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Madison Cawthorn tried to defend overturning the election on CNN -- but Pamela Brown shut him down
January 23, 2021
Controversial Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) appeared on CNN on Saturday where he attempted to defend his efforts to overturn the election that resulted in the fatal insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
But CNN anchor Pamela Brown repeatedly pressed Cawthorn to document his allegations of voter fraud -- which were rejected by the courts, the Electoral College, and a joint-session of Congress.
<p>Cawthorn could provide no such evidence.</p><p>"Hold on, so you wanted to throw out millions of votes without actually seeing any concrete evidence of fraud?" she asked. "That's what you were doing when you were contesting the election, the intent there was throwing out millions of votes."</p><p>"Well, I disagree with you on that point, that was not my intent, my intent was to hold up the Constitution," Cawthorn argued, despite the fact he did vote to through out millions of votes -- even after the deadly insurrection.</p><p>Watch:</p>
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<span class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="87b62fa43da611c310ad19de4e63efba" style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="auto" type="lazy-iframe" scrolling="no" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GPZyXF1mnWQ?rel=0" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" width="100%"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Madison Cawthorn</small>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPZyXF1mnWQ" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
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GOP receives brutal lesson on civics and political reality from Texas Republican Will Hurd
January 23, 2021
Texas Republican Will Hurd drew upon his six years in Congress and nine years as a clandestine CIA officer in a hard-hitting new op-ed published by The Washington Post.
Hurd, who did not seek re-election in 2020, warned that the 2022 midterms will be consumed by ads highlighting the connections between the GOP and the deadly insurrection by Trump supporters at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th.
<p>"Republicans have lost seven of the last eight national popular votes, and it only took four years for us to lose the House, Senate and the White House. Republicans aren't going to achieve electoral success by being seen as the party that defends QAnon extremists who advocate the murder of the former vice president. Nor will we see success by supporting white supremacists who call a Black police officer the n-word while that police officer puts his life on the line to protect democracy. Every Republican on the ballot in 2022 will face campaign attack ads that affiliate them with the domestic terrorists who charged the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6," he warned.</p><p>Hurd explained how disinformation harms the GOP.</p><p>"If the party wants a future, the elected officials, pundits and activists who claim to be its members must stop peddling conspiracy theories and drive out those who continue to do so. Republicans must be honest and do the right thing based on conservative values, not the thing that leads to more clicks, comments or shares on social media," Hurd wrote. "Those of us who were old enough on 9/11 will always remember the image of the second plane slamming into the World Trade Center, just like all of us will remember the images of thousands of people at the Capitol attempting an insurrection on Jan. 6. Both were acts of terrorism conducted by fanatics. If Islamist terrorism was the existential challenge of the early 2000s, then the environment of disinformation, misinformation and lies fueling domestic terrorism is the challenge of our current generation. This 'infodemic' is getting worse, and it is radicalizing elements of our society."</p><p>Hurd also gave his party a civics lesson.</p><p>"The truth is, President Donald Trump lost big time. Many Republicans on the ballot across the country in 2020 outperformed the president by significant margins. He was an anchor around our necks at the voting booth," he noted. "Furthermore, if you elevate a flag that has someone's name on it to the same level that you elevate your national flag, then you are not a patriot; you are part of a cult. When we put our hands on our hearts, we pledge allegiance to a flag, not an individual. The flag represents a nation founded on a perpetual goal to form a more perfect union, not a commitment to any one person."</p><p>Read the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/01/22/will-hurd-if-gop-wants-future-it-must-make-major-changes/" target="_blank">full op-ed</a>.</p><p><br/></p>
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Trump's threat to start a new party designed to give him leverage during impeachment: report
January 23, 2021
Donald Trump has been ridiculed over reports he is considering starting a "Patriot Party" to compete against the GOP, but the effort may be designed as an impeachment defense, according to a new report in The Washington Post.
"In recent weeks, Trump has entertained the idea of creating a third party, called the Patriot Party, and instructed his aides to prepare election challenges to lawmakers who crossed him in the final weeks in office, including Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC), according to people familiar with the plans," Josh Dawsey and Michael Scherer reported for The Post on Saturday.
<p>"Multiple people in Trump's orbit, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations, say Trump has told people that the third party threat gives him leverage to prevent Republican senators from voting to convict him during the Senate impeachment trial," The Post explained. "Trump advisers also say they plan to recruit opposing primary candidates and commission polling next week in districts of targeted lawmakers. Trump has more than $70 million in campaign cash banked to fund his political efforts, these people say."</p><p>The idea of Trump starting a new party has the <a href="https://www.rawstory.com/sean-hannity-fox-news/" target="_blank">support of Lou Dobbs</a>.</p><p>"The prospect of a divisive battle threatens to widen a split in the Republican Party and has alarmed leaders in Washington, who have been pleading publicly to avoid any new rounds of internecine retribution," The Post reported. "The central issue between <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/senate-republicans-fight-new-congress/2021/01/03/27eff4d0-4dd4-11eb-bda4-615aaefd0555_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_17" target="_blank">the warring party elements</a> is whether Republicans will continue to organize themselves around fealty to Trump or whether a broader coalition should be built in the coming years that can welcome both his most avid supporters and those who have condemned his behavior. The scale and shape of the big tent built by Ronald Reagan, nurtured by George W. Bush and transformed by Trump is once again up for grabs, as the party finds itself without power at the White House, the Congress or the Senate for the first time since 2014."</p><p>The GOP's civil war is already being waged.</p><p>"As it now stands, the big tent is tearing at the edges. Business groups have called for a Grand Old Party purge of more extreme leaders, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has blamed Trump and other Republicans for provoking the U.S. Capitol riot and McCarthy <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/13/house-republicans-spent-more-time-faulting-trump-than-defending-him-impeachment/?itid=lk_inline_manual_20" target="_blank">has said Trump 'bears responsibility' for the attack</a> by not immediately denouncing the violence once it began — although he later said he did not believe Trump provoked the riot," The Post reported. "Trump's fiercest supporters in Congress, meanwhile, have continued to threaten and denounce those who criticize the former president, repeatedly raising the prospect of a more fundamental party division. Adding to the conflict, Republican voters remain overwhelmingly supportive of Trump, suggesting strength in primary races that the establishment figures fear could prompt losses in competitive state and national races."</p><p>Read the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-republican-split/2021/01/23/d7dc253e-5cbc-11eb-8bcf-3877871c819d_story.html" target="_blank">full report</a>.</p><p><br/></p><p><br/></p><p><br/></p><p><br/></p>
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