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SAY THEIR NAMES – PART TWO

Almost two-thirds of United States Republican lawmakers voted to overturn the Electoral College votes from the states of Arizona and Pennsylvania on the basis of judicially debunked lies manufactured and propagated by President Donald Trump.  These lies were read into the Congressional record as the basis of these lawmakers’ objections.  Shockingly, these Republican Senators and Representatives voted to sustain the objections AFTER:

 

Shockingly, these Republican Senators and Representatives voted to sustain the objections AFTER:

·         a mob of Trump supporters had stormed and vandalized the Capitol,

·         which caused the building to be locked down

·         and required that they and their families (including V.P. Mike Pence, his wife, and his daughter, as well as V.P. elect Kamala Harris) be escorted to undisclosed locations for their safety, and

·         caused five people to lose their lives. 

At the end of the 5-hour siege, when the Capitol was swept for weapons and pipe bombs and the terrorists were removed so the legislators could safely return to the floor of the House, they could have said, “Hey, this is out of control.  Let’s rethink this.”  But they didn’t.  They went ahead with the charade.  They voted to disenfranchise millions of Americans who participated in what has been determined to have been the safest, most secure election in our history.

Apart from whatever legal consequences these elected officials may (and should) face, they can never be forgiven for endangering people’s lives and debasing the foundational principles of the American constitutional system embodied symbolically in the Capitol building itself and literally in its Constitution.  Their actions were selfish, mendacious, cynical, and antidemocratic.

I am grateful to the New York Times and the Washington Post for this roster of the 8 members of the Senate and the 139 members of the House who voted to sustain the objections to either or both the Arizona and Pennsylvania votes.   I will say their names.

SENATE (alphabetical by state)

Tommy Tuberville, Ala.

Rick Scott, Fla.

Roger Marshall, Kan.

John Kennedy, La.

Cindy Hyde-Smith, Miss.

Josh Hawley, Mo.

Ted Cruz, Texas

Cynthia Lummis, Wyo.

 

HOUSE (alphabetical by state)

Robert B. Aderholt, Ala.

Mo Brooks, Ala.  (the ringleader)

Jerry Carl, Ala.

Barry Moore, Ala.

Gary Palmer, Ala.

Mike Rogers, Ala.

Andy Biggs, Ariz.

Paul Gosar, Ariz.

Debbie Lesko, Ariz.

David Schweikert, Ariz.

Rick Crawford, Ark.

Ken Calvert, Calif.

Mike Garcia, Calif.

Darrell Issa, Calif.

Doug LaMalfa, Calif.

Kevin McCarthy, Calif. (minority leader)

Devin Nunes, Calif. (Medal of Freedumb recipient)

Jay Obernolte, Calif.

Lauren Boebert, Colo.

Doug Lamborn, Colo.

Kat Cammack, Fla.

Mario Diaz-Balart, Fla.

Byron Donalds, Fla.

Neal Dunn, Fla.

Scott Franklin, Fla.

Matt Gaetz, Fla. (Bootlicker extraordinaire)

Carlos Gimenez, Fla.

Brian Mast, Fla.

Bill Posey, Fla.

John Rutherford, Fla.

Greg Steube, Fla.

Daniel Webster, Fla.

Rick Allen, Ga.

Earl L. "Buddy" Carter, Ga.

Andrew Clyde, Ga.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ga. (Hey, Marj, check out your colleague, Jim “Jockstrap” Jordan)

Jody Hice, Ga.

Barry Loudermilk, Ga.

Russ Fulcher, Idaho

Mike Bost, Ill.

Mary Miller, Ill.

Jim Baird, Ind.

Jim Banks, Ind.

Greg Pence, Ind.   (Mikey doesn’t like it)

Jackie Walorski, Ind.

Ron Estes, Kan.

Jacob LaTurner, Kan.

Tracey Mann, Kan.

Harold Rogers, Ky.

Garret Graves, La.

Clay Higgins, La.

Mike Johnson, La.

Steve Scalise, La.  (I guess one brush with death just wasn’t enough)

Andy Harris, Md.

Jack Bergman, Mich.

Lisa McClain, Mich.

Tim Walberg, Mich.

Michelle Fischbach, Minn.

Jim Hagedorn, Minn.

Michael Guest, Miss.

Trent Kelly, Miss.

Steven Palazzo, Miss.

Sam Graves, Mo.

Vicky Hartzler, Mo.

Billy Long, Mo.

Blaine Luetkemeyer, Mo.

Jason Smith, Mo.

Matt Rosendale, Mont.

Dan Bishop, N.C.

Ted Budd, N.C.

Madison Cawthorn, N.C.

Virginia Foxx, N.C.

Richard Hudson, N.C.

Gregory F. Murphy, N.C.

David Rouzer, N.C.

Jeff Van Drew, N.J.

Yvette Herrell, N.M.

Chris Jacobs, N.Y.

Nicole Malliotakis, N.Y.

Elise M. Stefanik, N.Y.  (She was a furious defender of Trump during the impeachment)

Lee Zeldin, N.Y.

Adrian Smith, Neb.

Steve Chabot, Ohio

Warren Davidson, Ohio

Bob Gibbs, Ohio

Bill Johnson, Ohio

Jim Jordan, Ohio  (If Q is looking for possible pedophiles…)

Stephanie Bice, Okla.

Tom Cole, Okla.

