Dispatches

McCONNELL BACKS TRUMP REFUSAL TO CONCEDE.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made his first public remarks since Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election (11/9), but he made no mention of the Democratic former vice president—instead claiming the election results have not been decided and that President Donald Trump is “100% within his rights” to refuse to concede, Julia Conley noted at CommonDreams (11/9).

Despite an absence of any evidence that irregularities or fraud took place during voting or ballot-counting, the president has so far refused to acknowledge that he lost the election. McConnell (R-Ky.) referred to the “preliminary results” of the election, two days after the Associated Press and other media outlets declared Biden the winner, having won at least 279 electoral votes versus Trump’s 214, according to the latest counts.

While suggesting the results of congressional races—in which Republicans, who are expected to retain Senate control, also picked up House seats—were legitimate, McConnell said that Trump’s legal challenges regarding the presidential race denotes that the election has not yet been decided.

“No states have yet certified their election results,” McConnell said. “We have at least one or two states that are already on track for a recount and I believe the president may have legal challenges underway in at least five states ... All legal ballots must be counted, any illegal ballots must not be counted. The process should be transparent or observable by all sides and the courts are here to work through concerns.”

“The defiant rhetoric of Trumpism infused the majority leader’s speech,” tweeted Washington Post political reporter Robert Costa.

Few Republicans have so far acknowledged Biden’s victory. On Monday, a coalition of Republican attorneys general filed an amicus brief asking the US Supreme Court to consider a ruling by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which allowed the counting of ballots received up to three days after Election Day.

Republican Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue of Georgia, both of whom face runoff elections on Jan. 5, called for the resignation of their state’s Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, after he stated “there is no evidence of widespread fraud” in the election. Biden is currently leading Trump in the state’s count and is expected to take Georgia’s 16 electoral votes.

Without evidence, Loeffler and Perdue echoed McConnell’s claim that ballots were cast “illegally” in the election.

“Every legal vote cast should be counted. Any illegal vote must not,” said the senators. “And there must be transparency and uniformity in the counting process.”

A massive voter turnout effort in Georgia, led by voting rights advocates including former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, resulted in more than 67% of eligible voters casting ballots this year, according to the Washington Post. Just 2% of eligible voters in the state were unregistered this year.

Journalists objected to the GOP’s allusions to illegal voting, with some pointing out the claims are reminiscent of Trump’s repeated accusations of so-called “voter fraud” after the 2016 election.

Costa offered some insight into discussions he had over the weekend with Republican officials regarding the party’s current strategy.

“Most everything McConnell does from here on isn’t about Jan. 20th,” [the inauguration], Costa tweeted, “but Jan. 5th (the Georgia runoff elections). To win the latter, [Republicans] believe the base must be stoked, especially in a fast-changing state.”

ATTY. GEN. BARR RESURFACES TO PURSUE ‘VOTING IRREGULARITIES.’ Donald Trump’s personal attorney general has resurfaced after keeping a low, profile in the days before and after the election. The Associated Press reports William Barr has sent a memo to federal prosecutors “authorizing” them to pursue “substantial allegations” of voting irregularities—of which there are currently, nationwide, exactly zero, “Hunter” noted at DailyKos (11/9).

The actual memo obtained by the AP tells a less dramatic story. Barr tells prosecutors that investigations “may be conducted if there are clear and apparently-credible allegations of irregularities that, if true, could potentially impact the outcome of a federal election in an individual State.” In other words, Barr is reiterating a power prosecutors already have to investigate, “if” credible allegations were to surface. Since Trump and his campaign team have, time and time again, made allegations about irregularities that they have been completely unable to find evidence of and which they cannot explain to federal judges, Barr’s statement is meaningless, Hunter noted.

“What it does mean is that William Barr is willing to put the weight of his crooked office behind Trump’s anti-democratic, autocratic blabberings about supposed vote fraud against him. He’s willing to put out a memo to please Dear Leader, using Dear Leader’s terminology, to create a news cycle in which the Department of Justice is investigating nothing, for no larger apparent purpose than making sure Trump doesn’t fire him for not doing it.

“There are no fraud claims. None. Trump’s quasi-legal teams have been able to produce no evidence of election-bending fraud, or even of election-inconveniencing fraud. The claims are entirely based on Trump’s unwillingness to face reality, his sycophants’ unwillingness to force him to do so, and the rampaging fascist tendencies of a Republican Party willing to delegitimize American democracy itself rather than accept election losses.

