The Republican National Committee has voted “overwhelming” to pass a resolution that officially declares the January 6, 2021 insurrection “legitimate political discourse,” causing one well-known and respected democracy expert to declare them “off the rails.”
The resolution, which was passed via voice vote so no official record of the 168 RNC members would be recorded, was drafted to censure GOP Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol as part of the bipartisan House Select Committee.
“On Friday,” The New York Times reports, the RNC slammed “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.'”
It was an extraordinary statement about the deadliest attack on the Capitol in 200 years, in which a mob of Mr. Trump’s supporters stormed the complex, brutalizing police officers and sending lawmakers into hiding. Nine people died in connection with the attack and more than 150 officers were injured. The party passed the resolution without discussion and almost without dissent.
The resolution was approved by RNC chair Ronna McDaniel (photo) and submitted by Trump “dirty trickster” and GOP “shady partisan hit man” David Bossie, of dark money Citizens United fame. It also makes false claims about President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats.
Democracy expert and Harvard professor Daniel Ziblatt, author of the New York Times bestseller “How Democracies Die,” issued a warning on social media:
“I have spent alot of my career studying what happens when conservatives fully go off the rails. This is one of those moments.”