 This is Think Tech, Hawaii, and this show is Politics for the People. I'm your host, Stephanie Stoll Dalton, and our topic today is what have we learned from the January 6th Select Congressional Committee, and this is about the insurrection of last January 6th, which we're celebrating the anniversary of today. And for that, we have a discussion panel of guests to analyze statements and talk about statements submitted by local political analysts, and our panel of guests to do that discussion and analysis talk is comprised of Jay Fidel, Tim Apicello, Winston Welch, and Cynthia Sinclair. Welcome, panel. Good morning. The statements that we will be discussing shortly are written by the following three political analysts, and they are Cynthia Tai of the Project Expedite Justice and Sandy Ma from the Common Cause and Collin Moore, a professor from the University of Hawaii. And then we will also have another entry after that. All right, so here we are. I don't know if we should say celebrating, but marking the annual anniversary, the one-year anniversary of the Capitol attack last year. Jay, can you talk? Can you introduce us to the beginning of what it is you see as our learning from the January 6th Committee? I'd like to see Collin Moore's statement, and I'll comment on that. Okay. Okay, it can happen here, American democracy, far more fragile than even the most cynical among us ever imagined. In just four years, Donald Trump managed to so degrade our sacred institution, institutions that millions of Americans still cling to a belief that the 2020 election was rigged. Rather than reject those lies, the Republican Party, the Party of Lincoln, has responded with cynical attempts to use this crisis to enhance its political power. Collin Moore is a political scientist trained at Harvard. He is the chair of political science at the University of Hawaii. And to hear him say those words, it's stunning, because that's candid, that's how it feels, but it's also a statement of just how serious the situation is. So I thank Collin for sending us those words. I thank Collin for being candid, and I agree with him 100%. We are in a serious problem. Before the show began, I was watching MSNBC and other channels, and there's a proceeding going on in the House where various congresspeople are expressing their views about the first year anniversary of the insurrection. And at a certain level, you know, it's encouraging. It even calls for, may I say, a Winstonian kind of optimism. May I say that Winston? But you know, the reality is Collin Moore and other statements we have received. And it's nice that they're commemorating this and speaking lofty thoughts about, you know, how democracy has been, can be, will be saved, but it's not at all clear to me. And if you ask me what I would put down on one of those testimonials, I would say the insurrection and the year following insurrection has shown us that democracy is broken. And I am no more optimistic today than I was then. Hey, Collin Moore also wrote just at the end of the statement. Yeah, what he said was what we've learned is that America is not special. Democracy only works because people believe that the norms and institutions are more important than the outcome of any election. I mean, I think when he says that he means democracy if it's working shows you that, but it's not working, frankly. If we don't change course from what happened and what has happened since. We don't join the ranks of other nations whose democratic experiments ended in chaos and violence. I think that's clear also, and I agree with him on that also. I agree with everything he said. So I think I think we're on the road to chaos and violence and think tech will cover it. We here will be, you know, commenting on it. I'm going to refer back to this language and say gee was he was prophetic wasn't he. All right. And we will, for sure. And, yes, so, Tim, let's look at another comment from Project Expedite Justice executive director Cynthia tie and she her piece has kind of a cadence to it because she she writes, she learned that America is just like other struggling democracies, and they govern by power and control. She starts out with that. Tim, do you see it that way. Also, No, I think you mentioned the term American exceptionalism. And I think Americans for 200 years thought we are the beacon of light for the world about our democracy. And frankly I think we're a little smug about it. I think we turned our nose down at those countries struggling to form a constitution and struggle to maintain a democracy, particularly in South American countries and then you know now in the eastern what we used to call the eastern block. And I think that kind of smugness made us apathetic to the realities that face us and have been facing us certainly for the last five years. And, you know, yesterday on my show I mentioned that democracy could be with a snap of a finger or you know the ink of a pen via an executive order snatched away from people and the example I used was 120,000 Japanese Americans. Americans with Japanese ancestry that had their freedoms usurped in a stroke of a pen, and they were incarcerated for three years. If it happened then it certainly can happen now and it is happening now. We just don't see it unfold as quickly as one might expect. And it's sad because you can see something slip away and you know it's slipping away, but no one's noticing or they don't want to notice. And I think that's part of because, again, American exceptionalism this is arrogance it's this hubris that we have about our democracy and how dare someone suggest they could go away because we're the greatest. So I find it sad and tragic and