28 March 2024) for introducing me to this useful term. It is neither pejorative nor laudatory. It describes an essential human trait — that of drawing attention to oneself in search of recognition and praise.