Dear fellow MoveOn member,
My friends, I don't need to tell you we are living in a time of
increasingly virulent politics and violent political threats, perpetrated
in and by the Republican Party.
Just minutes after the U.S. House formally censured Representative Paul
Gosar yesterday for posting an animated video on his official
congressional social media accounts in which he assassinates
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and attacks President Joe Biden,
Gosar retweeted the violent video.^1 Only two House Republicans joined
Democrats to censure Gosar, who had defended his video by saying it
"symbolizes the battle for the soul of America."^2
The New York Times reports that at a conservative rally in western Idaho
last month, a young man stepped up to a microphone to ask when he could
start killing Democrats. "When do we get to use the guns?" he said as the
audience applauded. "How many elections are they going to steal before we
kill these people?" The local state representative, a Republican, later
called it a "fair" question.^3
Republicans who break party ranks and defy Trump have come to expect death
threats—often fueled by their own colleagues who have denounced them as
traitors. The 13 House Republicans who voted last week for President
Biden's infrastructure bill are getting death threats—such as a caller who
told Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois to slit his wrists and "rot
in hell"—and party leaders are calling for them to be stripped of their
committee assignments ... because they voted for a bill that invests in
roads, bridges, and broadband in their communities.^4,5
This is the modern Republican Party, and we cannot allow them back into
power. Not this Republican Party. Ever.
Control of the House and Senate are up for grabs in the midterm elections
next year, and every single indicator of who will win those
elections—presidential approval, gerrymandering, the generic congressional
ballot (which asks people if they'd choose a Republican or Democrat to
represent them in Congress), special elections, retirements, and candidate
recruitment—is pointing in the wrong direction.
Let's be clear: We have a path to win. It's turning out the 26 million
people who did not vote in 2016 but voted for Biden in 2020. But it's an
uphill battle, John, and we have to get serious right now to be
able to make it happen.
And that's why I'm writing to you today. MoveOn is building a war chest to
replicate the grassroots get-out-the-vote effort that was so successful in
2020.
Can you chip in $5 a month to MoveOn to help stop the Trump
Republican Party from winning control of the House and Senate in 2022?
[ [link removed] ]Yes, I'll chip in monthly.
[ [link removed] ]No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
Unless those at the highest levels of government who foment or encourage
violence—or those who remain conspicuously silent—are held accountable, no
one in political life will be safe.
According to The New York Times, violent threats against lawmakers are on
track to double this year.^6
GOP Representative Fred Upton of Michigan has received multiple death
threats in the days since he voted for President Biden's infrastructure
bill. One caller left a voicemail saying, "You're a f---ing piece-of-s---
traitor. I hope you die." The man went on to say he hopes Upton's family
and his entire staff die.^7
This is today's Republican Party. We have to be clear-eyed about it,
John.
Imagine what members of Congress like Marjorie Taylor Greene would do if
Republicans had the majority and the power to subpoena witnesses. Or what
senators like Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz would do if they were allowed to
chair committee hearings.
We could see the racist lies and conspiracy theories currently confined to
fringe corners of the internet thrust into the halls of Congress and given
official legitimacy. The election fraud lies that sparked the January 6
white supremacist attack on the U.S. Capitol would be once again lifted up
front and center at the highest levels of our government.
We must do everything we can to make sure these people are never allowed
back in power.
Please, will you start a $5 monthly donation to help
support MoveOn's campaign to stop Republicans from taking back control of
Congress? Every sustaining donation helps.
[ [link removed] ]Yes, I'll chip in.
[ [link removed] ]No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
I remain hopeful because of you and what we can make happen, if we come
together starting right now.
Thanks for all you do.
–Robert Reich
Sources:
1. "Minutes After Being Censured, Gosar Retweets Offending Ocasio-Cortez
Video," Newsweek, November 17, 2021
[link removed]
2. "Republican Rep. Paul Gosar facing Wednesday censure vote after he
posted violent video," USA Today, November 16, 2021
[link removed]
3. "Menace Enters the Republican Mainstream," The New York Times, November
12, 2021
[link removed]
4. "House Republicans Who Backed Infrastructure Bill Face Vicious
Backlash," The New York Times, November 10, 2021
[link removed]
5. "Mark Meadows says the 13 House Republicans who backed the $1.2
trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill should 'absolutely' lose their
committee assignments," Insider, November 10, 2021
[link removed]
6. "Menace Enters the Republican Mainstream," The New York Times, November
12, 2021
[link removed]
7. "GOP Rep. Fred Upton receives death threats after voting for bipartisan
infrastructure deal," The Washington Post, November 10, 2021
[link removed]
Want to support MoveOn's work? The GOP is launching an all-out campaign to
take down the Democratic majority in Congress and reinstall Mitch
McConnell as Senate majority leader in 2022. To defeat the GOP, MoveOn is
going all-in with TV ads, a nationwide grassroots organizing campaign, and
more.
Will you chip in to power MoveOn's effort to defeat McConnell and the GOP
in 2022?
[ [link removed] ]Yes, I'll chip in $5 a month.
[ [link removed] ]No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
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