;)
Friday
Dec112020
The Commentariat -- December 12, 2020
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Saturday are here.
Jim Rutenberg & Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court repudiation of President Trump's desperate bid for a second term not only shredded his effort to overturn the will of voters: It also was a blunt rebuke to Republican leaders ... who were willing to damage American democracy by embracing a partisan power grab over a free and fair election.... Much of the G.O.P. leadership now shares responsibility for the quixotic attempt to ignore the nation's founding principles and engineer a different verdict from the one voters cast in November.... With direct buy-in from senior officials like Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and the Republican leader in House, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the president;s effort required the party to promote false theory upon unsubstantiated claim upon outright lie about unproved, widespread fraud -- in an election that ... officials agreed was notably smooth given the challenges of the pandemic. And it meant that Republican leaders now stand for a new notion: that the final decisions of voters can be challenged without a basis in fact if the results are not to the liking of the losing side, running counter to decades of work by the United States to convince developing nations that peaceful transfers of power are key to any freely elected government's credibility."
Maggie Haberman & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "President Trump on Saturday excoriated Attorney General William P. Barr, castigating him on Twitter for not violating Justice Department policy to publicly reveal an investigation into President-Elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s son.... Mr. Trump benefited from [the DOJ's] policy [of not discussing ongoing inquiries] himself in 2016, when officials kept quiet the inquiry into possible conspiracy between his campaign and Russian officials.... In the weeks after the election, Mr. Barr refused to refute Mr. Trump's specious claims of widespread voter fraud. But this month, after Mr. Trump raised the prospect that the Justice Department and F.B.I. may have been involved in tipping the election to Mr. Biden, Mr. Barr ... said that he saw no examples of widespread voter fraud that could have meaningfully affected the election." ~~~
~~~ Kevin Liptak of CNN: "... Donald Trump raised the prospect of firing Attorney General William Barr in a meeting on Friday, but it's unclear whether he'll choose to dismiss Barr before the end of his term next month. A person familiar with the matter told CNN that Trump was furious in the meeting with advisers at the White House that Barr had worked to keep the federal investigation into Hunter Biden's taxes from becoming public before the November election. Trump was also upset at reports Barr was considering departing the administration before January 20, believing the leaks to be self-serving. Trump told officials he is serious about replacing Barr, but whether he actually goes ahead with the move remains in question. He has been encouraged by advisers over the past several months not to do so."
Tweets So Bad.... Celine Castronuova of the Hill: "Twitter on Saturday prevented users from liking and replying to a series of tweets from President Trump in which he repeated false claims that he won the election and that the race was 'stolen' from him, though the company later reversed the move. In three separate tweets Saturday morning, Trump responded to the Supreme Court's decision to throw out a lawsuit from Texas aiming to nullify President-elect Joe Biden's win in Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia and Pennsylvania..... 'This is a great and disgraceful miscarriage of justice,' Trump wrote. 'The people of the United States were cheated, and our Country disgraced. Never even given our day in Court!' In separate tweets limited by Twitter, the president claimed that he 'won the election in a landslide' and that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) allowed votes to be 'stolen' from him."
~~~~~~~~~~
The Trumpidemic, Ctd.
