Today Trump continued his assault on our democracy, trying to overturn what at this point is a very clear victory for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris. Today, Trump’s lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell alleged—without evidence—widespread fraud in the election and that Biden won because of “the massive influence of communist money through Venezuela, Cuba, and likely China and the interference with our elections here in the United States.” On his
What a terrible irony that today is the anniversary of Lincoln's brief address that shook the world. It is also Joe Biden's birthday (I just heard announced on NPR). That seems somehow fitting. Two profoundly human men with flaws but with the vision and will to push valiantly toward a better world, thwarted by people who, in my opinion, are the embodiment of evil.
The image published widely yesterday of Mad Hatter Giuliani, hair dye dripping down his face like black blood oozing out of his head, is the stuff of nightmares. What was coming out of his mouth was even more nightmarish. As reported in the WaPo: “That press conference was the most dangerous 1 hr 45 minutes of television in American history,” tweeted Chris Krebs, the cybersecurity official fired Tuesday by Trump after he bucked the president by contradicting misinformation about voter fraud. “And possibly the craziest.”
Most governors in the US--even most of the Republicans, with the exception of the Moron of Missouri, Mike Parson, and a few others (Texas . . . Florida . . .)--are only too aware that the pandemic situation in their states has reached a point that it can no longer be controlled and that they desperately need help in order to try to protect their citizens against themselves, as these very citizens in Gormless Outré Party-controlled states scream at healthcare workers that Covid is a hoax while the EMTs are attempting to save their lives. And TruNero fiddles (and golfs) while the country burns around him and his lackeys snuffle around his diaper-clad fundament telling him that everything is wonderful.
I want to see indictments. I want to see public trials for treason, contempt of court, corruption. I am fine with naming and shaming these revolting specimens of inhumanity. I have reached the point where my psyche seeks vengeance as well as justice.
Last night, after taking in all the ugly noise of the daily news cycle, I couldn’t sleep.
I missed your Thursday chat because it fell in the middle of dinner. I tried three times to play it, but each time it cut off after about 15 minutes. I sorely needed an HCR fix, so I re-watched your initial installment of “The American Paradox” and upon finishing that, noticed a video I had not seen before: “20 Questions | Heather Cox Richardson on Shock Events and the Trump Presidency” recorded on April 3, 2017. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji6Z4aecY0c)
This video was recorded before you had appeared on my radar. Two things stood out to me. First, your voice – the voice you used was authoritative and confident as I would have expected it to be, but there was also a tone of urgency that was unfamiliar to me. You were seated with distinguished colleagues, all of whom had opinions on the matter being discussed, and it was clear from the outset that you had them in the palm of your hand. You had broken through the haze of the early Trump efforts to misdirect and dissimulate and had sounded the alarm that our Democracy was in danger. This was not so much an exercise in history or political science as it was a real-time call to action. I could see it in the eyes of the assembled scholars as they listened to you – and I suspect you sensed it too.
I am passing this on to my small group of friends and associates for three reasons: first, because of your prescience in naming the threat before many were aware of its depth; second, because the threat will not disappear with the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris; and finally, because of your full-throated belief in the Constitution and of the power of the American people to right the situation through active engagement in the process.
I realize this is slightly off-topic for today, but not completely. Your words back in 2017 are as relevant today as they were then. Today, as Trump’s increasingly overt and illegal efforts to subvert Democracy from inside the White House appear doomed to failure, you hold the torch of liberty high and bright. But you do so much more than that.
If Democracy is to endure, we will need you and people like you to help us all remain honest and focused on the truth of the matters at hand, but as importantly, to inspire us by the examples of those who came before us, people who “gave the last full measure of devotion” that we might know the joys of liberty.
Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney (all of whom have congratulated Mr. Biden) should tell the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, that unless he urges President Trump to stop blocking the transition, they will leave the Republican caucus. This would mean that the G.O.P. would lose its Senate majority, and Mr. McConnell would lose his position as majority leader. (From Today's NY Times)
I’m just so furious, appalled, disappointed, saddened, sickened, and confounded by Mitch McConnell. He could help Americans and refuses to do so. I want someone to make a documentary expose’ about him.
As always, thank you, thank you, thank you for your nightly efforts at sanity. Your words this morning led me to write about a time in my life, long ago . . .
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272 Words:
We started country school that fall in 1963 in the hot and dry heat and wind of late August. Thirty-six or us in Kindergarten through 8th grade with two teachers. Without knowing why, all of us at all levels of age and ability began memorizing words - 272 of them. None of us asked why as the learning was just mixed throughout our curriculum. Later that fall we studied the civil war and touched on slavery as we learned more words and sentences. We had all begun to know that this was the “Gettysburg Address” written by one or our greatest Presidents.
