Republican Rusty Bowers was America's newest hero. It didn't last 24 hours.

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/rusty-bowers-jan-6-testimony-was-powerful-he-still-backs-n1296499?cid=sm_npd_ms_tw_ma

Arizona House Speaker Russell “Rusty” Bowers’ voice wavered as he spoke to the House Jan. 6 committee Tuesday about his belief in a divinely inspired Constitution. His conviction was clear when describing the offense he took at former President Donald Trump asking him to break the law. In testimony that’s being likened to Jimmy Stewart in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” Bowers said violating the Constitution “because somebody just asked me to is foreign to my very being.”

Like the fellow Republicans who joined him on Tuesday’s panel, Bowers was willing to speak the taboo that has condemned so many of Republicans: Trump lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden and tried to persuade officials like Bowers to help him illegally stay in office. But Bowers stood out for his simple yet eloquent musings on the nature of courage and democracy.

Three short sentences burn away the patina of bravery that Bowers had cloaked himself in.
It was easy to get lost in the moment that Bowers created — but then reality comes crashing in. In an interview with the Associated Press, Bowers said of Trump: “If he is the nominee, if he was up against Biden, I’d vote for him again. Simply because what he did the first time, before Covid, was so good for the county. In my view it was great.”

Those three short sentences burn away the patina of bravery that Bowers had cloaked himself in and undoes any of the admiration I’d had for him as he testified on Tuesday. Because what is the point of a principle if it is only adhered to in moments of extreme duress? What does it say that once the moment of danger has passed, the driving force behind that danger is once again welcomed with open arms? How can there be such forgiveness without any atonement or repentance from the person who has done you wrong?

*snip*

[CentralMass]

1. These people are sycophantic cultists.

[gldstwmn]

62. They need deprogramming.

[paparush]

66. They need to be lined up against a wall. nt

[SergeStorms]

64. They're scared.

They have every right to be scared. What they don't have the right to do is fold like a three-legged card table in the face of their fear, not if they want to remain in government.

[catbyte]

2. I'm still waiting for these people to list exactly what that thing did that was so "great."

So I guess to ideologues like Bowers, killing almost 1,000,000 Americans and leading a failed coup were just a couple of whoopsies. Btw, I guess it doesn't matter that he exploded the deficit even before Covid. But they did pack the courts with unqualified MAGAts so there's that I suppose.

Wtf is wrong with these people?!? I'll never, ever understand.

[tblue37]

4. He put christofascists on the SCOTUS. That counts for a lot with people like Bowers.

[maxsolomon]

18. He rode Obama's coattails on the economy

and lucked out on SCOTUS nominees thanks to McConnell's skullduggery and Ginsburg's stubborn foolishness.

Because of that, the Narcissist wound up ending Abortion, which is the #1 motivating issue for every Conservative Catholic Republican I'm related to.

[PSPS]

19. The reason for their allegiance is simple: trump hates the same people they do.

[Samrob]

23. THIS!!

[atreides1]

45. Exactly

Just like their "God" hates the same people they do!!!

[Mad_Machine76]

28. It reminds me

of how many of the same people in the early 2000's thought that George W. Bush was a strong, determined, and resolute leader- aside from that whole 3000K Americans dead in one day due to a terrorist attack that he was later found to be largely asleep at the wheel for. Any other President would be crucified for the number of losses we endured under Bush and Trump, yet all of that anger and outrage was instead directed towards Biden and his perhaps less than perfect final withdrawal from Afghanistan. Why do Republicans get graded on such a f**king huge curve?!

[not fooled]

34. Exploit the planet

that's my guess for one of the reasons Bowers thought red don's policies were great.

Wouldn't surprise me if Bowers is LDS.

[GoodRaisin]

42. It must have been shutting down the government for 6 weeks for nothing,

cowering to Putin in Helsinki, separating small children from their parents, or signing tax breaks for the rich. I can’t think of anything else Trump “did” before Covid but ride in a golf cart and feed his face Big Macs. Bowers thinks these are good things for the country? Packing the court was McConnell’s doing. WTF is Bowers talking about?

[Thomas Hurt]

3. Bowers hypocrisy only goes so far, but voting for the Pig again is not too far. LOL..

You can't be surprised can you? He is a christofascist.

The Pig can be corrupt and a criminal as long as he doesn't involve Rusty boy here.

