This during the most dangerous week up until now in the pandemic, with infection rates at upwards of 220,000 daily.
The Signal: Tuesday was the safe harbor date by which all states had to accredit their presidential election outcomes.
Trump is still putting out as much misinformation, as much Sound, as possible, telling his fans (and anyone else prepared to listen) that the election was fraudulent and that he, Donald J. Trump, was, is, and constantly will be the true winner. On Wednesday afternoon, Trump’s project joined in the lawsuit— regardless of the reality that the court had, just hours prior to the Texas intervention, tossed out a Pennsylvania GOP demand to revoke the election in that state.
Trump is still being made it possible for, too, by a Republican congressional management that declines to acknowledge Biden’s success, going so far as to vote against a (mainly symbolic) motion acknowledging that Biden will be the individual inaugurated on January 20.
Meanwhile, Trump’s political group continues both to obstruct crucial transition conferences and exchanges of info and likewise to operate at breakneck speed to secure place some of the most severe parts of the Trumpite political task before year’s end. Witness the current Labor Department rule changes that basically provide a “spiritual liberty” allowance for federally contracted companies to discriminate against LGBTQ workers. And witness the publication of rule changes, to kick in on January 11, that will considerably eviscerate the already shamefully limited access to asylum for individuals on the southern border.
These are not actions one would anticipate during a normal post-election shift procedure. This isn’t practically semantics. And it isn’t just McConnell and McCarthy and other GOP bigwigs taking part in political fun and video games. It’s about a continuous, and intensifying, attack on the concepts that make democracy possible. Kid everything up and what you have is an authoritarian assault on the truth– evidenced by the vote-count totals and dozens of court rulings over the past five weeks– and on the bedrock concept of a tranquil transfer of power after elections.
I know that readers of this column have actually heard me on this before. It’s impossible to overstress the significance of this minute. One of America’s two political parties is deserting its commitment to democracy. The president, who now not just leads but holds a tight grip on that party, is actively working to sabotage the Constitution that he has testified promote. GOP legislators and state authorities are conspiring to reverse an election just due to the fact that it didn’t go the method they hoped it would. As of Wednesday, 17 states were party to the Texas suit, and Texas Senator Ted Cruz had actually obviously accepted argue the case prior to the Supreme Court. And tens of millions of Americans are being told not to recognize an election result they do not like. This might all too easily result in violence– Arizona’s GOP today sent out a tweet asking its supporters if they were willing to die to protect a Trump victory. And in Michigan, armed protesters descended on the secretary of state’s home
This throughout the most dangerous week so far in the Covid pandemic, with infection rates at upwards of 220,000 each day.
Provided how alarming America’s public health emergency situation now is, this ought to be an all-hands-on-deck moment, in which Congress, the outbound administration, the incoming administration, state officials, and public health specialists move in unison to coordinate public safety messages and interventions, minimize the instant risk of health center systems collapsing, and smooth the distribution of vaccines over the coming weeks. And the Senate is pulling a twisted political stunt by welcoming anti-vaxxers to testify this week.
Many years from now, individuals may recall at this minute and laugh– at the absurdity, the hubris, the conceit, the egos. Possibly it will ultimately produce powerful theater. Today, however, there’s absolutely nothing from another location funny about this moment. Trump’s last chapter is, as numerous worried it would be, a full-blown American catastrophe.
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