Two hundred seventy-two words. Memorized. Memorialized. Delivered to our parents on Tuesday, November 19, 1963. It was a bright, warm, and sunny Friday afternoon outside by the flagpole. With parents around, we “bigs and littles” recited Lincoln’s words after raising the Stars and Stripes, to which we recited the Pledge of Allegiance. After it all, we finished this country school program by singing “America the Beautiful.” It was perfect.
Three days later, on a Friday, our teachers abruptly announced to us all that President Kennedy was shot and killed. We went home immediately. Our pride of performance earlier in the week shattered and laid waste and yet we all believed in President Lincoln’s direction and leadership when he stated years ago that “we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
This is not going to end well, no matter the actual outcome. I say this because he has poisoned his base past the point of reason and they now unquestioningly repeat his ridiculous lies and are in a froth about Democrats “cheating” when the only cheating identified has been by republicans. There are too many of them /his base for this to just die down and go away, even IF and when Biden and Harris are inaugurated. This is now our reality and we all must remain engaged in the political process and not become complacent if we are fortunate enough to have a Biden-Harris administration. If we become complacent we will surely face worse threats in the not-too-distant future. Government of the people, by the people, and for the people requires active participation and engagement by the people. We forgot that for a while. We are living through the unpleasant reminder. Let’s not forget again.
What's in a name? Democrats or Republicans....who knows? I have always found it fascinating to study the mirror reversal of philosophy and support that has occurred in the Democratic and Republican Parties. When you compare the Jacksonian/Plantation Democrats with their Biden descendants or the Lincoln Republicans with the Trumpian Orcdom GOP you have to wonder how this could be; parties changing, so to speak and without other than metaphorical thoughts, from black to white and vice versa over a period of 200 years. In other countries, when a party's philosophy falters and becomes irrelevant to the world that is evolving, it disappears or becomes a minor force, now and ever only on the fringes of power. A case in point is the UK Whigs, dominant and continually revolving with the Tories in the 19th C (Gladstone/Disraeli battles). They were amost totally replaced by the Labour Party as the Whigs couldn't adapt to the changes in their basic support and the world in the 20th C.... while the age-old Tory Party sails on as ever, stable in its attitude, values and basic beliefs....with a "little wink" now and again, of course, to the people....which is enough to maintain their relevance. Leaving the British people often voting against a particular party or politician rather than for the other!
The division between Tories and Whigs mirrors the original 17th/18th Cs structure of political parties in America. It is perhaps time to oblige the parties to evolve with their time. Parties must reflect a common set of values, ideas and beliefs in order to hold together and really represent the aspirations of all of their members. The stark differences between the Centrist and "Radical" Democrats and between the Orcdom and the Rino Republicans needs to be expressed by a schism in the parties structures. Wasn't it one of the ""Adam Presidents" that said that the 2 party structure was the biggest danger to American democracy.
It is time that the American people brought their party structure under their control and out of the hands of those who currently control and FINANCE them. The parties must both respond much more closely to their electorates and represent faithfully their points of view and not function as organizations that exist to "educate" the people on what they should want, think and feel. The age of the political party as "ecumenical councils" is over. It has led us to this situation where the only question is getting power and keeping it.
The 2 party system no longer truly represents the American People.....we must now go at least to a 4 party system or a multi-party arrangement and the obviously necessary consensual alliances or coalitions to govern democratically and effectively in the 21st C. It is time that we, as individuals, once are able to vote strictly for people and parties that truly reflect our individual views....and not just to reject the other! Only the people have the power to force the system to evolve and to truly reflect its needs.
I don’t know if I’m sadder or more outraged that day after day I hear this s—t pouring out of Washington and NO ONE DOES ANYTHING, or, in fairness, so it appears. My one Senator, Alexander, is at least responsive when I call or write, but he’s retiring. (He recently voted against another McConnell “must rush” nomination to the Fed Reserve and she was not confirmed.) Marsha Blackburn has her head so far up Trump’s butt I don’t know what she’ll do when he’s out of office. Her office hangs up on constituents when asked questions they don’t like. So, who represents me and other Tennesseans in this shitshow from today’s Republicans? It’s all about them and their power.
Chris Krebs, who until this week led the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency within DHS, said that Thursday’s Trump campaign press conference was “the most dangerous 1hr 45 minutes of television in American history."
Another day. Another trip on the bipolar express. Things are hurtling towards chaos.
What an incredible History Talk today! I listened to it twice, just to pick up some of the details I missed. It was almost symphonic.
