On Tuesday's Deadline: White House, host Nicolle Wallace claimed that her status as a former Republican gives her the ability to say that the GOP knows it must suppress the minority vote in order to win. She was saying President Biden was right to trash Republicans as the greatest threat to democracy since the Civil War.
Wallace began by quoting PBS White House correspondent and MSNBC contributor Yamiche Alcindor's positive tweet: "That was one of President Biden's most passionate speeches of his presidency, possibly of his entire career. He's saying very clearly this is a crisis as important as to what led to the Civil War. He said 'peddlers of lies are threatening the very foundation of our country.'"
Wallace added, "I see it that way too. And I also, having spent time in the Republican Party, I assure you they see the opposite as the case that access to the polls for minority voters equals their political defeat forever in places like Georgia and Arizona and Michigan. There's no mistake with the Republican strategy."
That's a weird thing to say at a time where Republicans are losing white voters, but gaining minority voters Even when she was part of the Republican Party, Wallace was never all that committed the cause. She famously bragged about not voting for John McCain in 2008 despite working on his campaign.
On the same day as the media, including Wallace later in the show, fawned over Texas Democrats skipping town, Wallace lamented to Los Angeles Times reporter Eli Stokols, "Republicans have their eye on a prize and they are running mercilessly through norms and relying on Democrats' reluctance to blow up the filibuster. I wonder if you think Democrats and this president and this White House see it that clearly?"
Stokols explained that Team Biden is negotiating privately with the Manchins and Sinemas. "They are going to respect the personal politics of the individual lawmakers, even if that frustrates a lot of the Democratic activists out there who want to hear the president explicitly say it's time to blow up the filibuster. "
It's odd that Nicolle wants to destroy the filibuster and support Texas Democrats walking out of the legislature, but it's the Republicans who are "running mercilessly through the norms."
It is apparently just too much to ask for voters to observe the democratic norm of presenting an ID at the polls or putting their driver's license number on their absentee ballot. The Texas bills in question also include provisions sought by Democrats, such as allowing voters to fix any issues with their absentee ballots. Not exactly the greatest threat to democracy since the Civil War.
This segment was sponsored by Trivago.
