theguardian--2020-11-09--Will Trump accept defeat and leave the White House? Yes, experts say

Donald Trump may never concede that he legitimately lost the 2020 election and the US presidency .
That in itself will probably not matter too much , but he may use his final months in office before Joe Biden takes office in January , 2021 to push the divisive politics that have become his calling card .
He may even boycott Biden ’ s inauguration ceremony .
But even if Trump and his colleagues sow a sloppy , chaotic and vindictive transition of power , it ’ s still unfathomable that the one-term president would belligerently barricade himself inside the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says Lawrence Douglas , a professor of law , jurisprudence and social thought at Amherst College .
“ I do not see that happening , ” says Douglas , whose book Will He Go ?
considers the aftermath of the 2020 election .
“ I think at some point , Donald Trump will submit to defeat.
” After flirting with the idea of rejecting unfavorable election results for years , Trump has stoked fears of worst-case scenarios : civil war , a weaponized supreme court , and even the end to American democracy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s supporters initially believing Biden won the presidential contest , many Americans are also concerned about an outburst of violence , even as the rancorous commander-in-chief paints a baseless picture of rigged , fraudulent results .
“ I had such a big lead in all of these states late into election night , only to see the leads miraculously disappear as the days went by .
Perhaps these leads will return as our legal proceedings move forward !
” Trump tweeted on Friday .
In a last-ditch effort for Republicans to hold @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his allies have already begun filing a firestorm of lawsuits around the election .
But they ’ ve made little headway thus far .
“ If the number of contested ballots are not greater than the margin , courts are not eager to tear open an election , ” although judicial scrutiny could actually address a “ lingering cloud of illegitimacy ” around the vote counts , said Jonathan Turley , a professor at George Washington University Law School .
If any of Trump ’ s legal challenges do find sympathy among Republican @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cause a messy , fraught environment leading up to 20 January , when Biden is supposed to take office .
But it ’ s more probable that Republicans will remain silent even if Trump continues to fuss and largely refuses to cooperate with Biden ’ s people in the interim , says Julian Zelizer , a historian at Princeton University .
“ The difficulty with that is it just doesn ’ t give the new administration the best tools , the best information , and the best transition that we would hope for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my guess is Biden ’ s already expecting that ” .
Even as a lame duck , Trump could strategically force Democrats to oppose executive orders that underscore their party ’ s vulnerabilities ahead of runoff elections in Georgia that will determine who controls the US Senate , Turley says .
If the outgoing administration does lean on executive orders , those can be dismantled by Biden .
But after Democrats spent four years challenging whether Trump could rescind former president Barack Obama ’ s policies , Turley says , they ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ making ” against reversing such orders without long administrative slogs .
Trump may use the power of the presidency to push for more conservative court appointments , another tax cut or environmental deregulations – measures to “ remind Republicans of why a lot of Republicans voted for him ” , says Zelizer , even as he exits the White House .
Although he lost re-election , he still won more than 70m votes , and he could wield significant authority over his base for years to come .
“ He will continue to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Biden presidency is illegitimate , that essentially the Democrats have committed a coup , ” Douglas says .
“ That could certainly pave the way for a resurgence of Trumpism , if not Trump himself in 2024.
” Meanwhile , Biden may inherit a divided government that ’ s struggled to cooperate and compromise in recent years , shaken by a tumultuous transition .
“ He ’ s a decent person who genuinely will try to unite Americans , ” Douglas says .
“ Now , whether he ’ ll be successful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
”

Donald Trump may never concede that he legitimately lost the 2020 election and the US presidency.
That in itself will probably not matter too much, but he may use his final months in office before Joe Biden takes office in January, 2021 to push the divisive politics that have become his calling card. He may even boycott Biden’s inauguration ceremony.
But even if Trump and his colleagues sow a sloppy, chaotic and vindictive transition of power, it’s still unfathomable that the one-term president would belligerently barricade himself inside the Oval Office and refuse to leave, says Lawrence Douglas, a professor of law, jurisprudence and social thought at Amherst College.
“I do not see that happening,” says Douglas, whose book Will He Go? considers the aftermath of the 2020 election. “I think at some point, Donald Trump will submit to defeat.”
After flirting with the idea of rejecting unfavorable election results for years, Trump has stoked fears of worst-case scenarios: civil war, a weaponized supreme court, and even the end to American democracy. With only 10% of Trump’s supporters initially believing Biden won the presidential contest, many Americans are also concerned about an outburst of violence, even as the rancorous commander-in-chief paints a baseless picture of rigged, fraudulent results.
“I had such a big lead in all of these states late into election night, only to see the leads miraculously disappear as the days went by. Perhaps these leads will return as our legal proceedings move forward!” Trump tweeted on Friday.
In a last-ditch effort for Republicans to hold onto the executive branch, Trump and his allies have already begun filing a firestorm of lawsuits around the election. But they’ve made little headway thus far.
“If the number of contested ballots are not greater than the margin, courts are not eager to tear open an election,” although judicial scrutiny could actually address a “lingering cloud of illegitimacy” around the vote counts, said Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington University Law School.
If any of Trump’s legal challenges do find sympathy among Republican lawmakers and federal courts, that could cause a messy, fraught environment leading up to 20 January, when Biden is supposed to take office.
But it’s more probable that Republicans will remain silent even if Trump continues to fuss and largely refuses to cooperate with Biden’s people in the interim, says Julian Zelizer, a historian at Princeton University.
“The difficulty with that is it just doesn’t give the new administration the best tools, the best information, and the best transition that we would hope for,” Zelizer says. But “my guess is Biden’s already expecting that”.
Even as a lame duck, Trump could strategically force Democrats to oppose executive orders that underscore their party’s vulnerabilities ahead of runoff elections in Georgia that will determine who controls the US Senate, Turley says. If the outgoing administration does lean on executive orders, those can be dismantled by Biden.
But after Democrats spent four years challenging whether Trump could rescind former president Barack Obama’s policies, Turley says, they’ve created a “precedent of their own making” against reversing such orders without long administrative slogs.
Trump may use the power of the presidency to push for more conservative court appointments, another tax cut or environmental deregulations – measures to “remind Republicans of why a lot of Republicans voted for him”, says Zelizer, even as he exits the White House. Although he lost re-election, he still won more than 70m votes, and he could wield significant authority over his base for years to come.
“He will continue to tell tens of millions of Americans that the Biden presidency is illegitimate, that essentially the Democrats have committed a coup,” Douglas says. “That could certainly pave the way for a resurgence of Trumpism, if not Trump himself in 2024.”
Meanwhile, Biden may inherit a divided government that’s struggled to cooperate and compromise in recent years, shaken by a tumultuous transition.
“He’s a decent person who genuinely will try to unite Americans,” Douglas says. “Now, whether he’ll be successful at doing that remains to be seen.”


theguardian--2020-11-09--Trump was unique. The Republicans will struggle to find another like him | Jan-Werner Mueller

Liberal and conservative commentators are fast converging on a prediction : Trump might be gone , but Trumpism is here to stay .
Of course , the former are anxious that a smooth , smart authoritarian will pick up where Trump left off and make the US join the rightwing populist international of autocrats like Modi , Erdogan , and Orbán ; the latter are hoping for a Republican party somehow dedicated to an “ American worker ” who we ought to imagine as a conservative nationalist .
Both sides overestimate Trumpism and – still , after all these years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has it that figures like Arkansas senator Tom Cotton , Missouri senator Josh Hawley , or even a TV personality like Tucker Carlson are auditioning to claim the Trumpist movement .
There is little doubt that the movement is potent : after five years , plenty of citizens deeply identify as Trumpists ; and a whole folklore has been built around Maga .
The Republican party has every reason to deploy this movement against the Biden administration and combine Mitch McConnell ’ s Machiavellianism from above with more or less manipulated grass-roots pressure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and talk radio which will never forget that polarization is big business .
After all , such a dual strategy – Republican establishment plus Tea party – already served to sabotage crucial parts of the Obama presidency .
While the Tea party paved the road to Trump , the reality TV show host ’ s persona was indispensable for rightwing populism actually to come to power in the US .
This is not a point about charisma – it ’ s a point about a famous individual ( by some accounts the most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a screen on which very different constituents could project their political fantasies .
He could appear as what Steven Bannon once called a “ blunt instrument ” to business interests no less than earnest theorists of a conservative working-class movement .
For all the dismissive talk about Trump ’ s incompetence , there is no doubt that he has honed one skill for decades : creating and selling illusions .
If one believes some of the exit polls ( which is a big “ if ’ ) , he managed throughout his term @ @ @ @ @ @ @ successful entrepreneur , despite all the evidence to the contrary .
But there are also less obvious aspects of Trump being all things to all kinds of people .
In contrast to the cerebral , disciplined Cottons and Hawleys ( or Paul Ryans , for that matter ) , he gave conservatives permission to transgress .
In this , as in so many other aspects , he resembles Silvio Berlusconi .
Starting with the cheeseburgers in the White House to the faux French aristocratic decorations ( read : decadence ) , there was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – and thereby also owning the earnest puritan progressives .
While many books about the sexual politics of the Trump era remain to be written , it seems not outlandish to suggest that , in addition to the obvious flaunting of misogyny , Trump ’ s may have been the first conservative kink pornocratic presidency : just think of the ritual humiliations of the likes of Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham .
The Jerry Falwell Jr episode may well be emblematic for what Trumpism also means .
Rather than thinking that a Trumpism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more insults , rage tweeting , sexual transgressions , etc .
– is bound to get the best ( or , perhaps , worst ) of all worlds , we ought to consider the possibility that these were also the very things that made Trumpism work .
In any event , there is neither a set of coherent ideas which corresponds to a conservative working class Republicanism nor an institution which could implement it .
Every five years or so we are being sold some supposed ideological innovation like “ red Toryism ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ slogans various intellectual lightweights come up with .
None of it has resulted in a set of plausible policies likely to resonate with majorities .
In practice , with the possible exception of Poland ’ s Law and Justice party , no rightwing populist government has made good on the promise of fighting neoliberal globalization .
The reality has been a combination of big business and bigotry , or what American observers have called plutocratic populism : economics for the one percent , culture war ( ideally , one that ’ s never @ @ @ @ @ @ @ None of this is to say that Trumpism will disappear : plenty of people – far-right grifters in particular – will want to cultivate a kind of “ lost-cause movement ” centered on a legend of how the leader got stabbed in the back by establishment Republicans .
Populists are skillful at creating solidarity through a shared sense of victimization ; a community of grievances might be even stronger when its prime representative is out of power than failing to fulfill expectations at the Resolute Desk .
Liberals are right that a rightwing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ century ; in theory , it could be copied successfully by a competent authoritarian in the US .
As we ’ ve learnt , neither the Republican party nor significant parts of the electorate would stand in the way of such a figure .
As we have also learnt , checks and balances are much more fragile that civics textbook wisdom and liberal complacency ( “ We are not Hungary or Turkey !
” ) would have led us to believe .
But rather than continuing some more or less romantic Resistance narrative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ costumes borrowed from the 1920s and 1930s , liberals should learn the simpler lessons from the Obama presidency : do not demobilize on the ground , do not think that Republicans will ever give an inch – and compete not just on the field of more or less technocratic policy solutions but provide folks with a vision going beyond “ at least it ’ s not Trump ” .
• None Jan-Werner Mueller is currently a fellow at the Berlin Institute of Advanced Study and at the research cluster Contestations of the Liberal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rules is forthcoming from FSG in the US and Penguin in the UK

Liberal and conservative commentators are fast converging on a prediction: Donald Trump might be gone, but Trumpism is here to stay. Of course, the former are anxious that a smooth, smart authoritarian will pick up where Trump left off and make the US join the rightwing populist international of autocrats like Modi, Erdogan and Orbán; the latter are hoping for a Republican party somehow dedicated to an “American worker” who we ought to imagine as a conservative nationalist. Both sides overestimate Trumpism and – still, after all these years – underestimate Trump himself.
Conventional wisdom has it that figures like Arkansas senator Tom Cotton, Missouri senator Josh Hawley, or even a TV personality like Tucker Carlson are auditioning to claim the Trumpist movement. There is little doubt that the movement is potent: after five years, plenty of citizens deeply identify as Trumpists; and a whole folklore has been built around Maga. The Republican party has every reason to deploy this movement against the Biden administration and combine Mitch McConnell’s Machiavellianism from above with more or less manipulated grass-roots pressure from below, strung along by Fox and talk radio which will never forget that polarization is big business. After all, such a dual strategy – Republican establishment plus Tea party – already served to sabotage crucial parts of the Obama presidency.
For all the dismissive talk about Trump’s incompetence, there is no doubt that he has honed one skill for decades: creating and selling illusions
While the Tea party paved the road to Trump, the reality TV show host’s persona was indispensable for rightwing populism actually to come to power in the US. This is not a point about charisma – it’s a point about a famous individual (by some accounts the most public American who ever lived) providing a screen on which very different constituents could project their political fantasies. He could appear as what Steven Bannon once called a “blunt instrument” to business interests no less than earnest theorists of a conservative working-class movement.
For all the dismissive talk about Trump’s incompetence, there is no doubt that he has honed one skill for decades: creating and selling illusions. If one believes some of the exit polls (which is a big “if’), he managed throughout his term to keep up the myth of the successful entrepreneur, despite all the evidence to the contrary. But there are also less obvious aspects of Trump being all things to all kinds of people. In contrast to the cerebral, disciplined Cottons and Hawleys (or Paul Ryans, for that matter), he gave conservatives permission to transgress. In this, as in so many other aspects, he resembles Silvio Berlusconi. Starting with the cheeseburgers in the White House to the faux French aristocratic decorations (read: decadence), there was a promise that sinning would be OK – and thereby also owning the earnest puritan progressives.
While many books about the sexual politics of the Trump era remain to be written, it seems not outlandish to suggest that, in addition to the obvious flaunting of misogyny, Trump’s may have been the first conservative kink pornocratic presidency: just think of the ritual humiliations of the likes of Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham. The Jerry Falwell Jr episode may well be emblematic for what Trumpism also means. Rather than thinking that a Trumpism with a halfway human face – no more insults, rage tweeting, sexual transgressions, etc – is bound to get the best (or, perhaps, worst) of all worlds, we ought to consider the possibility that these were also the very things that made Trumpism work.
Liberals are right that a right-wing populist playbook has emerged in the 21st century
In any event, there is neither a set of coherent ideas which corresponds to a conservative working class Republicanism nor an institution which could implement it. Every five years or so we are being sold some supposed ideological innovation like “red Toryism”, “national conservatism” or whatever slogans various intellectual lightweights come up with. None of it has resulted in a set of plausible policies likely to resonate with majorities. In practice, with the possible exception of Poland’s Law and Justice party, no rightwing populist government has made good on the promise of fighting neoliberal globalization. The reality has been a combination of big business and bigotry, or what American observers have called plutocratic populism: economics for the 1%, culture war (ideally, one that’s never really won) for the masses.
None of this is to say that Trumpism will disappear: plenty of people – far-right grifters in particular – will want to cultivate a kind of “lost-cause movement” centered on a legend of how the leader got stabbed in the back by establishment Republicans. Populists are skillful at creating solidarity through a shared sense of victimization; a community of grievances might be even stronger when its prime representative is out of power than failing to fulfill expectations at the Resolute Desk.
Liberals are right that a rightwing populist playbook has emerged in the 21st century; in theory, it could be copied successfully by a competent authoritarian in the US. As we’ve learnt, neither the Republican party nor significant parts of the electorate would stand in the way of such a figure. As we have also learnt, checks and balances are much more fragile that civics textbook wisdom and liberal complacency (“We are not Hungary or Turkey!”) would have led us to believe. But rather than continuing some more or less romantic Resistance narrative and acting in a morality play with costumes borrowed from the 1920s and 1930s, liberals should learn the simpler lessons from the Obama presidency: do not demobilize on the ground, do not think that Republicans will ever give an inch – and compete not just on the field of more or less technocratic policy solutions but provide folks with a vision going beyond “at least it’s not Trump”.


theguardian--2020-11-09--Make no mistake: Biden's success is an important win for the world | Cas Mudde

So , it wasn ’ t a landslide , but it will be a decisive victory after all .
With an estimated 308 Electoral College votes , Biden will even be two votes above Trump ’ s “ biggest electoral college victory since Reagan ” in 2016 .
But seriously , it will be weird to have a president again who will live in our reality rather than his own .
I wonder how long we will enjoy it .
People forget fast , and media and pundits even faster .
How long before we will all complain about how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden is , two of the characteristics that helped him win the election .
I am not going to speculate about what could still go wrong .
About court cases and possible violence , let alone a coup d ’ état or the return of Trump or a “ smarter ” and “ more polished ” Trumpian candidate in 2024 .
I know it is hard to break the habit of doomsday punditry , which has dominated liberal media for the last four years , but it has not helped us much before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ good right now .
Let ’ s just focus on what did happen .
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won the popular vote with a record number of votes , rebuilt the “ blue wall ” , and flipped two major “ red ” states : Arizona and Georgia .
Moreover , the Senate is still in play , and will be decided in my home state of Georgia , the surprise of this election .
And while it is true that run-offs have always favored Republicans , so did presidential elections , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the big swing among “ moderate Republicans ” , the white suburban housewives , did not happen .
We will have to wait for reliable survey material to draw the right conclusions , and for now resist the temptation to draw upon the highly problematic National Exit Poll to find “ evidence ” for our prejudices .
Still , irrespective of the exact percentages , and the small swings in this election , the Republican party remains the party of white people and the Democratic party remains the party of non-white people .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ group to have supported one party nearly unanimously , is African Americans , and particularly African American women , the saviors of the Democratic party in both 2018 and 2020 .
It is therefore fitting that for the first time in US history there will be a woman in the White House , and a woman of color at that , Kamala Harris .
As we know from the Obama presidency , having a person of color in the White House doesn ’ t guarantee a progressive presidency .
But it does do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of color in the modern Democratic party , which is still , too much , dominated by white men , at the federal and many state levels .
Whatever the Biden presidency will bring in terms of progressive policies , we should not forget that his most important task has already been achieved : to end the Trump presidency .
Although it looks like the apocalyptic scenarios that have dominated liberal media in the past months did , and will , not play out , this does not mean that another Trump term @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not have done serious damage to the institutions , norms , and values of US democracy .
For now , the very real process of democratic erosion has been stopped , and that is a major victory for all Democrats and other democrats .
Similarly , the Biden victory is a big victory for democracy around the world .
Sure , the US has always been an imperfect and opportunistic defender of human rights , and Biden will be no different , but four years of Trump has shown that this is still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hungary to North Korea , and from Brazil to India , the ramifications of the US election will be felt instantly – note Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ’ s remarkably enthusiastic congratulatory tweet to Biden today .
The liberal world order will have its leader back , from Nato to WTO , even though trust in US leadership has been shaken fundamentally – remember that Trump was not the first Republican president to disappoint and disregard the US ’ s traditional allies , George W Bush did the same .
All of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many American progressives , who are deservedly skeptical about traditional US foreign policy .
But know that it will be felt as an incredible victory for progressives in countries like Brazil , Hungary , India , Israel , and Ukraine to have a US president again who cares about the human rights of at least some people around the world .
A US president who will not send ambassadors to their country who will actively support far right parties , like Pete Hoekstra in the Netherlands , and protect far right prime ministers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So , please do celebrate the victory of Biden and Harris , as a major victory for democracy in the US and abroad .
But also realize that the election is not over yet .
Biden will be the president , but whether he will be a powerful or weak president will be decided next January , in the run-off elections for the decisive two Senate seats .
A second victory in Georgia will propel Biden into a strong presidency two weeks later , with the Democrats holding the presidency and both houses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ y ’ all finally know where Georgia is , and understand that we are not all neo-Confederate racists , keep Georgia on your mind in the coming months !

So, it wasn’t a landslide, but it will be a decisive victory after all. With an estimated 306 electoral college votes, Biden will even be two votes above Trump’s “biggest electoral college victory since Reagan” in 2016.
But seriously, it will be weird to have a president again who will live in our reality rather than his own. I wonder how long we will enjoy it. People forget fast, and media and pundits even faster. How long before we will all complain about how “boring” and “predictable” Biden is, two of the characteristics that helped him win the election.
I am not going to speculate about what could still go wrong. About court cases and possible violence, let alone a coup d’état or the return of Trump or a “smarter” and “more polished” Trumpian candidate in 2024. I know it is hard to break the habit of doomsday punditry, which has dominated liberal media for the last four years, but it has not helped us much before and it won’t do much good right now.
Let’s just focus on what did happen. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won the popular vote with a record number of votes, rebuilt the “blue wall”, and flipped two major “red” states: Arizona and Georgia. Moreover, the Senate is still in play, and will be decided in my home state of Georgia, the surprise of this election. And while it is true that runoffs have always favored Republicans, so did presidential elections, until now.
We also know that the big swing among “moderate Republicans”, the white suburban housewives, did not happen. We will have to wait for reliable survey material to draw the right conclusions, and for now resist the temptation to draw upon the highly problematic National Exit Poll to find “evidence” for our prejudices. Still, irrespective of the exact percentages, and the small swings in this election, the Republican party remains the party of white people and the Democratic party remains the party of non-white people. At the same time, the only group to have supported one party nearly unanimously, is African Americans, and particularly African American women, the saviors of the Democratic party in both 2018 and 2020.
It is therefore fitting that for the first time in US history there will be a woman in the White House, and a woman of color at that, Kamala Harris. As we know from the Obama presidency, having a person of color in the White House doesn’t guarantee a progressive presidency. But it does do justice to the crucial role of women of color in the modern Democratic party, which is still, too much, dominated by white men, at the federal and many state levels.
Whatever the Biden presidency will bring, we should not forget that his most important task has already been achieved: to end the Trump presidency
Whatever the Biden presidency will bring in terms of progressive policies, we should not forget that his most important task has already been achieved: to end the Trump presidency. Although it looks like the apocalyptic scenarios that have dominated liberal media in the past months did, and will, not play out, this does not mean that another Trump term could, and almost certainly would, not have done serious damage to the institutions, norms and values of US democracy. For now, the very real process of democratic erosion has been stopped, and that is a major victory for all Democrats and other democrats.
Similarly, the Biden victory is a big victory for democracy around the world. Sure, the US has always been an imperfect and opportunistic defender of human rights, and Biden will be no different, but four years of Trump has shown that this is still much better than the alternative. From Hungary to North Korea, and from Brazil to India, the ramifications of the US election will be felt instantly – note the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s remarkably enthusiastic congratulatory tweet to Biden today . The liberal world order will have its leader back, from Nato to WTO, even though trust in US leadership has been shaken fundamentally – remember that Trump was not the first Republican president to disappoint and disregard the US’s traditional allies; George W Bush did the same.
All of this may be of little concern to many American progressives, who are deservedly skeptical about traditional US foreign policy. But know that it will be felt as an incredible victory for progressives in countries like Brazil, Hungary, India, Israel and Ukraine to have a US president again who cares about the human rights of at least some people around the world. A US president who will not send ambassadors to their country who will actively support far-right parties, like Pete Hoekstra in the Netherlands, and protect far-right prime ministers, like David Cornstein in Hungary.
So, please do celebrate the victory of Biden and Harris as a major victory for democracy in the US and abroad. But also realize that the election is not over yet. Biden will be the president, but whether he will be a powerful or weak president will be decided next January, in the runoff elections for the decisive two Senate seats. A second victory in Georgia will propel Biden into a strong presidency two weeks later, with the Democrats holding the presidency and both houses of Congress. So, now that y’all finally know where Georgia is, and understand that we are not all neo-Confederate racists, keep Georgia on your mind in the coming months!


theguardian--2020-11-09--Victory is only the prelude. What happens now is up to us | Rebecca Solnit