In your voice, I heard a growing anxiety that the behavior we are witnessing today harkens back to a very, very dark time in our past; and that while the rule of law still holds, it’s grip is tenuous.
"And yet, the official Twitter account of the Republican Party endorsed Powell’s statements." WTF! Endorsing lies! Where will this all end? Many here have theories. Heather has history behind her and I value that, but at this moment, I'm afraid of what may come over the next days. That tRump can get away with bringing MI lawmakers to the WH is astounding to me. Not a word mentioning the potential illegality of this (on top of all the other illegal moves he's made over the last 4 years). I hope NY State sends him down the river big time....and Javanka with him.
I no longer understand why we believe that the only way our vision of democracy can thrive is if the United States stays together. Can't there be a country that "“conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal" and another that wants an authoritarian, rich-white-men government in another country that shares the continent with the US, Canada, and Mexico? Since beginning to understand Republicans' aims, I've been asking this. Why didn't we just let the South go? Why don't we now figure out how the people who want to be ruled by rich white men can have that country? I know this may seem outrageous but why are we stuck on the form that the United States of America must take? Why must we insist on this measure based on that form as all the states that currently comprise the USA?
I don’t know about you but I am tired of being patient and nice regarding the Repubs and Fake 45. I wish we could bash through the walls of the WH and overtake it. Does that sound crazy? Yes it does, but that is where my head is right now. Everyday is one in disarray and constant distractions. Speaking of craziness... hearing Rudy rant is annoying but seeing his awful hair dye drop down his sweaty face was hilarious. Gosh, I only thought women had menopause!
I think it is dangerous for journalists or any of us to repeat and normalize the Trump theories that (1) he could throw the election to the House (where it would be decided by one vote per state) by preventing states from certifying their results, and (2) Republican state legislatures could legally substitute a Trump slate of electors for the electors chosen in the popular vote election. The first would not be possible. The second would violate the Constitution and laws of the United States, as well as state laws. This does not mean they won't try it; they most likely will try it. We need to know that it is UNLAWFUL so that if it starts to happen, we will oppose it with all our might. Sign up here for updates on when that moment arrives. https://choosedemocracy.us/
1) The only way an election could be decided by the House is if there was an exact tie after all state and federal procedures were completed. That could theoretically happen, and is another reason to get rid of the Electoral College, but it can’t happen this year.
The states' certificates of electoral votes are opened and counted at a joint session of Congress on January 6. See 3 U.S.C. § 15. The Twelfth Amendment, which kicks in at the conclusion of that procedure, says: “The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then . . . the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President, … each state having one vote.”
Let’s pretend states could somehow skip over all state and federal legal requirements and just refuse to certify results, and that they would do so at Trump’s behest. If Trump got PA, MI and WI not to certify their 46 electoral votes, Biden would have 260 electoral votes (306-46), which is not a majority of 538. But the Twelfth Amendment does not say that a candidate must win a majority of the theoretical number of electors that might have been appointed, but that a candidate must win a “majority of the whole number of Electors appointed.” So, the votes of any state that failed to certify would be subtracted from both the numerator and the denominator.
If Trump got PA, MI and WI not to certify their 46 votes, Biden’s 260 votes would be a majority of the 492 Electors appointed (538 – 46). Even if Trump got PA, MI, WI, GA and AZ not to certify their 73 votes, Biden would have a majority of the Electors appointed; he would have 233 electoral votes (306 – 20 (PA) – 16 (MI) – 10 (WI) – 16 (GA) – 11 (AZ)), a majority of 465 (538-73), the “whole number of Electors appointed.”
If Trump somehow got another state not to certify its results, like Nevada with 6 electoral votes, so that Biden had fewer votes than Trump’s 232, the election still would not go to the House. Rather, Trump would be President. I believe that there is zero chance that states with electoral votes adding up to 75 or more will refuse to certify their results.
2) When Congress meets in a joint session on Jan. 6 to count the votes, Congress as a whole could not steal the election for Trump or allow a state legislature to steal the election for Trump.
To steal the election from Biden, 38 electoral votes he won would have to be transferred to Trump. Of the states that went for Biden, 5 have Republican legislatures (PA, MI, WI, AZ, GA), but 3 of those have Democratic governors (PA, MI, WI) and a total of 46 electoral votes. AZ and GA have Republican governors and a total of 27 electoral votes.
Under the Electoral Count Act, it is the "duty of the executive of each State," i.e., the governor, to certify under the seal of the state the electors that were appointed under and pursuant to the laws of the state. See 3 USC s. 6.
