Editor's Note: Steve Schmidt is one of the founding members of the Lincoln Project. He is a communications and public affairs strategist who has worked on several Republican campaigns, including John McCain's 2008 bid for the White House, and he is now a regular political contributor to MSNBC. On Monday, Schmidt reflected on the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in a series of 10 tweets. MaxNewsToday has assembled this thread and reprinted it as one easy-to-read op-ed for our ongoing segment, Schmidt Storm. It has been edited for grammar and clarity. I have watched hours of video documenting the fall of the Capitol of the United States of America to a violent, nihilistic, fascist mob, and I believe that but for the grace of God, a little luck and the heroism of Officer Eugene Goodman, a large percentage of the Congress would have been murdered. There is no moving on from this event. We cannot. We must not. Should we do so, it would be an inexplicable betrayal of American democracy. The seditionists who ransacked the Capitol were incited to do so by the President of the United States and his son. They were incited by Rudy Giuliani, Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, Kevin McCarthy, Matt Gaetz, Jim Jordan, Mark Meadows, Kayleigh McEnany, Lauren Boebert, Mike Pence and many others. They collectively poisoned American democracy with their embrace of the Big Lie about a legitimate and fair election being stolen. They lied, incited and lied again. They inflamed Trump’s extremist thugs with insanity and cynicism. They sought to throw out millions of Black votes to maintain the power of the loser of the presidential election. If they had succeeded, the result would have been the destruction of the 244-year-old American Republic. Each one of these people should be driven from public life. They are unfit and unworthy. They have disgraced themselves, broken their oaths and betrayed their country. Their cynicism and dishonesty killed 6 people. The propagandists at Fox, Newsmax, OAN, and a dozen lesser extremist news organizations share responsibility for the mayhem. Steve Scalise is telling his members that corporate America will be back in the pay-to-play business within 6 months. I think he is mistaken. How can any American company support a cause that sought to topple American democracy with lies? How can any American business say it will be okay 6 months from now? How can any American business that made statements in support of racial justice over the last year ever defend supporting the majority of GOP members who tried to throw out millions of Black votes after more than 60 federal court actions made clear there was no fraud at all? January 6th was an historic event that will shake this country for many years. It drew an unreasonable line between Americanism and Trumpism. Trumpism, like all autocratic movements, is rooted in lies, conspiracies and manipulation. Fascism has, indeed, come to America, and as was once predicted it has come wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross. This immoral movement must be crushed. The future of American liberty depends on victory in the long fight ahead.
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