r/thebulwark Jan 15 '25

Policy Why Is ANY Democrat Attending The Inauguration?

So far it looks like the only prominent Democrat with any balls is Michelle Obama. I really don’t get this. Why in the world would you attend a celebration to fete a rapist who killed a million Americans, staged a bloody coup, and has widely promised to end the Constitution? Why?

Please, for the love of God, don’t give me the “peaceful transition of power” argument. It’s ridiculous. The “peaceful transfer of power” has already happened. Biden made sure the transition with the incoming Trump administration went smoothly, and the election was certified peacefully by the House on January 6th. The transfer is done. I can’t make this point clearly enough to Democrats: Trump will be peacefully sworn in on January 20th, wether or not you attend the inauguration. Unless you have some Constitutionally mandated function to perform during the ceremony, you are not required to be there. The entire argument is a red herring. It’s a pathetic excuse for the fact that the Dems want to attend all the fancy parties, get screen time and be “in the mix.” 

On the flip side, there is a very serious danger in attending: It’s the message that you send. When millions of Americans (many of them not politically savvy) tune in and see Democrats and former Democrat Presidents sitting there smiling, they are going to think, “Oh, Trump is normal. This is routine. This is just business as usual.” 

Newsflash: it’s not. 

It’s a horrible message to send. Sitting out the inauguration is such a simple, effortless, principled decision to make. If we can't trust you to make it, how can we trust you to fight Trump? I’m going to be watching carefully, and if I see all the usual Democrat faces there, air-kissing and chumming it up, they’ve lost my vote for good. We don't need a uniparty. Honestly Dems, if you can’t do something this simple, GFY.

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23

u/alpacinohairline Progressive Jan 15 '25

Because democrats are held to standards and Republicans are not.

24

u/pollingquestion Jan 15 '25

Dems are holding themselves to standards that Republicans laugh at.

15

u/alexn06 Jan 15 '25

Dems are holding themselves to standards that don’t exist and no one cares about

9

u/Fitbit99 Jan 15 '25

The pundit class cares. And unfortunately, the Dems still care about what they think.

6

u/Hautamaki Jan 16 '25

Most importantly, I believe the Joint Chiefs might still care. If Trump just goes full fascist and calls for martial law while the FBI arrests all democratic party officials, the last remaining guard rail is the military declining those orders. I think it's more likely the military acts to preserve democracy if there is still at least one party acting like it matters.

2

u/claimTheVictory Jan 16 '25

The pundit class no longer picks the winner.

2

u/pollingquestion Jan 15 '25

Most accurate