A son's death, Jan. 6, and a congressman's mission
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The Washington Post
4.1 • 4.6K Ratings
🗓️ 7 January 2022
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On Jan. 5, 2021, Rep. Jamie Raskin buried his only son. The next day he witnessed firsthand the attack on the Capitol. As we mark a year since the insurrection, we look at how Raskin dealt with his son’s death while serving on democracy’s front lines.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Give a helping hand this holiday season with the Washington Post helping hand. |
| 0:04.6 | This is John Kelly and I'm writing about Bread for the City, Friendship Place, and Miriam's Kitchen over the next few weeks. |
| 0:11.1 | Go to posthelpinghand.com to learn more and donate today. |
| 0:16.0 | Hi, it's Allison and I know you've seen a lot of reflections this week and special programming about the one year anniversary of the Capitol riot. |
| 0:23.1 | But now I want to share a story with you that really struck me when I heard it. |
| 0:27.5 | It focuses on the experience of Congressman Jamie Raskin who happens to represent the district where I live in Maryland. |
| 0:34.2 | It's about how personal tragedy helped drive a sense of purpose to fight for a version of the country that he most wants to see. |
| 0:41.5 | This episode is something our friends on the Post Reports podcast have been working on. |
| 0:45.2 | That's our daily afternoon podcast, which by the way, if you don't subscribe yet, you should. It's excellent. |
| 0:50.6 | All right, here you go. |
| 0:52.0 | Hey, it's Cleve. Before we get started with today's show, we want to warn you that this episode deals with suicide. |
| 1:01.0 | If you are someone you know needs help now, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. |
| 1:11.0 | You can also reach a crisis counselor by texting home to 741-741. |
| 1:23.0 | If you're familiar with Jamie Raskin, it might be because you remember him speaking to fellow members of Congress on the night of the January 6 insurrection. |
| 1:31.0 | I'm a speaker of the baseless attack on Pennsylvania and its electors brought to mind for me the great Tom Payne. |
| 1:39.0 | A year ago this week, as Congress tried to certify the results of the presidential election, |
| 1:44.0 | thousands of rioters breached the walls of the U.S. Capitol, attacked police and threatened lawmakers. |
| 2:10.0 | And after midnight, when the Capitol had been cleared, Jamie Raskin returned to the house floor. |
| 2:16.0 | Madam Speaker, my family suffered an unspeakable trauma on New Year's Eve a week ago, |
| 2:22.0 | but mine was not the only family to suffer such terrible pain in 2020. |
| 2:27.0 | See, just a few days before that, his son, Tommy, had killed himself. |
| 2:33.0 | On January 5, the Raskin family gathered for a small graveside service to Barry Tommy, and of course the next day, that was January 6. |
... |
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