Stout in GOP must speak out

President Trump deliberately sowed the wind on Jan. 6, and we all painfully reaped the whirlwind. The mob that trashed our Capitol had just listened to Trump spewing lies upon lies about the “stolen” election and inciting his followers to fight. “We will never concede … we will stop the steal … We’re going to walk down to the Capitol … we’ve got to get rid of the weak [Republicans] … [The radical left is] ruthless, and it’s time that somebody did something about it … And we fight. We fight like hell, and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”

Trump’s attacks against an election that has held up under intense scrutiny were amplified by over a dozen Senate Republicans and more than 130 House Republicans promising to contest electoral results. They’re all complicit in fomenting the seditious actions that took place. It is now the responsibility of every Republican of integrity to stand and speak out — not just against riotous Trump supporters but against President Trump himself — so that we will still have a great democracy, and perhaps even a reputable Republican Party, before this is over.

Betsy Darken