Over the weekend, Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Congressman Don Young criticized the national Republican Party for a resolution that defended “legitimate political discourse” that occurred on Jan. 6, 2021 in the nation’s capital. The resolution was censuring Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for their role in the inquisition and investigation of hundreds of Americans, most of whom did not storm the U.S. Capitol on that day.
“What happened on January 6, 2021 was an effort to overturn a lawful election resulting in violence and destruction at the Capitol. We must not legitimize those actions which resulted in loss of life and we must learn from that horrible event so history does not repeat itself,” Murkowski wrote on Twitter on Saturday.
Congressman Young concurred on Twitter: “I will reiterate what I said last year: I was appalled at the violence and destruction at the Capitol on January 6th. What transpired was criminal, un-American, and cannot be considered legitimate protest.”
Neither said whether they think Cheney and Kinzinger should be censured for their participation in the congressional investigation of the Jan. 6 protest that turned riotous, but instead they distanced themselves from the Republican Party and painted all Jan. 6 participants as criminals, when the vast majority were lawful. Young’s office clarified on Thursday that the Congressman’s condemnation was specifically for the violence and destruction in the Capitol, and was not a condemnation of any peaceful protestors.
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in response to criticism that of course the RNC is not defending unlawful activity. She said the way the resolution was characterized was propaganda, and called out the New York Times for its headlines.
Meanwhile, while Young and Murkowski were distancing themselves from Republicans, Sen. Dan Sullivan was in Alaska, where he attended the truckers’ Freedom Convoy 2022 in Eagle River, speaking to the workers of Alaska on the importance of constitutional freedoms and praising them for their peaceful protest in support of Canadian truckers.
“No American or Alaskan should ever have to choose between putting food on the table for their family, or getting a shot in the arm. I am honored to join with Alaska truckers and other essential workers—who kept us safe and our economy afloat throughout the pandemic—in standing up and speaking out against President Biden’s unconstitutional vaccine mandates,” Sullivan said, to a roar of applause. Sullivan kept his remarks brief, explaining he had to return to Washington, D.C. shortly, but thanked the truckers for working through the pandemic and providing for Alaskans.
Also this weekend, Murkowski was on CNN accepting an endorsement from Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin, and promising him one in return during his next campaign in 2024, should he choose to run again.
Murkowski was censured by the Alaska Republican Party and over the weekend this was an indication she is moving away from the Republican Party and toward a “non-party” stance. She has until June 1 to decide if she is running as a Republican, which the Alaska Republican Party has asked her not to do. She has represented Alaska in the U.S. Senate since being appointed by Gov. Frank Murkowski in 2002.
