Yesterday I listened to the whole one-hour phone call by our disgraced president to Georgia election officials, with attorneys present. If you haven’t listened, here he is, the resident of the White House:
Then later in the day I watched the complete press conference with Gabriel Sterling, voting systems election official, from Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office.
When I watch them both, it is obvious there are not two sides to this issue. What can we make of this coup attempt? How can there be any doubts?
Regarding a lying, debunked Q-Anon conspiracy theory, trump said this:
So tell me, Brad, what are we going to do? We won the election, and it’s not fair to take it away from us like this. And it’s going to be very costly in many ways. And I think you have to say that you’re going to reexamine it, and you can reexamine it, but reexamine it with people that want to find answers, not people that don’t want to find answers.
It’s going to be costly, yes. Costly to the inhumane, racist and misogynist system that America was built upon. Hopefully, these last four years have opened the eyes of enough Americans that we will keep paying the costly price for a better future.
And, Brad, we just want the truth. It’s simple. And everyone’s going to look very good if the truth comes out. It’s okay. It takes a little while, but let the truth come out. And the real truth is, I won by 400,000 votes. At least. That’s the real truth. But we don’t need 400,000 votes. We need less than 2,000 votes.
Yes to the truth! Truth has been knocking on the door of the system for centuries, and trump has made it knock louder and with more urgency than it did before. He doesn’t want Truth; he just wants to be declared the winner.
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,” Martin Luther King, Jr., observed with expectation. He was co-pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. Today millions of Georgians are voting for Raphael Warnock, who is currently serving as senior pastor of Ebenezer. That is such a beautiful step forward.
We are living in history, and someday we’ll look back on this historic chapter and hopefully be able to say that the moral arc took a big lean toward Truth and justice in this era.
I do not believe that anyone in power is objecting to the election in good faith. These people cannot really believe the lies over the diligent work of Republicans Brad Raffensberger and Gabriel Sterling, who are showing that they are the real patriots here. The twelve senators and 140 representatives who on Wednesday choose to exploit the president’s mental illness for their own selfish ends will go down in history, and not in a good way.
If you are one who still believes the election was stolen, I would love to hear why.
I’m glad you wrote about this today. I made calls and send postcards to Georgia so I’m watching today’s Senate election closely. Hoping for the best…
Thanks, Stacey! Yes, crossing my fingers and praying today.
Definitely a topic worth writing about. No need for apologies! Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
Thank you, Ruth. It is a topic heavy on my mind these days, and so it takes an inordinate slice sometimes.
Yes, Denise, thank you for having the strength to write about this today. It is so acutely depressing and horrifying what we continue to go through as a nation because of this one man’s inability to deal with losing. I hope these words prove true: “hopefully be able to say that the moral arc took a big lean toward Truth and justice in this era.” Happy new year!! Looking forward to writing alongside you in the year ahead!
Yes, Maureen, I am looking forward to this chapter being over. I hope we remember enough to know that we have to keep fighting for justice, though. I am definitely looking forward to writing with you in 2021, as well.
I listened to that call, too, and read the transcript. I caught some of the press conference. I think so much damage lies in the wake of Trump’s destruction. I don’t know how we recover. I hope it’s not by returning to some mythological moment from the past.
Yes, no need to return to the myths! Too many of us know the truth now. The truth will set us free to be better. Continuing today with two wins in Georgia!
Great Patriots statement. I’m on “needles-and-pins” right now hoping life will calm down, and we get control of the Senate–featuring MLK’s successor! I live in East Texas, which means that I cope with the embarrassment not only of having Ted Cruz for a senator, but also Louie Gohmert is the local congressman. Trump is fighting the election results because he fears going to jail in New York.
J.D., it sounds like we have a new Senator Reverend Warnock! We are in a transitional time. Looking forward to rejoicing with you when you get a new senator and congressman next time.
Thank you, Denise! Ossoff is up by 0.4% with 98% of the votes in. Still counting “blue” counties. Breaking News: President-Elect Biden picks Merrick Garland for Attorney General.
Yes! Great news. And now the U.S. Capitol is being stormed. Good God, help us.
Denise, from the far distance of Australia, this appalling political situation your country finds itself embroiled in is no less concerning. In recent days I have found some solace in comments that say democracy will win out in the end. These events have inflicted pain, nut the system is sufficiently robust to withstand these bogus attacks on the integrity of its structures. I applaud you for speaking up and writing this post. I have a T- shirt that displays the powerful words of the late Elie Wiesel -‘ We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.’ I am trying to honour those words in the way I conduct myself. You are to be applauded for taking a stand at this critical time. More power to you.
Alan, thank you so much! Hopefully we can get on a better track after the past four-year entropic nightmare.
I love that quote from Elie Wiesel. That’s what I love about Jesus. He was the ultimate and never wavering side-taker. He came to release the poor and captives–that is everyone without power, prestige, and position. He was opposed to those with the power. Jesus came to side with the children, the women, the outsiders, the poor, the oppressed, the sick, and anyone else who needed true freedom. trump and the trumpublicans want to torment and silence the very people who Jesus is here to save.
I am so very excited that Rev. Warnock will be a Senator from Georgia! And Mr. Ossoff too, it looks like.