John Avlon spells out what's really going on with claim that Trump actually won the election.
"So the big lie is unfortunately alive and well in the fever swamps of the far right. CPAC was once described as the Star Wars bar of the conservative movement, but now the bar seems to dominate the whole party," he said.
"A party that used to pride itself on personality responsibility is now all in on a cult of personality. And you don't just need the bizarre gold statue of Donald Trump for evidence of idolatry."
"You can think whatever you want, but the facts are that Joe Biden won the election with over 7 million votes. And there were three days of panels and speeches full of this stuff," he said.
"Man, if if 60 court losses by Team Trump doesn't move you, remember the words of a Trump-appointed judge saying, 'This court has been presented with strained legal arguments without merit and speculative allegations unsupported by the evidence.' "
"You're not a victim, Senator Hawley. You tried to overturn an election even after an attack on our Capitol. Don't believe the hype this is about protecting elections or election integrity. The reason this matters is at least 253 bills to restrict voting access have been moved in 43 states since the election. And a lot of them use the big lie as an excuse," Avlon said.
"That's also known as conspiracy bootstrapping, a propaganda technique that capitalizes on confusion about repeated false claims to justify new action. In Georgia, this headline sums it up. 'Strict voting limits exposed.' They even gave up the ghost, saying the purpose of the bill was 'so we at least have a shot at winning.' A similar bill has been passed along party lines in Iowa, a state where no claims of fraud were made, likely because Trump won there.
"And in Arizona, Republican state lawmakers are trying to give legislators the power to pick state electors, bypassing voters and election officials. We should be making election administration nonpartisan, not more partisan. We should be making it easier for eligible citizens to vote, not harder. That's why there's a lot of urgency around bills that could help protect the right to vote.
"The John Lewis Civil Rights Voting Act would restore key elements of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and election security measures, including backup paper ballots. Making it easier for Americans to vote depends on a common commitment to having a fact-based debate. And that's your reality check."
