theguardian--2020-09-19--'Vote like your life depends on it': Pete Buttigieg's message to LGBTQ youth

For Pete Buttigieg , the first openly gay candidate to win a presidential primary or caucus , the threat of a second Trump term is both political and deeply personal .
Donald Trump has claimed to be a staunch supporter of LGBTQ rights but he has sought to undermine them through the courts .
His vice-president , Mike Pence , has long opposed same-sex marriage .
“ When you see your own rights come up for debate , when you know something as intimate and central to your life as the existence of your family is something that is not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your vice-president , it ’ s painful , ” Buttigieg says by phone from Traverse City , Michigan , where his husband Chasten grew up .
“ It creates a sense of urgency that I hope will motivate many people – including a lot of LGBTQ younger people who maybe weren ’ t deciding so much how to vote as they were whether to vote – to see now is the time to vote like your life depends on it.
” Buttigieg , 38 and the former mayor of South Bend , Indiana @ @ @ @ @ @ @ politics in that seemingly distant pre-pandemic age that was in fact February .
A Rhodes scholar at Oxford and war veteran in Afghanistan , he beat senators and a former vice-president to make history by narrowly winning the Iowa caucuses .
But after a crushing defeat in South Carolina , Buttigieg quit the race on 1 March , joining other moderates in throwing his weight behind Joe Biden .
He is now launching his own podcast and prosecuting the case against Trump in the media – including on LGBTQ rights .
In June @ @ @ @ @ @ @ release that claimed “ President Trump has taken unprecedented steps to protect the LGBTQ community ” .
Among its examples to support this were the selection of Richard Grenell as acting director of national intelligence , making him the first openly gay person to hold a cabinet-level position .
Grenell has called Trump the “ most pro-gay president in American history ” .
But LGBTQ rights activists are not buying it , pointing out that Trump banned transgender people from the military and reversed many of their legal protections .
He also opposes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ LGBTQ people from discrimination in housing , the workplace and other settings , and his agencies are trying to give adoption and foster care agencies the right to discriminate against same-sex couples .
The power of Washington over individual lives was made viscerally clear to Buttigieg by the 2015 supreme court ruling that legalised same-sex marriage nationwide .
Three years later he married Chasten , a junior high school teacher who became a popular figure on the campaign trail .
Buttigieg says : “ I ’ m mindful every day that my marriage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on our supreme court and we ’ ve seen the kind of extreme appointees that have been placed on the bench by this administration .
“ We ’ ve seen how , despite sometimes paying lip service to the community , [ Trump has ] rarely missed an opportunity to attack the community , especially trans people , whether we ’ re talking about the ban on military service or issues around healthcare .
But even for same-sex international adoption , this administration has taken us in the wrong direction and four more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Also around the world , we ’ re seeing , for example in eastern Europe , really disturbing setbacks in LGBTQ rights and equality without a strong United States leading the way in human rights , which requires leadership and credibility and also that we ’ re doing the right thing here at home .
Without that , I think that people around the world are less safe.
” In Poland , for example , Jaroslaw Kaczynski , the leader of the governing party , has said homosexuality represents a “ threat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ towns declared themselves “ LGBT ideology-free zones ” , the European Union froze funding .
But the US has been silent .
Hosting Polish president Andrzej Duda at the White House in June , Trump said : “ I don ’ t think we ’ ve ever been closer to Poland than we are right now.
” Buttigieg ’ s presidential run exceeded expectations but he never polled strongly among African Americans and his impact as mayor of South Bend on residents of colour came under frequent scrutiny .
Then came the police @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against racial injustice that left some white liberals agonising over how to be good allies – when to speak and when to stay silent ?
Buttigieg , the son of a Maltese immigrant , answers with characteristic composure and lucidity : “ The reality is it ’ s among white people that most of the change has to happen and it ’ s also important to recognise that defeating systemic racism is not only a matter of beating back the likes of the [ Ku Klux Klan ] .
“ There ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who theoretically detest racism have to do or have to change or have to give up .
I think that ’ s the spirit that has really been guiding this uprising and why this time really could be different .
Of course , Black voices can and must be in the foremost roles but it also would not be fair to ask or expect Black people to have to do all the work because , again , it ’ s among white people that so much of the change has to happen.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ field of candidates in primary history .
Was he disappointed that , in the end , the nomination went to a septuagenarian white man ?
“ We had a really robust competition and I was proud to be part of a historically diverse field and ultimately Joe Biden earned this nomination and his victory by bringing a very diverse party together , as I think he will bring a sometimes divided country together .
It is his speciality and instinct to heal and to unify and that ’ s what we need right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ m also very excited about the diversity of the administration that I know he ’ s committed to building .
Buttigieg , who is half Biden ’ s age , adds : “ One thing I really appreciate about him is how intentional and direct he ’ s been about the transformational presidency that he can build .
You can see in the campaign the attention he puts into reaching out to different generations .
I think his presidency will do the same .
“ The message that I have , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ longer you ’ re planning to be here , the more you have at stake in some of these choices , which are effectively irreversible choices that are about to be made about the climate , the economy and the international community.
” Biden chose one of his Democratic rivals , Senator Kamala Harris , as his running mate , and it seems safe to assume that should he win , he will pick others from that deep bench for his administration .
Asked if he would be interested , Buttigieg does not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ focus right now is to do everything I can to help to make sure that there is a Biden administration .
Of course , I love public service and if I can contribute in that way in the future , it would be very meaningful .
But right now it ’ s all hands on deck to make sure we actually get there.
” In the meantime , he has started a podcast , released by the iHeartMedia network and set to run for 20 episodes .
The premise of the title , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2020s will shape the life of America and the world for the rest of the century .
Buttigieg looks forward to digging in more deeply on issues than TV soundbite culture allows .
As a polymath who plays the piano , speaks half a dozen languages and reads James Joyce , will he be able to resist cerebral topics ?
“ We ’ ll see how literary I can get away with being .
We really want to have a mix of authors , athletes perhaps , cultural figures as well as political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think this is going to shape us in a lot of different ways that have not been contemplated .
“ It ’ s a painful time in the country and in the world , but these painful times are also often so fertile for new ideas and I want to make sure we ’ re looking beyond the kind of immediate political questions .
”

