Today, the state legislative Republicans today renewed their mission to condone violence when it serves the purpose of stoking public distrust in the electoral process.
Republican state Representative Steve Carra proposed a resolution to declare every January 6th “Remembrance Day,” in spite of the violence last year which resulted in five deaths and injured 140 law enforcement officers.
Included in the resolution set to progress through the State House this afternoon is a full-throated defense of known and charged insurrectionist Ryan Kelley, claiming the gubernatorial Republican was “improperly raided” and arrested by the FBI despite racking up multiple federal criminal charges.
This unhinged resolution comes in the wake of “rushed” defense from every Republican gubernatorial candidate and MIGOP leadership:
- Kevin Rinke, who has already put his millions behind a patently false TV ad broadcasting debunked election conspiracy theories, said he “respect[s] Ryan Kelley” and suggested that the FBI wasn’t “acting appropriately” in prosecuting his actions as an insurrectionist.
- Garrett Soldano explicitly accused the FBI of being “an arm of the Democrat Party” and “intimidating Republicans.”
- Tudor Dixon echoed Soldano, stating that Kelley’s arrest was “another example of political prosecution by a Democrat Party notorious for weaponizing government.”
- Ralph Rebandt went so far as to issue a lengthy statement on the matter, saying that this was just the latest step in a crusade by “the left” to “politicize everything.”
MDP spokesperson Rodericka Applewhaite issued the following statement:
“Working families must be absolutely thrilled that Republican state legislators are actively rejecting law and order to relitigate yesteryear while solutions that meet today’s issues languish in their chambers. But because this is the sorry state of Michigan Republicans in 2022, Rep. Carra’s bizarre resolution is getting fast-tracked through the chamber to carry water for Ryan Kelley. Every Republican vying for governor should have to answer where they stand on this resolution and if they would use their position to defend radical insurrectionists instead of addressing the issues facing Michigan families.”
