Kudos for Arnold Schwarzenegger. He spoke up when too many different Republicans cowered behind lies, afraid of their voters and the reality.
In likening final week’s mob invasion of the U.S. Capitol to the Nazis’ 1938 Night time of Damaged Glass assault on Jews throughout Germany and his native Austria, Schwarzenegger asserted that “spineless” fellow Republicans had been additionally guilty for the lethal riot.
Three issues had been significantly outstanding concerning the former California governor’s eight-minute video message that went viral on Sunday.
First, he linked Nazis with the violent followers of now twice-impeached President Trump. Till lately, utilizing the pejorative “Nazi” to characterize any American political exercise was thought-about out of bounds.
However Schwarzenegger, 73, has firsthand information and credibility. His father was a Nazi Occasion member and embellished German military police officer in World Battle II earlier than Schwarzenegger was born. (The Simon Wiesenthal Heart investigated at Schwarzenegger’s request a few years later and didn’t discover any battle crimes dedicated by his dad.)
Within the video, Schwarzenegger recalled rising up amongst damaged former German troopers, “ingesting away their guilt over their participation in probably the most evil regime in historical past. Not all of them had been rabid anti-Semites or Nazis. Many simply went alongside, step-by-step, down the highway.”
“It began with lies and lies and lies and intolerance,” he mentioned. “Being from Europe, I’ve seen firsthand how issues can spin uncontrolled.”
Then the film actor turned to Trump, who “sought to overturn the outcomes of an election — and a good election,” he mentioned. Trump “sought a coup by deceptive individuals with lies. My father and our neighbors had been misled additionally with lies. And I do know the place such lies lead.”
The second outstanding factor is that Schwarzenegger known as Trump a “failed chief” and ad-libbed — it wasn’t within the unique textual content — that “he’ll go down in historical past because the worst president ever.”
A number of individuals might imagine Trump’s the worst — myself included — however Schwarzenegger is the primary outstanding Republican I’ve heard publicly state it.
Third, right here’s a celeb Republican who known as out GOP politicians for being cowardly. They sinned by pandering to Trump when they need to have been defending democracy, Schwarzenegger asserted.
The final straw for Schwarzenegger was the lemming-like echoing by most Republican pols of Trump’s lie that Joe Biden and Democrats stole the election. In reality, it was the other: Trump tried to steal the election.
That lie riled the rioters, together with Trump’s fiery speech that launched their ransacking of the Capitol — a storming of democracy’s cathedral geared toward halting Congress’ counting of electoral votes.
“What are we to make of these elected officers who’ve enabled [Trump’s] lies and his treachery?” Schwarzenegger requested. “I’d remind them of what Teddy Roosevelt mentioned, ‘Patriotism means to face by the nation. It doesn’t imply to face by the president.’
“John F. Kennedy wrote a guide known as ‘Profiles in Braveness.’ Plenty of members of my very own social gathering, due to their spinelessness, won’t ever see their names in such a guide.
“They’re complicit with those that carried the flag of self-righteous rebellion into the Capitol.”
Schwarzenegger mentioned, “We have to maintain accountable the individuals who introduced us to this unforgivable level.”
He didn’t specify whether or not it was the violent mob or the enabling politicians who needs to be held accountable. I assume each.
Nor did he identify any “spineless” Republicans.
So, I’ll identify some — beginning with the Home of Representatives’ high Republican, Minority Chief Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield.
McCarthy, 55, has been shining Trump’s footwear for 4 years. He clearly enjoys being buddies with the president and has used Trump’s star energy amongst Republican voters to spice up GOP candidates.
However like most Republican members of Congress, McCarthy additionally has feared the president’s potential wrath — and the reprisal of Trump worshipers at election time.
This McCarthy will not be the identical average pragmatist that Sacramento pols bear in mind as state Meeting minority chief when Schwarzenegger was governor.
“Of all of the politicians in Congress, Kevin might be the perfect political operative,” says Mike Madrid, a Sacramento-based, anti-Trump Republican political advisor. “He has a finger on the heart beat of the Republican base. That’s what you want as a pacesetter. You don’t want an echo of extremism.
“He ought to get up and inform the president to resign.”
As a substitute, McCarthy led two-thirds of the Republican Home members in attempting to throw out Biden’s electoral votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania — instantly after the mob invasion.
Reasonably than obeying Trump, they need to have seized the second to ship a message to insurrectionists that political violence was insupportable — conveyed with motion by accepting Biden’s lawful victory, not by spewing trite phrases.
Six different spineless California Republicans additionally voted to reject the electoral votes: Reps. Ken Calvert of Corona, Mike Garcia of Santa Clarita, Darrell Issa of Bonsall, Doug LaMalfa of Richvale, Jay Obernolte of Hesperia and Devin Nunes of Tulare.
They’re all profitable political execs. They know there was no proof of fraud in any state’s presidential vote counting. It was all a Trump lie.
Let’s be clear: I don’t think about voting in opposition to Trump’s impeachment a spineless act. There are reputable arguments on either side. He’ll be evicted in a couple of days anyway. However he needs to be held accountable and punished.
Schwarzenegger made some nutty errors as governor and I slammed him for them. However he was at all times daring and gutsy. By no means spineless.
