On Friday, February 4, the Republican National Committee voted overwhelmingly to censure two of its own: Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois for their participation in a Democrat-led panel investigating the January 6, 2021 Capitol Hill insurrection. The RNC declared – as it has always maintained – that the individuals participating in the riot were “ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse.” Immediately after various news outfits began reporting news of the resolution, the RNC tried to clarify itself by stating they weren’t referring to the deadly attack on the Capitol.
Gosh, what else is there to talk about with that day’s events?
It’s become obvious the 21st century Republican Party won’t tolerate any kind of conscientious objectors – even if they are 100% right in their actions. The RNC has continually repeated the fake narrative that the January 6 insurrectionists were merely Capitol Hill “tourists” – who just happened to arrive bearing various assault weapons and stormed into the building like zombies invading a meat-packing plant.
I still believe a large percentage of Americans just don’t realize that the events of that day meet the true definition of a terrorist attack. If the mob had contained anyone other than a bunch of angry, self-righteous White people, right-wing extremists would be quick to denounce it as a true domestic terrorist attack and begin demanding criminal prosecution of everyone involved. But since that gang was supporting their man, Donald Trump – the biggest dumbass ever to occupy the White House – they’re getting their priorities confused…again.
I also wonder if most Americans truly recognize the January 6, 2021 insurrection as the clear threat to democracy it really was. Watching that day’s events unfold, I kept thinking, ‘Is this the United States? Is this really happening here?’
We’re accustomed to witnessing that kind of brutality and violence in foreign countries. That shit happens in Pakistan or Peru – not in the U.S.! But it did happen in the U.S. It happened here – in a nation that has claimed for some 200 years it is the beacon of democracy on planet Earth. In a country that has the oldest national constitution of any developed sovereign state.
I find it equally appalling – but not surprising – that the RNC has censured Cheney and Kinzinger for their efforts to learn the truth about the January 6 riot and prosecute those who participated in it. Cheney, daughter of former Vice-President Dick Cheney, and Kinzinger, a military veteran, each represent the truest of public servants – individuals committed to the values of integrity and moral decency. They understand the actual severity of the January 6 mutiny; that the participants weren’t “tourists” trying to comprehend the machinations of the American political system. They were rioters – terrorists. And for their probity, they are being reprimanded by their leaders and constituents.
That says quite a bit about a political party. It says a lot about that particular squadron of stewardship. But it would say even more about a society that seems to ignore the calamity of January 6, 2021 and treat ensuing investigations as mundane political business.
Chief Writing Wolf 