The Future of Our Party

By Matthew Johnson

I write to all of you, my fellow Republicans and members of the Party of Lincoln, with a heavy heart and deep frustration as to the current state of our party.

In light of the attack on the Capitol, I feel as though it is my solemn obligation to share with you what unfortunately appears to be an unpopular opinion.

President Trump violated his oath of office by inciting an insurrection designed to prevent a peaceful transfer of power. His failure to immediately call in the National Guard as rioters ransacked our temple of democracy and tried to overturn a legitimate election was in violation of his oath to support and defend the Constitution.

We witnessed last Wednesday rioters, emboldened by his claims of a rigged election, storm the Capitol and disrupt the lawful certification of election results. These insurrectionists smashed windows, damaged federal property, occupied the halls of the Capitol, and sought to prevent Congress from certifying a free and fair election. This was a traitorous coup, an insurrection, designed to overthrow the will of the people. And while we all condemn the actions of those insurrectionists, we must not forget how we ended up here.

The events that unfolded on Wednesday didn’t just happen in a vacuum. Wednesday’s events are a direct manifestation of the President’s false claims of a rigged election. We have to acknowledge that President Trump’s words have consequences, that the bully pulpit he holds influences millions. For months, he lied about wide-spread voter fraud, and yet many believed him. When that crowd gathered in D.C., just hours before besieging the Capitol, he continued riling them up with these false claims. And as these insurrectionists stormed the Capitol, our temple of democracy, and disrupted constitutionally-mandated procedures, he watched, refusing to immediately call in the National Guard. His actions and, more importantly, his inaction crossed a line.

As a young person in politics, I gravitated toward the Republican Party because of its values, principles, and most of all integrity. I found solace in a party that placed the rule of law above any one individual, that valued limited government, that cherished our founding documents, and that revered our democratic institutions. I admired its consistent adherence to these principles and its honorable history as the party that freed the slaves and saved the Union. But in the midst of these recent events, I believe our party is changing and not for the better. I worry we are watching our party, a party of decency, rationality, and most of all integrity, become one solely committed to appeasing Donald Trump.

While I pray for our party and will do everything in my power to steer it back toward those principles that attracted me, I still have hope. I have faith in the honorable Republicans and secretaries of state who are defending the sanctity of our vote. I have faith in the countless number of Trump-appointed judges who found no validity to these claims of voter fraud. I have faith in the poll workers who despite a global pandemic rushed to the frontlines to administer our elections. I have faith in former Trump administration officials like Bill Barr and Chris Krebs who have publicly refuted claims of wide-spread voter fraud. And I have faith in the men and women of law enforcement who restored law and order to Capitol Hill after thugs tried to undermine one of our country’s most cherished traditions: a peaceful transfer of power. We are a party of these patriots.

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Matthew Johnson is a member of the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee