Governor Schwarzenegger's message following the attack on the Capitol [video]

He says what every Republican leader ought to be saying, loudly and publicly.

That's a very good speech. At this point can the Republican party be saved, though? He made the comparison to Krystallnacht, which is a stretch (and feels very wrong), but is relevant in that in both cases the authorities stood by and watched. That seems to be problem: the party, its beliefs and those within it are still held in esteem. Calling some unnamed people "spineless" isn't the full-throated denunciation of the ideology and all those affiliated that seems needed. All those Republican congresspeople voting against certifying the election indicates this anti-democratic ideology has taken strong root within the party -- has become the ideology of the party. The Republican party itself has become a threat to democracy. If they won both houses in the next election, would you trust them to certify the election of a Democrat president? I'm sure there are many reasonable Republicans on here, but can you still trust the party to represent those reasonable beliefs? I'm not suggesting all those people should suddenly become Democrats, just pointing out that I don't know that this is a problem that can be fixed without much more drastic changes.

Wow, this is a powerful, emotional message from Arnold, in which he, among other things, talks about the Nazi regime's impact on his father's life and on his childhood, dealing with the consequences, in Austria.

It's also the first time I've seen a prominent Republican politician explicitly compare the recent storming of the US Capitol to Kristallnacht[a], and the actions of the current president with the actions of the rising regime in Germany in the late 1930's, leading to WWII.

It's only 7+ minutes long. Watch it.

[a] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristallnacht -- Arnold also alludes to but doesn't explicitly mention earlier events in the 1930's, such as the Reichstag fire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_fire

--

PS. Normally I would flag messages by politicians without a second thought, but I think this one deserves to be on HN given its personal nature, its historical context, and the unprecedented circumstances.

Great speech but the background score was unnecessary and bit too dramatic.

Excellent speech love Arnold, loved the sword cameo.

The days have gone down in west, beyond the hills and into shadow.

How did it come this?

something that needed to be said, the only nit I have is the direct comparison between kristalnacht and the capitol riot. I would have preferred it be viewed as worried that this could be a precursor to the us's own kristalnacht, instead of it being the same as is.

Here's a little summary of Kristallnacht for anyone who thinks the Capitol protest was comparable:

> Rioters destroyed 267 synagogues throughout Germany, Austria and the Sudetenland. Over 7,000 Jewish businesses were damaged or destroyed, and 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and incarcerated in concentration camps.

> Estimates of fatalities caused by the attacks have varied. Early reports estimated that 91 Jews had been murdered. Modern analysis of German scholarly sources puts the figure much higher

This is exactly the type of hyperbolic rhetoric that only enflames political tension.

Also, don't forget that Kamala Harris and Joe Biden were cheering on the BLM rioters who killed 30 people and caused $2 billion in property damage.

My prediction for 2021 is that by the end of January it won't be safe for people to have Trump stickers on their vehicles.

Great speech, I love Arnold and respect him but old tweets are relevant.

Says man who has said nothing for 4 years.