Astute political observers will not be surprised by the recent actions of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who extended an olive branch to Joe Biden following the Electoral College formalities on Monday, Dec. 14. Everyone with a keyboard is reporting that the Kentucky senator is calling on his party members to stand down and not engage in the lingering fight over Election 2020.
Trumpers Cry Traitor
Those who support the president’s position to fight the good fight are furious over McConnell’s move to play nice in the sandbox. But are they shocked? McConnell is a political animal through and through and doesn’t often let loyalty get in the way of his leadership – unless, of course, it’s loyalty to him.
Behind closed doors, McConnell warned Republicans to take a knee in the battle over election results which millions of Americans believe to be fraudulent. Aside from the president’s tweet excoriating McConnell was this one from pro-Trump attorney Lin Wood: “McConnell wants power, influence, & money. He is willing to sell America to get what he wants. McConnell is a traitor to American Patriots.” Wood’s comments are pitch-perfect for the masses who believe the Democrats' shenanigans cost Trump a second term.
Of course, a split in the Republican ranks is being heralded in the nation’s most powerful legacy newspapers – front page, above the fold. This choice real estate in “journalism” is not by happenstance and signals the left’s desire to ratchet up the inter-Republican fight. It’s an effort to isolate the president and make him and his followers appear conspiratorial and on the fringe.
Amid all this chaos comes news that President Trump is seriously considering a special prosecutor to investigate the evidence of election tampering that the courts appear to be more than a bit reluctant to consider. But then there’s the question of Mr. Biden’s troubled son, who has acted as his father’s “bag man” for years if Hunter Biden’s own laptop is to be believed. This puts the president in an odd position of possibly appointing two special prosecutors before being shoved out the door. And that can be a bit dicey.
The mere fact that McConnell is ready to make up and move on does not make it so. It’s doubtful that the thousands of folks who traveled to the nation’s capital this weekend – some of whom got the bejesus beaten out of them – would acquiesce to the Senate majority leader’s command. Instead, his signal to stand down will only fire up the discord and perhaps move the country toward a third party.
Third parties have never been a winning concept in U.S. politics, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen. Still, it is a heavy lift because there are 50 state contests in which a third party must find a way to comply. It didn’t work for the Bull Moose Party, and the Libertarian Party has found it more than an uphill slog that has yet to gain traction despite decades of effort. Liberty Nation’s Washington Political Columnist Tim Donner reflected on this and stated:
“Independent candidates have occasionally succeeded in having an impact on presidential elections. George Wallace won five states in 1968 and Ross Perot captured 19% of the popular vote in 1992. But both were stand-alone candidacies, much like the breakaway Dixiecrat party of Strom Thurmond in 1948, predicated on one charismatic individual rather than a full party build-out. The two major parties simply possess too much power and political infrastructure for the likes of the Libertarian or Green parties to gain traction. As we have seen in the issue of term limits, often promised and never delivered, the one thing Republicans and Democrats have always agreed on is sustaining their exclusive power and smothering any nascent political parties.”
“Divide and conquer” is the oldest play in warfare, but it’s used because it is often effective. Through his actions, Senator McConnell has given the left exactly what they wanted and needed – a split in the ranks of the Republican Party. But if those who support the president know anything, it is that their man is not one to toe the party line. This means a battle royale is headed straight for the GOP. The Republican establishment would be wise to tread carefully since much of its political base comprises these stalwart Trumpists who are incensed by McConnell’s actions.
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Read more from Leesa K. Donner.
