Start Talking! (This is easy!)
From Joyce Vance, Civil Discourse:
Last week, Cleta Mitchell, Trump lawyer and purveyor of the Big Lie in 2020, spoke to a room of GOP donors in Nashville.
Mitchell worked with Ginni Thomas on the Council for National Policy to organize efforts to keep Trump in the White House after he lost the election. The New York Times reported that it was Mitchell “who enlisted John Eastman, the lawyer who crafted specious legal theories claiming Vice President Mike Pence could keep Mr. Trump in power.” Mitchell was on Trump’s call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, where Trump begged the Georgia official to find the votes he needed to pull out a victory in that state.
So it’s shocking that Mitchell was called upon to make a presentation at an RNC donor retreat. She seems to have focused on urging the adoption of tougher rules that could make it harder for college students to cast ballots. The Washington Post reported that Mitchell said that conservatives must band together to limit voting on college campuses, same-day voter registration, and automatic mailing of ballots to registered voters.
Mitchell told donors it was important to “combat” voting on college campuses, citing North Carolina and Wisconsin (two states where students turned out, and turned out to vote for Democratic candidates). She also said that “when” Republicans win the state senate in Virginia, they can eliminate 45 days of early voting and same-day voter registration—because, seriously, why should we make it easy for people to vote? Forget about the working moms, the people who don’t get paid if they’re not at work, the people who struggle to find transportation. Perish the thought that early voting can shorten the outrageous lines at the polls we’ve seen in some parts of the country. Let’s punish all of them to keep them from voting. As for students, let’s make it more difficult for them to vote too.
But seriously, why should legitimate voters be prevented from voting? What possible rationale could there be? The answer is easy. There isn’t one.
Mitchell and the GOP say, as they always do, that restrictive measures are necessary to prevent election fraud. But there is no evidence that supports that claim. Fraud is not responsible when Republicans lose at the polls, and, after 2020, they know it.
We’re going to have to work harder in the weeks and months ahead. We know what that looks like—help folks register and stay registered, make sure people can vote and that their votes get counted.
Why not get started with that this week? Consider sharing the story of Cleta Mitchell with those around you and ask those who may not question it themselves why the RNC is still platforming a key figure in pushing the Big Lie, and why it’s okay to deny fully qualified college students the right to vote. There aren’t any good answers. It’s up to us to make sure the questions are asked loudly!
Joyce Vance, former U.S. Attorney, is a professor of law and MSNBC legal analyst. She writes Civil Discourse. To subscribe go here: https://joycevance.substack.com
