Forget about it. No big deal. Time to move on. Failed coupster Donald Trump and his GOP henchmen keep trying to normalize their way out of January 6. With each passing week, they strive to shove that day of infamy far down the memory hole. This is crucial for their survival. After all, how can a political party maintain a shred of legitimacy if its leader is widely seen as the inciter of treasonous insurrection? So a few day ago, Trump proclaimed “the real insurrection…took place on November 3 and not on January 6.” And the former guy’s former veep, Mike Pence, joined the act too.

On Fox, Pence offered this warped and dangerous view: “I know the media wants to distract from the Biden administration’s failed agenda by focusing on one day in January. They want to use that one day to try and demean the character and intentions of 74 million Americans…I truly believe we all ought to remain completely focused on the future.” Yes, the man who violent Trump supporters wanted to hang says let’s not dwell on the past, and he puts forward a nutty conspiracy theory: The continuing coverage of what transpired on January 6 is a nefarious media plot to protect the current White House occupant. In other words, pay no attention to this unprecedented domestic terrorism that jeopardized the constitutional order.

It doesn’t get much more sniveling than that. There’s something sadly comical about Pence—whose own family was put at risk on January 6—kowtowing to the Trump mob. But what’s not funny is that while Trump, Pence, and other Republicans are constructing a nothing-to-see narrative about January 6, they are not being met by a strong counterforce. As they attempt to airbrush the Trump-triggered riot out of the picture, there are no major figures on the political scene or within the media—neither a person nor an institution—who constantly remind the public of what occurred and keep the horror of that day on the national radar.

President Joe Biden, like many a previous chief executive, is focused on his own agenda and justifiably wants to move forward—toward enacting important legislation to assist Americans and winning over voters for 2022 and 2024. The media certainly covers the arrests and prosecutions stemming from 1/6. But if there’s nothing new to report, there are no headlines. Trump and his gang, though, require no news peg to pump out denialist disinformation about the attack. They only need an invitation from Fox, OAN, Newsmax, or another one of their propaganda outlets.

There is, of course, the House select committee investigating the January 6 raid. But it’s tough for this small panel of House members to beat back a never-ending disinformation campaign. Investigative committees don’t stage daily press conferences. They run inquiries, hold hearings occasionally, and, ultimately, release reports. All this takes time.

In July, the 1/6 committee held its first hearing, featuring four law enforcement officers who Trump’s brownshirts assaulted during the riot. Their testimony was visceral and riveting, and the event was a powerful rebuttal to GOP efforts to downplay or dismiss the seditious ransacking of the Capitol. Since then, the committee has conducted no other public hearings, and, as of now, none are scheduled. It’s possible there might be no hearings for the rest of this year. House sources tell me the committee is considering whether to stage a series of comprehensive hearings over a week or more early next year—instead of holding intermittent hearings spaced out over a longer stretch. That could create a dramatic, gangbuster spectacle that will generate headlines and draw wide public notice.

Yet, under such a schedule, Trump and his crew will continue to have the stage mostly to themselves, as they endeavor to diminish or even disappear January 6. Much of human history is a war against forgetting. Time has a way of diluting the past, even horrendous events. My hunch is that Trump and his fellow cultists realize this. Their aim is to downsize the terror and tragedy of January 6 so that when Trump or another Republican runs in 2024, that singularly awful day—a tremendous stain on Trump and the party that refused to impeach or punish him—will be nothing more than just another blip on the long list of Trump outrages excused and enabled by the GOP. If they accomplish this mission, it will be a more successful assault on American democracy than the attack itself.

Got a comment on this item? A tip or lead? Email me at thisland@motherjones.com.

Join the First This Land Online Salon

Want to be a guinea pig in a This Land experiment? On October 14, I will be hosting an online This Land salon. Everybody—gulp!—is welcome. We can talk about the news of the day, the news of the week, or anything else on your mind. (Well, almost anything else.) Here’s how it’s going to work. In the next issue, I will post information for a Zoom room that will open at 8 p.m. ET on October 14; all you have to do is show up. I’m hoping we can have a great conversation. I’ll take questions from This Land readers and let you join in. The rules will be obvious. We will aim for civil discourse, no long rants, and relevant subject matter. We will have someone staffing a mute button, and we won’t be reluctant to use it. I’m hoping that won’t be necessary. So let’s see how this goes. Looking forward to talking with you all.

