Fake-GOP group releases ad advocating for voting by mail amid coronavirus pandemic

An anti-Trump Republican group is advocating for lawmakers to help states prepare for mail-in ballots for the November election amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Republicans for the Rule of Law is pushing for voting by mail as part of a new ad shared exclusively with The Hill on Thursday.

The ad is set to run on Fox News and digital platforms. It features a Marine veteran from Pennsylvania who says he’s been a Republican since 1967.

“People should have the option to vote absentee in November,” Joe Blake, the veteran, said in the ad. “Nobody knows whether you're going to be safe standing in the line at the polling place.”

Blake said he’s voted absentee in the past, for former President Nixon and twice for former President Reagan.

“I have never had any reason to doubt that my absentee ballot was counted. We need to make sure that there is access to voting by mail,” Blake said.

Republicans for the Rule of Law spokeswoman Sarah Longwell said in a statement that Congress needs to ensure states have the resources to prepare for voting by mail and to expand absentee voting.

“If it works for our men and women in uniform, it can work for us,” Longwell said.

The ad is the latest from Republicans for the Rule of Law advocating for expanded voting by mail efforts amid the pandemic. The group released a 30-second ad last week, which ran during President Trump’s Fox News town hall, featuring Republican voters from across the country pushing for expanded efforts.

Trump has repeatedly rebuked mail-in voting and last month he urged Republicans to “fight very hard” against expanding it, citing the potential for fraud, even as studies have shown such incidents remain limited.

Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah and Washington already conduct their elections by mail.

Democrats have pushed for legislation to expand funding legislation for mail-in voting, arguing states should be prepared to cast ballots that way in the event the pandemic prevents in-person voting.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/496657-gop-group-releases-ad-advocating-for-vote-by-mail-amid-coronavirus-pandemic

PANIC

They are continuing an all out push for vote-by-mail.

GOP better not buckle on this issue or risk being ousted with recalls.

>>9068217

Lashing out is how a predator reacts when CORNerd & trapped.

Pentagon pulling Patriot missile systems from Saudi Arabia

The U.S. military is removing Patriot antimissile systems from Saudi Arabia as part of a shift of forces and equipment in the region following a buildup last year in response to Iranian threats, a U.S. official confirmed on Thursday.

The Wall Street Journal first reported that Washington is moving four Patriot missile batteries from the region.

The U.S. official confirmed to The Hill that two Patriot systems will come from Saudi Arabia — along with the roughly 300 military personnel deployed to man them. The two systems had been sent to the country last year after a Sept. 14 strike on two Saudi oil facilities that Washington and Riyadh both blame on Tehran, which the nation denies.

The official also confirmed that two additional Patriot systems will leave the region, as have two U.S. jet fighter squadrons.

They said move happened as there is the feeling in Washington that threats from Iran are no longer immediate.

The long-strained relationship between the United States and Iran came to a head earlier this year when the Trump administration launched an airstrike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, sparking weeks of escalating tensions between the two countries.

The coronavirus pandemic – which has hit Iran harder than most countries around the world – seemed to quell additional conflict until an incident last month when 11 Iranian ships repeatedly approached Navy and Coast Guard ships in the Persian Gulf.

With the redistribution, the U.S. military will now have two Patriots in Saudi Arabia as opposed to four.

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/496668-pentagon-pulling-patriot-missile-systems-from-saudi-arabia

Peace is the Prize