A number of times on this blog I have pointed out how the actions of the Republican Party and their support of the Insurrection after January 6th meant that the party supports calls to terrorism and coup attempts as part of their political strategy.
Now, they have explicitly admitted it.
The Republican National Committee (the organization which administers the Republican Party) OFFICIALLY declared that they consider the events of January 6th a "legitimate political discourse".
They have fully acknowledged that COUP ATTEMPTS ARE A "LEGITIMATE" PART OF THEIR POLITICAL STRATEGY. Not just the Coup Vote--but the Insurrection itself--where Trumpists murdered and mutilated cops and nearly murdered politicians (including the Vice President). According to the Republican Party, the Insurrection itself is part of that "legitimate political discourse".
Again, this was obvious long before. But now they have explicitly admitted it. They are so sure they will face no consequences that they are willing to admit it to the entire world. They are willing to announce to the entire world that the US is in danger of imminent collapse from an impending coup attempt. ...The US has invaded other nations to "restore" their stability for far less.
No more excuses. Lock these LITERAL TERRORISTS up. One of our two political parties officially embraces terrorism and coup attempts. That is no longer just a "hot take" by bloggers and journalists--the Republican Party has formally admitted it themselves.
If the Democratic Party and so-called Justice Department do nothing against the Republican leaders who have EXPLICITLY embraced coup attempts and bloody insurrection as part of their OFFICIAL party strategy, then the Democratic Party is just as complicit in the treason as Republicans.
There is no turning back now. I've said it multiple times before, but there really is no conceivable way to turn back now. The Republican Party could have thrown Trump under the bus, even after years of supporting him. They even could have thrown the 147 treasonous politicians who voted to overthrow the government under the bus, even after years of supporting them.
But now the Republican Party itself has enshrined insurrection and coup attempts as part of their "legitimate political discourse". They are officially supportive of terrorism. There is no way to tip-toe around this. There is no legal justification for their continued existence as a political party now that they have once again issued their official support for seditious and treasonous acts, yet they continue to make our laws because the other political party is apparently in full support of the Republicans' goals...
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Buckle up. The Republican Party is not going to spare our lives the next time they launch a coup attempt. Days ago, Trump told his followers they need to launch insurrections more bloody than the one on January 6th in cities across the nation--and then he will pardon them once he takes power again... These terrorists are planning to slaughter every one of us.
We MUST prepare to defend ourselves from these terroristic plans. Non-treasonous Americans need to (legally) get armed NOW, train NOW, and organize with other non-treasonous Americans in our community NOW. It will be too late to defend ourselves if we wait.
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Here is the relevant portion of the Republican National Committee's censure of Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, released on February 4, 2022, where the party endorsed the tactic of insurrection.
This day and this document will go down in history as one of the gravest moments in US history... There is no turning back when one of our two major parties releases something so openly anti-American.
"WHEREAS, Winning back the majority in Congress, including the United States House of Representatives, in 2022 must be the primary goal of the House Republican Conference (“Conference”) and requires all Republicans working together to accomplish the same;
[...]
WHEREAS, The Conference must not be sabotaged by Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger who have demonstrated, with actions and words, that they support Democrat efforts to destroy President Trump more than they support winning back a Republican majority in 2022;
[...]
WHEREAS, Representatives Cheney and Kinzinger are participating in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse, and they are both utilizing their past professed political affiliation to mask Democrat abuse of prosecutorial power for partisan purposes, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Republican National Committee hereby formally censures Representatives Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and shall immediately cease any and all support of them as members of the Republican Party for their behavior which has been destructive to the institution of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Republican Party and our republic, and is inconsistent with the position of the Conference."
The entire (quite short) censure can be read below:
https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/rnc-censure-resolution/58226d40412e4f18/full.pdf
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/02/04/us/rnc-resolution-censure-cheney-kinziger.html
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Here is the New York Times article which went along with their publication of the resolution:
"The Republican Party on Friday officially declared the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and events that led to it “legitimate political discourse,” and rebuked two lawmakers in the party who have been most outspoken in condemning the deadly riot and the role of Donald J. Trump in spreading the election lies that fueled it.
