Republicans need their own militia for security?

There’s bad ideas and then there is this—Multnomah County GOP chair James Buchal recently said Oregon Republicans might hire right-wing militias like the Oathkeepers and/or the Three Percenters. From The Guardian:

Multnomah County GOP chair James Buchal, however, told the Guardian that recent street protests had prompted Portland Republicans to consider alternatives to “abandoning the public square”. “I am sort of evolving to the point where I think that it is appropriate for Republicans to continue to go out there,” he said. “And if they need to have a security force protecting them, that’s an appropriate thing too.” Asked if this meant Republicans making their own security arrangements rather than relying on city or state police, Buchal said: “Yeah. And there are these people arising, like the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters.” Asked if he was considering such groups as security providers, Buchal said: “Yeah. We’re thinking about that. Because there are now belligerent, unstable people who are convinced that Republicans are like Nazis.”

The Three Percenters organization were involved in the standoff at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge. They arrived to provide support to Ammon Bundy and his crew, but opted to stay at arm’s length, staying in the town of Burns and tracking law enforcement activity, reporting back to Bundy and his crew. Both The Oathkeepers and the Three Percenters were involved in the Bundy ranch standoff in Bunkerville, Nevada, in 2014.

Instead of hiring highly partisan gun fanatics, perhaps they should consider a simpler path and deliver a more popular message and legislation that actually helps citizens? How would you feel about seeing these people surrounding your state’s capitol, essentially deputized to act on behalf of one political party?