Even Republicans are trying to get McConnell to protect elections from hackers

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s decision to block legislation to secure American elections from foreign interference is drawing criticism from some of his fellow Republicans.

“Republicans for the Rule of Law is unveiling new spots that urge Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, and James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, to push McConnell for a vote, urging them ‘don’t let Mitch McConnell stand in your way,'” McClatchy reported on Tuesday.

The group plans to run ads on “Fox & Friends,” “Meet the Press,” and in the home cities of the aforementioned senators. Conservative writer and activist Bill Kristol leads the group and slammed McConnell’s inaction.

“How do you defend not letting these bills come to the floor for debate and discussion? What’s the rationale for literally doing nothing?” he asked the outlet.

McConnell has blocked legislation that would require paper ballots be used in races and another bill that would fund the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. The senior Republican derided Democrats for backing the legislation, mocking them as being merely for “political benefit.”

The obstruction has come even as a report from the Senate Intelligence Committee released in July highlighted how Russia exploited holes in the American election system to interfere in the 2016 election.

The report noted that Russia “exploited the seams between federal authorities and capabilities, and protections for the states.”

The committee highlighted the need for “renewed attention vulnerabilities in U.S. voting infrastructure.”

That same week, special counsel Robert Mueller testified before Congress and pointed out under oath that Russia is still targeting American elections.

“They’re doing it as we sit here,” Mueller explained after he was asked under oath about upcoming election threats.

Democrats have been pushing for a response, and they have been joined by some Republican officials and activists — but McConnell simply does not want to respond.

He is content to have American elections vulnerable, just like he was in 2016.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.