2022 Midterms Critical: Insurrection Unfolds and Texas GOP Responds with Extremism
With the 2022 midterms underway, the future of our Democracy is at stake. As the hearings of the January 6th insurrection develop with the findings of the Select Committee, we see the devastating effects of the Big Lie. The initial hearing of the January 6th Select Committee was chilling, and the facts continue to unfold as to just how close we were to losing our Democracy.
“January 6th and the lies that led to insurrection have put two and a half centuries of constitutional Democracy at risk. The world is watching what we do here. America has long been expected to be a shining city on a hill. A beacon of hope and freedom. A model for others—when we are at our best. How can we play that role when our house is in such disorder? – Chairman Thompson
The evidence is clear that the American people elected Joe Biden as the President of the United States. However, GOP extremists within the Republican Party still cling to this falsehood, which is a primary narrative for Trump-backed candidates in their campaigns. Rather than being a “beacon for hope and freedom,” the extremist continue to cling to this propaganda.
“Today, we’ll demonstrate the 2020 election was not stolen. The American people elected President Joe Biden. We’ll present evidence that Mr. Trump’s claims of election fraud were false, that he and his closest advisors knew those claims were false, but they continued to peddle them anyway, right up until moments before a mob of Trump supporters attacked the Capitol.- Representative Lofgren
The Big Lie is just that, a lie, and one that you would think the Republican Party as a whole would want to distance itself from. Not in Texas, as that falsehood has been written into the party platform by the Republican Party of Texas. As detailed by NPR, by maintaining that President Biden didn’t defeat former President Trump in 2020, Texas Republicans are perpetuating the lies and unsubstantiated claims about election fraud that fueled the January 6th insurrection. The very fabric of our Democracy was tested, and still, the extremist GOP in Texas continues to perpetuate this falsehood and adopt it.
The Texas GOP does not stop there with its extremism. As we celebrate PRIDE month and the beauty of our diversity, Mother Jones reported that thousands of the Texas Republican party members also voted on a state GOP platform that calls being gay an “abnormal lifestyle choice.” They reject the transgender identity and want to pass a “Don’t Say Gay Bill that is even stronger than Florida’s. The Texas GOP has put civil and human rights abuses targeted at the LGBTQ+ community in its platform.
In the wake of Uvalde, rather than heal their state, the Texas GOP extremist party adopted in their platform that any gun control legislation is a violation. Leaders should prioritize a future in which children can be safe in their schools, neighbors can go to their grocery stores, and people can go to their place of worship without fearing gun violence. There is no telling where the next attack will be without gun violence prevention. Thoughts and Prayers are not enough!
The platform continues by denying women their right to choose. Newsweek reported, “We urge lawmakers to enact legislation to abolish abortion by immediately securing the right to life protection of the laws to all preborn children from the moment of fertilization because abortion violates the US Constitution by denying such persons the equal protection of the law,” it states.” This expands on the previous heartbeat bill that bans abortion after six weeks. The time is now to enact federal legislation to protect women’s rights, especially since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade.
Intensifying voter suppression legislation, the Texas GOP wants to repeal the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This landmark civil rights legislation was supported by both Republicans and Democrats alike in 1965. This ACT was fought for by the champions of the Civil Rights Movement. This is a grave insult to the memory of those who came before us. The heroes who marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday fought tirelessly for their most fundamental right, the right to vote. All of this is to suppress the vote and disenfranchise those from voting who do not adhere to the GOP extremist point of view.
As our founding Fathers said, we have a Republic if we can keep it. The insurrection and far-right policies adopted by the Texas Republican Party shake the very foundation of our Democracy. The Texas GOP platform turns back the clock to dark days in our nation with blatant civil and human rights abuses. The tool that we have at our disposal is voting, and it is critical to get out and vote up and down the ballot for Democrats. We are deserving of a better Texas, one in which voting rights are a reality, and we can celebrate our diversity with pride. It is time we elect more democrats in the lone star state and enact voting rights, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights legislation, gun violence protection, and leaders who will uphold our Democracy. Please join us in our efforts at Rideshare2Vote as we work to increase voter participation among those who are the very target of voter suppression, removing transportation as a barrier to voting.
by Colleen Toumayan
