Rachel Maddow says that the flare-up of Republican violence in Congress represents a threat to democracy.
Maddow said on CBS’s The Late Show:
It’s so stupid and hilarious and also super scary and bad. And that’s our lives now. That’s the Venn diagram where we live right in the middle of super stupid and really bad because, I mean, the thing that’s bad is that one of the things you watch for in a democracy in danger is for violence to start encroaching on the political space.
People doing normal political things. Going to a hearing, being a poll worker, certifying an election result. Those people are intimidated. Or threatened with violence or actually subjected to violence. When that starts happening, it means normal people get out of politics. And it becomes a place for brawlers and for people to take power by force.
That’s one of the big warning signs. And for these guys to be playing with it literally inside the Senate is so stupid and also so bad.
Video:
What happens when violence starts to encroach on the political space? Rachel @Maddow explains.#Colbert pic.twitter.com/ZUJppPHhvM
— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) November 15, 2023
Trump has been attempting to normalize violence for years. His 2016 campaign rallies contained regular threats of violence. The years of the normalization of violence culminated in the 1/6 attack on the Capitol.
What happened on Tuesday wasn’t some cartoon character senator from Oklahoma wanted to throw down with a witness, but it was a person who tried to use his political position and power to incite violence against someone who had criticized him.
As Maddow pointed out, the scene itself was funny because of how Sen. Mullin acted, but it also represents an erosion of democratic values and more movement within the Republican Party toward fascism.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
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Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association