Jill Sobule: “You Better Not F*ck in Texas”

My old pal Jill Sobule is a wonderful singer-songwriter who had a few cool hits in the 1990s, including “I Kissed a Girl.” Her songs are witty, sassy, and occasionally heartbreaking. One of my favorites is “Mexican Wrestler.” From time to time, she gets topical, such as with her wry attack on jingoism, “America Back.” And she recently grabbed her pen and guitar to denounce the extreme new Texas law banning abortions after six weeks (with no exceptions) and allowing anyone to sue abortion providers and people who assist women obtaining abortions. (On Wednesday, a federal judge blocked implementation of the law.) Here is the world premiere of Sobule’s “You Better Not F*ck in Texas”:

Visit Sobule’s website here.

Dumbass Comment of the Week

See the lead item above. Pence wins. He was talking like someone who has an acute case of Stockholm Syndrome. But there are two honorable mentions this week. During the ridiculous dustup over the debt ceiling this week—ridiculous because Republicans won’t pay for or acknowledge the $7.8 trillion in debt they and Trump recklessly racked up—Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell brayed, "[Democrats] want to turn their failure into everybody else's crisis...using manufactured drama to bully their own members, indulging petty politics instead of governing." This was an absurd statement—even for McConnell. The Democrats hadn’t failed; it was McConnell and the Republicans who concocted a crisis by refusing to cover their own debt and then by blocking the Democrats from taking a vote that would pay the bill the Rs had run up. On Thursday night, McConnell blinked and allowed a vote to kick the debt-ceiling can down the road until December. But this phony issue will be back with us soon, and, no doubt, McConnell will return to this fight with inane up-is-down rhetoric.

The other honorable mention goes to Antigone Davis, the global head of security for Facebook. Responding to Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen’s documented allegation that the social media company knew that its applications were causing harm, including mental health problems, for its users (especially teens and young women), Davis contended this accusation was hogwash: “If you think about somebody’s experience on the platform—if they’re having a very negative experience, at some point they’re going to turn away from that negative experience. So to suggest that we would optimize something negative for the long-term value of business just doesn’t actually—it is illogical. It doesn’t make sense.” Really? A corporation wouldn’t peddle a good or service that negatively affected a consumer because that would be bad for business? Maybe Davis should ask the tobacco companies about that? Or perhaps she missed it last year when Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty to committing crimes related to its role in creating the opioid crisis. I doubt Mr. Spock would argue corporate wrongdoing that injures consumers can’t occur because such malfeasance would be illogical.

The Mailbag

It’s no shocker that nuance doesn’t have much currency these days—especially on social media. When I posted a piece a few days ago about Hunter Biden’s Los Angeles art opening—where he was trying to sell his artwork for up to $500,000 a pop—the reaction on Twitter was sharply bifurcated. A lot of folks were enraged that I would write anything about Hunter Biden, as if that was assisting the right-wing crusade against the president. Others noted his art business was either a scam or a major ethics dilemma for the White House—or both. I thought it was interesting to see his work (my article included exclusive pics) and that his effort to sell his paintings for huge sums of money creates a slippery situation that offers an opportunity for influence-buying.

I noticed that the response to the lead feature in the last newsletter—which noted that President Joe Biden has not yet fully confronted Donald Trump and the GOP’s war on American democracy—was also intensely divided.

Jo Proctor wrote:

May I assume that you would like to be the impetus for change in addition to opining on the American political situation? Look carefully at how you present your argument. I think you need to go back to the drawing board in terms of presentation, especially your tone of voice…You may get readers by yelling, "Fire!" but you aren't going to get President Biden and his advisors to listen and change their ways. Instead, all you're doing is bullying and raising his and supporters' hackles, which gets in the way of listening or thinking about change. Just saying...

Vic Sand had this to say:

Have enjoyed all the newsletters I’ve received so far. This one is exemplary! It’s very frustrating to allow Trump to go on messing with Biden, but as you state, he has bigger agenda items to deal with now than getting in a tug with all the negativity surrounding Trump, who could stand a yank though!

Barry Hansen chimed in:

I feel you may be misunderstanding Joe Biden. I feel that because he comes from a different era, when politics was a game of tug-o-war, waged by members of Congress, who largely held the Constitution as their game board, Joe may be playing the wrong game and democracy may lose. Years ago, the daily pull and tug of congressional life had clear guidelines that could not be violated. Joe Biden, whom I voted for, is still playing on this worn, faded game board, hoping the other guys will show up soon...Unfortunately Joe is frittering away his time, eternally hopeful that the other side won't show up, to a fist fight, with guns. Will he wake up?

