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Donald Trump’s flailing effort to remain in power after January 20 will end where it was always destined to land—upon the pale, useless shoulders of Vice President Mike Pence.
- Pence will preside over Congress’s certification of the election results on Wednesday, a ceremonial role that makes him look, to Trump, like the final arbiter of an election that ended two months ago. At his Personal Grievance Rally in Georgia on Monday night, Trump ramped up the pressure on Pence to unilaterally steal the election for him with a casual, lighthearted threat: “I hope that Mike Pence comes through for us, I have to tell you...Of course, if he doesn’t come through, I won’t like him quite as much.” A rousing closing argument for Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue.
- How exactly might Pence “come through”? Trump cleared that up in a delusional Tuesday tweet: “The Vice President has the power to reject fraudulently chosen electors.” (Fact check: He does not.) (Sub-fact check: They weren’t fraudulently chosen.) In the fevered ramblings of Trump’s favorite online forums, Pence could refuse to recognize enough electoral votes that neither candidate reaches 270, turn the election over to the House, and ride away on a bald eagle. In reality, where the Constitution exists, Pence is powerless to do anything but count the votes as they were cast; only members of Congress can object.
- Presiding over the vote is Pence’s constitutional responsibility, but on the other hand, doing so will make Trump mad. A sticky dilemma, if you happen to be a sycophant with no core beliefs. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said on Tuesday that he would be presiding over the certification himself since “we don't expect him to be there,” before his office “clarified” that Grassley would only take over if Pence had to briefly step away from the proceedings. There’s a decent chance we are all about to watch a grown man chug glasses of milk and plot swing state-based bathroom breaks with mathematical precision.
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Pence or no Pence, Congress will certify Biden’s victory this week. Thanks to Republican posturing and conspiracy-mongering, it won’t be the boring bit of paperwork it’s supposed to be.
- Last week Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) filed an absurd lawsuit that aimed to bestow Pence with sole discretion over which electoral votes would be counted—a lawsuit that a Trump-appointed federal judge in Texas tossed out immediately. Gohmert then characterized the rejection of the lawsuit as a call for violence in the streets, leading Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) to file a censure resolution against him on Tuesday. Gohmert’s not alone in egging on civil unrest; Rep. Chris Roy (R-TX) just made this comment about the Senate runoffs: “What happens tomorrow in Georgia…if we have a Democratically controlled Senate, we’re now basically at full-scale hot conflict in this country.” Helpful stuff!
- The Republicans on Team Coup reportedly plan to have a House member and Senator object to the electoral vote count in Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania, with each joint objection triggering up to two hours of debate. There are still only 13 GOP senators who have pledged to support that effort, while at least 24 others have said they’ll vote to certify Biden’s win. The move to throw out election results will be overwhelmingly defeated, but a harmful new precedent will have been set.
There’s nothing Mike Pence or Republicans can do on Wednesday to prevent Biden from taking office later this month, but their failure in overturning an election doesn’t make the attempt less reprehensible. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that GOP members have made abundantly clear who they are, and Democrats can get right to work denying them their next chance to cheat into power.
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It's possible you've heard there was a very important special election in Georgia today?
Great news (not the results, we don't have those yet, sorry): Crooked Media has a new podcast called Gaining Ground: The New Georgia that not only outlines what led us to this runoff election, but also is covering the results and fallout of this historic moment.
In today’s episode, hosts Jewel Wicker and Rembert Browne talk election day! Make sure to check out and subscribe to Gaining Ground: The New Georgia wherever you get your podcasts and tune in next Tuesday to hear Jewel and Rembert explain what “The New Georgia” will look like following today’s election.
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Polls have closed in the Georgia runoff elections, which will determine which party controls the U.S. Senate, and thus the scope of the Biden administration’s agenda, and whether Democrats can pass crucial reforms to stave off perpetual minority rule. Come for the existential stakes, stay for Steve Kornacki pointing at a map! Georgians cast more than three million votes before Tuesday, and a lack of lines at polling locations today may indicate light election day turnout, which should favor Democrats. (Though with so few races on the ballot, voting could also just be moving faster.) Polls show both races to be extremely tight, but it’s heartening to know that Democrats landed on a strong closing argument (“vote for Ossoff and Warnock, get $2000 stimulus checks”), and key groups have already shattered turnout records. Your Coronavirus Election reminder that we may not have the final results tonight, that mail-in ballots take longer to count, and that results from heavily Democratic counties are likely to come in later—don’t get freaked out by early returns.
