Vulnerable Senate Republicans up for reelection were quick to dodge questions about Donald Trump's Thursday morning suggestion that perhaps the country should "[d]elay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???"
Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, who's fighting tooth and nail to keep her seat, curtly responded: "not answering any questions."
Majority "Leader" Mitch McConnell jilted reporters entirely with a nonresponse.
South Carolina senator and avid Trump bootlicker Lindsey Graham managed to squeeze out some weak-kneed opposition, saying: “I don’t think that’s a particularly good idea.”
Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina dodged the question several times before finally surrendering to reporter inquires. “After twice telling me to ‘talk to [his] staff’, then saying he had not read the tweet, @SenThomTillis finally addressed @realDonaldTrump comment this morning on election delay, & told me ‘the election is not going to be delayed,’” tweeted MSNBC reporter Garrett Haake. Now there’s bravery, for ya.
We are on the slide to fascism, folks, and any Republican who can't take a decisive stand against Trump's suggestion is a traitor to American ideals, democracy, and the country.
Sens. Cory Gardner of Colorado, Susan Collins of Maine, Martha McSally of Arizona, and David Perdue of Georgia are all likely in a bunker somewhere drawing straws over who has to exit first when the provisions run out.
But Senate Republicans will most likely bifurcate into two groups: those who are desperately trying to save their seats this cycle, and those who can already taste a future without Trump standing in the way of their personal ambitions. This is already happening on the relief package, where Senate Republicans are dividing down along lines of those who don't dare anger Trump and those who are already eyeing their presidential bid in 2024. Republicans have never liked Trump—not a one. They've just bent to his every wish to protect their own hides until they could get rid of him.
Take Florida Sen. Rick Scott, for instance, whose spokesman responded with a simple "no" when asked if delaying the election was a good idea.
Trump's unfailing incompetence ensured that the coronavirus would rage through the country for months on end. Nonetheless, he insisted on reopening before it had abated, pouring gasoline on the fire. He's presently insisting on opening schools because no one—not even America's children—will escape sacrifice in Trump's bid to reboot the economy and secure reelection.
Then, when the country got news that the economy shrank at the fastest rate on record in the second quarter, Trump suddenly takes an interest in safety solely related to one thing: voting.
Nope. No way, Trump. You inherited everything from Obama and still managed create total wreckage on your watch. You don't get more time. Not one millisecond longer.
