American Carnage

Coup and Pandemonium: Imagine wanting to own the libs so much that while attacking and looting the US Capitol building during a pandemic you didn’t cover your face, even while taking selfies to post on social media, those neat photos showing you engaged in criminal activity, like sitting at Speaker Pelosi’s desk tapping away at her computer or even better, ripping apart and lugging valuable decorative items and pieces of furniture the front door.  And why wouldn’t you think you could get away with the looting as well as the terrorizing of Senators, Congresspeople, staff and the Vice President, after all you were doing it at the urging of the despicable clown posing as the president of the free world and, anyway, no one, least of all the Capitol police tried to stop you as you brazenly marched in waving Confederate flags in your swastika emblazoned tee shirt. So what if four people died, including one who got shot during your party, or a large number of legislators like multiple amputee war hero Tammy Duckworth had to shelter in place, barricaded in offices while calling spouses and children to say good-bye, can’t anyone take a joke?  Ultimately, the joke may be on them, or at least some of them. The FBI is now seeking information about the criminally idiotic terrorists/thugs who posted their barefaced pictures.  More than 50 have been arrested.  And we owe thanks to the quick thinking staffer who grabbed and protected the official state Electoral College certificates as he was evacuated.

Biden/Harris Win Again:  Thankfully, while Trump succeeded in permanently damaging the nation’s reputation, his coup attempt failed despite an inexplicably anemic initial response from law enforcement,  he didn’t manage to block Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ official Electoral College confirmation.  At around 345 AM EST, after hours of inane debate over the validity of the slates submitted by Arizona and Pennsylvania, a weary VP Pence signed off on the final tally.  The good news is that Pence did the right thing, the bad news is that well more than 100 House members including Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Republican Whip Steve Scalise voted against the confirmations leaving Liz Cheney as the only member of House Republican leadership refusing to prostrate herself to Trump.  On the Senate side, six Republican Senators including ringleaders Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley as well as Cindy Hyde-Smith, Roger Marshall, John Kennedy and Tommy Tuberville voted against confirming the Arizona slate. All of them except for Kennedy also opposed the Pennsylvania slate as did Senators Cynthia Lummis and Rick Scott.  Remember those names, also remember that they justified their votes by citing, of all things, the Compromise of 1877 which ended Reconstruction, leading to the Jim Crow laws that legitimized racial discrimination. While Cruz and Hawley may have impressed the Proud Boys and QAnon crowd, they’ve all but destroyed their reputations with main stream, if there still is such a thing, Republicans, including those powerful, major Republican contributors the Kochs.  Alienating colleagues might not meant much to Cruz as he was already well hated by his colleagues but doing so could or at the very least should sink Hawley’s outsized political aspirations.  At the very least Mitch McConnell is furious.  Apparently so is his wife, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, last night it was reported that she along with National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien might resign shortly to protest Trump’s actions.  If she does, she will be joining a few who did jump ship yesterday, including deputy national security advisor Matt Pottinger, one of the few in Trumpland with a decent reputation, Melania’s Chief of Staff/former Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham and a number of other lesser known players who could handle kids in cages, good people on both sides and Muslim bans, but weren’t willing to sign on to a coup.  As to Trump, forget the jokes, he really is insane, confirmed now by a number of those cowardly inside, unnamed sources.  He encouraged his fans to attack the Capitol during an in person speech, further expressed his love when he pretended to ask them to go home, for now, and inflamed them over Twitter and other social media platforms so much so that Twitter put him in the penalty box for twelve hours, threatening to permanently bar him if he continues to issue inflammatory tweets upon his return.  That explains why he didn’t tweet all night.  After the Electoral College confirmation took place early this morning he had a spokesman issue a statement where he said that even though he disagrees with the outcome of the election, there will be an “orderly transition on January 20^th.”  Of course he then went on to say that he would continue to ensure that only legal votes were counted whatever that means, and fight to Make America Great Again, that’s the America that he has thoroughly trashed. A number of media outlets report that Pence and the cabinet are seriously considering invoking the 25^th Amendment, that rumor is bolstered by the fact that after Trump refused to call for the National Guard, Pence did, and quite a few Democrats are talking about another impeachment something that the NY Times editorial board endorses. As to Pence, Trump is so pissed at him that he’s banned his Chief of Staff Marc Short from the White House, punishment for educating Pence about what is and isn’t legal.  There probably is a chance, a small one, that Trump steps down in exchange for a Pence pardon but there’s also a chance that he tosses his “football” in the air, and to be clear, I don’t mean that’s he’s going to start playing catch with Barron.   

The Good News:  John Ossoff is officially Georgia’s newest Senator-elect.  His margin over outgoing Senator David Perdue now exceeds the .5% threshold that would have required a mandatory recount.  Ossoff’s win means that New York Senator Chuck Schumer will soon be the leader of the Senate, replacing Grim Reaper Mitch McConnell.  Comfortable that he will be able to seat a suitable replacement on the Washington, DC Circuit Court, the officially President-elect Joe Biden is expected to formally announce that he’s picked the highly respected jurist Merrick Garland, the judge that Barack Obama tried to seat on the Supreme Court, to serve as Attorney General.            

361,297 total US COVID deaths

3,963 added yesterday

13 Days