“It could be a kamikaze mission,” said Kinzinger, 43, who joined the Air Force after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and still flies as a pilot in the National Guard. “But it could be the thing that saves the Republican Party.”
The first step to rebuilding the Republican Party, he said, is extracting it from the grips of Trump and what he sees as an ideology not rooted in conservatism, but in relentless fear and divisiveness.
“Any time in the history of the party, there have been competing visions — except for now,” Kinzinger said in a hometown interview here at River Hawk Brewing, where patrons seem far more interested in happy hour than talking politics. “It’s just been Donald Trump’s vision and nobody else has said anything else. We have a right and a responsibility to offer competing visions to Republicans.”…
“Even if I don’t survive long in this job, the reality is, I will have been part of history,” Kinzinger said. “Like in warfare, until you’re willing to put your life on the line — when you’re willing to put your job on the line, then you’re free.”
He paused for a moment, before adding: “I think I’ll survive. But if I don’t, I don’t, and I’m at peace. But only in that understanding can you actually operate in truth.”
Join the conversation as a VIP Member