For Pete Buttigieg, the first openly gay candidate to win a presidential primary or caucus, the threat of a second Trump term is both political and deeply personal.
Donald Trump has claimed to be a staunch supporter of LGBTQ rights but he has sought to undermine them through the courts. His vice-president, Mike Pence, has long opposed same-sex marriage.
“When you see your own rights come up for debate, when you know something as intimate and central to your life as the existence of your family is something that is not supported by your president, and certainly your vice-president, it’s painful,” Buttigieg says by phone from Traverse City, Michigan, where his husband Chasten grew up.
“It creates a sense of urgency that I hope will motivate many people – including a lot of LGBTQ younger people who maybe weren’t deciding so much how to vote as they were whether to vote – to see now is the time to vote like your life depends on it.”
Buttigieg, 38 and the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, was a breakout star of presidential politics in that seemingly distant pre-pandemic age that was in fact February. A Rhodes scholar at Oxford and war veteran in Afghanistan, he beat senators and a former vice-president to make history by narrowly winning the Iowa caucuses.
I’m mindful every day that my marriage exists by the grace of one vote on our supreme court
But after a crushing defeat in South Carolina, Buttigieg quit the race on 1 March, joining other moderates in throwing his weight behind Joe Biden. He is now launching his own podcast and prosecuting the case against Trump in the media – including on LGBTQ rights.
In June, the Republican party issued a press release that claimed “President Trump has taken unprecedented steps to protect the LGBTQ community”. Among its examples to support this were the selection of Richard Grenell as acting director of national intelligence, making him the first openly gay person to hold a cabinet-level position. Grenell has called Trump the “most pro-gay president in American history”.
But LGBTQ rights activists are not buying it, pointing out that Trump banned transgender people from the military and reversed many of their legal protections. He also opposes the Equality Act, that would protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in housing, the workplace and other settings, and his agencies are trying to give adoption and foster care agencies the right to discriminate against same-sex couples.
The power of Washington over individual lives was made viscerally clear to Buttigieg by the 2015 supreme court ruling that legalised same-sex marriage nationwide. Three years later he married Chasten, a junior high school teacher who became a popular figure on the campaign trail.
Buttigieg says: “I’m mindful every day that my marriage exists by the grace of one vote on our supreme court and we’ve seen the kind of extreme appointees that have been placed on the bench by this administration.
“We’ve seen how, despite sometimes paying lip service to the community, [Trump has] rarely missed an opportunity to attack the community, especially trans people, whether we’re talking about the ban on military service or issues around healthcare. But even for same-sex international adoption, this administration has taken us in the wrong direction and four more years would be a tremendous setback.
“Also around the world, we’re seeing, for example in eastern Europe, really disturbing setbacks in LGBTQ rights and equality without a strong United States leading the way in human rights, which requires leadership and credibility and also that we’re doing the right thing here at home. Without that, I think that people around the world are less safe.”
In Poland, for example, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of the governing party, has said homosexuality represents a “threat to Polish identity”. When six towns declared themselves “LGBT ideology-free zones”, the European Union froze funding. But the US has been silent. Hosting Polish president Andrzej Duda at the White House in June, Trump said: “I don’t think we’ve ever been closer to Poland than we are right now.”
Pete Buttigieg’s husband Chasten became a popular figure on the campaign trail. Photograph: Michael Caterina/AP
Buttigieg’s presidential run exceeded expectations but he never polled strongly among African Americans and his impact as mayor of South Bend on residents of colour came under frequent scrutiny. Then came the police killing of George Floyd and an uprising against racial injustice that left some white liberals agonising over how to be good allies – when to speak and when to stay silent?
Buttigieg, the son of a Maltese immigrant, answers with characteristic composure and lucidity: “The reality is it’s among white people that most of the change has to happen and it’s also important to recognise that defeating systemic racism is not only a matter of beating back the likes of the [Ku Klux Klan].
“There’s a lot that very well-intentioned white people who theoretically detest racism have to do or have to change or have to give up. I think that’s the spirit that has really been guiding this uprising and why this time really could be different. Of course, Black voices can and must be in the foremost roles but it also would not be fair to ask or expect Black people to have to do all the work because, again, it’s among white people that so much of the change has to happen.”
‘Biden will bring the country together’
Buttigieg was part of the most diverse field of candidates in primary history. Was he disappointed that, in the end, the nomination went to a septuagenarian white man?
“We had a really robust competition and I was proud to be part of a historically diverse field and ultimately Joe Biden earned this nomination and his victory by bringing a very diverse party together, as I think he will bring a sometimes divided country together. It is his speciality and instinct to heal and to unify and that’s what we need right now. But, of course, I’m also very excited about the diversity of the administration that I know he’s committed to building.
I’m very excited about the diversity of the administration that I know Joe Biden is committed to building
Buttigieg, who is half Biden’s age, adds: “One thing I really appreciate about him is how intentional and direct he’s been about the transformational presidency that he can build. You can see in the campaign the attention he puts into reaching out to different generations. I think his presidency will do the same.
“The message that I have, especially for younger voters, is the longer you’re planning to be here, the more you have at stake in some of these choices, which are effectively irreversible choices that are about to be made about the climate, the economy and the international community.”
Biden chose one of his Democratic rivals, Senator Kamala Harris, as his running mate, and it seems safe to assume that should he win, he will pick others from that deep bench for his administration. Asked if he would be interested, Buttigieg does not say no.
“Well, my focus right now is to do everything I can to help to make sure that there is a Biden administration. Of course, I love public service and if I can contribute in that way in the future, it would be very meaningful. But right now it’s all hands on deck to make sure we actually get there.”
In the meantime, he has started a podcast, released by the iHeartMedia network and set to run for 20 episodes. The premise of the title, The Deciding Decade, is that the 2020s will shape the life of America and the world for the rest of the century. Buttigieg looks forward to digging in more deeply on issues than TV soundbite culture allows.
As a polymath who plays the piano, speaks half a dozen languages and reads James Joyce, will he be able to resist cerebral topics?
“We’ll see how literary I can get away with being. We really want to have a mix of authors, athletes perhaps, cultural figures as well as political and policy people, because I really think this is going to shape us in a lot of different ways that have not been contemplated.
“It’s a painful time in the country and in the world, but these painful times are also often so fertile for new ideas and I want to make sure we’re looking beyond the kind of immediate political questions.”


theguardian--2020-09-19--Life of a Klansman review: Edward Ball's discomforting history of hate