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- Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley announced that the officer who shot Jacob Blake will not face charges. Rusten Sheskey shot Blake seven times in the back, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.
- The leader of the Proud Boys was arrested in Washington, DC, on Monday, and charged with destruction of property and possession of high-capacity firearm magazines. He was released from police custody on Tuesday and ordered to leave DC. Far-right online forums have exploded with violent threats ahead of the Wednesday protests that Trump demanded.
- After the U.S. attorney in Atlanta resigned, Trump bypassed a career prosecutor to replace him, instead selecting Bobby Christine, the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Probably a prelude to something cool and normal.
- Cleta Mitchell, a conservative lawyer who participated in Trump’s Georgia election crime phone call, has resigned from her law firm. Hark! A consequence!
- The Los Angeles County EMS Agency has instructed ambulances not to transport patients who have little chance of surviving, and to administer less oxygen to conserve supplies.
- Shot: Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) twice bought a bunch of bank stocks after meeting with financial policy makers, staying laser-focused on that pro-corruption message.
- Chaser: Sen. Kelly Loeffler’s (R-GA) husband has been renting out an airport hangar to the U.S. Marshals Service, in a secretive deal for what appears to be a domestic surveillance operation.
- Some Florida counties are using Eventbrite to schedule vaccinations, so naturally scammers have started making fake Eventbrite sites and charging people for appointments.
- Mexico has offered political asylum to Julian Assange after a British judge rejected the U.S.’s extradition request. “Lmao,” said journalists in Mexico, who are regularly endangered by the Mexican government.
- Grocery stores in California have started laying off delivery drivers in favor of lower-paid DoorDash gig workers after the passage of Prop 22, which exempts gig companies from having to treat their workers like employees.
- Kim Kardashian and Kanye West will reportedly get a divorce (maybe), unless Kanye is just pretending to want a divorce to help Donald Trump get a divorce.
- New whale song just dropped.
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Republicans have wasted no time replicating Trump’s election-subverting tactics in close downballot races. A day after Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL) was sworn in for her second term, her GOP challenger Jim Oberweis announced that he will seek to overturn the results by refuting the validity of 39,647 mail-in ballots. In Pennsylvania, Republicans in the state senate refused to seat a Democratic member who won re-election, and seized control of the proceedings from Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman when he objected to the motion. Fetterman said later, “We’re at a dangerous time in this country. One party is ignoring court rulings and election results. If the results don’t match what they like, they do their level best to subvert them.” However hard Trump’s own efforts bit the dust, they gave Republicans a new comfort with openly contesting decided elections, and gave the party its new guiding mantra: Only Republicans can win elections legitimately.
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Take Action with the ACLU to Tackle the Racist War on Drugs
The War on Drugs failed. That's clear. Yet every year hundreds of thousands of people – disproportionately Black and Brown people – are still arrested for marijuana possession.
In fact, a Black person in America is 3.6x more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than a white person is, despite similar usage rates. The ACLU is fighting to not just legalize marijuana, but to do so in a way that addresses these harmful disparities once and for all. Add your name today if you agree.
Our nation is ready to put an end to the destructive and racist policies of the War on Drugs. Critical legislation in Congress could have a huge impact on making that happen: The House just passed the MORE Act and now it moves to the Senate. Sign our petition and demand that the Senate pass the MORE Act as soon as possible. Click here to take action with the ACLU today and make your voice heard.
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Charleston County Sheriff Kristin Graziano ended her department’s agreement with ICE on Tuesday, her first full day in her role.
Bianca Smith will become the first Black woman to coach in professional baseball, after the Red Sox announced she’ll be joining their minor league team.
The U.K. has become the latest country to eliminate the “tampon tax.”
Folks, Alex Trebek.
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