Trump incited attack on nation, but our GOP lawmakers are also to blame | Editorial

While the country knew President Donald Trump wouldn’t make a graceful exit from power, no one expected him to ignite an insurrection in an attempt to keep it.

That’s just too horrifying to imagine.

And yet, that’s exactly what happened.

The violent takeover by Trump supporters at the nation’s Capitol on Wednesday surely will be marked as one of the darkest and most disgraceful moments in American history.

The blame for the rioting, the savagery and the upending of what our government stands for belongs squarely at Trump’s feet.

And any federal lawmaker who did not vehemently object to Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud is complicit in this nightmare.

Yes, Congressman Dan Newhouse, you should have been stronger. You should have done more to encourage a peaceful transfer of presidential power.

You and your Republican colleague, U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Spokane, should not have signed on to the amicus brief supporting the frivolous Texas lawsuit that encouraged Trump’s claims of election fraud.

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case, but backing the lawsuit and doubting the nation’s election process has helped encourage this recent attempt at mob rule.

While Newhouse and McMorris Rodgers condemned the violence, they are too late in separating themselves from Trump’s false claims of a corrupted election.

Newhouse, at least, had pledged to support the Electoral College votes for Biden, while McMorris Rodgers initially said she would not. She has since backed away from that stance.

Their initial signing on to the Texas lawsuit, however, sowed seeds of doubt. It goes to show how their lack of support for the country’s election system has helped poison the hearts and minds of those who wanted Trump re-elected.

Hours before Congress was scheduled to certify the Electoral College votes affirming President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, Trump was still claiming the election was stolen from him and telling supporters “you have to get your people to fight.”

Those words were spoken Wednesday morning at his “Save America Rally,” where he repeated that the election was corrupt. “We have someone in there who is not supposed to be in there,” he told the throng.

His rhetoric launched madness, as hundreds swarmed the Capitol grounds and forced their way past police who were woefully unprepared for an attack of this magnitude.

Trump supporters pushed their way into the Capitol building and lawmakers were forced to evacuate, stalling the vote count that would put Biden in the Oval Office.

One woman was reportedly shot and killed in the melee — the blood on Trump’s hands.

The Capitol grounds in Washington, D.C., have been the site of many protests over the years, but Wednesday’s event was different. The violent breach on the Capitol was not a protest — it was closer to a frightening coup attempt.

Trump eventually called on his supporters to go home hours later, but he continued to lie about his election loss.

“I know your pain, I know you’re hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election and everyone knows it. Especially the other side. But you have to go home now. We have to have peace,” he said.

His request for calm came too late.

The horror of Wednesday’s events has made it clear Trump has no loyalty to the Constitution, the rule of law, our courts and our election system. None of them are perfect, but they are better than anything any other country operates under.

He is the one who can squelch the unrest. He is the one who can put the good of the country ahead of his ego. He is the one who must leave office in peace.

But will he? He may very well relish the attention for months — perhaps even for years.

That’s why it will take a united front from members of Congress to decry these violent acts and the baseless conspiracy theories that are fueling them.

Newhouse and McMorris Rodgers were right to criticize the violence, with Newhouse saying, “This is not who we are and this needs to stop immediately,” and McMorris Rodgers saying, “Protesting peacefully is your right. Violence and aggression and breaching security perimeters are not. Stop this now.”

But it won’t be enough to just speak out against unlawful riots. When the time comes, they will have to denounce Trump as well.

This story was originally published January 6, 2021 at 5:49 PM.