Yes , this election victory may be time to pause and sigh with relief , but it ’ s no finish line .
It ’ s only the starting line for the next round of work .
If people who worked so hard to win , go home , and go to sleep , the Biden administration will accomplish little , and the right will have its usual opportunity to get back what it lost .
We can ’ t allow that .
The clear and pressing danger is a repeat of the last few election cycles in which , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who ’ d been the backbone of the resistance relaxed and assumed the government would do the right thing .
They didn ’ t bother to participate much because they thought power rests in elected officials rather than the electorate .
The fierce effort to push Donald Trump out of power , the unprecedented scale of this summer ’ s Black Lives Matter demonstrations , and the many forms of resistance that took place when Trump won should remind us that it is not so .
In 1992 , when the Democrats took @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of liberal and progressive people dozed through the next two elections and the political opportunities and dangers in-between .
George Bush became president in a corrupted election handed to him by the US supreme court , the sleepers awakened , anti-war protest resulted in the world ’ s biggest demonstration in February of 2003 , and a number of new organizations and coalitions did great work , but when Barack Obama became president , the whole cycle repeated again .
Those who stayed engaged won serious victories around climate , immigration and other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but it could have been so much better .
Obama knew this and early on admonished those who voted for him to have his back when he was on the right track and push him to get what they wanted .
I would argue not enough did , not hard enough , and those eight years were paved with lost opportunities .
More engagement in 2016 could have prevented the obscene catastrophe of the past four years .
More involvement in protecting voting rights overall in the past decade or two could have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , because one thing that is clear from the Republican frenzy to suppress votes is that this country ’ s election results are far more conservative than its people , by design .
Both Bush and Trump posed immense threats to human rights and the climate , which is not to say that the last two Democratic administrations were ideal ; they were better and they offered chances to move forward rather than hunker down in wholly defensive action .
I ’ ve often contemplated how we are fired up by threat and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when the danger is no longer immediate , even go back to the old ways that allowed the catastrophe to happen .
It ’ s one of the conundrums of human nature : how do we remain awake , engaged , committed not just to prevent the worst but pursue the best ?
The answer , as best as I ’ ve been able to figure it out , is partly about discipline , and not just individual , but collective discipline : a culture of commitment .
This means eyes on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ driven by intergenerational conversation ) to remember even in the good times how bad things have been and could be without vigilance and how we changed things for the better in the past , a memory of our power .
It means habits of staying informed and participating , and underneath that the narratives that remind us how we are connected by our powers , responsibilities and vulnerabilities to each other and the larger forces on Earth .
Capitalism and commercial culture , amplified by Silicon Valley , have created the opposite in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ individual , the rhetoric that all you can desire and win is private and personal , a narrative of the powerlessness and therefore lack of responsibility of that individual , generational segregation and historical amnesia , and moneyed forces ranked against civic participation .
What ’ s also striking about the terrain before us is that the past four years have done immense damage to the federal government , the rule of law , the civil service , and even the data on which informed policy relies , as well as public trust @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whole is weakened , disrupted and divided , and re-establishing some sort of trust and unity is a job Joe Biden is eager to do .
Whether or to what extent it proves possible remains to be seen .
The Obama administration came in first as a clean-up crew after the financial disaster at the end of the Bush era but also after the violations of international law ( notably around torture ) .
The clean-up this time will be far more vast , in an economy deeply wounded by the pandemic but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as economic inequality increased by design , wages failed to keep pace with costs of living , indebtedness became a crushing burden on too many lives , and even the most qualified had trouble finding jobs , let alone secure careers .
One of the things I liked about the idea of an Elizabeth Warren presidency was her boldness and acuity in diagnosing the sheer scale of the problem and her radical but pragmatic solutions .
The rumors she could become the treasury secretary are exciting .
A Biden-Harris administration would also come @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , deeper into the climate crisis , wasted years as the 2030 deadline climate scientists gave us approached .
Refugee policy , foreign alliances , environmental regulation , and everything else will need to be reinvented or restored , and in the hugeness of what needs to be done is room for activists and engaged citizens to influence the outcome .
Because whatever nostalgia Biden may represent and encourage , there is no going back : the future can not look like the past , and there are chances to make it better @ @ @ @ @ @ @ take them , a likelihood it will be worse .
Four years of Trump has been like being locked in a room with an unhinged assassin ; you felt you could never take your eyes off him and his minions , that at any moment something yet more horrendous and transgressive might erupt .
A lot of us have what I think of as informational hyper-vigilance , and I remember not long after his 2017 inauguration journalists joking “ I went out to lunch .
WHAT HAPPENED ?
” because weird outrages and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The barrage was so heavy that time itself seemed to change , and last week was another era , last month hardly remembered – the way Trump ’ s impeachment has hardly been an issue in this election is part of it .
I suspect that everyone who opposes the administration will feel relief and some chance to rest .
I hope that everyone who ’ s done such strong work in this era will be ready to put on their shoes and head into the good work to be done in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to play in persuading this administration to have more courage , go farther , live up to its promises , all the while being louder than the corporations and conservatives who want the opposite .
If there ’ s one admirable quality about Biden , it ’ s his malleability – his positions have grown far more progressive , notably on climate .
That malleability puts responsibility on the electorate to lead and shape this administration into what we want it to be .
That is our duty now .

Yes, this election victory may be time to pause and sigh with relief, but it’s no finish line. It’s only the starting line for the next round of work. If people who worked so hard to win, go home, and go to sleep, the Biden administration will accomplish little, and the right will have its usual opportunity to get back what it lost. We can’t allow that.
The clear and pressing danger is a repeat of the last few election cycles in which, when Democrats won, too many people who’d been the backbone of the resistance relaxed and assumed the government would do the right thing. They didn’t bother to participate much because they thought power rests in elected officials rather than the electorate. The fierce effort to push Donald Trump out of power, the unprecedented scale of this summer’s Black Lives Matter demonstrations, and the many forms of resistance that took place when Trump won should remind us that it is not so.
In 1992, when the Democrats took back the White House, a lot of liberal and progressive people dozed through the next two elections and the political opportunities and dangers in-between. George Bush became president in a corrupted election handed to him by the US supreme court, the sleepers awakened, anti-war protest resulted in the world’s biggest demonstration in February of 2003, and a number of new organizations and coalitions did great work, but when Barack Obama became president, the whole cycle repeated again. Those who stayed engaged won serious victories around climate, immigration and other key issues, including marriage equality – but it could have been so much better.
Obama knew this and early on admonished those who voted for him to have his back when he was on the right track and push him to get what they wanted. I would argue not enough did, not hard enough, and those eight years were paved with lost opportunities. More engagement in 2016 could have prevented the obscene catastrophe of the past four years. More involvement in protecting voting rights overall in the past decade or two could have meant entirely different races and candidates overall, because one thing that is clear from the Republican frenzy to suppress votes is that this country’s election results are far more conservative than its people, by design. Both Bush and Trump posed immense threats to human rights and the climate, which is not to say that the last two Democratic administrations were ideal; they were better and they offered chances to move forward rather than hunker down in wholly defensive action.
16:48 How Joe Biden beat Donald Trump in the fight for America’s soul – video
I’ve often contemplated how we are fired up by threat and opposition and how we often check out when the danger is no longer immediate, even go back to the old ways that allowed the catastrophe to happen. It’s one of the conundrums of human nature: how do we remain awake, engaged, committed not just to prevent the worst but pursue the best? The answer, as best as I’ve been able to figure it out, is partly about discipline, and not just individual, but collective discipline: a culture of commitment. This means eyes on the possibilities ahead and historical memory (often driven by intergenerational conversation) to remember even in the good times how bad things have been and could be without vigilance and how we changed things for the better in the past, a memory of our power. It means habits of staying informed and participating, and underneath that the narratives that remind us how we are connected by our powers, responsibilities and vulnerabilities to each other and the larger forces on Earth.
Four years of Trump has been like being locked in a room with an unhinged assassin
Capitalism and commercial culture, amplified by Silicon Valley, have created the opposite in many ways: a cult of the individual, the rhetoric that all you can desire and win is private and personal, a narrative of the powerlessness and therefore lack of responsibility of that individual, generational segregation and historical amnesia, and moneyed forces ranked against civic participation. What’s also striking about the terrain before us is that the past four years have done immense damage to the federal government, the rule of law, the civil service, and even the data on which informed policy relies, as well as public trust in institutions. The country as a whole is weakened, disrupted and divided, and re-establishing some sort of trust and unity is a job Joe Biden is eager to do. Whether or to what extent it proves possible remains to be seen.
The Obama administration came in first as a clean-up crew after the financial disaster at the end of the Bush era but also after the violations of international law (notably around torture). The clean-up this time will be far more vast, in an economy deeply wounded by the pandemic but also decaying over the past four decades as economic inequality increased by design, wages failed to keep pace with costs of living, indebtedness became a crushing burden on too many lives, and even the most qualified had trouble finding jobs, let alone secure careers. One of the things I liked about the idea of an Elizabeth Warren presidency was her boldness and acuity in diagnosing the sheer scale of the problem and her radical but pragmatic solutions. The rumors she could become the treasury secretary are exciting.
A Biden-Harris administration would also come in after four years of pedaling backward, deeper into the climate crisis, wasted years as the 2030 deadline climate scientists gave us approached. Refugee policy, foreign alliances, environmental regulation, and everything else will need to be reinvented or restored, and in the hugeness of what needs to be done is room for activists and engaged citizens to influence the outcome. Because whatever nostalgia Biden may represent and encourage, there is no going back: the future cannot look like the past, and there are chances to make it better, and if we don’t take them, a likelihood it will be worse.
Four years of Trump has been like being locked in a room with an unhinged assassin; you felt you could never take your eyes off him and his minions, that at any moment something yet more horrendous and transgressive might erupt. A lot of us have what I think of as informational hyper-vigilance, and I remember not long after his 2017 inauguration journalists joking “I went out to lunch. WHAT HAPPENED?” because weird outrages and tweets showered down day and night. The barrage was so heavy that time itself seemed to change, and last week was another era, last month hardly remembered – the way Trump’s impeachment has hardly been an issue in this election is part of it. I suspect that everyone who opposes the administration will feel relief and some chance to rest. I hope that everyone who’s done such strong work in this era will be ready to put on their shoes and head into the good work to be done in the next.
We all have a role to play in persuading this administration to have more courage, go farther, live up to its promises, all the while being louder than the corporations and conservatives who want the opposite. If there’s one admirable quality about Biden, it’s his malleability – his positions have grown far more progressive, notably on climate. That malleability puts responsibility on the electorate to lead and shape this administration into what we want it to be. That is our duty now.


