Extremism In Defense Of Climate Denialism Is Republican Virtue
Republicans do not think it is legitimate for Democrats to govern irrespective of their level of public support, cont’d:
Oregon’s statehouse shut down for safety concerns on Saturday. But the threats weren’t coming from anonymous trolls or foreign fighters—they were coming from the state’s Republican senators, who have teamed up with right-wing militias to threaten violence over a climate change bill.
Eleven of Oregon’s Senate Republicans fled the state this week to avoid a vote on a bill that would cap greenhouse emissions. The group, believed to be hiding in Idaho, left the state senate with too few lawmakers to hold a vote. But the move is more than a legislative maneuver. The missing senators have partnered with right-wing paramilitary groups to threaten violence, should they be brought back to Oregon.
The state senate had scheduled sessions on Saturday, but cancelled them after reports of several militias’ two-day “Rally to Take the Capitol” this weekend.
“Oregon State Police has recommended that the Capitol be closed tomorrow due to a possible militia threat,” a spokesperson for the senate president told the Associated Press on Friday night.
Only “militia” isn’t really the right term:
It’s interesting that in the United States you can get your armed terrorist group politely termed a “militia” by both law enforcement and the media if you adopt a right-wing ideology.— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) June 22, 2019