It’s easier to rewrite history than reckon with it.
So that’s what more than a few Republicans have decided to do. They have been loose with facts and impenetrable to truth. And they have been unconcerned with their legacy. Reverence for one’s legacy was supposed to be the safety valve, the narcissistic self-defense mechanism that also has the effect of offering salvation to others. The guardrails are gone.
The country has been at war with the truth for some time. So in many ways, it’s not surprising that Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) has begun to peddle the false notion that the would-be insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 wasn’t actually an “armed” attempt to stop the certification of the presidential election. He apparently requires a full arsenal of confiscated artillery — rather than an assortment of bats, metal poles, bear spray and various projectiles — before being willing to acquiesce to the accuracy of the term. And it was inevitable that some supporters of the former president would argue without evidence that antifa — a loosely knit group of far-left activists — was behind the Capitol riot, rather than his followers. Continue reading.