Anti-Trump GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger slammed Republicans — and Democrats too — in his farewell speech Thursday as he leaves Congress after refusing to run in a Republican primary against a Trump-backed challenger.
“Did Republicans once think that limited government meant lower taxes and more autonomy? Today, limited government means inciting violence against government officials,” said Kinzinger, an Illinois lawmaker who was one of only two GOP members to sit on the House Select Committee on Jan. 6.
He pointed to the aftermath of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, in which a federal building was attacked by two anti-government extremists, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols.
“Former President George HW Bush publicly refuted those who used fear to gain support,” Kinzinger recalled. “In stark contrast, our leaders today downplay and in some cases justify attacks on the US Capitol as ‘legitimate political discourse.’
The phrase comes from a document voted on by members of the Republican National Committee that reprimanded Kinzinger and GOP Rep. Liz Cheney for their involvement in the Jan. 6 Democrat-led investigation.
“The Republican Party used to believe in a big tent that welcomed the weary, the poor, and the huddled masses longing to breathe freely,” he continued. “Now we protect the ignorant, the racists who only stir up anger and hatred towards those who are different from us.”
Anti-Trump GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger slammed Republicans — and Democrats too — in his farewell speech Thursday as he leaves Congress after refusing to run in a Republican primary against a Trump-backed challenger
He has blasted Republicans for protecting the “ignorant, the racist” and the party’s response to January 6 (pictured).
“But we cannot use our faith like a sword as a shield while ignoring the fact that we are all children of God, that we are all Americans,” he added.
He said Democrats’ hands aren’t clean because the party often helped fund the more extreme Republican MAGA candidates in the 2022 primary in order to knock out moderate Republicans who appeal to a broader spectrum of voters in the November midterm election could.
“To my democratic colleagues, you must also bear the burden of our failures,” said Kinzinger. “A lot of you have been asking me where are all the good Republicans? In the past two years, the Democratic leadership has had a chance to stand above the fray. Instead, they’ve poured millions of dollars into the campaigns of MAGA Republicans, the same candidates President Biden called a national security threat, to ensure these fine Republicans don’t make it out of their respective primaries.
“This is no longer politics in the usual sense. This is not a game,” he continued. “If you keep stoking the fire, you won’t be able to point the finger when our great experiment bursts into flames.”
He said members of both parties lacked the backbone to stand up to put the country above the party.
“When one party’s megaphone echoes calls for civil war and the other tacitly, and in some cases openly, supports it, then we are clearly lost, Mr Speaker,” he said. “Like the Titanic on its maiden voyage, unless Republicans and Democrats urgently correct course, I fear we will hit the iceberg right in front of us.”
Kinzinger, who served in the Air Force on two tours of duty in Iraq and remains in the Air National Guard, stressed the importance of US staying engaged in Ukraine’s war against Russia.
Some members of the Republican Party, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, have suggested they may stop funding the effort once they take control of the House in January.
“Advocating more American aid to Ukraine to counter Putin’s illegal invasion shouldn’t be political, that’s exactly the right thing. By supporting those who believe in freedom, we advance the interests of the American people,” Kinzinger argued.
“Should this Congress, or any future Congress, decide to turn our backs on our covenants and commitments, it will only embolden our adversaries,” he said.
He specifically pointed to China – and suggested that the communists would take over Taiwan if the US pulled financial aid from Ukraine.
“It was all certain that China gauges its pain tolerance based on our response to Ukraine,” Kinzinger said. “And should we fail to support our allies in Kyiv, China will unleash its own imperial aspirations across the region.”
Kinzinger concluded his remarks by highlighting some of the mistreatment he suffered as an anti-Trump Republican in a congressional body that has remained mostly loyal to the ex-president.
Thanking his family members, he said, “You all helped me and my time of need. While others fled, you stood firm and supported me through thick and thin. And I am eternally grateful for that.”
And called his staff that they were “taking the brunt of the vitriol of angry and lost individuals.”
“Had I known that standing up for the truth would cost me my job, friendships, and even my personal safety, I would — without hesitation — do it all over again,” he said. “I can rest easy at night knowing I have fulfilled my oath to the office.”
“I know that many in this institution cannot do the same,” he said.