The Treasonous Republican Party has Run Amok

Politics and Social Issues
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December 11, 2020. By David Leonhardt, New York Times, morning update

Falsehoods and threats

President Trump’s attempts to overturn the election result are very unlikely to succeed. For that reason, the effort can sometimes seem like a publicity stunt — an effort by Trump to raise money and burnish his image with his supporters.

And it may well be all of those things. But it is also a remarkable campaign against American democracy. It has grown to include most Republican-run states, most Republican members of Congress and numerous threats of violence. I want to use today’s newsletter to explain it.

The new centerpiece in the effort is a lawsuit that the state of Texas filed this week with the Supreme Court and that Trump supports. It claims that the election in four swing states — Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — suffered from “unconstitutional irregularities.”

The suit is based on the same lies that Trump has been telling about voter fraud. In reality, there was no meaningful fraud, as local officials from both parties have concluded. William Barr, Trump’s attorney general, came to the same conclusion.

Nonetheless, the attorneys general of 17 states — including Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Indiana, Utah, Arizona and the Dakotas — have backed the Texas lawsuit. Yesterday, more than half of House Republicans released a legal brief supporting it. “If they get their way in court (they won’t), they would break the country,” David French of The Dispatch, a conservative publication, wrote.

They are doing so, as my colleagues Jeremy Peters and Maggie Haberman have explained, largely because they believe that defying Trump would damage their standing with Republican voters. By doing so, the politicians are “inflaming the public,” French noted, causing many voters to believe — wrongly — that a presidential election was unfair. And that belief is fueling an outbreak of violent threats against elections officials, including:

… Dozens of Trump supporters, some armed, went to the home of Jocelyn Benson, Michigan’s Democratic secretary of state, and began shouting obscenities.

… On Twitter, Trump supporters have posted photographs of the home of Ann Jacobs, a Wisconsin official, and mentioned her children.

… In Phoenix, about 100 Trump supporters, some armed, protested at the building where officials were counting votes.

… In Vermont, officials received a voice message threatening them with “execution by firing squad.”

… Seth Bluestein, a Philadelphia official, received anti-Semitic and violent threats after Pam Bondi, a Trump ally, publicly mentioned him.

… A Georgia poll worker went into hiding after a viral video falsely claimed he had discarded ballots.

… Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, and his wife have received death threats, including by text message, and caravanshave circled their house.

… Gabriel Sterling, another Georgia official, received a message wishing him a happy birthday and saying it would be his last.

 

In a later interview with Time magazine, Sterling argued that elected politicians could defuse the threats by acknowledging that the election was fair. “Leadership is supposed to look like grown-ups in the room saying, ‘I know you’re upset, but this is the reality,’” Sterling said.

A swing state responds: In a Supreme Court filing, Pennsylvania called the Texas lawsuit part of a “cacophony of bogus claims,” a “seditious abuse of the judicial process” and “an affront to principles of constitutional democracy.”


The Republican Party is hell bent on destroying our government, this is what decades of public apathy have allowed sociopathic corporate leaders to do to our country.

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Nah. I’m telling you, Trump was the best thing to happen to the country. It brought out the conservative republicans true colors for all to see. This has been going on for decades, but mostly tempered by normal republicans, and mostly in the background, starting with the Reagan years (though not Reagan himself, who was only the first true stooge for movement conservatism). The only problem is that unless some of the younger Dems get some power, the Clinton/Obama/Biden namby pambies will waste the opportunity.

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Okay, can’t argue with any of that, except for “best thing to happen.”

More like inevitable, sure seems so looking back.

 

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What’s wrong with younger Dems getting some power? I think that’s a good thing. I also doubt that Biden will waste this opportunity because he’s already running before he’s even in office. He’s ready to fight the pandemic, unlike the dotard was, and plans do start working on it from day one.

