By Todd Lassa
There is a pervasive notion that the January 6 pro-Trump Capitol insurrection was not a one-off. Given the ongoing commitment among some in the Republican Party to what is now known -- but not by them -- as "The Big Lie," that the 2020 presidential election was "stolen," there is concern that coups tend to fail before they succeed and in 2024 if the election results do not have a Republican presidential victory, there may be another insurrection.
Last Friday, one of the current congress members who has chosen not to run for re-election and face one of Donald J. Trump’s hand-picked primary challengers, Rep. Tony Gonzalez, R-OH, spoke on CNN to warn that January 6 was a “dress rehersal” and that a much better-organized Trump campaign will try again when he runs in 2024.
“January 6 was an unconstitutional attempt led by the President of the United States to overturn an American election and reinstall himself in power illegitimately,” Gonzalez said. “That’s fallen nation territory. That’s third world country territory. My family left Cuba to avoid that fate.
“I will not let it happen here,” Gonzalez continued. “I think it’s all pushing towards one of two outcomes: He either wins legitimately, which he may do, or he loses again, you just try to steal it.”
Gonzalez, a sophomore representative serving for Ohio’s 16th Congressional District was one of 10 Republicans in the House of Representatives to vote for Trump’s second impeachment, over the January 6 insurrection. He announced in September he would not run for a third term.
In a statement released by Trump’s Save America PAC, Gonzalez’s September retirement announcement prompted the ex-president to say, “1 down, 9 to go!” (per Mediaite.)
President Biden and other Democratic leaders have tried to push federal legislation that would restore portions of the 1964 Voting Rights Act that would prevent such state legislation from taking effect, though there is no chance any of the proposed bills would pass the Senate without suspension of the legislative filibuster.
The question on the table is this: Should Rep. Gonzalez’s warnings be taken seriously? If so, what steps should Congress take – if any – to assure a fair 2024 presidential election?