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- Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska warned in an editorial in The Atlantic that the QAnon conspiracy theory movement is destroying the GOP.
- “We can be dedicated to defending the Constitution and perpetuating our best American institutions and traditions, or we can be a party of conspiracy theories, cable TV fantasies and the ruin that goes with it,” writes Sasse du GOP.
- Followers of QAnon’s conspiracy theory believe, without merit, that a Satan cabal worshiping child abusers controls the world.
- Followers of the movement were on the front lines of the Capitol riots, in which a police officer and a rioter who shared QAnon slogans on social media were killed.
- Sections of the GOP have embraced the movement, and Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene has openly supported the movement.
- Visit the Business Insider homepage for more stories.
Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska warned the QAnon conspiracy theory movement was destroying the GOP in a mind-boggling op-ed for The Atlantic.
In the article, Sasse describes how supporters of the movement played a leading role in the January 6 riots on Capitol Hill.
“The violence Americans have witnessed – and which could recur in the next few days – is not a protest gone bad or the work of ‘a few bad apples.’ It is the flowering of a rotten seed which has taken root in the Republican Party for some time and has been nurtured by betrayal, bad political judgment and cowardice, ”writes Sasse.
He praises Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman for drawing a crowd led by a man wearing a QAnon shirt away from a chamber where Senators and Vice President Mike Pence were present during the unrest.
“We can be dedicated to defending the Constitution and perpetuating our best American institutions and traditions, or we can be a party of conspiracy theories, cable TV fantasies and the ruin that goes with them,” he continues. . “We can be Eisenhower’s party, or the party of conspirator Alex Jones. We can either cheer on Officer Goodman or be on the side of the crowd he has beaten. We cannot do both.
The QAnon conspiracy theory movement appeared on the 4Chan and 8Chan messaging forums in 2017 and has continued to be embraced by part of the Republican base, hailed by President Donald Trump and seen an adherent, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. , elected to Congress.
The movement groundlessly believes that Democrats and Hollywood stars run child abuse rings, which Trump is working to dismantle. Supporters who stormed Capitol Hill believed they were triggering the storm, an event in which they believe Trump will en masse execute his political enemies.
In the essay, Sasse describes Greene as a “cuckoo clock for Cocoa Puffs”. He attributes the growing strength of movements based on conspiracy theories to factors such as America’s “junk food” media regime, the collapse of faith in institutions and a pervasive loss of meaning.
He writes about a growing rift in the GOP between Republicans who supported Trump’s impeachment for causing the riots and those who refused to do so.
Sasse is one of a small group of GOP senators who have openly opposed Trump’s electoral fraud conspiracy theories that sparked the riots and left open the possibility of convicting Trump in his second impeachment trial.
Sasse said many party colleagues have privately said they were afraid to support Trump’s impeachment because they “believed a vote to impeach the president would put their lives, or that of their families, in danger. “, from extremist supporters of Trump.
Sasse calls on the party to show courage in categorically rejecting conspiracy theories adopted by sections of the American right and in efforts to rebuild the party.
“Until last week, many party leaders and consultants thought they could preach the Constitution with a nod to QAnon. They can’t. The GOP must reject conspiracy theories or be consumed by them. Now is the time to decide what it is, “writes Sasse.
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