Jan. 6th Beverly Hills Insurrectionist on her Guilty Plea
"You are not going to take away our Trumpy bear. You are not going to take away our votes."
So cried Gina Bisignano, a cosmetologist from Beverly Hills, California, as she participated in the January 6th Trump Insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC.
So this former U.S. History, Civics, Economics, Journalism and English teacher is going to tell you how this works. Please pay attention. It looks like the consequences for failing your "Applied Civics" test were far worse than just failing a test in class. Spending time in prison is a pretty tough penalty for ignorance of the Constitution. If you had been in my class, I'd have just given you an "F" and we'd be done with it.
Here's How It Works
1. Your vote was not taken away from you. It was cast, apparently in California, where it counted for less than a raindrop in a hurricane. The voters in that state overwhelmingly voted for Joe Biden and he won all of its electoral votes. That's how it works. The state's electors then cast their ballots for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, along with the other electors from states where the voters picked Biden over Trump, adding up to a total of 306. And that was more than enough to make Joe Biden President, and Kamala Harris Vice-President.
2. Believing that the election was "stolen" because of massive voter fraud is not the same thing as proving the election was stolen because of massive voter fraud. You can believe whatever you want to, but your belief does not entitle you to trample on the constitutional rights of those of us who voted for Biden, nor does it entitle you to take matters into your own hands and attempt a violent overturn of a legitimate, fair election. There's a line that protects my constitutional rights from your beliefs, and it also protects my vote and makes sure it counts just as much as yours does.
3. There is a constitutionally-approved procedure for handling claims of massive voter fraud and "the election was stolen." Trump got more than his fair share of due process in multiple courts. He had a chance to lay out all of the evidence he had proving that there was voter fraud and that the election was stolen from him. There's a plethora of information out there which describes the whole saga of misinformation and outright lying that was presented to the courts as "evidence" of voter fraud, but no actual evidence of voter fraud. Due process involves providing evidence. The former President launched more than 60 lawsuits in both state and federal jurisdictions, and lost every case because there was absolutely no evidence to support the claims he made of voter fraud and cheating.
There were also more audits conducted on ballot counts in the states where the electoral votes decided the election than ever before. There are always people who try to cheat, vote twice, vote when they're not eligible, cast fraudulent ballots, but they represent a very small fraction of the electorate, a couple hundred votes nationwide, not anywhere near enough to overturn any results. Even the audits conducted by Trump-supported, unqualified "auditors", like the Cyber-Ninjas in Arizona, failed to uncover any massive voter fraud. In Arizona, aside from breaking multiple laws about handling public documents, destroying expensive vote-tabulating machines, making themselves look as incompetent as they were and making a general mess, the Ninjas actually concluded that Biden's vote had been undercounted, and that Trump did indeed lose the state of Arizona by 11,000 votes. Every other audit in all six states where Trump challenged the vote upheld the reported certified count.
In other words, Biden won. Get over it.
There was plenty of evidence available to prove that this was one of the most closely watched, and accurately certified elections in recent history. More eyes were watching polling places and ballot-counting venues than ever before. The former President had been claiming that if he lost, it could only be due to fraud, even though polling data showed him far behind from the very start, so election officials were on the alert.
So, without any evidence to prove that the election was stolen from Trumpie-bear, and court rulings declaring that the vote totals were accurate, all fifty states certified their election results, and called their electors to the state capitols to cast their ballots. Biden received 306 electoral votes, Trump got 232 electoral votes and Joe Biden was officially and legitimately elected President of the United States. Each state certified and recorded the results of their electoral votes for presentation at the ceremony in Congress on January 6th.
Attacking the Capitol in an attempt to disrupt the certification of the electoral vote was a futile attempt to subvert the constitution and take my rights and my vote away from me. Whatever legal consequences are being faced by those who decided to abandon their American values and become seditionists are well deserved and frankly, a plea bargain is an undeserved measure of graciousness.
How Do Patriotic, Loyal Americans Who Understand the Constitution Respond?
The peaceful transfer of power from one administration to another is a foundational principle of representative democracy in America. It is what makes the "American experiment" work. Being American supercedes partisan interest, so when partisan interest attempts to subvert constitutional restrictions on government power, like this Trump Insurrection attempted to do, the participants are guilty of sedition and they become insurrectionist rebels. They deliberately set themselves against patriotism and the basic American principles that our founding fathers wrote into the constitution.
By definition, not a single person participating in the January 6th Trump Insurrection can call themselves a "Patriot."
I was not happy when Trump was elected in 2016. There was evidence which had been presented at the time which supported reasonable challenge to his election. But the peaceful transfer of power from the Obama administration to the Trump administration took place anyway. The evidence that was turned up in what eventually became known as the Mueller Investigation, over 400 pages of it, documented, never got to the justice department because the President's claim of immunity was upheld by the Attorney General. Still, the response of those who were opposed to Trump's administration went about their challenges legally, in accordance with the Constitution, and as Patriotic Americans.
The evidence that did turn up warranted two impeachments, and also warranted conviction and removal, but politics prevented that, and while that is frustrating and is a terrible unjustice, it's the procedure outlined in the constitution, and you did not see any Democrats either advocating sedition and insurrection, or attempting it. Our ballots rectified the error, at least, they got him out of the White House, which is exactly how that's supposed to work.
The only Patriots in the Capitol on January 6th were the Capitol and DC police, and the members of Congress who have continued to work toward justice.
Be Grateful for your Plea Bargain Because He's Not Coming Back
To Ms. Bisignano, and all of the other seditious insurrectionists who got a plea bargain that is keeping them out of prison, or limiting the time they spend there, be grateful for the grace and mercy that has been demonstrated on behalf of the people, those of us who are true Patriots and who love our country. Trump is a pathological liar. Not taking that plea bargain means a trial and going to prison, long before November of 2024 rolls around. That tantalizing promise of a pardon is just another means of manipulating those who are gullible enough to be in his shrinking "base"of supporters to lie for him. Even if he does slip away from justice for the crimes he committed in office, there's not a chance voters will ever re-elect him to the White House. Not. a. chance.
Frankly, I think that the terms of any plea bargain should be a required course in American Constitutional government, something along the lines of what most eighth graders have to pass in order to go to high school. A basic understanding of how an election works, the precautions and safeguards that are in place which prevent "massive voter fraud" would be one of the major objectives, along with understanding individual rights. Some objectives involving George Washington's farewell address and his admonitions about the divisiveness of political parties would need to be part of the curriculum.
Our current political leadership has to be smart enough to make sure this never happens again. That means making sure that justice is served to everyone, including members of Congress and everyone in the former Presidential administration involved in that insurrection, including the former President himself.
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