Barbara Mezeske: Who will you vote for?

Answers: “Democrat,” “Republican,” “Libertarian” or “none of the above.” But be careful if your answer is “Republican.” Today’s Republican party is not the one you voted for in the 20th century. Today’s new Republican Party is a party of extremists that bears little resemblance to the party of Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, John McCain, George Romney or Bill Milliken.

There are three ways to know if a candidate shares the new extremist Republican views.

First, extremists reject the 2020 election results. Conveniently, they do this selectively, focusing on Joe Biden’s decisive 51% to 47% win over Donald Trump. They aren’t fussing over other races in 2020 — as long as those races went to Republicans. Republicans made a net gain of 14 seats in the House of Representatives in 2020, and the party was happy to accept the results.

According to FiveThirtyEight, half of Republican candidates for Congress, governor, secretary of state and attorney general have entertained or encouraged the Big Lie that the 2020 presidential race was stolen. Some say it outright. Others talk about voter fraud. Most are adept at sidestepping the question, if asked directly. Tudor Dixon started out saying the election was stolen; now that she has the nomination for governor, she deflects to talk about voter fraud. Matt DePerno was deeply involved in conspiracy theories about the 2020 Michigan vote, especially in Antrim County. So was Kristina Karamo in Detroit.

There is nothing wrong with challenging the results of a close election. Recounts happen all the time. But when the recounts, and the lawsuits, and the allegations all resolve in one direction — Biden won — the challengers accept the conclusion, and enable the peaceful transition of power. Until Donald Trump and the new Republicans, that is.

A second indication of extremism is the way the candidates talk about the Jan. 6 events in Washington, D.C. Do they see it as “legitimate political discourse” as the Republican National Committee declared in February? Ordinary tourist activity, as declared by Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Georgia)? Peaceful patriotic demonstration, as said by Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Arizona)? Action by patriots who deserve pardons, promised by Trump if he is re-elected? Or do they see it for what it was: a riot intended to prevent or delay the certification of the election of Joe Biden? Do they acknowledge that the violence perpetrated by organized militias like the Proud Boys was treasonous and criminal, or do they make excuses for what we all saw on those videos?

How do the candidates talk about the Jan. 6 committee, and especially about its two Republican members, Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Illinois)? Trump called Cheney and Kinsinger “horrible RINOs” (Republicans in Name Only). House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Ca) and Jim Jordan (R-Oh) threatened this summer to subpoena the entire committee if the Republicans gain the majority in the House in November. Fox News has accused the committee of not hearing “both sides.” There is a problem there: is it the committee’s job to give the rioters a platform to explain why they assaulted Capitol police officers, vandalized the building, chanted “Hang Mike Pence,” and came armed with all sorts of military and incidental weapons like bear spray and the flag poles?

The third indicator of extremism is the way the candidates speak about violence as a political tool. When someone with a national platform like Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) says there will be “riots in the streets” if Donald Trump is prosecuted for mishandling government secrets, there can be no doubt that this is no longer the Republican party of the past. Republican campaign ads feature candidates posing with guns, or promising to go “RINO hunting.” Voters are encouraged to embrace candidates who will “fight” for them. In the aftermath of the events of Jan. 6, “fighting” takes on new meaning.

This is language that is intended to radicalize the new Republican base, and there is mounting evidence that it works. An FBI field office in Cincinnati was attacked by a man wielding a nail gun after the raid on Mar-a-Lago. IRS offices are bracing for potential violence after Republicans like Ted Cruz (R-Texas) have falsely claimed that new funding for that agency will put a “new army of 87,000 IRS agents to target regular, everyday Americans.”

We see the effects of violent rhetoric right here in Ottawa County. Randy Meppelink, a two-term county commissioner, was defeated this summer by a candidate endorsed by extremist Republican group Ottawa Impact. He reported to Bridge Michigan that he received as many as 400 emails a day filled with hateful vitriol, and threatening death to him and to his wife. Meppelink, by the way, is an old-style Republican from Zeeland who has served the community since 2018.

When you vote in November, examine your own political identity. Maybe it needs to be updated. Maybe you need to switch sides, at least until the Republican Party is able to clearly see the distinction between patriotism and sedition.

— Community Columnist Barbara Mezeske is a retired teacher and resident of Park Township. She can be reached at bamezeske@gmail.com. 

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Barbara Mezeske: Who will you vote for?