The graphic, by the filmmaker and activist Michael Moore, shows 121 members of the House of Representatives who, on Jan. 6, 2021, voted against the certification of the 2000 presidential election and who tomorrow, as the 118th Congress begins, will be asked to pledge before God to uphold the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic.
The group includes Bakersfield’s own Kevin McCarthy, likely to be elected speaker of the House, second in the line of succession to the presidency.
Some of them may have believed the election was fraudulent. Being politicians, all were mindful of the politics, especially some of their constituents’ devotion to Trump. But if you failed to do your constitutional duty and certify an election you knew to be legitimate, then you are a domestic enemy of the United States Constitution.
I tried to put this in the form of my prayer for today. But it’s too complicated. I love my country so much. I love its promise, present, and potential. So I still find it impossible to pray over these photos without anger.
So here are the jigsaw pieces of the prayer I tried to write.
I pray to be less angry, first of all.
I pray that justice will at last be done and that history will record the name of each person who participated with Trump in his conspiracy to overthrow our government and seize power illegally.
I give thanks for all those who put their political futures on the line to oppose Trump and do what was right for our country.
I pray that these 121 public servants will face up to what they did and, whether or not they ever acknowledge it publicly, resolve to do better and, from Jan. 3, 2023 forward, keep the promises they have made before Almighty God.
And I pray “that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”