[wnylib]

38. Trump is the id to their superego.

He says and does the things that they would if they felt free to do so themselves. He expresses a part of themselves that they suppress due to religion. He "completes" them.

It's like a straight-laced, uptight guy who falls madly in love with a prostitute. She makes him feel good about doing things he wants to do.

[Thomas Hurt]

40. exactly, the Pig is an anti-christ, who better for the faux christians to partner up....

with to get their dirty work done.

[AnotherMother4Peace]

5. It's the Supreme Court, no more, no less. Bowers said he would vote

for trump over Biden - it's about abortion for these religious zealots. trump got them the majority on the SC, so there goes roe, there goes separation of church/state, there goes voting rights.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

8. I'm not sure why people don't get this

Trump advanced some of the biggest priorities for the Republican Party by packing the Court. So yeah, they support the results, just not who got them, and if they have to choose between a tyrant and someone who will undo those priorities, they'll choose the tyrant.
I suspect that a lot of the same people saying that people like Romney, Cheney, et al should just join the Democrats since they hate Trump would be the first screaming to primary them when they voted against abortion protections...

[AnotherMother4Peace]

10. If trump runs, he'll get the religious right. Many republican women, moderates,

and independents will abandon him.

[TheRealNorth]

15. Not if they can make them afraid of crime and "the blacks"

It almost worked in 2020 despite TFG bungling Covid.

[jmbar2]

27. Now that they packed the court, what is the appeal?

What the hell else do they want?

[Bleacher Creature]

6. He's a danger to the future viability of democracy, but I'll vote for him if he lowers my taxes.

The GOP is truly the party of selfish cowards.

[wryter2000]

7. I wish some of these types would say

“I’ll do my utmost to make sure Trump isn’t the nominee.”

[agingdem]

9. and the same can be said of Raffensperger

false saints...a moment of conscience does not erase 4 years of obedience and support for a amoral narcissistic sociopath and his devastating "policies".. Bowers liked what he saw pre-covid (almost 2 years of Trump's four were pandemic)... Mr. Divinely Inspired Rusty Bowers was on board with: separating families, babies in cages, the muslim ban, the wall, Charlottesville, Russian election interference, sucking up to despots, Ukraine coercion/extortion, overt racism, antisemitism, ignoring the pandemic, replacing scientist/virologists with quacks and hacks, disappearing 300,000 covid dead, shit hole countries, Stormy Daniels, sexual assault, abandoning global treaties/agreements, 30,500 lies, sedition, inciting an insurrection, a coup...all good "policies", but OMG fake electors..a bridge too far!!!

No halo for Rusty..he's had his 15 minutes of fame, literally...

[OMGWTF]

30. Also, he's been kicking people off the GA voter rolls for a long time, per Thom Hartmann

[agingdem]

32. Raffensperger is no mensch..

he handed the governorship to Brian Kemp...

[wnylib]

39. On the mark nd very well put.

[UTUSN]

11. Same as with almost all of those

[Mr. Ected]

12. His testimony was damning to the Trump cabal

And increased the likelihood of their future criminal prosecution.

That's all we'll ever have to laud Rusty Bowers for.

I foresee we'll eventually take the same view of Liz Cheney, though I'd posit that she will at least be universally revered for her patriotism.

[Claustrum]

14. I think Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger are better than these people.

I am almost sure both of them won't vote for TFG if he is on the ticket in 2024. Not that they will vote for a democrat but at least they wouldn't support TFG if he is on the ticket. Same can't be said for these other people.

[dchill]

13. If at first you don't suck seed, try, try again!

He probably believes that Trump was chosen by GOD.

[Rebl2]

16. What an

idiot. He testified against him, yet he would vote for him again. He is not a hero or brave.

[hadEnuf]

35. He loves Trump but he's not going to go to prison for perjury for him.

He's no hero, he's part of the slime.

[Handler]

59. You are absolutely correct

simply saving his own ass.

[Deminpenn]

17. This is eactly what made him a devasting witness against Trump

He's an ultra-conservative and supports the same policies. Don't forget the Rs loved the message (policies), they just hated the messanger (Trump).

[crimycarny]

20. Donald Trump is mentally ill--how can anyone support him???

This is what I don't understand about those seemingly sane people like Bowers supporting Donald Trump in any way, fashion, or form regardless of what they think he did that was "great" for the country. He almost destroyed our Democracy due to his malignant narcissism. He is not sane, period.

