On Friday, voting rights activist Stacey Abrams shared a call to action for Americans after Senate Republicans blocked a bill that would have created an independent commission to investigate the Trump-inspired riot at the Capitol this past January. Because of procedural rules, the bill needed 60 votes in the 100-member chamber to move forward, and it only received 54, including the support of six Republicans.
Meanwhile, Abrams commented on Twitter as follows:
‘The January 6th attack was a warning. Today, Republicans block a bi-partisan investigation so they can defend the Big Lie & appease insurrectionists. And they’ve pushed 400+ anti-voter bills + new laws to subvert elections at the state level. We must defend our democracy. Now.’
The January 6th attack was a warning. Today, Republicans block a bi-partisan investigation so they can defend the Big Lie & appease insurrectionists. And they've pushed 400+ anti-voter bills + new laws to subvert elections at the state level. We must defend our democracy. Now.
— Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) May 28, 2021
It’s true — not only are Republicans blocking efforts to uncover and publicize the truth about the violence at the Capitol in January, they’re continuing to actively promote the falsehood that drove that violence. The rioters, who tried to stop the Congressional certification of Joe Biden’s election victory, operated under the pretense of Trump’s false claim that the election was somehow fixed for Biden. Republicans are still pushing the idea that there’s a legitimate reason to be concerned about the integrity of last year’s presidential election, and they’re using this lie as a cover for suppressive new election restrictions.
POLITICO recently reported how Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was concerned that creating the proposed commission could impede the GOP’s “midterm election message,” as the publication put it. McConnell wants to get away from Trump heading into the midterm elections, but the destruction for which the former president is responsible — and the broader Republican Party’s role in that — can’t be erased on a whim.
