Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has turned a Democratic charge back on them, accusing the left of spreading the 'big lie' about an 'evil anti-voting conspiracy' as they try to pass voting rights legislation.
Republicans have vowed a 'scorched earth' policy if Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer tries to eliminate the filibuster in order to advance voting legislation, which Republicans charge will federalize elections that should be handled by the states.
As part of that effort, McConnell's office sent out a memo to reporters this weekend slamming Democrats and arguing their party has 'repeatedly stood up to the left and their Big Lie that there is some evil anti-voting conspiracy sweeping America.'
'They will try to use fake hysteria to break the Senate and silence millions of Americans' voices so they can take over elections and ram through their radical agenda,' the memo claimed.
In response, Schumer on Monday accused McConnell of 'gaslighting' America.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell accused Democrats of spread the 'big lie' about an 'evil anti-voting conspiracy' as they push voting rights legislation
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer slapped back McConnell is 'gaslighting' America
Schumer has vowed to pass voting rights legislation by January 17th - Martin Luther King Jr. Day - making this a critical week for Democrats.
But his plan to go 'nuclear' and change the Senate rules to allow the legislation to proceed with a simple majority vote faces opposition from two of his own: Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.
Republicans are solidly opposed to the voting rights legislation, calling it an attempt to federalize elections they argue should be run by states.
Thay have said they will filibuster any attempt to pass federal legislation. That means Schumer would have to take the so-called 'nuclear' option, in which he holds a vote to change the rules to bypass the 60-vote threshhold to advance the legislation.
'If Republicans continue to hijack the rules of the chamber to protect us from protecting our democracy, then the Senate will debate and consider changes to the rules on or before Jan. 17,' Schumer warned on the Senate floor last week.
But Manchin and Sinema don't want to kill the filibuster without buy-in from Republicans, who are opposed.
As part of their counter-offensive, Republicans also point to a 2016 study from Stanford that found making it easier to vote doesn't actually increase voter turn out.
'The recent wave of electoral reforms does not seem to have had any significant effect on voter turnout. And there is even evidence that some of the new reforms may have actually decreased turnout,' the study found.
In contrast, Democrats point to what they call a wave of restrictive voting right laws in various states.
Between January 1 and December 7, 2021, at least 19 states passed 34 laws restricting access to
