The First Hearing: Democracy Defined in a Very Few Words
The House Committee investigating the January 6th attack on Capitol Hill presented its opening case last evening: a sitting President sought to overturn a free and fair election and overthrow the government of the United States.
As usual, the commentariat is dissecting the Committee’s two hours of prime time, rating the performance for its production values as well as political effects. And in an information-saturated society, whether the Committee’s hearings to come will get the same level of attention is anybody’s guess. It is summer after all, and for the proverbial family-of-four heading to the beach, when it comes to big issues gas prices promise to hold pride of place.
That’s why it’s important to note four statements last night. Each was declarative and all were personal, but together they shine a light on the uniqueness of the American experiment, including the democracy the Committee is trying to protect.
The first, from the Committee’s chairman, opened the hearings.
“I am Bennie Thompson, Chairman of the January 6th Committee. I was born, raised and still live in Bolton, Mississippi, a town with a population of 521, which is midway between Jackson and Vicksburg, MS, and the Mississippi River. I am from a part of the country where people justified the actions of slavery, the Ku Klux Klan and lynching. I’m reminded of that dark history as I hear voices today try and justify the actions of the insurrectionists on January 6th, 2021.”
The next came from Capitol Police officer Caroline Edwards, the hearing’s first witness who recounted her background in testifying about her experience during the attack.
“I am the proud granddaughter of a Marine who fought in the battle of the Chosun Reservoir during the Korean War. I think of my papa often these days… I would like to think that he would be proud of me…I am my grandfather’s granddaughter, proud to put on a uniform and serve my country….I am a proud American and I would gladly sacrifice everything to make sure the America my grandfather defended is here for years to come.”
The third came from Representative Liz Cheney, one of the only two Republicans on the Committee and its vice-chairman.
“In our country, we don’t swear an oath to an individual, or a political party. We take our oath to defend the United States Constitution. And that oath must mean something. I say this to my Republican colleagues who are defending the indefensible. There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain.”
The last came from Nick Quested, an Emmy Award winning and Oscar nominated documentary filmmaker, who testified about videoing extremists organizing to attack on January 6th.
"I am here today pursuant to a House subpoena.”
A Black man from Mississippi whose family’s history as well as his own reflects decades of a struggle against oppression now leads the nation’s inquiry into an unprecedented attempt to overthrow its government.
A police officer, two generations removed from the war her grandfather fought, is following her career because of his pride and the sacrifices he made as a Marine on behalf of a country that she now steps forward to defend.
The daughter of a congressman, White House Chief of Staff, Defense Secretary, and Vice President, and an influential elected official in her own right, whose life has been surrounded by the aura of national power speaks about what remains when that power disappears.
And a British documentarian—a journalist—whose statement makes clear that even at its highest levels of official inquiry, the government’s exercise of power must conform to the law.
The headline story is still the story. A president mounting a coup, a committee investigating. But the four statements, each from a personal vantage point, are important. They aren’t about the big questions—constitutional, legal or otherwise—or even about the facts at issue. They are simply testimony to how the American democracy works and why protecting it matters.