If Congress receives one slate of electors and it was certified by the governor, Congress must count those votes unless the House and Senate agree to reject them, which would not happen; the House would not agree even if the Senate would. See 3 U.S.C. s. 15.
If Congress receives two different slates, say one from the governor and one from the state legislature, and “if the two Houses shall disagree, in respect of the counting of such votes, then . . . the votes of the electors whose appointment shall have been certified by the executive of the State, under the seal thereof,” i.e., by the governor, “shall be counted.” 3 USC s. 15.
3) A Republican state legislature could not legally substitute a slate of Trump electors for the electors chosen by popular vote after the election. While the Constitution allows state legislatures to choose the "manner" of appointing electors, Art. II, s. 1, cl. 2, it gives Congress the power to determine the "time of chusing Electors," Art. II, s. 1, cl. 4. Congress has mandated that time as the Tuesday after the first Monday in November every fourth year, November 3, 2020. Since long before November 3, 2020, the laws of every state have required electors to be chosen by a popular vote election. Under the Electoral Count Act, a state’s determination of its electors is "conclusive" and governs in the counting of electoral votes by Congress on January 6 only if the state chose its electors under laws enacted prior to November 3 and resolved any disputes by December 8. 3 USC s. 5. If a state submitted a slate of electors chosen by the legislature, contrary to laws enacted prior to November 3, both houses of Congress should agree to reject the legislature's slate. See 3 USC . 15. But if both houses did not agree, and the governor certified Biden electors, Congress would be bound to count only the Biden votes. Id.
Also, it would violate the voters' constitutional right to due process of law to retroactively nullify their votes.
4) In addition, state legislatures are required by their state constitutions to present laws to the governor and obtain his or her signature or override his or her veto. That is just what they did when they enacted laws requiring electors to be chosen by a popular vote election. The Supreme Court has held that when the Constitution authorizes a state legislature to exercise a lawmaking function (as it does in Art. I, s. 4 and Art. II, s. 1, cl. 2), it must comply with the method the state has prescribed for enacting laws, including obtaining the governor's signature or overriding his veto, and nothing in the U.S. Constitution authorizes them to bypass that method. See Brosofsky, Dorf, and Tribe, State Legislatures Cannot Act Alone In Assigning Electors, Dorf on Law (Sept. 25, 2020), http://www.dorfonlaw.org/2020/09/state-legislatures-cannot-act-alone-in.html; Smiley v. Holm, 285 U.S. 355 (1932); Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Comm’n, 576 U.S. 787, 817–818 (2015).
The Democratic governors in PA, MI and WI would veto any such law, and the legislatures in those states do not have enough votes to override the governor's veto.
5) If state legislatures submitted enough electoral votes for Trump to steal the election from Biden, and the case got to the Supreme Court as Trump is hoping, then we are on dangerous ground. The Supreme Court decides what the law is, even if every relevant statute and decision says something else. At the same time, the Court's only power lies in its perceived legitimacy.
"Justices" Kavanaugh, Gorsuch, Alito and Thomas made clear in concurring and dissenting opinions in cases concerning a different issue (extended receipt deadlines) the week before the election that they think that because the Constitution allows state legislatures to direct the "manner" of appointing presidential electors and the "Times, Places and Manner" of holding congressional Elections, they have absolute power in doing so, regardless of what their state courts or governors or election boards say, and that the Supreme Court can overrule any other state actor's decision that it thinks does not sufficiently hew to the letter of the state legislature's dictates.
This theory is insane. Among other things, it would overthrow federalism, and it ignores the Court's prior precedent (Smiley, Ariz. State Legislature) requiring state legislatures to exercise their authority to make laws concerning elections in compliance with state constitutional requirements, including executive veto and state court judicial review.
In the same cases, Chief Justice Roberts, and Justices Kagan, Breyer and Sotomayor disagreed with the hard right "justices." That leaves Barrett, who should obviously recuse herself, or redeem her tarnished reputation by upholding the law. Roberts, who cares about the Court's legitimacy above all else, might convince her.
A la Lincoln, I'm starting to think about what I HOPE to hear from President Biden in his Inauguration speech. Bromides about "healing" will not do. I think the situation cries out for a strong ("strongly?") appeal to the American people for a real review of the last four years and for legislation to make sure that it does not happen again. Our system of governing norms has been trashed and it needs to be replaced with hard rules that have real consequences regarding the qualifications and behavior of candidates and occupants of high offices.
I especially appreciated the attached letter to @GSAEmily...I suddenly felt as though something was actually going to work...and maybe break through the colossal stupidity of the tangerine man's schoolboy prank.
