Friend, 

During today’s January 6th Committee hearing we saw some compelling and courageous footage of the work Congressional leaders did on January 6th. While rioters stormed the Capitol and attempted to destroy our democracy, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer calmly coordinated with the Department of Defense and Capitol security officials on a plan to end the assault. 

They didn’t panic.

They didn’t run. (Josh Hawley, come on down)

They did not back down from the grave threat that was before them. 

Their leadership helped keep their fellow members of Congress safe. And they ensured that later that night, Congress could resume the sacred democratic task of certifying President Biden’s election. 

Of course, while the rioters wreaked havoc throughout the Capitol, the ultra-MAGA cabal did nothing. Or worse, they raised a fist in solidarity or tweeted out the location of where the members of Congress were sitting in the Capitol. And the man who incited the entire mob laughed gleefully from his secure perch in the White House, while not lifting a finger to stop it. 

Could there be a more stark difference in political leadership? We have two competing coalitions fighting for control of Congress and our country: the people who side with the January 6th mob and the people who are working to defeat them. 

I’ve been working in politics for a long time, and I know most things in politics are not binary. But this moment in our nation’s history is this simple. 

Democracy is not a choice. The footage we saw today shows that we have political leaders who chose to show courageous leadership on January 6th. Now, we know their work helped win the battle on that day. 

But we are still fighting in a greater war for American democracy. Winning this requires the daily work of a concerned pro-democracy citizenry. 

It requires the work that we do here at The Lincoln Project. Are you with us, Friend?

We’ll have more tomorrow and every day until November 8th about what you can do. Thank you for keeping us in this fight.

-Reed Galen

@reedgalen on Twitter