As we’ve seen over the past two week (more like the past five years), the Republican Party is just fine with all of Donald Trump’s fascism and criminality. It’s their brand, and their followers are fine with it too. Sure, there are a handful of Republicans who don’t like Trump personally (the Lincoln Project guys, the McCains), but Republican voters and elected Republicans were perfectly willing to sign up for Trumpism and all of the bullsh-t that entailed. Even in the past two weeks, they’ve been happy to play their little authoritarian games, pretending that Trump has some kind of case for winning the election, that maybe he could really pull it off and successfully disenfranchise millions of voters. Now two Republican senators are trying to put the fascism genie back in the bottle. Gently, though, because God knows they’re all terrified of hurting Dear Leader’s baby fee-fees.
Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse is strongly pushing back against President Donald Trump’s attempts to contest the election with lawsuits and claims of fraud, observing Thursday that Trump’s lawyers have “refused to actually allege grand fraud” in court. Sasse’s statement was perhaps the most pointed Republican rebuttal yet to Trump’s weeks-long refusal to accept the results of the presidential election. Republicans have mostly declined to criticize Trump’s ongoing effort to overturn the election, which included a press conference Thursday in which Trump campaign lawyer Rudy Giuliani baselessly alleged “massive fraud” in Michigan.
“Wild press conferences erode public trust. So no, obviously Rudy and his buddies should not pressure electors to ignore their certification obligations under the statute. We are a nation of laws, not tweets,” Sasse said.
Later Thursday night, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said the Trump campaign’s pressure tactics on election officials amount to an attempt to “subvert the will of the people.”
“It is difficult to imagine a worse, more undemocratic action by a sitting American President,” Romney said. Romney was the only Republican to support removing Trump from office during his impeachment trial.
Trump is set to meet with Michigan’s GOP statehouse leaders on Friday as the state moves toward certifying election results that currently show Biden leading by more than 150,000 votes. Sasse panned Trump’s chances of overturning the result in Michigan.
“When Trump campaign lawyers have stood before courts under oath, they have repeatedly refused to actually allege grand fraud — because there are legal consequences for lying to judges,” Sasse said. “President Trump lost Michigan by more than 100,000 votes, and the campaign and its allies have lost in or withdrawn from all five lawsuits in Michigan for being unable to produce any evidence.”
I mean, sure, I’m not ANGRY that two Republican senators are at least in contact with reality. But let’s be perfectly clear: Mitt Romney and Ben Sasse are not profiles in courage. Neither one of them has the cojones to actually come out and say “this is criminal” or “this is sedition” or “this is absolutely crazy and Donald Trump needs to concede right now, today, because we cannot continue operating like this.” They still want to give themselves room to play footsie with the Trump base.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
Ben Sasse is my Senator and I can tell you that he is a completely spineless, embarrassment of a human being. His whole farm boy schtick hides a racist, sexist, fascist Trump-wannabe interior.
Fellow Nebraskan here and everything you said!
We also have one of those types in NC….spineless, obsequious, embarrassing…Thom Tillis. The WORST.
I try not to paint all republicans with a broad brush, since the Secretary of State in GA was willing to stand up for truth. But these Republican senators make it hard. I see Susan “Two faced” Collins trotted out last night to express her concerns. And that Republican senator who claimed he would “step in” if Biden wasn’t read into the intelligence information has run for the hills. Politics, ugh!
Brad Raffensperger has been pretty awesome in dealing with this. I live in Georgia but didn’t know who he was until he started speaking up against Trump, Lindsay Graham etc. He did say something like “like all Republicans I’m bummed our candidate lost,” but at least his actions speak otherwise. And the bar could not be lower here, but at least he’s recognizing Trump lost, unlike many of his party.
I really do appreciate him telling the world what Lindsey Graham did. And then waiting for Graham’s denial before adding that there were witnesses.
Like you said, it’s a low bar, but he’s doing the right thing and doing his job properly, so I’m glad he’s there.
Like you, I live in GA and didn’t even know who the Sec of State was until recently. Heck, didn’t even know how the AG was until a few months ago. As I get older, I find myself way more into politics now than ever before. Let’s hope Perdue and Loeffler is out in January!
Mitt Romney and Ben Sasse are suddenly worried about their legacy!*
*I fixed the headline 😂
Do we think Romney is looking to run again in 2024?
As it is – I’m not mad they said this, but this is pretty much the LEAST the Rs should be saying about this. It only seems newsworthy bc of how spineless the rest of them are.
Ab – so – f*cking – lutely.
it’s why he voted for impeachment.
Both of them want to run for president at some point and are trying to woo never trumpers and independents. I don’t honestly believe either of them care about fascism. If they did, they wouldn’t have waited until now. Only Mitt Romney has been openly critical of trump in the past, however, I never assume Republican politicians especially at that level are operating patriotically.
Mittens is all about self preservation. Most rats who desert a sinking ship know that too.
My issue with him is he is like a sofa, he just takes on the shape of the last person to sit on him. That shape can change at anytime and for any reason.
Also, I’m still salty about his “binders full of women” comment.
I am reminded of the phrase “the banality of evil” a lot over the last few weeks. But really it’s been the last 4 years.
A lot of people acting in self interest around the President thinking that this will blow over. Not realizing the long term damage because they are so far removed from the real world and live in a conservative media bubble. Or just acting in self interest and not thinking outside themselves at all.
It’s scary how much damage systematic spinelessness and selfishness will do to us.
I mean, the Senate and Moscow Mitch looooooved to remind us how they are “co-equal” to the President when it was all about obstructing Obama’s administration, but now they just can’t do a THING about this monster and his toddler tantrum. Find your balls, tell him he’s ridiculous and a loser, and DO YOUR JOB, which is first and foremost to SUPPORT AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES!! Yes, I am yelling. Not at anyone here, though.
I fundamentally don’t understand how/why they don’t all get that you remove ALL OF HIS POWER if you stand up to him. He will act exactly as badly as you will allow him to, and they are allowing him to act like a dictator. I get that the Repubs seem to think that continuing to kowtow to his bullsh!t is good for their “brand” because they don’t want to lose the Senate in Georgia, and I read a TERRIFYING article today that said that they see contesting legitimate election results as a useful tool for maintaining their minority rule, so I guess it really is just a case of them deciding that retaining power is preferable to actually having a working democracy. I am furious and sad that they’re doing this to all of us. George Washington weeps.