On the first anniversary of the January 6 attack on the Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) — who was one of seven Republican Senators to vote in favor of convicting Trump on an impeachment charge of incitement of insurrection after that riot — laid out an urgent push for truth. The issues that were represented by the attack on the Capitol extend well beyond the incident itself, encompassing things like the bulk of the Republican Party’s rejection of reality regarding the documented security of the 2020 presidential election and the willingness of some in power to excuse the violence that unfolded.
“He built his lie over many months
“He’s not just a former president, he’s a defeated former president
“Defeated by 7 million of your votes in a free and fair election.”
President Biden on Donald Trump, 1/6/2022
— Kasie Hunt (@kasie) January 6, 2022
As Romney put it on Thursday:
‘Today, we call to mind the memory of those who were tragically lost on the 6th and in the following days, and we reflect with gratitude on the heroic efforts of those who protected the U.S. Capitol and all of us inside the building. It is because of their courage that Congress ultimately fulfilled its responsibility to count the [electoral] votes and that the transfer of power continued unimpeded.’
Poignantly, he added as follows:
‘We ignore the lessons of January 6 at our own peril. Democracy is fragile; it cannot survive without leaders of integrity and character who care more about the strength of our Republic than about winning the next election. I said last year that the best way we can show respect for voters who are upset is by telling them the truth. The responsibility that elected officials have in this regard is fundamental to reversing the malaise gripping our current politics and ensuring that our democracy endures.’
Check out Romney’s statement below:
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) January 6, 2022
Trump continues to falsely claim that the 2020 presidential election was somehow stolen from him, although no legitimate evidence of this notion has ever emerged. No court has ever accepted the idea, and officials on both the federal and state levels have rejected the allegation that there was any kind of systematic fraud that could’ve changed the outcome. As for Romney’s reference to the place for acknowledging these facts, he’s not exactly representing the bulk of the GOP. In the House, Republican members including Reps. Liz Cheney (Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), both of whom are serving on the committee investigating the Capitol riot, have made their own opposition to Trump’s lies clear — with Cheney repeatedly insisting that Trump must be kept from regaining the presidency, if he runs again (which seems likely).
Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ted Cruz, Matt Gaetz, etc aren't fringe. They represent the new Republican mainstream, where loyalty to Trump is more important than loyalty to country and preserving power matters more than preserving democracy.
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) January 6, 2022
