Liz Cheney isn’t the only Republican in Congress getting censured. Mitch McConnell just got one too from the local Republican Party in Kentucky:
KYSTANDARD – The leadership of the Nelson County Republican Party unanimously approved issuing a formal rebuke of U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell Tuesday evening.
The unanimous vote of the 11 members of the executive committee came about six hours after McConnell took to the U.S. Senate floor and said President Donald Trump provoked a violent mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
A censure, or formal rebuke, issued after the vote accused McConnell of “implying (Trump) and his administration lied about the election,” and that “McConnell has abandoned his Republican base that put him in office.”
The censure resolution “demands (McConnell) retract his statements impugning the honor of President Donald J. Trump.”
“The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president…”
Those words amounted to betrayal in the eyes of some of the members who spoke during the Nelson GOP’s teleconference meeting that ran for a little over 10 minutes.
“I think it’s despicable. I think it’s a shame what he did today, because he used us over the past year to get his sorry butt reelected,” said one of the participants in the call who is not a member of the committee. “He used us.”
A censure “was not good enough,” this caller insisted, he should be removed.
“He’s one of Joe Biden’s best friends.”
Don Thrasher, the chair of the local party who organized the call and censure vote, pointed out there is no provision in the law to recall or remove McConnell. Thrasher said he felt likewise, but with no legal mechanism the censure vote was the most the county party could issue.
“We could call for his resignation, but you know how that would fly over,” Thrasher said.
Another caller said McConnell’s staff hung up on her when she called his office.
“He’s a RINO,” the caller said, using the common term for “Republican In Name Only.”
“If you’re trying to build bridges, there’s no bridges in a fraudulent election.”
After the meeting, when asked by a reporter if he thought Trump lost the election due to fraud, Thrasher responded, “I don’t know.”
That’s not all…
Tuesday’s county vote was not the only effort on Thrasher’s part to target McConnell. Prior to the Senator’s statements on the Senate floor, Thrasher had undertaken organizing a meeting of the state committee of the Republican Party of Kentucky.
Thrasher said he had gathered at least 55 signatures on a petition to call a special meeting, and Mac Brown, state chair of the RPK, issued an email announcing a virtual meeting is scheduled for Saturday that could include more than 350 officials.
The purpose of that meeting is to consider a resolution that “respectfully asks” McConnell “to stand with President Trump and publicly condemn this divisive and unnecessary second impeachment.”
McConnell’s recent steps to distance himself from the president have caused some apparent rifts in the state party.
On Tuesday morning Brown emailed a letter to RPK members in which he said the state headquarters “has not only been barraged with angry and vulgar messages via the phone and on social media, but we have received many death threats as well.”
Brown beseeched the recipients to “lead by example.”
“While we may have disagreements on how to handle certain issues, our common beliefs bind us together and differences of opinion allow us the opportunity to have constructive discussions,” Brown wrote. “Threatening and angry messages will not advance our message and will turn off the very voters we seek to convince.”
I’m glad to see someone stepping up to censure McConnell, but unfortunately it won’t mean much. He’s in the Senate for another six years after easily winning in November.