One of two Republicans on the January 6 Committee, Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) tweeted out perhaps the biggest questions swirling around the Republican House members now. They were about the Buffalo Shooting and the GOP House leadership after it booted Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) from her leadership role. Donald Trump-endorsed Elise Stefanik (R-NY) took her job.
The Buffalo, New York shooting was a “racially-motivated execution by …an 18-year-old White man.” He live-streamed his attack with the purpose of kicking “off a race war,” according to ABC News.
Representative Adam Kinzinger’s (R-IL) tweet had some big questions:
- ‘Will Stefanik address the Buffalo Shooting at the GOP press conference?
- Why is Stefanik okay but Cheney was not?
- Why will there be no follow-up until these questions are answered?
- Why Republicans will be held to this subject until they get an answer?
- Why Republicans will be held to these questions until they get an answer?’
The shooter included the far-right’s Republican Replacement Conspiracy Theory in his 180-page internet proclamation. Representative Kinzinger tweeted:
‘Will @GOPLeader and @EliseStefanik address the Buffalo shooting at their press conference today? Why @EliseStefanik is ok but @Liz_Cheney wasn’t? Asking for the media types who will ask, then there will be no follow up. No different subject or question till this is answered.’
- ‘Did the House know that Stefanik favored Republican Replacement Theory?
- Will the House leadership ask her about it?
- Will the House leadership say whether they believe in White Replacement Theory?’
‘Did you know: @EliseStefanik pushes white replacement theory? The #3 in the house GOP. @Liz_Cheney got removed for demanding truth. @GOPLeader should be asked about this.’
Representative Cheney pointed out “a parallel between those beliefs and the behavior of some fellow conservatives:”
‘The House GOP leadership has enabled white nationalism, white supremacy, and anti-semitism. History has taught us that what begins with words ends in far worse. @GOP leaders must renounce and reject these views and those who hold them.’
Stefanik issued a Facebook ad for her reelection, which launched last August. According to Facebook, the ad reached hundreds of thousands of people:
‘Radical Democrats are planning their most aggressive move yet: a PERMANENT ELECTION INSURRECTION. Their plan to grant amnesty to 11 MILLION illegal immigrants will overthrow our current electorate and create a permanent liberal majority in Washington.’
Representative Elise Stefanik’s hometown newspaper, The Albany Times Union ran an opinion piece entitled “How low, Miss Stefanik?” The point of it was that she believed in the Republican “Replacement Theory.
Anti-defamation League (ADL) describes the Republican Replacement Theory as originating from “The Great Replacement,” which arose from French writer Renaud Camus’ 2012 book which read:
‘[Europe being]overrun by mass migration of black and/or Muslim immigrants from outside Europe, who would replace traditional European culture with their own “alien” culture.’
That morphed into a slogan ‘You Will Not Replace Us” used by a long line of far-right neo-Nazi White American men carrying tiki torches in Charlottesville, Virginia and shouting it into the night in a truly terrifying sight.
The editorial board had focused on Stefanik’s “despicable” Facebook ads:
‘[They] echoed elements of “replacement theory.” Her ads didn’t mention the conspiracy theory by name, but they insisted, in part, that Democrats were looking to grant citizenship to immigrants who entered the country illegally in order to somehow gain an enduring majority — or, in Stefanik’s words, a “permanent election insurrection.”‘
Stefanik’s office said:
‘[A]ny link between her past comments and the shooting was a “new disgusting low” for Democrats and “Never Trump” Republicans as well as the media.’
Her Senior Adviser Alex DeGrasse released a statement that read:
‘Despite sickening and false reporting, Congresswoman Stefanik has never advocated for racist position or made a racist statement. The shooting was an act of evil and the criminal should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.’
DeGrasse said:
‘[Stefanik] opposes mass amnesty for illegal immigrants …. She strongly supports legal immigration and is one of the national leaders credited with diversifying the Republican Party through candidate recruitment and messaging.’
Featured image is a screenshot via YouTube.
Three White Lions podcast, Gloria Christie reads her week’s most important news/ commentary stories in the liberal online newspaper The Bipartisan Report. Gloria Christie Report her newsletter for people on the go. Written in her own unique style with a twist of humor in a briefer version of Bipartisan Report. Christie’s Mueller Report Adventures In Bite-Sizes a real-life compelling spy mystery. Find her here on Facebook.