If a Donald Trump-type candidate ran as a Democrat and was able to pass Medicare For All, Student Loan Forgiveness, Green New Deal, etc. I would NOT vote for him after a 1/6 because it's obvious the man is absolutely insane and a ticking time bomb. All the "great" things he did would not matter a whit because I would understand he is a threat to our Democracy.

I don't get it, I truly don't.

[inthewind21]

56. Really

He's mentally ill? The "mentally ill" excuse is used waaaaaaaay to often. The people who actually are mentally ill thank you for lumping the likes of Trump in with them.

[crimycarny]

67. My son died by suicide--there all types of "mentally ill"--spare me the sanctimony

Trump is a classic Malignant Narcissist, which is a mental illness. He has no conscience. Whether he was born that way or developed it over time who knows. It is not an "excuse", it's a fact.

My son had anxiety and depression, he too was mentally ill. I don't lump him in the same category as Trump as the two mental illnesses are completely different.

I have epilepsy, my husband has diabetes type 2, my dad had high blood pressure, my Aunt had cancer. All are medical conditions. So if I say I have epilepsy am I "lumping myself" into all medical conditions?

Spare me.

[Traildogbob]

21. So the God

He turned to for guidance about criminality is fine with trump to get the power back. A rapist, a Lier, a thief an adulterer multiple times over, an evil ass that is fine with killing people and hates the poor and sick, and practices zero of Christ’s teachings. The God that brought him to tears on the stand. The God that told him to stay silent until the law comes. Like Jesus stayed silent about sins and sinners to not to piss off his base. Got it

[TeamProg]

22. Bowers is very religious, believing in the Divine. That's not reality based. That's mental illness.

[inthewind21]

57. No

It's not mental illness. It's illogical, irrational and makes no sense but not a mental illness. I take issue with everything being declared a mental illness. There are people out there who are actually mentally ill, guess what, they are not all stark raving lunatics and very rarely ever hurt anyone. Yet their medical misfortune now lumps them all in with the like for Trump and mass shooters. Because you claim it doesn't make it so.

[TeamProg]

63. A devout belief in a supreme omnipotent being (a single "God") is insane. Insanity is

defined as a mental illness. Bowers probably believes that there is an actual Hell that is managed by the Devil himself, that is also an insane conspiracy theory.

I am not demeaning any other types of mental illness in my remarks.

Belief in the conspiracy theory of a single Christian God borders on schizophrenia just as believing in other consp. theories does.

Apophenia (Definition of apophenia: the tendency to perceive a connection or meaningful pattern between unrelated or random things (such as objects or ideas) What psychologists call apophenia—the human tendency to see connections and patterns that are not really there—gives rise to conspiracy theories). This is a symptom of schizophrenia.

Confirmation bias : is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one's prior beliefs or values.

Dunning-Kruger effect, in psychology, a cognitive bias whereby people with limited knowledge or competence in a given intellectual or social domain greatly overestimate their own knowledge or competence in that domain relative to objective criteria or to the performance of their peers or of people in general.

[Grokenstein]

24. If I could draw worth a damn

I'd make an editorial cartoon of Pence and Bowers and other cult underlings as confused toddlers standing between two sets of people: on one side, it's a furious dim donnie and rightwank media, all wearing splattered butcher's aprons, blood dripping from their hands, donnie screaming at the toddlers to "get over here immediately" even as he waves a chainsaw at them threateningly; on the other it's Dems and CPS begging them to come to safety.

Despite being fully aware of what's in store for them, Pence and Bowers would already be edging towards "Daddy."

[llashram]

25. well people followed

Hitler into a world war where millions died. Just think of d.trump and Pukein linking up, WW3 is not far off...

[allegorical oracle]

26. Awww Rusty. Thought you were a deeper thinker than this. (AP link)

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/key-jan-6-witness-says-he-d-vote-for-trump-again/ar-AAYJT2r?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=cf25dbe6f1014494ba847bec40c09eb4

[Evolve Dammit]

29. Stupid, hypocritical, hurtful, un-compassionate, self-serving assholes. ALL of them. Anchor on USA.

[Hekate]

31. Yeah, that was pretty sickening

[Diraven]

33. Just CYA

He had to do that ASAP to keep Trump from releasing an official statement about what a loser is and then the state GOP from denouncing him.

