On The Sunday Show, MSNBC host Jonathan Capehart provided the latest forum for a member of the disgraced Lincoln Project to go on air and tout their ex-Republican background to trash their former GOP colleagues as Tara Setmayer mocked Senators Mitch McConnell and Susan Collins.
Descrying Senator Collins as "the queen of fecklessness," Setmayer then complained because the centrist Maine Republican has not done enough to guard against Roe v. Wade being overturned:
So however you feel about the abortion issue, she had the chance to make a difference at the time -- Joan (Walsh) talked about this -- with Amy Coney Barrett and with particular Brett Kavanaugh. She was a deciding vote, you know, with Brett Kavanaugh, and decided to acquiesce to the larger group of Republicans. So she's never stood up.
She tries to create -- to become this, you know, facade of being, like, the female John McCain where she's a maverick and she stands up to her party. But has she actually really done anything but saying things? No. So I wouldn't hold my breath. Susan Collins is not going to be the heroine who sweeps in and save Roe v. Wade from the attacks on abortion rights from throughout the country.
A bit later, even though McConnell did not end the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees until after Senate Democrats did so for Federal judges, Setmayer insisted that the Senate Republican leader would end the filibuster on federal spending if he were in a similar position as Democrats:
Hell yes he would. He's done it every single time. You know, however you feel about Mitch McConnell, he is the epitome of political brinkmanship and the power of the Senate rules to get what he wants. Anna brought up 2011 -- I was there on Capitol Hill when went through this the last time 10 years ago, but the difference is you had more sane Republicans who understood that they could play politics with this a little bit, but they weren't going to actually tank the economy and do all of that.
Like a committed liberal, she then complained about McConnell blocking President Barack Obama from replacing Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court:
This time around, we're not dealing with the same type of Republicans although Mitch McConnell still understands how these things work. So, you know, if he says he's going to do it, this is the same guy that did not bring Merrick Garland up for a vote after saying how many times, you know? I mean, they don't worry about hypocrisy.
It was difficult to imagine what was ever right-leaning about her when she used to be a Republican. Setmayer notably used to be a contributor for CNN where she once suggested that it was acceptable to deride black conservatives with racial epithets.
Also, similar to her former Lincoln Project colleague Rick Wilson, she did not announce that she is no longer a Republican until after the election. But Setmayer is one of the few prominent former Republicans who has remained affiliated with anti-Republican group after its dirty laundry came out earlier this year.
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Transcript follows:
MSNBC's The Sunday Show
October 3, 2021
11:21 a.m. Eastern
TARA SETMAYER, THE LINCOLN PROJECT: Take it from me -- I spent 27 years in the Republican party. The Republicans are better at messaging their opposition than Democrats are at selling their message for what they're actually fighting for. So this is a word of caution to my Democratic friends out there that this fight that's going on does not help them, and it does not help them going into the midterm election. They need to have a legislative win on the books going into the midterms because, if they don't, Republicans will go after them and say, "These guys are in charge, and they couldn't legislate." And if they pass something during reconciliation bill that is too big, too large, the Republicans will brand it as a new nanny state, Great Society, big government tax-and-spend liberal policy, and they will try to scare the bejesus out of people.
(...)
11:31 a.m.
Susan Collins is the queen of fecklessness when it comes to legislating, and we've seen that over and over again. To Joan's point, how many times have we heard Susan Collins talk about how deeply troubled she is about something. I mean, it's become a running joke. I'm surprised Saturday Night Live hasn't done a skit on that yet. We've all heard it. And she just won reelection -- she has six more years -- so she doesn't have to worry about reelection for some time. So she says things to make it look like she's doing something, but it's hollow.
So however you feel about the abortion issue, she had the chance to make a difference at the time -- Joan (Walsh) talked about this -- with Amy Coney Barrett and with particular Brett Kavanaugh. She was a deciding vote, you know, with Brett Kavanaugh, and decided to acquiesce to the larger group of Republicans. So she's never stood up. She tries to create -- to become this, you know, facade of being, like, the female John McCain where she's a maverick and she stands up to her party. But has she actually really done anything but saying things? No. So I wouldn't hold my breath. Susan Collins is not going to be the heroine who sweeps in and save Roe v. Wade from the attacks on abortion rights from throughout the country.
(...)
JONATHAN CAPEHART: If the shoe were on the other foot, would Mitch McConnell get his caucus in line and get rid of the filibuster to do what he wants to do?
SETMAYER: Hell yes he would. He's done it every single time. You know, however you feel about Mitch McConnell, he is the epitome of political brinkmanship and the power of the Senate rules to get what he wants. Anna brought up 2011 -- I was there on Capitol Hill when went through this the last time 10 years ago, but the difference is you had more sane Republicans who understood that they could play politics with this a little bit, but they weren't going to actually tank the economy and do all of that. This time around, we're not dealing with the same type of Republicans although Mitch McConnell still understands how these things work. So, you know, if he says he's going to do it, this is the same guy that did not bring Merrick Garland up for a vote after saying how many times, you know? I mean, they don't worry about hypocrisy.