Okay, can’t argue with any of that
Yes, I can. The dotard was the worst thing to happen to the U.S. with over 300,000 plus dead and more if you count the Latinos he's had killed too. He's committed crimes against humanity and against the Constitution, as well as more than just that. He should be going to prison for interfering with the election process. He's also destroyed the economy- of course Moscow Mitch helped with that.
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Yes, I can. The dotard was the worst thing to happen to the U.S.
I tend more this way. There was a time a few years ago I thought the Republicans of 2015 could come back. Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio like he was back then, the others who resigned or didn't run in 2018. Even Mitch McConnell used to say reasonable things. But those days are most likely gone now. It has been shown that you can swing several states by appealing to the worst of human nature. Give people permission to openly hate and they will. This won't go away with old people dying off or with a strategic vote here or there. It will require an all out battle on ignorance on all fronts, the education system, media bias, how campaigns are run, and a variety of organizations that bring people together to discuss issues and apply critical thinking. There is no guarantee this will succeed.
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It’s not just hate of others, but also hatred of facts. These people who worship the dotard and are part of his Cult 45 really need deprogramming. They truly believe facts are lies and the truth is some sort of lie. Their ignorance is astonishing. Did you know I “need to stop reading JAMA and NEJM” because what they say about COVID is not true? rolling eyes Reliable sources about things like COVID, but to them, it’s all lies and COVID isn’t that bad, especially with 1% death rate. They truly are ignorance, even concerning math. They are not only COVIDiots, but also stupid in other areas of life too. Yes, they are also maskless, just asking for COVID or asking to spread COVID.

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What’s wrong with younger Dems getting some power? I think that’s a good thing.
I think both @cuthbertj and myself agree with that, the Democratic Party needs younger people taking over the power structure.

Kamala is about the only thing I liked about the Democratic ticket. Well, okay, I’ll give Biden his due, I guess at a time like this we do need someone with a deep understanding of our government agencies and such. Consider how much vandalism it’s sustained these past four years and the repairs they will be needing.


Re.  COVID denial, they are simply too f'n stupid, or is it hateful and self-blinded, to appreciate that viruses have been with us a long time and well studied and well understood.  Though when one hates education and learning, how would they know.

Experts had being warning us for years, hell decades, that we needed to pay attention and stay on top of new contagious viruses that scientists and every other thinking personal recognized as a clear and present danger, waiting only for the correct DNA mutation to unleash a deadly virus we weren't prepared for.

Actually world health organization were doing their best to be prepared, but public and political apathy, told them to go to hell.   Had that bas.... GOP prez, paid the slightest attention to genuine medical experts, this would have never gotten so out of hand.  Hell, he and his fellow murderous traitorous Republicans were/are doing his/their best to make sure this disease vector is as bad as possible.

 
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Yes, I agree, we need to allow the Millennials into government, because they are not only old enough, but they need to have their say in government and we should listen, instead of having the old fogies like Moscow Mitch run things. He doesn’t want us to have anything. In fact, he wants to take. There are far too many Boomers in office who are set in their ways and can’t even accept what the younger generation wants, thinking they know better. What these old farts, like Moscow Mitch, need to do is get out there and talk to the younger voters and find out what they want, not go with what they think is right. Any smart politicians, not seeking all power and control to the point of corruption, needs to do. I believe Bernie, who has been a liberal politician most of his life, often does and Biden does too. They see what U.S. citizens want and need, because they find a way to talk to voters, even during a pandemic.

That said, I love Kamala. I got my Mondale/Ferraro, albeit years later. I thought that would never happen, but that wasn’t why I voted Biden/Harris. I like what Biden stands for- science, fighting for our lives against this pandemic, and more. However, is an old man and won’t be around much longer, which I think he knows, because he met my requirements that I had of Bernie, if he won. Biden chose someone young enough to take over is he died in office, yet old enough to be president as a VP. He topped it off though, which wasn’t part of what I was requiring, with a woman, plus another minority group on top of that. That was just icing on the cake, especially since she has many goals (not necessarily all) of government that I would want. Now not everyone agrees with me, but I found life better when Clinton and Obama was in office, though that Clinton impeachment was a circus. Life with the dotard has been worse than hell and he’s destroyed the U.S.

