Courtesy of Bastrop Advertiser
Jan. 13, 2022
By Joni Ashbrook
Unfortunately for our country, former President Donald Trump and his GOP toadies have managed to rewrite the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol for a large number of Republicans.
There are several “alternative” scenarios swirling around that explain why a recent Associated Press/NORC poll found 3 in 10 Republicans say Jan. 6 was nonviolent.
One man interviewed for the poll thought Jan. 6 was “pretty peaceful.” He said, “I’ve seen some video of the people just like marching in through a velvet rope.” Dollars to donuts, he watches Fox News.
The truth is Trump incited a violent mob to stop Congress from certifying the election results so he could remain president.
It was Trump’s final attempt after all his other schemes had failed to overturn the election that his top cybersecurity official called the “most secure in American history.”
After the violent mob left the Capitol, dozens of Republicans spoke the absolute truth.
For instance, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said, “The president bears responsibility for Wednesday’s (Jan. 6, 2021) attack on Congress by mob rioters.” McCarthy also admitted Joe Biden “won the election.”
McCarthy called it a “violent attack” and said the mob “acted to disrupt Congress’s constitutional responsibility.”
Mitch McConnell, who was then Senate Majority Leader, called it a “failed insurrection” and said, “They tried to disrupt our democracy.”
McConnell admitted that “the mob was fed lies” and that “they were provoked by the president and other powerful people.”
Even though McConnell told the truth, and the coup came frighteningly close to ending our democracy, he instructed GOP senators to vote against impeaching Trump.
And one week after Trump left office, McCarthy helped resurrect the “insurrectionist in chief” by visiting him at Mar-a-Lago.
So, that short-lived “truth-telling” is now an absolute no-no for Republicans, or you could lose your seat, or be threatened with violence.
And if you’re really off message, Fox News’ chief propagandist Tucker Carlson could take you to the woodshed like he recently did to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz for accurately referring to Jan. 6 as a “violent terrorist attack on the Capitol.”
Cruz made a beeline to Carlson’s show to grovel for forgiveness for not toeing the GOP’s “nothing to see here” line about Jan. 6.
Carlson said it was a lie to call it a “terror attack,” but Metropolitan Police officer Daniel Hodges testified it was exactly that to the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack.
Hodges was one of the 140 officers injured that day. He was crushed by the mob in a doorway screaming for his life while terrorists used a baton to bash his head.
Hodges’ horrific experience was videotaped, and it is excruciating to watch. But if right-wing media is your viewing preference, you won’t see it.
During his testimony, Hodges read an excerpt of the U.S. statute that defines “domestic terrorism” as “… dangerous to human life” and “… to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion.”
Surely erecting a gallows outside the Capitol with the mob screaming, “hang (Vice President) Mike Pence” could be seen as “intimidation?”
Trump sicced his violent mob on Pence for refusing to ignore the Constitution and single-handedly give Trump the presidency.
Fox News hosts are also guilty of knowing the truth, but lying to the public.
Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and Brian Kilmeade texted Trump’s chief of staff during the riot urging him to get Trump to call off his mob, but on camera they never blame Trump for the violence.
I wish shaming these spineless liars were enough to make them tell the public the truth. Unfortunately, it’s clear that they have no shame.
Ashbrook is a contributing columnist for the Advertiser. She is a retired school teacher and may be reached at [email protected].
