January Cavalier Times

Cavalier Times January 2021 Issue Storming Capitol Hill By Noah Vinsky Chaos erupted at the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021, leading Washington, D.C. and the entire country into a panicked state of disbelief. Five were killed, and over 60 police officers were injured in the riot, etching a new low point to cap off a tumultuous Trump presidency. The months of attempting to reverse the course on President Biden’s victory led to the riot on January 6th, a fateful day that will be These despicable acts of violence mark added to the list as one of the darkest moments the end of a months-long campaign to in American history. The fallout began that overturn the results of the election where morning at a scheduled “Save America” rally Joe Biden racked up the most votes for any where Trump and a few of his insurrectionist presidential candidate in U.S. history. For allies allegedly incited a mob of his own weeks on end, Donald Trump and his GOP supporters. allies unleashed a firestorm of baseless claims including “stolen votes” and a Rudy Gulliani went as far as to push for the “landslide victory.” mob to ¨fight like hell,” calling for “total combat.” The rioters then proceeded to march to Capitol Trump’s attempt to subvert the Hill, smashing doors and windows, and storming democratic process reached a new low when their way to the Senate floor. Offices, including leaked audio with Georgia Secretary of State the Speaker Of The House Nancy Pelosi’s, were Brad Raffensberger emerged, berating him to looted and vandalized. “find 11,780 votes.” Trump has been shown to veer off from his own party. Furthermore, one man was photographed carrying the House podium over his shoulder, Mitch McConnell, Republican mainstay smiling and waving at the camera. and one of Trump's closest allies explicitly warned Senate Republicans not to challenge Shortly after the riots were assuaged, Trump supposedly sent out a tweet calling the rioters Joe Biden’s electoral victory, much to “great patriots” and asking them to “go home Trump's dismay. Despite McConnell setting with love and peace.” the tone for the Republican party, senators Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz continued the Many commentators have mentioned that fight to challenge election results in the Capitol Hill was despicably ransacked by white Senate, nationalists and alt-right conspiracy theorists who believe a QAnon thread on Reddit is a The claims of electoral fraud held credible source of information. absolutely no weight, being rejected in the courts by Republican and Democratic judges However, the U.S. Capitol has seen plenty of alike, as well as being detected by GOP allies violence over the course of its history; but this Lindsay Graham and Tom Cotton, who both riot was unprecedented. In fact, this was the first disapproved of Trump's plans to challenge time the Capitol building has been breached election results. since the War of 1812. Is The Winner Of The Presidential Election Determined By The Electoral College? By Nicole Townsend Many have argued that the Electoral College Therefore, the winner of the popular vote is not, “one person, one vote.” In the 2016 in each state is offered a certain amount of presidential election, many believed Donald electoral votes, and the presidential candidate Trump would lose the popular vote. Trump’s who collects at least 271 wins the presidency. win based on the Electoral College prompted many Americans to re-examine the fairness of Furthermore, smaller states have fewer this system. electoral votes. This resulted in some critics complaining that the Electoral College system encourages presidential candidates to ignore It is shown that a presidential candidate can votes in smaller states, such as Oklahoma and lose the popular vote and win the Electoral Mississippi. The nature of the Electoral College vote, resulting in the outcome for the College encourages presidential candidates to presidency. focus on campaigning in big states, such as California and New York. According to The Conversation, the Electoral College system, each state receives a certain In 2016, Republican Phil Bryant, who holds number of electors, which is based on its total a master’s degree in political science and who number of representatives in Congress. was then the governor of Mississippi, complained that the states did not have equal Each elector casts one electoral vote power to pick the president. following the general election. There are a total of 538 electoral votes; the presidential Bryant reportedly stated in a 2016 radio candidate who gets more than half, wins the interview, “The election is rigged . As it has election (271 votes minimum). This is what been designed, as we look at the states where happened in the 2016 presidential election with the more liberal voting populations may be in Trump. the cities, in New York and California and some of the other areas - all you have to do is win