House Democrat calls out his own party for fear-stoking rhetoric about Trump

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From Fox News: Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, penned a lengthy thread on X about the hyperbole in American politics, urging politicians to stop framing their opponents as “fascists.”

The vulnerable Democrat congressman took to X to denounce the current path that he says the country is on, adding that leaders need to guide America down a different one.

Below is Golden’s full statement, released in a series of social media posts:

Following the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, we must ask ourselves questions about the future of our country and what we want for ourselves and our children. 1/10

Almost all people want to live free and peaceful lives in a stable democracy led by serious people who care about the common good of the nation. 2/10

Instead, our political culture projects a dark and almost hopeless future of diminishing freedom, increasing violence, and growing instability led by unserious people who care more about their own personal well-being than the nation’s. 3/10

In the pursuit of short-term political gain, they are eager to exaggerate our differences and cast their political opponents as diabolical caricatures bent on destroying the country. 4/10

As a result, it becomes easier to see those we disagree with not as fellow Americans who bring different offerings to the marketplace of ideas, but as enemies who would ruin us, to be defeated at all costs. 5/10

The result is an overwhelming sense of fear & anxiety about the future of our country, where the normal and tested tools of democracy no longer seem adequate to protect the common good. In this light, a rise of politically motivated violence in America is sadly unsurprising. 6/10

Continuing down this path would be disastrous. This is the moment for elected officials and candidates for political office to lead us down a better road toward the hopeful future that Americans want and deserve. 7/10

We can start by dropping hyperbolic threats about the stakes of this election. It should not be misleadingly portrayed as a struggle between democracy or authoritarianism, or a battle against fascists or socialists bent on destroying America. These are dangerous lies. 8/10

We need to look to the future with clear eyes: Our country faces many challenges at home, and abroad the world is increasingly unstable and dangerous. 9/10

Yet we remain a strong, democratic and wealthy nation capable of overcoming these hard times if we are united in pursuit of our common interests. Divided, we are likely to fail. 10/10

Immediately following the shooting on Saturday, Golden wrote, “I am praying for former President Trump and others at the rally today in PA, as well as for law enforcement on the scene. I pray whoever is responsible is quickly apprehended and held accountable. There must be no room for violence of any kind in our politics.”

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