Six Republican senators, including Pat Roberts, Chuck Grassley, Lamar Alexander, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Mitt Romney have already either bowed out of the Republican National Convention in August or have said their attendance is "unlikely." Their public reasons are mostly either the ol' "scheduling conflict" excuse or that they are worried about coronavirus exposure.
No one came right out and said it was because they didn't want to be associated with a lemon candidate like Trump, but Susan Collins claimed "she never intended to go because she does not attend national conventions when she is up for reelection," according to The Hill.
Now we can add a 7th senator to the list: Mitch McConnell.
According to HuffPost, McConnell, who is 78 years old, is running with the coronavirus excuse, which is fair enough. The convention was foolishly booked in Jacksonville, Florida, a state that "has emerged as a new world epicenter for the disease, breaking daily records in infections and hospitalizations," as HuffPost puts it. Florida is where 56 intensive care units across the state are at full capacity, according to CNN, and where 119 people died today — so far — from Covid-19.
Senator Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, talked today in Kentucky about his stance on whether he will attend the Republican convention in Jacksonville, Florida. @Enquirer pic.twitter.com/m9Onp0pvzQ
— Chris Mayhew (@reportermayhew) July 9, 2020
It's only July 9th. The convention is scheduled for August 17th. How many more GOP senators will drop out by then? One can only heat up the popcorn and get ready for an entertaining spat, if not a full-blown shit show, within the GOP.
