Former Republican Members of Congress See Trump as Threat to Democracy
Why won't they all speak up?
Former members of Congress understand that Trump poses a threat to our Democracy. Why aren't we hearing about them?
UMass Poll surveyed 237 former members of Congress from June to October of this year. When asked if they agree with the statement, "Donald Trump's efforts to claim he won the 2020 Presidential Election threaten American democracy," the vast majority agreed. Sixty-seven percent strongly agreed and another 11 percent answered "somewhat agree."
Most surprisingly, even a majority of Trump's own party agreed. Among Republicans (who were 45% of the sample) nearly 2 out of 3, 64%, agree that Trump's efforts to claim he won the 2020 election threaten our democracy, and close to half, 45%, said they strongly agree.
On one hand, I'm thankful to see that so many Republican ex-congressmembers understand the threat we face. But on the other hand, I'm shocked the numbers are that high because I don't see many of these former members doing anything about it. Do they care about our democracy?
I'm thankful to hear Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger speaking out with courage and conviction. But according to this survey, if it's representative of the 246 former Republican members of Congress, there should be about 110 former Republican members who strongly agree that Trump threatens our democracy. Where are their voices?
If you know any of them, please encourage them to speak up.
Here are a few more findings from the report:
84% of Former Members indicate they’re concerned about the possibility of violence in 2024, with 74% of Republicans and 94% of Democrats showcasing their worry.
47% of Former Members indicated that they or their families received threats while in Congress, with the frequency increasing to 69% for Former Members who are woman and/or people of color.
When asked to describe the current state of Congress, the word used most by Former Members was “dysfunctional”. The next three most commonly used words - partisan, polarized, and divided - showcases a seemingly wide gap between Democrats and Republicans. The fifth most popular word, “mess”, echos the same sentiment as “dysfunctional.”
100% of Democrats and 83% of Republicans who responded believe that Biden’s election in 2020 was legitimate. This is in stark contrast to survey results from the general voting population, in which 90% of Democrats and only 25% of Republicans believe the 2020 election was valid.
See the rest of the report here.
What Else We're Reading
Amanda Ripley: "How to Survive 2024: What's the 'right' way to live through a high-conflict election year? Three lessons from a very wise conflict survivor."
Febres had seen just about everything happening in America happen before—in Venezuela. A journalist, he had watched his fellow citizens turn on one another, bewitched by political polarization and manipulated by conflict entrepreneurs. “That is a dynamic that is very hard to avoid,” he said, sighing.
Just like in America, a magnetic political outsider had risen to power because the insiders were seen as corrupt and out of touch. In both places, media elites picked sides, becoming more and more opinionated and righteous--and less and less relevant. (As another longtime Venezuela correspondent once warned me: “When a country is divided into separate echo chambers, it doesn’t really matter how loudly you yell in one of them. They don’t hear you in the other.”)
Matt Lewis: "Trump Says He’ll Be a Dictator and Also ‘Save Democracy’ from Democrats"
... imagine the audacity required for a man who essentially attempted a coup on Jan. 6, to believe that he can reframe the issue of “democracy” and win.
But his strategy just might work. Remember, Trump is a master at the art of projection. Instead of playing defense, he likes to accuse his opponents of the very thing that he himself is guilty of.
CNN: "Elon Musk’s X is encouraging users to follow conspiracy theorist Alex Jones after reinstating his account"
A day after Elon Musk restored the X accounts of notorious right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his website, Infowars, the platform is actively promoting Jones’ account to other users, giving the fringe figure a major platform to air his deceptive and dangerous views.
Conspiratorial posts from Jones’ account appeared Monday in the “For You” feed of some users who do not follow him on X; his account was promoted in some users’ “Who to Follow” recommendations; and his name was promoted in X’s top trending topics section.
RNS: "Tim Alberta on evangelical extremism and the pastors who profit from it"
In scrutinizing people operating at levels of leadership — the so-called shepherds charged with leading congregations, ministries, etc. — the conclusion I have reached is that almost all of them know better.
These are not dupes; these are not true believers who have sincerely bought into the crazy, conspiratorial nonsense that has captured the imaginations of their followers. There are exceptions to this; in studying Eric Metaxas, for instance, there is evidence to suggest he has succumbed, at a deep psychological level, to dangerous misinformation.
But in the vast majority of cases — whether it’s Ralph Reed or Robert Jeffress or even Greg Locke — I have walked away from long, searching interviews convinced they’ve made a decision, a business decision, to indulge a lot of foolishness
Why? Because in their view the ends justify the means: Trafficking in deception and hatred is a small price to pay for a seat at the table, for a culture war victory, for a reclamation of our nation’s Christian heritage. The problem is, Scripture describes those ends as unimportant — while telling us, repeatedly, that the means are crucially important. In other words: How we play the game matters more than whether we win or lose. That’s a message that rank-and-file evangelicals need to hear, but many of the people they look to for influence have real incentive to tell them otherwise.
YouGov Poll: "Holocaust denial is rare, but somewhat more common among younger adults"
Relatively few American adults take the view (or admit they take the view) that the Holocaust is a myth. Just 7% say they strongly agree or tend to agree with that belief today, though another 16% say they neither agree nor disagree with the statement. More than three in four (77%) strongly or tend to disagree with it. Americans who believe that the Holocaust is a myth include a significant number of young adults: 20% of people under 30 strongly agree or tend to agree that the Holocaust is a myth, compared to fewer than 1% of people 65 and older.
Events
Pastors and ministry leaders: Join one of our “Politics, Polarization, and Peacemaking” conferences on January 29 in Phoenix or February 15 in Orlando.
Mending Division Academy
Is your church small group looking to start something new in the new year? Check out Mending Division Academy, a set of six small group courses that tackle some of the major drivers of division in our churches today. Use the code "30OFF" to get 30% off until the end of this month.
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