When I was 25, I worked as a legislative assistant in the Missouri General Assembly.

It was a dream job, honestly.

But that dream dissipated the day the #MoLeg decided to name Rush Limbaugh as an “honorable Missourian” and place his bust in the “Hall of Famous Missourians.”

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The Hall of Famous Missourians sits in the Missouri State Capitol.

There are busts of Mark Twain, Dred Scott, Josephine Baker, Harry Truman and other legends of history.

The day I learned Rush Limbaugh would join their ranks, I thought it was a joke.

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We received phone calls from constituents appalled that Missouri would honor a man who had become infamous that year for calling a college student a “slut.”

And who just that week had continued spreading the racist birtherism lie about our then-President, Barack Obama.

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What I learned that day is that it wasn’t *despite* his racism, but because of it that he received this award.

It’s because he created a universe where it was permissible to lynch with language America’s first black President.

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Several State Representatives and their staffers intended to protest the vote and the selection.

By the time we made it to the doors of the House Floor, we weren’t allowed in. It was Republicans only. The doors were locked and secured by the Highway Patrol.

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What is happening on the floor of the United States of House of Representatives is tragic.

Tragic because it was preventable. Tragic because most of the Republicans in the House are themselves brainwashed into believing that this is all *just politics.*

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I take no joy in supporting impeachment against the President.

In fact, it pains my soul to know that the Commander in Chief launched an attack on his own people, on the People's House, on democracy.

It is tragic.

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Our checks and balances have failed.

Our institutions of justice have failed.

The only power that has not failed is the power of the American people. We voted and we won.

And that's why Trump attacked it.

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This is an attack on us as a people. It is an attack on those the autocrat cannot control. He has radicalized those who feel disenfranchised and he sent them into the Capitol as his pawns while he watched the attack with glee from afar.

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He was capable of doing this because he has not one or two or even three lieutenants in Congress--but over 150 of them.

Their loyalty to Trump--their thirst for power--their devotion to a political party--and, yes, their fear of exiting the cult--has ruined our country.

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I live in a community that never took their Trump signs down.

The kind of place where they hope Trump starts a second government.

I need you to hear me when I say this—these people believe the assault on the Capitol was a great victory for

Early polling after the terrorist attack shows that 45% of Republicans approved of it.

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More alarming is that nearly 70% of Republicans don’t think a terrorist attack at the US Capitol is a threat to democracy.

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And more Republicans would call those who stormed the Capitol “patriots” than “terrorists.”

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For those holding your breath, thinking Trump or Josh Hawley or Ted Cruz will resign—don’t.

There is no incentive for them to do so.

If they manage to stay in power after an attempted coup—they win.

If they are forced out by the “elite Washington establishment”—they win.

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It’s cute that people think Hawley’s latest autocratic grab is new.

This guy left DC, moved to MO + from the moment he stepped foot in Boone County he’s violated ethics laws, lied to the public + positioned his pawns in places of power to achieve his endgame—the Presidency.

Every single thing he does is for one singular purpose—power.

He tells lies like most of us breathe. Using photos of him in New Mexico at his in-law’s ranch to make folks think he’s from a Missouri farming family.

Just like he was caught not living in Jefferson City as AG.

Just like he sold his home in Boone County after winning his Senate seat and pretended his entire family lived with his dad in Springfield.

Just like he now says he lives with his sister when really he’s building a million dollar vacation home on the Lake.

This guy doesn’t believe rules apply to him. It’s why he shops for wine in the afternoon when he’s supposed to be working.

It’s why he formed an organization that he later used for his campaign in violation of ethics rules.

It’s why he violates Senate rules so brazenly.

Like when he took official Senate correspondence sent to him from the public and posted it on his personal Twitter.

This guy DGAF, y’all. And he never has.

He lies. He’s hypocritical. He breaks the law. He’s disingenuous.

But it doesn’t matter. He’s climbing that ladder.