Not. Ever. Again.

[Tom Malinowski for Congress]( Dear {NAME}, Today, on the first anniversary of the January 6th insurrection, I’ll be in the US Capitol, reflecting on my memories of that day, and resolving that those who summoned the attack can never be allowed to threaten our democracy again. As many of you know, I immigrated to America from a communist country, and spent much of my adult life as a human rights activist and diplomat taking on dictatorships like China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia. So I have a particular perspective on what makes our country special, and on why so many people around the world dream of becoming American. It’s not just because of words like “freedom” or “democracy.” It’s because of an idea embedded in our Constitution — that everyone, no matter how powerful, is supposed to play by the same set of rules. Every American election is an opportunity to show what that means. Unlike in many countries, our winners don’t gain the power to do whatever they please. Our losers accept defeat, knowing their rights will be respected, and they live to fight another day. So on January 6, 2021, after a tumultuous presidential campaign, I was eager to be in the Capitol to observe what I thought would be a continuation of this tradition, a ceremony marking a peaceful transfer of power from one American leader to another. At 11:21 AM, I was sitting in the House chamber gallery, and tweeted out: “Today is a celebration of democracy. The people have voted. The only power we have as Representatives & Senators under the Constitution we swore to defend is to count the ballots. And we will.” Just after 2 PM, the mob broke into the Capitol. We saw the Speaker evacuated from the House chamber. We were asked to grab the gas masks from under our seats. We did not see the battle raging outside, where the massive pro-Trump mob savagely attacked police officers with flag poles, bottles, and chemical sprays. So I wasn’t as afraid as I should have been. Instead, I thought about past moments of danger in my life — a time when I was chased by riot police while observing a demonstration in Bahrain, a trip to Syria when it was being bombed by Bashar Assad, and to Libya during its revolution. I remember thinking how absurd it was to be sitting in the inner sanctum of our democracy in Washington, DC, and experiencing the same kind of adrenaline rush. How could this possibly be happening here? I was furious at the people who had brought the attack about. Even as we fled, I told everyone I could that at all costs, we had to reclaim the chamber that night; we had to finish the job of certifying the election. Thank goodness we did. Ever since, Republicans who want us to move on from January 6th have tried to get away with blaming the rioters alone for the attack. That’s like saying that only the hijackers were responsible for 9/11. The real question is what could have motivated thousands of seemingly ordinary Americans to commit the deviant crime of attacking the U.S. Capitol while brutally assaulting the police officers defending it? Social media companies created the echo chamber in which Trump’s lie about the election reverberated and radicalized the rioters. But the root cause was the lie itself. Today, most Republicans in Congress either repeat the lie, or are too cowardly to rebut it. Thanks to them, 2/3 of Republican voters believe an American election was stolen. Forty percent believe violence against the government is sometimes justified. In states across the country, these extremists are trying to install officials who would nullify any election their side loses. On January 6, 2021, we thwarted the attack on the Capitol. On January 6, 2022, the attack on our Constitution continues. As we defend our democracy, we must remember there is no Constitutional police in America. There is no Constitutional jail. The rules underpinning our system of government, and the peace it preserves, have always been based on our consent. Americans either agree, voluntarily, to abide by those rules, even when we lose an election — or we lose our country. Congress should codify even stronger rules to make it harder for state legislatures, or Congress itself, to overturn a future election. But even such stronger rules will depend on the willingness of elected officials to abide by them. That is why the most important thing we can do is insist on an absolute litmus test for anyone seeking elected office in America. They can be Republican or Democrat, conservative or progressive; they can believe whatever they want about government spending or taxes or how much the state can regulate our personal or business lives. But no one should be entrusted with a position of responsibility in America ever again unless he or she categorically and publicly rejects Trump’s lies about the election, and the violent movement he has mobilized to nullify majority rule. As Congresswoman Liz Cheney has said, members of her party “can either be loyal to Donald Trump or we can be loyal to the Constitution, but we cannot be both.” Those who choose the former — actively or by acquiescence — are simply not fit to serve in a Constitutional republic. Not now. Not. Ever. Again. Thank you for all you do for our country. I’ll keep doing all I can to be worthy of your support. Tom Tom Malinowski served as a diplomat in the Obama administration, standing up to dictators overseas. Now he's standing up for our democracy as a Congressman representing New Jersey's 7th district. [Donate Once]( [Donate Monthly]( Tom Malinowski for Congress P.O. 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