If Republican leaders are actually interested in "unity" rather than using its rhetoric to avoid accountability, here's something they could do. It doesn't involve much in the way of consequences, but it does feature truth-telling, apologies and requests for reconciliation.
To be clear, I don't think any of this would actually happen, but it would be nice (if insufficient) if it did.
Ronna McDaniel, Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy, Ted Cruz, and Josh Hawley could issue a joint statement and do a press conference in which they acknowledged that Joe Biden is president-elect and that he won a free and fair election by a sizable margin.
They could say that there is no evidence of meaningful election fraud and that judges, including ones appointed by Trump, have rejected much of what the president and his allies have been complaining about.
They could apologize for misleading their supporters over the past months and say that they understand why Democrats may think their claims fueled last week's violence and are horrified if that is the case.
They could denounce Trump's behavior on Wednesday as inappropriate and inflammatory and pledge support for a full investigation into what happened.
They could acknowledge that Democrats are being reasonable in seeking Trump's removal, even as they believe that it isn't a good idea because it risks more violence from his supporters.
They could pledge to turn down the temperature in their rhetoric, admitting that the GOP's election messaging has too often stressed that Democratic victories would lead to physical danger for its voters and the destruction of the republic.
They could ask for forgiveness from their colleagues for putting their lives in danger, their supporters for lying to them, and the country for having failed to be honest in the first place.
Again, I don't think any of this will happen, but it would be a tangible effort by Republican leaders to promote unity. Right now, we're getting a lot of this:
How things are going right now on the websites of the largest news outlets in North Carolina after CNN broke its story about Mark Robinson's "dozens of disturbing comments on porn forum" -- a thread.
Fox’s response to Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo peddling thirdhand election fraud lies she didn’t bother to check demonstrates how the network has abandoned anything resembling journalistic standards in its quest to return Donald Trump to the White House.
Bartiromo repeatedly told her Fox Business viewers this week about a “Democrat operation” to register “massive lines of illegals” to vote at Texas government offices, a story she originally attributed to the wife of a friend of a friend and made no apparent effort to verify.
Her thirdhand gossip was swiftly debunked by the local Republican Party and the Texas Department of Public Safety, with a spokesperson for the latter noting that her conspiracy theory was “kind of racist.”
Maria Bartiromo repeatedly used her Fox Business show to peddle an election fraud conspiracy theory that she claimed originated with the wife of a friend of a friend in Texas.
The Texas Department of Public Safety says her story is "kind of racist" and "simply false."
On Sunday morning, Bartiromo posted an item to X alleging that “a massive line of immigrants” had been obtaining driver’s licenses and registering to vote at three Department of Motor Vehicles offices in Texas:
She didn't leave the third-hand unsubstantiated claims to her social feed. On Monday and Tuesday she repeatedly aired them on her Fox Business show -- having apparently done no independent reporting to confirm claims that she said originated with the wife of a friend of her friend.
Psycho shit like this will get you lots of bookings on Tucker Carlson's show but normal Americans are too busy cheering the U.S. women in gymnastics to create chalkboard scrawls blaming Kamala Harris for who Algeria sends to the Olympics.
Trump’s once-formidable polling lead evaporated, the Vance rollout is in shambles, and his supporters casting about for someone to blame.
They're responding with the hateful shit that the MAGA freakshow loves but that repulses normal people. mediamatters.org/fox-news/maga-…
When you're absolutely devoted to the cause of Olympics women's sports.