The GOP’s Post-Truth Political Strategy is About Seizing Power, Not Solving Problems

Washington, DC  – Today, Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice, issued the following statement on the Republican Party’s priorities in light of the current policy challenges facing our nation:

The Republican Party is tripping over itself to stay in Donald Trump’s good graces. They have effectively sided with the insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol by taking up the Big Lie as a governing strategy, sacrificing the truth and anyone brazen enough to recognize it in the process. The post-truth politics of today’s Republican Party impedes the important and timely work on the real problems we face as a nation.

Instead of focusing on the real threat of white supremacist domestic terrorism, they invented an ‘election integrity crisis’ to justify a coordinated voter suppression campaign. Instead of working on the challenges facing our economy and bringing our country back from an unprecedented pandemic, they are busy ousting Rep. Liz Cheney from House leadership for her basic understanding of democratic elections. Instead of working from a premise grounded in reality, Republicans are still operating from Trump’s conspiracy theory playbook.

The exact same dynamic has taken hold in the debate over immigration reform. Republicans have fomented hysteria over an over- hyped ‘border crisis,’ despite the Biden-Harris administration’s progress turning around the mess Trump left behind. Republicans claim they can’t move forward with fixing our broken immigration system until a ‘crisis’ they exaggerated is solved. But their perverse approach to government underscores how little they should be trusted to help achieve long overdue breakthroughs to stand up a safe, humane and orderly immigration system and to put millions on pathways to citizenship.

BACKGROUND

• Associated Press: “Allegiance To A Lie” Has Become A “Means Of Self-Preservation For Republicans.” “Allegiance to a lie has become a test of loyalty to Donald Trump and a means of self-preservation for Republicans.” [Associated Press, 5/9/21]
  • HEADLINE: “Trump’s ‘Big Lie’ Imperils Republicans Who Don’t Embrace It.” [Associated Press, 5/9/21]
• Republican Officials Who Refused To Go Along With The “Big Lie” Have Been Punished By The Republican Party,  While Vocal Supporters Of The Lie Have Been Elevated Among GOP Ranks. “Cheney is not alone in suffering consequences for challenging Trump’s allegations. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who defended the state’s counting process against Trump’s attempts to interfere with it, was stripped of his voting power on the State Election Board as part of Georgia’s new voting restrictions law. In a special House election in Texas held on in early May, the Trump-critical Republican in the race — Michael Wood — got 3 percent of the vote. In January, Michigan Republicans removed Aaron van Langevelde, a GOP attorney who broke with the party to certify Biden’s victory in Michigan, from his post on the state’s Board of State Canvassers. At the Utah Republican Party’s convention this weekend, Sen. Mitt Romney — perhaps the GOP’s leading Trump critic — was booed and called a traitor. At the same time, Republicans who have embraced falsehoods about the election have been elevated.” [Vox, 5/12/21]
  • HEADLINE: “The Big Lie Is The GOP’s One And Only Truth.” [Vox, 5/12/21]
• Axios: At House Hearings On The January 6 Capitol Riot House Republicans “Sought To Minimize” The Riot And Called Pro-Trump Rioters “Patriots.” “Republican members of Congress sought to minimize the Capitol insurrection at a House hearing on Wednesday, with statements calling pro-Trump rioters ‘patriots’ and other lawmakers falsely denying demonstrators were supporters of the former president at all.” [Axios, 5/12/21]
  • HEADLINE: GOP Lawmakers Downplay Capitol Riot At House Hearing.” [Axios, 5/12/21]
• The Department Of Homeland Security Is Dedicating An Arm Of Its Intelligence Division To Target Domestic Terrorism In The Wake Of The January 6 Siege On The Capitol. “The Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday dedicated an arm of its intelligence division to target domestic terrorism and opened a new center to help state and local law enforcement combat violent extremists, the latest Biden administration efforts on the problem in the wake of the Jan. 6 siege on the Capitol. The department said the moves were part of a strategy to ‘comprehensively combat domestic violent extremism, including violent white supremacy.’” [New York Times, 5/11/21]
• Secretary Mayorkas And Attorney General Garland Were Set To Testify Before The Senate On The Threat Of Domestic Extremists. “On Wednesday, Mr. Mayorkas is set to testify alongside Attorney General Merrick B. Garland before the Senate Appropriations Committee about the current threat posed by domestic extremists.” [New York Times, 5/11/21]
• HEADLINE: “Fla. Becomes Latest State To Enact Restrictive Voting Law As DeSantis Signs Bill On Fox News.” [NBC News, 5/6/21]
• HEADLINE: “Georgia G.O.P. Passes Major Law To Limit Voting Amid Nationwide Push.” [New York Times, 4/3/21]
• HEADLINE: “How GOP-Backed Voting Measures Could Create Hurdles For Tens Of Millions Of Voters.” [Washington Post, 3/11/21]
• Washington Post: The Ousting Of Rep. Cheney For Challenging The False Claims Of Former President Trump Underscored That The GOP “Will Not Tolerate Disagreements With Trump.” “House Republicans ousted Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.) from her leadership post Wednesday because she continues to challenge former president Donald Trump over his false claims about the presidential election being stolen and his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The vote to remove her as chair of the House Republican Conference underscored that the party will not tolerate disagreements with Trump, whose active support many argue is needed for the party to win the House majority in the 2022 midterm election.” [Washington Post, 5/12/21]
  • HEADLINE: “House Republicans Oust Cheney From Leadership For Calling Out Trump’s False Election Claims” [Washington Post, 5/12/21]
• Immigration Expert Aaron Reichlin-Melnick: “The Biden Administration Has Successfully Solved The Issue Of Children In Border Patrol Custody.” “On Tuesday, 281 children were apprehended at the border, nearly half the numbers seen in March. Fewer than 500 kids are being held by US Customs and Border Protection, down from a high of 5,700. ‘The Biden administration has successfully solved the issue of children in Border Patrol custody,’ said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, policy counsel at the American Immigration Council.” [Yahoo News, 5/11/21]
  • HEADLINE: “What Happened To The ‘Border Crisis’: Unaccompanied Children Are Being Released Faster And Detained Less Often.” [Yahoo News, 5/11/21]
• HEADLINE: “After Being Separated At Border, Long-Awaited Family Reunifications Underway During Biden Administration.” [ABC News, 5/5/21]
• Family Reunification Efforts Stem From The Family Reunification Task Force Set Up By An Executive Order Issued By President Biden.F“Four migrant families separated at the US-Mexico border under the Trump administration will be reunited this week, the Department of Homeland Security announced Monday, marking the first reunifications under President Joe Biden. The effort stems from the family reunification task force set up by one of Biden’s executive orders. The task force, housed in DHS, involves federal agencies to identify and reunite families who had been separated at the US-Mexico border under then-President Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy.” [CNN, 5/3/21]
• HEADLINE: Washington Post Opinion: The GOP’s Biggest Attack On Biden May Be About To Hit A Snag.” [Washington Post, 5/6/21]