Kamala Harris in January 6 Capitol Riot

On Principles & Values: Dual nature of democracy -- fragility and strength

You see, the strength of democracy is the rule of law. The strength of democracy is the principle that everyone should be treated equally, that elections should be free and fair, that corruption should be given no quarter. The strength of democracy is that it empowers the people.

And the fragility of democracy is this: that if we are not vigilant, if we do not defend it, democracy simply will not stand; it will falter and fail.

The violent assault that took place here, the very fact of how close we came to an election overturned -- that reflects the fragility of democracy.

Yet, the resolve I saw in our elected leaders when I returned to the Senate chamber that night -- their resolve not to yield but to certify the election; their loyalty not to party or person but to the Constitution of the United States -- that reflects its strength. And so, of course, does the heroism of the Capitol Police.

On Principles & Values: Jan. 6 was an exposure of the vulnerability of our democracy

"I was at the Capitol that morning," she told CBS anchor Jane Pauley (via CBS News). "And then I was in a meeting and I was told that I should leave. I was taken to a secure location with my husband, we watched in horror."

Harris admitted that she thought that the January 6 violence, which extended into the halls of the U.S. Capitol, was earth-shattering."It was seismic. It was in many ways a reckoning. It was an exposure of the vulnerability of our democracy. It is outrageous, and we will remember it like we have remembered some of the most significant [dates]. December 7th. We will remember Jan 6--an attack on the foundation and fundamental principles and ideals we hold dear."

On Principles & Values: January 6th, 2021 will echo throughout history

On that day, I was not only Vice President-elect, I was also a United States senator. And I was here at the Capitol that morning, at a classified hearing with fellow members of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Hours later, the gates of the Capitol were breached.

What the extremists who roamed these halls targeted was not only the lives of elected leaders. What they sought to degrade and destroy was not only a building, hallowed as it is. What they were assaulting were the institutions, the values, the ideals that generations of Americans have marched, picketed, and shed blood to establish and defend.