After the death of his mother , Edward Ball traveled into his family ’ s past both figuratively and geographically , seeking to unearth racist roots .
He found them in places , like a sprawling plantation outside New Orleans , and in people , like his great-great-grandfather Polycarp Constant Lecorgne .
The result is a book designed to discomfort its reader .
It begins in the prologue , where Ball recounts conversations with family elders who again and again remember Lecorgne as “ our Klansman ” .
The coziness and repetition of the phrase leads the reader to wonder @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forebear .
And that , as becomes clear later , is exactly what Ball wants .
Ball is not a new traveler among his ancestors .
In 1998 he wrote Slaves in the Family , in which he explored his father ’ s side of the family .
Over a century and a half in South Carolina the Balls had owned thousands of human beings , and the author examined that in typical memoir style .
More interestingly , he tracked down the descendants of those slaves , and gave voice to their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , in Life of a Klansman , when Ball slips in and out of a stream of consciousness that seems to imagine the thoughts of his racist ancestors in a sympathetic way .
For instance we meet Klansman Lecorgne as police charge him and others with occupying a New Orleans police precinct building .
Ball writes : “ Constant stands accused .
He is charged with treason .
If he hangs for it , I will not have the pleasure of telling his story .
He is a fighter for whiteness .
Which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , is not treason at all.
” Or later , as Ball describes the way white New Orleanians die of yellow fever at a high rate : “ The Blacks live and live , they brush off the fevers .
There is no justice in it .
One day , the Blacks will be held to account.
” All of this could seem , to the impatient reader , like an effort to empathize with the racist mind .
In August , Tulane University planned to host a public talk with Ball .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the college – which features prominently in the book – protested .
The book is “ antithetical to the anti-racist work ” , they wrote , adding that Tulane should “ prioritize uplifting Black voices ” .
Ball ’ s book does do that – more on that in a moment – but only after setting the reader squarely in a Klansman ’ s mindset .
Why ?
The first news story I ever wrote was in Lafayette , Louisiana , in the heart of Acadiana , an area Bell describes as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the other in the late 19th century .
My story , a century later , centered on a local Klan leader .
I described him and his followers as what the Klan seemed to be then : a small , defeated group of uneducated , powerless men who had fallen together because no one else would have them .
Their mindset was obscure , dribbling with impotence .
Society could view them as though through the wrong end of a telescope : they were tiny , and far away .
Ball , though @ @ @ @ @ @ @ distance .
He writes of Lecorgne as despicable but fully human , forcing the reader to view the world through the long-dead man ’ s little round-framed spectacles .
All of which makes Ball ’ s eventual point so much more powerful : Ball sounds that note of accountability long and loud , in the middle chapters of the book , until the reader can only ask : What now ?
That ’ s when Ball reprises his theme from Slaves in the Family , employing his skill as a historian to identify @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or instigated , then tracking down their descendants around the modern US .
He takes time to pursue interesting digressions – jazz musicians , the painter Edgar Degas – but the second half of the book focuses largely on the consequences of his ancestors ’ actions , and the people affected .
These are not cursory mentions : Ball creates detailed and loving portraits of people such as Janel Santiago Marsalis , who is initially wary of Ball in New Orleans .
She ’ s a Creole artist who paints her own ancestors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the hands of Lecorgne ’ s fellow Klansmen .
Through her art and in the book she , as Tulane ’ s students might hope , lifts Black voices mightily .
Life of a Klansman culminates with a meditation on culpability versus accountability , overt evil and unconscious acceptance .
“ People may make their own lives , but we do under conditions we do not choose , with terms dictated from the past , ” Ball writes .
“ We can never make out our links to the felonies of history .
@

After the death of his mother, Edward Ball traveled into his family’s past both figuratively and geographically, seeking to unearth racist roots. He found them in places, like a sprawling plantation outside New Orleans, and in people, like his great-great-grandfather Polycarp Constant Lecorgne.
The result is a book designed to discomfort its reader. It begins in the prologue, where Ball recounts conversations with family elders who again and again remember Lecorgne as “our Klansman”. The coziness and repetition of the phrase leads the reader to wonder just how near Ball feels to his forebear. And that, as becomes clear later, is exactly what Ball wants.
Ball is not a new traveler among his ancestors. In 1998 he wrote Slaves in the Family, in which he explored his father’s side of the family. Over a century and a half in South Carolina the Balls had owned thousands of human beings, and the author examined that in typical memoir style. More interestingly, he tracked down the descendants of those slaves, and gave voice to their stories.
So it’s disorienting, in Life of a Klansman, when Ball slips in and out of a stream of consciousness that seems to imagine the thoughts of his racist ancestors in a sympathetic way. For instance we meet Klansman Lecorgne as police charge him and others with occupying a New Orleans police precinct building.
Ball employs his skill as a historian to identify specific victims of events his ancestors joined or instigated
Ball writes: “Constant stands accused. He is charged with treason. If he hangs for it, I will not have the pleasure of telling his story. He is a fighter for whiteness. Which he knows, and we also know, is not treason at all.”
Or later, as Ball describes the way white New Orleanians die of yellow fever at a high rate: “The Blacks live and live, they brush off the fevers. There is no justice in it. One day, the Blacks will be held to account.”
All of this could seem, to the impatient reader, like an effort to empathize with the racist mind. In August, Tulane University planned to host a public talk with Ball. But the discussion was postponed after students at the college – which features prominently in the book – protested. The book is “antithetical to the anti-racist work”, they wrote, adding that Tulane should “prioritize uplifting Black voices”.
Ball’s book does do that – more on that in a moment – but only after setting the reader squarely in a Klansman’s mindset. Why?
The first news story I ever wrote was in Lafayette, Louisiana, in the heart of Acadiana, an area Bell describes as birthing Ku Klux Klan movements one after the other in the late 19th century. My story, a century later, centered on a local Klan leader. I described him and his followers as what the Klan seemed to be then: a small, defeated group of uneducated, powerless men who had fallen together because no one else would have them. Their mindset was obscure, dribbling with impotence. Society could view them as though through the wrong end of a telescope: they were tiny, and far away.
Ball, though, refuses to allow his readers that distance. He writes of Lecorgne as despicable but fully human, forcing the reader to view the world through the long-dead man’s little round-framed spectacles. All of which makes Ball’s eventual point so much more powerful:
It is not a distortion to say that Constant’s rampage 150 years ago helps, in some impossible-to-measure way, to clear space for the authority and comfort of whites living now – not just for me and for his 50 or 60 descendants, but for whites in general. I feel shame about it. That is not a distortion, either. I am an heir to Constant’s acts of terror. I do not deny it, and the bitter truth makes me sick at the stomach. Whites are my people, my tribe. They were Constant’s people, his tribe. In that way he belongs to us, and to hundreds of millions. I know the honest way to regard race violence is this: American history is full of it. It is pandemic. The United States was founded upon racial violence. It is within the core of our national identity.
Ball sounds that note of accountability long and loud, in the middle chapters of the book, until the reader can only ask: What now?
That’s when Ball reprises his theme from Slaves in the Family, employing his skill as a historian to identify specific victims of events his ancestors joined or instigated, then tracking down their descendants around the modern US.
He takes time to pursue interesting digressions – jazz musicians, the painter Edgar Degas – but the second half of the book focuses largely on the consequences of his ancestors’ actions, and the people affected. These are not cursory mentions: Ball creates detailed and loving portraits of people such as Janel Santiago Marsalis, who is initially wary of Ball in New Orleans. She’s a Creole artist who paints her own ancestors. Some of her family died at the hands of Lecorgne’s fellow Klansmen. Through her art and in the book she, as Tulane’s students might hope, lifts Black voices mightily.
Life of a Klansman culminates with a meditation on culpability versus accountability, overt evil and unconscious acceptance.
“People may make their own lives, but we do under conditions we do not choose, with terms dictated from the past,” Ball writes. “We can never make out our links to the felonies of history.”


theguardian--2020-09-19--Mitch McConnell vows US Senate will push on with Trump's pick to replace Ginsburg

