Pro-Trump Senate candidates create early 2022 headaches for Republican leaders

[essentialsaltes]

On Friday, Walker said he has no plans to debate [Senator Warnock] in Macon and explained why.

“I'm not going to respond to anything because you know that's not a debate, and you know that,” Walker said. “You've got people that are contributors to his campaign and it's in this room that only two people gonna see it on a Sunday night, I think. NFL Football, I am giving you an opportunity to be statewide so everybody can see what it is, see the contrast between the two of us. I don't know how you can ask for anything better.”

The debate is set for a Thursday night, not a Sunday.

[Warnock has agreed to three televised 'well-established Georgia debates in Atlanta, Savannah, and Macon'. Walker has agreed to a separate TV debate in Savannah; Warnock has not responded.]

 

[essentialsaltes]

Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) is leading Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) by 4 percentage points in the state’s Senate race, according to a new poll.

A Fox News poll released on Thursday found 49 percent of Wisconsin voters would cast a ballot for Barnes if the election were held today, while 45 percent would vote for Johnson. The results are within the poll’s margin of error of 3 percentage points.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Former President Donald Trump has launched a furious attack on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in a dispute over the GOP Senate mid-term campaign.

Trump said the senior senator from Kentucky should spend more time and money helping Republican Senate candidates get elected and "less time helping his crazy wife and family get rich on China."

"Why do Republicans Senators allow a broken down hack politician, Mitch McConnell, to openly disparage hard working Republican candidates for the United States Senate," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

McConnell has drawn ire from Trump after he said that Republicans will face a tough task in flipping the Senate majority, citing "candidate quality."

 

[Pommer]

Former President Donald Trump has launched a furious attack on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in a dispute over the GOP Senate mid-term campaign.

Trump said the senior senator from Kentucky should spend more time and money helping Republican Senate candidates get elected and "less time helping his crazy wife and family get rich on China."

"Why do Republicans Senators allow a broken down hack politician, Mitch McConnell, to openly disparage hard working Republican candidates for the United States Senate," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

McConnell has drawn ire from Trump after he said that Republicans will face a tough task in flipping the Senate majority, citing "candidate quality."

It’s sad to see the once great Republican Party devolve into petty disputes between its leadership (and beyond).
Very sad.
Much troubles.
So divisive.

 

[Desk trauma]

It’s sad

Nope. Not even a little bit.

 

[mark46]

Trump gave us Senate control. There is a good chance that he might do this again (e.g current polls in GA, PA, AZ and WI).

 

[mark46]

They're trying to do that by changing voter laws in each state. They'll use that to say they fixed the problems and the elections are now safe because of them.

The issue for me is protecting the count in federal elections. That bill will pass Congress this year. And, just BTW, GA votes WILL be counted fairly[the Trumpers lost].

 

[Akita Suggagaki]

If we don't like the election results just plead "fraud". That is the way it is done now.

 

[mark46]

If we don't like the election results just plead "fraud". That is the way it is done now.

So? ZERO election results were changed.

There needs to be a federal law regarding honoring the popular vote in federal elections. One will likely pass before the end of the year.

Also, those who want to change the state processes need to stop whining and elect more legislators who agree with them.

 

[JSRG]

So? ZERO election results were changed.

There needs to be a federal law regarding honoring the popular vote in federal elections. One will likely pass before the end of the year.

No federal law will pass by the end of the year honoring the popular vote for a presidential election because you can't change that by law--the electoral college is in the constitution itself.

There are only two practical ways to make the president get elected by popular vote:
1) Pass a constitutional amendment changing it.
2) Have states who together have a majority of electors pass laws to award their electors to the winner of the popular vote.

Neither seems particularly likely to occur anytime in the near future.

 

[Pommer]

There needs to be a federal law regarding honoring the popular vote in federal elections.

No.
It should be a given that elections are fair and all appropriate security measures are in place and functioning correctly.

If this norm is codified into Law then to get around it, it just needs to be repealed.
Conversely, if it is the law that and corruption does encroach our elections, only “law breakers” would dare challenge results.

Now, maybe we should have more robust laws concerning the challenge of an election? Some basis in fact to even enter a courtroom with a view to get closer scrutiny on the election processes at play.

Some portions of the functioning of a vote cannot be fall under the purview of elected officials since they’d end up being the judges in their own side’s case.

[EDIT: wait, the only Federal election is the one for President…
Oh, carry on!]

 

[mark46]

No federal law will pass by the end of the year honoring the popular vote for a presidential election because you can't change that by law--the electoral college is in the constitution itself.

