I don't believe this for one second. Another spin job by McConnell, who will wait out the storm for a few weeks and then go right back to his sanctimonious calls for unity after Biden takes office.
Evidence so far is that the majority of them will be back to their victimhood narrative within days. If McConnell actually wanted to change anything he would have announced an all-out effort to get JB's cabinet ready for confirmation.
The anti-Ron Johnson ads should be replicated wherever relevant. They must be forced to own their incitement and their demand to overthrow the people's will. I would add to the ad with an extra edge of "RJ believes your vote should only be allowed to count if you agree with him - that's not democracy".
A lot of Obama's first six months was lost on accepting the premise that they might act in the national interest and with good faith. "we care about voter fraud" should be the litmus. It's the original lie and foundation for the big lie. If they sign up for a genuine democratic reform plan then maybe they're changing - and that's something which should be pushed with zero tolerance for any demand for investigation into fraud other than that committed by GOP legislators and SoS's systematically working to make it harder for some groups to vote.
House handled impeachment really well (I was skeptical initially). Stay on the offence.
He would have called the Senate back TODAY and end this madness. He doesn't want trump there anymore than any of us do, but he does not want to take the fall for trump's ending aka never being allowed to run again. And this is a MUST.
If McConnell genuinely wants Trump purged from the party permanently, then there’s some logic to his delay in recalling the senate until 20 Jan. The longer the delay, the more evidence is gathered to convict. After the 20th, Trump has left the building, and has no power to issue official missives. He may still incite the mob in any Republican’s direction though, and I wouldn’t rule out some Republicans being genuinely scared for their own safety. Confirmation of their desire to convict may still be hidden until after the 20th.
I very much doubt that most Republicans (save Romney and Raffensperger) will ever utter the words "The election was fairly administered. There was no fraud. Biden won." Yet unless Trump-supporting Republicans admit "the big lie" (a phrase gaining traction, I like it), all this will go nowhere. They will never believe a Democrat.
Since these elected officials are both craven and cowardly, they need political cover. McConnell doesn't offer it to younger electeds with their imagined careers in front of them.
So who can? The lawyers who represented Trump in court--they are already on record saying time after time to the presiding judge that they had no evidence of election fraud. Will there be witnesses in the Senate impeachment trial? Depose them. Read the court transcripts out loud, ask them if those were indeed their words. Have Republicans with Trumpy credentials speak the truth.
Maybe elected Republicans will claim they were duped--they're shocked, shocked, like their constituents they believed their Dear Leader. They'll be lying but they'll have cover. It doesn't solve the long-term problem of the anti-democracy rot in the Republican party. But it might snap some of the mob out of their alternative universe.
I was watching the debate for impeachment yesterday and many of the news outlets are interviewing Rep.John Curtis(R-Utah) , Sen.Bob Corker and others. John Curtis mentioned unity and restoring confidence in the electoral process for Americans. Bob Corker said the republicans are humoring 45. Look how well that worked out.
The one thing I'm not hearing is "WE LIED,HE LIED and there NEVER was any election fraud....(.unless of course you are referring to the voter suppression we have been perfecting over the years..did I say that out loud).
Most of the radicalized will not be moved by that revelation because DumpTruck is just their vehicle of hate, they'll find another vehicle when that runs out of gas. Some of his supporters will hear it and once they get over the fact they were duped will hopefully feel some shame and not be so gullible in the future.The only place that healing can happen is through contrition.
The congressional and senate members who have fueled the lies need to be expelled at the very least , but only after they admit publicly to the lies, not just the Big Lie but all the lies of the last four years that cemented their agenda.
Much is being said about the feelings of his supporters, F that, what about the feelings of over 80 million people who voted for Biden/Harris.
Our feelings don't count because we chose to follow the tenets of Democracy and Vote instead of choosing Insurrection . I'd like to see that debated in the news!
Thank you for providing this space of sanity and reason.
I desperately want justice to be served regarding Trump and his crimes but 17 GOP Senators must vote to convict him regarding this impeachment. I am doubtful that will happen. I further believe that he will Pardon his kids & Giuliani then he will resign and Pence will Pardon him before the end of his term in office. Trump will literally get away with murder proving to the world that not only is our Democracy broken but it does not work for its citizens. We are not the greatest country in the world 🌎. We only claim to be.
I think Pence is done with Trump. It would be comical if your prediction came true, with the exception that Pence decides last minute not to pardon Trump. That would be the ultimate revenge for Trump's mob almost killing Pence and his family last week. Pence is doomed politically either way.
