Republicans' ongoing refusal to fully disavow former President Donald Trump's "Big Lie" that elections are being stolen and rigged against them is what caused the plot by New Mexico state house candidate Solomon Peña to assassinate Democratic officials — and it will keep happening as long as Republicans give election deniers a home in their party, wrote conservative columnist Matt Lewis for The Daily Beast on Thursday.
"Instead of planning a rally or staging a coup, Peña allegedly hired four men to shoot up the homes of multiple elected Democrats. Fortunately, no one was hurt. This time. But as one former county commissioner told NBC News, he 'could have killed us,'" wrote Lewis. "Peña’s example is merely the latest, and the message is clear."
"The danger of conspiracy theories isn’t just that people will believe them. It’s what delusional people will do with those crazy ideas they believe. If a citizen sincerely believes that a pizzeria is home to a child sex trafficking ring, he might feel obliged to pick up a gun and investigate. Likewise, if a patriot believes a presidential election has been stolen, he might join a riot at the Capitol," wrote Lewis. "And if an unhinged psycho believes that his own stolen election is the latest in a string of attempts to radically change America … well, look out."
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This comes as reports reveal Pena's past criminal record as the leader of a "smash and grab" retail burglary ring, and as police suggest he may have had narcotics money funding his campaign.
"Talk all you want about serial liars like Rep. George Santos and 'what it all means' about the GOP. A far worse aspect of 'trickle-down Trumpism' is the mainstreaming of conspiracy theories — especially the one that questions the legitimacy of elections and threatens the peaceful transfer of power," wrote Lewis.
Trump-aligned politicians continue to promote conspiracy theories when they lose, he noted, like Kari Lake, who is continuing to pretend she is the rightful winner of the Arizona gubernatorial race.
"But Trump and Lake were in on the joke," he added. "The same cannot be said for their true believers."
"We’re going to keep getting more crazy candidates, we’re going to keep getting more political violence, and (not that this should be the most compelling argument) Republicans are going to keep losing elections," concluded Lewis. "What’s the downside of 'humoring' the election deniers? Ignore the cancer, and it’ll just metastasize."