"Truth is Healing, Not Hateful," Brunswick Beacon, 01.27.22
In her letter published January 13, Gloria Owens unfairly accused Shelley Allen of writing a “Hateful letter.” Owens inaccurately said Allen “referred to the Republican Party as a ‘cult’ and as ‘right-wing authoritarians,’” which she dismissed as “only a Democratic view.”
Allen actually criticized “some” GOP leaders of perpetuating the myth of widespread voter fraud “to maintain favor with Trump’s cult.” She said “right-wing authoritarians” attacked the Capitol and tried to stop “the certification of legitimate electoral votes.” Allen’s complaint was specific and limited to some, not all, Republicans. And, it’s been made by other Republicans, as well.
Sen. Mitch McConnell called the attack on the Capitol “an insurrection” and said “the mob was fed lies” and “provoked” by Trump, who was impeached for inciting the attack. Seven Republican senators, including NC Sen. Richard Burr, voted to convict Trump. After Burr was censured by the NC GOP for voting his conscience, he said: “My party's leadership has chosen loyalty to one man over the core principles of the Republican Party.” That is the very definition of cult behavior.
Congresswoman Liz Cheney, Chair of the House Republican Conference, voted to impeach Trump for inciting the insurrection. She said Trump “summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing.” Trump’s supporters purged her from leadership. Cheney then made precisely the same criticism as Allen: “Republicans need to stand for genuinely conservative principles, and steer away from the dangerous and anti-democratic Trump cult of personality.”
Owens called for “working together” to “heal” the nation. But as Republican Senator Mitt Romney observed: “Calling for unity while at the same time appeasing the Big Lie of a stolen election is a fraud. It is the lie that caused the division.”
Telling the truth about that lie and its promoters is not hateful. It is the only way to help America heal.
Laura McGann
Leland
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