Afrigather It was simply final yr when the general public discovered about Sen. Ron Johnson’s function in trying to deliver fake elector materials to then-Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6, 2021. The Wisconsin Republican stumbled badly when attempting to clarify what occurred — many people received’t quickly overlook how embarrassing it was to see him pretend to be on the phone when pressed for solutions — however roughly 50.5% of voters within the Badger State re-elected the incumbent anyway.
Because it seems, the senator continues to be combating the difficulty. The Every day Beast reported in a single day:
When requested Monday about Republicans in Wisconsin having falsely claimed to be electors for Donald Trump within the 2020 election, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) claimed that Democrats have accomplished the identical “repeatedly in every kind of various states” — but failed to offer even one instance, telling CNN’s Kaitlan Collins merely to “examine the books.”
Let’s again up for a minute, as a result of the broader context truly made the hapless senator look fairly a bit worse.
Three years in the past, a gaggle of Wisconsin Republicans created forged election materials, pretending to be “duly elected and certified electors.” They and their cohorts in different states then despatched the solid paperwork to, amongst others, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. Archivist, as if the pretend supplies have been respectable. They weren’t.
As soon as the scheme was uncovered, some precise electors in Wisconsin sued the illegitimate electors, and the civil case was resolved last week. As a part of the settlement, the pretend electors acknowledged that President Joe Biden received the state, agreed to help prosecutors, and despatched an announcement to authorities places of work saying that their actions have been “a part of an try to improperly overturn the 2020 presidential election outcomes.”
When Johnson appeared on CNN about 12 hours in the past, the interview with Kaitlan Collins wasn’t particularly about this topic, however given the latest developments in his residence state, the host wrapped up the section by asking for his response to the court docket settlement.
The senator started by insisting that there have been “every kind of irregularities” in Wisconsin’s 2020 elections — a extremely doubtful declare for which there isn’t any proof — earlier than claiming that his celebration’s pretend electors did nothing “untoward.” Johnson added that Democrats have “repeatedly” accomplished the identical factor “in every kind of various states.”
In different phrases, the Republican began with a conspiracy idea, added that the individuals who already admitted they acted improperly did nothing flawed, and concluded that Democrats engaged in fake-elector schemes of their very own.
For good measure, Johnson characterised his state’s pretend electors from 2020 as victims, calling the court docket settlement a “travesty,” and calling them “poor people” who have been mistreated by imply ol’ Democrats who “view politics as a blood-sport.”
The GOP lawmaker then once more added, “These people did nothing completely different than what many Democrats have accomplished in lots of states all through historical past.”
Requested to again that up, the senator stated, “I didn’t come ready, to provide the actual states. Nevertheless it’s occurred. It’s occurred repeatedly. It has occurred repeatedly. Simply go examine the books.”
When Collins requested, “Which books?” he couldn’t reply with any specificity.
That’s as a result of there aren’t any such books. Johnson, who’s struggled for years with strange nonsense concerning the 2020 race and his bizarre conspiracy theories, nonetheless doesn’t have any concept what he’s speaking about.
Certainly, the rationale he struggled to give you examples of Democrats pushing pretend electors with fraudulent paperwork is as a result of Democrats haven’t accomplished what Johnson accused them of doing. Republicans will typically level to Hawaii’s electors from the 1960 election, however the nearer one appears on the related particulars, the more the parallels fall apart.
Johnson could not notice how deeply confused he’s, however he appeared hopelessly misplaced final evening as a result of he was (a) attempting to dismiss wrongdoing that perpetrators have already acknowledged; and (b) attempting to accuse Democrats of partaking in misconduct that didn’t occur in actuality.
Steve Benen is a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Present,” the editor of MaddowBlog and an MSNBC political contributor. He is additionally the bestselling writer of “The Impostors: How Republicans Give up Governing and Seized American Politics.”
