One thing we know well at Twitchy is that great conservative thought comes in all shapes and sizes. While we may focus more on the Ben Shapiros and Thomas Massies of the Twitter landscape because of their huge reach, we spend enough time on the platform to know that there are smaller accounts -- such as @ianmckelvey and @lone_rides who we have often featured in the past -- who have just as much to offer fellow conservatives.
And WHOO, BABY, when we saw this thread from Alexandria Brown (a.k.a., @alexthechick) on Twitter today, we just had to share it with our readers.
By now, you know that -- due to their own incompetence -- Democrats are in danger of not having Joe Biden on the 2024 presidential ballot in Ohio. More recently, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine seems to be bending over backwards to help Democrats out of the hole they dug for themselves, calling a special session of the legislature to make an exception for Biden.
DeWine clearly has never read Sun Tzu: 'Never interrupt your opponent while he is in the middle of making a mistake.'
This morning, the editors at National Review Online (NRO) stepped into the controversy, and guess who they blamed? Yep, Republicans. In its editorial, NRO accused Republicans of being 'mulish,' 'appalling,' and 'spiteful,' even going so far as to say it is Republicans who are denying Biden a spot on the ballot, despite the fact that Ohio's rules have been in place since 2010.
This was, understandably, a bridge too far for Brown, who proceeded to EVISCERATE NRO's editorial in a detailed and devastating thread.
🧵 I am even more enraged by this editorial than I thought I would be. This paragraph, specifically, is unhinged from reality, sanity, and principle.https://t.co/dIAtKngdvw pic.twitter.com/pRwBSP8jxP
— alexandriabrown (@alexthechick) May 28, 2024
Republicans are not 'weaponizing' anything in Ohio. Democrats are ignoring the rules. It is, frankly, that simple and no more nuanced than that.
Reality. That is a duly enacted state law that has existed since July, 2010. That is nearly 14 years. This is not obscure. This is not unknown. It is, literally, the state law of Ohio. It is not something that those dastardly Republicans dreamt up just now to screw Biden.
— alexandriabrown (@alexthechick) May 28, 2024
The fact that Democrats scheduled their convention after the deadline is no one's fault but Democrats.
Sanity. It is guano ingesting, mercury nitrate hat wearing, lead paint munching insane to act as if the Republicans have any control, at all, whatsoever, in any possible way, for when the Democrat convention is held. It is unhinged to place the blame on Republicans.
— alexandriabrown (@alexthechick) May 28, 2024
'Guano ingesting, mercury nitrate hat wearing, lead paint munching insane.'
We usually reserve such beautifully descriptive invective for the left. But when National Review earns it, what can we say? Let 'em have it.
Principle. This is excreting fecal matter directly onto the legal concept of strict constectionism. Applying the law as written is not twisting the law to attempt to get Trump. Every single person at NRO who thinks these are the same is either lying, stupid, or both.
— alexandriabrown (@alexthechick) May 28, 2024
Ahem. We'll let the readers draw their own conclusions about which option to choose there.
I will type this slowly. Either the Editors at NRO believe that statutes should be applied as written or they do not. It is that simple. It is the Editors who are undermining the rule of law here with this absolutely lunatic editorial.
— alexandriabrown (@alexthechick) May 28, 2024
The editorial even encourages Ohio voters to punish Republicans at the ballot booth if they don't fix the Democrats' problem for them. Talk about appalling.
That editorial is embarrassing to read. It is a simple matter to state look the law says what it does. It has also been exempted in the past. Such exemption should be granted again, even though doing so undermines basic principles of statutory construction, due to realpolitik.
— alexandriabrown (@alexthechick) May 28, 2024
This ludicrous nonsense? This hystetical ninnyism? This blaming the Republicans for something that the Democrats did? Respect your own intelligence at the very least. Because that does not respect mine. Have a pterodactyal. /fin pic.twitter.com/n069pMNZb6
— alexandriabrown (@alexthechick) May 28, 2024
It does not respect the intelligence of any conservative.
It would be perfectly fine to suggest -- as Brown did above -- that the problem gets fixed. But the editorial goes way past that line into telling Republicans 'It's your fault.' That's inexcusable.
