First and foremost, we wish Paul Pelosi a speedy recovery and we offer our deepest sympathies to the Pelosi family. Our Republic cannot survive if political violence supplants political will. Hate, division, and fear are driving our nation to the brink, and we must all build a better politics where we recognize the humanity of all people, especially political rivals.

But there is a far deeper danger: conspiracy. The former president's repeated lies about the 2020 election have become a tenet of faith to the far right, and candidates for office are peddling that conspiracy theory as a shortcut to electoral victory. That conspiracy - and others like it - aren't just a nuisance, they drive their most radical adherents to violence, even convincing them that it is patriotic. January 6th wasn't the culmination of those lies, it was the beginning. Attacks like the one on the Pelosi family are the fruit of those labors, and no one who fans the flames of conspiracy for votes deserves to hold the public trust of political office. Full Stop.

There are others who do not share those conspiracies, but also do not confront them, out of fear of losing elections. This has to be a wake up call. We cannot abide conspiracy for political convenience. We cannot build a political home whose foundation is lies.

It is not enough to condemn the attack, we must confront the underlying cause. And then we must work together, regardless of politics, to turn down the temperature of our rhetoric, to stop treating politics as combat, and to lead by example a revolution of kindness and respect. The Forward Party is wholly committed to those ideals, and we ask Americans of any party and all persuasions to work together towards that brighter future.