What a terrible irony that today is the anniversary of Lincoln's brief address that shook the world. It is also Joe Biden's birthday (I just heard announced on NPR). That seems somehow fitting. Two profoundly human men with flaws but with the vision and will to push valiantly toward a better world, thwarted by people who, in my opinion, are the embodiment of evil.
The image published widely yesterday of Mad Hatter Giuliani, hair dye dripping down his face like black blood oozing out of his head, is the stuff of nightmares. What was coming out of his mouth was even more nightmarish. As reported in the WaPo: “That press conference was the most dangerous 1 hr 45 minutes of television in American history,” tweeted Chris Krebs, the cybersecurity official fired Tuesday by Trump after he bucked the president by contradicting misinformation about voter fraud. “And possibly the craziest.”
Most governors in the US--even most of the Republicans, with the exception of the Moron of Missouri, Mike Parson, and a few others (Texas . . . Florida . . .)--are only too aware that the pandemic situation in their states has reached a point that it can no longer be controlled and that they desperately need help in order to try to protect their citizens against themselves, as these very citizens in Gormless Outré Party-controlled states scream at healthcare workers that Covid is a hoax while the EMTs are attempting to save their lives. And TruNero fiddles (and golfs) while the country burns around him and his lackeys snuffle around his diaper-clad fundament telling him that everything is wonderful.
I want to see indictments. I want to see public trials for treason, contempt of court, corruption. I am fine with naming and shaming these revolting specimens of inhumanity. I have reached the point where my psyche seeks vengeance as well as justice.
Last night, after taking in all the ugly noise of the daily news cycle, I couldn’t sleep.
I missed your Thursday chat because it fell in the middle of dinner. I tried three times to play it, but each time it cut off after about 15 minutes. I sorely needed an HCR fix, so I re-watched your initial installment of “The American Paradox” and upon finishing that, noticed a video I had not seen before: “20 Questions | Heather Cox Richardson on Shock Events and the Trump Presidency” recorded on April 3, 2017. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji6Z4aecY0c)
This video was recorded before you had appeared on my radar. Two things stood out to me. First, your voice – the voice you used was authoritative and confident as I would have expected it to be, but there was also a tone of urgency that was unfamiliar to me. You were seated with distinguished colleagues, all of whom had opinions on the matter being discussed, and it was clear from the outset that you had them in the palm of your hand. You had broken through the haze of the early Trump efforts to misdirect and dissimulate and had sounded the alarm that our Democracy was in danger. This was not so much an exercise in history or political science as it was a real-time call to action. I could see it in the eyes of the assembled scholars as they listened to you – and I suspect you sensed it too.
I am passing this on to my small group of friends and associates for three reasons: first, because of your prescience in naming the threat before many were aware of its depth; second, because the threat will not disappear with the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris; and finally, because of your full-throated belief in the Constitution and of the power of the American people to right the situation through active engagement in the process.
I realize this is slightly off-topic for today, but not completely. Your words back in 2017 are as relevant today as they were then. Today, as Trump’s increasingly overt and illegal efforts to subvert Democracy from inside the White House appear doomed to failure, you hold the torch of liberty high and bright. But you do so much more than that.
If Democracy is to endure, we will need you and people like you to help us all remain honest and focused on the truth of the matters at hand, but as importantly, to inspire us by the examples of those who came before us, people who “gave the last full measure of devotion” that we might know the joys of liberty.
Thank you for all you do.
Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney (all of whom have congratulated Mr. Biden) should tell the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, that unless he urges President Trump to stop blocking the transition, they will leave the Republican caucus. This would mean that the G.O.P. would lose its Senate majority, and Mr. McConnell would lose his position as majority leader. (From Today's NY Times)
I’m just so furious, appalled, disappointed, saddened, sickened, and confounded by Mitch McConnell. He could help Americans and refuses to do so. I want someone to make a documentary expose’ about him.
As always, thank you, thank you, thank you for your nightly efforts at sanity. Your words this morning led me to write about a time in my life, long ago . . .
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272 Words:
We started country school that fall in 1963 in the hot and dry heat and wind of late August. Thirty-six or us in Kindergarten through 8th grade with two teachers. Without knowing why, all of us at all levels of age and ability began memorizing words - 272 of them. None of us asked why as the learning was just mixed throughout our curriculum. Later that fall we studied the civil war and touched on slavery as we learned more words and sentences. We had all begun to know that this was the “Gettysburg Address” written by one or our greatest Presidents.