“It’s not surprising William Barr is willing use the powers of his office to add to that din of propaganda. That’s why Trump hired him,” Hunter concluded.

Barr’s memo prompted the Justice Department’s top official overseeing voter fraud investigations to resign hours later, the New York Times reported (11/9). The official, Richard Pilger, reportedly told colleagues he would move to a nonsupervisory role prosecuting corruption cases in the department’s Public Integrity Section.

“Having familiarized myself with the new policy and its ramifications, I must regretfully resign from my role as director of the Election Crimes Branch,” Pilger wrote to colleagues in an email obtained by the Times.

TRUMP FIRES DEFENSE SECRETARY WHO OPPOSED US TROOPS ON AMERICAN STREETS. President Donald Trump announced on Twitter (11/9) that he has fired Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, and that Christopher Miller, who serves as director of the National Counterterrorism Center, will become acting secretary “effective immediately,” CNN reported (11/9)

Trump jettisoned Esper two days after his Democratic opponent Joe Biden was projected as the winner of the presidential election, a conclusion that Trump has refused to accept.

Esper had been on shaky ground with the White House for months. His rift with Trump deepened after he said in a June press briefing that he did not support using active-duty troops to quell the large-scale protests across the US triggered by the death of George Floyd at the hands of police.

Esper, who did not want US troops in the streets during the unrest over the summer, told Trump not to invoke the Insurrection Act, and in recent months was subjected to White House ire over his insistence that the Pentagon and US military not be part of the president’s reelection campaign, in contrast to the actions of Attorney General William Barr, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Purdue.

Esper’s increasingly tense relationship with Trump led him to prepare a letter of resignation weeks ago, an attempt to fashion a graceful exit in the widely expected event that Trump decided to fire him, several defense sources, including one senior defense official, told CNN.

Esper’s firing has raised concerns that other top national security officials who have earned Trump’s wrath may be next in the line of fire.

Trump and some of his conservative allies have become increasingly frustrated with CIA Director Gina Haspel in recent weeks, accusing her of delaying the release of documents they believe would expose so-called “deep state” plots against Trump’s campaign and transition during the Obama administration, according to multiple current and former officials.

Haspel refused, arguing that declassifying the documents would endanger US national security by revealing crucial methods and sources.

In recent months, Trump and his allies have also sharply criticized FBI Director Christopher Wray over his failure to produce information that they claim would be harmful to the president’s political enemies, including Biden. The prospect that Trump may fire Wray has hung over the FBI for weeks, CNN reported.

BIDEN & HARRIS START TRANSITION, BUT GET NO COOPERATION FROM TRUMP. President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris rolled out their transition COVID-19 advisory board (11/9), naming the people in charge of making COVID policy as they prepare to take office in just 72 days, but they can’t expect cooperation from the Trump administration.

“Dealing with the coronavirus pandemic is one of the most important battles our administration will face, and I will be informed by science and by experts,” Biden said in the release announcing the board.

But a Trump administration appointee is refusing to sign a letter allowing Biden’s transition team to formally begin its work, in another sign the incumbent president has not acknowledged Biden’s victory and could disrupt the transfer of power, the Washington Post reported.

By Sunday evening (11/8), almost 36 hours after media outlets projected Biden as the winner, General Services Administrator Emily Murphy had written no such letter. And the Trump administration, in keeping with the president’s failure to concede the election, has no immediate plans to sign one.

The delay has implications both practical and symbolic. By declaring the “apparent winner” of a presidential election, the GSA administrator releases computer systems and money for salaries and administrative support for the mammoth undertaking of setting up a new government — $9.9 million this year.

PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS AIMS TO SHOW CLOUT. The Congressional Progressive Caucus voted (11/9) for an overhaul that supporters say will boost its power on Capitol Hill and require caucus members to support progressive bills endorsed by the caucus or leave the caucus.

The caucus of nearly 100 House Democrats—and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)—is restructuring to “shape itself into a more cohesive fighting force come 2021,” the Intercept reported.

“Under the new rules, if a position wins two-thirds support among the CPC, members of the caucus will be expected to vote as a bloc, which would make it the first Democratic caucus to attempt to bind its members. Yet at the same time, members need only support the official position of the CPC two-thirds of the time before running afoul of the rules and risking expulsion.”

Of the nearly three-quarters of CPC members who voted on the overhaul, 91% favored it, Heather Cargyle of Politico tweeted (11/9).

