These politicians denied democracy on Jan. 6. Now, they want your vote.
The following is an edited version of These politicians denied democracy on Jan. 6. Now, they want your vote,
by Steve Brodner, The Washington Post, January 2, 2024. Steve Brodner is a satirical illustrator and commentator. Research, design and development by Amanda Shendruk. Yan Wu and Kayleigh Waters also contributed to this piece. Link
While the violent mob swarmed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, aiming to subvert democracy and keep President Donald Trump in power, another group was already working on the same project inside. In an unsuccessful bid to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election, 147 Republicans formally supported objection to counting Joe Biden’s electoral votes.
Some have already left office. But as many as 117 of these members of Congress are running for reelection in 2024. Here they are, drawn together: a collection of American politicians engaged in using democracy to attain the power to subvert it.
From that group, this piece highlights those who are still in government and who have declared that they will be running for federal office in 2024, or who have not yet announced, as of publication date.
This group includes three U.S. Senators: Sen. Rick Scott (FL), Sen. Ted Cruz (TX), and Sen. Josh Hawley (MO). The remaining members are current members of the House or Representatives, except Yvette Herrell (NM) who is a former member of Congress and who has announced that she will run again.
Northeastern States
Now in the No. 4 role in the House GOP, Elise Stefanik (NY) was a strong defender of Trump's election conspiracy theories. Scott Perry (PA) helped organize the effort to use the Justice Department to delegitimize the election results.
Southern states
Now House speaker, Mike Johnson (LA) tried to overturn 2020 results by filing a Supreme Court brief claiming covid voting procedures rendered them void.
After Jan. 6, Matt Gaetz (FL) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA) toured the country with an America First
message, spreading baseless claims of a stolen election.
About his actions on Jan. 6. Gaetz said, We’re ashamed of nothing,
while on former Trump adviser Steve Bannon’s podcast. Gaetz recently led the ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (CA).
Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA) has argued that Jan. 6 rioters were mistreated. If Steve Bannon and I had organized that, we would have won, not to mention, it would have been armed,
she said about the insurrection.
Senator Ted Cruz (TX) said he was leading the charge
to prevent Biden's certification as president and he was deeply involved in helping Trump find ways to keep power.
Midwestern states
One of the most vocal Republicans in favor of overturning Biden's win, Jim Jordan (OH) spoke directly with Trump on the day of the insurrection. Jordan and Jim Banks IN) weren't allowed on the select committee investigating Jan. 6 because of their roles in spreading disinformation. Josh Hawley (MO) was the first senator to announce he would contest results on Jan. 6, paving the way for other senators such as Ted Cruz (TX) and Rick Scott (FL) to do so, as well. About his actions on Jan. 6, Hawley said, I don't regret anything I did on that day.
Western states
Andy Biggs (AZ) is one of five Republicans who allegedly sought preemptive pardons for their roles in the Capitol riot. (Biggs has denied seeking a pardon). On the morning of the insurrection, Lauren Boebert (CO) conjured the American Revolution, tweeting, Today is 1776.
At a Stop the Steal
rally just weeks before the riot, Paul A. Gosar (AZ) said, Once we conquer the Hill, Donald Trump is returned to being the president.
from In tweet he published on Jan. 6, Gosar stated, Biden should concede. I want his concession on my desk tomorrow morning. Don't make me come over there.
The following is an extended excerpt from Our Trump reporting upsets some readers, but there aren’t two sides to facts: Letter from the Editor,
by Chris Quinn, Editor, The Plain Dealer. The full article is available in The Plain Dealer at Cleveland.com.
Link.
Our Trump reporting upsets some readers, but there aren’t two sides to facts: Letter from the Editor
The north star here is truth. We tell the truth, even when it offends some of the people who pay us for information.
The truth is that Donald Trump undermined faith in our elections in his false bid to retain the presidency. He sparked an insurrection intended to overthrow our government and keep himself in power. No president in our history has done worse.
This is not subjective. We all saw it. Plenty of leaders today try to convince the masses we did not see what we saw, but our eyes don’t deceive. (If leaders began a yearslong campaign today to convince us that the Baltimore bridge did not collapse Tuesday morning, would you ever believe them?) Trust your eyes. Trump on Jan. 6 launched the most serious threat to our system of government since the Civil War. You know that. You saw it.
The facts involving Trump are crystal clear, and as news people, we cannot pretend otherwise, as unpopular as that might be with a segment of our readers. There aren’t two sides to facts. People who say the earth is flat don’t get space on our platforms. If that offends them, so be it.
As for those who equate Trump and Joe Biden, that’s false equivalency. Biden has done nothing remotely close to the egregious, anti-American acts of Trump. We can debate the success and mindset of our current president, as we have about most presidents in our lifetimes, but Biden was never a threat to our democracy. Trump is. He is unique among all American presidents for his efforts to keep power at any cost.