Any more pro-Trump protests after last week’s assault on the nation’s Capitol could be both a public safety and a public relations nightmare for Republicans.
That’s not just our opinion, but also that of several prominent young Kansas Republicans who say it’s time to move beyond the Trump administration to the Biden presidency. And they caution that it’s not worth further tarnishing the Republican brand with armed or heated gatherings that get out of hand, as the FBI warned might happen at multiple statehouses during the lead-up to Joe Biden’s inauguration.
“Joe Biden is the duly elected president of the United States of America,” Dalton Glasscock, chairman of Kansas Young Republicans said. “We need to recognize that. To quote one of my favorite heroes, George H.W. Bush, his success is now the country’s success.
“I think all Americans need to give the Biden presidency a chance, just like we do to every single president. He will be president on Jan. 20, and we need to take a clear stance that this was a fair and free election. We need to trust these results and move forward as a country.”
Paige Harding, chairwoman of the University of Kansas College Republicans, is rooting against holding any more protests now.
“I hope those don’t happen,” she told The Star Editorial Board. “Republicans lost their reputation for at least being respectful. After the riot on the Capitol took place, in our college Republicans (group) one guy said, ‘All I know is that campus life is going to suck as a conservative.’ We have to take the butt end of those people’s actions, and I don’t want it to get worse.”
Kansas Capitol Police Public Information Officer Lt. Terry Golightly said authorities have picked up information indicating possible statehouse protests on Sunday, Wednesday or both.
The Star Editorial Board polled U.S. senators from Kansas and Missouri to see what they think about possible protests. Newly installed Sen. Roger Marshall, a Republican from Kansas, rebuked the violence at the nation’s Capitol, adding that, “I call on everyone across the state to ensure a peaceful transition of power in the coming days. We can and we must do better as a nation.”
Sen. Jerry Moran, a Republican from Kansas, said: “Any threat or attempt of malicious protests, violence or destruction at the U.S. Capitol or at the statehouse in Topeka on Inauguration Day will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. In America, elections are sacred — the foundation of democratic government.”
Fabian Shepard, Johnson County GOP chairman, says he discounts reports of impending armed protests across the country, adding that, “I haven’t heard a word about anybody going to the (Kansas) Capitol on the 17th or 20th.” He also questions having even a peaceful protest at this point. “I frankly don’t see the point in doing it. It makes no sense,” he said.
While Kansas Republican Party Chairman Mike Kuckelman would merely say that, “I continue to remind all citizens that the exercise of free speech, including public protests, should be peaceful and within the confines of the law,” the younger Republican leaders would rather the protesters simply stand down for now.
The young Republicans — who wryly bill themselves as “the life of the party” — clearly don’t want any more damage to have to control.
“I think everybody has the right to peacefully assemble and peacefully protest, but if anybody thinks they’re going to do more than that, then they’re going to have a rude awakening waiting for them. Because nothing will be tolerated that’s not peaceful,” Glasscock said.
As a former D.C. intern and frequent visitor to the U.S. Capitol, Glasscock says he reveres the building so much he wouldn’t touch the walls. Watching last week’s deadly assault, which ended in five deaths, broke his heart: “Honestly, words cannot describe it. Truly, it was one of the most disappointing moments that I’ve ever seen. I have probably never been more angered about something that I’d witnessed on TV.”
Glasscock and other young Republicans want to move forward, he said, to get back to a sense of normalcy and calm and to addressing the nation’s pressing issues. “We need to move beyond these last four years. We can talk about the success of the president’s policies, but his rhetoric has had lasting damage on the country. Comments and rhetoric that we overlooked for four years led to this moment. And we need to be very honest with ourselves about that, and figure out who can be the message-bearers in the future.