Mitch McConnell , the US senate majority leader , vowed on Friday to move forward quickly with Donald Trump ’ s nominee to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the supreme court , setting the stage for an extraordinary political battle just six weeks before election day .
Shortly after the 87-year-old justice ’ s death was announced , the Republican released a statement removing any doubt about his intention to act , though the timeline for doing so remained notably vague .
“ Americans reelected our majority in 2016 and expanded it in 2018 because we pledged to work with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ particularly his outstanding appointments to the federal judiciary .
Once again , we will keep our promise , ” McConnell said in a statement .
“ President Trump ’ s nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.
” The death of one of the most prominent and celebrated supreme court justices in American history has suddenly transformed an already volatile election season into an all-out battle for control of every branch of government .
Trump , facing a difficult re-election , has signalled a desire to quickly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will likely be met with outrage from Democrats , who are still furious over McConnell ’ s refusal to consider Barack Obama ’ s nomination of judge Merrick Garland to replace the conservative justice Antonin Scalia , who died months before the 2016 election .
Analysts believe the controversial decision – and Trump ’ s commitment to nominating “ pro-life ” justices to the court – was critical to his surprise presidential victory in 2016 .
The confirmation of Trump ’ s supreme court appointees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh secured a solid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump is successful in confirming a third nominee , the conservative bloc would dominate the nation ’ s highest court , likely for decades to come .
Earlier this month , Trump unveiled a list of 20 potential nominees to the court .
Among a host of judicial conservatives were three Republican senators : Tom Cotton of Arkansas , Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri .
While the courts have long motivated conservative voters , who see the judicial branch as a bulwark against a changing electoral landscape , liberals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during the Trump era .
The prospect of a conservative majority has alarmed liberal voters , who are fearful a conservative court would overturn Roe v Wade , the landmark supreme court decision that established a right to abortion .
The titanic clash over Trump ’ s choice to replace Ginsburg – and how the Senate proceeds with the nomination – may well determine the outcome of the election in November .
“ In the coming days , we should focus on the loss of her justice and enduring legacy , ” Democratic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ night , speaking from an airport in Delaware after returning from a campaign trip to Minnesota .
“ But there is no doubt , let me be clear , that the voters should pick the president and the president should pick the justice for the Senate to consider .
This was the position of Republican Senate took in 2016 , when there were almost 10 months to go before the election [ and ] that ’ s the position the United States Senate must take today.
” Trump , who was speaking at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Ginsburg ’ s death broke , mused about appointing Cruz and touted his appointments to the court , though he appeared oblivious of the partisan battle brewing offstage .
Speaking after the rally , Trump told reporters : “ She led an amazing life .
What else can you say ?
She was an amazing woman , whether you agreed or not , she was an amazing woman who led an amazing life .
I ’ m actually saddened to hear that.
” The White House press secretary , Kayleigh McEnany , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when he took the stage on Friday , and said the White House would lower the flags in her honor .
It was unclear if McConnell intended to push for a vote before the November election or wait until the lame-duck session , the period following the election but before the new president is sworn-in .
Control of the Senate hangs in the balance , and already some of his members have voiced concern about the prospect of ramming through a nominee weeks before an election , particularly given McConnell ’ s position @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , one of the most vulnerable Republican incumbents , told the New York Times earlier this month that she would not seat a Supreme Court justice in October , arguing that it was “ too close ” to the election .
Unless Trump was re-elected , she said , she would oppose confirming the president ’ s nominee in a lame-duck session .
Shortly before Ginsburg ’ s death was announced , Lisa Murkowski , a Republican from Alaska , told a state radio station that she would not vote to confirm a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her rationale , she said it was the same logic McConnell applied to Obama ’ s final supreme court nominee .
“ That was too close to an election , ” she said , characterizing McConnell ’ s argument .
Yet Kelly Loeffler , a Georgia Republican attempting to beat back a strong challenge from her right , urged the president to appoint a new justice .
“ Our country ’ s future is at stake & @ realDonaldTrump has every right to pick a new justice before the election , ” she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forward to supporting a strict constructionist who will protect the right to life & safeguard our conservative values.
” McConnell has argued that the current situation is different from that of 2016 .
Then , Republicans controlled the Senate , the chamber that confirms supreme court nominees , while a Democrat occupied the White House .
This time , he contends , the same party controls both branches , and therefore the confirmation should proceed .
Democrats have balked at this argument , saying it threatens the legitimacy of the court .
Even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allies say a confirmation should not take place in the final months of an election cycle .
Senator Lindsey Graham , who is facing an unexpectedly competitive re-election contest in South Carolina , said during an interview in 2018 : “ If an opening comes in the last year of President Trump ’ s term , and the primary process has started , we ’ ll wait to the next election.
” “ You ’ re on the record , ” the interviewer said to Graham , in a video clip that was @ @ @ @ @ @

Mitch McConnell, the US senate majority leader, vowed on Friday to move forward quickly with Donald Trump’s nominee to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the supreme court, setting the stage for an extraordinary political battle just six weeks before election day.
Shortly after the 87-year-old justice’s death was announced, the Republican released a statement removing any doubt about his intention to act, though the timeline for doing so remained notably vague.
“Americans reelected our majority in 2016 and expanded it in 2018 because we pledged to work with President Trump and support his agenda, particularly his outstanding appointments to the federal judiciary. Once again, we will keep our promise,” McConnell said in a statement. “President Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.”
The death of one of the most prominent and celebrated supreme court justices in American history has suddenly transformed an already volatile election season into an all-out battle for control of every branch of government. Trump, facing a difficult re-election, has signalled a desire to quickly nominate a third justice.
The decision will likely be met with outrage from Democrats, who are still furious over McConnell’s refusal to consider Barack Obama’s nomination of judge Merrick Garland to replace the conservative justice Antonin Scalia, who died months before the 2016 election. Analysts believe the controversial decision – and Trump’s commitment to nominating “pro-life” justices to the court – was critical to his surprise presidential victory in 2016.
The confirmation of Trump’s supreme court appointees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh secured a solid conservative majority on the court. If Trump is successful in confirming a third nominee, the conservative bloc would dominate the nation’s highest court, likely for decades to come.
00:42 'An amazing woman': Donald Trump reacts to death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg – video
Earlier this month, Trump unveiled a list of 20 potential nominees to the court. Among a host of judicial conservatives were three Republican senators: Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri.
While the courts have long motivated conservative voters, who see the judicial branch as a bulwark against a changing electoral landscape, liberals have become increasingly motivated by judicial appointments during the Trump era. The prospect of a conservative majority has alarmed liberal voters, who are fearful a conservative court would overturn Roe v Wade, the landmark supreme court decision that established a right to abortion.
The titanic clash over Trump’s choice to replace Ginsburg – and how the Senate proceeds with the nomination – may well determine the outcome of the election in November.
“In the coming days, we should focus on the loss of her justice and enduring legacy,” Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said on Friday night, speaking from an airport in Delaware after returning from a campaign trip to Minnesota. “But there is no doubt, let me be clear, that the voters should pick the president and the president should pick the justice for the Senate to consider. This was the position of Republican Senate took in 2016, when there were almost 10 months to go before the election [and] that’s the position the United States Senate must take today.”
01:53 Biden: successor to 'giant' Ginsburg should be decided by US election winner – video
Trump, who was speaking at a rally in Minnesota when the news of Ginsburg’s death broke, mused about appointing Cruz and touted his appointments to the court, though he appeared oblivious of the partisan battle brewing offstage.
Speaking after the rally, Trump told reporters: “She led an amazing life. What else can you say? She was an amazing woman, whether you agreed or not, she was an amazing woman who led an amazing life. I’m actually saddened to hear that.”
The White House press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, said Trump was unaware of her death when he took the stage on Friday, and said the White House would lower the flags in her honor.
It was unclear if McConnell intended to push for a vote before the November election or wait until the lame-duck session, the period following the election but before the new president is sworn-in. Control of the Senate hangs in the balance, and already some of his members have voiced concern about the prospect of ramming through a nominee weeks before an election, particularly given McConnell’s position four years ago.
Senator Susan Collins, one of the most vulnerable Republican incumbents, told the New York Times earlier this month that she would not seat a Supreme Court justice in October, arguing that it was “too close” to the election. Unless Trump was re-elected, she said, she would oppose confirming the president’s nominee in a lame-duck session.
Shortly before Ginsburg’s death was announced, Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, told a state radio station that she would not vote to confirm a new justice before the election. Explaining her rationale, she said it was the same logic McConnell applied to Obama’s final supreme court nominee.
“That was too close to an election,” she said, characterizing McConnell’s argument.
Yet Kelly Loeffler, a Georgia Republican attempting to beat back a strong challenge from her right, urged the president to appoint a new justice.
“Our country’s future is at stake & @realDonaldTrump has every right to pick a new justice before the election,” she wrote on Twitter. “I look forward to supporting a strict constructionist who will protect the right to life & safeguard our conservative values.”
McConnell has argued that the current situation is different from that of 2016. Then, Republicans controlled the Senate, the chamber that confirms supreme court nominees, while a Democrat occupied the White House. This time, he contends, the same party controls both branches, and therefore the confirmation should proceed.
Democrats have balked at this argument, saying it threatens the legitimacy of the court. Even some of the president’s closest allies say a confirmation should not take place in the final months of an election cycle.
Senator Lindsey Graham, who is facing an unexpectedly competitive re-election contest in South Carolina, said during an interview in 2018: “If an opening comes in the last year of President Trump’s term, and the primary process has started, we’ll wait to the next election.”
“You’re on the record,” the interviewer said to Graham, in a video clip that was widely shared online Friday night.
“Hold the tape,” he replied.