The caucus will shift from a pair of co-chairs to just one leader. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) will continue serving at the helm of the caucus, while Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) is stepping down, saying he is “self term-limited” and supports Jayapal leading the CPC into the future. As for concerns that the restructuring gives too much power to one person, Pocan said that “it actually does the opposite of that. … The heart of this is really around empowering members to be more active.”

Jayapal acknowledged to The Intercept that the reforms could mean some members exit the caucus, but she accepts that. “We’re ready for that to happen,” she said. “I just would rather have people who are really committed to the progressive caucus in the caucus and participating rather than sort of just having it as a label.”

PROGRESSIVE DEMS SAY LEFT PROPOSALS ARE WINNERS. Centrist Democratic members of Congress complained that progressive Democrats may have dragged some members of Congress down in the election with “far left” talk, such as their proposal for Medicare for All, a “Green New Deal,” and cutting police budgets, which Republicans seized upon as proof of socialism.

The three-hour call among House Democrats (11/5) was supposed to be private but was leaked to news media.

An analysis by Earther found that of the 93 House co-sponsors of the Green New Deal resolution who ran for reelection this year, only one lost their congressional race. 

“Simply put,” wrote journalist Brian Kahn in Earther (11/9), “the Green New Deal is not a political loser,” including for representatives in swing districts. 

Kahn identified four House co-sponsors who represent districts that “range from very slightly Democratic to moderately Republican,” according to Cook Political Report’s Partisan Voting Index. 

Of those four, three—Reps. Mike Levin (D-Calif.), Jahana Hayes (D- Conn.), and Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.)—have already “decisively won their reelection bids,” while the fourth, Rep. Tom Suozzi (D- N.Y.), is projected to win handily “once all mail-in ballots are counted.”

“This quick-and-dirty analysis,” Kahn said, “aligns with other data showing that representatives who have sponsored and voted for progressive policies were not punished by voters.”

The only Green New Deal co-sponsor to lose was Rep. Debbie Murcasell-Powell (D-Fla.).

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and others pointed out that every single congressional member who ran for reelection this year as a supporter of Medicare for All won their race, John Quealy reported at CommonDreams (11/7) 

Assaults on progressive initiatives continue despite recent polling, including surveys commissioned by Fox News, that indicates the majoritarian popularity of left-wing policy ideas eschewed by Democrats and Republicans alike, including an expanded role for the government in the provision of healthcare and the creation of green jobs in energy and infrastructure, Kenny Stancil noted at CommonDreams (11/9)

In Georgia, for instance, where Democrats have a chance to secure a Senate majority if they win both runoff races, voters prefer a universal public option to the Affordable Care Act.

According to Fox News exit polls, 52% of voters in Georgia want the Affordable Care Act entirely or partially repealed, while 63% are in favor of “changing the healthcare system so that any American can buy into a government-run healthcare plan if they want to.”

Both Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, Georgia’s Democratic senatorial candidates, support a public health insurance option that is universally accessible.

House Speaker Pelosi sought to reassure her members that the election wasn’t as bad as it seemed. Democrats, she argued, have held on to about 70% of the 30 Trump-carried districts they won in 2018 — and she predicted they would capture the White House, the Washington Post reported (11/5).

TRUMP LETS GEORGIA JETTISON OBAMACARE MARKET. The Sunday before the election, Donald Trump squeezed in one more act of sabotage against Obamacare, one that will create major headaches for working people of Georgia, Joan McCarter noted at DailyKos (11/8). Nov. 1 marked the beginning of the 2021 open enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act, and this year the marketplace again promises to be more stable and to offer more coverage options and more affordable plans. (That is, if the Supreme Court doesn’t decide early next year to nuke the whole thing.)

The same day enrollment opened, Trump announced a waiver for Georgia, allowing it to scrap the use of the Healthcare.gov website—the marketplace for plans—in the state. The state hasn’t developed its own online marketplace, like a handful of states have done since the law was passed. It just doesn’t want any more people signing up on Obamacare plans, so it will be direct people who need insurance to go through brokers or do their own work on private websites.

Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services Director Seema Verma stated, ”The Obamacare Exchanges have not worked for Georgians, leaving them with fewer options and skyrocketing premiums. … Today’s approval of the states waiver will usher in a groundswell of healthcare innovation that will deliver lower costs, better care, and more choice to Georgians in the individual market.” Which is, of course, not true, McCarter noted. Georgia’s uninsured rate is 13.7%—the state didn’t expand Medicaid—fully 5 points lower than it was in 2013, before the law took effect.

