Opinion by
Greg Sargent
Columnist
Jan. 12, 2021 at 3:39 p.m. CST
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Alarming new details are emerging about the true nature of the violent insurrection that we witnessed last week — and the critical point about this insurrection is that it is ongoing.
This raises the stakes on what we’re seeing from many Republicans, who are working to obscure the true source of this ongoing threat. By piously calling for “unity,” and claiming impeachment will “divide” us, they are striving to manufacture the impression that the cause of our ongoing breakdown is some species of generalized division.
In fact, it’s a straight cause-and-effect: One side (Trump and his democracy-despising enablers who are still trying to illegitimately overturn the election’s outcome) is threatening and inciting violence against the other (those who stand for constitutional democracy and are affirming the legitimacy of that outcome).
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This has now been crystallized by none other than a senior Republican congressional staffer. Politico reports that Jason Schmid has resigned from the House Foreign Affairs Committee with a blistering letter attacking his party’s efforts to overturn the election.
Schmid argued in his letter that Republicans had failed to sufficiently condemn the insurrection. I want to highlight this:
What’s important here is the unflinching acknowledgment of two things: First, the claim by Trump and his enablers that he won is a deranged lie and anyone telling it is an enemy of U.S. constitutional democracy. Second, this lie is what incited the violent siege of the Capitol.
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That is what many Republicans will not say, and it’s why this letter is important news. Different Republicans are at different places on this spectrum of denial. For instance, while just about all will condemn the violence, some are still refusing to admit either that Joe Biden legitimately won the election or that Trump’s lies are the primary source of the violence.
Meanwhile, others will admit Biden won but still refuse to forthrightly admit to the threat that Trump’s lies pose. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) sort of admits Trump might have caused the violence, but to do so, he hides behind the claim that Trump himself privately admitted to this, which is highly implausible.
And Rep. Kevin Brady (Tex.) concedes Biden’s victory but claims that impeachment could “incite further violence.” That has menacing hints — hold Trump accountable for inciting violence and you’ll meet more violence! — but more to the point, it’s straight-up obfuscation of the actual threat, which comes from Trump’s incitement.
AD
Trump is enforcing this line among Republicans. He told reporters on Tuesday that “I want no violence” and that Democrats pursuing impeachment are “causing tremendous anger.”
There’s that veiled threat again — Hold me accountable for inciting violence and you’ll meet more violence! — but it’s also a command to Republicans: Keep denying that I’m the chief instigator of the violence, and keep claiming the real threat of incitement comes from Democrats.
All this comes as the threat is starting to look even more dire. The Post reports that the day before the assault, an FBI office in Virginia warned that hordes were heading to Washington to wage “war”:
AD
Trump’s lies about the election, echoed by his enablers, are the cause of this threat. And a great many Republicans simply refuse to say this.
Making this worse, as Simon Rosenberg points out, countless elected GOP officials are already on record having propped up these lies for months. The only way to reverse this is to flatly and unequivocally declare that those were lies and that Biden legitimately won:
I would add that Republicans must also say unequivocally that this lie caused last week’s violence, and that it threatens untold more to come.
Republicans’ calls for “unity” are conditional: Unity can only be premised on a blanket agreement not to acknowledge the truth about who and what are actually to blame for violently tearing the country in half. Until Republicans tell the truth about all of this, their professed hopes for unity are empty nonsense, to be treated with derisive contempt.
Greg Sargent
Columnist
Jan. 12, 2021 at 3:39 p.m. CST
Add to list
Alarming new details are emerging about the true nature of the violent insurrection that we witnessed last week — and the critical point about this insurrection is that it is ongoing.
This raises the stakes on what we’re seeing from many Republicans, who are working to obscure the true source of this ongoing threat. By piously calling for “unity,” and claiming impeachment will “divide” us, they are striving to manufacture the impression that the cause of our ongoing breakdown is some species of generalized division.
In fact, it’s a straight cause-and-effect: One side (Trump and his democracy-despising enablers who are still trying to illegitimately overturn the election’s outcome) is threatening and inciting violence against the other (those who stand for constitutional democracy and are affirming the legitimacy of that outcome).
AD
This has now been crystallized by none other than a senior Republican congressional staffer. Politico reports that Jason Schmid has resigned from the House Foreign Affairs Committee with a blistering letter attacking his party’s efforts to overturn the election.
Schmid argued in his letter that Republicans had failed to sufficiently condemn the insurrection. I want to highlight this:
GOP lawmakers who voted to overturn the election, Schmid charged, “harmed the ability of every service member, intelligence officer, and diplomat to defend the nation and advance American interests.”
What’s important here is the unflinching acknowledgment of two things: First, the claim by Trump and his enablers that he won is a deranged lie and anyone telling it is an enemy of U.S. constitutional democracy. Second, this lie is what incited the violent siege of the Capitol.
AD
That is what many Republicans will not say, and it’s why this letter is important news. Different Republicans are at different places on this spectrum of denial. For instance, while just about all will condemn the violence, some are still refusing to admit either that Joe Biden legitimately won the election or that Trump’s lies are the primary source of the violence.
Meanwhile, others will admit Biden won but still refuse to forthrightly admit to the threat that Trump’s lies pose. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) sort of admits Trump might have caused the violence, but to do so, he hides behind the claim that Trump himself privately admitted to this, which is highly implausible.
And Rep. Kevin Brady (Tex.) concedes Biden’s victory but claims that impeachment could “incite further violence.” That has menacing hints — hold Trump accountable for inciting violence and you’ll meet more violence! — but more to the point, it’s straight-up obfuscation of the actual threat, which comes from Trump’s incitement.
AD
Trump is enforcing this line among Republicans. He told reporters on Tuesday that “I want no violence” and that Democrats pursuing impeachment are “causing tremendous anger.”
There’s that veiled threat again — Hold me accountable for inciting violence and you’ll meet more violence! — but it’s also a command to Republicans: Keep denying that I’m the chief instigator of the violence, and keep claiming the real threat of incitement comes from Democrats.
All this comes as the threat is starting to look even more dire. The Post reports that the day before the assault, an FBI office in Virginia warned that hordes were heading to Washington to wage “war”:
Meanwhile, The Post’s report notes, federal agents are “in a state of high-alert” about possible violence at Biden’s inauguration. And the FBI has warned in another memo that “armed protests” are planned “at all 50 state capitols.”
AD
Trump’s lies about the election, echoed by his enablers, are the cause of this threat. And a great many Republicans simply refuse to say this.
Making this worse, as Simon Rosenberg points out, countless elected GOP officials are already on record having propped up these lies for months. The only way to reverse this is to flatly and unequivocally declare that those were lies and that Biden legitimately won:
I would add that Republicans must also say unequivocally that this lie caused last week’s violence, and that it threatens untold more to come.
Republicans’ calls for “unity” are conditional: Unity can only be premised on a blanket agreement not to acknowledge the truth about who and what are actually to blame for violently tearing the country in half. Until Republicans tell the truth about all of this, their professed hopes for unity are empty nonsense, to be treated with derisive contempt.