theguardian--2020-09-19--Ruth Bader Ginsburg, supreme court justice, dies aged 87

The supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died of pancreatic cancer , the court said Friday .
She was 87 .
Ginsburg was the second woman appointed to the court in history and became a liberal icon for her sharp questioning of witnesses and intellectually rigorous defenses of civil liberties , reproductive rights , first amendment rights and equal protections under the law .
In a statement , the court said Ginsburg , who served more than 27 years on the bench , “ died this evening surrounded by her family at her home in Washington DC , due @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The chief justice , John Roberts , said that the nation “ has lost a jurist of historic stature .
We at the supreme court have lost a cherished colleague .
Today we mourn , but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew her – a tireless and resolute champion of justice.
” Her death thrust an immediate spotlight on who might fill the vacancy on the court , with just over six weeks before the election .
The news was received with alarm by liberals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exploit the narrow window to install a third Donald Trump appointee on the supreme court .
The Senate majority leader , Mitch McConnell , pledged to get Trump a swift vote his supreme court pick .
“ President Trump ’ s nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate , ” McConnell said .
The Democratic presidential candidate , Joe Biden , said that the Republican-controlled Senate should wait until after the election to confirm Ginsburg ’ s replacement , following the precedent Republicans set in 2016 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ court vacancy in March 2016 , eight months before the presidential election that year , claiming that the window of time was too narrow and saying the slot had to be held for the next president to fill .
“ Tonight and in the coming days we should focus on the loss of the justice and her enduring legacy , ” Biden said .
“ But there is no doubt – let me be clear – that the voters should pick the president and the president should pick the justice for the Senate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Republican Senate took in 2016 when there were almost 10 months to go before the election.
” Both of Trump ’ s supreme court appointments to date – Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh – replaced justices appointed by fellow Republican presidents .
But by replacing Ginsburg , who was appointed in 1993 by Bill Clinton , Trump could decisively skew the ideological balance of the court for a generation .
Tributes poured in on Friday , with figures on the left and the right offering praise and condolences .
Meanwhile hundreds of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Washington DC , laying flowers and candles on its steps .
“ During her extraordinary career , this Brooklyn native broke barriers & the letters RBG took on new meaning– – as battle cry & inspiration , ” tweeted the New York governor , Andrew Cuomo .
“ Justice Ginsburg paved the way for so many women , including me .
There will never be another like her , ” said former secretary of state Hillary Clinton , while the former president George W Bush said “ she inspired more than one generation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president ’ s son , Eric Trump , called Ginsburg “ a remarkable woman with an astonishing work ethic ” .
Donald Trump , who was holding a rally in Minnesota when the news broke on Friday , appeared not to learn of the news until he left the stage .
After the the event , the president offered brief comments to the press before boarding Air Force One , according to the White House pool report .
“ She just died ?
I didn ’ t know that , ” Trump said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , what else can you say ?
Whether you agree or not … she led an amazing life.
” Ginsburg had been in poor health and was admitted to the hospital as recently as mid-July , when she was taken in with a fever and chills , but was released after about 24 hours , with the court reporting that she was recovering well .
After her discharge Ginsburg announced that she had been undergoing chemotherapy since May to treat cancerous lesions on her liver .
A scan on 7 July had revealed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no new disease ” , she said .
Ginsburg had survived four cancer treatments going back to 1999 .
She participated in oral arguments in May from a hospital bed while receiving treatments believed at the time to be for a malignant tumor on her pancreas diagnosed in 2019 .
Ginsburg had announced in January that she was cancer-free .
Ginsburg had undergone surgery on 21 December 2018 to remove two cancerous nodules from her lung .
Doctors discovered that she had developed lung cancer in the course of a health review following @ @ @ @ @ @ @ associate justice fractured three ribs .
She returned to work within days of that incident .
Ginsburg had been diagnosed with colon cancer in 1999 and pancreatic cancer in 2009 , undergoing surgery both times .
Trump could become the first president to appoint three supreme court justices in his first term since Richard Nixon a half-century ago .
In July , Trump nominated Kavanaugh to replace the retiring Anthony Kennedy .
In early 2017 , Trump nominated Gorsuch to replace Antonin Scalia , who died 11 months before the end of Obama @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hold hearings on the nomination by Obama of the appeals court judge Merrick Garland .
In her 25 years on the court , Ginsburg was an essential vote in watershed rulings that combatted gender discrimination and protected abortion rights , equal pay , civil liberties and privacy rights .
Of reproductive rights , Ginsburg told an interviewer in 2009 : “ The basic thing is that the government has no business making that choice for a woman.
” In her later years Ginsburg gained traction as a cultural figure and feminist icon .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the National Board of Review as the best documentary of the year .
A blog called Notorious RBG packaged Ginsburg ’ s feminist appeal in a hip-hop persona , and she had a daily workout that defeated Stephen Colbert .
Ginsburg was born in Brooklyn , New York , and was one of the first women to enroll at Harvard Law School , from which she transferred to graduate from Columbia .
She served as general counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union and was co-founder of the Women ’ s Rights @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are an essential part of the overall human rights agenda , trained on the equal dignity and ability to live in freedom all people should enjoy , ” she said .
Elevated to a federal judgeship by Jimmy Carter , Ginsburg was Clinton ’ s first nomination to the court .
The Senate voted 96-3 to confirm her nomination to the supreme court .

