Republicans, after a shocked silence, speak out against the Mar-a-Lago raid
Immediately after news broke about the FBI raid on a former, and possibly future, president, Republican politicians were silent. Fortunately, after they got over their initial shock and began making their political calculations, they concluded that what Biden's Department of Justice has done is completely outrageous and un-American. Marco Rubio, especially, went on a tear, so much so that he got himself trending on Twitter.
Rubio began by putting out several tweets attacking the administration's completely un-American abuse of power. He pointed out that America has never politically persecuted former presidents or potential political opponents. (Trump, for all his bluster, left Hillary alone, even though there was no question about her myriad violations of national security laws.)
Using government power to persecute political opponents is something we have seen many times from 3rd world Marxist dictatorships
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) August 9, 2022
But never before in America
After todays raid on Mar A Lago what do you think the left plans to use those 87,000 new IRS agents for?
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) August 9, 2022
The FBI isn’t doing anything about the groups vandalizing Catholic Churches, firebombing Pro-Life groups or threatening Supreme Court justices
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) August 9, 2022
But they find time to raid Mar A Lago
(Regarding the IRS, it also has over 5 million rounds of ammo; 4,461 weapons, including 15 fully automatic ones; and 2,148 law enforcement officers — and this is all before it benefits from the new spending bill.)
Rubio rounded out his evening of tweets with a short, compelling video in which he explains that we have entered a new chapter in American politics, one in which an administration criminally persecutes potential future political rivals:
Biden is playing with fire by using a document dispute to get the @TheJusticeDept to persecute a likely future election opponent
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) August 9, 2022
Because one day what goes around is going to come around
And then we become Nicaragua under Ortega pic.twitter.com/LwODnsYtcr
Rubio wasn't the only Republican who took a stand. Here's just a sampling of Republican politicians, some who always speak out (e.g., Ted Cruz) and others who seem to have realized that, if they don't push back now, a weaponized justice system and a rogue presidential administration mean that they're all at risk:
2/x Congress must demand answers. We need hearings; we need subpoenas.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) August 9, 2022
Dems in charge will refuse, but the American people deserve to know why Biden is using the FBI as his political enforcers.
Tin-pot dictators do that, but that’s not how America works.
4/x Ironically, Eric Holder predicted the Biden DOJ: pic.twitter.com/sXIGCn8Tvz
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) August 9, 2022
The FBI raid on President Trump’s home is an unprecedented political weaponization of the Justice Department. They’ve been after President Trump as a candidate, as President, and now as a former President. Using the criminal justice system in this manner is un-American.
— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) August 9, 2022
The raid of MAL is another escalation in the weaponization of federal agencies against the Regime’s political opponents, while people like Hunter Biden get treated with kid gloves. Now the Regime is getting another 87k IRS agents to wield against its adversaries? Banana Republic.
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantisFL) August 9, 2022
And we KNOW the “BIG MAN” met with the Chinese, facilitated Hunter’s business dealings, and probably got kick-backs! We have a two-tiered justice system in this country: one for the liberal elites and one for everyone else.
— Rep. Jeff Duncan (@RepJeffDuncan) August 9, 2022
Did Biden sign off on this raid? The American people deserve answers.
— Rep. Jeff Duncan (@RepJeffDuncan) August 9, 2022
The Epoch Times, which covers the raid very well, has a list of other Republicans who spoke up about it:
"The DOJ & FBI are being weaponized like never before to target political opponents. This Admin has thrown the rule of law and faith in our democratic institutions out the door," said Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) in a Monday Twitter post. "Joe Biden and Merrick Garland must answer immediately for today's raid against an American president."
"The inconsistent and partisan application of the law by the FBI has gone too far," Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.) said on Monday. "The Democrats, for too long, have used our government agencies from the FBI to the IRS to target their political opponents. This inconceivable raid is an attack on our Republic."
"This action, a raid on a former President and political rival, is something we would expect from Putin on his rivals... not here, not in the USA," Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) said.
We voters cannot sit out the election this November. In non-presidential election years, turnout tends to be incredibly low. This year, though, Congress's composition is overwhelmingly important.
With majorities, we can have hearings into all sorts of interesting things (e.g., the entire story of January 6). It's also theoretically possible that Republicans could gain a veto-proof majority in both houses. A majority like that could undo a lot of the damage under the Biden administration to date. I'm not holding my breath, but I can guarantee it's a non-starter if you don't vote.
The Democrats have gotten beyond arrogant, and they may have finally pushed things too far. They've frightened Republicans and may have mobilized many Americans who usually don't care about elections but may care a great deal when they're starting to look like Nicaragua or Venezuela.
Image: Marco Rubio (edited). Twitter screen grab.