theguardian--2020-11-09--Donald Trump wanted a fight with athletes. They may well have doomed him

Sports and politics have always existed at a very public intersection in American life , but never was the illusory firewall keeping them apart more nakedly exposed than over the past four years .
Donald Trump ’ s political alchemy has always relied on his uncanny skill at leveraging the fault lines that divide us .
It ’ s proven an essential tactic for someone who managed to capture the Republican presidential nomination despite failing to win a majority in the first 40 primaries and caucuses , who won the White House despite losing the popular vote by nearly three @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have never cracked a majority throughout his term .
From the earliest days of his administration Trump has found fertile ground in taking this fight to America ’ s last unifying arena : co-opting US sports as not merely a proxy battle in the culture wars that reflect a country ’ s deep divides , but the primary theatre .
He ’ s always recognized sports as an inextricable stripe of the American experience : from owning a team in the upstart United States Football League in the early 1980s to hosting a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Atlantic City before it went bankrupt , most notably the 1988 blockbuster between Mike Tyson and Michael Spinks , for which he paid a then-record $ 11m site fee .
It ’ s these roots in boxing promotion , where misdirection and the manifold arts of emotional manipulation are the stock-in-trade , that served him particularly well during his stunning ascent to the White House .
But it wasn ’ t until a rally in Alabama nine months into his presidency that he first seized on what became his favorite fountainhead of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Colin Kaepernick was only the start .
Before long Trump was jousting with NBA stars Stephen Curry and LeBron James over his decision to rescind the Golden State Warriors ’ unaccepted invitation for the White House visit traditionally extended to championship-winning teams ( eliciting the all-time burn from LeBron of “ U bum ” ) .
He picked a fight with Megan Rapinoe , a proudly gay athlete with a taste for battle whose outspoken political views have made her a lightning rod for conservatives .
He launched a baseless attack on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in which a noose was found in the team garage of Nascar ’ s only black driver .
When then-ESPN correspondent Jemele Hill tweeted that Trump was “ a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists ” , Trump clapped back first through the White House press secretary , who declared the comments “ a fireable offense ” , then doubled down with a name-check on Twitter pegged to Hill ’ s two-week suspension from the network .
For the first few years it was a cost-free enterprise .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , almost exclusively from minority or otherwise marginalized communities , was red meat for his base : a white guy talking tough in a country where white guys talking tough is still for many seen as something to be impressed by .
It played to our worst instincts and our lowest common denominator .
Depressingly , it was good politics .
But a funny thing happened on the way to a re-election that for years felt like a fait accompli given the historical power of the incumbency .
With the sports world at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and amid nationwide unrest over the police killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville , the calculus changed .
A strategy dependent on the highly instinctive command of thin margins began to tilt against its conductor .
The accumulation of the president ’ s incessant counter-punching led to organization among professional athletes that not only drew attention to social and racial injustice – remember : Kaepernick only wanted to start a conversation – but brought about a high-water point of athlete activism not seen since the 1960s , when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Brown and Kareem Abdul‑Jabbar risked their livelihoods to stand on the frontline of the civil rights movement .
In June , Roger Goodell , the NFL commissioner who three years ago gifted Trump a decisive optical victory when he unveiled a policy requiring every player , coach , trainer , ballboy , referee and executive to stand for the national anthem or face punishment , admitted the decision was wrong in a stunning about-face that was seen as a snub of the US president .
Goodell ’ s mea culpa directly followed a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the NFL ’ s biggest stars – including Patrick Mahomes , Deshaun Watson and Odell Beckham – who spoke powerfully about the omnipresence of systemic racism against black Americans .
One week later , LeBron came together with a group of prominent athletes and entertainers to form More Than a Vote , an organization aimed at turning out black voters .
Not long after , Curry , a two-time NBA MVP and one of basketball ’ s most popular stars , appeared with his wife , Ayesha , and their two daughters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democratic National Convention .
Even Michael Jordan , whose infamous assertion that “ Republicans buy sneakers , too ” prompted a generation of athletes to keep their heads down when it came to thorny issues lest they alienate the consumer , wrote $ 2.5m-worth of checks to fight black voter suppression as part of a 10-year , $ 100m pledge to tackle institutional racism .
“ We understand that one of the main ways we can change systemic racism is at the polls , ” he said .
“ We know it will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ change we want to see , but we are working quickly to take action for the Black Community ’ s voice to be heard.
” When Joe Biden gave a speech in Gettysburg last month widely acknowledged as the rhetorical high point of his campaign , he quoted then-Clippers head coach Doc Rivers ’ remarks after the shooting of Jacob Blake : “ We keep loving this country and this country does not love us back.
” It ’ s impossible to calculate whether the activism Trump induced played a decisive role in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ equally difficult to ignore the razor-thin margins in battleground states that have been flashpoints in the movement .
Wisconsin , where Trump lost by less than one percentage point , is the home of the NBA ’ s Milwaukee Bucks , whose decision to boycott a play-off game in August inspired a two-day sports blackout involving hundreds of athletes in professional men ’ s and women ’ s basketball , baseball , soccer and tennis .
Pennsylvania , which ultimately swung the election to Biden , is home of the NFL ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the White House after their historic Super Bowl win in February 2018 .
Last week , Rodney McLeod and several of his teammates rode a double-decker bus around the football-mad city in an initiative to encourage voter turnout and usher people to polling places .
North Carolina , a traditional Trump stronghold which remains too close to call , was the site of a demonstration led by Oklahoma City Thunder star Chris Paul , who led about 2,500 people on a march to a Winston-Salem voting site .
The focus was not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even if it ’ s not too difficult to guess which side the organizers support .
Of course Trump was not without his supporters in American sports .
The Ultimate Fighting Championship effectively became the sports arm of the Maga regime with welterweights Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal stumping for him on the trail .
The three figures most responsible for the New England Patriots ’ runaway dominance over the past two decades – the owner , Robert Kraft ; the head coach , Bill Belichick ; and the longtime quarterback Tom Brady @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump while stopping short of public endorsement .
As Trump furiously bore down the homestretch of the campaign holding as many as five rallies a day , he aggressively courted athlete endorsements and frequently showed them off to crowds : wrestling icon Dan Gable in Des Moines , hall of fame baseball catcher Mike Piazza in Reading , former New York Jets head coach Lou Holtz in Butler .
But when America went to the ballot box on Tuesday , more than 20 professional sports teams had converted their arenas and stadiums into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ players .
In a race which saw Republicans trying to depress turnout as desperately as Democrats sought to expand it , the advantage was clear .
The issues facing those in the United States marginalized by race and class were bound to bubble up and find expression in the mainstream channels of American life even before this particular president .
But it was Trump who engendered a heightened sense of urgency by taking the fight to America ’ s athletes .
And if the celebrations of LeBron , Rapinoe and co are any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to finish it .

