Transcript for Podcast: "I Feel Snitty," Episode 111: "The Day That Democracy Stood Still," is now available!

Podcast: I Feel Snitty

Episode 111: The Day That Democracy Stood Still

Premiere Date: 1/27/21

Length: 8:30 (1,387 words)

Link: https://ifeelsnitty.podbean.com/e/the-day-that-democracy-stood-still/

Transcript: 

Welcome to I Feel Snitty, episode 111, entitled, “The Day That Democracy Stood Still.” I’m your host, Craig Rozniecki.

Well, if 2020 played like a Shakespearean melodrama, 2021 has started out as a Gilliam/Lynch hybrid – surreal to the point of insane, or is it insane to the point of surreal? Either way, it’s been nucking futs.

The excessive craziness started on January 6^th. Donald Trump gave a speech just outside the US Capitol, where he urged the crowd to take control of the Capitol and stop the Congressional tallying of electoral votes, in hopes he could retain his position as president. So, the crowd did just that. They stormed the Capitol; breached it; and before long, members of Congress had to be escorted off the premises due to the mob taking over the building. For whatever reason (I have my theories), there wasn’t much security on hand. This resulted in Capitol Police being overwhelmed; taken over; some beaten; one killed; and forced to, instead of arresting the criminals, go into survival mode. The building was damaged; glass shattered; property stolen; and for almost a full day; American democracy on the brink of collapse. Hours into this rampage, the Tweeter-in-Chief himself remained silent. Witnesses have actually come forward, claiming that Trump “was thoroughly enjoying what he was seeing on television that day.” The video he finally released only made matters worse, as he basically said, “To all the peaceful protesters, I love you. I love you with every fiver of my being. I love you so much, words can’t even proverbly describe how in love with you I am. It’s deep. So deep. This is the only good deep state in the history of deep states, folks. You are my soul mats. I mean that with all my hert. Stay peaceful, though. No violence. The election was stolen from us; democracy is no more; and this country is in shumbles, so you have every right to burn the Capitol to the ground and I fully support that, but yeah, don’t do it. I’m Donald J. Trump and I approve this message, bigly – so bigly, it hurts.” At the end of the horrific day, 5 people were pronounced dead – including a police officer; many others were injured – including several more cops; and Congress wasn’t able to confirm the electoral votes until 3:45 that next morning. In the days and weeks which have followed, it’s come to light that these rioters, or more aptly named – domestic terrorists – had wanted to kidnap and/or kill the likes of Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, among others. Dozens have been arrested. Trump was banned from social media sites, including his favorite – Twitter. Oh, and one other kind of major thing happened.

A week after the terrorist attack at the US Capitol, Donald Trump became the first president in US history to get impeached not once, but twice. This time he was impeached by the House for inciting a riot. Not only did all 222 Democrats vote to impeach him, but 10 Republicans did as well. That number doubled the previous record for House members voting to impeach a president of the same party. The previous record was when 5 House Democrats voted to impeach Bill Clinton in 1998. The impeachment has yet to be heard by the Senate, and while it may be difficult to persuade 17 Republicans to vote to convict the 45^th “president,” I would be shocked to see Mitt Romney being the only “aye” vote this time around. Even lifetime turtle impersonator – Mitch McConnell – has said he feels what Trump did was impeachable and he’s undecided on whether or not he will vote to convict. Keep in mind, if the Senate does vote to convict, Donald Trump will never be allowed to run for office again.

Then a week after the impeachment… Another Wednesday. Why does it seem like the big sh*t always happens on hump day? Anyway, a week after the impeachment, Joe Biden became inaugurated as the 46^th President of the United States. Chris Wallace hailed Biden’s speech as the best inaugural speech he had ever heard. The new President spoke in an optimistic, yet realistic manner – telling Americans we would get out of this mess, together, but it wasn’t going to happen overnight. He then proceeded to sign umpteen COVID-related executive orders – trying to quickly right the wrongs of the previous administration. We’re only a week into the Biden term, but already, things feel drastically different – and believe me when I say anything even remotely different is a good thing. Press conferences are now a regular thing again. Crazy, right? Not only that, but the Press Secretary isn’t spending three-fourths of the conference spouting QAnon debunked gobbledygook. COVID is being taken seriously. When asked about it, well renowned doctor – Anthony Fauci – said he felt “liberated” in the new administration. Biden has also signed executive orders to again improve our standing in the world, in rejoining the WHO and Paris-Climate Accord, not to mention he’s signed an executive order to better protect the LGBT community. It’s incredible. Within just a few days, we’ve literally gone from a “president” and his administration playing GI Joe in the Oval Office; spouting empty slogans on Twitter; and lying every time their lips moved to, well, adults, professionals who know what they are doing. I’ve slept better these past few nights than I’d slept in over 4 years. My blood pressure was cut in half. I feel a constant buzz, even though I haven’t consumed a single drop of alcohol. Honestly, it felt like a 3-year-old was hired as our nationwide bus driver. We had no idea how or why he was designated to that position. It made zero sense. The guy had no experience. Hell, others always seemed to drive him places. Chances are he had absolutely no idea what he was doing behind the wheel, but his father owned a lot of fancy cars; was a successful racer; and gave his son those cars when he passed, so of course his son would follow in his father’s footsteps. Well, after 4 years of crashes, the bus is banged more than an ‘80s-wannabe Gene Simmons groupie. The driver never learned either. No matter what advice driving afficionados gave him on how to improve his left turns, right turns, or parallel parking, he scoffed at them, saying, “Fake advice! You know who was the worst driver? Crooked Hillary! Driving instructors are a hoax!” Things got so bad this past year, his wrecks resulted in over 400,000 people dying. It’s like the bus was heading for a cliff, with all of us in it, and without any feelings of remorse, shame, or guilt, the driver said, “Nothing to worry about. Everything’s going to be fine. This is an alternative cliff.” Fortunately, we were able to stomp on the brakes before it got too late. We’ve now hired a new driver. He has experience; knows what he’s doing; and has surrounded himself with the best mechanics and GPS-impersonators. No, he may not be perfect, but I sure as hell feel a lot safer with him behind the wheel.

2020 was a year I assume we’d all rather forget. 2021 may not have started off great either, but for the first time in a long time, I at least feel some semblance of hope. We now have a Democrat in the White House, a Democratic-controlled House, and a Democratic-controlled Senate. Given that, I can assure you COVID will be taken a great deal more seriously than it was in the previous administration; we will have actual doctors and scientists calling the shots; and we will finally be able to accurately declare that this awful pandemic is a thing of the past. We mustn’t become complacent, however. As we witnessed in the Trump White House – capped by the terrorist attack at the US Capitol on January 6^th – we are a snap of the fingers away from seeing the land of the free, home of the brave being turned into the land of the confederacy, home of the slaves.

That’s it for today’s episode. I’ll see you again next week. Until then, you can check me out on Podbean, Twitter, Amazon, and Blogger. This has been I Feel Snitty, with Craig Rozniecki. Take care.