Two hundred seventy-two words. Memorized. Memorialized. Delivered to our parents on Tuesday, November 19, 1963. It was a bright, warm, and sunny Friday afternoon outside by the flagpole. With parents around, we “bigs and littles” recited Lincoln’s words after raising the Stars and Stripes, to which we recited the Pledge of Allegiance. After it all, we finished this country school program by singing “America the Beautiful.” It was perfect.
Three days later, on a Friday, our teachers abruptly announced to us all that President Kennedy was shot and killed. We went home immediately. Our pride of performance earlier in the week shattered and laid waste and yet we all believed in President Lincoln’s direction and leadership when he stated years ago that “we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Amen!
This is not going to end well, no matter the actual outcome. I say this because he has poisoned his base past the point of reason and they now unquestioningly repeat his ridiculous lies and are in a froth about Democrats “cheating” when the only cheating identified has been by republicans. There are too many of them /his base for this to just die down and go away, even IF and when Biden and Harris are inaugurated. This is now our reality and we all must remain engaged in the political process and not become complacent if we are fortunate enough to have a Biden-Harris administration. If we become complacent we will surely face worse threats in the not-too-distant future. Government of the people, by the people, and for the people requires active participation and engagement by the people. We forgot that for a while. We are living through the unpleasant reminder. Let’s not forget again.
What's in a name? Democrats or Republicans....who knows? I have always found it fascinating to study the mirror reversal of philosophy and support that has occurred in the Democratic and Republican Parties. When you compare the Jacksonian/Plantation Democrats with their Biden descendants or the Lincoln Republicans with the Trumpian Orcdom GOP you have to wonder how this could be; parties changing, so to speak and without other than metaphorical thoughts, from black to white and vice versa over a period of 200 years. In other countries, when a party's philosophy falters and becomes irrelevant to the world that is evolving, it disappears or becomes a minor force, now and ever only on the fringes of power. A case in point is the UK Whigs, dominant and continually revolving with the Tories in the 19th C (Gladstone/Disraeli battles). They were amost totally replaced by the Labour Party as the Whigs couldn't adapt to the changes in their basic support and the world in the 20th C.... while the age-old Tory Party sails on as ever, stable in its attitude, values and basic beliefs....with a "little wink" now and again, of course, to the people....which is enough to maintain their relevance. Leaving the British people often voting against a particular party or politician rather than for the other!
The division between Tories and Whigs mirrors the original 17th/18th Cs structure of political parties in America. It is perhaps time to oblige the parties to evolve with their time. Parties must reflect a common set of values, ideas and beliefs in order to hold together and really represent the aspirations of all of their members. The stark differences between the Centrist and "Radical" Democrats and between the Orcdom and the Rino Republicans needs to be expressed by a schism in the parties structures. Wasn't it one of the ""Adam Presidents" that said that the 2 party structure was the biggest danger to American democracy.
It is time that the American people brought their party structure under their control and out of the hands of those who currently control and FINANCE them. The parties must both respond much more closely to their electorates and represent faithfully their points of view and not function as organizations that exist to "educate" the people on what they should want, think and feel. The age of the political party as "ecumenical councils" is over. It has led us to this situation where the only question is getting power and keeping it.
The 2 party system no longer truly represents the American People.....we must now go at least to a 4 party system or a multi-party arrangement and the obviously necessary consensual alliances or coalitions to govern democratically and effectively in the 21st C. It is time that we, as individuals, once are able to vote strictly for people and parties that truly reflect our individual views....and not just to reject the other! Only the people have the power to force the system to evolve and to truly reflect its needs.
I don’t know if I’m sadder or more outraged that day after day I hear this s—t pouring out of Washington and NO ONE DOES ANYTHING, or, in fairness, so it appears. My one Senator, Alexander, is at least responsive when I call or write, but he’s retiring. (He recently voted against another McConnell “must rush” nomination to the Fed Reserve and she was not confirmed.) Marsha Blackburn has her head so far up Trump’s butt I don’t know what she’ll do when he’s out of office. Her office hangs up on constituents when asked questions they don’t like. So, who represents me and other Tennesseans in this shitshow from today’s Republicans? It’s all about them and their power.
Chris Krebs, who until this week led the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency within DHS, said that Thursday’s Trump campaign press conference was “the most dangerous 1hr 45 minutes of television in American history."
Another day. Another trip on the bipolar express. Things are hurtling towards chaos.
What an incredible History Talk today! I listened to it twice, just to pick up some of the details I missed. It was almost symphonic.
In your voice, I heard a growing anxiety that the behavior we are witnessing today harkens back to a very, very dark time in our past; and that while the rule of law still holds, it’s grip is tenuous.
