Speaking out (sort of)

Womack angry with GOP’s Jan. 6 response

Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., embraced his active role in stirring up the passions of those at the Jan. 6 “Save America” rally in Washington, D.C.

That, of course, is the rally that became an insurrection attempt, threatening the lives of duly elected representatives of the people and many others in the U.S. Capitol.

Brooks told Donald Trump supporters at the rally they should

“start taking down names and kicking ass,” framing his comment with reminders of how early Americans sacrificed their “blood, their sweat, their tears, their fortunes and sometimes their lives.” Were the attendees, he asked, willing to do the same?

“Are you willing to do what it takes to fight for America” he screamed, urging those around him to “carry the message to Capitol Hill.”

Those words and later the GOP reaction to them, apparently, turned up the internal temperature of U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers, a retired colonel in the U.S. National Guard. In other words, he was fuming.

At the first meeting of the House Republican steering committee after Jan. 6, Womack played a tape of Brooks’ speech for others on the panel. According to a forthcoming book that features details, Womack recalled, “I saw jaws drop.”

And why not? These lawmakers had just days earlier faced a mob busting into the halls of the U. S. Capitol. They had, in some instances, mentally prepared themselves to be assaulted and, perhaps, to die. To hear one of their own, a colleague from among the nation’s leaders, speak in such violence-encouraging terms was undoubtedly a shock. It seemed Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and others were ready to do something about Brooks and other lawmakers making irresponsible and dangerous comments, the kind that sounds like “FIRE!” in a crowded theater.

And then, McCarthy and company got cold feet. They declined to take any action against Brooks.

“I cannot tell you how angry I was,” Womack said in the book. Angry enough, he was, that he sent a letter resigning from the committee over McCarthy’s “lack of leadership.”

Count us among those glad to see that Womack spoke up and urged others to take a stand against the incendiary behaviors that led to the Jan. 6 invasion of the Capitol. At least there’s some documentation indicating that Womack and some other were intensely aware of how dangerous comments Brooks and other out-ofcontrol lawmakers were.

There were a few flashes of bravery in the immediate aftermath of Jan. 6, but collectively, the GOP’s resistance to the poison-makers within their own party quickly faded. The silence continues to empower people like Marjorie Taylor Green, who spoke of Trump imposing “marshall” law before Joe Biden’s inauguration, and Florida’s mouthy pot- stirrer, Matt Gaetz. The GOP would be better without them or at least by distancing the party from their destructive choices.

Perhaps Womack’s reported stance doesn’t do him much good politically, but he’ll be fine. He was right to speak up and we’re glad he did.

Womack probably recognizes that voters will get the kind of government they vote for and thus deserve. At least for his part, we doubt he’d like to see a House of Representatives filled with the likes of Brooks, Gaetz and Green.