Dem Party Chair Tina Podlodowski on Jan. 6 Insurrection Anniversary
Washington Democratic Party Chair Tina Podlodowski issued the following statement on the anniversary of the attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election results at US Capitol on January 6th, 2021:
“The January 6th Capitol Insurrection marked one of the darkest days in our democracy’s history, as we witnessed our nation’s own Republican leaders incite a violent siege on our Capitol. Inspired by Donald Trump, conservative activists stormed the Capitol building with the goal to disrupt the count of the 2020 electoral votes, overturn our election results, and attack members of Congress. This event was terrifying to watch play out live before us.
“Since January 6th, 2021, Republicans across Washington and across the country have continued to promote disinformation and undermine faith in our elections. They’ve sown distrust, then used that distrust as an excuse to roll back voting rights, cover up responsibility for their role promoting right wing political violence, keep their supporters engaged and enraged, and expose Americans from election administrators to school superintendents to death threats and violence.
“The idea that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump is far from the first time that extreme conservative disinformation has found its way into the minds of too many Americans. The claims that Barack Obama was really born in Kenya, that climate change is a hoax invented by liberal scientists, that Donald Trump had the election stolen from him, that COVID-19 was intentionally created by China, Bill Gates, and Anthony Fauci – these conspiracies have more in common than not, and all too often are originated from and supported by leaders in the Republican Party. The claims about the 2020 election are far from the first example of conservative misinformation and surely won’t be the last. We cannot let our guard down against these attempts to sow division, confusion, and hate.
“I’m not saying these things as a partisan attempt to score political points. It’s critical that we all call out those responsible for the lies and manipulations that led to this extremism and its manifestation in an attack on the Capitol, so that nothing like the January 6th insurrection attempt can ever happen again in this country. For anyone to stand idly by or to say that ‘the past is in the past’ would be deeply irresponsible.
“We have to work every day to defend our democracy from those who threaten it. That starts with remembering what happened and who was responsible, and holding them accountable.
“In 2020, we turned out in record numbers, made sure our votes were counted and that the will of the people prevailed. This January 6th, Americans across race, place, party, and background are coming together to say: in America, the voters decide the outcome of our elections.”
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