The Senate @GOP is using the time reserved for the Arizona electoral vote objection to talk about how much their hearts have grown after seeing today's insurrection.

Don't believe it for a minute. These people are pathological. Vote them the hell out.

McConnell and Lankford have both framed today's insurrection as something that happened *to them*.

If they were serious about reflecting on what happened today, they'd acknowledge this is something *they did to us* by putting power over patriotism.

Just one. I want just ONE Republican to stand up during their remarks and apologize to the American people for the very real damage to our democracy their Trump-humoring bullshit caused.

Because if they aren't saying that, they haven't learned shit.

"A lot's changed in the last few hours," Utah's Mike Lee says about his thoughts on the electoral fraud claims leveled against Joe Biden.

Yeah, mainly that this was a game to him before a bunch of violent insurrectionists literally broke down the door.

Mike Lee is twisting himself into a human pretzel to explain that he didn't believe in Congressional restraint about certifying electors this morning, but he definitely does now so actually he has no objection.

In his own telling of this story, it took a nothing less than an actual violent insurrection for Mike Lee to realize that there wasn't actually any election fraud after all.

Well, glad we worked that out. Let's certify the electors in bulk and get out of here.

Senator Michael Bennet does not have a firm grasp on...really any of the Roman history he just tried to recite.

Maybe the more apt Roman anecdote would be about the Praetorian Guard, and all the times governments fell because the Praetors couldn't be trusted to protect them from violence.

Like, you know, the Capitol Police.

"I cannot now in good conscience object to the certification of these electors," says Sen. Kelly Loeffler, an abrupt 180 on her campaign-season pledge to root out all that imaginary election fraud.

This is like watching a bunch of kids who got caught bullshitting, and they're just sort of reluctantly fessing up to it.

Except in this case those children are our government and their bullshitting caused a violent insurrection.

"We should be coming together today, after acts of violence, as a United States Senate, to affirm the votes of all who cast ballots."

@timkaine is just a naturally optimistic guy.

I'm going to guess the next @GOP speaker is going to say they really were going to object to the vote but not after the craaaaazy day they've had.

"We brought this hell upon ourselves."

@CoryBooker with probably the most concise and powerful summation of the long and preventable road to this dark day.

"What will we do? How will we confront this shame? How will we confront this dark second time in American History?"

@CoryBooker has been drawing parallels to the only other invasion of the Capitol, in 1814.

On the other hand, Ben Sasse is a great example of how not to turn a historical event into an emotionally powerful story.

Booker came off soaring. Sasse is coming off bored history teacher.

"Why would we talk about beauty after the ugliness of today? Because our kids need to know this isn't what America is. What happened to day isn't what America is."

But it is, Sen. Sasse. We watched it happen. It didn't come out of nowhere. Hiding from it solves nothing.

"Kickin' Hitler's ass and going to the moon!"

Sasse can't not perform, and it's grievously misplaced in this moment.

Ben Sasse's Insurrection Speech as delivered by a high school football coach to a team down by a field goal in the 4th.

On the @GOP side we are simply not hearing the words of people who are contrite. We're hearing the sigh of relief from people who survived a closer shave than they expected.

"This mob was invited to come to this city, on this day, by this president, for one reason."

@DickDurbin answers the 'why did this happen' question pretty succinctly, really.

"This president begs. He coaxes. He even threatens the Secretary of State to 'find the votes he needs.' In any other venue that would be a simple, obvious crime."

I'm not usually a fan of @DickDurbin speeches but he just sounds so through with it.

HISTORICAL MENTIONS TONIGHT

1814 Attack on the Capitol (Booker)
Election of 1800 (Sasse)
1876 Hayes-Tilden Election (Durbin)