Glenn Melancon/Contributing writer
Addictive behavior can destroy the addict as well as those around them. Addicts find it harder and harder to distinguish reality from imagination. They tell themselves lies and demand others accept the lies as truth.
Dealing with an addict can be very exhausting. Addicts respond to the truth with false allegations and threats. Their paranoia grows with each attempted intervention.
As more and more evidence mounts about the events on Jan. 6, 2021, it is hard not to see a group of addicts. Conservative politicians and activists became addicted to power. They enjoyed using it to punish their opponents.
That is not how democracy works. Democracy works when elected leaders respect the will of the voters. Joe Biden earned 81,268,924 votes. He earned 7,052,770 more votes than the loser.
According to the Constitutional process established by the Founders, the 7 million vote advantage translated into an Electoral College victory of 306 to 232.
The loser tried to challenge these facts in court. In courtroom after courtroom, the loser lost again and again. Like an addict the loser refused to accept reality.
Donald Trump was not the only addict, however. He surrounded himself with addicts. According to text messages from Reprehensive Marjorie Taylor Greene to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Republicans in Congress wanted Donald Trump to declare Martial Law.
Stop and think about that for a moment. A sitting Congresswoman sent a message to the White House asking the President of the United States to consider Martial Law. Elected Offices wanted to throw away the Constitution of the United States of America.
Who in their right mind considers a dictatorship acceptable? Who in their right mind thinks politicians, not voters, determine the outcome of elections.
If Republican politicians secretly conspired to tear up the constitution, why were they surprised when a mob attack our democracy on January 6? The mob tried to disrupt constitutionally mandated counting of electoral votes.
Lies fed these behaviors. Rational people like Vice President Mike Pence and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell private and officially rejected the lies. What made them different?
Both Pence and McConnell accepted the Constitution. They understood that losing an election requires giving up power. Addicts cannot give up power. Addicts will burn the whole house down to satisfy their appetite.
Glenn Melancon is the a former Congressional Candidate in Texas House District 4. He is a professor of history at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. He can be reached at glenn@glennmelancon.com. His opinions are his own and do not reflect those of the Jefferson Jimplecute