videos on social media<\/a> about the many controversies swirling around the attorney, ranging from being sued by former coworkers to promulgating QAnon to being investigated for potential voter fraud in Georgia.<\/p>\nMcKissick\u2019s devotion to Trump is hardly in doubt: He canceled the 2020 GOP primary in the state, depriving former Republican Gov. Mark Sanford \u2014 who sought to challenge Trump \u2014 of an opportunity to have his message heard. McKissick also presided over big successes for the party in the 2020 elections.<\/p>\n
But Wood, who was involved in many of the failed lawsuits to overturn the November election results, contends McKissick was insufficiently supportive of Trump and the \u201cStop the Steal\u201d movement after the election.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Trump issued an endorsement of McKissick, the second time the former president has publicly backed the chair since Wood entered the race, and the third time in total. Yet Wood has consistently tried to cast doubt on whether McKissick was really endorsed by Trump.<\/p>\n
Two days earlier, at a \u201cPints & Politics\u201d forum hosted by the Post and Courier newspaper, McKissick performed a delicate balancing act when asked if Biden was the legitimate president.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn terms of the Electoral College, yes. He won the Electoral College,\u201d McKissick said, noting Biden was \u201ccertified\u201d as the winner.<\/p>\n
Those arguments, however, have fallen flat with the wing of the party that is QAnon-infused and deeply enthralled with Trump. The result is a race that stands out even by South Carolina\u2019s sharp-elbowed standards.<\/p>\n
Wood has gone so far as to make dark insinuations that McKissick isn\u2019t doing enough to stop \u201cthe real pandemic\u201d of pedophilia, and suggested he needs to resign over unspecified \u201cnefarious activities\u201d with GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham. Wood has also called the coronavirus pandemic a \u201cplandemic,\u201d suggesting it was part of an organized plot.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe GOP races, and especially the chair races, in South Carolina have always been circuses,\u201d said Luke Byars, a former party executive director. \u201cBut this is a first for a lot of us who have been around for a lot of crazy talk in the party. I don\u2019t think anyone has come to this level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Byars and other party insiders say that Wood is harnessing the roughly 25 percent of the party and delegates who seem to want a change after every election and often gravitate toward any challenger pledging to be more conservative than the establishment \u2014 even though the South Carolina establishment is among the most conservative in the nation.<\/p>\n
The state party convention will be different this year due to the coronavirus. It will still be held in the capital city of Columbia, but Covid protocols and distancing rules made it too difficult to secure a large enough indoor venue to host all 870 delegates who will cast the votes to elect the next chair, according to party officials. <\/p>\n
The result is that delegate votes will be cast on hand-marked paper ballots and will occur in satellite meetings in individual counties or in regional meetings. The election results will then be transmitted to party headquarters. The process will be livestreamed.<\/p>\n
Wood has already raised concerns about the process. McKissick allies privately acknowledge it will probably benefit the incumbent because Wood\u2019s strength is public speaking and riling up a crowd. Satellite meetings remove all the excitement and fireworks that might work to Wood\u2019s advantage.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving a convention is like smoking a cigarette in a barn full of hay,\u201d said one McKissick ally, quoting former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, describing how passions can suddenly catch fire in a giant room crowded with political activists.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an inside baseball game, and Drew has been playing ball inside the GOP for some time,\u201d said Sanford, the former governor. <\/p>\n
As for Wood\u2019s candidacy and the conspiracy theories he is spreading in pursuit of the chair position, Sanford said that it\u2019s \u201ca reminder of the fact that Trumpism, sadly, isn\u2019t dead. We\u2019re going to have these conversations for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
GOP strategist Wes Donehue said he thought \u201cWood\u2019s candidacy is an immediate nothing-burger, but in the long term, everyone better pay attention. The base is pissed and questioning anyone and everyone who has been around for more than a couple years.\u201d<\/p>\n
One top ally of McKissick expressed a similar concern, saying \u201cthere\u2019s always been passion in our party and very conservative members. But it\u2019s like some people lost their minds, and we\u2019re worried it\u2019s contagious.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former state GOP Chair Katon Dawson, who has seen his share of intraparty knife fights, said he\u2019s not concerned about Wood\u2019s bid. He said Wood can\u2019t win because he\u2019s too new to the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t just show up in South Carolina, buy a plantation and become Republican chairman,\u201d Dawson said. \u201cLin Wood couldn\u2019t get elected dog catcher.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dawson said he\u2019s more worried about Trump not announcing his presidential election plans until it\u2019s too late in the 2024 cycle for others to organize effectively. If Trump decides not to run, but doesn\u2019t communicate that early enough, it could make it harder for other Republicans to build solid campaigns in the state and beyond, Dawson said.<\/p>\n
But Sawyer, the former executive director of the party, said party leaders need to pay attention to the conspiracy theories promulgated by Wood \u2014 and Trump \u2014 or the GOP could lose another presidential election.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Republican Party is going to have to decide where the bottom is in all of these conspiracy theories,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Source: Politics To get an idea of how deeply the myth of a stolen election has taken root within the GOP, one need only look to South Carolina. In a… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":9154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9153"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9153\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}