** Katie Thomas, et al., of the New York Times: "The Food and Drug Administration authorized Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use on Friday, according to three people with knowledge of the decision.... The action means millions of highly vulnerable people will begin receiving the vaccine within days.... With the decision, the United States becomes the sixth country -- in addition to Britain, Bahrain, Canada, Saudi Arabia and Mexico -- to clear the vaccine. Other authorizations, including by the European Union, are expected within weeks. The action followed an extraordinary sequence of events on Friday morning when the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, told the F.D.A. commissioner, Dr. Stephen Hahn, to consider looking for his next job if he didn't get the emergency approval done on Friday.... Dr. Hahn then ordered vaccine regulators at the agency to do it by the end of the day." ~~~
~~~ Josh Dawsey & Laurie McGinley of the Washington Post: "White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows on Friday told Stephen Hahn, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, to submit his resignation if the agency does not clear the nation's first coronavirus vaccine by day's end.... The White House actions once again inject politics into the vaccine race, potentially undermining public trust in one of the most crucial tools to end the pandemic...." In a tweet, Trump ordered Hahn to "get the dam vaccines out NOW." No, Trump cant spel. ~~~
~~~ The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here: "The Food and Drug Administration is accelerating the timeline for issuing an emergency authorization for Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine, aiming to issue it by Friday evening after planning as recently as Thursday night to finalize the move on Saturday. On Friday morning, President Trump lashed out at the F.D.A. in a tweet, attacking the agency's commissioner, Dr. Stephen M. Hahn, by name for not approving a Covid-19 vaccine faster. Continuing his practice of publicly upbraiding subordinates with whom he is displeased, Mr. Trump told Dr. Hahn to 'stop playing games and start saving lives!!!' He called the F.D.A. 'a big, old, slow turtle,' flush with funds but mired in bureaucracy. On Friday morning Mr. Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows..., told Dr. Hahn that he may as well start working on his next job if Dr. Hahn didn't get it done on Friday.... The timing of the announcement appears unlikely to speed up the shipment of the initial doses of the vaccine..., raising questions about the purpose of expediting the authorization." (MB: the "purpose," of course, is to make Trump thinks it appears he is doing something, which he isn't. Trump thinks "yelling at people" & "humiliating subordinates" is the same as "doing something." ~~~
~~~ Earlier That Same Day: "Barring last-minute snags, the F.D.A. is expected to issue an emergency authorization [for Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine] on Saturday. And that means the first Covid-19 vaccinations to be administered in the U.S. outside the confines of an experiment are likely to begin early next week. First in line to get it are health care workers and nursing home residents." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here: "The Trump administration announced Friday that it will purchase an additional 100 million doses of a Moderna vaccine that will be issued to all Americans free of charge, when approved, upping the expected number of vaccines in the federal government's arsenal to 300 million. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a news release that the new purchase expands the stock of doses as part of Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration's program for helping create a vaccine and distributing it as fast as possible."
DHS: Partying to Make the U.S. Less Secure. Maria Sacchetti of the Washington Post: "The Department of Homeland Security hosted a holiday party on Thursday, with acting secretary Chad Wolf mingling indoors with other Trump administration appointees despite warnings from federal and local health authorities that such gatherings could spread the coronavirus. Wolf, who frequently appears on social media without a mask, did not publicize the party.... DHS Chief Financial Officer Troy Edgar, one of the few leading department officials who has been confirmed by the Senate, posted a photograph of himself, Wolf and chief information officer Karen Evans on Twitter. All three were smiling while standing in proximity. None were wearing masks." A spokesperson called the party a "meeting"; MB: frankly, these yokels don't know the difference.
Gina Colata of the New York Times: "The coronavirus is more prevalent in minority communities, and infections, illnesses and deaths have occurred in these groups in disproportionate numbers. But the new studies do suggest that there is no innate vulnerability to the virus among Black and Hispanic Americans, Dr. [Gbenga] Ogedegbe [of New York University] and other experts said. Instead, these groups are more often exposed because of social and environmental factors.... Among many other vulnerabilities, Black and Hispanic communities and households tend to be more crowded; many people work jobs requiring frequent contact with others and rely on public transportation. Access to health care is poorer than among white Americans, and rates of underlying conditions are much higher. The toll on Black and Hispanic Americans 'could easily have been ameliorated in advance of the pandemic by a less threadbare and cruel approach to social welfare and health care in the U.S.,' [said epidemiologist Jon Zelner]." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Early in the pandemic, an acquaintance asked me, more or less rhetorically, why Black people were more likely to get Covid-19. His implication was that they "weren't careful enough." I disabused him of that idea by giving him exactly the reasons the study found. You can bet there are millions of white Americans who still believe what my acquaintance did: that Black people are "too lazy" to take precautions. This makes me crazy.
