Two men took the same oath. That oath was to protect and defend our Constitution. On January 6^th 2021 one man twisted those words and the other lived those words. Donald Trump on that day said that we had to stand up and fight to defend our Constitution. I don’t know what part of the Constitution he was talking about but it sure sounded good to his supporters. He whipped the mob into frenzy and then they attack the Capitol with some screaming that they had to defend the Constitution. I really don’t know what Constitution they were talking about because what Trump wanted them to do was destroy the Constitution of the United States. The other man was Vice President Mike Pence. He had a job according to the Constitution to certify the election that would make Joe Biden our next President. He had received tremendous pressure from President Trump to not do his Constitutional duty and not certify the election. History will show that Pence did his Constitutional duty and helped preserve our Democracy. Yes, two men took that same oath. One man lived it and the other just used it to lie to the American People.

Our Constitution is a real document for all of us to read. It is our blueprint to our nation. Like all documents it is constantly having to be reinterpret as our country evolves with the times. Our Founding Fathers did a pretty good job of drafting a document that has been our blueprint for our nation that has lasted almost now two hundred and fifty years. Leading up to January 6^th 2021 Vice President Pence was first asked and then pressured to do something that the Constitution did not give him the power to do. That was not to certify the 2020 Presidential Election. He was being asked to do something that was actually illegal. Even after he rejected the idea to not certify the election the pressure continued by the President, Donald Trump. The idea was from a staffer of Donald Trump’s; John Eastman who knew it was illegal but thought it should be done anyway. Trump had to know that it was illegal but tried to pressure Pence to do it anyway. Pence stood his ground and America should be forever grateful. In his speech on January 6^th Trump kept hammering that Pence needed to do his Constitutional duty and not be weak. Pence had no other Constitutional duty to perform that day but the one that he did perform. Trump was lying to his supporters and the American people. What he said was Pence’s Constitutional duty was just something that Trump and his administration had made up. I keep saying that the lying and misinformation from the Trump administration has weakened our country and it continues to weaken our country. I keep asking who benefits from those lies. Not America. Not the American people. Not even the people that followed those lies and stormed the Capitol.

You always hear people throw the word Constitution around like it is some weapon. One of the greatest documents in the history of the world is not a weapon. It is what the United States of America stands for. Murder is one of the greatest crimes that you can do in society. Trying to destroy our Constitution is one of the greatest crimes you can do against the United States of America. Trump and his minions did commit that crime. Trump tried to illegally put himself in the White House and pressured his Vice President to help him commit this illegal act that Vice President said no to. On the day of January 6^th he continued to pressure Pence and Pence continued to say no. Trump in his speech made it sound like Pence was not doing his Constitutional duty. Trump was lying; he was just making it up. He worked the crowd into frenzy and they attacked the Capitol yelling “Hang Mike Pence”. Always the coward Donald Trump did not march with them. He went and hid, watched and gloated in the White House. Once a draft dodger always a draft dodger. For hours he refused to call off the mob. Even in the middle of the insurrection he tweeted that Mike Pence had not done his job. The mob came very close to being successful that day and our democracy almost died and no, that is not an overreaction.

Up until that point Pence had been very loyal to Trump which is something that I will always remember and actually hold against him. In the end though Pence was loyal to our Constitution and Nation and that does count for a lot. A peaceful transfer of power has always been one of the guiding principles of our Republic and Trump shattered that principle. One of the things that have always made us great is not the celebration of our winners but the grace of the people that didn’t win. The greatness of a Jimmy Carter after losing the election to Ronald Reagan. Carter has continued to work for the betterment of this nation ever since. The greatness of a John McCain when he lost to Barrack Obama. He gave one of the greatest speeches I have ever heard and our nation can be grateful for his being an American above anything else. This country is filled with great men. One problem today is that the great men are being shouted down by men that cannot even stand in the shadows of those great men. Men without vision. Men that run when they are needed. One of my favorite tweets is one I sent out about Ted Cruz. “Some people run to help during a crisis like AOC. Some people run to Cancun like Ted Cruz. Ted Cruz will not help his State, protect our democracy or even defend his own wife.” When it came down to it Cruz and Republicans like him did not stand up for or Constitution. They put Trump and party before our Republic. I will remember that forever, but then who am I? I am a nobody. The problem for these men is that history will remember. History will remember the people that stood up for our Republic and the people that tried to destroy our Republic.

More important than anything is the survival of our Republic. Taxes can be an issue. Abortion can be an issue. The economy can be an issue. If our Republic does not survive all the other issues mean nothing. I will never vote for a party that is a clear and present danger to our Republic and democracy. So now you know who I will not be voting for.