Tom McCarthy national affairs correspondent, and Lois Beckett in Los Angeles

The supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died of pancreatic cancer, the court said Friday. She was 87.
Ginsburg was the second woman appointed to the court in history and became a liberal icon for her sharp questioning of witnesses and intellectually rigorous defenses of civil liberties, reproductive rights, first amendment rights and equal protections under the law.
In a statement, the court said Ginsburg, who served more than 27 years on the bench, “died this evening surrounded by her family at her home in Washington DC, due to complications of metastatic pancreas cancer”.
The chief justice, John Roberts, said that the nation “has lost a jurist of historic stature. We at the supreme court have lost a cherished colleague. Today we mourn, but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew her – a tireless and resolute champion of justice.”
Her death thrust an immediate spotlight on who might fill the vacancy on the court, with just over six weeks before the election. The news was received with alarm by liberals and moderates who feared that Republicans would exploit the narrow window to install a third Donald Trump appointee on the supreme court.
Mourners gather outside the US supreme court. Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA
The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, pledged to get Trump a swift vote his supreme court pick. “President Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate,” McConnell said.
The Democratic presidential candidate, Joe Biden, said that the Republican-controlled Senate should wait until after the election to confirm Ginsburg’s replacement, following the precedent Republicans set in 2016.
McConnell blocked Barack Obama from filling a court vacancy in March 2016, eight months before the presidential election that year, claiming that the window of time was too narrow and saying the slot had to be held for the next president to fill.
“Tonight and in the coming days we should focus on the loss of the justice and her enduring legacy,” Biden said. “But there is no doubt – let me be clear – that the voters should pick the president and the president should pick the justice for the Senate to consider. This was the position the Republican Senate took in 2016 when there were almost 10 months to go before the election.”
01:53 Biden: successor to 'giant' Ginsburg should be decided by US election winner – video
Both of Trump’s supreme court appointments to date – Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh – replaced justices appointed by fellow Republican presidents. But by replacing Ginsburg, who was appointed in 1993 by Bill Clinton, Trump could decisively skew the ideological balance of the court for a generation.
Tributes poured in on Friday, with figures on the left and the right offering praise and condolences. Meanwhile hundreds of mourners gathered outside the supreme court in Washington DC, laying flowers and candles on its steps.
“During her extraordinary career, this Brooklyn native broke barriers & the letters RBG took on new meaning– – as battle cry & inspiration,” tweeted the New York governor, Andrew Cuomo.
NY’s heart breaks with the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
During her extraordinary career, this Brooklyn native broke barriers & the letters RBG took on new meaning—as battle cry & inspiration.
Her legal mind & dedication to justice leave an indelible mark on America. — Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) September 19, 2020
“Justice Ginsburg paved the way for so many women, including me. There will never be another like her,” said former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, while the former president George W Bush said “she inspired more than one generation of women and girls”.
Justice Ginsburg paved the way for so many women, including me. There will never be another like her. Thank you RBG. — Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 19, 2020
The president’s son, Eric Trump, called Ginsburg “a remarkable woman with an astonishing work ethic”. Donald Trump, who was holding a rally in Minnesota when the news broke on Friday, appeared not to learn of the news until he left the stage.
After the the event, the president offered brief comments to the press before boarding Air Force One, according to the White House pool report.
“She just died? I didn’t know that,” Trump said. “She led an amazing life, what else can you say? Whether you agree or not … she led an amazing life.”
00:42 'An amazing woman': Donald Trump reacts to death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg – video
Ginsburg had been in poor health and was admitted to the hospital as recently as mid-July, when she was taken in with a fever and chills, but was released after about 24 hours, with the court reporting that she was recovering well.
After her discharge Ginsburg announced that she had been undergoing chemotherapy since May to treat cancerous lesions on her liver. A scan on 7 July had revealed “reduction of the liver lesions and no new disease”, she said.
Ginsburg had survived four cancer treatments going back to 1999. She participated in oral arguments in May from a hospital bed while receiving treatments believed at the time to be for a malignant tumor on her pancreas diagnosed in 2019. Ginsburg had announced in January that she was cancer-free.
Ginsburg had undergone surgery on 21 December 2018 to remove two cancerous nodules from her lung.
People gather in Washington following the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Photograph: Alexander Drago/Reuters
Doctors discovered that she had developed lung cancer in the course of a health review following a 7 November fall in which the associate justice fractured three ribs. She returned to work within days of that incident.
Ginsburg had been diagnosed with colon cancer in 1999 and pancreatic cancer in 2009, undergoing surgery both times.
Trump could become the first president to appoint three supreme court justices in his first term since Richard Nixon a half-century ago. In July, Trump nominated Kavanaugh to replace the retiring Anthony Kennedy. In early 2017, Trump nominated Gorsuch to replace Antonin Scalia, who died 11 months before the end of Obama’s presidency. McConnell declined to hold hearings on the nomination by Obama of the appeals court judge Merrick Garland.
In her 25 years on the court, Ginsburg was an essential vote in watershed rulings that combatted gender discrimination and protected abortion rights, equal pay, civil liberties and privacy rights.
Of reproductive rights, Ginsburg told an interviewer in 2009: “The basic thing is that the government has no business making that choice for a woman.”
In her later years Ginsburg gained traction as a cultural figure and feminist icon. A biopic released in 2018 was chosen by the National Board of Review as the best documentary of the year. A blog called Notorious RBG packaged Ginsburg’s feminist appeal in a hip-hop persona, and she had a daily workout that defeated Stephen Colbert.
Ginsburg was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was one of the first women to enroll at Harvard Law School, from which she transferred to graduate from Columbia. She served as general counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union and was co-founder of the Women’s Rights Project. “Women’s rights are an essential part of the overall human rights agenda, trained on the equal dignity and ability to live in freedom all people should enjoy,” she said.
Elevated to a federal judgeship by Jimmy Carter, Ginsburg was Clinton’s first nomination to the court. The Senate voted 96-3 to confirm her nomination to the supreme court.


theguardian--2020-09-19--A Biden victory cannot bring normal back | Tom Blackburn