More Real News
Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "The Senate overwhelmingly passed a sweeping military policy bill on Friday that would require that Confederate names be stripped from American military bases, clearing the measure for enactment and sending it to President Trump's desk in defiance of his threats of a veto. The 84-13 vote to approve the legislation reflected broad bipartisan support for the measure that authorizes pay for American troops and was intended to signal to Mr. Trump that lawmakers, including many Republicans, were determined to pass the critical bill even if it meant potentially delivering the first veto override of his presidency.... The scene that played out on the Senate floor on Friday underscored how Republicans, who have been reluctant to challenge the president on any other issue during his four years in office, have been extraordinarily willing to break with Mr. Trump over one of the party's key orthodoxies -- projecting military strength." Politico's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Jeanne Whalen of the Washington Post: "A groundbreaking measure to ban anonymous shell companies in the United States cleared Congress on Friday as the Senate joined the House in passing a defense-spending bill with a veto-proof margin. The Corporate Transparency Act, which was tacked onto the defense bill, would require corporations and limited liability companies established in the United States to disclose their real owners to the Treasury Department, making it harder for criminals to anonymously launder money or evade taxes. The rule applies to future and existing entities alike.... Tolerance of anonymous shell companies has long helped drug- and human- traffickers, organized crime groups and foreign kleptocrats launder their ill-gotten gains through the U.S. financial system, supporters of the legislation say. It took Michael Cohen, President Trump's former lawyer, only a few days to set up and use an anonymous Delaware LLC to pay hush money to Stormy Daniels, in violation of campaign finance laws." ~~~
~~~ Caitlin Emma, et al., of Politico: "The Senate cleared a one-week government funding bill on Friday by voice vote, forestalling the threat of a government shutdown at midnight and capping off hours of drama after several senators threatened to hold up the resolution. The last-minute agreement to fast-track the short-term funding fix came after a handful of senators dropped efforts to tack on other provisions.... Earlier Friday, Sen. Rand Paul dropped his opposition to the stopgap spending bill and annual defense policy legislation." (Also linked yesterday.)
Li'l Randy Has Not Been Getting Enough Attention. Andrew Desiderio, et al., of of Politico: "Rand Paul is at it again. And his moves could force another brief government shutdown. The Kentucky Republican is objecting to swift passage of the annual defense policy bill, forcing senators to remain in Washington for an extra day as he filibusters the $740 billion legislation. But the government needs to be funded past Friday -- and the short one-week spending bill can't be passed before then without agreement from all 100 senators to vote.... Other senators are also seeking to use the shutdown deadline to push their priorities. Conservatives want votes on legislation to prevent government shutdowns, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is pushing for a vote on a new round of stimulus checks.... Republicans are hopeful that Paul will, at most, stretch things out right up to the Friday shutdown deadline." Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. See his commentary in yesterday's thread. MB: Maybe if the Senate would pass by unanimous consent an agreement to purchase a little plastic trophy that said, "Rand Paul -- Best Senator Ever," they could get on with the real business at hand. (Also linked yesterday.)
The Last Days of the Mad Kaiser
** Supremes to Trump, Paxton, et al.: Adios, Mo-fos. Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Friday rejected an audacious lawsuit by Texas that had asked the court to throw out the presidential election results in four battleground states captured by President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. The court, in a brief unsigned order, said Texas lacked standing to pursue the case, saying it 'has not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another state conducts its elections.' The move, coupled with a one-sentence order on Tuesday turning away a similar request from Pennsylvania Republicans, signaled that the court has refused to be drawn into President Trump's losing campaign to overturn the results of the election last month. There will continue to be scattered litigation brush fires around the nation from Mr. Trump's allies, but as a practical matter the Supreme Court's action puts an end to any prospect that Mr. Trump will win in court what he lost at the polls." ~~~
~~~ Nina Totenberg & Barbara Sprunt of NPR: "Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, wrote that in their view the court does 'not have discretion to deny the filing of a bill of complaint in a case that falls within our original jurisdiction.' But the two said that while they would have allowed the filing of the complaint, they would not have granted Trump or Texas, any of the relief they sought." MB: IOW, all nine justices agreed that the case was without merit. ~~~
~~~ Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The decision brings an abrupt, unceremonious end to Trump's legal effort to essentially scrap the democratic process in order to preserve his presidency, a six-week-long crusade in which he has spread false conspiracies about voter fraud to drive up distrust of the U.S. election system. Trump dubbed the Supreme Court gambit 'the big one' and had publicly pressed the justices to rule for him to 'save America.'... Texas's audacious legal move, lodged by its scandal-plagued attorney general Ken Paxton, won Trump's endorsement and the backing of 126 Republican members of the House, including GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy. However, the attempt also prompted an angry reaction from the targeted states and led many Democrats and some GOP officials to denounce the effort as a dangerous assault on the foundation of American democracy." ~~~
~~~ Burgess Everett & Melanie Zanona of Politico: "Not a single GOP senator signed a 'friend of the court' brief for the long-shot Texas lawsuit to throw out other states' results in a bid to keep ... Donald Trump in power. And there was no coordinated effort to get Republicans on board, according to interviews with more than a half-dozen Republican senators before the Supreme Court rejected the case Friday night.... While some had hedged on whether they supported the lawsuit, and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas had even offered to argue the case, a serious Senate companion to House Republicans' jaw-dropping effort never emerged.... The split screen between the two chambers was hardly surprising. For instance, House members in gerrymandered districts are far more fearful of a 2022 primary challenge if they don't go with Trump than the senators who serve entire states in six-year terms."