My response is succinct... and ecapsulated herein "In the end, 95 percent of House Republicans put loyalty to Trump above loyalty to the Constitution. That is not good news for the future of the GOP. Let’s hope the Senate does better, whenever it gets around to holding Trump’s trial," Max Boot writes in Opinions.
". . . brief detour on the Republican Party’s further descent into anti-democratic, white supremacist lunacy." That's the future right there.
As you said, McConnell needs power like mortals need oxygen. His temporary claim to sanity (and split from Trump) is just a way to make room for the next demagogue he will support. Even if Trump isn't barred from holding office again. McConnell is probably smart enough to know Trump isn't the candidate to back in 2024 if he wants to gain the support of any Republican with a tiny bit of soul left. I think you will see McConnell and the other ones who made the Faustian bargain backing a newer version of Trump in 2024 (perhaps one who has some semblance of how government works and isn't so obviously a psychopath) who will lead them with a platform of just enough fascism and demagoguery to satisfy their thirst for insane amounts of power at the expense of everyone who isn't a white, "Christian," conservate man.
Then you will see a third party. It may be led by Trump, or perhaps one of his minions (Hawley, Cruz, Jordan) who were not in an uncomfortable bargain, but rather saw Trump as the best expression of how they view the party, the presidency, and the future of America. Think George Wallace combined with Lee Atwater and Ralph Reed, but even more rabid and with a dose of neo-Nazism. And don't expect a deathbed apology.
(Also, hoping to see the same media coverage when the big corps go back to donating to the party that enabled and encouraged a f**king coup. What do you give it, two weeks?)
lI cannot bear McConnell, but I said as soon as the words were out of Josh Holmes mouth (former Chief of Staff for McConnell, about 'white hot rage' as to what went on on January 6th) and McConnell started to float the trial balloon, that the removal part of trump will START on January 19th but will be completed under Biden. Therefore, McConnell gets to have it both ways....he 'did the right thing' on the 19th, but will get Schumer/Biden to take the fall, blame them in 2022 (still angry Rs) and get his majority back. So many call him a turtle...no, he is as sly as a fox.
I don't believe this for one second. Another spin job by McConnell, who will wait out the storm for a few weeks and then go right back to his sanctimonious calls for unity after Biden takes office.
Evidence so far is that the majority of them will be back to their victimhood narrative within days. If McConnell actually wanted to change anything he would have announced an all-out effort to get JB's cabinet ready for confirmation.
The anti-Ron Johnson ads should be replicated wherever relevant. They must be forced to own their incitement and their demand to overthrow the people's will. I would add to the ad with an extra edge of "RJ believes your vote should only be allowed to count if you agree with him - that's not democracy".
A lot of Obama's first six months was lost on accepting the premise that they might act in the national interest and with good faith. "we care about voter fraud" should be the litmus. It's the original lie and foundation for the big lie. If they sign up for a genuine democratic reform plan then maybe they're changing - and that's something which should be pushed with zero tolerance for any demand for investigation into fraud other than that committed by GOP legislators and SoS's systematically working to make it harder for some groups to vote.
House handled impeachment really well (I was skeptical initially). Stay on the offence.
He would have called the Senate back TODAY and end this madness. He doesn't want trump there anymore than any of us do, but he does not want to take the fall for trump's ending aka never being allowed to run again. And this is a MUST.
If McConnell genuinely wants Trump purged from the party permanently, then there’s some logic to his delay in recalling the senate until 20 Jan. The longer the delay, the more evidence is gathered to convict. After the 20th, Trump has left the building, and has no power to issue official missives. He may still incite the mob in any Republican’s direction though, and I wouldn’t rule out some Republicans being genuinely scared for their own safety. Confirmation of their desire to convict may still be hidden until after the 20th.
I very much agree that the delay gives Republican senators political cover.
I very much doubt that most Republicans (save Romney and Raffensperger) will ever utter the words "The election was fairly administered. There was no fraud. Biden won." Yet unless Trump-supporting Republicans admit "the big lie" (a phrase gaining traction, I like it), all this will go nowhere. They will never believe a Democrat.
Since these elected officials are both craven and cowardly, they need political cover. McConnell doesn't offer it to younger electeds with their imagined careers in front of them.
So who can? The lawyers who represented Trump in court--they are already on record saying time after time to the presiding judge that they had no evidence of election fraud. Will there be witnesses in the Senate impeachment trial? Depose them. Read the court transcripts out loud, ask them if those were indeed their words. Have Republicans with Trumpy credentials speak the truth.
