Former Republican US Rep. Adam Kinzinger: Trump has untethered the GOP from its values

CHICAGO — Former Republican Illinois U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger told Democrats on the final night of their national convention Thursday that he was “proud to be in the trenches with you as part of this sometimes-awkward alliance to defend truth, democracy and decency,” according to his prepared remarks.

Kinzinger, who represented exurban Channahon in Congress for 12 years, has become one of the most outspoken critics of Donald Trump in the Republican Party since the failed insurrection by the former president’s supporters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Speaking in prime time just before Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted the Democrats’ presidential nomination, Kinzinger said that since turning against Trump, he has been “relieved to discover” that “the Democrats are as patriotic as” Republicans.

“They love this country just as much as we do,” said Kinzinger, one of only two Republicans to serve on the House panel that investigated Trump’s role in the attempt to disrupt the electoral vote count after the 2020 election. “And they are as eager to defend American values at home and abroad as we conservatives have ever been.”

Kinzinger’s prominent speaking slot on the final night of the Democratic National Convention underscored the focus the party placed on outreach to Republican and independent voters during its four days in Chicago. Kinzinger was given a more prominent time slot than Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, the convention’s de facto host.

The GOP “is no longer conservative,” Kinzinger told the Democrats. “It has switched its allegiance from the principles that gave it purpose to a man whose only purpose is himself.”

A former Air Force pilot who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, Kinzinger said: “As a conservative and a veteran, I believe true strength lies in defending the vulnerable. It’s in protecting your family. It’s in standing up for our Constitution and our democracy. That is the soul of being a conservative. It used to be the soul of being a conservative.

“But Donald Trump has suffocated the soul of the Republican Party.”

Kinzinger, who unseated then-Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Halvorson in 2010 to win his first term in Congress, opted not to run for reelection in 2022 after Illinois Democrats during redistricting drew him into a district that favored their party, in part out of fear of the GOP lawmaker’s rising political star.

Kinzinger had endorsed Joe Biden for reelection the day before the president’s disastrous late June debate performance that precipitated his withdrawal from the race. When Biden backed Harris to replace him on the Democratic ticket, Kinzinger followed suit, joining a Republicans for Harris group, alongside former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar.

While some might question his presence on the United Center stage at the DNC, Kinzinger declared, “I do belong here.”

“I know Kamala Harris shares my allegiance to the rule of law, the Constitution and democracy. And she is dedicated to upholding all three in service to our country,” he said.

“Whatever policies we disagree on pale in comparison with those fundamental matters of principle, of decency, and of fidelity to this nation. Listen, to my fellow Republicans: If you still pledge allegiance to those principles, I suspect you belong here too, because democracy knows no party.”

Despite their differences on many political issues, before Kinzinger’s speech Illinois Democrats largely his welcomed presence at their quadrennial gathering.

Freshman U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski of Springfield said there are many Republicans and independents in her central and southern Illinois district who “know what’s at stake in this election.”

Kinzinger “is an effective messenger” to those voters because “he’s been very clear about why he’s doing something that’s unusual for him,” said Budzinki, who doesn’t have a speaking role at the home-state convention despite being a target for Republicans in the Nov. 5 election.

“He’s never obviously supported a Democratic presidential candidate before, but I think he’s doing that and stepping forward in a pretty brave way because he knows (there) is so much at stake in this November election,” she said.

Kinzinger is a good spokesman for the dangers of a second Trump term and can provide a vantage point farther from the political right, said Illinois U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley of Chicago.

“A guy who’s a patriot, he’s a veteran, people should respect the fact that he knew it was the right thing, and he certainly knew what it was going to do to him, and he did it anyway,” Quigley said.

Dawn Koenigsknecht, a delegate from Evanston, said the decision to have Kinzinger speak on the final night of the convention showed a commitment to the country over political parties.

“I really think we’re at a point in this election where we need to put our country before our party, and I think by inviting the Republicans into the convention and speaking to constituents and people that may be feeling the same way that they do, they know they’re welcome here,” Koenigsknecht said.

The praise for Kinzinger extended beyond the Illinois delegation.

“His bravery to come to Illinois and speak at a Democratic convention is to be applauded, and that will go down as, I think, one of the strongest points made during this convention,” said Mississippi U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, who chaired the House Jan. 6 committee.

Scheduled to speak earlier in prime time Thursday was U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg, who like Harris is of South Asian decent.

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