From the ‘Big Tent’ to the ‘Big Lie’

The fallout from last week’s censure of Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger by the Republican National Committee is growing. Yesterday, more than 140 Republican leaders and former officials released a statement declaring their unified opposition to the RNC’s abominable decision. Though we proudly stand with Cheney and Kinzinger, the censure—and its characterization of the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol as “legitimate political discourse”—stretches far beyond these two public servants. The RNC has betrayed the Party of Lincoln by rejecting its founding principles and ceding control of a once-great movement to grifters and extremists. It has betrayed the nation by condoning conspiracies, lies, and violent insurrection—making an already polarized country more dangerous and less functional at a time of multiple crises. And it has betrayed every American who wants to preserve our democracy from authoritarians. The RNC has made clear which side it is on—and it's not on the side of Americans of conscience. We're building a new political home for Americans who refuse to sacrifice their independence or their commitment to the most basic principles on which American greatness is built in service to party or power. Keep an eye on this space. —Miles Taylor, Executive Director, Renew America Movement

• Biden says Nord Stream 2 pipeline won't go forward if Russia invades Ukraine —The Wall Street Journal

• Erik Prince helped raise money for conservative spy venture —The New York Times

• Biden’s top science adviser, Eric Lander, resigns amid reports of bullying —Politico

• Canada warns against ‘foreign interference’ after Republicans announce support for vaccine mandate protests —The Hill

• National Cathedral bell tolls for 900,000 U.S. COVID-19 deaths —PBS

We don’t even know you anymore

Some of the Republican National Committee’s once-strongest supporters are now some of its biggest critics, thanks to the organization’s censure of Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger over their participation in the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. About 140 Republican leaders and former officials have co-signed a statement condemning last week’s decision as well as the RNC’s framing of the investigation of the insurrection as “persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate discourse.” Michael Steele, former RNC chair and one the signatories, tweeted, “I am proud to stand with over 140 of my fellow Republican leaders and former officials of the GOP in condemning the censure of Rep. Liz Cheney and Rep. Adam Kinzinger. The RNC has declared insurrection as ‘legitimate political discourse’ and thereby made itself an outlaw of democracy.” —Axios

• Senate Republicans are not happy. Today, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell joined other Republican senators, including Bill Cassidy, Lisa Murkowski, and Mitt Romney, who’ve condemned the RNC for its description of the Jan. 6 assault. “We saw it happen,” McConnell said. “It was a violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after a legitimately certified election, from one administration to the next. That’s what it was.” He also said that “singling out members of our party who may have different views of the majority [is] not the job of the RNC.” —The New York Times

• McConnell echoed similar criticisms from the House. Republican Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler immediately pushed back against the RNC last week, releasing a statement that said, “Jan. 6 left the realm of legitimate political discourse when it became a violent riot at the U.S. Capitol. … I don’t support the censure of a Member of Congress for attempting to uncover the truth.” —The Seattle Times

• “Completely unmoored from the truth.” Kinzinger said yesterday that his censure proves that the RNC has “pledged allegiance” to Donald Trump “over any kind of principle,” including democracy itself. “Conservatism is no longer about what you actually believe. It's about how intensely you're loyal to Donald Trump,” he said, adding that “the party is not committed to the rule of law, despite what they say.” —Insider

MORE: Stephen Collinson: The Republican Party is enabling Trump's politics of violence —CNN

Rosenzweig: They know they’re wrong. They just don’t care

“The record is increasingly clear (in no small part thanks to the House select committee the RNC condemns) that Trump tried every trick in the book to stay in power illegally. He asked Georgia to cheat. His team filed fraudulent elector certificates. He considered forcing the NSA to dump raw data of foreign intelligence in a vain hope of proving interference. He thought of having the military take over. He asked Giuliani to ask DHS to seize voting machines. … [But] the members of the RNC are past caring. And the Trumpian Republican Party is beyond redemption. The RNC’s lickspittle condemnation of Cheney and Kinzinger for the sin of being committed to the truth is just the latest straw on top of an already broken camel’s back.” —Paul Rosenzweig on The Medium

Paul Rosenzweig is an author, adjunct law professor at George Washington University, senior editor of the Journal of National Security Law and Policy, and former deputy assistant secretary for policy at the Department of Homeland Security.