something can be done about it and I think something will be done about it. And as mentioned in today's show with President Biden and all the speakers in the house. It's accountability. And without accountability you have no justice without justice, you do have the demise of democracy. And that's just my initial thought. I hear her cadence goes on in her comment. She says we learned that politicization and social media fuels the pandemic from mask wearing to vaccines placing our right to life in grave danger. Many wrongly use the right to choose argument. We learned that democracy and the rule of law are at great risk. We learned that politicians are not promoting accountability. We learned that political inaction invites repetition. We learned that most Americans take democracy for granted. We learned that most Americans choose entertainment over democratic values, and we learned that democracy is fragile and Americans will learn the hard way through chaos and violence. Do you have what what thoughts do you have on those comments Tim. It's that violence will win the day if we allow it. And we have to fortify the rule of law. It's not just to have the laws on the books, it's to have cooperation to follow the law. And I have to say but it's time for us to identify those who are gleefully and willing to subvert our democracy. And make them known. And that be it a politician, be it Donald Trump himself, let it be known of their, their actions and their involvement to what happened a year ago on January 6. Let us all know what they've done along the way in the last four years to undermine the institutions of our democracy. What was their role, identify and I'm not looking for a McCarthy witch hunt here. I'm looking for accountability and justice, and it's time that we stop trying to be politically correct in all things that we do. And it's time to identify that which is very wrong, and it's time to ferret it out and identify it and move on. But without identifying what happened and who was behind it. We are stuck and on a pathway to violence and indifference. Thank you. Winston, we have another comment submitted by Sandra ma ma and from common cause and she says, January 6 was the combination of years long constant assault on common decency, the rule of law science and facts. No one seems to have learned that there are several consonant quences for spreading lies fostering hate and stoking prejudices. It shreds our democracy. Social media continues to amplify false narratives of stolen election and voter fraud. Some in the media fail to hold power. I would like to thank all the people and highlight false equivalencies through wrongful both sides ism reporting. Some of our elected officials continue to find an ever lower common denominator to pander to, instead of acting with the urgency needed for these times, this country, all its people must be better and do better for our nation to heal and for democracy to recover. She talks about many things Winston, did any particularly stand out to you. Why don't you put it on the screen Stephanie. Yeah, once you put her statement on the screen. No it's hard to not have the statement Eric can you put the statement up. She's a very eloquent spokesperson and I think anybody watching our show needs to go to common cause Hawaii and don't need some money. Sandy Mosso eloquently represents what's happened in our nation. As she said this, you know, we're looking out for for entertainment and the lowest common denominator often takes precedent there. Media not being holding people accountable. Well, you know, the news. National news always ends with a happy moment of the day with the puppy coming home or you know whatever instead of when you really look at it and you look at the number of words that you see in the nightly news broadcast. It doesn't even fill a page of the newspaper so you have to really be a committed and dedicated person if you're really looking for news in this country. You know, you have to have civility and treating each other with respect and common decency that struck out at me as well just stopping demonizing other people for holding a different point of view. You know, yeah, the dehumanizing of that so that that other that other becomes enemy, rather than just other idea. This is the country where the best ideas are supposed to percolate to the top. And about science being disregarded basic science. We, I'm sorry, but that's what we use is basic science in this nation. It's very easy to jump on mistakes that people do to look at the CDC and say oh they flip flopped here they flip out there. Therefore I'm not going to believe them it's fake it's you know on on on policies like vaccines. The reality is though that whatever it is you mentioned social media which actually has sort of looked at itself a little bit better and is doing some some cleanup there and removing things I noticed a Twitter gave Marjorie Taylor green a one out of four sort of warning flags but I think based on soccer I don't know where that came from but if you get two or three or four you get a lifetime ban but there's something that she'd said. Yes, it's a lack of accountability inside of our own parties and our people's. What's happened I think though is all of this together and it was NPR came out with a with a good article today it was our January fifth called. We believe in Trump's big lie here's why it's been so hard to dispel, and it talks about how our very identities have been become wrapped in this partisanship, more than any other thing more than race or religion or ethnic background, age, all of the demographics and so when we try to approach and talk to other people like we normally used to