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New from me: Members of Congress and State Legislators aren't safe at work. Some of their own colleagues are to blame, and American Democracy can't function again until we expel extremist electeds from our legislatures. https://medium.com/@melissaryan/congress-and-statehouses-arent-safe-blame-extremist-electeds-28e8476f7a82
After I finished setting up the newsletter today, this news broke. Expect to see more stories like it over the coming weeks and months. https://www.michiganadvance.com/2021/01/17/new-michigan-gop-senate-leader-advised-militias-on-messaging-says-theyve-gotten-a-bad-rap/
Two things that really brought this week's newsletter into focus for me. First, this article from NBC News. Specifically the headline. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/some-democrats-congress-are-worried-their-colleagues-might-kill-them-n1254319
Second, this quote from @aoc. “There were QAnon and white supremacist sympathizers, and frankly white supremacist members of Congress, in that extraction point who I have felt would disclose my location and would create opportunities to allow me to be hurt, kidnapped, etc.”
Multiple members of Congress have joined AOC in speaking out about the danger they faced and the NYT reports that the GAO "has signaled that it would open an investigation that would examine what roles members of Congress might have played.” https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/13/us/lawmakers-capitol-aoc-boebert.html
There’s growing evidence to suggest that some members of the GOP House Caucus were potentially involved in planning the coup, or at the very least the Trump rally that led to it.
The Intercept reports that Ali Alexander, a lead organizer of the event on the 6th, said on 3 live streams in December that Freedom Caucus Chair Congressman Andy Biggs along with Congressmen Paul Gosar and Mo Brooks was also involved in planning the event. https://theintercept.com/2021/01/11/capitol-plot-andy-biggs-paul-gosar/
It doesn’t help matters that the GOP caucus are completely uninterested in their colleagues’ safety concerns.
Before the coup, Republican electeds fanned the flames spreading election fraud conspiracy theories that they knew not to be true, and encouraging Trump’s supporters to fight for a cause they knew was unwinnable. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/11/us/politics/republicans-capitol-riot.html
Hours after the attempted coup, 2 Senators and 121 members of Congress voted not to certify the election. Two members of Congress, Mo Brooks, and Madison Cawthorn spoke at the same rally where Trump incited the coup.
Despite all of this, to the best of my knowledge, not one Republican member has publicly apologized or expressed remorse for their actions, or even acknowledged how said actions put their colleagues in danger.
Here’s an even bigger problem: state legislators across the country also aren’t safe in their state capitol buildings across the country.
Because, like members of Congress, their colleagues have been deeply invested in the unrest, spreading election fraud conspiracies, attempting to have the elections in their state overturned, participating in far-right protests at home, and taking part in the attempted coup.
Governors in all 50 states are now preparing for potential events that mirror what happened in DC at state capitals next week, and it’s unknown how many state lawmakers across the country are sympathetic to the cause or might be active participants. https://www.vox.com/22230932/trump-riots-capitol-biden-inauguration-states
This isn’t sustainable. Elected officials can’t realistically govern alongside those who support sedition, or who would put their personal safety at risk. Democracy won’t survive a critical mass of elected officials who seek to dismantle it rather than participate.
And again, no one who works at the U.S. Capitol or a state capitol building in any capacity should have to deal with this at their workplace.
I’ve written extensively about far-right infiltration of the GOP and far-right candidates and electeds, but I’ve come to realize that even I’ve underestimated the threat.
Because while I foresaw far-right and conspiracy voting blocs, I didn’t fully consider how much damage a small minority of extremist electeds could do to undermine a legislature’s ability to function simply by making their colleagues feel unsafe and sowing constant distrust.
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