Trump's Last Act. Marie: Thursday, we had a discussion in the Comments about how the Congress could alter the presidential election results. I relied on a WashPo story to attempt to explain it. However, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), a constitutional scholar by trade, explains the Congress's role in more detail & somewhat differently from the WashPo's explanation. He does conclude, as I did, that it's very unlikely Congress will overturn the election:
Bill Chappell & Vanessa Romo of NPR: "Hours after a Wisconsin lower court rejected another of President Trump's attempts to overturn his loss to President-elect Joe Biden on Friday, the state Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in the case over the weekend. The decision by the conservative-controlled court on Friday means Trump's case will skip over the Wisconsin Court of Appeals as the president pursues his quest to invalidate more than 221,000 ballots. That reversal could win him an additional 10 electoral votes, but Trump would still trail Biden, who would have 296. Biden currently has 306 electoral votes to Trump's 232. Electoral College votes are set to be cast on Monday."
Sidney Powell's "Expert Intelligence Analyst" Is Just Some Guy. Emma Brown, et al., of the Washington Post: "The witness is code-named 'Spyder.' Or sometimes 'Spider.' His identity is so closely guarded that lawyer Sidney Powell has sought to keep it even from opposing counsel. And his account of vulnerability to international sabotage is a key part of Powell's failing multistate effort to invalidate President-elect Joe Biden's victory. Powell describes Spyder in court filings as a former 'Military Intelligenc expert,' and his testimony is offered to support one of her central claims.... Spyder, it turns out, is Joshua Merritt, a 43-year-old information technology consultant in the Dallas area.... Records show that Merritt is an Army veteran and that he enrolled in a training program at the 305th Military Intelligence Battalion.... But he never completed the entry-level training course, according to Meredith Mingledorff, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence, which includes the battalion. 'He kept washing out of courses,' said Mingledorff, citing his education records. 'He's not an intelligence analyst.'"
Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "We have learned that the Republican Party, or much of it, has abandoned whatever commitment to electoral democracy it had to begin with. That it views defeat on its face as illegitimate, a product of fraud concocted by opponents who don't deserve to hold power. That it is fully the party of minority rule, committed to the idea that a vote doesn't count if it isn't for its candidates, and that if democracy won't serve its partisan and ideological interests, then so much for democracy. None of this is new -- there is a whole tradition of reactionary, counter-majoritarian thought in American politics to which the conservative movement is heir -- but it is the first time since the 1850s that these ideas have nearly captured an entire political party. And while the future is unwritten, the events of the past month make me worry that we're following a script the climax of which requires a disaster." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post: "Republicans have gone beyond the indulge-the-toddler-while-he-cries-it-out phase of this debacle to a dangerous new stage: Incentivize the toddler. Reward his bad behavior. Encourage his belief, as poisonous to democracy as it is delusional, that the election was stolen. And they are laying the predicate for a contentious new phase ... in which election results ... are no longer accepted. Instead they merely open the door for a second phase of legal and political guerrilla warfare in which no tactic, no lie, no baseless claim is off-limits. Democracy cannot function this way." Marcus names them all. MB: IMO, Democrats should start running ads now, branding the miscreants in their home bases, as the anti-patriotic, anti-voter assholes they are. Probably an ad-writer can state the case more effectively. The ads should never stop till these jerks are out of office. ~~~
~~~ Orlando Sentinel Editors: "We apologize to our readers for endorsing Michael Waltz in the 2020 general election for Congress. We had no idea, had no way of knowing at the time, that Waltz was not committed to democracy. During our endorsement interview with the incumbent congressman, we didn't think to ask, 'Would you support an effort to throw out the votes of tens of millions of Americans in four states in order to overturn a presidential election and hand it to the person who lost, Donald Trump?' Our bad.... Waltz, to our horror, was one of the 10 Florida Republican members of Congress who, on Thursday, signed up to support a lawsuit brought by Texas in the U.S. Supreme Court that attempted to throw out the election results in Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania -- all states where Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden.... Our nation has been teetering on the edge of constitutional disaster, thanks to the likes of Waltz and the Florida members of Congress who also signed up to support the lawsuit brought by Texas...." ~~~
~~~ James Wigderson of RightWisconsin: "In a January 20 editorial..., RightWisconsin made several errors in describing Tom Tiffany, then a candidate in Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District. In the endorsement editorial, editor James Wigderson described Tiffany as 'a solid conservative legislator.'... Tiffany was also described as 'the only candidate deserving of Republican votes in the February 18 GOP primary.' However, a review of the facts of Tiffany's brief time in Congress leads us to believe those statements were made in error.... Tiffany recently signed onto a statement supporting a federal lawsuit to overturn the November 3 presidential election in Wisconsin and three other states: Pennsylvania, Georgia and Michigan. The federal lawsuit, filed by the ethically challenged Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, would disenfranchise Wisconsin's voters, including those in the 7th Congressional District, if successful. A 'conservative' political leader would understand that Paxton&'s lawsuit is ... a naked attempt at preserving power for a president that lost the November 3 election (even as Tiffany won re-election in his district)."
William Rashbaum, et al., of the New York Times: "State prosecutors in Manhattan have interviewed several employees of President Trump's bank and insurance broker in recent weeks, according to people with knowledge of the matter, significantly escalating an investigation into the president that he is powerless to stop. The interviews with people who work for the lender, Deutsche Bank, and the insurance brokerage, Aon, are the latest indication that once Mr. Trump leaves office, he still faces the potential threat of criminal charges that would be beyond the reach of federal pardons. It remains unclear whether the office of the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., will ultimately bring charges."
Adam Goldman, et al., of the New York Times: "As federal investigators in Delaware were examining the finances of Hunter Biden during his father's campaign for president, a similar inquiry ramped up this year in Pittsburgh, fueled by materials delivered by President Trump's personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani. Attorney General William P. Barr had asked the top federal prosecutor in Pittsburgh, Scott W. Brady, to accept and vet any information that Mr. Giuliani had on the Biden family, including Hunter Biden. Mr. Brady hosted Mr. Giuliani for a nearly four-hour meeting in late January to discuss his materials. The arrangement immediately raised alarms within the F.B.I. and the Justice Department.... Some prosecutors and agents in Pittsburgh regarded Mr. Brady as a Trump loyalist who was thought to be angling to run for office, and they expressed concern that Mr. Brady was wielding the F.B.I. as a weapon to damage Mr. Biden's candidacy.... Mr. Brady has not brought any criminal charges, and Mr. Barr has not publicly discussed the investigation's status since revealing in February that the department would accept Mr. Giuliani's material.... The president-elect is not under investigation."
Leo Shane of the Military Times: "A day after the Veterans Affairs Inspector General blasted VA Secretary Robert Wilkie for his handling of a sexual assault allegation at a department hospital, most of the country's major veterans organizations called for his immediate firing, citing a lack of confidence in his leadership. 'Secretary Wilkie and several members of his executive staff violated the trust of a fellow veteran who came forth with serious allegations of sexual assault,' said Veterans of Foreign Wars Executive Director B.J. Lawrence in a statement Friday night. 'Instead of taking this veteran's allegations seriously, the Secretary and his key staff sought to discredit and vilify the veteran. We will not tolerate this behavior at our VA.'" MB: Sorry, folks. Trump pretends to care about veterans from time to time, but there is no way he will fire a Cabinet member for covering up an (alleged) sexual assault against a female veteran.