"And yet, the official Twitter account of the Republican Party endorsed Powell’s statements." WTF! Endorsing lies! Where will this all end? Many here have theories. Heather has history behind her and I value that, but at this moment, I'm afraid of what may come over the next days. That tRump can get away with bringing MI lawmakers to the WH is astounding to me. Not a word mentioning the potential illegality of this (on top of all the other illegal moves he's made over the last 4 years). I hope NY State sends him down the river big time....and Javanka with him.
I no longer understand why we believe that the only way our vision of democracy can thrive is if the United States stays together. Can't there be a country that "“conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal" and another that wants an authoritarian, rich-white-men government in another country that shares the continent with the US, Canada, and Mexico? Since beginning to understand Republicans' aims, I've been asking this. Why didn't we just let the South go? Why don't we now figure out how the people who want to be ruled by rich white men can have that country? I know this may seem outrageous but why are we stuck on the form that the United States of America must take? Why must we insist on this measure based on that form as all the states that currently comprise the USA?
I don’t know about you but I am tired of being patient and nice regarding the Repubs and Fake 45. I wish we could bash through the walls of the WH and overtake it. Does that sound crazy? Yes it does, but that is where my head is right now. Everyday is one in disarray and constant distractions. Speaking of craziness... hearing Rudy rant is annoying but seeing his awful hair dye drop down his sweaty face was hilarious. Gosh, I only thought women had menopause!
I think it is dangerous for journalists or any of us to repeat and normalize the Trump theories that (1) he could throw the election to the House (where it would be decided by one vote per state) by preventing states from certifying their results, and (2) Republican state legislatures could legally substitute a Trump slate of electors for the electors chosen in the popular vote election. The first would not be possible. The second would violate the Constitution and laws of the United States, as well as state laws. This does not mean they won't try it; they most likely will try it. We need to know that it is UNLAWFUL so that if it starts to happen, we will oppose it with all our might. Sign up here for updates on when that moment arrives. https://choosedemocracy.us/
1) The only way an election could be decided by the House is if there was an exact tie after all state and federal procedures were completed. That could theoretically happen, and is another reason to get rid of the Electoral College, but it can’t happen this year.
The states' certificates of electoral votes are opened and counted at a joint session of Congress on January 6. See 3 U.S.C. § 15. The Twelfth Amendment, which kicks in at the conclusion of that procedure, says: “The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then . . . the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President, … each state having one vote.”
Let’s pretend states could somehow skip over all state and federal legal requirements and just refuse to certify results, and that they would do so at Trump’s behest. If Trump got PA, MI and WI not to certify their 46 electoral votes, Biden would have 260 electoral votes (306-46), which is not a majority of 538. But the Twelfth Amendment does not say that a candidate must win a majority of the theoretical number of electors that might have been appointed, but that a candidate must win a “majority of the whole number of Electors appointed.” So, the votes of any state that failed to certify would be subtracted from both the numerator and the denominator.
If Trump got PA, MI and WI not to certify their 46 votes, Biden’s 260 votes would be a majority of the 492 Electors appointed (538 – 46). Even if Trump got PA, MI, WI, GA and AZ not to certify their 73 votes, Biden would have a majority of the Electors appointed; he would have 233 electoral votes (306 – 20 (PA) – 16 (MI) – 10 (WI) – 16 (GA) – 11 (AZ)), a majority of 465 (538-73), the “whole number of Electors appointed.”
If Trump somehow got another state not to certify its results, like Nevada with 6 electoral votes, so that Biden had fewer votes than Trump’s 232, the election still would not go to the House. Rather, Trump would be President. I believe that there is zero chance that states with electoral votes adding up to 75 or more will refuse to certify their results.
Here's a good review of when key states will certify. https://www.nytimes.com/article/us-election-results-trump-biden.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage
2) When Congress meets in a joint session on Jan. 6 to count the votes, Congress as a whole could not steal the election for Trump or allow a state legislature to steal the election for Trump.
To steal the election from Biden, 38 electoral votes he won would have to be transferred to Trump. Of the states that went for Biden, 5 have Republican legislatures (PA, MI, WI, AZ, GA), but 3 of those have Democratic governors (PA, MI, WI) and a total of 46 electoral votes. AZ and GA have Republican governors and a total of 27 electoral votes.
Under the Electoral Count Act, it is the "duty of the executive of each State," i.e., the governor, to certify under the seal of the state the electors that were appointed under and pursuant to the laws of the state. See 3 USC s. 6.
If Congress receives one slate of electors and it was certified by the governor, Congress must count those votes unless the House and Senate agree to reject them, which would not happen; the House would not agree even if the Senate would. See 3 U.S.C. s. 15.
