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Want a Braver Congress? Give them Protection. [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-01-01

Donald Trump is a bully. He and his supporters threaten and intimidate judges, juries, law enforcement, poll workers, the media, the list goes on and on.

And that list also includes members of congress. He creates an atmosphere of fear for those who would oppose him. And how we have lamented especially members of congress’ lack of backbone in standing up to Trump and his threats.

Maybe it is time to face that reality instead of merely cursing it.

Donald Trump is not only a bully, he is also a convicted felon. He is a criminal. This is not hyperbole.

Trump’s credentials as a threat agent only keep growing.

Trump’s rise to prominence and the presidency has been marked by “conversions.” One by one we’ve watched prominent Republican congresspeople go from strongly opposing Trump to obsequiously supporting him. Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio… And now we are seeing it with democratic congresspeople. Chilling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P43wDpKQxaM

https://www.dailykos.com/story/2024/12/29/2294186/-The-Most-Obvious-Explanation

Donald Trump has been called a stochastic terrorist – meaning he may not directly command terrorists and their actions, but he will inflame them and wait and see what happens. He even seems to have distinguished himself with supporters so violent he is one of the few political figures to be targeted for assassination by his own supporters.

And, most importantly, Donald Trump is an insurrectionist. He has been held to be by every court that has heard evidence on the question. He has even been held to be by a majority of both houses of congress, during his impeachment and trial. Statements by Republican senators who voted “not guilty” tell us the 2/3 necessary for conviction would have been met if Trump had still been in office. Indeed the retired conservative federal judge who advised those senators not to convict a former president not holding office has since said that the Colorado decision to remove Trump from its ballot was “unassailable.”

The below article does a great job of explaining how an insurrectionist bully exerts influence on our systems, like a poison.

"You can’t have a free and fair election with an insurrectionist on the ballot. The insurrectionist has already shown his contempt for the electoral process and his willingness to smash it. He can’t fairly “win,” because his mere participation taints the process. He can intimidate key players (rivals, journalists, election workers) with implicit or explicit threats of violence, made credible by the state’s failure to punish his previous violence. Trump has done this often. By turning, so to speak, from the ballot to the bullet — or the knife, club, flagpole, or whatever his minions wield — the insurrectionist puts democracy itself in the crosshairs. If he dodges the law and lives to see another campaign, people around him will start to operate as if at gunpoint. Critics will blunt their attacks; all but the bravest potential challengers will wait for a less dangerous climate."

https://medium.com/@thegoodship/how-to-stop-an-illegitimate-president-f297b2058262

So now on January 6th, our congress has the decision that will decide the fate of our nation. To accept the electoral votes of a disqualified insurrectionist, or reject them.

If we want our congress to stand up for what is right, we should support them to do that.

President Biden can and should immediately assign every member of congress secret service protection. And their families. And we should understand why.

Not permanently, but for now. If we want a brave congress, we need to rise to the moment. We need to acknowledge the reality we, and they, are facing. And we need to do what is right. A big part of that is acknowledging the threat and supporting each other to be brave.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/1/1/2294721/-Want-a-Braver-Congress-Give-them-Protection?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

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