Photos: YouTube
The Lincoln Project today released the following statement on the 100th day since former President Trump encouraged a mob of radicalized extremists to storm the U.S. Capitol.
The statement is part of a bigger campaign to remind Americans that the insurrection can and will happen again unless the Republicans responsible for spreading the “big lie” and trying to overturn the election are held accountable for their actions.
As part of this campaign, The Lincoln Project today also released this new ad that is running in Washington, DC, and will tweet a timeline of events from January 6th, 2021 in real time.
“January 6, 2021 was a horrific day for democracy. Never before in American history has an American president encouraged a mob to overthrow our government and kill our leaders to overturn an election in an attempt to retain power. That should never happen in a democratic society with free and fair elections.
“The insurrectionists, the Sedition Caucus, and former President Trump took a fundamental piece of who we are and soiled it. They desecrated our image of ourselves and our neighbors. They left us shell shocked, terrified, raw, and exposed on a global stage. They were not ‘patriots’ as they like to refer to themselves. No, these were treasonous anarchists who had spent years being brainwashed by a narcissistic, inept, wannabe dictator who used them to stroke his own ego.
“Despite overwhelming evidence that the insurrection was encouraged by Donald Trump, his enablers in Congress, and the far right media, the Republican party refuses to hold any of them accountable, going as far as to falsely blame the Democrats for the events of that day. In doing so, Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy have sent a very loud message to the American people that they have no problem with the use of violence, as long as it is used to protect their power.
“The Republican party is indisputably in coalition with and morally compromised by radicalized extremist groups like the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, and other violent groups who openly and unapologetically embrace national populism. In March, 12 Republicans in the House of Representatives voted against a resolution honoring Capitol Police officers who defended the grounds during the rampage. According to a recent poll, while 59% of all Americans say Trump bears some responsibility for the attack, only three in 10 Republicans agree and six in ten Republicans still believe the election was stolen from Donald Trump. Eighty percent of Republicans still hold a favorable opinion of Donald Trump.
“In recent months, the Republican party has doubled down on the racism and authoritarianism we saw on display on January 6. The GOP has shown their willingness to lie and cheat to preserve power and have filed 361 bills in 47 states to attempt to suppress voter turnout and silence the voices of people of color. Mitch McConnell has threatened corporations who have spoken out against voter suppression. The Republican party is not even attempting to disguise who they really are any longer.
“There is no place for this iteration of the Republican party in a democratic nation. Nationalism, authoritarianism, totalitarianism, and fascism are the enemies of patriotism and it is on all of us to rid our nation of those cancers. A nation governed by fear, intimidation, and hate cannot survive.
“The insurrection can and will happen again if we are not constantly vigilant. The powers that stoked the violence 100 days ago have not disappeared. They are still in power, on television, and spreading the dangerous propaganda to their base that led to the attack on our Capitol that left five people dead. We cannot sleep on this.
“No one ever said this fight would be short or easy. Nothing worth fighting for ever is. We must all commit to never forget the violence of January 6, 2021. It is vital that we press on and fight radical extremism on all fronts. Without Americans rising up against extremism, we are one election away from forever losing the very principles that founded this nation.”
