I was sure from the start that the Roy Moore smear was the work of the GOPe and not Democrats, because McConnell and his weasels were insisting that Moore quit within hours of the accusations hitting the press. That was the tipoff.
The Tim Miller text messages in this BLP piece confirm it.
I noticed early on that none of the accusers were willing to make their accusations under oath in sworn statements. Go figure.
I agree.
I'm not listening today, but here is another clue that this is a McConnell scheme.
Why wait for "the coming weeks" for Franken to take his time about resigning? CNN is reporting that 32 Democrat Senators are calling for Al Franken to resign, so Franken's expulsion is a sure thing.
McConnell can force the expulsion vote on Franken now; he doesn't have to wait for the outcome of the Alabama election. But McConnell won't do it now. He will wait until it best fits HIS needs, instead of controlling the media news cycle for Republicans by doing it today.
And McConnell's need is to have leverage to force Moore out after he wins in Alabama. Therefore, McConnell will wait until then for Franken to resign, so he can demand a "bipartisan" purge in the Senate. If Franken goes now, the pressure is reduced on Moore after he wins next week.
-PJ