The Republican National Committee’s voice vote to censure Representatives Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois at its winter meeting in Salt Lake City culminated more than a year of vacillation, which started with party leaders condemning the Capitol attack and Mr. Trump’s conduct, then shifted to downplaying and denying it.
On Friday, the party went further in a resolution slamming Ms. Cheney and Mr. Kinzinger for taking part in the House investigation of the assault, saying they were participating in “persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse.”"
After the vote to condemn Cheney, Kinzinger, and the January 6th Select Committee was released, Republican leaders quickly back-peddled to claim that they were only affirming their coup attempt, and not the Insurrectionists themselves. But they have fooled no one. They voted to officially affirm that investigating the Insurrection means "persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse."
They OFFICIALLY embraced the Insurrection as "legitimate political discourse". They cannot back-peddle on that without arresting all the Republicans who organized and supported the coup attempt and Insurrection.
"After the vote, party leaders rushed to clarify that language, saying it was never meant to apply to rioters who violently stormed the Capitol in Mr. Trump’s name.
“Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger crossed a line,” Ronna McDaniel, the Republican National Committee chairwoman, said in a statement. “They chose to join Nancy Pelosi in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens who engaged in legitimate political discourse that had nothing to do with violence at the Capitol.”
But the censure, which was carefully negotiated in private among party members, made no such distinction, nor is the House committee investigating the attack examining any normal political debate. It was the latest and most forceful effort by the Republican Party to minimize what happened and the broader attempt by Mr. Trump and his allies to invalidate the results of the 2020 election. In approving it and opting to punish two of its own, Republicans seemed to embrace a position that many of them have only hinted at: that the assault and the actions that preceded it were acceptable.
It came days after Mr. Trump suggested that, if re-elected in 2024, he would consider pardons for those convicted in the Jan. 6 attack and for the first time described his goal that day as subverting the election results, saying in a statement that Vice President Mike Pence “could have overturned the election.”
On Friday, Mr. Pence pushed back on Mr. Trump, calling his assertion “wrong.”
“I had no right to overturn the election,” Mr. Pence told the Federalist Society, a conservative legal organization, at a gathering in Florida.
[...]
“Shame falls on a party that would censure persons of conscience, who seek truth in the face of vitriol,” Senator Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah, wrote on Twitter “Honor attaches to Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for seeking truth even when doing so comes at great personal cost.”
He did not mention that the party chairwoman who presided over the meeting and orchestrated the censure resolution, Ms. McDaniel, is his niece.
The censure was also condemned by Senator Bill Cassidy, Republican of Louisiana, who, like Mr. Romney, voted to remove Mr. Trump from office for inciting insurrection on Jan. 6, and Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland, also a Republican, who called Friday “a sad day for my party — and the country.”
Republican National Committee members defended the measure, describing people who have been questioned by the Jan. 6 committee as victims in a broader Democratic effort to keep focus on the attack at the Capitol.
[...]
The Jan. 6 committee, which has seven Democratic members, has interviewed more than 475 witnesses, the vast majority of whom either volunteered to testify or agreed to without a subpoena. It has no prosecutorial powers, and is charged with drawing up a report and producing recommendations to prevent anything similar from happening again.
[...]
Democrats, however, were incensed at the resolution’s language.
“The Republican Party is so off the deep end now that they are describing an attempted coup and a deadly insurrection as political expression,” said Representative Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland and a member of the special House committee investigating the Capitol attack. “It is a scandal that historians will be aghast at, to think that a major political party would be denouncing Liz Cheney for standing up for the Constitution and not saying anything about Donald Trump’s involvement in the insurrection.”
[...]
The censure resolution was watered down from an initial version that called directly for the House Republican Conference to “expel” Ms. Cheney and Mr. Kinzinger “without delay.” That demand was dropped. However, the language condemning the attack on “legitimate political discourse” was then added."