those particularly larger states and you can forget about flyover country." Moreover, some critics voiced their opinions of the idea that someone could lose the popular vote and still win the presidency. Overall, the U.S. presidential election is In 2016, Lawrence Lessig, a Harvard law mostly the combination of 51 individual professor and author of Republic, Lost: elections; one in each state, and the District of Version 2.0 stated, “The result violated what Columbia, also known as Washington, D.C. The has become one of the most important popular vote is the vote for a U.S. presidential principles governing our democracy - one candidate that is made by the certified voter. person, one vote.” Who is to Blame for the Capitol Attack? By Erica Brooks On the afternoon of Wednesday, January 6th, 2021, When Sund first asked, House Sergeant at Arms the United States Capitol was violently attacked. Paul Irving said he felt uncomfortable with the The attackers, a mob of some of the current “optics” of sending out so many troops before President’s most rabid supporters, were angry and the protests had even begun. in disbelief about his losing the presidential election. In hindsight, Sund said, “If we would have had the National Guard, we could have held them at Protests in response to Congress formalizing bay longer, until more officers from our partner Joe Biden’s win escalated into an invasion of the agencies could arrive.” Capitol. Lawmakers inside during the insurrection hid in fear; many barricading themselves into their At 2:26 p.m., during the attack itself, Sund offices as the protesters marched through the took part in a conference call with several building. The riot resulted in five deaths. government officials, and made an “urgent, Many were quick to blame the Washington D.C. urgent immediate request for National Guard National Guard for not being there in time. assistance,” according to his interview. He says However, Is the National Guard to blame? that the director of the Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Walter E. Piatt, recommended not approving the Today, each of the 50 states, Washington D.C., request, reportedly having said he did not like and three territories have their own National the sight of National Guard members standing in Guard units, according to the National Guard’s front of the Capitol. After more of Sund’s website. pleading, the request was approved. Though state governors can call on their state’s Finally, at 5:40 p.m., the first of the requested National Guard, that is not the case for National Guard troops reached the Capitol. At Washington D.C., as it is not a state. Thus, D.C. this point, it was unfortunately too late. Four Mayor Muriel Bowser’s requests for more National people had already died. Sund resigned the next Guard troops were not immediately met, since she day, saying in the interview that he felt as though does not have the same authority a governor does. he had failed his subordinates. Only the U.S. president has that power. Many lawmakers and members of the public Days before the attack, Mayor Bowser asked were happy about this, as they believed that the Pentagon for 340 D.C. National Guard troops. Sund had not done all he could have to prevent Their purpose was solely crowd and traffic control, the riot and its effects. They blamed him and the in anticipation of expected protests. The Pentagon asserts that it offered to send more troops, but the Mayor for not being well prepared enough. Capitol Police responded, multiple times, that they could handle the situation on their own. While the argument against Sund’s lack of preparation can definitely be made, many Contradicting this, now-ex-Capitol Police Chief, ultimately argue that it was the President, not Steven Sund states in an interview with the anyone else, who made the fatal errors that led Washington Post that he had requested more D.C. to this disaster. National Guard troops from the Pentagon before the attack, but that his request was denied. Many, including Sund, blame Trump’s heated rally held beforehand that fired up the mob that would eventually storm the Capitol. This, coupled with years of Trump’s impassioned rhetoric, is what many say, resulted in this violent outburst. Even if this was not his fault, Trump’s critics argue that he could have dispatched National Guard troops, as his position gave him that authority. No matter who deserves the blame, in the end, most can agree that the Capitol Hill insurrection did not reflect well on the United States and our democracy. source: https://variety.com/2021/politics/news/house-moves-to-impeach-president-trump-for-inciting-capitol-hill-attack-1234881419/ January Covid Update By Emily Martinez As the one year anniversary of social Along with new strains, vaccine distancing, quarantine, and online learning is development has also been on most people’s looming ever-closer, the story of Covid-19 minds.

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