Kurt Meyer writes a weekly column for the Nora Springs – Rockford Register, where this essay first appeared. He serves as chair of the executive committee (the equivalent of board chair) of Americans for Democratic Action, America’s most experienced liberal organization.
I have a longstanding appreciation for words and their power, probably not surprising coming from someone who scratches out a weekly column. I recall when we were parents of young children, we often urged our kids to “use your words” in an ongoing effort to determine what they were thinking and feeling. Generally, the parental alternative was guessing… and I’m not an especially good guesser.
Starting in high school, and on into college, I was involved in a student-led organization that used words to create resolutions, outlining what we wanted to see happen, beginning with a series of “whereas” statements and culminating in “therefore, be it resolved…” (followed by several sentences stating the desired outcome). It was using our words to reveal our thinking and to outline an organizational direction. Of course, the action/doing part was always a bit more difficult.
Last week, the governing body of the Republican Party met and passed a “whereas/therefore” resolution. By voice vote, they censured two Republican members of the U.S. House, Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, who serve on the House select committee investigating January 6 events and related activities. This committee is charged with determining steps that should be taken to prevent future attacks on the Capitol.
I read over the resolution; it’s enclosed in full below. I disagree with it, although I admit, it’s reasonably well crafted, consistent with a mindset that emanates from Congressional Republicans. Presumably, someone spent several hours drafting it, placing it on the agenda, and having it approved by party leaders.
Minimal sleuthing (several clicks) revealed the author as David Bossie, a former Trump campaign official who had a falling out with the Trump organization in May 2019, after being accused by the IRS of defrauding political donors (basically, funneling campaign donations to himself through consultants and book sales). By January 2020, however, he had returned to “Team Trump,” assisting in the former president’s first impeachment battle.
But, back to the topic at hand. The ninth and last “whereas” stopped me:
Whereas, Representatives Cheney and Kinzinger are participating in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse…
I really don’t care that these House members were censured by their party. I care greatly, however, that what transpired on January 6 not be portrayed as “legitimate political discourse.”
Violence is not legitimate political discourse. Breaking and entering, as people did that day, is not legitimate political discourse. Defacing and destroying government property, a seat of decision-making and authority, is not legitimate political discourse. Bringing about the deaths of people attempting to maintain some semblance of order is not legitimate political discourse.
A Washington Post report published last month referred to the events of January 6 as
a rampage inside the U.S. Capitol, when a pro-Trump mob… vandalized the home of Congress in the worst desecration of the complex since British forces burned it in 1814. Five people died in the Jan. 6 attack or in the immediate aftermath, and 140 police officers were assaulted.
The consequences of that day are still coming into focus, but what is already clear is that the insurrection was not a spontaneous act nor an isolated event. It was a battle in a broader war over the truth and over the future of American democracy.
Meanwhile, the wheels of justice continue to grind and groan. At this writing, federal prosecutors have charged 734 people with crimes ranging from misdemeanors to seditious conspiracy; 165 individuals have pleaded guilty.
Thirteen months ago, an angry, violent mob descended on our Capitol and attempted to overturn the presidential election results. Many of those individuals engaged in lawlessness, plain and simple; the process of separating the guilty from innocent bystanders (if any) requires considerable care and time.
If this is indeed a battle over truth and the future of American democracy, I know which side I’m on. In addition to “use your words,” there’s something else we often told our children: “tell the truth.” For our country’s future, it’s time we all recommit to these two timeless guidelines.
Appendix: Full text of resolution the Republican National Committee approved on February 4
RESOLUTION TO FORMALLY CENSURE LIZ CHENEY AND ADAM KINZINGER AND TO NO LONGER SUPPORT THEM AS MEMBERS OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
WHEREAS, The primary mission of the Republican Party is to elect Republicans who support the United States Constitution and share our values;
WHEREAS The Biden Administration and Democrats in Congress have embarked on a systematic effort to replace liberty with socialism; eliminate border security in favor of lawless, open borders create record inflation designed to steal the American dream from our children and grandchildren; neuter our national defense and a peace through strength foreign policy; replace President Trump’s “ Operation Warp Speed” with incompetence and illegal mandates; and destroy America’s economy with the Green New Deal;
WHEREAS, Winning back the majority in Congress, including the United States House of Representatives, in 2022 must be the primary goal of the House Republican Conference (“Conference”) and requires all Republicans working together to accomplish the same;
WHEREAS, The Conference must design the strategy to stop the radical Biden agenda and retire Nancy Pelosi, tasks which require that all Republicans pull in the same direction;
WHEREAS, The Conference must not be sabotaged by Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger who have demonstrated , with actions and words , that they support Democrat efforts to destroy President Trump more than they support winning back a Republican majority in 2022;
WHEREAS, Representatives Cheney and Kinzinger have engaged in actions in their positions as members of the January 6th Select Committee not befitting Republican members of Congress, which include the Committee’s disregard for minority rights, traditional checks and balances, due process, and adherence to other precedent and rules of the U.S. House and which seem intent on advancing a political agenda to buoy the Democrat Party’s bleak prospects in the upcoming midterm elections;
WHEREAS, Congressional Republicans bear ultimate responsibility for their own success or failure and the RNC supports their efforts by denouncing those who deliberately jeopardize victory in November on which the future of our constitutional republic depends at this critical moment in history;
WHEREAS, Representatives Cheney and Kinzinger purport to be members of the Republican Party; and
WHEREAS, Representatives Cheney and Kinzinger are participating in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse, and they are both utilizing their past professed political affiliation to mask Democrat abuse of prosecutorial power for partisan purposes, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Republican National Committee hereby formally censures Representatives Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and shall immediately cease any and all support of them as members of the Republican Party for their behavior which has been destructive to the institution of the U.S. House of Representatives , the Republican Party and our republic, and is inconsistent with the position of the Conference.
Top image: Trump supporters outside the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Photo by Sebastian Portillo available via Shutterstock.