February 8, 2021
While we should all feel comforted by the boring competence and steadfast progressive policies on display from the nascent Biden administration, on the eve of Trump’s second impeachment trial, we all have the jitters. We are wary because it is evident that the Republican Party, with the literal exception of Adam Kinzinger and Mitt Romney, seems as committed to violent fascism as we are committed to democracy.
The unwillingness of Congressional Republicans to issue even the mildest rebuke to a member who traffics in wild conspiracy theories, advocates violence against her colleagues and proudly spouts racist and anti-Semitic views is truly disturbing. The contrast with their eagerness to oust Liz Cheney from leadership for voting to impeach Trump is chilling. This is the new “mainstream” of the Republican Party. It is a party that punishes any member who dares to demand accountability for violent incitement, (Source: “10 Republicans Voted to Impeach Trump. The Backlash Has Been Swift,” by Reid J. Epstein and Katie Glueck, The New York Times, 1/23/21).
The Wyoming GOP passed a resolution to censure Liz Cheney for her impeachment vote and “asked her to resign.” Only 8 of the party’s 74 members voted against the resolution, (Source: “Wyoming’s GOP Censures Liz Cheney For Voting to Impeach Trump,” by John Ruwitch, NPR.com, 2/6/21). In Michigan, where far right militia members plotted to kidnap and murder Governor Gretchen Whitmer, the state GOP elected as party co-chairs, staunch Trump supporter, Ron Weiser and Meshawn Maddock, the radical right wing activist who sent busloads of Trump supporters to D.C. on January 6th, (Source: “Michigan Republicans choose U-M Regent Ron Weiser as party chair after bitter fight,” by Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press, 2/6/21).
The rot in the GOP goes far beyond Trump or the latest shiny objects like Marjorie Taylor Greene or Madison Cawthorn. The party is engaged in the wholesale project of dismantling democracy and entrenching minority rule, as evidenced by the introduction of 106 voter suppression bills in 28 states since the November election. Bills have been introduced in red states like Mississippi and Texas, swing states like Pennsylvania and even in blue states like New Jersey, (Source: “Voting Laws Roundup 2021,” Brennancenter.org, 1/26/21).
There is an inverse relationship between the outsized attention being paid to Marjorie Taylor Greene and her importance now that she has been booted from her committee assignments. Her only remaining power lies in her ability to use her perch as a Congressperson to promote her distorted and despicable views. The media shouldn’t help her by giving her a regular platform on the evening news, (Source: “The news media can’t ignore Marjorie Taylor Greene. Can they figure out how to cover her?” by Elahe Izadi, The Washington Post, 2/5/21).
Similarly, those of us watching cannot confuse our armchair outrage for activism. The real story is not what some wannabe demagogue said today, but what laws their less flashy counterparts are trying to pass. Instead of retweeting the latest Cawthorn claptrap, we should be pushing for the passage of the 406 pro-democracy voting bills pending in the states, as well as for the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the For the People Act in Congress. After all, what all of these tinpot authoritarians have in common is a thirst for attention and an aversion to actual labor. Rebuilding democracy is hard work. Let’s get to it.