Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRick Hasen: Mitch McConnell Was Willing to Risk American Democracy to Save the Senate
Link to tweet
Unrolled thread here
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1409189727522070530.html
#ELB: The Buried Lede in Jon Karls Flattering Bill Barr Story: Mitch McConnell Was Willing to Risk American Democracy to Save the Senate electionlawblog.org/?p=122869
Lots of people are buzzing today about Jon Karls piece in the Atlantic in which Bill Barr portrays himself in standing up to Trump and his claims of election fraud. As is typical in pieces where people from Barr world are sources, this paints Barr in the best possible light.
The piece does not even mention how Barr put forward outrageous and ludicrous statements about voter fraud before the election, suggesting that foreign governments would be mailing in thousands of absentee ballots. Barr continues on his rehabilitation tour.
But thats not the part of the story I want to highlight. It is about how Mitch McConnell utterly failed in squelching the Trump voter fraud claims because he was trying to preserve his Senate majority.
Like George W. Bush, McConnell could have recognized Biden early as the winner of the election, and that would have helped to push down the now-crazy claims about 2020 election fraud.
As I explained at Slate on November 8, after Fox and other networks recognized Biden as the winner...
What Happens if Trump Wont Concede
Its up to responsible Republicans.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/11/trump-concede-threat-legitimacy-biden.html
From that Slate piece: "The one group that has not spoken up yet, and that is crucially important for acceptance of election results, is the rest of the Republican congressional leadership, beyond McCarthy. ...
...For example, on Saturday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declined to weigh in on Bidens election, pointing to an earlier statement about letting the vote counting and legal process play out."
Heres what Karl tells us about Mitch McConnells calculations after Trump refused to concede:
"Barr told me that Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell had been urging him to speak out since mid-November. Publicly, McConnell had said nothing to criticize Trumps allegations...
..but he told Barr that Trumps claims were damaging to the country and to the Republican Party. Trumps refusal to concede was complicating McConnells efforts to ensure that the GOP won the two runoff elections in Georgia scheduled for January 5."
As Quinta Jurecic put it: Maybe Im being too critical here or theres context missing, but this reads like the senate majority leader asking the attorney general for political help in an upcoming election. Not great!
But its even worse than that. McConnell knew Trumps claims were bogus and endangering the country. And he refused to speak up because he put politics before country. /END
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
4 replies, 912 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (6)
ReplyReply to this post
4 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Rick Hasen: Mitch McConnell Was Willing to Risk American Democracy to Save the Senate (Original Post)
Nevilledog
Jun 2021
OP
Lovie777
(12,278 posts)1. Mcturtle continues to thrive on a republican majority.......
over Democracy. 1) The People's Act; Infrastructure, etc.
And have vowed to never allow a Democratic President to seat a Justice on The United States of America Supreme Court.
Me.
(35,454 posts)2. Not THE Senate
his senate, the one where he had all the power
KentuckyWoman
(6,687 posts)3. I disagree with Rick Hasen
Mitch doesn't give a single anything about the US Senate. Mitch care about Mitch, and only Mitch. The US Senate is merely a useful tool to enrich Mitch. If he stops needing use of it, he'd destroy it without a care and in my opinion, already has destroyed it for the sake of milking it for all it is worth.
demtenjeep
(31,997 posts)4. as he always has
he doesn't give a shit about the USA or Democracy-just what he can get