MORE: Capitol riot: Mike Pence’s stand for truth a lesson for GOP —National Review

Senate takes ‘Goldilocks’ approach on voting

“Trying to find what’s just right.” That’s how Sen. Lisa Murkowski described the Senate’s current approach to voting reform legislation. Democrats failed to pass sweeping changes, so now senators are targeting key reforms to the Electoral Count Act, election worker protections, and ballot safeguards. Democrats are calling for a rigorous amendment process, while Republicans are warning that any reforms must be narrow to win their support. Two Senate groups are trying to strike the right balance—one led by Sens. Dick Durbin, Amy Klobuchar, and Angus King, and a bipartisan group that includes Sens. Murkowski, Susan Collins, Thom Tillis, and Joe Manchin. So far, there’s been no bill text or hearings, but the two groups are expected to combine forces at some point to offer joint legislation. Stay tuned. —Axios

MORE: U.S. midterms: Activists brace for renewed fight over voting rights —Al Jazeera

Ed Board: Russia and China seek to make the world safe for dictatorship

“Not since the early Cold War and the alliance between Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong have Moscow and Beijing pledged so openly—and comprehensively—to cooperate in world affairs, during what the Xi-Putin joint statement called ‘a new era of rapid development and profound transformation.’ For perhaps the first time in modern history, the West faces a Russia-China pair, both of which are not only unremittingly hostile but also strong militarily, modern technologically, solvent economically, and stable politically. … Western democracies must be equally determined about countering them.” —The Washington Post

MORE: Russia and China unveil a pact against America and the West —The New Yorker

Focus on redistricting

In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday allowed a congressional map drawn by Alabama Republicans to remain in place. The order freezes a lower-court opinion by a panel of three judges that held that the map likely violates Sec. 2 of the Voting Rights Act, because it only includes one district where Black voters have the opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice. The lower court had ordered a new map to be drawn, but the SCOTUS ruling means the current map will be used for the state's upcoming primary, and will likely be in place for the entire 2022 election cycle. The justices will, however, hear arguments later regarding the scope of the related provision of the Voting Rights Act. —CNN

• North Carolina. Democrats have had better luck elsewhere. The North Carolina Supreme Court last week struck down Republican-drawn district lines and ordered the legislature to draw new boundaries that would give Democrats a better chance at winning seats in Congress. The original lines would have given Republicans control of at least 10 of the state's 14 U.S. House seats. —The Hill

• Ohio. For the second time, the Ohio Supreme Court yesterday rejected legislative maps that Republicans drew to disproportionately favor their candidates, sending mapmakers back to the drawing board again—and Ohio's primary into massive uncertainty. The court gave the commission until Feb. 17 to approve a new map that reflects the 54% Republican, 46% Democrat voting preferences split over the past decade. —The Columbus Dispatch

• Pennsylvania. A judge tasked by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court with recommending a new map for congressional districts selected the one that Republican lawmakers passed but Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed. Chosen over 12 other proposals submitted to the court, the map was previously introduced without input from Democrats, amended without advance public review, and passed in the face of opposition from Wolf, who criticized it as a partisan gerrymander. The ball is back in the high court now, as the justices are not bound by the judge’s recommendation, and can alter it, pick a different map from the proposals, or draw one of its own. —The Philadelphia Inquirer

MORE: Micheline Maynard: Why Michigan’s independent redistricting has both parties in an uproar —The Washington Post

Waldman: Casual lawbreaking could return to the White House in 2024

“[The Presidential Records Act] requires that almost all documents involving the president must be preserved, because they belong to the country; there is a whole system in place to process and maintain these records. But as president, Trump would routinely tear up documents. As The Post reports, ‘he did it all in violation of the Presidential Records Act, despite being urged by at least two chiefs of staff and the White House counsel to follow the law on preserving documents.’ While staffers from the White House Office of Records Management spent a good deal of their time trying to tape the shreds back together, in many cases Trump aides would put documents in burn bags and destroy them. … The important point is that Trump was repeatedly told he was breaking the law, yet he continued to do it.” —Paul Waldman in The Washington Post

Paul Waldman is a political columnist at The Washington Post.

MORE: National Archives had to retrieve Trump White House records from Mar-a-Lago —The Washington Post

It is clear the country needs a new party. Liz and Adam need a new party. Mitt needs a new party. Mindy and Evan need a new party. Our democratic institutions need a new party. Many current Republicans need a new party. Many independents need a new party. What are we waiting for? The Republican Party as constituted is not salvageable. —Ken G., Colorado

“Legitimate political discourse” of “ordinary citizens” is voting on Election Day, writing checks to candidates, testifying in committee hearings, and participating in peaceful gatherings within the bounds of the Constitution and the rule of law. Desecration of the temple of American Democracy by trying to undermine sacred electoral processes through threats and force shall never be acceptable. Demonization of our neighbors and envisioning our neighbors as enemies will tear the fabric of this democracy. The use of intimidation and manipulation undermines the very values the GOP of today claims to champion. Those principles still matter, including faith in the American Dream, but this path will not lead us there. —Leonard C., Texas

I always enjoy Bill T.’s commentary. At the end of a recent commentary, he posed the question, regarding Trump Patriots, “Don't you wish they could stick to one side of any story?” YES! Over the past few years I have often become exasperated by such mental gymnastics. Eventually I came to the conclusion that such behavior makes perfect sense from a certain perspective. These people no longer care about truth, justice, or the American way. They've given up on supporting our current system of government, writing it off as irredeemably consumed by a cabal. Their motives now are simply to foster chaos and division, in order to destroy the current government “cabal,” so that they may sweep in with their militias and rebuild from the ashes in their own image. Does this sound familiar to anyone else? —Taylor J., Idaho

The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Renew America Movement.