Sports and politics have always existed at a very public intersection in American life, but never was the illusory firewall keeping them apart more nakedly exposed than over the past four years. Donald Trump’s political alchemy has always relied on his uncanny skill at leveraging the fault lines that divide us. It’s proven an essential tactic for someone who managed to capture the Republican presidential nomination despite failing to win a majority in the first 40 primaries and caucuses, who won the White House despite losing the popular vote by nearly three million ballots and whose overall approval ratings have never cracked a majority throughout his term.
From the earliest days of his administration Trump has found fertile ground in taking this fight to America’s last unifying arena: co-opting US sports as not merely a proxy battle in the culture wars that reflect a country’s deep divides, but the primary theatre. He’s always recognized sports as an inextricable stripe of the American experience: from owning a team in the upstart United States Football League in the early 1980s to hosting a series of major prizefights at his casino in Atlantic City before it went bankrupt, most notably the 1988 blockbuster between Mike Tyson and Michael Spinks, for which he paid a then-record $11m site fee. It’s these roots in boxing promotion, where misdirection and the manifold arts of emotional manipulation are the stock-in-trade, that served him particularly well during his stunning ascent to the White House. But it wasn’t until a rally in Alabama nine months into his presidency that he first seized on what became his favorite fountainhead of easy political points.
The president’s incessant counter-punching brought about a high-water point of athlete activism not seen since the 1960s
His sensational broadside on Colin Kaepernick was only the start. Before long Trump was jousting with NBA stars Stephen Curry and LeBron James over his decision to rescind the Golden State Warriors’ unaccepted invitation for the White House visit traditionally extended to championship-winning teams (eliciting the all-time burn from LeBron of “U bum”). He picked a fight with Megan Rapinoe, a proudly gay athlete with a taste for battle whose outspoken political views have made her a lightning rod for conservatives. He launched a baseless attack on Bubba Wallace over an incident this summer in which a noose was found in the team garage of Nascar’s only black driver. When then-ESPN correspondent Jemele Hill tweeted that Trump was “a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists”, Trump clapped back first through the White House press secretary, who declared the comments “a fireable offense”, then doubled down with a name-check on Twitter pegged to Hill’s two-week suspension from the network.
For the first few years it was a cost-free enterprise. The targeted demonization of these so-called elites, almost exclusively from minority or otherwise marginalized communities, was red meat for his base: a white guy talking tough in a country where white guys talking tough is still for many seen as something to be impressed by. It played to our worst instincts and our lowest common denominator. Depressingly, it was good politics.
But a funny thing happened on the way to a re-election that for years felt like a fait accompli given the historical power of the incumbency. With the sports world at a standstill due to the coronavirus pandemic and amid nationwide unrest over the police killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville, the calculus changed. A strategy dependent on the highly instinctive command of thin margins began to tilt against its conductor. The accumulation of the president’s incessant counter-punching led to organization among professional athletes that not only drew attention to social and racial injustice – remember: Kaepernick only wanted to start a conversation – but brought about a high-water point of athlete activism not seen since the 1960s, when champions such as Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown and Kareem Abdul‑Jabbar risked their livelihoods to stand on the frontline of the civil rights movement.
In June, Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner who three years ago gifted Trump a decisive optical victory when he unveiled a policy requiring every player, coach, trainer, ballboy, referee and executive to stand for the national anthem or face punishment, admitted the decision was wrong in a stunning about-face that was seen as a snub of the US president. Goodell’s mea culpa directly followed a video challenge to the league from some of the NFL’s biggest stars – including Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson and Odell Beckham – who spoke powerfully about the omnipresence of systemic racism against black Americans.
Megan Rapinoe was one of a host of athletes who clashed with Donald Trump during his presidency. Photograph: Steve Luciano/AP
One week later, LeBron came together with a group of prominent athletes and entertainers to form More Than a Vote, an organization aimed at turning out black voters. Not long after, Curry, a two-time NBA MVP and one of basketball’s most popular stars, appeared with his wife, Ayesha, and their two daughters in a video endorsing Biden during the Democratic National Convention. Even Michael Jordan, whose infamous assertion that “Republicans buy sneakers, too” prompted a generation of athletes to keep their heads down when it came to thorny issues lest they alienate the consumer, wrote $2.5m-worth of checks to fight black voter suppression as part of a 10-year, $100m pledge to tackle institutional racism. “We understand that one of the main ways we can change systemic racism is at the polls,” he said. “We know it will take time for us to create the change we want to see, but we are working quickly to take action for the Black Community’s voice to be heard.”
When Joe Biden gave a speech in Gettysburg last month widely acknowledged as the rhetorical high point of his campaign, he quoted then-Clippers head coach Doc Rivers’ remarks after the shooting of Jacob Blake: “We keep loving this country and this country does not love us back.”
Joe Biden quotes Sixers coach Doc Rivers in his call for national unity at Gettysburg today: "We keep loving this country and this country does not love us back." pic.twitter.com/kMTMnToWgp — Bryan Armen Graham (@BryanAGraham) October 6, 2020
It’s impossible to calculate whether the activism Trump induced played a decisive role in his defeat. But it’s equally difficult to ignore the razor-thin margins in battleground states that have been flashpoints in the movement. Wisconsin, where Trump lost by less than one percentage point, is the home of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, whose decision to boycott a play-off game in August inspired a two-day sports blackout involving hundreds of athletes in professional men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, soccer and tennis.
Pennsylvania, which ultimately swung the election to Biden, is home of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles, who were famously disinvited from the White House after their historic Super Bowl win in February 2018. Last week, Rodney McLeod and several of his teammates rode a double-decker bus around the football-mad city in an initiative to encourage voter turnout and usher people to polling places.
North Carolina, a traditional Trump stronghold which remains too close to call, was the site of a demonstration led by Oklahoma City Thunder star Chris Paul, who led about 2,500 people on a march to a Winston-Salem voting site. The focus was not on partisanship but engagement and participation, even if it’s not too difficult to guess which side the organizers support.
Of course Trump was not without his supporters in American sports. The Ultimate Fighting Championship effectively became the sports arm of the Maga regime with welterweights Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal stumping for him on the trail. The three figures most responsible for the New England Patriots’ runaway dominance over the past two decades – the owner, Robert Kraft; the head coach, Bill Belichick; and the longtime quarterback Tom Brady – all showed a quiet allegiance to Trump while stopping short of public endorsement. As Trump furiously bore down the homestretch of the campaign holding as many as five rallies a day, he aggressively courted athlete endorsements and frequently showed them off to crowds: wrestling icon Dan Gable in Des Moines, hall of fame baseball catcher Mike Piazza in Reading, former New York Jets head coach Lou Holtz in Butler.
But when America went to the ballot box on Tuesday, more than 20 professional sports teams had converted their arenas and stadiums into voting centers at the urging of their players. In a race which saw Republicans trying to depress turnout as desperately as Democrats sought to expand it, the advantage was clear.
The issues facing those in the United States marginalized by race and class were bound to bubble up and find expression in the mainstream channels of American life even before this particular president. But it was Trump who engendered a heightened sense of urgency by taking the fight to America’s athletes. And if the celebrations of LeBron, Rapinoe and co are any indicator, they were more than happy to finish it.


theguardian--2020-11-09--Ivanka Trump will lose White House status and job – what will she do next?

