Will Trump zealots bring out the gallows for Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers?

The insurrectionists who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, brought with them a gallows and chanted as they stormed the building, “Hang (Vice President) Mike Pence.”

They were upset that Pence was about to do two things apparently unacceptable to the most ardent supporters of President Donald Trump:

Speak the truth and honor his oath.

On Tuesday, Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, a Republican like Pence, appeared before the House committee looking into the attack on the Capitol in order to do those same two things:

Speak the truth and honor his oath.

Just as he did after the 2020 election.

Bowers refused to bow under pressure

In those dark days following that election, Bowers was under pressure from the minions of then-President Trump, like attorney Rudy Giuliani, to ignore the legitimate slate of presidential electors and have the Republican-controlled Legislature pick a different group who would give Arizona to Trump.

Bowers refused.

On Dec. 4 of that year, Bowers issued a statement in which he clearly and eloquently stated his position.

He said in part:

“As a conservative Republican, I don’t like the results of the presidential election. I voted for President Trump and worked hard to reelect him. But I cannot and will not entertain a suggestion that we violate current law to change the outcome of a certified election.

“I and my fellow legislators swore an oath to support the U.S. Constitution and the constitution and laws of the state of Arizona. It would violate that oath, the basic principles of republican government, and the rule of law if we attempted to nullify the people’s vote based on unsupported theories of fraud. Under the laws that we wrote and voted upon, Arizona voters choose who wins, and our system requires that their choice be respected.

“Forty years ago next month, President Ronald Reagan reminded us that while the ‘orderly transfer of authority’ is a ‘commonplace occurrence’ for Americans, ‘[i]n the eyes of many in the world, this every-4-year ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle.’

“Now, Americans are being reminded once again never to take for granted what President Reagan correctly described as ‘the continuity which is the bulwark of our Republic.’ ”

Trump supporters must be reminded, again

Sadly, some Americans – including Trump – did not, or would not, take the hint.

They did not, and still do not, want to be reminded of what is the “bulwark of our Republic.”

So Bowers will be appeared before the select committee to remind them again. And he did. A clearly emotional Bowers spoke clearly and eloquently about his duty and his oath, a genuinely moving example of an individual putting country over party.

And again, however, I don't suspect the Trump zealots, spurred on by a nasty statement put out about Bowers before the hearing, will take the hint.

A new poll may have revealed that 58% of us “believe that Trump bears a good or great amount of responsibility for the events of Jan. 6 and that he should be charged with a crime.”

But those numbers do not include Trump or the zealots who refuse to consider the evidence and who actually would bring out the gallows for anyone in the Republican Party who will do what Bowers did back in 2020 and did again before the select committee:

Speak the truth and honor his sworn oath.

Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Will Trump zealots bring out the gallows for Arizona's Rusty Bowers?