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/04/us/politics/republicans-jan-6-cheney-censure.html
According to the New York Times article, the Republican Party's resolution would have originally expelled both Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger from the party immediately. They decided to remove that demand and affirm that the Insurrection was "legitimate political discourse" instead. ...That's even worse.
Expelling members of your party isn't a criminal act. But declaring that bloody coup attempts are "legitimate political discourse" is treasonous.
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Once again:
"Representatives Cheney and Kinzinger are participating in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse"
Here is the "legitimate political discourse" of January 6th:
Some modern artists literally smeared shit around the Capitol as part of their abstract, avant-garde "legitimate political discourse".
Someone disabled the panic buttons in Representative Ayanna Pressley's office immediately prior to the Insurrection as part of the preparations to have a "legitimate political discourse" with her.
Trump's lawyer (and coup organizer) Rudy Giuliani told Trump's followers they needed to have a "trial by combat" as part of their "legitimate political discourse".
Representative Lauren Boebert Tweeted Nancy Pelosi's location to Insurrectionists so they could find her and have a "legitimate political discourse" with her.
Boebert also gave people reconnaissance tours in the weeks prior to the Insurrection, presumably in order to show people the best places to have a "legitimate political discourse".
Trump delayed the National Guard, despite Republican politicians begging for their lives, so Insurrectionists could have more time to hold their "legitimate political discourse" with politicians trapped in the Capitol.
An Insurrectionist stole a computer from Nancy Pelosi's office and tried to sell it to the Russians, as part of the "legitimate political discourse".
Insurrectionists ransacked documents from unmarked offices that were difficult even for Capitol employees to find, demonstrating they were polite enough to plan ahead before they engaged in their "legitimate political discourse".
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Members of the far-right terrorist group Oath Keepers were charged with seditious conspiracy after engaging in a mere "legitimate political discourse". Court documents reveal they had weapon caches ready to be deployed as part of their "legitimate political discourse", and according to those same documents they wanted to a "civil war".
https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/13/politics/oathkeeper-rhodes-arrested-doj/index.html""We aren't going through this without civil war. Too late for that. Prepare your mind, body and spirit," Rhodes allegedly said in a November 5, 2020, Signal message. In December, Rhodes -- according to the indictment -- wrote of the electoral college certification that "there is no standard political or legal way out of this."
[...]
Additionally, the indictment says that Oath Keepers from three different states, including newly charged Edward Vallejo, stashed weapons in a Virginia hotel as part of a quick reaction force.
"[Quick reaction force] teams were prepared to rapidly transport firearms and other weapons into Washington, D.C., in support of operations aimed at using force to stop the lawful transfer of presidential power," the indictment said.
[...]
Those alleged discussions include a November readout that Caldwell reached out to provide Rhodes about a November 9 trip he had taken to DC to do recon for an upcoming "op." Communications about the "bloody" "fight" and "revolution" were accompanied by logistical planning, prosecutors alleged, with defendants discussing obtaining and bringing weapons to the Washington area. Rhodes allegedly spent thousands on firearms equipment en route to DC, prosecutors allege.
[...]
At the Capitol, some members moved in a military "stack" formation into the Capitol where they fought with police, and a small group unsuccessfully looked for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, according to court documents.
The plotting didn't end with the Capitol riot, prosecutors say, alleging Rhodes and other co-conspirators met in Virginia to "celebrate" the attack and "discuss next steps." In a Signal chat to other members of Oath Keepers leadership, Rhodes allegedly said that "Patriots entering their own Capitol to send a message to the traitors is NOTHING compared to what's coming."
In the week after the riot, Rhodes allegedly spent more than $17,500 on weapons, equipment, and ammunition."
This is all part of the "legitimate political discourse" according to the Republican Party.
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As the "legitimate political discourse" was still occurring, Trump told his followers:
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Over 140 police officers suffered injuries, including broken bones, gouged eyes, spinal injuries, and stab wounds as part of the "legitimate political discourse".
"“I have officers who were not issued helmets prior to the attack who have sustained head injuries,” Gus Papathanasiou, union chairman, said in a statement Wednesday. “One officer has two cracked ribs and two smashed spinal discs and another was stabbed with a metal fence stake, to name some of the injuries.”
