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Republicans already panicked over 2022 election as donors close wallets after Capitol riot: report
January 16, 2021
On Saturday, the Associated Press reported that Senate Republicans are in panic mode as they cannot rely on many of their major campaign funding sources for the upcoming midterm election.
"Eight Republican senators voted to reject Electoral College votes for President-elect Joe Biden, even after the ransacking of the Capitol by a mob of Donald Trump supporters who were exhorted by the president to stop Congress from certifying Biden's victory. Five people died in the mayhem, including a Capitol Police officer," reported Brian Slodysko. "Recriminations were swift, with more than a dozen corporate giants — including AT&T, Nike, Comcast, Dow, Marriott, Walmart and Verizon — pledging to withhold donations to Republican lawmakers who voted to reject the outcome of the election in Arizona or Pennsylvania."
<p>Furthermore, noted the report, "One of those lawmakers, <a href="https://www.rawstory.com/senator-rick-scott-2649879308/" target="_blank">Florida Sen. Rick Scott</a>, is the new chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, a post that makes him the public face of the Senate Republican fundraising efforts."</p><p>But this is not the only problem.</p><p>"Adding to the worries, other pillars of GOP fundraising — including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Rifle Association and groups tied to the Koch brothers — can no longer be counted on for robust financial support," said the report. "The NRA announced Friday that it had filed for bankruptcy after years of profligate spending and insider dealing by top leaders. The Chamber of Commerce, which angered some Republicans when it recently started donating to Democrats, announced this week that it will withhold contributions from some Republicans over their actions. And the Koch network, too, announced it will scrutinize whom it gives to following the insurrection, as first reported by <em>The Wall Street Journal</em>."</p><p>The 2022 midterms will be a major test of President-elect Biden's popularity and agenda, with both chambers of Congress up for grabs after what will likely be two years of unified Democratic control.</p>
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According to a report from USA Today, several Republican senators are giving very serious thought to voting for the impeachment of Donald Trump purely because it would keep him from running for office again.
With a Senate trial in the offing -- likely after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) turns over the reins to incoming Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) -- Republicans are intrigued by the idea of Trump being put in the rearview mirror if they vote to impeach him.
<p>As USA Today reports, "Several senators, including Republicans, have noted that if they vote to convict Trump of inciting <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2021/01/13/capitol-riot-law-enforcement-failure-analysis/6601142002/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">last week's attack on Congress</a>, they could then vote to bar him from future public office, effectively nixing another presidential campaign."</p><p>Central to the thinking that GOP lawmakers might turn on the president once he is out of office are comments by still-powerful McConnell who has indicated he is open to impeachment.</p><p>"I have not made a final decision on how I will vote," McConnell told reporters this week. "and I intend to listen to the legal arguments when they are presented to the Senate."</p><p>With 17 Republicans needed for a conviction -- assuming all Democrats vote yes -- the report notes "many Republicans beyond Congress have said it would be a good idea to leave Trump behind, underscoring <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2021/01/09/life-after-donald-trump-gop-moves-forward-under-shadow-riots/6592737002/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">GOP anxiety over another Trump presidential run</a> in the wake of last week's insurrection by supporters."</p><p>You can <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/01/16/senate-republicans-ponder-barring-donald-trump-running-again/6655801002/" target="_blank">read more here</a>.</p>
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On Saturday, Axios reported that outgoing President Donald Trump's efforts to steal the election were "premeditated" before any of the ballots were reported — and that he planned ahead of time to declare premature victory if it looked like he was ahead in enough states.
"As Trump prepared for Election Day, he was focused on the so-called red mirage. This was the idea that early vote counts would look better for Republicans than the final tallies because Democrats feared COVID-19 more and would disproportionately cast absentee votes that would take longer to count," reported Jonathan Swan and Zachary Basu. "Trump intended to exploit this — to weaponize it for his vast base of followers."
<p>Ultimately, his bizarre dead-morning speech <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmoH3C0Ruho" target="_blank">proclaiming himself the winner</a> was something rehearsed and practiced beforehand.</p><p>"His former chief of staff Reince Priebus told a friend he was stunned when Trump called him around that time and acted out his script, including walking up to a podium and prematurely declaring victory on election night if it looked like he was ahead," said the report. "White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller's speechwriting team had prepared three skeleton speeches for election night for all the possible scenarios: a clear victory, a clear loss, and an indeterminate result. But the speechwriters knew that if Trump was facing anything other than a resounding victory, the words would be his alone. This president would never admit defeat or urge patience."</p><p>"His preparations were deliberate, strategic and deeply cynical. Trump wanted Americans to believe a falsehood that there were two elections — a legitimate election composed of in-person voting, and a separate, fraudulent election involving bogus mail-in ballots for Democrats," said the report. "In the initial hours after returns closed, it looked like his plan could work. Trump was on track for easy wins in Florida and Ohio, and held huge — though deceptive — early leads in Pennsylvania and Michigan."</p><p>Ultimately, the big monkey wrench in this plan was Arizona, where Biden took an early lead and where Fox News projected him the winner. Previous reports <a href="https://www.rawstory.com/2020/11/furious-trump-called-rupert-murdoch-and-screamed-about-fox-news-calling-arizona/" target="_blank">revealed</a> Trump called News Corp. owner Rupert Murdoch and yelled at him to get his Fox anchors to reverse the call.</p><p><br/></p>
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