I know that newspaper readerships have shrunk significantly and newspaper endorsements no longer carry the weight that they did in pre-internet days, but still...every endorsement is one more straw on the camel’s back, eh?
And so it is that the Des Moines Register Editorial Board has not only endorsed a slate of Iowa Democratic candidates (it had already endorsed Biden a couple of weeks ago), but done it most emphatically, saying
[Putting party above country] has led Republicans down a treacherous path of steadfast loyalty to a president who has coddled dictators, demonized immigrants, wavered on denouncing white supremacists, run the White House like a family business, routinely ignored science and witnessed over 215,000 Americans die in a pandemic on his watch. And the worst may be yet to come, since he has not committed to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election.
That's why in this particular election every Republican incumbent should be voted out of office and every open seat should be awarded to the Democratic candidate.
The Democratic candidates for Congress in Iowa have much to offer. But make no mistake: Elected Republicans' actions have been so poisonous that removing them from power is as important a goal as sending thoughtful public servants to Washington. [emphasis mine]
The Board continues later, after a listing of various Republican actions including repeated attempts to kill the ACA to their hypocrisy regarding fiscal responsibility, not to mention enabling all of the various Trump sins,
The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate has had too little time to assist Americans struggling from the effects of a pandemic. Yet it has found plenty of energy to pour into assuring perpetual conservative control of the Supreme Court.
For today’s Republicans, the needs of the party supersede those of the nation.
And now we’ve reached the point where the party appears willing to abet a president in nullifying an election.
Which leads them to conclude, before they move on to discussion of individual candidate endorsements, with this thought:
An overwhelming repudiation at the polls might drive home to Republicans how far they have strayed from the principles of their past.
To help steer them back, throw the bums out. Every one of them.
I see nothing to disagree with. Throw the bums out. Every one of them.