If Congress receives two different slates, say one from the governor and one from the state legislature, and “if the two Houses shall disagree, in respect of the counting of such votes, then . . . the votes of the electors whose appointment shall have been certified by the executive of the State, under the seal thereof,” i.e., by the governor, “shall be counted.” 3 USC s. 15.
3) A Republican state legislature could not legally substitute a slate of Trump electors for the electors chosen by popular vote after the election. While the Constitution allows state legislatures to choose the "manner" of appointing electors, Art. II, s. 1, cl. 2, it gives Congress the power to determine the "time of chusing Electors," Art. II, s. 1, cl. 4. Congress has mandated that time as the Tuesday after the first Monday in November every fourth year, November 3, 2020. Since long before November 3, 2020, the laws of every state have required electors to be chosen by a popular vote election. Under the Electoral Count Act, a state’s determination of its electors is "conclusive" and governs in the counting of electoral votes by Congress on January 6 only if the state chose its electors under laws enacted prior to November 3 and resolved any disputes by December 8. 3 USC s. 5. If a state submitted a slate of electors chosen by the legislature, contrary to laws enacted prior to November 3, both houses of Congress should agree to reject the legislature's slate. See 3 USC . 15. But if both houses did not agree, and the governor certified Biden electors, Congress would be bound to count only the Biden votes. Id.
Also, it would violate the voters' constitutional right to due process of law to retroactively nullify their votes.
For more on this, see https://campaignlegal.org/update/can-state-legislature-overturn-presidential-election-results; https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5e70e52c7c72720ed714313f/t/5f625c790cef066e940ea42d/1600281722253/State_Legislature_Paper.pdf.
4) In addition, state legislatures are required by their state constitutions to present laws to the governor and obtain his or her signature or override his or her veto. That is just what they did when they enacted laws requiring electors to be chosen by a popular vote election. The Supreme Court has held that when the Constitution authorizes a state legislature to exercise a lawmaking function (as it does in Art. I, s. 4 and Art. II, s. 1, cl. 2), it must comply with the method the state has prescribed for enacting laws, including obtaining the governor's signature or overriding his veto, and nothing in the U.S. Constitution authorizes them to bypass that method. See Brosofsky, Dorf, and Tribe, State Legislatures Cannot Act Alone In Assigning Electors, Dorf on Law (Sept. 25, 2020), http://www.dorfonlaw.org/2020/09/state-legislatures-cannot-act-alone-in.html; Smiley v. Holm, 285 U.S. 355 (1932); Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Comm’n, 576 U.S. 787, 817–818 (2015).
The Democratic governors in PA, MI and WI would veto any such law, and the legislatures in those states do not have enough votes to override the governor's veto.
5) If state legislatures submitted enough electoral votes for Trump to steal the election from Biden, and the case got to the Supreme Court as Trump is hoping, then we are on dangerous ground. The Supreme Court decides what the law is, even if every relevant statute and decision says something else. At the same time, the Court's only power lies in its perceived legitimacy.
"Justices" Kavanaugh, Gorsuch, Alito and Thomas made clear in concurring and dissenting opinions in cases concerning a different issue (extended receipt deadlines) the week before the election that they think that because the Constitution allows state legislatures to direct the "manner" of appointing presidential electors and the "Times, Places and Manner" of holding congressional Elections, they have absolute power in doing so, regardless of what their state courts or governors or election boards say, and that the Supreme Court can overrule any other state actor's decision that it thinks does not sufficiently hew to the letter of the state legislature's dictates.
This theory is insane. Among other things, it would overthrow federalism, and it ignores the Court's prior precedent (Smiley, Ariz. State Legislature) requiring state legislatures to exercise their authority to make laws concerning elections in compliance with state constitutional requirements, including executive veto and state court judicial review.
In the same cases, Chief Justice Roberts, and Justices Kagan, Breyer and Sotomayor disagreed with the hard right "justices." That leaves Barrett, who should obviously recuse herself, or redeem her tarnished reputation by upholding the law. Roberts, who cares about the Court's legitimacy above all else, might convince her.
A la Lincoln, I'm starting to think about what I HOPE to hear from President Biden in his Inauguration speech. Bromides about "healing" will not do. I think the situation cries out for a strong ("strongly?") appeal to the American people for a real review of the last four years and for legislation to make sure that it does not happen again. Our system of governing norms has been trashed and it needs to be replaced with hard rules that have real consequences regarding the qualifications and behavior of candidates and occupants of high offices.
I especially appreciated the attached letter to @GSAEmily...I suddenly felt as though something was actually going to work...and maybe break through the colossal stupidity of the tangerine man's schoolboy prank.