Congressional Cowards is a weekly sequence highlighting the worst Donald Trump defenders on Capitol Hill, who refuse to criticize him—irrespective of how disgraceful or lawless his actions.
Republicans misplaced the Los Angeles mayoral election this week when their MAGA-aligned, D-Record actuality TV character Spencer Pratt did not advance to the final election—a predictable final result in a metropolis that hasn’t had a GOP mayor in additional than 25 years.
However as a result of Republicans consider that any election they lose is the product of a conspiracy quite than voters merely not liking them, they’ve adopted within the footsteps of President Donald Trump: spreading lies about voter fraud.
“A few of these efforts are so diabolical and to date upstream, it’s unattainable to show. However I feel all people is aware of instinctively that one thing is improper right here,” Home Speaker Mike Johnson mentioned Monday.
By that logic, would Democrats be justified in saying that the 2024 election was rigged as a result of “instinctively” it simply felt “improper” that anybody would vote for a corrupt, self-dealing fool?
Johnson wasn’t the one Republican to make idiotic and harmful allegations of fraud in response to Pratt’s loss.
Home Majority Chief Steve Scalise additionally alleged that the California election was “rigged” due to “extensive modifications after election evening within the outcomes.” When he was informed that the election outcomes modified just because votes had been being counted, Scalise refused to simply accept actuality and continued to push lies.
“Whether or not you may show fraud or not, it does undermine voter integrity within the vote,” Scalise mentioned.
In the meantime, GOP Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, who’s operating for governor, unfold fraud lies to attempt to increase help for the SAVE Act—a voter suppression invoice that might require proof of citizenship to register to vote, which, sarcastically, would possible make it more durable for Republicans to vote.
“Blue states can and can undermine elections in actual time,” Donalds wrote on X. “This is the reason we want the SAVE America Act—now greater than ever.”
But it surely wasn’t simply Home Republicans who pushed the lies. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas additionally bought in on the baseless fraud allegations.
“Apparently in California, vote counting retains going till I assume [Democrats] get the consequence they need. It’s tousled,” Cruz mentioned on his podcast.
Equally, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah mentioned that the outcomes had been proof that the GOP-controlled Congress must cross his SAVE Act.
“In mild of the stunningly inconceivable LA mayoral election outcomes, the Senate ought to flip instantly to the SAVE America Act. And hold debating it till it passes. Actually nothing is extra necessary,” Lee wrote on X.
Associated | LA mayoral race exhibits how Trump plans to mess with midterms
Sen. Rick Scott of Florida took it a step additional, sending a letter to the Division of Justice urging an investigation into the fraud allegations.
“People count on and deserve elections which can be free, honest, clear, and environment friendly. California clearly doesn’t need to meet these requirements,” Scott informed The California Publish, an offshoot of the right-wing New York Publish.
He continued, “Between troubling stories of fraudulent ballots being submitted, folks paying homeless folks to solid ballots, and delays in poll counting, everybody paying consideration is troubled by the method. The American folks deserve solutions.”
Democrats condemned the baseless allegations of fraud.
“The anomaly within the LA Mayor’s race is that Republican MAGA Pratt even bought to 2nd place on election evening. The LA Occasions ballot had Pratt in third place. Dems massively outnumber Republicans by almost 4 to 1 in LA,” Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu of California wrote on X. “Pratt was predicted to lose and he misplaced. That’s not fraud, it’s math.”
However Republicans know that they will rile up their base of rubes by making false and absurd allegations of fraud—which is why they aren’t going to cease.
In reality, their lies about California are possible only a precursor of what’s to return within the midterms, when Republicans will nearly definitely be crushed attributable to Trump’s unpopularity—a story that malignant narcissist Trump will refuse to simply accept.
“It’s fairly clear to all of us that Republicans are laying the groundwork to do something to carry energy,” Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar of California mentioned. “That’s what that is about.”
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