[wnylib]

41. Interesting take on it. Could be right.

[Ferrets are Cool]

49. Then that just makes him a coward, right?

[RANDYWILDMAN]

36. I liked the guy...but TFG is a loon and you are a loon if you think he's sane

70 million brain dead americans are still very wrong

[Lonestarblue]

37. I wish I could understand what exactly people think Trump did that was so great.

This guy says he’ll vote for Trump again because what he did for his country was so great. The only thing Trump did in four years was cut taxes for the rich and spend billions of dollar on a partial border wall that is already falling down in places. I cannot think of anything Trump did that would have benefitted people at the county level. Maybe he meant country, but if it’s that it must be the hundreds of ultra right-wing judges he appointed, along with the three radical Republicans bent on turning the Supreme Court into an ecclesiastical court that turns the US into a theocracy. They obviously do not feel bound by the US Constitution in their judgments. For them, originalism means whatever they want to do, the law be damned.

[Ferrets are Cool]

50. They LOVE what he did TO the Country.

Not FOR it. Huge difference.

[Hav]

43. I cannot know for sure what motivated him

to not go along with Trump's attempted overthrow of the elected President. But just like Pence, maybe we should keep in mind that repubs are rats.
The reason Pence didn't participate in the fake elector scam wasn't because of a strong conviction of what is right. He needed external input to abandon a plan that was so obviously wrong.

Repubs like this don't participate in these illegal acts because they fear the consequences and not because they generally oppose the cheating. They'll continue to support the criminals, they just don't want to be ones that are asked to do the dirty work.

[Cha]

44. Bye Bowers. Did the magats

threaten him and scare him to idiocy Or is he just an Idiot all by himself?

💙💛

[70sEraVet]

46. "I hated that he ROBBED the bank, but he sure was great while he was PLANNING to rob it!"

[Stainless]

47. Mormon Cult Hypocrites

I was born and raised in Utah surrounded by pathetic and ignorant (stupid) people like him. No surprises here. The Fascism is appalling.

[Ferrets are Cool]

48. If a person has an R behind their name, I have NO admiration for them.

NONE. Even with Kenzinger...while he seems like a good guy, he still has an R behind his name. Maybe that makes me a radical. If so, oh well.

[lees1975]

51. He's a Mormon

and Mormons are among the worst of the white supremacists and Christian nationalist who believe the are chosen by God to use the US government as a means of establishing God's Kingdom on Earth which will be ruled by whites and in which people of color are subservient. That's core doctrine in Mormonism.

[czarjak]

52. Sham faiths are hard to keep.

[Master_Monstruwacan]

53. I'm happy he testified to TFG's nefariousness...

...but he's no hero if he remains committed to the Republican Party (which I now refer to almost exclusively as the Christian Fascist Party). And when he started with this "the Constitution was divinely inspired" bullshit, I had heard enough. That organization is committed to the destruction of America's democratic principles, and it might get me banned in some places to say this, but I would be perfectly fine with it if every member of that party in any position of political power (elected or unelected) would drop dead instantly, along with their counterparts around the world (talking about you, Boris). It is corrupt to its core and needs be destroyed.

[BlueJac]

54. His was never a hero with tears in his eyes...

Willing to vote for Trump if runs shows he is the fucking IDIOT I thought he was, just another anti democracy Republican.

[Peregrine Took]

55. "I coulda been a contenda.. instead of bum which is what I am." n/t

[SayItLoud]

58. Rusty Bowels. NT

[dai13sy]

60. Instant fall from grace

Bowers could have had a bunch of people like me saying "Alright, good move" and looking at him more favorably but instead you've got a bunch of people saying "Are you for real you pos"

[gldstwmn]

61. After all, he's a Republican. People need to remember that before they canonize these people.

[Alien Life Form]

65. This news was stunning!

I thought the man was a hero...standing up to Trump and Co to do the right thing.
Now he tells us he knows Trump tried to get him to violate his oath of office..wanted him to lie and subvert the system..but he still want to vote for him!
no different from Pence who refuses to denounce trump even after Trump supporters tried to hang him!

Trump must have some secret mind control powers

[SleeplessinSoCal]

68. Once Roe is revoked he'll see evidence of the devastation it causes for poor women.

His lord will either unplug his ears, or he'll revel in their heartbreak and misery as all their children suffer in abject poverty. That is what his precious potus accomplished - unfettered guns, out of control climate change, massive corruption of government, on and on.

OR... He knows he'll be incapable of running again and saves himself some grief from the hoards in his beloved cult.