Swing district Dem calls out parties' 'dangerous lies': 'Democracy or authoritarianism'

Rep. Jared Golden of Maine slams political leaders for using language to exaggerate the stakes of the election and stoke fear around their opponents.

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.

"We can start by dropping hyperbolic threats about the stakes of this election," he wrote. "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."

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Former President Trump was the target of an assassination attempt at his Butler, Pennsylvania, rally on Saturday. Shots were fired around 6 p.m., just minutes after Trump took the stage. Blood could be seen on Trump's right ear and face as Secret Service agents escorted him from the stage.

Trump was treated for a wound on his ear at a local hospital before returning to his residence in New Jersey. Both the gunman and a rallygoer were killed. Others are injured and receiving care in the hospital.

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Lawmakers quickly issued statements praying for Trump's safety and that of attendees. 

"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," Golden wrote on X in a 10-part thread. 

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"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," he said in reference to those leading the country. 

Per the lawmaker, "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."

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According to the Maine Democrat, it would be "disastrous" to continue this way. Instead, the hyperbole must be stopped, he said, condemning the framing of political opponents as fascists, authoritarians and socialists.

The Democrat is fighting for re-election in a very competitive Maine district in the November election. Nonpartisan political handicapper Cook Political Report rated his seat as a "Democrat Toss Up."

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