The Guardian: Republicans call January 6 ‘legitimate political discourse’ as party censures Cheney and Kinzinger

Government watchdog groups are fiercely criticizing the Republican National Committee for characterizing the Capitol insurrection as “legitimate political discourse” in its resolution censuring Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger.

“January 6 was an insurrection that left dead and scores of seriously injured in its wake. It was not legitimate political discourse no matter what the GOP says,” said Karen Hobert Flynn, the president of the group Common Cause.

“It was a violent attempt to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election and ignore the will of the people. It was a dangerous and irresponsible attempt to try to intimidate Congress with an angry racist mob assembled and then set loose by a man who had just lost the presidential election.”

Flynn accused the RNC of attempting to normalize political violence, and she described the vote to censure Cheney and Kinzinger over their work investigating the insurrection as “anti-democratic”.

“There is no room for ambiguity when it comes to an attack on the peaceful transfer of power and our democratic system of government,” Flynn said.

“January 6 was an attack on the rule of law, the very concept of free and fair elections, and it was an attack on America. Elected leaders who endorse political violence have no business governing in the name of the American people.”