Ivanka Trump isn ’ t just losing her status as first daughter with her father Donald Trump ’ s defeat to Joe Biden – she ’ s also losing her job .
In her father ’ s White House , Ivanka Trump works as “ advisor to the president ” , purportedly focusing on “ the education and economic empowerment of women and their families as well as job creation and economic growth through workforce development , skills training and entrepreneurship ” .
Before that , she “ oversaw development and acquisitions ” for her father ’ s real estate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had a fashion clothing line .
She also appeared as a boardroom judge on Trump ’ s reality show , The Apprentice .
But her role in the White House , and the fact that virtually her entire professional history is tied to her father , raise the question : What will she wind up doing ?
While Ivanka could probably return to the Trump Organization , it may not be the most stable workplace when her father leaves office .
The Manhattan district attorney ’ s office is seeking Trump ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investigation ” , previously citing public reports on “ extensive and protracted criminal conduct at the Trump Organization ” in their request .
The New York state attorney general ’ s office is also investigating whether the Trump Organization and its agents wrongly inflated the value of Seven Springs estate , a property north of New York City .
The state attorney general ’ s probe came after Trump ’ s former attorney Michael Cohen told Congress that he had inflated his assets ’ value , so as to get more favorable loans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the world of fashion also appears unlikely .
Indeed , Ivanka Trump ’ s eponymous brand is no more .
She announced its closure in July 2018 , citing “ the work I am doing here in Washington ” .
The circumstances preceding the announcement , however , weren ’ t promising .
Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom dropped her line in 2017 , claiming “ poor performance ” .
There was also a campaign targeting online retailers , asking them to drop the brand in protest of Trump administration policies .
There @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ivanka Trump may have some business opportunities in the pipeline .
OK !
magazine claimed that the Trump family had received “ lots of reality TV offers ” before voting had wrapped – and that Ivanka was especially sought after .
“ You have to remember that reality TV made this family superstars .
It was appearing on The Celebrity Apprentice next to their father , Donald Trump , that made Ivanka , Donald Jr and Eric into primetime stars , ” an OK !
source referred to as a “ top TV @ @ @ @ @ @ @ For the kids to return to reality TV shouldn ’ t be a surprise and neither should be the fact that Ivanka is the family member that is getting the most offers , including interest from Dancing With the Stars.
” One purported “ pal ” cited by OK !
Said : “ She could have her own primetime cable show if she wanted it.
” Ivanka Trump ’ s recent statements suggest an ongoing interest in public life , potentially even politics .
In an interview with RealClearPolitics last week , Ivanka @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when it comes to everything ” .
Similar to her father ’ s belief that politics is about people rather than parties , Ivanka Trump reportedly said she identified as a “ Trump-Republican ” .
Asked if she would consider herself a populist , Ivanka Trump reportedly said : “ I think a lot of these labels , to be quite honest , are really limiting in terms of what you call yourself or how you identify … but I don ’ t reject that label at all.
” In that interview , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to voice support of a key Republican policy plank as she came out anti-abortion .
“ I respect all sides of a very personal and sensitive discussion , ” she said when asked about abortion , “ but I am also a mother of three children , and parenthood affected me in a profound way in terms of how I think about these things.
” “ I am pro-life , and unapologetically so , ” she reportedly said .
Regardless of what Ivanka Trump winds up doing , she will fare better than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during the pandemic .
She and her husband , real estate scion-and-Trump adviser Jared Kushner , listed $ 36,151,214– $ 157,020,085 in their financial disclosures for 2019 , according to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington .
Attempts to reach the Trump Organization , and a longtime family lawyer , for comment were not immediately successful .

Ivanka Trump isn’t just losing her status as first daughter with her father Donald Trump’s defeat to Joe Biden – she’s also losing her job.
In her father’s White House, Ivanka Trump works as “advisor to the president”, purportedly focusing on “the education and economic empowerment of women and their families as well as job creation and economic growth through workforce development, skills training and entrepreneurship”.
Before that, she “oversaw development and acquisitions” for her father’s real estate company, the Trump Organization, and had a fashion clothing line. She also appeared as a boardroom judge on Trump’s reality show, The Apprentice.
But her role in the White House, and the fact that virtually her entire professional history is tied to her father, raise the question: What will she wind up doing?
While Ivanka could probably return to the Trump Organization, it may not be the most stable workplace when her father leaves office. The Manhattan district attorney’s office is seeking Trump’s tax returns in a “complex financial investigation”, previously citing public reports on “extensive and protracted criminal conduct at the Trump Organization” in their request.
The New York state attorney general’s office is also investigating whether the Trump Organization and its agents wrongly inflated the value of Seven Springs estate, a property north of New York City. The state attorney general’s probe came after Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen told Congress that he had inflated his assets’ value, so as to get more favorable loans and insurance policies.
But a return to the world of fashion also appears unlikely. Indeed, Ivanka Trump’s eponymous brand is no more. She announced its closure in July 2018, citing “the work I am doing here in Washington”. The circumstances preceding the announcement, however, weren’t promising. Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom dropped her line in 2017, claiming “poor performance”. There was also a campaign targeting online retailers, asking them to drop the brand in protest of Trump administration policies.
A return to the world of fashion appears unlikely. Indeed, Ivanka Trump’s eponymous brand is no more. Photograph: Tork Mason/AP
There are, however, rumors claiming that Ivanka Trump may have some business opportunities in the pipeline. OK! magazine claimed that the Trump family had received “lots of reality TV offers” before voting had wrapped – and that Ivanka was especially sought after.
“You have to remember that reality TV made this family superstars. It was appearing on The Celebrity Apprentice next to their father, Donald Trump, that made Ivanka, Donald Jr and Eric into primetime stars,” an OK! source referred to as a “top TV insider” told the outlet. “For the kids to return to reality TV shouldn’t be a surprise and neither should be the fact that Ivanka is the family member that is getting the most offers, including interest from Dancing With the Stars.”
One purported “pal” cited by OK! Said: “She could have her own primetime cable show if she wanted it.”
Ivanka Trump’s recent statements suggest an ongoing interest in public life, potentially even politics. In an interview with RealClearPolitics last week, Ivanka said she’s “a pragmatist when it comes to everything”. Similar to her father’s belief that politics is about people rather than parties, Ivanka Trump reportedly said she identified as a “Trump-Republican”.
Asked if she would consider herself a populist, Ivanka Trump reportedly said: “I think a lot of these labels, to be quite honest, are really limiting in terms of what you call yourself or how you identify … but I don’t reject that label at all.”
In that interview, Ivanka Trump appeared for the first time to voice support of a key Republican policy plank as she came out anti-abortion.
“I respect all sides of a very personal and sensitive discussion,” she said when asked about abortion, “but I am also a mother of three children, and parenthood affected me in a profound way in terms of how I think about these things.”
“I am pro-life, and unapologetically so,” she reportedly said.
Regardless of what Ivanka Trump winds up doing, she will fare better than the millions of Americans who are unemployed during the pandemic. She and her husband, real estate scion-and-Trump adviser Jared Kushner, listed $36,151,214–$157,020,085 in their financial disclosures for 2019, according to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
Attempts to reach the Trump Organization, and a longtime family lawyer, for comment were not immediately successful.


theguardian--2020-11-09--A woman of colour as US vice-president: three writers on what Kamala Harris means to them