Maybe elected Republicans will claim they were duped--they're shocked, shocked, like their constituents they believed their Dear Leader. They'll be lying but they'll have cover. It doesn't solve the long-term problem of the anti-democracy rot in the Republican party. But it might snap some of the mob out of their alternative universe.
Hey Dan,
I was watching the debate for impeachment yesterday and many of the news outlets are interviewing Rep.John Curtis(R-Utah) , Sen.Bob Corker and others. John Curtis mentioned unity and restoring confidence in the electoral process for Americans. Bob Corker said the republicans are humoring 45. Look how well that worked out.
The one thing I'm not hearing is "WE LIED,HE LIED and there NEVER was any election fraud....(.unless of course you are referring to the voter suppression we have been perfecting over the years..did I say that out loud).
Most of the radicalized will not be moved by that revelation because DumpTruck is just their vehicle of hate, they'll find another vehicle when that runs out of gas. Some of his supporters will hear it and once they get over the fact they were duped will hopefully feel some shame and not be so gullible in the future.The only place that healing can happen is through contrition.
The congressional and senate members who have fueled the lies need to be expelled at the very least , but only after they admit publicly to the lies, not just the Big Lie but all the lies of the last four years that cemented their agenda.
Much is being said about the feelings of his supporters, F that, what about the feelings of over 80 million people who voted for Biden/Harris.
Our feelings don't count because we chose to follow the tenets of Democracy and Vote instead of choosing Insurrection . I'd like to see that debated in the news!
Thank you for providing this space of sanity and reason.
I desperately want justice to be served regarding Trump and his crimes but 17 GOP Senators must vote to convict him regarding this impeachment. I am doubtful that will happen. I further believe that he will Pardon his kids & Giuliani then he will resign and Pence will Pardon him before the end of his term in office. Trump will literally get away with murder proving to the world that not only is our Democracy broken but it does not work for its citizens. We are not the greatest country in the world 🌎. We only claim to be.
I think Pence is done with Trump. It would be comical if your prediction came true, with the exception that Pence decides last minute not to pardon Trump. That would be the ultimate revenge for Trump's mob almost killing Pence and his family last week. Pence is doomed politically either way.
My response is succinct... and ecapsulated herein "In the end, 95 percent of House Republicans put loyalty to Trump above loyalty to the Constitution. That is not good news for the future of the GOP. Let’s hope the Senate does better, whenever it gets around to holding Trump’s trial," Max Boot writes in Opinions.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/01/13/republicans-just-blew-their-chance-move-trump/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR1bDt9l_BuwTdxzYYI0hfKCUnRzGWf1dlG9jkp8YQt2U4Xw0Ud-K2R1VBo
". . . brief detour on the Republican Party’s further descent into anti-democratic, white supremacist lunacy." That's the future right there.
As you said, McConnell needs power like mortals need oxygen. His temporary claim to sanity (and split from Trump) is just a way to make room for the next demagogue he will support. Even if Trump isn't barred from holding office again. McConnell is probably smart enough to know Trump isn't the candidate to back in 2024 if he wants to gain the support of any Republican with a tiny bit of soul left. I think you will see McConnell and the other ones who made the Faustian bargain backing a newer version of Trump in 2024 (perhaps one who has some semblance of how government works and isn't so obviously a psychopath) who will lead them with a platform of just enough fascism and demagoguery to satisfy their thirst for insane amounts of power at the expense of everyone who isn't a white, "Christian," conservate man.
Then you will see a third party. It may be led by Trump, or perhaps one of his minions (Hawley, Cruz, Jordan) who were not in an uncomfortable bargain, but rather saw Trump as the best expression of how they view the party, the presidency, and the future of America. Think George Wallace combined with Lee Atwater and Ralph Reed, but even more rabid and with a dose of neo-Nazism. And don't expect a deathbed apology.
(Also, hoping to see the same media coverage when the big corps go back to donating to the party that enabled and encouraged a f**king coup. What do you give it, two weeks?)
Are there people who like Starburst flavors besides the red and pink ones? I mean, come on.
lemon :)
lI cannot bear McConnell, but I said as soon as the words were out of Josh Holmes mouth (former Chief of Staff for McConnell, about 'white hot rage' as to what went on on January 6th) and McConnell started to float the trial balloon, that the removal part of trump will START on January 19th but will be completed under Biden. Therefore, McConnell gets to have it both ways....he 'did the right thing' on the 19th, but will get Schumer/Biden to take the fall, blame them in 2022 (still angry Rs) and get his majority back. So many call him a turtle...no, he is as sly as a fox.