How Democrats can defend against Republicans’ soft-on-crime attacks
VoxAPR 2023
The Spin
Pro-Trump narrative
Whether he’s buying what the House Jan. 6 committee is pandering, or he’s manipulating the facts for his benefit, McMullin has no right to slander Lee. Even non-partisan reports show Lee was only asking questions about the possibility of Trump remaining in office, not actively pursuing any schemes. This shows how dangerous Jan. 6 rhetoric can be.
Left narrative
The emails Lee sent to Meadows show how dedicated the senator was to the multi-step process the Trump admin. tried to execute in order to hang on to power. It’s important that the principled independent McMullin spell out for voters just how much of a willing participant in an attempted coup Lee was between the 2020 election and Jan. 6. This race is a referendum on democracy itself.