What's going on down there?

Arizona remains the epicenter of the "Big Lie" this week, as a group called the Cyber Ninjas recounts the 2020 presidential vote in Maricopa County. Meanwhile, the ex-president jumped into the fray again over the weekend, releasing a statement claiming that that "the entire Database of Maricopa County in Arizona has been DELETED! This is illegal and the Arizona State Senate, who is leading the Forensic Audit, is up in arms." That led Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, the Republican who now leads the county elections department, to call the past POTUS "unhinged" and to implore other Republicans to stop their unfounded accusations about the election. "We can't indulge these insane lies any longer. As a party. As a state. As a country," Richer tweeted. —Associated Press

• — "An insurrection against the Constitution." Back in D.C., precious few Republicans are pushing back on party lies about the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, which was incited by the ex-president's false claims about the election. Last week, Republican Reps. Andrew Clyde, Jody Hice, and Paul Gosar downplayed and made false claims about the attack. In response, Sen. Mitt Romney said, "I was there. What happened was a violent effort to interfere with and prevent the constitutional order of installing a new president." —The Hill
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• — "It's absolutely bogus." Rep. Fred Upton echoed Romney's sentiments, calling out his fellow Republicans for downplaying the insurrection. He also said he supports a bipartisan commission to investigate the attack. Lawmakers on Friday cleared a hurdle in creating such a commission after the top Democrat and Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee struck a deal on how to structure the independent panel. —CNN
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• — "A little bit out of North Korea." Rep. Adam Kinzinger says the ongoing lies emanating from the GOP are the result of the transformation of the party from one of principles to one of absolute loyalty to the former president. "Policy doesn't matter anymore. It literally is all your loyalty to Donald Trump," he said on "Meet the Press" yesterday. "No matter what policy comes out, you're loyal to the guy." —USA Today

Cordero & Larson: America must come to terms with the GOP crisis

"[T]he longer it takes for the public conversation to recognize how dramatically the Republican Party has already shifted, the longer it will take to develop a coherent civic strategy to protect U.S. democracy going forward. And we do need a strategy, because this political crisis is not just the internal machinations of a single political party; it is a political crisis of a nation." —Carrie Cordero & Edward Larson in USA Today

Carrie Cordero is the Robert M. Gates Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security and an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law. Edward Larson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning legal historian, a professor at Pepperdine University, and the author of "Franklin & Washington: The Founding Partnership."

MORE: Rep. Liz Cheney: 'No question' another attack like Jan. 6, or worse, can occur due to election fraud claims —The Hill

Tick, tock, Matt Gaetz

A Florida politician and longtime associate of Rep. Matt Gaetz pleaded guilty to six federal charges in an Orlando courtroom today and has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as part of a plea deal. Joel Greenberg has emerged as a central figure in the Justice Department's sex-trafficking investigation of Gaetz. While the Republican congressman was not explicitly mentioned in the plea agreement or during the court hearing, Greenberg's cooperation with federal prosecutors investigating whether Gaetz paid or offered gifts to underage girls in exchange for sex may escalate the legal case against him. Gaetz has denied all allegations and has said he is being framed. —Associated Press

Israel heading for 'uncontainable' crisis

The United Nations and countries in the Mideast region are calling for a ceasefire as violence in Gaza continues into a second week. Today, Israel killed a senior Palestinian militant commander, Hussam Abu Harbeed, in heavy air strikes, and Islamist groups renewed rocket attacks on Israeli cities. The killing of the commander is likely to draw a fierce response from the militant group Islamic Jihad, which is fighting alongside Hamas. Since hostilities flared last week, Gaza health officials put the Palestinian death toll at 201, including 58 children. Ten people have been killed in Israel, including two children. —Reuters

MORE: U.S. distances itself from demands for Israel-Hamas ceasefire —Associated Press

Hiatt: Voter suppression is bad. This is worse

"As they target the people and positions that stood in their way last time, they also are attempting to change the rules, so a pro-Trump legislature could more easily override the will of the people—and the objections of any honest secretary of state who stood in the way." —Fred Hiatt in The Washington Post

Fred Hiatt is the editorial page editor and a columnist at The Washington Post.

