Following sharp criticism from Democrats, McConnell backs funding for election security
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We ran the numbers: There are 1,038 news articles covering this topic. 54% (557) are left leaning, 34% (348) center, 13% (133) right leaning.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced his support Thursday for a Senate amendment approving $250 million to increase election security prior to the 2020 presidential election. McConnell faced harsh criticism from Democrats for hindering previous legislation on election security put forth by the Senate -- going as far as dubbing him “Moscow Mitch”, in reference to Russian hacking in the 2016 election.
According to CBS News, “praised the bipartisanship of the amendment” in his speech to the Senate floor. “This is exactly the kind of positive outcome that is possible when we stop posturing for the press and let Chairman Shelby and Senator Leahy conduct a bipartisan committee process,” McConnell said. His support for the Senate amendment represents a sharp shift from his previous views. In July, McConnell blocked election-securing legislation on the grounds that the effort was “partisan” and that “the Trump administration has already done much to secure the nation’s elections.”
With the Democrats dishing out harsh criticism of McConnell prior to his endorsement of the amendment, it’s no surprise that the majority of news coverage surrounding his announcement stems from the left. Sources from the left such as the Washington Post focused on the abrupt change in attitude from McConnell after “more than a year of opposition” on the subject of increased funding for election security. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, “Leader McConnell kept saying we don’t need the money. I made umpteen speeches here at this chair, and the Republican leader denied the need,” adding, “But now, thank God, he has seen the light.”
Centrist sources like The Hill highlighted both the details of the new Senate amendment on funding for election security and why the amendment is such a necessary change. The Hill reports that former special counsel Robert Mueller testified in July that he expects Russians to once again “interfere in the U.S. elections in 2020.” That testimony coming after his report found that the Russians “pursued a sustained campaign to interfere in the 2016 presidential election through both hacking and social media disinformation operations.”
Right-leaning sources including the New York Post detailed that, while McConnell announced his support for this recent Senate amendment, he also recognizes the “enormous strides” made by the Trump administration in regards to protecting voting infrastructure. Additionally, these sources highlighted that, considering the “consensus view” in the intelligence community that U.S. elections are still vulnerable to foreign nations, Democrats are still pushing for further election security.
From the left
In turnaround, McConnell backs $250 million in election security funding
Washington Post