The 2022 election is yours to lose GOP. Inflation, rising crime, and the impact of COVID restrictions augur well for GOP prospects this November, but if Republican actions of the past few weeks are a prologue to campaign season they may just falter.
Earlier this week, Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters was arrested for allegedly recording court proceedings and lying about it. During the arrest, caught on video by a bystander, she appears to be trying out for “Karen of the Year” shrieking irritably and trying to kick the arresting officer. Already under investigation by state and federal agencies, Peters can add obstructing a police officer to her legal woes.
This cringe-worthy incident occurred just days after the Republican National Committee censured Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney and Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger for participating in the “persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse.” The aforementioned good citizens were those who tried to sack the U.S. Capitol in hopes of reversing the election. I’m not one to believe in conspiracy theories, but the RNC looks a bit like a sock puppet on a certain small hand.
Back in January, most, but thankfully not all, Colorado Republican Representatives voted for a similarly clownish amendment to commend fellow Representative Ron Hanks and other Americans who joined him on January 6, 2021 “to exercise their inalienable rights, as enshrined in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, to speak, peacefully assemble, and seek redress from their government in order to secure our elections and protect the sacred right of every lawful vote to be counted.”
House Minority Leader Hugh McKean was one of the few who voted against the amendment earning him a primary opponent affiliated with the far right. Smell sulfur? Itap not cordite but the rotten influence of the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners.
Supporters of these resolutions contend that they aren’t defending the criminals who bashed their way through the barricades but those who peacefully assembled prior to the attempted insurrection. I imagine they’re being sincere in making this caveat. Even so, since when do we celebrate people who have been taken in by lies? Courage in defense of falsehood, in this case a supposedly stolen election, is not courage; itap foolhardiness.
It was just as bad in 2014 when some Democrats praised peaceful demonstrators crying “hands up, don’t shoot” but failed to condemn the rioters who set Ferguson aflame. Investigators with the Department of Justice concluded that there was to police officer Darren Wilson, but that Brown had likely attempted to take the officer’s gun, run a short distance away after being shot in the hand, and then turned and was shot dead while facing the officer. “Hands up, don’t shoot,” is a slogan grounded in fiction used by the well-meaning to protest and the not so well-meaning to pillage. Those who merely protested were not worthy of acclaim because they did so in thrall to a false narrative, much like the crowd on January 6.
In an era of rampant mistrust, false narrative, and misinformation, decent people are taken in by falsehood. Itap nothing to celebrate. Those in the GOP who continue to lionize the deceived and excoriate truth-tellers will throw away a very winnable midterm election.
Instead, the GOP needs to publicize its efforts to reduce inflation, combat crime, reform education, reduce taxes, and lift COVID restrictions. Elected officials should avoid kicking police officers and saying stupid stuff particularly when the cameras are on.
As I write, Rep. Marjorie Greene (R-Georgia) is accusing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of using her “gazpacho police” to spy on opponents, a troubling accusation for those of us who savor the summer vegetable soup.
It is wise to consider which weak links in the party merit a primary.
Krista L. Kafer is a weekly Denver Post columnist. Follow her on Twitter: @kristakafer
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