Kevin Hern, Okla.

Frank Lucas, Okla.

Markwayne Mullin, Okla.

Cliff Bentz, Ore.

John Joyce, Pa.

Fred Keller, Pa.

Mike Kelly, Pa.

Daniel Meuser, Pa.

Scott Perry, Pa.

Guy Reschenthaler, Pa.

Lloyd Smucker, Pa.

Glenn Thompson, Pa.

Jeff Duncan, S.C.

Ralph Norman, S.C.

Tom Rice, S.C.

William Timmons, S.C.

Joe Wilson, S.C.

Tim Burchett, Tenn.

Scott DesJarlais, Tenn.

Chuck Fleischmann, Tenn.

Mark E. Green, Tenn.

Diana Harshbarger, Tenn.

David Kustoff, Tenn.

John Rose, Tenn.

Jodey Arrington, Texas

Brian Babin, Texas

Michael C. Burgess, Texas

John R. Carter, Texas

Michael Cloud, Texas

Pat Fallon, Texas

Louie Gohmert, Texas  (now known as Gomer Pile)

Lance Gooden, Texas

Ronny Jackson, Texas

Troy Nehls, Texas

August Pfluger, Texas

Pete Sessions, Texas

Beth Van Duyne, Texas

Randy Weber, Texas

Roger Williams, Texas

Ron Wright, Texas

Burgess Owens, Utah

Chris Stewart, Utah

Ben Cline, Va.

Bob Good, Va.

Morgan Griffith, Va.

Robert J. Wittman, Va.

Carol Miller, W.Va.

Alexander X. Mooney, W.Va.

Scott Fitzgerald, Wis.  (Shoulda stayed home and written a good book.)

Tom Tiffany, Wis.

By perpetrating the fiction--judicially rejected (over 60 times—twice by the Supreme Court!)--that the 2020 election was stolen, and by bringing that Big Lie conjured in the fevered brain of Donald Trump to the floor of the House for a vote, these legislators share responsibility not only for the death and mayhem unleashed at the Capitol, but also for the destruction of many Americans’ faith in their government.  As reported by Politico, citing a YouGov Poll, one in five voters, including 45% of Republican voters, approved of the storming of the Capitol.  Why?  Because they believed the Big Lie.

Propaganda of this magnitude simply cannot and must not be dismissed as fake news or sarcasm or “I guess Hawley and Cruz are running in 2024,” or “that’s just Trump just being Trump.” Propaganda is dangerous.  It destroys the truth and creates “alternative facts.”  If we cannot agree on the facts, we cannot have rational discourse, and if we cannot have rational discourse, we can neither govern nor be governed.  Discourse and compromise are the bedrock of democratic government.  They are how government works.


A casualty of propaganda’s destruction of truth is its erosion of trust, the sine qua non of consent.  As John Locke (1632-1704) wrote in his Second Treatise on Government, which greatly influenced the framers of our Constitution, the legitimacy of government derives from the consent of the governed.  When those who govern lie to their constituents, they destroy consent, because the victims of a lie cannot truly consent to it.  They can only truly consent to the truth.

By perpetrating the Big Lie, by destroying truth, and by mocking the consent of those who elected them, these Republicans deserve a place on the Wall of Shame.  I will remember their names and never forget or forgive the damage they have done.

Keep it real! 

Marilyn


 

 

 

Keep your republic, madam!  And proudly wear your damn mask!

 

 

Comments

  1. ZagJanuary 20, 2021 at 7:57 PM

    Beautifully written, Marilyn!
    Well done.
    Excellent speech by Joe, what a difference he's made already.
    Hope you're both well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MarilynJanuary 26, 2021 at 10:11 AM

      Thanks so much. Hope you're well, too. We're waiting for our shots and fighting the boredom with the knowledge that this isn't WWII. No one is dropping bombs on us or shooting at us, so get over it and get on with it.

      Delete
  2. Edited By David BennettJanuary 25, 2021 at 8:24 PM

    Marilyn, you summarized the outrage perfectly. In the USA, we have a significant population of people ( 40% or more) who support authoritarian, anti democratic points of view and candidates.

    The Lincoln Project is focused on targeting these seditionists in Congress, so I am continuing to send them money almost weekly to support their ads.

    It will be interesting to see how the impeachment trial is handled... I believe that the
    craven GOP politicians believe that there is more to gain supporting Trump, than any other position.

    Authoritarianism seems to be the norm for much of human history.... so I am not very optimistic about life here in the USA going forward. The economic and cultural divides is so huge, and growing. And Fox News and worse, will continue to feed their audience what they want to hear. I used to think " Sex Sells" but now I see that white male grievance, and hated has a reliable and very profitable audience.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MarilynJanuary 26, 2021 at 10:23 AM

      I think the US is in for a rough generation or two, but I do think the trend will be toward more small "d" democratic governance. I don't understand those Republicans who continue to hitch their political wagons to Trump. They are dreaming if they think they will capture Trump voters in 2022 and 2024. They will not. He's a political zombie who is already establishing a presidency-in-waiting at Mar-a-lago. I predict he'll push Ivanka for Senate from FL in 2022 and either run himself or Donny Jr. for president in 2024. If the traditional Republicans want to stake a claim to their party (and I hope they do!), they need to drive a stake through Trump's heart--conviction in the Senate. I think it likely they'll choke.

      Delete

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