Thread by @benwikler

GOP House leaders are opposing the bipartisan Jan 6 commission. Why? Partly because they’re afraid it’ll show how GOP politicians who fanned conspiracy theories helped inspire the violent insurrection. Politicians like Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin.
axios.com/kevin-mccarthy…

Van Orden, the Republican who is now taking a second shot at unseating Congressman Ron Kind, wants to shed all responsibility for what happened on 1/6. But facts are stubborn things. He was at the so-called “Stop the Steal” rally. No hiding from the truth.

https://twitter.com/benwikler/status/1359208829557309440

In November, responding to the election, Derrick Van Orden instructed Republicans to “hold fast,” because there was so much “anecdotal evidence of voter fraud.”

https://twitter.com/derrickvanorden/status/1325133777568325632

In November and December, Derrick Van Orden kept darkly tweeting “every legal vote.” Here he is QTing Rand Paul, who was sharing a roundly debunked, BS conspiracy theory about “voter fraud” in Michigan.

https://twitter.com/derrickvanorden/status/1329900422136352768

On January 1, he proudly announced that he’d be traveling to D.C. to “stand up for the integrity of our electoral system.”

https://twitter.com/derrickvanorden/status/1345135597468336128

And here’s Van Orden’s video proudly announcing his arrival in D.C., saying he was there to support “voter integrity.”

https://twitter.com/derrickvanorden/status/1346176471723872257

On January 6, Van Orden went to the “Stop the Steal” rally. He tweeted selfies. He was pumped. He didn’t say anything about the folks in tactical gear, the noose, the guys in Nazi sweatshirts.

And then, when the mob started to march to the Capitol… he left. And immediately seemed to realize that this insurrection based on lies he’d egged on was going to backfire on him politically. He deleted his selfie, tweeted denunciations.
wispolitics.com/2021/wisdems-f…

You can’t condemn the insurrectionists if you were responsible for fanning anti-democracy conspiracy theories that then led to the rally, which resulted in the deadly insurrection. And you’ve got to ask yourself—why were you at the rally in the first place?wxow.com/2020/09/12/g-o…

You can’t pretend like you had nothing to do with the violence at the Capitol, when you have directly contributed to the cause of the mob—and traveled to participate in the prequel to the insurrection.

Van Orden—like so much of the GOP—is scared of the truth. Because the truth involves complicity. Don’t let them rewrite history.

RT this thread; ensure they can’t write over the truth with their incessant lies & obfuscation. If we ignore the past, the risk grows of repeating it.