Republican explains why she’s a ‘single-issue’ voter against Trump’s lies

Bulwark columnist Mona Charen explained Wednesday that the only issue that should matter in the off-year elections in Virginia and New Jersey is "the truth."

In an era of "fake news," unregulated deep-fakes and politicians who will tell obvious lies, Charen explained that in the past it would have been no contest. She said she would have voted Republican. Not anymore.

"But now, though Terry McAuliffe leaves me cold, I will vote for him. I guess that makes me a single-issue voter," she said.

It's all from the last 12 months of missing integrity and "little courage" from GOP members. She recalled a member of the Michigan state board of canvassers named Aaron Van Langevelde. MAGA world pressured him and the other Republican on the board to step in to stop the state's election certification, but he refused.

He was forced out of his position, his family got death threats and they all needed security. In the end, another canvasser chief was appointed who would have done exactly the same thing as Van Langevelde.

The story perfectly illustrates today's Republican Party, she argued. Georgia's secretary of state Brad Raffensperger is fighting for a legitimate election, probably destroying his career in GOP politics along with it. He too was plagued by death threats, pressure from the former president and others. He ultimately had to move out of their home for safety for a week because even months after the election, it was still going on. The Georgia GOP didn't condemn the attacks or defend their official.

"I wish I could say that they were merely silent — though that would have been incriminating enough," wrote Charen. "But no, both Republican senators at the time, Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, called on Raffensperger to resign. Their joint statement read in part (trigger warning for those with sensitive digestion): 'Honest elections are paramount to the foundation of our democracy. The secretary of state has failed to deliver honest and transparent elections. He has failed the people of Georgia, and he should step down immediately.'"

Similar things are happening in Oklahoma, Nevada, and more, so Charen concluded by explaining that the only issue for her in the upcoming election is the truth.

"The Republican party, in Washington and nationally, has become a conspiracy of liars," she closed. "As such, it threatens the stability of the republic. Even a seemingly inoffensive candidate like Glenn Youngkin has given aid and comfort to this sinister agenda by stressing 'election integrity' in his campaign. It doesn't change a thing to reflect that he's almost certainly insincere. He stopped talking about it after winning the primary, suggesting that all the 'integrity' talk was just a sop to MAGA voters. Still, a victory for him will send a message that the Republican party is normal again, a party that good people can support."

She explained that it isn't, and called it nothing more than a cult committed to lying, promoting liars and punishing anyone who dares to tell the truth.

Read the full column at The Bulwark.