Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

"McConnell can't avoid it, He must directly refute Trunp's election fraud claims."

"Former president Donald Trump’s continued lies about 2020 create a huge headache for Republican leaders such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.). The more Trump prattles on, the harder it is to look the other way from his bizarre and false claims. The time will soon come when McConnell will have to do what he has long avoided: directly, publicly and forcefully rebut Trump’s lies about election fraud.

Trump’s all-over-the-place political messaging complicates matters. On one hand, Trump endorses numerous candidates and argues that his fans should put his friends in office. That helps the GOP when it is deployed on behalf of Republican nominees, as was the case on Wednesday in Virginia’s gubernatorial race. GOP leaders could live with Trump’s rants if this were primarily what he was up to.

But it’s not. He is also increasingly focusing on his false allegations that Democrats fraudulently stole the 2020 election. Trump upped the ante Wednesday by sending a message warning that Republican voters will not turn out in 2022 unless GOP leaders “solved” the purported fraud. That’s a shot across Republican leaders’ bow that Trump clearly hopes will lead to them to embark as willing sailors on his suicide cruise into the rocks of fact and public opinion.

Most Republicans will ignore Trump’s suggestion not to vote even as they hold him in high esteem. They fear the Democratic agenda too much to do otherwise. But Republicans could be torpedoed if even a small portion stays home. That arguably happened in Georgia’s two Senate runoff elections in January, when Democrats captured both seats by narrow margins as Republicans voted at lower rates than Democrats. If President Biden recovers politically, that small voter boycott could be the difference between Republicans retaking the Senate and defeat.

McConnell has tried to turn a blind eye to Trump’s fulminations. He excoriated Trump on the Senate floor after the impeachment vote in February but has otherwise not actively attempted to contest or rebut Trump’s claims. He clearly hopes the issue will go away on its own, allowing Republican voters to concentrate on the Biden administration’s liberal policies.
Trump’s statement shows those hopes are naive. As long as Trump is politically active, he will push his election fraud narrative to anyone who listens. That will have an effect whether McConnell likes it or not. The only question remaining, then, is whether benign neglect continues to be the optimal strategy.

McConnell would be wise to start preparing to fight back. He knows that Trump’s allegations are figments of his fevered imagination. It takes time to demolish each of the specific allegations that too many Republicans believe to be true. But without that exertion, those Republicans will continue to believe the election was stolen. And if they believe that, some might not vote at all. McConnell should not take that risk.

He can start with the bully pulpit he commands, the Senate floor. He can give a speech — or better yet, a series of speeches — specifically demolishing each of Trump’s lies. He can explain why Dominion’s voting machines couldn’t have flipped votes as many Republicans believe they did, and why post-election hand checks of paper ballots would have caught them if they did. He can painstakingly show how election officials in large, Democratic-run cities may have been sloppy, but they did not stuff the ballot box after the fact to push Biden over the top. And he can conclusively prove that demographically similar communities behaved in the same way whether they were in swing states or safe states, and whether mail-in balloting was a feature or a bug of each state’s voting.

McConnell shouldn’t stop there. He should enlist the support of leading figures whom Trump backers trust, such as Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham or radio stars such as Mark Levin. They should be shown the facts in excruciating detail and told that their tacit support for Trump’s lies could give Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) more power after the midterms. Their endorsement, and those of others like them in other conservative spheres of influence, would force Republican voters to face the facts. And that would force Trump to face the music: His grift is up.

McConnell is one of the savviest political strategists of the past half-century. He probably already knows this is a Rubicon he must cross, even if that risks an open fight with Trump. But he also knows that the facts are on his side, and fear of Democratic victory in the midterms will incline even ardent Trumpians to hear him out. That should give him the courage to fuel his cunning and do what he does best: win.

Henry Olsen The Washington Post 10/14/2021

jcs Loc: USA

Thank you for making McConnell aware of the valuable advice from Henry Olsen of the Washington Post .

But when the Washington Post ( or any other mainstream media ) starts offering valuable advice to HELP the Republicans win the next Election.....
McConnell better ignore it and keep on doing what he's doing .

Beware of "Geeks" bearing gifts . Lol

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

Henry Olsen is a right-wing editorialist who usually supports Trump and the Republican Party.
Google him to view his affiliations.

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

Do you remember what Mitch said on the Senate floor about Trump’s part in the January 6 coup attempt?
He faulted Trump in no uncertain terms. Google that too.

jcs Loc: USA

Don't worry about who Olsen is or what McConnell does or does not do.

With the smartest, most beloved President , with the HIGHEST APPROVAL RATINGS in our history in charge ,
not to mention our roaring Economy, the lowest unemployment, lowest National debt , safest border
and FREE EVERYTHING for all ....
it's MATHEMATICALLY IMPOSSIBLE for the Democrats to lose ANYTHING .

Frank T Loc: New York, NY

Republicans should take Trump’s advice and refuse to vote.

Wyantry Loc: SW Colorado

Which has GOT to be just about the stupidest advice from ANYONE.
EVER!

To refuse to vote just hands an election to the socialist dim-o-craps without even a whimper!

Frank T Loc: New York, NY

Hey, I'm supporting Trump here. Get behind him if you're a Republican, just don't vote at all. That will show them Dems.

Wyantry Loc: SW Colorado

Hey, how would NOT VOTING support REPUBLICANS ?

Not voting might support Trumpf, but to refuse to vote just hands an election to the socialist demoncraps.

Just how is that going to “show them Dems.” ?

Frank T Loc: New York, NY

Trump is their leader. They must follow him blindly or they will have to think for themselves. MAGAA

Kraken Loc: Barry's Bay

Oh Heavens forbid for that to happen.

Wyantry Loc: SW Colorado

The question was:”. . . how would NOT VOTING support REPUBLICANS ?”

Trumpf may be their leader, but it has not been adequately verified they are capable of independent cognition.

MAMSA (Make America More Stupid Again).

BadPhoto Loc: Maryland

Yes, their vote is a waste because the election is rigged. Stay home; protest!

Wyantry Loc: SW Colorado

RIIIIGHT! Just unilaterally hand an election to the liberal / socialist-democraps!

Oh that makes about as much sense as believing, after all the investigations, recounts and so forth, that the election was “stolen” and that Trumpf is someway the “legitimate” and “actual” President.

Time to flush the Stupid Pills down the commode and face reality—no matter how much that might hurt some preconceptions.

BadPhoto Loc: Maryland

That is the idea.