[...]
At least 81 Capitol Police officers were assaulted during the siege of the Capitol, according to filings by federal prosecutors. The filings did not detail injuries sustained by officers, and a Capitol Police spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment on officer injuries.
About 65 D.C. police officers also suffered injuries on Jan. 6, including several concussions from head blows from various objects, including metal poles ripped from inauguration-related scaffolding and even a pole with an American flag attached, D.C. police officials have said. Other injuries included swollen ankles and wrists, bruised arms and legs, and irritated lungs from bear and pepper spray.
Reports say officers were pushed down stairs, trampled by rioters, punched and run over in a stampede.
“I’ve talked to officers who have done two tours in Iraq who said this was scarier to them than their time in combat,” acting D.C. police chief Robert J. Contee III said at a news conference earlier this month."
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The "ordinary citizens" included the chant "Hang Mike Pence" in their "legitimate political discourse", as well as constructing a gallows to "legitimately" hang him and other politicians. According to the video in the link, Insurrectionists were within literal seconds from coming into contact with Pence.
Trump agreed with the Republican Party that this was completely "legitimate political discourse":
"Karl then reminded Trump that some of his supporters involved in the violent attack were calling for Pence to be killed.
“Well, the people were very angry,” Trump said.
“They said, ‘hang Mike Pence,’” Karl told Trump.
“It’s common sense, Jon. It’s common sense that you’re supposed to protect,” Trump said. “How can you, if you know a vote is fraudulent, right, how can you pass on a fraudulent vote to Congress?”"
**
Capitol Police officer Briana Kirkland suffered a traumatic brain injury after encountering the "legitimate political discourse".
"US Capitol Police Officer Briana Kirkland is suing former President Donald Trump for the physical and emotional pain she endured, including a traumatic brain injury, because of the Capitol insurrection, according to a new filing in DC District Court.
Her complaint adds to other similar lawsuits, including from other police officers, seeking to hold Trump accountable for civil penalties in DC District Court. It describes in detail her movements and altercations with the crowd during some of the most intense moments at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021."
https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/06/politics/trump-capitol-police-lawsuit-january-6/index.html
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Metropolitan Police Department officer Daniel Hodges was crushed in a doorway after being pepper sprayed and having his eyes gouged.
Regarding Hodges's opinion on the "legitimate political discourse" he experienced: "If it wasn't my job, I would have done that for free. It was absolutely my pleasure to crush a White Nationalist insurrection."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eQoda_QLIA
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Retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Larry Brock and Eric Munchel brought zip tie handcuffs and searched through the Senate Chamber in order to take politicians hostage so they could engage them in a "legitimate political discourse".
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Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick was pepper sprayed multiple times during the Insurrection and apparently recovered. However, late in the evening Sicknick collapsed and was taken to a hospital, and the next day he was pronounced dead after having multiple strokes. Immediately after his death, both the Capitol Police and the Department of Justice attributed his death to injuries sustained during the "legitimate political discourse". After waiting an unusual over 100 days to release the results of the autopsy, the District of Columbia Chief Medical Officer confirmed that “all that transpired [on January 6th] played a role in his condition”. Despite these facts, Trumpists claim the "legitimate political discourse" had no contribution to Sicknick's death.
**
"Ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse" tried to take Metropolitan Police officer Michael Fanone's gun and chanted to kill him with it, while he begged for his life.
While engaged in the "legitimate political discourse", Fanone was tazed and beaten unconscious with a flag and other objects by "ordinary citizens", and he suffered a heart attack. Fanone was one of the officers who were dragged down the Capitol steps so the "ordinary citizens" could engage them in a "legitimate political discourse".
"The day Fanone was dragged down the Capitol’s marble stairs, beaten with pipes and poles, tear-gassed and stun-gunned. The day he pleaded for his life as they threatened to shoot him with his own gun, telling the rioters he had kids, until they relented and spared him.
[...]
An officer yelled, “Knife!” and Albright turned to his left, away from Fanone, to grab the weapon. When he turned back Fanone was gone.