Many on Twitter agreed.
"Every single person at NRO who thinks these are the same is either lying, stupid, or both." pic.twitter.com/xP5pswSP7O
— Physics Geek (@physicsgeek) May 28, 2024
It would be a damn good newsletter, for sure.
GOP : "Once more, unto the breach!"
— matt dooley (@mdooley) May 28, 2024
<GOP arrives at breach, immediately surrenders.> pic.twitter.com/pHRekd8VGV
Ouch. That's just a little TOO accurate.
So when the republicans follow the rules, it’s still ok to screw them because “they’re bad”.
— Scott Kuntzelman (@celebrith) May 28, 2024
But when the democrats blow off the rules, we must give them multiple chances? I’m assuming they learned this at their expensive Ivy League schools on daddy’s money?
@NRO Soon: "If we don't allow Illegals to Vote in Federal Elections then are we really a Democracy?"@alexthechick: pic.twitter.com/c1hfcsPZV4
— Spooky Joe (@jmotivator) May 28, 2024
She wouldn't be alone.
Excellent thread!
— Mitzi (@MitziFetch) May 28, 2024
Laws are published for a reason, so that people can see them and follow them. Election laws are no exception, and this one was published in 2010.
Why is the Governor of Ohio trying to make a special exemption for the DNC, which chose to ignore Ohio's law? https://t.co/s6dfQm3fat
Again, as Brown points out, the problem CAN be remedied without Republicans showing their throat to Democrats.
So Democratic incompetence becomes GOP weaponization of the election process?
— Steve Culy, Banana Republic Maquisard 🍌🔧 (@charcware) May 28, 2024
Give me a break... 🙄 https://t.co/GJUSI7XJMS
It's almost as if the editorial was written by the board at The Washington Post and not NRO.
This thread is art. https://t.co/YOFrUWBznK
— MoronPUNdit - Aspiring Supervillain (@MoronPundit) May 28, 2024
We particularly loved the colorful language.
Appalling!! LOL.
— Problematically Non-Compliant (@LithiumLinus) May 28, 2024
NRO bringing a match stick to a gun fight. https://t.co/cy01TOUwQ9
More like a plastic spork, but we agree with the sentiment.
Alexandria is spot on here. When Conservative “thought leaders” decide to split ranks or that norms can be violated to help Dems, it weakens the whole movement. Liberal punditry would never operate this way, especially to help GOP. The GOP doesn’t lose solely b/c of candidates. https://t.co/2vfga65UvK
— Louis “it’s fine” Dunn (@LouADunn) May 28, 2024
Bending over is not a strategy for winning. Too many in the GOP don't realize this yet.
Because it's all about "it's if okay if THEY do it."
— THE Book Goddess (@misstozak) May 28, 2024
More Failure Theater. "We're above that. We cannot make the left conscious of the consequences of their actions because we're incapable of standing up for anything that might feel like confrontation."
— Claude Rains, Zombie (@CRainsZombie) May 28, 2024
Therefore, there are no negative consequences and the behavior is encouraged.
And finally, there is one more issue that NRO conveniently left out of its editorial:
Ohioan here. This Editorial is woefully ignorant of the actual hold-up in getting this fixed. Almost Republicans support the fix, but it needs 2/3rds of the House to pass as emergency legislation. The Democrats in the House refuse to support the fix.....
— Jason Storck (@jmstorck) May 28, 2024
...... because it also includes a ban on foreign donations to ballot issue campaigns. The Democrats rely on foreign donations to fund ballot issues. If the Democrats voted for the fix (and the foreign money ban) this would pass easily with the 2/3rd needed.
— Jason Storck (@jmstorck) May 28, 2024
Imagine that.
It's like the left demanding that Israel enter into a ceasefire while Hamas is still firing rockets into Israeli cities and onto Israeli civilians.
Even if Republicans DO enact the legislative fix (and they probably will), Democrats will STILL oppose it. And they will STILL blame Republicans for it.
Maybe NRO should have considered that before deciding to place the blame for Ohio entirely on Republicans' shoulders.
We know there are still some good conservatives at NRO. But, like Alexandria Brown, we're a little tired of them always seeming to blame Republicans whenever the opportunity arises.
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