In recent years , the crisis of liberalism has been much debated , ever since Donald Trump sent shockwaves through world politics by defeating Hillary Clinton to take the White House .
Then there were Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders , both of whom mounted a bold ( though far from revolutionary ) challenge to the liberal centre from the socialist left , calling for a renewal of the welfare state , a redistribution of wealth and power , large-scale green investment and a less belligerent foreign policy .
The liberal centre retained enough institutional power – particularly its media @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to see off both Corbyn and Sanders , winning Joe Biden the Democratic presidential nomination and Keir Starmer the leadership of the Labour party .
This isn ’ t to imply that Corbyn and Sanders were blameless for their defeats .
Far from it .
Nevertheless , it can hardly be said that in either case the liberal centre triumphed over the socialist left because of the dynamism of its ideas , or the superiority of its vision for society .
In fact , it seems resistant to developing any such vision .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ suspicious of ideology tout court , they prefer to see themselves merely as sensible managers .
It wasn ’ t always like this .
In New Labour ’ s 1990s heyday , centrists made a point of taking ideas seriously .
Some of the thinkers grouped around the journal Marxism Today provided intellectual ballast , while Anthony Giddens ’ The Third Way offered a polished account of what the New Labour project aimed to achieve , and the logic behind it .
Though New Labour governed for 13 years , its gains were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and 2000s , it could channel some of the proceeds of a finance-led global boom into public services and welfare programmes .
But Blairism ’ s more progressive achievements were largely vapourised by the 2008 financial crash and Tory-Lib Dem austerity .
Its ideological preference for market forces over structural state intervention ensured that the root causes of poverty went effectively unaddressed , making any advances in this area easy to reverse .
With economic depression and mass unemployment now looming , the old “ third way ” playbook offers no guidance .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ While centrists still feel very strongly that they should be in charge , they ’ re reluctant to elaborate on why , and for what .
Biden belatedly , and implausibly , poses as a latter-day Franklin D Roosevelt in public , but mollifies rich donors in private .
Starmer , meanwhile , hesitates to commit himself to anything concrete , no doubt fearful of being tarred with the brush of “ continuity Corbynism ” .
Attempts to decipher “ Starmerism ” have so far drawn a blank .
In his new book @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Collapse of Liberal Britain , the sociologist Will Davies examines how Anglo-American political life came to be dominated by the wilfully unserious .
Trump and Boris Johnson goad liberals by flaunting their contempt for prim and proper political norms .
As Davies notes , they can do this because public trust in institutions from parliament to the press has cratered , and because of the widespread ( and frequently vindicated ) suspicion that these institutions work against the interests of the majority , rather than for them .
The liberal centre raises hell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which are undeniably flagrant .
However , the brazen fabrications of yesterday – most obviously , those that led to the catastrophe in Iraq , for which there has never been a proper reckoning – did much to pave the way for those of today .
And yet only last month , Colin Powell , who personally presented the fallacious case for the invasion of Iraq to the United Nations , was paraded as a star turn at the Democratic National Convention .
Likewise , when Tony Blair recently popped up to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ breaching certain aspects of the Brexit withdrawal agreement , the lack of self-awareness on display was breathtaking .
It ’ s not that Blair ’ s point was wrong , but the fact that he was the one making it allowed the Tories to issue the obvious riposte that their transgression of international law would pale in comparison to his .
Even if the liberal centre were in a stronger position to highlight the cynicism and dishonesty of Trump and Johnson , that wouldn ’ t be enough without changing the political conditions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all , neither Trump nor Johnson came out of nowhere .
Trump inherited an apparatus of invasive state surveillance and militarised borders from a predecessor who himself presided over mass deportations , while in Britain , it was New Labour that first indulged bogus moral panics about asylum seekers and laid the foundations for today ’ s hostile environment .
Both Biden and Starmer might win elections simply by appearing to offer their respective electorates a steady hand .
But mounting , interrelated crises stare us in the face : environmental , economic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of them would require , for starters , radically curbing the prerogatives of capitalist vested interests wedded to a destructive status quo .
It ’ s not enough just to install more competent and polite managers , and otherwise leave the same arrangements in place .
Without far-reaching change , it may be that another shift to the hard right is at best delayed by a few years .
In spite of everything , a healthier , happier and fairer world is still possible , though we can ’ t dither for much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It will only materialise , however , if those who want it first recognise that a back-to-normal centrism would offer no way forward .
• Tom Blackburn is a founding editor of New Socialist

In recent years, the crisis of liberalism has been much debated, ever since Donald Trump sent shockwaves through world politics by defeating Hillary Clinton to take the White House. Then there were Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders, both of whom mounted a bold (though far from revolutionary) challenge to the liberal centre from the socialist left, calling for a renewal of the welfare state, a redistribution of wealth and power, large-scale green investment and a less belligerent foreign policy.
The liberal centre retained enough institutional power – particularly its media support and control over party bureaucracies – to see off both Corbyn and Sanders, winning Joe Biden the Democratic presidential nomination and Keir Starmer the leadership of the Labour party. This isn’t to imply that Corbyn and Sanders were blameless for their defeats. Far from it. Nevertheless, it can hardly be said that in either case the liberal centre triumphed over the socialist left because of the dynamism of its ideas, or the superiority of its vision for society.
In fact, it seems resistant to developing any such vision. Some elevate this into a virtue: suspicious of ideology tout court, they prefer to see themselves merely as sensible managers. It wasn’t always like this. In New Labour’s 1990s heyday, centrists made a point of taking ideas seriously. Some of the thinkers grouped around the journal Marxism Today provided intellectual ballast, while Anthony Giddens’ The Third Way offered a polished account of what the New Labour project aimed to achieve, and the logic behind it.
Though New Labour governed for 13 years, its gains were built on sand. In the 1990s and 2000s, it could channel some of the proceeds of a finance-led global boom into public services and welfare programmes. But Blairism’s more progressive achievements were largely vapourised by the 2008 financial crash and Tory-Lib Dem austerity. Its ideological preference for market forces over structural state intervention ensured that the root causes of poverty went effectively unaddressed, making any advances in this area easy to reverse.
With economic depression and mass unemployment now looming, the old “third way” playbook offers no guidance. Nothing much has filled the void. While centrists still feel very strongly that they should be in charge, they’re reluctant to elaborate on why, and for what. Biden belatedly, and implausibly, poses as a latter-day Franklin D Roosevelt in public, but mollifies rich donors in private. Starmer, meanwhile, hesitates to commit himself to anything concrete, no doubt fearful of being tarred with the brush of “continuity Corbynism”. Attempts to decipher “Starmerism” have so far drawn a blank.
In his new book, This is Not Normal: The Collapse of Liberal Britain, the sociologist Will Davies examines how Anglo-American political life came to be dominated by the wilfully unserious. Trump and Boris Johnson goad liberals by flaunting their contempt for prim and proper political norms. As Davies notes, they can do this because public trust in institutions from parliament to the press has cratered, and because of the widespread (and frequently vindicated) suspicion that these institutions work against the interests of the majority, rather than for them.
The liberal centre raises hell about the falsehoods of Trump and Johnson, which are undeniably flagrant. However, the brazen fabrications of yesterday – most obviously, those that led to the catastrophe in Iraq, for which there has never been a proper reckoning – did much to pave the way for those of today. And yet only last month, Colin Powell, who personally presented the fallacious case for the invasion of Iraq to the United Nations, was paraded as a star turn at the Democratic National Convention.
Likewise, when Tony Blair recently popped up to warn Johnson against flouting international law by breaching certain aspects of the Brexit withdrawal agreement, the lack of self-awareness on display was breathtaking. It’s not that Blair’s point was wrong, but the fact that he was the one making it allowed the Tories to issue the obvious riposte that their transgression of international law would pale in comparison to his.
Even if the liberal centre were in a stronger position to highlight the cynicism and dishonesty of Trump and Johnson, that wouldn’t be enough without changing the political conditions that gave rise to them. After all, neither Trump nor Johnson came out of nowhere. Trump inherited an apparatus of invasive state surveillance and militarised borders from a predecessor who himself presided over mass deportations, while in Britain, it was New Labour that first indulged bogus moral panics about asylum seekers and laid the foundations for today’s hostile environment.
Both Biden and Starmer might win elections simply by appearing to offer their respective electorates a steady hand. But mounting, interrelated crises stare us in the face: environmental, economic, social and political. Addressing any of them would require, for starters, radically curbing the prerogatives of capitalist vested interests wedded to a destructive status quo. It’s not enough just to install more competent and polite managers, and otherwise leave the same arrangements in place.
Without far-reaching change, it may be that another shift to the hard right is at best delayed by a few years. In spite of everything, a healthier, happier and fairer world is still possible, though we can’t dither for much longer if we are to build one. It will only materialise, however, if those who want it first recognise that a back-to-normal centrism would offer no way forward.


