2020 Election Results

[ideologyhunter]

Just about all the Washington Repubs are in on this mob hit, and bushels at the state level. Our local paper today ran interviews with some of our lovely Ohio Repubs at the state and national level, and they're carrying the party line that, "just like Al Gore" (their mantra), Trump should be free to assert his rights and pursue his investigation of...all the votes he lost and wants to incinerate.
What the Republicans are doing right now should be put out in plain sanitizing light, never forgotten, and never forgiven. They are the party of vote suppression, and we should expect this of them going forward. They're going to get worse.

 

[Elixir]

Nope. Rejection with prejudice means that no higher court will even consider the case.
...
" dismiss Plaintiffs’ action with prejudice" is legal jargon for "You lost. Get over it."

It's the judge's way of telling Rudy "You're so full of shit, it appears to be running out your ears."

 

[Angry Floof]

I shoulda put money on it! They want another recount in GA. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAwTznTXi08

Trump gained a handful of votes in the recount, and he and his dumb team are ridiculously stupid enough to think that another recount will find another handful of votes, and then they'll want yet another recount thinking he'll gain a few more, and...

 

[Keith&Co.]

... he and his dumb team are ridiculously stupid enough to think that another recount will find another handful of votes, and then they'll want yet another recount thinking he'll gain a few more, and...

These are the students who study half-lives, and if you start with a count of 1024, they understand the first half-life period reduces the count by 512. But they never, ever grasp that the second period does not also reduce it by 512. And will argue with you about it.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I shoulda put money on it! They want another recount in GA. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAwTznTXi08

Trump gained a handful of votes in the recount, and he and his dumb team are ridiculously stupid enough to think that another recount will find another handful of votes, and then they'll want yet another recount thinking he'll gain a few more, and...

No, they know exactly that won't happen. They are feeding into the narrative of unprecedented fraud... fraud so expansive they can't provide anything but "affidavits", many of which the lawyers know are false. .But for that plan to work, they need to stretch out the voting... you know... because of the fraud.

 

[lpetrich]

Reverend Raphael Warnock on Twitter: "The only thing Kelly Loeffler has represented well is her stock portfolio." / Twitter

doreen anderson on Twitter: "@ReverendWarnock months and months ago she sold hospitality stocks after a covid briefing...wonder if she bought stock in mobile morgues" / Twitter


Here's where things stand as vote certification looms in key states - CNNPolitics

Michigan -- where Biden leads by more than 154,000 votes -- is supposed to certify its results Monday, and all eyes will be on the four board members to see if certification happens as planned, or if the two Republican members cow to outside pressure from Trump on top of a last-minute request from the Republican National Committee and state GOP to delay.

Georgia, which already certified the election on Friday and did a manual recount with state Republicans signing off on it, is doing another machine scan of the ballots at the Trump campaign's request. But is unlikely to reverse Biden's victory.

Hours before requesting that recount, the Trump campaign was dealt a major blow in Pennsylvania -- another state where Biden leads -- when a federal judge dismissed their case in a sharply worded decision that prompted at least one GOP senator to come forward and say that enough was enough with Trump's legal challenges. Most of the counties in the Keystone State are slated to certify their election results on Monday, though this could change amid pending lawsuits and at the discretion of local election officials.

Recounts continue in two counties in Wisconsin, which CNN also projected for Biden, with counting ongoing until the December 1 certification deadline.

Arizona, a traditionally red state that Biden flipped, will certify its election results on November 30, while its Maricopa County, home to much election night hand wringing, has already certified its results.

 

[Elixir]

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

In Michigan:

I think we are pretty limited today. I think we have a duty to do this.

Or you could say "There isn't a whiff of fraud to be detected here!"

 

[SLD]

On to the Supremes.

Nope. Rejection with prejudice means that no higher court will even consider the case.

The only remaining legal avenue after rejection with prejudice would be a return to the same court with substantive and significant new evidence that was not available in the previous hearing, and to attempt such a return without such evidence would be contempt of court.

The Supreme Court doesn't hear cases just because the plaintiff is a sore loser who won't accept the judgements of the lower courts. If they did, they'd never get any work done, as they would be inundated with frivolous minor suits in which the plaintiff won't admit defeat.

" dismiss Plaintiffs’ action with prejudice" is legal jargon for "You lost. Get over it."

But that makes it ripe for appeal. With prejudice just means the case is over at that level, and is now ready for an appeal. In fact, Trump has done so, filing an appeal in the third circuit court of appeals. They will likely not reverse the decision, and then FFvC can take it to the Supremes . An appeal to the supremes is not automatic. They could refuse to hear it. That will be Roberts choice, but it may not be for Kavanaugh, Alito, Thomas and Barrett. All it takes is four to hear the case. I suspect they will. It takes five to win. But even if Trump wins at the Supreme Court that he’s won the case. It just mean the case should not have been dismissed. Then it goes back to district court for a full trial on the merits. The Supreme Court could say that they’re not deciding the case, only allowing trump his day in court. True enough, but that would throw the Pennsylvania election into turmoil and may mean it goes to their legislature to decide the electors. This is what trump wants. Of course it may all be moot. Georgia’s vote has been certified and Other states are likely to go as well. He has to stop all of them to win effectively. I think it’s too late, but still holding my breath.

