The Ragin’ Cajun is ragin’ again.
James Carville, a former adviser to President Clinton, blasted Republicans after a majority of the Wisconsin’s Supreme Court justices ruled that the state’s Democratic primary should proceed, despite concerns over the spread of SARS-CoV-2.
“My kind of mission in the short-term is to sound the alarm to say [that] Mitch McConnell and the Supreme Court — they’re going to do everything they can to hold onto power,” Carville said during an appearance on MSNBC.
“This thing in Wisconsin was one of the most awful things I’ve ever seen in my life,” Carville said. “The extent that they will go to to hold onto power — it was all about one Supreme Court seat in Wisconsin — they will kill people to stay in power, literally.”
Neither MSNBC anchor Brian Williams nor former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele objected to Carville’s claim that Republicans “literally” will kill people.
He also called the court’s ruling “one of the most awful things I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, had sought to delay the primary, asserting that voters and poll workers could be exposed to the flu-like virus. But in a 4-2 vote, the Supreme Court ruled that the governor did not have the power to postpone the election. Five of the seven justices on the court were appointed by Republicans, but one abstained because he was on Tuesday’s ballot.
Hours after Evers issued an executive order Monday postponing the primary, the Wisconsin high court ordered the election to proceed. But Evers said he issued the order because there was no other option. “There’s not a Plan B. There’s not a Plan C,” the governor said.
“Frankly, there’s no good answer to this problem — I wish it were easy. I have been asking everyone to do their part to help keep our families, our neighbors, and our communities safe, and I had hoped that the Legislature would do its part — just as the rest of us are — to help keep people healthy and safe,” he said.
Earlier in the MSNBC segment, Carville predicted that Trump would be soundly defeated in November.
“I am totally, totally unimpressed by President Trump’s political powers,” he said. “I have absolutely no fear. What I do fear is what you had in Wisconsin where they try to muck with the election and stop people from voting. But if we go to post in November with anything close to a level playing field, it’s going to be a Democratic wipeout. People are not going to vote for four more years of this.”
Carville, 75, appeared shortly after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) suspended his presidential campaign, making former Vice President Joe Biden as the presumptive nominee. Carville expressed sympathy for the democratic socialist.
“I was not a fan of Sen. Sanders’ candidacy — I was not for him,” Carville said. “However, every political professional, I mean, they have dreams. I mean, he ran and he and his wife had a dream … and I kind of feel sorry for him in a way.”