He was out in the crowd, surrounded by rioters. They dragged him face first down the stairs and punched and kicked and beat him. They ripped off his badge and took his radio. One kept lunging for his weapon. Someone was yelling: “Kill him with his own gun!” Fanone felt an excruciating pain at the base of his skull—the taser—and cried out, but he couldn’t hear himself scream. The rioters seemed intent on torturing him. He thought about pulling his gun. He would be justified in defending himself, but then what? He thought of his daughters. He didn’t want to die. “I’ve got kids!” he cried.
A couple of rioters surrounded him, fighting off others. “Bring him up, bring him up,” one said. “Don’t hurt him,” said another. “Which way do you want to go?”
“I want to go back inside,” he whimpered, and that’s the last thing he remembers. The rioters lofted his limp, unconscious body to the doorway—the battle line. Albright grabbed him and pulled him back through the phalanx."
See link for the full six-minute interview with Fanone: https://time.com/6087577/michael-fanone-january-6-interview/
Six minutes of the body cam footage of Fanone being engaged with "legitimate political discourse" can be watched below. The camera quality and angle is poor, but the audio of the incident is enough to give you a taste of the "legitimate political discourse" that Fanone found himself engaged in.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/12/politics/dc-police-officer-fanone-bodycam-footage-cnntv/index.html
Unidentified officer who was beaten and dragged into the treasonous mob group of "ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse".
https://lite.cnn.com/en/article/h_d06ae7cb361037a8126a7cd1d93e1590"At the entrance of the tunnel, rioter and QAnon supporter Rosanne Boyland lay on the ground. She had died of an accidental overdose, according to DC's chief medical examiner. Heeding her friends' call for help, prosecutors say two officers waded into the crowd to help Boyland.
The two officers were knocked down and dragged into the mob where they were viciously beaten with an upside-down American flag and other weapons. The attack landed one officer in the hospital with staples in his head to stop the bleeding, and the other with injuries to his face and shoulder according to court documents.
[...]
Albuquerque Head, who allegedly dragged Fanone out into the crowd, has also been charged in the attack. So has Daniel Rodriguez, who prosecutors say tased Fanone in the neck. They, too, have pleaded not guilty.
Jeffrey Sabol, Jack Whitton and Ronald McAbee are part of an indictment with six other rioters who allegedly worked together to drag officers into the crowd. Whitton later boasted to friends, saying that "I fed him to the people," referring to the officer, according to court filings. They haven't yet entered a formal plea."
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...And the so-called Justice Department continues to refuse to do its duty and arrest the terrorists who organized and incited the coup attempt. And the Democratic Party refuses to uphold the Constitution and expel all the Republican terrorists who violated the 14th Amendment...
Each day they fail to act, the stakes get higher. Each day they refuse to act, the Republican Party becomes more and more open in its criminal behavior. Hell, Trump was even willing to confess he really did want to overturn the legal result of the election, and not merely pursue "legal remedies" for an election he "won".
In the same speech, Trump told his followers they need to launch a nation-wide insurrection larger than January 6th in every US city if Republicans face any legal consequences from the coup attempt.
This can only mean one thing--a full-out civil war, just like certain Republican politicians and far-right militias had already been promising for over a year.
The Republican Party is not going to spare our lives the next time they launch a coup attempt. They will slaughter every last one of us.
We need to get armed NOW, train NOW, and organize with other non-treasonous Americans in our community NOW.
If we wait, it will be too late.
We are not safe. Our government is on the brink of collapse and will not be able to protect us from being slaughtered if they can't even enforce the most basic aspects of the Constitution...
We need to (legally) get armed NOW, train NOW, and organize with other non-treasonous Americans in our community NOW. We need to be prepared to defend ourselves and our community when these terrorists come to slaughter us.
Trump has promised a full pardon to anyone participating in his civil war, and the Republican Party has OFFICIALLY declared that bloody insurrections and coup attempts are indeed part of their political strategy. We are not safe. We have to take this seriously, because they will show no mercy next time.