News Lede
New York Times: "Charley Pride, a son of sharecroppers who rose to become country music's first Black superstar with hits including 'Kiss an Angel Good Mornin' and 'Is Anybody Goin' to San Antone,' died on Saturday in hospice care in Dallas. He was 86."
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Reader Comments (20)
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/529926-texas-gop-chair-appears-to-suggest-secession-after-scotus-rejects
Best idea I've heard from a Republican in a long time.
The mea culpa from the editors of the Orlando Sentinel demonstrates a hard lesson learned, in their endorsement of Michael Waltz, that should have been a no brainer. They had no way of knowing that he has no interest in democracy? That he would happily, giddily even, throw out millions of votes to retain a scheming, lying crook in the White House?
Dear OS editors, here’s a pro tip. Keep it in mind as you proceed in your careers: he’s a REPUBLICAN! Of COURSE he has no interest in democracy. He belongs to a party of mendacious, delusional traitors!
With a name like sentinel, you guys should know stuff like this. Sentinels are supposed to keep an eye out for the rest of us. Not be lulled to sleep by authoritarian fairy tales.
But this is how it works, and the traitors know this. Republicans get every break in the world, they kick you in the shins, steal your Thanksgiving turkey, then set your house on fire. And then it’ll be “Well, they’re just high strung. It’ll be fine once they’re in Washington”.
No. It won’t be. It’s like saying “That Jeffrey Dahmer is such a nice boy. He’ll be better when he’s in different surroundings.”
I heard a blurb today on NPR for a piece about what reporters learned while covering a lying traitor the last four years. I didn’t hear the piece, but the first thing I thought was “Oh, they learned that you can’t trust anything the president says. Check everything. And now do it to Biden.”
And this is how it’s gone for a generation. Republicans run the country into the ground, steal everything not nailed down, fill government positions with crooks and cronies, start wars, destroy the economy, and threaten everyone who dares to call them out. The press mostly leaves them alone. Then in comes a Democrat who has to clean up the mess all while dealing with phony investigations and the media, which has mysteriously recovered its sense of duty.
It’s already begun with this Hunter Biden bullshit. Before it’s over this will be like Benghazi, Iran-Contra, the Teapot Dome, and the fucking Zimmerman telegram all rolled into one.
Just watch.
@AK - I just have to keep reminding myself that as much of a shitshow the GOP is going to make of the next 4 years, it is still a kajillion times better than it would be if idiotstick had won.
@Ak: Yes, yes and yes BUT better now than nothin! "Right Wisconsin's" take back in endorsing Tommy Tiffany ( all that glitters, etc) and O. S.'s fessing their mistake of Waltzing with the wrong partner is something to shout about even though it IS like thinking Jeffrey Dahmer would stop chopping up bodies once he was given a place at the table (in fact, his next door neighbor, a little old lady, did actually say, "He was always such a nice boy.") The Republican label evidently did not give these paper's editors pause to endorse which tells you both believe in the myth of "both side-ism."
The "screw you" party always brings flags, banners and promises galore when campaigning, sounding like solid citizens who will raise you up, not let you down, bring you flowers and sing you songs; but it's Streisand's lament every time.
It was said by many, years ago, that the Republican party was dysfunctional. The current culture of this political malfunction will not end with a new administration–-we are not going to solve the underlying problems that produced it along with our archaic laws that make no sense. Someone said the other day:
"Americans have to face a haunting question of history: Can a country argue its way back from the abyss?"
RockyGirl,
Of course, you’re right, and we should be grateful for that. And I am. That first night when it looked like the Fat Fascist could steal another one, my head was exploding and my heart disappeared into the blackness.
