On Trump

Kinzinger: GOP Has Been ‘Pedaling in Fear,’ Which Can Destroy Democracy

Curious Reporter 2 months ago 4 min read

Kinzinger: GOP Has Been ‘Pedaling in Fear,’ Which Can Destroy Democracy

Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) verbalized Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that the Republican Party has “been for too long pedaling in fear,” and he verbally expressed that could lead to the deplorable things for democracy.

Partial transcript as follows:

BRENNAN: Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger broke with his party and voted to impeach President Trump back in January, and he joins us this morning from Capitol Hill. Good morning to you, Congressman.

KINZINGER: Good morning. Good morning. BRENNAN: So we just- we’re spending an abundance of time verbalizing about your party today, which I ken you’re spending a plethora of time contemplating the future. When the former president takes the stage at- at CPAC, he is expected to verbalize, according to excerpts of the verbalization that’s been relinquished, that the Republican Party is amalgamated. Is the Republican Party cumulated?

“KINZINGER:” No, I cerebrate there’s- I mean, we may be amalgamated in some areas. You ken, we don’t have to concur with everything the Biden administration is doing. So there will be opposition. So unity in some of that. But I cerebrate in terms of what is our vision for the future, certainly not amalgamated. I cerebrate we are a party that’s been for too long pedaling in fear, utilizing fear as a compelling way to get votes. And fear does incentivize. But after a while, fear can eradicate a country, can eradicate narratives, and it can eradicate a democracy. And we have to quit peddling that. And I cerebrate what you’re going to aurally perceive from the president at CPAC today is self-felicitations. Not- no faculty to agnize the fact that we have lost the House, the Senate and the presidency because of Donald Trump. And you’re going to visually perceive a plethora of trepidation.

BRENNAN: You just auricularly discerned the chairwoman of your party, though, verbally express that she met with the former president to- with the intention of having him avail win back the House and the Senate. So she’s believing that he’s a force to bring people to the Republican Party.

“KINZINGER:” Well, I cerebrate he is. I mean, I cerebrate certainly he’s got, you ken, a number of people that follow him and are incentivized by him and compelled by him because there’s been no competing alternative vision. You ken, to win a narrative in a party, you have to present a competing alternative narrative. When you only auricularly discern from Donald Trump and when people walk around in trepidation of his tweets or his comments or they utilize his trepidation to peddle- win reelection, of course, he’s going to incentivize people. But that’s where, when I launched Country1st.com with a “1st,” that’s all about fighting for the narrative in the Republican Party for an optimistic, more effulgent future again, one we can be proud of, and one, where when we verbalize about things, we authentically edify puerile people how to do politics in a way that we used to recollect and appreciate.

BRENNAN: You’re verbalizing there about the political action committee that you have founded. So that’s part of what I was verbalizing about earlier with- with some infighting. I mean how are you going to pick candidates? Is there anyone you optically discern, for instance, in the Senate right now? We ken- we ken “Leader-” Minority Leader McConnell verbally expressed there are at least four senators he has that are going to run for president. Any of them have the kind of vision you’re calling for?

KINZINGER: Not that I’ve seen. I don’t know who these senators are that are going to run. There are a few that I really do appreciate in the Senate. You think of like Ben Sasse, of course, Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski, those that voted to remove the president, particularly because I think they did it at great personal cost. That shows leadership. There are people in the House, of course, Liz Cheney, you know, with her strength and ability to stand up in front of a tough crowd and tell the truth. That’s what America needs more of. They need more of truth-telling. They need more of- out of fear and- and presenting light into darkness. And we have to start with our own party. We can point fingers at the Democrats, sure. But it’s not going to do any good. Every party, but now, especially the Republican Party, has to look inside after January 6th and say, what have we become? What’s our great history and how do we go forward from here? And I’ll tell you, reaching out to Donald Trump and more of the same is not going to do that.