By: Corey Nathan, Exec. Producer & Host of “Talkin’ Politics & Religion Without Killin’ Each Other”

It was less than 5 months ago when violent insurrectionists stormed the Capitol with the goal of overturning November’s election. In the immediate aftermath, it seemed like a rare moment that sanity and decency would prevail, allowing those of us who disagree on such issues as tax policy to come together to affirm the foundations of our democracy.

But later that evening, 147 members of Congress voted to object to certification of Electoral College votes, attempting to complete the coup that rioting insurgents mounted on January 6th. All this despite numerous Trump-appointed judges, Trump’s Attorney General and Trump-supporting Republican state elections officials empirically dispelling the widespread lie that the election was stolen.

In addition to the conservative legal movement, there have been scores of Trump cabinet Secretaries, other Trump administration senior officials, military leaders and groups of longtime conservatives who have spoken out against false assertions about the integrity of our elections.

One such group is the Republican Accountability Project whose leadership consists of lifelong Republicans with impeccable conservative bona fides. The only reason Trump loyalists try to attack (or “cancel”) groups like RAP is their principled opposition to Donald Trump’s worst impulses and the degree to which he has poisoned the principles of the Grand Old Party.

RAP recently published the GOP Democracy Report Card, a reference for how members of Congress acted when it came time to defend “the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” Did they “bear true faith and allegiance to the same” when those enemies were storming the Capitol?

The Report Card takes account of 4 areas of concern:

• Did the Congressmember sign the amicus brief supporting the lawsuit attempting to nullify votes of 4 other states filed by the Attorney General of Texas?

• Did they object to the certification of Electoral College votes of Pennsylvania and Arizona?

• Did they object to Impeachment?

• Did they make public statements that cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election?

So, what kind of grade did our own Congressman, Rep. Mike Garcia, earn on these fundamental issues?

Initially, Garcia exhibited the same bravery he called upon as a fighter pilot during his military career, as one of the few Republicans who did not sign the amicus brief. Unfortunately however, our Representative chose to eschew that courage at other key moments since January 6th.

First, the Congressman voted to object to the counting of the Electoral College votes of PA and AZ. He then voted against impeachment. He has also continued to propagate baseless lies about the integrity of our election process. All of this conduct has earned Mike Garcia a D- on the Democracy Report Card.

Beyond the Report Card, Garcia did not even vote along with 35 of his Republican colleagues to approve the January 6th Commission, a bill that was negotiated in good faith by Republican Rep. John Katko and one that largely reflected H.R. 275 that was brought by other Republicans a week after the insurrection.

In looking closer at just one of these issues, in a Jan. 19th letter, Garcia stated his reason for objecting to the Electoral College vote counts: “…officials outside of the state legislature changed state election laws without the state legislature’s approval.” This is not true.

In Pennsylvania, for example, it was the Republican-led state legislature in October of 2019 that passed Act 77, the voting law Garcia refers to. Over a year later, a group of PA Republican lawmakers filed suit, alleging Act 77 – again, the legislation that was passed by a majority Republican state legislature – was unconstitutional. Filing this suit a year later also happened to come after the election in which their preferred candidate lost. That is why their lawsuit was unanimously dismissed based on the doctrine of Laches, more commonly known as a “bad faith” argument.

If Mike Garcia does not know this, it is grossly negligent of his duties as our Representative in Congress. If he does know this, he is not only lying, he is perpetuating bigger lies that tear at the fabric of our democracy. Either way, it is a betrayal of his constituents and his oath of office.

California’s 25th District, which Mike has sworn to faithfully represent, is among the most purple, closely divided in the country. In Santa Clarita Valley alone, there are 47% Republicans, 48% Democrats and 5% Independents. But this entire district, indeed this entire country should be 100% in favor of democracy. Mike Garcia’s actions have exhibited that he is not.

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