Another Great Moment In Gaslighting- "Legitimate Political Discourse"
The GOP continues its rapid descent into fascism, blind allegiance, and irrelevance
One political party’s attempt to overthrow an election is apparently that same party’s definition of “legitimate political discourse.”
The party in question is the Republican Party, which, on Friday, voted to punish GOP Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) for their work on the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, the Associated Press reported.
There are many less-than-complimentary adjectives that one could choose for Chairman Ronna McDaniel and the Republican National Committee (RNC). Still, there are none that would adequately describe the depths of their depravity. The fathomage to which the once reasonably respectable GOP has sunk is astonishing. In their continuing effort to metaphorically prostrate themselves before Donald Trump, the RNC passed a resolution declaring the January 6th insurrection to be “legitimate political discourse.”
Let that roll around your brainpan for a moment. Then consider the abject absurdity of a violent attempted coup by thousands of White nationalists being considered “legitimate political discourse” in any sense. Five people died. 140 law enforcement officers were injured, many brutally. The riot left $30 million in damages behind, including cleaning the human feces smeared on the walls of the Capitol. And then there’s the shame of seeing the Confederate battle flag paraded through the halls of the Capitol, something that didn’t even happen during the Civil War. It had NEVER happened before.
In what sick, twisted universe is ANY of that to be considered “legitimate political discourse?” And the idea that the January 6th commission is “a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens who engaged in legitimate political discourse” is an insult to any lucid and rational human being. Sadly, lucidity seems in perilously short supply in today’s GOP, which now values blind allegiance to Donald Trump over any other consideration, even the Constitution.
As someone who watched the events of January 6th unfold on television, I struggle to find words adequate to express my outrage over the RNC resolution. There was nothing “legitimate” about the abortive coup attempt that day, nor was “political discourse” part of the order of the day. There was no exchange of ideas or vigorous debate. There was violence, bloodshed, death, and injury in spades.
Were the gallows outside the Capitol intended to further the spirited exchange of ideas? I can’t imagine what one could debate when they’re dangling off the ground with a noose around their neck.
Was “HANG MIKE PENCE!!” merely an expression of a desire to discuss the wisdom of counting electoral votes with the Vice President? Were the people run through the halls of Congress screaming “HANG MIKE PENCE!!” at the top of their lungs just trying to let him know that they wanted to have a polite conversation with him?
Were those screaming “STOP THE STEAL!!” as they pounded on the doors of the Capitol building engaged in protected free speech? Or perhaps they were looking to have a reasoned, rational discussion about something that more than 60 courts across the country had already considered and thrown out?
There. Was. No. Massive. Voter. Fraud. Period. NO ONE had produced ANY credible evidence of widespread voter fraud anywhere. End of story.
Joe Biden didn’t steal the election, and he beat Donald Trump by seven million votes. So what was it y’all told Hillary Clinton’s supporters in 2016? Oh, yeah….
“GET OVER IT! YOU LOST!!”
It’s not so much fun when the tables are turned. Here’s something to consider, though: Hillary’s supporters didn’t scream “STOP THE STEAL!!” Nor did we throw a collective tantrum and stage a riot at the US Capitol in an attempt to overthrow an election.
If Republicans didn’t have their anteriors so far up Donald Trump’s posterior, I’d suggest that they don’t have to like the fact that their guy lost. Nevertheless, the fact remains that their guy lost. Fair and square. No amount of conspiratorial thinking or fantasizing about Vatican-owned satellites is going to change that.
The nature of elections in a democracy is that sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose. No one likes losing, of course, but most folks are mature enough to understand that when the people have spoken, the adult thing to do is accept the results for what they are and move on. Figure out what went wrong. Improve your ideas. Speak to more voters. Work harder. Hope for better and different results next time out. That’s how democracy works.
No one gets to start a riot and then claim they were merely engaging in “legitimate political discourse.” That’s the sort of cheap propaganda you’ll find in banana republics, not the world’s foremost democracy- a title that we’re well on our way to losing, by the way.
Ronna McDaniel and the RNC should be ashamed- if they possessed the capacity to process shame, that is.
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