The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities estimates tens of thousands of Georgians will lose coverage because of this. They’ll have to “navigate the type of fragmented insurance system of brokers and insurers the ACA was intended to remedy,” CBPP predicts. They won’t have the simple apples-to-apples experience provided by Healthcare.gov, and will be more susceptible to being duped by Trump’s substandard plans that don’t provide comprehensive coverage. This doesn’t expand choice for Georgians in any way, it just makes it a lot harder for them to find the information they need to make an informed choice. It will probably keep people who would qualify for Medicaid out of the program, as brokers are going to be a lot less likely to inform them that they’re eligible for that when they can steer them into a private plan, for which they’re probably getting a commission.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who authored the provision in the ACA allowing for these waivers, said the administration and Georgia Republicans “are using a perverted and illegal interpretation of the law I wrote to push junk insurance.” Wyden’s provision explicitly says that states using these waivers have to cover as many people as the ACA, with the same quality and affordability as offered through the Obamacare exchange. “Any state—including Georgia—that tries to make health care worse using this waiver is consciously breaking the law and recklessly endangering American families, all to sabotage the Affordable Care Act,” Wyden said. “Distorting black-letter law to suit a political crusade has consequences.”

The consequences are likely to be another court challenge, like the states that have fought back against the efforts of the administration to impose work requirements on Medicaid, along with other elements of Obamacare sabotage.

TRUMP RETAINED MAJORITY OF WHITE WOMEN. In the weeks leading up to Election Day, polls suggested that women would overwhelmingly reject Donald Trump. A Washington Post-ABC News poll (10/10) showed former vice president Joe Biden leading Trump by 11 points among female likely voters, 8 points among white female likely voters and 19 points among white suburban women.

When it came to marking their ballots, however, women, who were 53% of the electorate, voted 56-43 for Biden, while white women, who were 33% of the electorate, voted 55-43% for Trump. White men, who were 32% of the electorate, voted 58-40% for Trump, exit polls showed.

Non-white women had no such confusion. Black women (8% of the electorate) voted 90-9 for Biden, while Black men (4%) voted 79-19 for Biden. Latina women (8% of the electorate) voted 69-30% for Biden, while Latino men (5%) voted 79-19 for Biden.

Seniors aged 65 and over (22% of the electorate) voted 51-48% for Trump, while those between 45 and 66 (38% of the electorate) voted 50-49% for Biden, ages 30-44 (24%) voted 52-45% for Biden and ages 18-29 (17%) voted 62-35% for Biden.

College graduates (44% of the electorate) voted 55-42% for Biden while those with no college degree (56% of the electorate) split 49-49%.

Those from labor union families (19% of the electorate) voted 57-40% for Biden. Members of the military and veterans (15%) voted 52-45% for Trump. First-time voters (13%) voted 66-32% for Biden.

Self-described moderates (40%) voted 64-33% for Biden. This remains a center-left nation with a center-right political system.

Cities of 50,000 or more (30% of the electorate) voted 60-37% for Biden. Suburbs (51%) voted 51-48 for Biden. Small cities or rural areas (20%) voted 54-45% for Trump.

Edison Research conducted the polls for the National Election Poll, a news consortium, at polling places and also interviewed early voters and by-mail voters by telephone, CNN reported.

WORLD MEDIA RESPONDS TO TRUMP’S ELECTION SABOTAGE: ‘THE AMERICAN ELECTION HAS BECOME A GLOBAL JOKE.’ Donald Trump has humiliated the United States on the global stage so often over the past four years, but his efforts to stop vote counting and undermine the results of the elections are something special. And the world is taking notice, Laura Clawson noted at DailyKos (11/5).

According to the *Mainichi* newspaper in Japan, “responsibility for fanning the divide and amplifying the confusion lies with Mr. Trump.” A “relatively peaceful election exercise in the world’s oldest democracy” was marred by the “distinctly authoritarian turn” of Trump claiming victory before enough votes had been counted, *The Hindu* of India wrote, and his push to prevent ballots from being counted would be “unprecedented attempt at mass voter suppression.”

Germany’s *Der Spiegel* wrote that Trump was like a “late Roman emperor” who has “set a historic standard for voter contempt.”

”One can feel the anxiety for potential chaos seeing metal fences and security being hastily installed around the White House,” an editorial in the Ta Kung Pao newspaper in Hong Kong, controlled by the Chinese government, said. “The American election has became a global joke.”

And in Russia, a spokesman said President Vladimir Putin would hold “an international telephone conversation” on Thursday, but no further details were offered.

From The Progressive Populist, December 1, 2020

Populist.com