 

[lpetrich]

Centrists lose again — and mainstream media blames the left again | Salon.com

In its piece on the dust-up, in which "Democrats traded excuses, blame and prognostications," the New York Times (11/5/20) quoted South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn, who "cautioned against running on 'Medicare for all or defunding police or socialized medicine,' adding that if Democrats pursued such policies, 'we're not going to win.'" What the article didn't mention was that Clyburn has taken more money from the pharmaceutical industry in the past decade than any other member of the House or Senate (Post and Courier, 12/16/18).

So he's on the take.

The piece then quoted Rep. Marc Veasey, who "warned his fellow members against anti-fracking talk." Veasey ranked fourth among House Democrats in taking oil and gas industry money in the 2020 election cycle, and got 70% of his total campaign contributions from PACs. (To put that into perspective, the two progressives quoted in the Times piece, Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, got 13% and 3% of their campaign contributions from PACs, respectively.) Readers might have found such information useful in analyzing the motivations behind those quotes.

So Rep. Veasey is also on the take.

AOC pointed out that every supporter of M4A won, including those in swing seats. Brian Kahn of Gizmodo pointed out that almost every supporter of the GND won, with one exception: Debbie Murcasel-Powell of south Florida.

On the question of calls to "defund the police," it's important to clarify — as did the Intercept (11/6/20), but none of these establishment media reports — that such calls grew out of the Black Lives Matter protests, not the platform of progressive congressmembers, and that that movement led to a massive spike in Democratic voter registration. In other words, without the movement that gave us the slogan "defund the police," the Democrats would almost certainly have witnessed even greater losses — including, quite probably, the White House.

I myself consider it an awful slogan, but I agree that the massive BLM protests helped the Democrats.

As the Intercept also pointed out, it appears likely that left-wing organizing in Minnesota, Michigan and Pennsylvania resulted in decisive Democratic gains in key cities and suburbs in those swing states. And Ocasio-Cortez named many other problems with the establishment's campaign strategies, running from underinvestment in digital campaigning to a lack of a ground game to a lack of recognition of or outreach to communities of color.

Not just MN, MI, and PA, but likely also GA.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Centrists lose again — and mainstream media blames the left again | Salon.com

So he's on the take.

So Rep. Veasey is also on the take.

AOC pointed out that every supporter of M4A won, including those in swing seats. Brian Kahn of Gizmodo pointed out that almost every supporter of the GND won, with one exception: Debbie Murcasel-Powell of south Florida.

The Democrats lost 10 seats. The Democrats gained 3 seats. So 13 seats flipped so far out of 427 (8 remain unknown). It appears, the Reds will pick up a few more seats.

If you look at this chart, you'll notice an issue with gerrymandering. There seems so many +35% margins for Blues, with the Reds having victories more spread out.

And if you look at PA, OH, and IA, these states are getting redder, especially the red parts which are getting very dark red. This goes well beyond "progressive" politics.

 

[lpetrich]

Michigan election board votes to certify Biden win, dealing blow to Trump effort

The two Democrats - Jeannette Bradshaw and Julie Matuzak - on the four-member board were joined by one of its two Republicans - Aaron Van Langevelde - to vote in favor of certification. The other Republican board member, Norman Shinkle, abstained.

At least that certification is out of the way.


Georgia counties set to start recount requested by Trump - a machine count that has a deadline of Dec 1.


Former GOP national security officials urge Trump to concede | Fox News - "More than 100 former officials signed the letter"


Behind the scenes, Trump frustrated with his legal team's maneuvers - "While the president publicly praises his legal team, he has privately expressed frustration with the slapdash nature of his election defense fight."

Without any hint that he is aware of why his legal team's cases were rejected. There are a lot of judges who care about this little thing called evidence, and they notice how devoid of evidence those cases are.


Trump administration officially begins transition to Biden after weeks of delay

General Services Administration chief Emily Murphy on Monday told President-elect Joe Biden that the Trump administration is making federal resources available for his transition into office.

The decision from Murphy, who had withheld her decision on ascertaining Biden’s electoral victory for days after the Nov. 3 election, was revealed minutes before President Donald Trump tweeted that he approved of the move.

Though Trump still has not conceded.

 

[Angry Floof]

 

[lpetrich]

Chad on Twitter: "#TrumpLiedPeopleDied
Lindsey Graham knew.
Marco Rubio knew.
Ted Cruz knew.
Rand Paul knew.
Nikki Haley knew.
Kellyanne Conway knew.
Mike Pompeo knew.
Glenn Beck knew.
Rick Perry knew.
Susan Collins knew.
They all knew. [url]https://t.co/AlEOG6evsU #TrumpTheFool" / Twitter[/url]
With a clip showing all these people criticizing Trump for various things, like being a pathological liar.

