The Big Lie

The Big Lie

By

Leonard Zwelling

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/04/opinion/gop-trump-2020-election.html

As Tom Friedman points out on May 5 in The New York Times, the key requisite position for any Republican right now is that the 2020 Presidential election was stolen and that Donald Trump really won. As ludicrous as such a stand is, it is the one that must be taken if one is to run on the GOP ticket in 2022 and beyond. It will certainly be required in any Republican primary for any office from senator to dogcatcher. It will be this way until the Republicans purge the influence of the Orange Maniac from the party and return to first principles. It also might unseat Representative Liz Cheney from her leadership role in the House which would be most unfortunate as she seems to be a rare voice of reason (along with Mitt Romney and Adam Kinzinger) on the right side of the aisle.

This may seem like a small point to traditional conservative voters (and readers of this blog), but to the rest of us, it isn’t. Denying reality is not a credential to be favored by a candidate for public office, yet the Republicans seem to be making this nonsense a litmus test for loyalty to the party and to Trump.

I am sorry my conservative friends. Traditional Republican principles have a lot going for them and the big-spending Democrats are not all that attractive, especially in the already over-taxed suburbs that elected Joe Biden. BUT, you cannot continue believing that a 7 million-vote loss was really a win. Sure a three million-vote loss was victory in 2016, but not this time. Get over yourselves and come back to 2021.

There was no plot to deny Donald Trump a second term. He just lost the old fashioned way. He got fewer votes—again—this time by a huge margin. There is no widespread voter fraud requiring a raft of new state legislation altering the manner in which people cast their ballots. That’s bunk, too.

The GOP and in particular Kevin McCarthy and members of the Republican caucus in the House need to get off this notion that somehow Trump won. Until they do, it is going to be very hard for the GOP to muster a winning message without the tricks of redistricting and lying. If my conservative friends are all right with this myth being the driving force in their party, so be it. One of the reasons I cannot be a Democrat is because that party too harbors myths about socialism being the solution to all problems and the limitless supply of money for government handouts. Neither lie is good.

The GOP can grab the high road as Liz Cheney is trying to do or can continue in the swamp of lies. It’s up to them. I am more than willing to put a check on Biden’s big spending, but not with this nonsense about the last election dominating the legislative agenda going forward.

The GOP has to be for something, not just against honest elections. What’ll it be, Mitch? Do you have any real ideas or are you just chasing the ghosts of elections past?