You're being funny, right? You know what Congress is today.

I am not being funny, and I know what Congress is today.

For now, it will have to be the judiciary and the individual states slowing the march away from a Republic toward autocracy.

But Congress will be different two years from now, and different again 4 years from now. That is our window of opportunity to stop autocracy and return to democracy.

I'd also like to offer a slight correction, or perhaps an addition or amplification. We not only need to be wise enough to put the checks on power to use, we need to be courageous enough to use them. We knew what to do 4 years ago at Trump's second impeachment trial, but our elected representatives lacked the courage to actually accomplish it. We knew what to in both state and federal courts to hold Trump accountable for his attempted overthrow of an election, but our prosecutors lacked the courage to do it with sufficient speed. We knew what to do 5 months ago, but the electorate lacked both the wisdom and courage to vote for someone other than the budding autocrat who had all of the relevant information laid out for the voters in both Congressional hearings and in several courtrooms around the country.

These are all checks on power. We know they are there. The only question is are we wise enough AND courageous enough to use them. I can only hope that we are, because it may take all of them.

--Peter