In a Fourth of July message, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes told his group’s members to celebrate that with the election of Donald Trump, America has been granted a “brief respite.” If Hillary Clinton had won, he said, with the help of “election fraud” and “illegal alien votes,” there would likely be combat going on right now “on American soil.”

Incidentally, the Multnomah County, Oregon, GOP voted last week to allow Oath Keepers, Three Percenters, and other far-right militia groups to provide “security” at their events.

From Rhodes’ message:

Happy birthday America! Today is a great day. A day of celebration of our Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. Earlier today, I received a text from a USMC combat veteran Oath Keeper that read:

A very happy 4th of July. Our republic needs a lot of help. Semper Fi.

To which I replied:

If you’re feeling a bit pessimistic today, just imagine what this 4th of July would be like if Hillary Clinton had “won” the election – if all her election fraud and 5.7 million illegal alien votes had been enough to nullify the tidal waive of discontent that Trump rode to the White House. Thankfully, it was not, or you’d likely already be in combat, yet again, you old Devil Dog, but this time on American soil. So rejoice! It could be a whole lot worse.

We truly dodged a bullet with the defeat of Hillary Clinton (whom I dubbed “Hitlery” back in 2008 for very good reason). We now have a brief respite (sometimes it feels like a temporary stay of execution), in which to work our butts off to secure the blessings of liberty for our posterity before she, or someone worse, has another shot at the “throne” of the imperial presidency with all its grossly expanded power. But despite our misgivings and concern for the future of our nation, we really should see today as a day of celebration and thanks to God for what we have been given – what was won for us by the blood, sweat, and tears of millions of Americans who came before us.