Bettina Love : ‘ Joy and hope … but no honeymoon period ’ To be able to say the words “ Vice-president Harris ” and know I am talking about a Black woman is a feeling like no other .
A feeling of joy , hope and vindication .
I am excited to see a Black woman as vice-president of the United States .
It has taken centuries of pain , struggle and joy to get to this accomplishment , but many Black women today are smiling under our masks .
When I think about Harris , I remember her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she challenges people , cross-examines them , and handles herself in a room .
I hope that ’ s the energy she brings as vice-president .
And , of course , I think of the moment during the primaries when she took President Biden to task over his opposition to bussing in the 1970s , when he was a senator .
We all knew Biden was the frontrunner , and that Harris would most likely be his running mate , so the fact that she was willing to hold him to the fire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ toughness , but her commitment to the truth .
She was willing to attack the top candidate .
That ’ s what you want from a leader – someone who ’ s not afraid to go after facts and find the truth .
At the end of the day , she ’ s a great politician .
I just want her to be a great politician on behalf of the most vulnerable people in our society .
Of course , she has a record on criminal justice that is troubling .
But I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ organisations will push her to the left .
I hope she is ready to address the harm that the criminal justice system has done to Black and brown communities up close .
I am so looking forward to watching Harris walking out of the White House for the first time , so that I can show my kids : look , there ’ s a Black woman as vice-president .
But representation is only representation : we need actual results .
Black women are going to rejoice that she ’ s won , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can handle , and then turn to her and say : let ’ s go , sis !
Harris isn ’ t going to get a honeymoon period , because she ’ s a Black woman in a racist and sexist country .
It ’ s always tougher for women .
The opposition are going to be critical of every step she takes .
The first Black vice-president and the first female vice-president – she will be under scrutiny like never before .
The Biden-Harris administration needs to move fast .
We don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ things around .
There ’ s the pandemic , of course .
We ’ ve got 545 migrant children who don ’ t know where their parents are – reuniting them needs to be a priority .
We need to fight to keep Roe v Wade , and Obamacare .
And I want to see action on violence against women , and educational equity in our schools , particularly for Black and brown girls .
That ’ s a lot for Harris to achieve in four years .
And I ’ m ready @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bettina Love is an author , academic and activist Mahogany L Browne : ‘ I need to believe you can help change the justice system ’ I know what it means for your name to be misspelled .
I know what it means for your name to be mispronounced in order to mock you .
I know what it means to be part of a community that suffers because of the American justice system .
Kamala Harris , daughter of the Bay Area of California , we are alike in this way , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ side of the law enforcement fence .
You were a California prosecutor ; my father has been incarcerated in one of the state ’ s 35 prisons for 20 years and counting .
My uncles , several living and the rest deceased , have all been victims of the mass incarceration system : petty crimes , drug possession , and probation violations kept them behind metal bars as their children graduated , became parents , or were shot and killed .
My hopefulness , when thinking of you , returns to your past @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can help to change this unethical and biased justice system .
Kamala , three syllables can sound like a song when pronounced correctly – ( “ Just think like ‘ comma ’ and add a ‘ lah ’ , ” you have said ) .
I learned it means lotus in Sanskrit .
This is how I imagine the rebirth of our country , as we still march and protest for the victims of police brutality .
This community unrest has yielded little after countless displays of state-sanctioned violence .
What I can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The images of communities , restored after recidivism .
Snapshots of community gardens where racist statues once reigned .
Can you see it too ?
Kamala , I know how hard it is to see yourself correctly when the world is so committed to erasing you .
I want to believe that while this job is difficult , you will see clearly the ways in which Black and Brown and other marginalised people ’ s rights need to be centred .
I look forward to working with accountability groups to ensure Black people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I see you and your many intersections , Kamala , and I believe you can and will do better .
Mikki Kendall : ‘ We must not take advancement as achievement ’ Seeing a woman who looks like me in the role of vice-president is important , but so is what happens next .
Kamala Harris follows in the footsteps of Black women like Charlotta Bass , who first ran for the office of vice-president on a Progressive party ticket in 1952 , and Shirley Chisholm , the first Black woman to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for president .
Their legacies have been set in history , from Bass ’ s work before she was a candidate , as an activist and journalist pushing for equality , to Chisholm ’ s work expanding food and nutrition programmes for the poor .
Harris stands on the shoulders of women who fought to make America a better place for marginalised communities .
So , as she moves into one of the highest political offices , the question is not just one of being happy to see a woman of colour in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to ask what Harris will use her power to do , and to be willing to push for her to honour her predecessors ’ legacies by continuing their work to end police brutality and combat structural racism .
We must celebrate the progress that Harris ’ s role represents , but not take advancement as achievement .
There is still so much work to be done .
The door that was opened for Harris is one she must be willing to keep open for others , so that seeing women in leadership roles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and many others , it ’ s important that America lives up to its own narrative about being the land of opportunity by bolstering social safety nets , so that in the aftermath of Covid-19 America can not only recover , but it can finally become the place it has always claimed to be for all communities .
• None Mikki Kendall is the author of Hood Feminism : Notes from the Women White Feminists Forgot , published by Bloomsbury Publishing

Bettina Love, Mahogany L Browne and Mikki Kendall

Bettina Love: ‘Joy and hope … but no honeymoon period’
To be able to say the words “Vice-president Harris” and know I am talking about a Black woman is a feeling like no other. A feeling of joy, hope and vindication. I am excited to see a Black woman as vice-president of the United States. It has taken centuries of pain, struggle and joy to get to this accomplishment, but many Black women today are smiling under our masks.
When I think about Harris, I remember her performance at Senate hearings: the way she challenges people, cross-examines them, and handles herself in a room. I hope that’s the energy she brings as vice-president. And, of course, I think of the moment during the primaries when she took President Biden to task over his opposition to bussing in the 1970s, when he was a senator. We all knew Biden was the frontrunner, and that Harris would most likely be his running mate, so the fact that she was willing to hold him to the fire on that issue showed not only her toughness, but her commitment to the truth. She was willing to attack the top candidate. That’s what you want from a leader – someone who’s not afraid to go after facts and find the truth. At the end of the day, she’s a great politician. I just want her to be a great politician on behalf of the most vulnerable people in our society.
Of course, she has a record on criminal justice that is troubling. But I’m hopeful that grassroots and national organisations will push her to the left. I hope she is ready to address the harm that the criminal justice system has done to Black and brown communities up close.
I am so looking forward to watching Harris walking out of the White House for the first time, so that I can show my kids: look, there’s a Black woman as vice-president. But representation is only representation: we need actual results. Black women are going to rejoice that she’s won, and wish her all the joy she can handle, and then turn to her and say: let’s go, sis! Harris isn’t going to get a honeymoon period, because she’s a Black woman in a racist and sexist country. It’s always tougher for women. The opposition are going to be critical of every step she takes. The first Black vice-president and the first female vice-president – she will be under scrutiny like never before.
The Biden-Harris administration needs to move fast. We don’t have much time to turn things around. There’s the pandemic, of course. We’ve got 545 migrant children who don’t know where their parents are – reuniting them needs to be a priority. We need to fight to keep Roe v Wade, and Obamacare. And I want to see action on violence against women, and educational equity in our schools, particularly for Black and brown girls. That’s a lot for Harris to achieve in four years. And I’m ready to fight with her.
Bettina Love is an author, academic and activist
Mahogany L Browne: ‘I need to believe you can help change the justice system’
I know what it means for your name to be misspelled. I know what it means for your name to be mispronounced in order to mock you. I know what it means to be part of a community that suffers because of the American justice system. Kamala Harris, daughter of the Bay Area of California, we are alike in this way, except my family falls on the other side of the law enforcement fence. You were a California prosecutor; my father has been incarcerated in one of the state’s 35 prisons for 20 years and counting. My uncles, several living and the rest deceased, have all been victims of the mass incarceration system: petty crimes, drug possession, and probation violations kept them behind metal bars as their children graduated, became parents, or were shot and killed. My hopefulness, when thinking of you, returns to your past role. I need to believe you can help to change this unethical and biased justice system.
Kamala, three syllables can sound like a song when pronounced correctly – (“Just think like ‘comma’ and add a ‘lah’,” you have said). I learned it means lotus in Sanskrit. This is how I imagine the rebirth of our country, as we still march and protest for the victims of police brutality. This community unrest has yielded little after countless displays of state-sanctioned violence. What I cannot see, I imagine instead. The images of communities, restored after recidivism. Snapshots of community gardens where racist statues once reigned. Can you see it too?
Kamala, I know how hard it is to see yourself correctly when the world is so committed to erasing you. I want to believe that while this job is difficult, you will see clearly the ways in which Black and Brown and other marginalised people’s rights need to be centred. I look forward to working with accountability groups to ensure Black people will be protected by this incoming administration. I see you and your many intersections, Kamala, and I believe you can and will do better.
Mahogany L Browne is an educator, organiser and poet. She is the author of Chlorine Sky and Woke: A Young Poet’s Call to Justice
Mikki Kendall: ‘We must not take advancement as achievement’
Seeing a woman who looks like me in the role of vice-president is important, but so is what happens next. Kamala Harris follows in the footsteps of Black women like Charlotta Bass, who first ran for the office of vice-president on a Progressive party ticket in 1952, and Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman to be elected to Congress and to run for president. Their legacies have been set in history, from Bass’s work before she was a candidate, as an activist and journalist pushing for equality, to Chisholm’s work expanding food and nutrition programmes for the poor. Harris stands on the shoulders of women who fought to make America a better place for marginalised communities.
So, as she moves into one of the highest political offices, the question is not just one of being happy to see a woman of colour in a leadership role. It is important to ask what Harris will use her power to do, and to be willing to push for her to honour her predecessors’ legacies by continuing their work to end police brutality and combat structural racism. We must celebrate the progress that Harris’s role represents, but not take advancement as achievement. There is still so much work to be done. The door that was opened for Harris is one she must be willing to keep open for others, so that seeing women in leadership roles in America is standard. For me and many others, it’s important that America lives up to its own narrative about being the land of opportunity by bolstering social safety nets, so that in the aftermath of Covid-19 America cannot only recover, but it can finally become the place it has always claimed to be for all communities.