Last week, I wrote an op-ed about the ongoing investigation of the January 6 insurrection and Rand Paul’s involvement.
I’m sharing it below in case you haven’t read it yet — so you understand why Rand Paul is unfit to represent Kentucky and why we’re fighting this election to replace him.
Charles Booker Opinion Contributor
The recent hearings on the Jan. 6 insurrection make one thing crystal clear: There are members of Congress, more specifically the Senate, who violated their oath to protect our democracy. Rand Paul’s one of those members.
As Rep. Liz Cheney said, there’s no room for debate. The violent mob of insurrectionists stormed our capitol, beat, tased and degraded capitol police, and sought to kill the Vice President and members of Congress. If it were up to senators like Paul, there would be no accountability, which poses a danger and a threat to our security.
Why did Paul dismiss the harrowing testimony and statements of capitol police officers who shared their experience during the Jan. 6 attempted coup –– the day an officer was killed trying to protect him and his colleagues against a vicious mob? Why does he oppose efforts to invest in community safety to protect our families?
The insurrection, which was described as “carnage and chaos” by a Capitol police officer, was a physical manifestation of the weakening of our democracy. Videos from Jan. 6, 2021, accompanying testimonies, underscore how important it is for Kentuckians to understand the severity of that day and the impact it’ll have on our nation for years to come. An understanding that Paul himself purposely refuses to grasp, as he calls these hearings a “partisan witch hunt.”
Documents entered into the record reveal that the group that organized the insurrection printed “Rand Paul…We the people love you” on their plans to storm capitol buildings. If that’s the surface, it’s fair to ask if digging deeper would cast an even more damning light on Paul’s involvement in the events of that day. Paul doesn’t want you to discover he abandoned and violated his oath to uphold the Constitution and protect our democracy.
"Thanks to your [expletive], we are under siege." Those are the words from Greg Jacob, former counsel to Mike Pence, to Trump-allied lawyer John Eastman. Rand Paul has no problems associating with the same people who organized that siege. Because to Paul, an allegiance to the corrupt establishment is stronger than an allegiance to the truth — and the people of Kentucky who he has continuously failed to represent.
Kentuckians are tired of being deceived, especially by those who say they’ll fight for us in DC. Paul’s lies weaken our democracy by empowering those who seek to come to power by corruption and cheating, rather than by the will of the people of Kentucky and the people of the United States. Protecting our democracy is more than protecting the right to vote. Protecting our democracy is going to DC bound to the voters who elected you. Protecting our democracy is upholding the will of the people of Kentucky. Paul failed in his duty to protect our democracy — on all accounts.
If Kentucky is to regain our power in Congress, we must start with replacing politicians like Rand Paul, who divide us, disrespect us, and hold us back rather than uniting us and delivering for our commonwealth. I believe our democracy – and Kentucky – is worth fighting for because I know there are people in every corner of Kentucky, from the hood to the holler, whose lives depend on our voice being heard. I believe our race will decide the fate of democracy. I’ll respectfully uphold my oath, when elected to the U.S. Senate, to protect democracy.
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