Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past

by Steve Benen

The public had already seen what happened. In the propagandistic rewrite, Americans were expected to believe that the rioters were victims, worthy not only of public support but also pity. Former defense secretary William Cohen, who was also a longtime GOP member of Congress, was among the many who were gobsmacked. “Those members who are trying to say, ‘No big deal on Jan. 6,’ they’re trying to perform a frontal lobotomy on the American people, a side effect which is mental dullness,” the retired Maine Republican said.37 Around the same time, Republican representative Adam Kinzinger added, “When I saw my colleagues speak, you know, it feels like it’s in 1984—something you see out of North Korea, where it’s like, ‘We’re just going to state whatever we want the reality to be.’”38 Kinzinger, who served on the bipartisan congressional committee that investigated January 6, was soon after censured by the Republican National Committee. The Illinois congressman quickly became persona non grata in the party he used to call home.