McSally’s ‘Hail Mary’ play: Just blame China

You have to give Sen. Martha McSally credit for being a team player.

Well, you don’t have to, but if you were going to give McSally credit for anything, being a loyal team player would be it.

A while back, the National Republican Senatorial Committee sent candidates like McSally a 57-page memo saying that rather than attempting to defend President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, change the subject by attacking China.

That’s pretty much exactly as they put it, according to a report in Politico.

The memo read: “Don’t defend Trump, other than the China Travel Ban — attack China.”

I’m guessing that was not the game plan McSally got from GOP headquarters back in March, when she said of Trump’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, “I appreciate the president talking to the American people from the Oval Office to show his decisiveness, resolve, compassion and leadership that America has and that we are the best equipped to deal with this crisis that started in China.”

But, that was then.

And as more American lives are lost and the failings of the administration become more glaringly apparent the Republican brain trust needed to chuck its campaign game plan an pull out a trick play: “Don’t defend Trump, other than the China Travel Ban — attack China.”

And McSally became one of the first players to break the huddle and execute it. She and Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn introduced a bill called the Stop China-Originated Viral Infectious Diseases (COVID) Act.

About which McSally said, “The Chinese government must be held accountable for the pain it’s inflicted across the United States. Our legislation to allow Americans to file lawsuits against the Chinese Communist Party for its role in perpetuating the global spread of the coronavirus will give the U.S. a piece of justice.”

I would agree that China was not forthcoming and botched its handling of the coronavirus.

But if Americans should be able to file lawsuits against the Chinese Communist Party should they not also be able to file lawsuits against the American Republican Party?

After all, even with China’s deception, the GOP standard bearer, Trump, and his administration were not forthcoming and botched the handling of the coronavirus crisis even though they had plenty of warning the virus headed our way.

Not only that, but the Obama administration left them a strategy to combat a pandemic prepared by the National Security Council. It was called “Playbook for Early Response to High-Consequence Emerging Infec

tious Disease Threats and Biological Incidents.”

Trump’s team ignored it. And not only did the administration ignore the playbook, they declared victory.

There are many damning presidential tweets downplaying the coronavirus crisis or claiming victory.

Like when Trump said on Jan. 22, after having the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the United States, Trump was asked if he was worried about the pandemic. He said, “No, we’re not at all. And we have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China.”

And what he said on Jan. 30, at an event in Michigan: “We’re working very strongly with China on the coronavirus — that’s a new thing that a lot of people are talking about . ... We think it’s going to have a very good ending for it. So that

I can assure you.”

And what he tweeted on Feb. 24: “The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. We are in contact with everyone and all relevant countries. CDC & World Health [Organization] have been working hard and very smart. Stock Market starting to look very good to me!”

Yeah, well ...

McSally’s camp hopes voters won’t pay any attention to all that, hoping instead she can play the anti-communist card and even tie her opponent, Mark Kelly, to China by way of a tech firm he affiliated with Chinese investors.

I can see why the GOP bosses got desperate, changed the game plan and called a campaign audible: “Don’t defend Trump, other than the China Travel Ban — attack China.”

Martha McSally, as ordered, is going long. In football, that’s called throwing a Hail Mary.

It very entertaining.

It rarely works.