Moses Kaloustian noted:

I have been a great admirer of your thinking and writing. I was deeply moved with your latest truthful and brilliant analysis of President Biden's short-sighted actions. I truly wished you were among his closest advisors. Short of that, I would implore you to explore every avenue to force him to read your last article. It is a gem for the ages! It would save his presidency and enable him to make his mark in U.S. history!

That sounds like something my mom would say. Thank you, Moses. And, by the way, I am not looking for a job in the White House and have no ability to “force” the president to read my work.

Tim Gust remarked:

Your essay appears right on, as far as I am concerned. While there is no one correct approach, I have wished that Pres. Biden would start some "fireside chats." Content would not necessarily have to be a frontal assault on the Trump Republican group. Instead, he could call on citizens to mount a local approach/initiative of democracy and use the same tactics advocated by Bannon and the others who wish to regain control and establish an autocracy of the oligarchs. Of course, he could also state that without this grass roots approach, the wrong people could take over. Just one idea.

Not sure a chat by a fireplace would work. But it’s clear that Biden and the Democrats must find a way to engage Americans who care about preserving democratic values.

Sandra Gregor gets the last word:

You are one of my favorite contributors to Ari Melber’s MSNBC show. You never say a word I disbelieve (could that be dangerous?). I applaud your new publication, and I can only hope that Biden and those in his inner circle read—and act—on your assessments. They are indeed frightening. It is not easy to sound the alarm, but it’s essential to the preservation of democracy…

On another note, I appreciate your reminding me of how much, in another era, I enjoyed the Velvet Underground. I will listen again with pleasure. My granddaughter recently introduced me to a singer new to me, James Blake, and I have been captivated by “Say What You Will.” In case you find a quiet moment to listen to his YouTube version, I suspect you may enjoy it.

Thanks for the tip, Sandra. I took a listen, and I do like this song’s moody and melancholic melody. Let’s share it with the group. But before I do so, a reminder: if you write in, please make sure your email contains your full name. If you don’t want your name used, please explain why you can’t be identified. I am generally going to refrain from posting comments from anonymous correspondents.

Got anything to say about This Land? Got a comment or question for me? Email me at thisland@motherjones.com.

MoxieCam™

“Moxie,” I said, “you need a haircut.”

“Is this another one of your shaggy dog stories?” she asked me.

Read Previous Issues of This Land

October 5, 2021: The Democracy Crisis: Could this be Joe Biden’s big mistake?; kicking Pat Robertson on the way out; Skyfall vs. Casino Royale; a Velvet Underground tribute; and more.

October 2, 2021: How we almost got that big Lewandowski scoop; Dumbass Comment of the Week; MoxieCam™; and more.

September 29, 2021: Note to Greta Van Susteren: The road to hell is paved with both-siderism; the value of Netflix’s Worth; a crazy CIA story; and more.

September 25, 2021: What do Common, Leonard Bernstein, and Dwight Eisenhower have in common?; Dumbass Comment of the Week; the Mailbag; MoxieCam™; and more.

September 21, 2021: The Trump-Russia scandal denialists are taking another desperate stab at gaslighting you; Netflix’s The Chair nails the assignment; and more.

September 18, 2021: Hey Marco Rubio and Glenn Greenwald, this is the real problem with Milley, Trump, and nuclear weapons; Dumbass Comment of the Week (did Barack Obama really kill rock ’n’ roll with racial politics?); the Mailbag; MoxieCam™ (a new toy!); and more.

September 14, 2021: Will the new Bill-and-Monica television series spur a reappraisal of the Clinton scandal?; a stunning new Holocaust movie you can’t see—yet; one of the best articles ever about a family and its dog; and more.

September 11, 2021: How Trump’s conspiracy theories are killing people in West Virginia and elsewhere; more 9/11 reflections; Dumbass Comment of the Week (Special Confederacy Edition); a look at HBO’s very odd White Lotus; MoxieCam™; and more.

September 8, 2021: 9/11 plus 20: a remembrance and a thank-you; the chilling climate crisis warning in HBO’s Reminiscence; and more.

September 3, 2021: Texas shows how Trumpism has become fascistic vigilantism; Dumbass Comment of the Week; Rock ’n’ Roll Flashback (how I was popped by Iggy Pop); MoxieCam™; and more.

August 31, 2021: How a 1954 analysis perfectly explains today’s Republican Party; on his new album, James McMurtry captures the spirit of Warren Zevon; and more.