MORE: Activists and ex-spy said to have plotted to discredit Trump 'enemies' in government —The New York Times

Focus on COVID-19 mask mandates

It seemed like great news. Last Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention abruptly announced that fully vaccinated people could stop wearing masks and social distancing in most circumstances, indoors or outdoors. Though greeted with celebration by some, the decision was met with significant pushback from a wary general public and health officials who say that, with only 36% of Americans fully vaccinated, it's too soon for such a drastic change to the guidance. More than 700 epidemiologists indicated in a New York Times survey that the true end of the pandemic won't arrive until at least 70% of Americans—including children—are vaccinated. —The New York Times

• — The honor system. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's medical correspondent, said the CDC "made a critical error" with its surprise announcement, just days after indicating that indoor masking would probably be the last thing to be lifted because "it is so effective and not that hard to do." He pointed to a lack of guidance for businesses and state and local governments to implement the new guidelines, with no way to determine who is and isn't vaccinated, and concerns that loosened restrictions could potentially put those who cannot yet get vaccinated and the immuno-compromised at greater risk. —CNN
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• — "The science has really just evolved." CDC Director Rochelle Walensky defended the agency's recommendation yesterday, citing data that coronavirus vaccines are curbing the spread of the virus and offering protection against variants. Walensky reportedly signed off on the change on Monday but continued to defend the CDC's previous guidance that even vaccinated Americans wear masks in public at a Senate hearing on Tuesday. The discrepancy led some to muse whether the decision was politically motivated. —The Washington Post
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• — Fauci weighs in. Ever the voice of reason, Dr. Anthony Fauci acknowledged that the CDC could have better laid the groundwork for its messaging shift, saying he expects "significant clarification" over the next few weeks. However, he defended the science. "Even though there are breakthrough infections with vaccinated people, almost always the people are asymptomatic, and the level of virus is so low, it makes it extremely unlikely, not impossible, but very, very low likelihood that they are going to transmit it," he said yesterday. —CBS News

Wen: Biden should clean up the mask mess

"[A] decision on something as overarching and consequential as ending mask mandates should have been directed from the very top, by the president himself. Biden needs to course-correct, now. If he does not, the existing confusion could harm Americans' health, prolong the pandemic, and paradoxically diminish confidence in the CDC and its ability to safeguard the public's health." —Leana Wen in The Washington Post

Leana Wen is a Washington Post columnist focusing on public health and health policy.

MORE: 'The right decision wrongly handled': Inside the Biden Administration's abrupt reversal on masks —The Washington Post

I was, for years, a moderate Republican, and then I started hearing the Tea Party mantra, which troubled me. I was a supporter of John McCain, a good man and a good politician, when he started his campaign against Barack Obama. As I listened to his political position, which for the most part I supported, the Tea Party mantra started creeping into his speeches, and when Sarah Palin was chosen as his running mate, I balked and voted for Obama. It has been downhill for the Republican Party since that time, and I have become an independent voter who votes for the man/woman that I feel will best support our democratic republic. I see absolutely no Republican that deserves to sit in the office of President of the United States. As a senior American, I am truly troubled by the efforts that the Republican Party is attempting to put in place to control our vote and destroy this democratic republic with a Trump-style oligarch. —Kerry S., California

The best time to defeat Trumpism in 2022 is likely going to be during the Democratic primary. It was proven in 2018 that centrist Democrats can win. Many of those candidates lost in 2020, but Trump won't be on the ballot in 2022, and he may be busy with civil litigation, where he is forced to defend himself by admitting that he didn't really mean what he said. That is how other conspiracy theorists have chosen to defend themselves. A third-party threat to Republicans is almost nonexistent because many independents already voted for Democrats, and a third party might take more votes away from anti-Trump forces than from a dedicated pro-Trump cult. 

Traditional Republicans already have a better tool to use against Trumpism. They should join the Democratic Party and either run themselves, or support more centrist candidates. How many Dixiecrats have won any seats lately? If the GOP could suddenly be transformed into an authoritarian cult, why can't the Democratic Party be transformed into a more centrist party that still fairly represents all Americans? —Bill M., Pennsylvania

I would really like Evan McMullin to give it another shot to run for president, but under the banner of a new party name: The American Party. Your last email listed what would make the perfect platform for this party. Disenfranchised current and former Republican congressmen and women would likely want to jump on board. An important key is to convince those loyal to Trump to see him for who he really is: the wannabe dictator of America. —George S., Idaho

The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.