We had never been in a situation like this, with so many mail-in ballots, as you well know, and had no idea what to expect. (But I must say, as the results trickled in and day after day less and less of the Monster could be seen—like the Wicked Witch melting from Dorothy’s water—and the screaming, and whining, and crying, and lying began, right up until people were dancing in the streets as the election was called for the forces of goodness and light, was a most delicious time. Seeing Diaper Donnie melt down, being unable to do anything to stop his dream of a permanent Trump Reich from vanishing, has been exquisite.)
Still, this will do nothing but enflame the dangerous morons even more. The consequences will be cataclysmic. My fervent hope is that the Democrats are ready for what’s coming. Traitors don’t fight fair. Democrats do. That could be disastrous.
Right now, we are dependent on Stacey Abrams and her army of helpers in Georgia. Republicans, seeing how horrible democracy is for their goal of total minority control of the country, are already pulling out the stops to ensure that as few Democrats are allowed to vote as possible.
If we win Georgia...
Well, you know.
When there are no consequences to abhorrent behavior: https://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/neo-nazi-website-founder-accused-of-ignoring-14m-judgment/article_ca588d36-0178-5fe3-ac40-5ff7ae62c23f.html#tracking-source=home-trending. When bankers/con-artists, super-spreaders, and scumbags like Moscow Mitch get away scot-free get away without consequences it comes back on a local level. If Orange Turd actually suffered consequences, it'd be worth a thousand small prosecutions of bad behavior. And, if you think there's not a double standard, how about if banker/con-artists, super-spreaders, Moscow Mitch, and Orange Turd were Black?
PD,
As for arguing our way back from the brink, I’m pretty sure we will gain no purchase there. Logic and well crafted arguments mean nothing to these people who have been told that Democrats will eat their children if they’re allowed to win an election. This means no amount of argumentation, of presentation of facts, will work. I’m not even sure demonstrations of Democratic care for their concerns will work.
But hey, I see that there are plenty of nuts calling for secession. I say let ‘em go. Fuck ‘em. Red states contribute 30% to the overall American economy, which is a blue state machine. They’re moochers and takers. With no one to mooch off, red states that secede will sink from the weight of their indigene, hatred, and stupidity.
And maybe that’s the answer. They can elect Fatty as their idiot monkey king and he can distribute the rotten coconuts as he sees fit.
The rest of us can return the real world and get on with it.
Sorry, should have been “indigence”.
To extend the secessionist fantasy in which some of us are understandably prone to indulge:
The hell with mere lines on a map.
Think of all the walls that could be built.
Red states will pay for them, of course.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) states quite clearly and passionately what we all have been thinking and expressing here. This is a must-watch.
I'm glad he's one of my senators. I first saw him years ago at a campaign event held for him in a local residence. He was running for his first state office at he time. I remember Meryl S. walking in the front door to attend as well. He seemed somewhat dweeby back then, but he's obviously matured in a good way.
Ken,
Love the idea of walling off breakaway red states. But if they’re expected to pay for it, the “wall” will be a three foot chicken wire fence dotted with hand painted signs saying things like “Libruls not welcum” and “No Trespasin”.
Okay with me.
Sooo...
With all the yapping on the right about originalism and protecting the Constitooshun, how ‘bout this one, courtesy of the Fourteenth Amendment?
“No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.”
Basically, every single one of those supporters of scrapping millions of votes so that a lying, law breaking fascist can remain in power, illegally, should be removed from office.
I guess this would be where they say that only certain parts of that document can be trusted.
I'm bringing this back from years ago since it fits plus it's so much fun to read:
Dear Red States:
We're ticked off at your Neanderthal attitudes and politics and we've
decided we're leaving: "Legitimate rape." is almost reason enough!
We in California intend to form our own country and we're taking the other
Blue States with us.
In case you aren't aware that includes New York, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington,
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and the rest of the Northeast.
We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation and especially to the
people of the new country of The Enlightened States of America (E.S.A).
To sum up briefly:
You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states.
We get stem cell research and the best beaches.
We get Andrew Cuomo and Elizabeth Warren. You get Bobby Jindal and Todd Akin.
We get the Statue of Liberty. You get OpryLand.
We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom.
We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss.
We get 85 percent of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs.
You get Alabama.
We get two-thirds of the tax revenue. You get to make the red states pay
their fair share.
Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than the Christian
Coalition's we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single
moms.
