EXTREMISTS: Why are GOP moderates receiving death threats?
Four members of the GOP opposition to Jim Jordan have received multiple death threats and threats pressuring the wife of one member.
The question now is, will the caucus listen to the four and realize what their party is willing to do to anyone who doesn’t follow Trump’s lead?
The four moderates receiving the death threats will certainly now understand that opposing Trump is damned dangerous, and there is a reason that he attaches personal information to some messages sent out.
Trump is a terrorist.
Will 50-100 members of the GOP hear these complaints and absorb what it means for their own future?
And how many have just committed further to following Trump because they don’t want to be threatened?
According to Politico’s report:
“Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa): The Iowa Republican flipped to oppose Jordan on the floor Wednesday and said in a statement that “I have received credible death threats and a barrage of threatening calls” since doing so. “One thing I cannot stomach, or support is a bully.”
Quite obviously, she believes these are coming from people around Jordan — or Jordan himself.
Who else has her cell number? Perhaps it went to her office. If she cannot stomach a bully, is she going to support Trump’s run?
“Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.): The New York freshman posted an image of a threatening message he received, pledging to ‘whip all of the hair out of your fucking head’ if they met. ‘I will not succumb to threats,’ he vowed. He’s opposed Jordan both times on the floor.”
“Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.): Opposed twice to Jordan on the floor, Bacon shared images of threatening anonymous texts received by his wife.”
“Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), also opposed to Jordan, said he’d too received threats. ‘Early on, there was a chance that some of [the opponents] might be able to come around, and then we got into the attack dogs tactics,” he said. ‘[Jordan]’s done nothing to stop it, in my opinion, that I believe would be effective enough to call the dogs off.’ Others have indicated they’ve too faced threats,” Politico wrote.
Sorry, Rep. Womack, those go well beyond “attack dogs,” and run right up against terrorist threats.
Imagine the fear Don Bacon and his wife feel. How did someone even get her phone number?
These four — and there are suspected others who are just keeping quiet — now know how their party has developed into a political terrorism organization. At any point, it could turn into real terrorism. One never knows.
How many in their party will read about the threats or talk to their colleagues? And what is the reaction? We cannot tolerate what the MAGA wing of the GOP has become. Former House Speaker John Boehner was right. This guy is a political terrorist and how do we tolerate this?
Will they see the post-election period for what it was? First was a legal attack on democracy itself. Second, a terrorist attack on the Capitol.
And there we reach our answer. They themselves were attacked. McCarthy had to bow to Trump at Mar-a-Lago after screaming at Trump over the phone and hearing that Trump didn’t care and wouldn’t call them off.
Every one of them, perhaps not the 8-10 actual terrorists like Jordan, were threatened. As Liz Cheney said to Jim Jordan during the attack, “You did this! You f^^king did this!” While she ripped his hand off her as he tried to “protect the ladies.”
A little death threat to representatives and family isn’t going to move anyone in that caucus. We answered our own questions.
Of course, Jordan denied he had anything to do with it. Maybe he’s telling the truth, and the threats are coming from the MAGA public. It really doesn’t matter. This is the monster they created.
No American should accost another for their beliefs.
We condemn all threats against our colleagues and it is imperative that we come together.
Stop. It’s abhorrent.
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) October 18, 2023
This column is based on original reporting by Anthony Adragna, Daniella Diaz, and Jennifer Scholtes at Politico.
I can be reached at jasonmiciak@gmail.com and on X @JasonMiciak.
Editor’s note: This is an opinion column that solely reflects the opinions of the author
