January 6 House committee is exposes the risks of extremism to our democracy

Echo opinion letter published in Lancaster On Line- a Pennsylvania newspaper:

 

Our democratic republic faces an unprecedented risk. The January. 6, 2021, insurrection and the false claims made before and since January 6, that the 2020, presidential election was fraudulent, threatens our very democratic system*.

January 6 rioters built a gallows while the mob chanted "Hang Mike Pence"! (Maine Writer question?  Who paid for this? Where did the money come from?  People, rioters, anybody, just don't walk into a hardware story and request to purchase a gallows!)

Never before in our history has a presidential candidate who lost the election refused to concede. The peaceful transfer of power from one president to another has been a hallmark of United States elections since 1797, when George Washington was succeeded by John Adams.

Hillary Clinton conceded the 2016, election to Donald Trump although she had won the popular vote by 2.8 million votes, because Trump won the Electoral College vote.

Trump lost both the popular and Electoral College votes in 2020. It seems odd that all the Republican representatives who questioned the 2020 presidential election results did not question their own wins that year.

Right now, many Americans confront rising inflation, high gas prices and other issues that make daily life difficult and that must be addressed.

However, today, our democracy is at risk. I fact, the risk to the very foundation of our nation — our election system — must be examined. The Jan. 6 hearings enable us to learn about the diabolical efforts made to overturn and circumvent the free and fair 2020 presidential election. Learning about those efforts will help to prevent attempts to disrupt our future elections.

Margaret Woodcock,  Lancaster Pennsylvania

* Lost Not Stolen: Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election fair and square.