Please be aware that the E.S.A. will be pro choice and anti war and we're
going to want all our citizens back from Afghanistan at once. If you need
people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have kids they're apparently
willing to send to their deaths for no purpose and they don't care if you
don't show pictures of their children's caskets coming home.
We wish you success in Afghanistan, and possibly Iran as well, but we're not
willing to spend our resources in these sorts of pursuits.
With the Blue States in hand we will have firm control of 80% of the
country's fresh water, more than 90% of the pineapple and lettuce, 92% of
the nation's fresh fruit, 95% of America's quality wines (you can serve
French wines at state dinners) 90% of all cheese, 90 percent of the high
tech industry, most of the US low sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias
and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools plus Harvard, Yale,
Stanford, Cal Tech, Long Beach State, CAL, San Jose State and MIT.
With the Red States you will have to cope with 88% of all obese Americans
and their projected health care costs, 92% of all US mosquitoes, nearly 100%
of the tornadoes, 90% of the hurricanes, 99% of all Southern Baptists,
virtually 100% of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University,
Clemson and the University of Georgia.
We get Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you.
38% of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a
whale, 62% believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the death penalty
or gun laws, 44% say that evolution is only a theory, 53% that Saddam was
involved in 9/11 and 61% of you crazy bastards believe you are people with
higher morals then we lefties.
We're taking the good weed too. You can have that crap they grow in Mexico.
Sincerely,
Citizens of the Enlightened States of America
@ Ak: Unfortunately the actionable part of that amendment is in defining how the houses of congress can remove the stain of insurrection, not defining the procedures used to remove the offenders from office. Certainly there must be precedent from the revolutionary and civil wars.
In Section 4 of that amendment it says that debts and obligations incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion shall be held illegal and void. So, I guess the new OMB director can figure out how much of Trump's legal defense funds can be clawed back for the general treasury.
"... Never even given our day in Court!'... " tweeted the man (?) whose lawyers (?) have been in and booted out of over 50 courtrooms in the past month.
DiJiT was right ... too much whining, and we are getting tired of all the whining, and ask him to just effing stop whining. And moaning. And kvetching. And whinging. And slobbering all over the front page of my newspaper every morning.
I would tell him to man(?) up, but there's that (?) to wonder about.
Just like rats can't puke because they have no gag reflex (which expands food possibilities in a yucky way), DiJiT can't be shamed because he has no shame. I suppose that expands slimeball opportunities, but it also makes you more ratlike. Fat ratlike.
Is there a way to disqualify the House Reps that signed on to the Texas lawsuit to throw out votes in their own states? Legally declaring that the votes from their own state should be thrown out and are fraudulent in elections that they themselves participated in. Would it not be criminal if they swear into office in the next Congress after declaring that they know the votes in their election were fraudulent. Someone should ask them if they will be committing that felony in January or if they will be stepping down or calling for a new runoff because they believe in law and order and and care so very very much about democracy.
During a secession I can see most liberals moving to the United States states, but how many conservatives are going to move to the poor wild west every man for themselves Confederate States?
I'm an idiot. It takes a 2/3 majority to expel a member of a house of congress (Article 1, section 5, number 2) for disorderly behavior. So, I guess "insurrection" a la Article 14 counts as disorderly behavior. Lacking that majority, and given the large number of traitors, the only punishment Nancy can apply in seating the next house of representatives is a tongue lashing. It certainly wouldn't help to try to unseat the cosigners of the Texas lawsuit as some are suggesting... IMHO. But I agree with RAS that at least at the state level (some states) they should be recalled. Each state probably has its own rules about what is considered a impeachable offense.
This looks like the perfect time to impeach Kavanaugh for all the lying he did at his confirmation hearings. Give all those Republican Senators a chance to show what they think of his betrayal to their *president. They could teach him a lesson that criminals should stick together.
PD, From the left coast, thanks for a second smile of the day. "Dear Red States" was reprinted this morning in our most excellent Anderson Valley Advertiser (theava.com). Read it aloud to Wife so we could both enjoy.
ps. Subscribed to the AVA long before we emigrated from MN to CA - maybe the most interesting paper in the US.