and I think that we can get back to there's also a CBS you got poll that came out today that basically says, we have way more in common than we don't and politics and there's a few really loud noisy people so wherever we can. Let's follow Sandy's good advice which is to say, this is what's happened. What's the antidote for that. What's the antidote for demonizing somebody saying, I appreciate that you have a different point of view. Let's look at that. You're addressing her final comment the final sentence which she in which she said, this country. All its people must be better and do better for the nation to heal and to recover and democracy to recover. So, can you're addressing this, what what must be done so can you be a little more specific about what must be done to be better and do better that discuss, you know, it's a great question because we we've sort of grappled with other ism, for instance, the dawn of humanity but now we're in everything and is in a 30 second new cycle tick tock. You know, part of this UW, you've got CBS Pokemon that says 51% of people have politics have been a factor in deciding whether to be friends with a person. 39% vaccine status 31% religion 28% cultural background. It's very interesting politics is right at the very top of this new tribalism. So, while, you know, and I know many people they said, I have all people who are in the other, the other party if you're, if you're ostensibly liberal and these are terms that are not really true anymore liberal conservative. This party of Lincoln, that's a nice, that's a nice thing to say, but does the Republican Party look anything like the party of Lincoln, does the Democratic Party at the time of Lincoln look anything like the Democratic Party today. Essentially, where it's coming down to, as she says, each of us must make these things but it needs to bleed all the way up and all the way down and we need to hold, we need to write to our representative and say this is reprehensible that you said this type of thing about your colleague in the Senate, or could you please use a more civil tone when you're dealing with other people. We have serious problems we need to handle them together and seeing each other as enemy is not the answer, rather saying you may have a different idea than I do. And I'm going to listen to it because it may be a superior position to mine and if it is I will adopt it. And that's the way that we have run in this country and hopefully do run in this country. We've got a lot of work to do on that so. Better and to do better and those are specifics that I'd asked about thank you. We, Eric, do we have Cynthia Sinclair's Aloha here at think tech Hawaii we have had several long running shows about the current state of politics. CEO and founder J5L asked host to answer the question. Since January 6. What have we learned. I'm Cynthia Sinclair, I think tech host here are some of my answers to that question. We have learned that a large majority of Republicans think that violence has become an acceptable way to get what you want. Hate racism and lies have become the norm for a large vocal violent swap of our country. We have learned that the word patriot has been twisted through misinformation to mean something new dangerous. We have learned that the big lie that has been propagated by the Republican Party is still being pushed on anyone who will listen. We have learned about and undermining people's trust in our elections, leading to new state laws that remove non partisan election officials and gives power to partisan politicians. We have learned that right wing media has become a dangerous threat that is undermining democracy, eroding the fabric of truth and destroying established norms. This is the biggest purveyor of the big lie and other machinations of disinformation. They are actively working to divide and polarize our nation. We have learned that accountability is the missing piece that has put our democracy in danger. Some 700 insurrectionists have been arrested, but only a handful have been charged. They have given light sentences. The lack of severe penalties has given the appearance that what happened wasn't so bad. Something the right wing media has used to foster extremism and promote the big lie. We have learned that behind the scenes the January 6 committee has interviewed over 300 people connected with the attack on the Capitol. Thousands of documents, phone logs and text messages. Last weekend we were told that the committee now has firsthand accounts that the former president was watching the insurrection from his private dining room at the White House. He was being urged by many people to speak out and tell the rioters to stop. He refused. And what's more, during the speech Trump gave at the ellipse on the 6th, he told the people in attendance that Mike Pence could still come through for them. When the insurrection was in full swing, Trump tweeted that Mike Pence was not going to come through for them. After he tweeted that, the rioters began to chant, hang Mike Pence. We have learned that we are at great risk for losing our democracy to autocratic rule. We are officially listed as a democracy in decline. And finally, we have learned that we must be intentional, ready to stand strong against this onslaught of misinformation and lies. We must all stand up unafraid and speak to the power before it's too late. Jay, can you talk about how she has covered how Cynthia leasing Claire's comment covered the learnings we have now from the January 6 committee, and perhaps you can add more. She's tracking on saying the same thing I was saying is that since January 6 we could be disappointed. It's very interesting that in the