Brunswick Beacon, 10.06.22
Donald Trump insulted John McCain, praised Vladimir Putin, and bragged about grabbing women’s privates. But the wickedest thing he did was convince MAGA-Republicans that violence is “legitimate political discourse.”
North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr voted to convict Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 Insurrection. Burr said: “The attack on the U.S. Capitol was an attempt to undermine our democratic institutions and overrule the will of the American people through violence, intimidation, and force."
MAGA-Republicans censured Burr, who replied: “My party’s leadership has chosen loyalty to one man over the core principles of the Republican Party and the founders of our great nation.”
Ted Budd and David Rouzer chose Trump over country by voting to overturn the 2020 election, voting against the Jan. 6 investigation, and embracing Trump as he promoted QAnon conspiracies and the Big Lie at his Sept. 23 Wilmington rally.
Last week, a federal judge sentenced a violent insurrectionist and denounced the dangerous increase in threats to law enforcement provoked by Trump’s demonization of the FBI: “Some prominent figures in the Republican Party … are cagily predicting or even outright calling for violence in the streets if one of the multiple investigations doesn’t go his way.”
That was after Sen. Lindsey Graham said “There will be riots in the streets” if Trump is prosecuted, and Trump said Americans won’t “stand for it,” predicting “problems in this country the likes of which perhaps we’ve never seen before.”
The threat is real. Polling shows 13 million MAGA-Republicans support violence to return Trump to the presidency, while 15 million support violence to prevent Trump from being prosecuted.
Trump provoked violence before to hold onto power. He’ll provoke violence again unless you defeat Trump’s cult of personality. Tell Trump enablers Budd and Rouzer no man is above the law and violence is never acceptable. Elect Cheri Beasley and Charles Graham on Nov. 8.
Vince Amoroso
Sunset Beach