Representative Sean Maloney (D-NY), the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that Democrats do not share equal blame with Republicans on election denial.
Partial transcript as follows:
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to start where we just left off with our other guests. How concerned are you about the risk of political violence? And can you say unequivocally that you and your fellow Democrats will accept the outcome of your elections?
MALONEY: Of course, we’ll accept the outcome of the elections. Always have, always will. And- and we’re very concerned about the integrity of our elections, especially when people are trying to intimidate people with weapons when they’re engaged in these tactics to try to undermine confidence. Now we’re- we’re going to accept the results of the election. That’s- That’s the American way.
BRENNAN: Well, I’m glad you said that because there’s been a lot of attention drawn to comments by some Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, who just released a taped statement online where she was talking about upcoming elections. And she said, “Right-wing extremists already have a plan to literally steal the next presidential election, and they’re not making a secret of it.” I understand hyperbole, but would you agree that that’s not helpful in the current environment to talk about plots to steal elections?
MALONEY: Yeah, no, I don’t understand what that means, and I didn’t see the comment. Let me- let me tell you what I think. What I think is that it’s perfectly legitimate for both parties to make sure that voting is fair, that there’s no fraud, that when votes are cast, that people have a right to cast them or don’t. And that’s normal. And in a close election, you might have a recount. You might have other examination of absentee ballots. That’s all run-of-the-mill stuff. What’s different is people showing up with weapons and sitting in the back of a pickup truck next to a Dropbox, trying to scare the tar out of people who are just exercising, exercising their vote. What’s different is when a president, for the first time in our history, says he was cheated out of the results when he knows that’s a lie. So let’s- let’s not- let’s not let’s not pretend for a minute that both sides have the same, the same amount of accountability for the loss of confidence in our elections. One side has been out there for a couple of years now doing everything they can to pretend Joe Biden didn’t win fair and square when he did. And that’s the difference.
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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