The dotard is so anti-knowledge, that his Al Qaeda loves him. They are so unknowledgeable that they are stupid, yet they believe, like the dotard, that they know everything. They are the ones getting and spreading the virus to others and killing people in their wake, still believing the virus is nothing, if they don’t get really sick and die. Of course, if they die, they know nothing. Yet, they do not believe that people who are healthy and not obese are getting this crap and dying too. They believe that the sum total of not dying from it is to be healthy and not overweight, which isn’t 100% true. My son, who’s 31, lost a friend, who was about the same age, to COVID and he was fairly young. “Was he overweight and/or had underlying health issues?” the stupid people asked. My 31 y.o. son lost a good friend to COVID-19 and they expect me to ask my son if his friend had underlying health issues? WTF? That’s cold.

The dotard did tell WHO to go to hell and then he began acting like a doomsday cult preacher- “Get the COVID! Don’t be scared of it! It’s great! Get COVID! We’ll then have heard immunity! Sure millions will die, but then they will be rewarded for their patriotism. Be a patriot! Don’t wear a mask! Get COVID! Don’t be afraid!” rolling eyes He’s such a stupid idiot, because that’s not how herd immunity works and he can’t even say it right. Then again, maybe that’s what he wanted- herd mentality, right off a damn cliff. He and his Al Qaeda don’t give a damn how many U.S. citizens die or end up with lifelong health issues, if they survive it. They don’t care about anyone except themselves.

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Scary part is they really and truly despise learning and they take absolute offense at that the suggest they don’t “already know everything.”

The embrace of belligerent willful ignorance. Very sad. Who’da thought it could happen in these United States. Although on closer inspection turns out it was always there, just went under cover during the good years. Now times are getting tougher, so fear and gut reactions are coming to the fore again.

Hopefully the tide will turn as trump continues demonstrating what an empty low life he always was, perhaps even his lovers will start getting disgusted. Hell we even got through the electoral college without violence.

Guess now we have to wait till Inauguration Day. Sure hope they have stepped up security, lest a bunch of militias try a last ditch trumpian rescue.

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They don’t know everything though. They actually know nothing.

No, they won’t get disgusted, because many of them are low lifes too.

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trump’s Republicans knows political vandalism and are perfecting it.

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The Big Money Behind the Big Lie

Donald Trump’s attacks on democracy are being promoted by rich and powerful conservative groups that are determined to win at all costs.

By Jane Mayer - The New Yorker

August 2, 2021

… Many experts on democratic governance, however, believe that efforts to upend long-settled election practices are what truly threaten to rip the country apart. Chad Campbell, a Democrat who was the minority leader in the Arizona House of Representatives until 2014, when he left to become a consultant in Phoenix, has been shocked by the state’s anti-democratic turn.
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They’re trying to disenfranchise everyone who is not older white guys.” …

… “The Maricopa County audit exposes exactly what the Big Lie is all about. If they come up with an analysis that discredits the 2020 election results in Arizona, it will be replicated in other states, furthering more chaos. That will enable new legislation. … This is a coordinated national effort to distort not just what happened in 2020 but to regain the House of Representatives and the Presidency.” …

… One of the movement’s leaders is the Heritage Foundation, the prominent conservative think tank in Washington, D.C. It has been working with the American Legislative Exchange Council ( alec )—a corporate-funded nonprofit that generates model laws for state legislators—on ways to impose new voting restrictions. Among those deep in the fight is Leonard Leo, a chairman of the Federalist Society, the legal organization known for its decades-long campaign to fill the courts with conservative judges. In February, 2020, the Judicial Education Project, a group tied to Leo, quietly rebranded itself as the Honest Elections Project, which subsequently filed briefs at the Supreme Court, and in numerous states, opposing mail-in ballots and other reforms that have made it easier for people to vote.

Another newcomer to the cause is the Election Integrity Project California. And a group called FreedomWorks, which once concentrated on opposing government regulation, is now demanding expanded government regulation of voters, with a project called the National Election Protection Initiative.

These disparate nonprofits have one thing in common: they have all received funding from the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation. …

Where is the liberal rationalists revival ?

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Unless Democrats start changing some minds, we are going lose big, big, big.
Right in a time when we need sober intelligence and a bit of compassion more than ever.

Oh and what the heck is the deal with that Virginia royal sceptre laying there in all it’s glory?