The problem(s) with Rick Scott’s explanation for midterm setbacks - MSNBC

It was astir a period agone erstwhile Sen. Rick Scott, successful his capableness arsenic seat of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, boasted that his enactment had a way to a 55-seat majority. It present appears Republicans might extremity up with a net loss for the predetermination cycle, which is a governmental disaster for the ambitious Floridian.

As The Hill reported, Scott sat down with Fox News’ Sean Hannity connected Friday nighttime and tried to displacement blasted distant from him and toward his colleagues successful the Senate GOP leadership.

“I deliberation we’ve got to bespeak now. What didn’t happen?” said Scott. “I deliberation we didn’t person capable of a affirmative message. We said everything astir however atrocious the Biden docket was. It’s bad, the Democrats are radical, but we person to person a program of what we basal for.”

He pushed a akin line connected Fox News yesterday morning, telling Maria Bartiromo, “What bash we basal for? What are we hell-bent to get done? The enactment successful the Republican Senate says, ‘No, you cannot person a plan. We’re conscionable going to tally against however atrocious the Democrats are.’ And, actually, past they cave into the Democrats.”

Part of the occupation with Scott’s appraisal is that helium did person a program — and it was ridiculous. The NRSC chair, ignoring his party’s wishes, unveiled a far-right blueprint that would’ve, among different things, raised taxes connected tens of millions of American families, portion putting Social Security and Medicare successful jeopardy.

Democrats were lone excessively pleased to dainty the senator’s program like a pinata for overmuch of the year, and immoderate successful the GOP judge Scott’s blueprint did existent harm to the party’s prospects.

The Republican’s newest transportation is that his enactment would’ve been acold amended disconnected if lone much Republicans had tally connected his wildly unpopular ideas. That’s amusing, but it’s not persuasive.

Another occupation with Scott’s appraisal is the disconnect betwixt the ailment and the Floridian’s role: He was the seat of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. If Scott was convinced that his enactment had the incorrect message, wherefore didn’t helium usage his almighty presumption to alteration that message?

But complicating matters is the grade to which Scott is contributing to his party’s post-election disarray. The Wall Street Journal reported this greeting that Scott’s allies are present publically trading barbs with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s allies successful ways that assistance seizure the escalating tensions among the ostensible allies.

Josh Holmes, a Republican strategist who antecedently served arsenic main of unit to Mr. McConnell, said Mr. Scott made errors successful strategy and fundraising successful moving the run limb and accused Mr. Scott of falling abbreviated successful communicating and consulting with chap senators. “It was tally fundamentally arsenic a Rick Scott ace PAC, wherever they didn’t privation oregon request to input immoderate Republican senators whatsoever,” Mr. Holmes said of the NRSC. “That’s a immense interruption from caller past wherever members person been beauteous intimately involved.”

Kevin McLaughlin, a erstwhile NRSC enforcement director, added, “It seems to maine from the extracurricular looking successful that they are overmuch much acrophobic astir chasing headlines and advancing Rick Scott’s governmental ambitions than they are making a affirmative interaction connected Senate races.”

For his part, Chris Hartline, a spokesperson for the Scott-led NRSC, told the Journal that McConnell’s allies, who tally the Senate Leadership Fund ace PAC, spent months undermining the party’s interests.

Curt Anderson, a governmental advisor to Scott, added that there’s plentifulness of blasted to spell around, “but insecure tiny radical ne'er judge work for failure.”

Or enactment different way, everything’s going smoothly among Senate Republican leaders successful the aftermath of a disappointing cycle.

Let’s not place the larger context. As we discussed past week, Scott appeared to person a larger program successful mind: The Floridian ran unopposed past twelvemonth successful the contention to seat the National Republican Senatorial Committee — a presumption that gave Scott an accidental to enlistee like-minded candidates, marque connections with enactment donors, and make caller allies. If the GOP flipped partisan power of the chamber, which seemed likely, Scott would herald himself arsenic the leader who delivered connected the party’s goal.

At that point, helium could proceed to ascent the ladder. A White House bid was a chiseled possibility.

Now, successful the aftermath of failure, Scott is scrambling to blasted his ain party’s colleagues, making a transportation that’s awfully hard to instrumentality seriously.