Thread by @Heidi_Cuda

As January 6 nears, I think we should acknowledge that lying is the message. That since 2016, the GOP has been preemptively crying about election fraud. GOP governor candidates cry fraud before results are in.

It’s not about facts; it’s about normalizing lies to confuse reality.

FACT: Far-right extremists, including Trump adviser and convicted felon Roger Stone, first popularized “Stop the Steal”, which dates back to the 2016 election and serves primarily to dispute Democratic votes in multiracial areas.-@MichaelEHayden @splcenter
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020…

FACT: Glenn Youngkin’s Campaign Surrogates Are Already Crying Fraud Ahead of Virginia’s Gubernatorial Election—So Is Trump: The Republican can’t disentangle himself from election fraud conspiracy theories that helped win him the nomination.
rollingstone.com/politics/polit… @RollingStone

FACT: As Newsom leads California recall polls, Larry Elder pushes baseless fraud claims.
A website paid for by Elder's campaign on Monday predicted his defeat and blamed unsubstantiated fraud claims.
nbcnews.com/politics/elect… @NBCNews

FACT: As @jimstewartson will explain in Ep7 of @radicalizedpod, the grinding down of reality with lies is having real world impacts.

https://twitter.com/jimstewartson/status/1476385001105022979

FACT: They weren’t tourists, Trump didn’t win, the Kremlin-infected GOP lies, people are being radicalized by lies.

January 6 was an attempted coup. The officers who prevented the overthrow of our democracy are heroes.

https://twitter.com/heidi_cuda/status/1434280639725916164

FACT: Lying is the message. To assert power over truth.

https://twitter.com/heidi_cuda/status/1015845383124078592

FACT: Parroting anything Trump says in relation to January 6 is parroting treason. Full stop.