There are only two practical ways to make the president get elected by popular vote:
1) Pass a constitutional amendment changing it.
2) Have states who together have a majority of electors pass laws to award their electors to the winner of the popular vote.

Neither seems particularly likely to occur anytime in the near future.

No one mentioned the Electoral College. The issue is that some states have laws allowing the vote of the people in that state to be ignored, and for the legislature (or perhaps governor) certify the electoral vote for someone other than the who the voters voted for. Trump demanded that this happen in several states.

The new law would eliminate such nonsense.

Senators Introduce Reforms to the Electo... | U.S. Senator Susan Collins (senate.gov)

 

[essentialsaltes]

In an appearance Sunday, according to an account by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, [GA Senate candidate Herschel] Walker reiterated his opposition to the Inflation Reduction Act, signed by Biden last week, that invests in curbing global warming, among other things.

“They continue to try to fool you that they are helping you out. But they’re not,” Walker said. “Because a lot of money, it’s going to trees. Don’t we have enough trees around here?”

It’s possible Walker might have been referring to a provision in the law that allocates $1.5 billion to the U.S. Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry Program.

 

[Hank77]

The issue is that some states have laws allowing the vote of the people in that state to be ignored, and for the legislature (or perhaps governor) certify the electoral vote for someone other than the who the voters voted for.

Please name one state that has such a Law.

 

[Desk trauma]

In an appearance Sunday, according to an account by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, [GA Senate candidate Herschel] Walker reiterated his opposition to the Inflation Reduction Act, signed by Biden last week, that invests in curbing global warming, among other things.

“They continue to try to fool you that they are helping you out. But they’re not,” Walker said. “Because a lot of money, it’s going to trees. Don’t we have enough trees around here?”

It’s possible Walker might have been referring to a provision in the law that allocates $1.5 billion to the U.S. Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry Program.

Best and brightest.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Please name one state that has such a Law.

I don't know of any yet, but Arizona tried to pass a very similar law. Speaker Rusty Bowers effectively killed the law. But now Bowers has been primaried out, so there's nothing to stop the AZ legislature from trying again in 2023.

Fillmore’s bill [cosigned by 15 other GOP legislators] would have eliminated early voting altogether and mandated that all ballots be counted by hand.

Voting Rights Lab, a nonprofit group that tracks election laws, called it “one of the most comprehensive attacks on nonpartisan election administration and voter access that we have seen.”

Most troubling, to voting rights advocates and independent experts, was a provision that would have empowered the Arizona Legislature to “accept or reject the election results” and given a single elector the power to demand that a fresh election be held.

[On the face, this 'only' allows an endless series of do-over elections. But in reality, there is only so much time between the November election, and when the elector slates have to be sent to Washington. This could allow the AZ legislature to withhold any electoral votes if they don't like the outcome.]

 

[Hank77]

Best and brightest.

Mitch said that he doesn't think they will take back the Senate. He said that it comes down to the quality of the candidates.
It sounds to me as if he's not impressed.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Best and brightest.

Obviously it's unfair to judge people by their worst sentences, but I challenge any Herschel Walker supporters to provide a clip of him speaking spontaneously about a complex political topic in a way that suggests he's competent to be a senator.

 

[Desk trauma]

Obviously it's unfair to judge people by their worst sentences, but I challenge any Herschel Walker supporters to provide a clip of him speaking spontaneously about a complex political topic in a way that suggests he's competent to be a senator.

Ignorance is a selling point these days.

 

[Pommer]

I don't know of any yet, but Arizona tried to pass a very similar law. Speaker Rusty Bowers effectively killed the law. But now Bowers has been primaried out, so there's nothing to stop the AZ legislature from trying again in 2023.

Fillmore’s bill [cosigned by 15 other GOP legislators] would have eliminated early voting altogether and mandated that all ballots be counted by hand.

Voting Rights Lab, a nonprofit group that tracks election laws, called it “one of the most comprehensive attacks on nonpartisan election administration and voter access that we have seen.”

Most troubling, to voting rights advocates and independent experts, was a provision that would have empowered the Arizona Legislature to “accept or reject the election results” and given a single elector the power to demand that a fresh election be held.

[On the face, this 'only' allows an endless series of do-over elections. But in reality, there is only so much time between the November election, and when the elector slates have to be sent to Washington. This could allow the AZ legislature to withhold any electoral votes if they don't like the outcome.]

The Spin:
“This would allow our state to withhold our electors if the electorate ’votes wrong’!”