Nothing says “peaceful transition of power” like barbed wire, barricades and troops. With no threats indicated, that is what the feds are doing with your tax dollars.
The fourth anniversary of Jan. 6 fell on Jan. 6 this year. Who can forget the Biden inauguration in 2021? Chief Justice John Roberts took the Bible to swear in Joe Biden and started the oath by raising his hand and saying, “I, Joe Biden.” Biden said, “No, I am Joe Biden!”
This week’s Washington festivities were met with a big winter snowstorm. Kids had snowball fights near the Capitol. It is not yet known how many FBI agents were on either side of that brush-up.
I do not remember our politicians sending in National Guard troops or spending millions on billboards when American cities, government buildings and people’s businesses were burning across America during the Black Lives Matter riots.
For context, those riots versus J6: They lasted seven months, while Jan. 6 lasted three hours. BLM has 20-plus murders by participants, and J6 had none. BLM destroyed hundreds of businesses and caused $1 billion to $2 billion in damage. J6 caused $1.5 million. BLM protesters assaulted 2,037 officers; J6 assaulted 140 Capitol police. BLM protesters were bailed out after few, if any, spent much time in jail. Many J6 protesters are still awaiting trial or are in solitary confinement.
It was an unmeasured response, and the nation saw it. After J6, we spent hundreds of millions prosecuting and incarcerating Duck Dynasty lookalike types who protested, all an overreaction to the small fraction of marauding knuckleheads who ran amok in the Capitol.
This week, D.C. police say they are “not aware of any credible threats.” But our snowflake politicians put up eight-foot, anti-scaling fences and increased police protection. There is no amount of your money they are not willing to spend on themselves.
Keep in mind, the man who would “end democracy” and who is “Hitler” is coming to town: Donald Trump. Then there is Elon Musk, assistant Hitler. You cannot be too careful.
Democrats spent $9 billion and built maybe one EV charging station. Biden spent $42 billion on broadband for “underserved” areas and, currently, no one is connected. But boy, can they put up fences quickly to protect themselves against threats, both real and imagined. They say fences do not work on the border, and we should not have guns. Well, they have a lot of fences and guns around themselves this week.
These self-absorbed career politicians need to go. I have long supported term limits. Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Bernie Sanders, and Hillary Clinton are old party leaders. For the millennials out there, here is a teachable moment: When those four came up through the ranks of the Democratic Party of Sen. Robert Byrd, Democrats were Confederates, putting up all those statues you have been tearing down. Look it up.
We do have Jimmy Carter lying in repose. This week, viewers filed past the body of a former president who looks at peace. I am not sure what they will say about Jimmy Carter.
It will be up to Trump and his team to try to reach out to the other side and keep this country from careening toward civil war. If that happens, I bet on the South. We have a bunch of guns, better athletes, and tons of re-enactors who have been gathering and practicing this for decades … for a war we lost.
Contact Ron Hart, a syndicated op-ed satirist, author and radio/TV commentator, at @RonaldHart on X.