That was before they started to enable him. Most of them continue to do so, even though it is very evident to them that he lost.

 

[lpetrich]

Bernstein names 21 Republican senators who privately expressed contempt for Trump | US news | The Guardian
Carl Bernstein of Watergate fame

Notes
Carl Bernstein on Twitter: "I'm not violating any pledge of journalistic confidentially in reporting this: ..." / Twitter

I'm not violating any pledge of journalistic confidentially in reporting this: 21 Republican Sens–in convos w/ colleagues, staff members, lobbyists, W. House aides–have repeatedly expressed extreme contempt for Trump & his fitness to be POTUS. (1/3)

The 21 GOP Senators who have privately expressed their disdain for Trump are: Portman, Alexander, Sasse, Blunt, Collins, Murkowski, Cornyn, Thune, Romney, Braun, Young, Tim Scott, Rick Scott, Rubio, Grassley, Burr, Toomey, McSally, Moran, Roberts, Shelby. (2/3)

With few exceptions, their craven public silence has helped enable Trump’s most grievous conduct—including undermining and discrediting the US the electoral system.

More from my appearance earlier on @cnn (link to video) (3/3)

linking to
Carl Bernstein - CNN's New Day With Alisyn Camerota and John Berman - November 20, 2020 - YouTube

From The Guardian:

The list contained senior Republican figures such as Thune, the majority whip; Rubio, acting chair of the intelligence committee; and Grassley, a former judiciary committee chair.

Some on Bernstein’s list, Sasse, Cornyn, Collins and Murkowski among them, have criticized Trump publicly. Romney, Rubio, Murkowski, Toomey and Collins have recognized Biden as president-elect.

 

[lpetrich]

Trump fears Giuliani and other Biden vote challenge lawyers are fools

Trump is worried that his campaign’s legal team, which is being led by his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, is composed of “fools that are making him look bad,” NBC News reported Monday.

That group, which has unironically called itself an “elite strike force team,” to date has failed to win any legal victories that would invalidate votes for Biden, the former Democratic vice president, even as they tout wildly broad claims of fraud for which they have offered no convincing evidence.

What does he expect? Does he really believe his own bullshit?

BTW, "release the kraken" turned out to be releasing a water flea.

 

[lpetrich]

Michigan canvassing board certifies Biden win and shows backbone

Stopping Trump: Michigan vote shows local Republicans have backbone national leaders lack

Aaron Van Langevelde, Brad Raffensperger and Clint Hickman remind Republicans that leaders stand up for what is right.

Great. Very professional of them.


At Least 4 Pennsylvania Counties To Miss Certification Deadline : NPR

At least four counties home to more than 600,000 voters will not have election results certified when they're due Monday to the Pennsylvania Department of State, though three of them expect to wrap up within the next couple of days. President Trump won all four counties.

Of 43 counties to respond to WITF's inquiry, 10 with a combined 546,000 voters had already fully certified their results and sent them to the state by Friday.

Another 31 counties with more than 7 million of the state's 9 million registered voters confirmed they will hit Monday's deadline.

Schuylkill County officials say they will wrap up Tuesday, while Westmoreland County doesn't expect to finish until next week due to pandemic-driven staffing shortages and a tight state Senate race. Election boards for Berks and Carbon counties are scheduled to certify Wednesday.

Good that PA's getting there.

 

[lpetrich]

Trump legal team's election fearmongering could cost Republicans the Senate

President Trump’s legal team seems bent on taking down not just Trump, but the entire Republican Party with it.

Having failed to make its case in several courts across the country, Trump’s legal team has begun to push baseless conspiracy theories that allege massive voter fraud. One of the many problems with this strategy is that it distracts from a real problem: Georgia’s two Senate run-off elections. Even worse, these accusations of fraud have actually begun to undermine Republicans’ chances in Georgia to a debilitating degree

It's such a great thought for me, the thought of the Trump Admin scoring some own goals with those runoff elections.

This weekend, attorney Sidney Powell claimed she was going to “blow up” Georgia with the “Kraken” of evidence that she refuses to give to anyone — even the rest of Trump’s legal team. She went on to accuse Republican Gov. Brian Kemp of accepting “financial benefits” to use Dominion Voting Systems, which she claims was used to switch nearly 7 million votes for Trump to President-elect Joe Biden. In other words, Powell accused Georgia’s Republican officials of actively working against the leader of their party.

More recently, other Trump underlings are now trying to distance themselves from SP. What drama llama.


Dianne Feinstein to step down as top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary panel - POLITICO - "The 87-year-old was criticized for not being aggressive enough in Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation hearings."

 

[Angry Floof]

Photos of Melania receiving the WH xmas tree this morning show her looking so happy. Last time we saw her face light up like this was when Obama spoke to her at Bush Sr's funeral.

 

[KeepTalking]

Melania has that "the divorce paperwork is being drawn up right now" gleam in her eyes.