in the week or two following January 6, the number of Republican bigwigs, including Mitch McConnell and others said, Oh, that's terrible what happened and then Trump was responsible and you'll be ashamed of himself. But soon enough, and this is a remarkable phenomenon. Soon enough, they turned. So he's not so bad. And it's just a couple of people out on a Sunday Sunday picnic. It's incredible how the lies filtered back into the public conversation. And then of course, you know, the Democrats caused there to be an impeachment, the second one. And that that didn't go anywhere because Republicans all voted against it, including McConnell. And you know what what happened here is that it all sort of returned home to the base. And since then, they have been more, more strategic more strident, more more destructive as she says, they were in the past, it is really incredible. And so I agree with Cynthia to I'm not optimistic about this. And although today we celebrate maybe democracy or the survival of democracy. So many things have happened in the past year that suggests that democracy is on a visible decline in this country. We can talk about it and as Tim says we can, we can call them out about it and that, and we should and we should do that right here. We are an example of calling them out on it. However, query whether that's going to work, because they can sit back smug and say well we have a dozen at least a dozen states where he totally screwed up the voting process. Okay, when it comes down to November of 2022. This year, what nine months away 10 months away. You're going to see the fruit of our efforts. You're going to see an election that turns upside down. Again, I shouldn't say again, it turns upside down in the way that Trump wanted it to turn upside down. What we have here is, it's a moment of light here and celebrating the, you know, the anniversary but it's, it's, it's euphemistic. And at the end of the day we have we have lost. We have lost touch with each other with the country with democracy with the rule of law, and with any sense of the future. And I always say, you know, we're going to have violence and if you need a dentist you're going to be you're going to be wondering if you did the right thing. Thank you, Jay. Tim. Can you, can you add to the learnings list we now have from the work of the January 6 committee. Can you, I'm going to take a little bit more globally, rather than specifically just January 6 and that is I think in the last during the entire Trump administration with all the things that the president United States did the way try to implement policies whether they're good or bad, but the way tried to implement them, the attacks on our institutions the loading of his, his cronies and his faithful lackeys, the undermining of our, our, our democratic institutions told me one thing. What is the love of money, the love of the position of power exceeded our elected officials. Oath the office to maintain the rule of law, and to defend the Constitution United States power and money exceeded their oath their oath before the public and to God. To say anything, we have to be vigilant about human beings and how money and power corrupts an absolute power corrupts absolutely. And we shouldn't forget this lesson and we should remember it come time for the next ballot box in 2022. Very good point. Thank you. Winston. What are we going to do about this list is it sufficient or do we have more learning to do can you talk about what more learning that January 6 committee must achieve to get us to these goals well stated by panelists and our commentators. Anyway, do we have a list we have a long, long list maybe think tech needs to start a show called deepening democracy or something like that or getting back to our roots or something where we look at all of the disparate elements that have come into combine that I know that I know Donald Trump to be elected in the first place that has allowed this complete abdication of responsibility since and and and just running from pure facts since January 6 that has allowed this division to happen, whether it's social media whether it's a politician sociopath is an economic divides whatever it is we need to take the deep dive over a long period of time I don't know that we have that period of time right now but we do it we must and so you know the other thing is that let's start going back and treating each other as best as we can on an individual level because that's really where it may make the difference as that npr article said look for the cracks where you can plant a seed, because when you come for a full frontal assault and said you're wrong you're evil, it's not going to go anywhere but strengthen a position on that so let's go back and appeal to each other's common sense of decency, and wanting to be heard on a human level, and for that we need to be vulnerable ourselves as well So I think you know I would like to end with optimism on this show that, as I normally do. We were tested a year ago, January 6 should be a day of fasting and prayer, or community service, something where you give back and you say this country matters, the ideals of this country matter, and I have to do my part, whatever it is to make that happen. Thank you. Okay, we're out of showtime. And thank yous and mahalos go to our commentators. That's Colin Moore, Cynthia, Ty, and Sandy Ma, who provided their, their statements of what we have learned from the January 6 committee. I also want to thank and those comments were stimulus for the discussion today of J. Phi Dow, Tim at Pichello, Winston Welch and Cynthia leasing Claire's comment is also appreciated. So we'll see you next week and aloha.