Karl Rove, formally known as Bush's Brain, used the Wall Street Journal to equate some Democratic objections during the 2004 election and 2005 certification to the actual criminal attempt to overthrow a duly elected government in 2021 by Trump, his supporters, staffers and Republican members of Congress.
Rove, tries to present himself these days as a garden-variety Republican not affiliated with MAGA, but used their playbook trying to give cover to Trump and his criminal sedition enterprise.
In Rove's WSJ piece, he blamed the Democrats for being election deniers first.
As if that matters one iota even if it were true. It's not.
This is how Republicans defend the indefensible and give aid and comfort to a failed coup attempt of the federal government by Trump.
"Democrats Were the First Election Deniers"
Among the more grating parts (and there were many) of President Biden’s Independence Hall speech last week were his repeated references to election deniers. “Democracy cannot survive when one side believes there are only two outcomes to an election: either they win or they are cheated,” he thundered. “I will not stand by and watch elections in this country stolen by people who simply refuse to accept that they lost.”
This is annoying because Mr. Biden owes his presidency to an election denier. In 2020 his faltering presidential primary campaign was rescued by the endorsement of Rep. James Clyburn (D., S.C.).
Clyburn objected to awarding Ohio's electoral votes to Bush, but it was a protest vote rather than an actual plan to overthrow George Bush's election victory. There was no chance that the House would overthrow the Ohio electors. Rove knows this.
Karl Rove then as most Republicans must do to survive in MAGA land he must lie.
His targets included MAGA Republicans who merely watched the Jan. 6 riots—with sympathy, Mr. Biden claims, though the truth is few Republicans approved of the mob’s actions.
This is laughable in its attempt to make believe the GOP hasn't been hijacked by Christian nationalist and anti-democratic forces. A wide swath of Republican voters approved of the mob's action poll after poll. And a majority of Republicans claim to believe the election was stolen from Trump.
Though both 2005 Democratic and 2021 Republican election deniers are entitled to their opinions, I believe both groups are wrong. Neither election was stolen.
There has been basically no mention whatsoever of the Democrats trying to overturn the electoral college in 2005, because it never happened.
Rove is dusting off an old moment in time to justify a seditious attack on US democracy by Republicans.
Still, Mr. Biden did America no good last week with his ham-handed, sanctimonious speech that indiscriminately machine-gunned his political opposition. In a deeply polarized time, he needlessly added to our divisions. Our nation desperately needs leaders who can help Americans find some measure of civility and mutual respect amid political disagreement. Mr. Biden demonstrated that isn’t him.
As usual Democrats must always be held to a higher standard than Republicans. When Republicans start to act with a modicum of civility again then maybe our democracy might have a chance.
Rove should be targeting his complaints to MAGA cretins led by recently indicted Steve Bannon, and the like since they are still revving up their followers to take anti-democratic measures.
Stop trying to find common ground with traitors when there is none.
