KCGOP Chairman’s Josh Hawley Impression Impresses No One
WA Democratic Party Leaders Call Out Freed’s Extremist Rhetoric on Eve of Biden’s Inauguration
For Immediate Release | January 19, 2021
SEATTLE — Demonstrating how hollow and vain his calls for unity were in the wake of the siege at the U.S. Capitol, King County Republican Party Chairman Joshua Freed failed to seize his first opportunity to support those in the conservative movement calling for a rejection of extremism and instead fanned the flames of division in the WA GOP:
In response to Chairman Freed’s refusal to acknowledge the necessity of accountability for his and other Washington Republicans’ role in promoting the extremist violence that presents an ongoing threat in both state capitols and D.C., King County Democrats Chair Shasti Conrad and Washington State Democrats Chair Tina Podlodowski issued the following statement:
“Given his failure to seriously reckon with his role in promoting extremist and violent factions in his party, it is clear Chairman Freed does not intend to be a part of the healing and reunification of our communities we so badly need. His vain and transparently self-serving enabling of the worst factions of the Republican coalition serves only his personal political agenda, not the communities he allegedly seeks to represent.
“Just as seditionist Senator Josh Hawley has rightly been condemned by his former supporters and backers, we call on those who have propped up Chairman Freed through defeat after humiliating defeat at the ballot box to revoke their support for Joshua as long as he continues this pathetic impression of America’s worst Senator. Clearly, a man who craves elected office this intensely will only listen to those who have the power to deny him material support for whatever future campaign that he believes doubling down on this extremist rhetoric is positioning him to launch.
“Until that happens, the public must understand that an endorsement or material support for any King County Republican from the Chairman is a statement of support from the same faction of the GOP that has made the nationwide deployment of the National Guard a necessity to safely conduct the people’s business.
“As we’ve repeatedly stated, we know we cannot truly heal the wounds of the Trump era without responsible Republicans doing their part to ensure the worst elements of their party face real accountability. Cowardice like Chairman Freed’s will not be tolerated by the residents of King County, especially not in this moment where we have so much work to do to rebuild our communities.
If Republican elected officials in King County like Kathy Lambert, Reagan Dunn, and Pete von Reichbauer want any credibility attached to their claim to the legacy of Dan Evans and Slade Gorton, now is the time to speak up.
If statewide Republican officials like WA GOP Chair Caleb Heimlich and Minority Leader J.T. Wilcox want to avoid complicity with this corrosive force within their movement, now is the time to speak up.
Continued silence from these Republicans — even after repeated rejection by Washingtonians at the ballot box for the last four years — will only demonstrate how powerless they are to reclaim any shred of decency left in their Party after the Trump era.”
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