theguardian--2020-09-19--'An amazing woman': Donald Trump reacts to death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg – video

The US president reacted with visible surprise when reporters informed him the 87-year-old supreme court justice had died .
'She @ @ @ @ @ ' Trump said after a rally in Minnesota .
'What else can you say ?
@ @ @ @ @ who led an amazing life .
I 'm actually saddened to hear that . '
@ @ @ @ @ to delay filling vacancy – as it happened

The US president reacted with visible surprise when reporters informed him the 87-year-old supreme court justice had died. 'She led an amazing life,' Trump said, just after coming off stage at a rally in Minnesota. 'What else can you say? She was an amazing woman who led an amazing life. I'm actually saddened to hear that.'


theguardian--2020-09-19--Biden: successor to 'giant' Ginsburg should be decided by US election winner – video

Joe Biden says there is no doubt the next US supreme court justice should be chosen by the winner of @ @ @ @ @ , following the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday .
'She was fierce and @ @ @ @ @ the civil legal rights of everyone , ' Biden said of Ginsburg , who had @ @ @ @ @ since 1993 .
'Her opinions and her dissent are going to continue to shape the @ @ @ @ @ generation . '
Biden said her replacement should be selected by the winner of the @ @ @ @ @ precedent established by Senate Republicans in 2016 , when they blocked Barack Obama 's attempt @ @ @ @ @ in an election year • McConnell vows to push on with Trump 's pick to @ @

Joe Biden says there is no doubt the next US supreme court justice should be chosen by the winner of the country's presidential election, following the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday.
'She was fierce and unflinching in her pursuit of the civil legal rights of everyone,' Biden said of Ginsburg, who had sat on the supreme court since 1993. 'Her opinions and her dissent are going to continue to shape the basis for law for a generation.'
Biden said her replacement should be selected by the winner of the election in November, citing precedent established by Senate Republicans in 2016, when they blocked Barack Obama's attempt to replace justice Antonin Scalia in an election year


theguardian--2020-09-20--Trump vows to nominate a woman for US supreme court vacancy within a week

Donald Trump has promised to put forward a female nominee in the coming week to fill the supreme court vacancy created by the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg , pushing the Republican-controlled Senate to consider the pick without delay .
Taking the stage at a North Carolina rally to chants of “ Fill that seat ” , the president said he would nominate his selection despite Democrats ’ objections .
After conducting what he joked was a “ very scientific poll ” of the Fayetteville crowd as to whether supporters wanted a man or a woman , he declared the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , very brave woman ” .
“ I will be putting forth a nominee next week .
It will be a woman , ” Trump said .
“ I think it should be a woman because I actually like women much more than men.
” He added that he did not yet know whom he would choose .
“ We win an election and those are the consequences , ” said the president , who then seemed to signal that he ’ d be willing to accept a vote on his nominee during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ We have a lot of time .
We have plenty of time .
We ’ re talking about 20 January.
” He praised Ginsburg as a “ legal giant ...
Her landmark rulings , fierce devotion to justice and her courageous battle against cancer inspire all Americans.
” Earlier , Trump had said that he had an “ obligation ” to act without delay .
“ We have an obligation .
We won and we have an obligation as the winners to pick who we want .
That ’ s not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here right now.
” One Republican senator has already broken ranks , with Maine ’ s Susan Collins , who is in a tough re-election battle , saying on Saturday that she believed replacing Ginsburg should be the decision of the president who is elected 3 November .
Three more defections from the GOP ranks would be needed to stop Trump ’ s nominee from joining the court .
At stake is a seat held by a justice who spent her final years on the bench as the unquestioned leader of the court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ majority leader , Republican Mitch McConnell , vowed to call a vote for Trump ’ s nominee , but Democrats countered that Republicans should follow the precedent that GOP legislators set in 2016 by refusing to consider a supreme court choice in the run-up to an election .
The impending clash over the vacant seat – when to fill it and with whom – scrambles the stretch run of a presidential race for a nation already reeling from the coronavirus pandemic that has killed nearly 200,000 people , left millions unemployed and heightened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Trump in a phone call Friday night to bring the choice to a vote , though he has not said if it would be before the election .
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said any selection should come after 3 November .
“ Voters should pick the president and the president should pick the justice to consider , ” Biden said .
The president this month added 20 more names to his roster of potential court nominees , and aides in recent days have focused on a short list heavy on female @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aides and officials close to the process .
They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss private conversations .
Those under close consideration for the high court include three women who are federal appeals court judges : Amy Coney Barrett , beloved among conservatives and an early favorite ; Barbara Lagoa , who is Hispanic and comes from the battleground state of Florida ; and Allison Jones Rushing , who clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas and for Neil Gorsuch , when the current Trump-appointed justice was an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sets the calendar in the Senate and has made judicial appointments his priority , declared unequivocally in a statement that Trump ’ s nominee would receive a confirmation vote .
In 2016 , McConnell refused to consider Barack Obama ’ s nominee months before the election , eventually preventing a vote on judge Merrick Garland .
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York convened a conference call with Democratic senators at midday Saturday , according to a person on the private call who was not authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke @ @ @ @ @ @ @ senators the “ number one goal ” must be to communicate the stakes of the confirmation vote .
During the 2016 campaign , Trump promised to appoint justices who would overturn Roe v Wade , a long-time goal of conservative activists .
Even with the current conservative majority , the court voted 5-4 in July to strike down a restrictive Louisiana abortion law .
Cristine Crispell , who works in special education in Reedsville , Georgia , drove five hours to attend Saturday ’ s rally with her two teenage daughters .
She @ @ @ @ @ @ @ right to nominate a new justice , even so close to the election .
“ I would like to see Roe v Wade overturned , ” she said .
“ Sanctity of life is a huge thing .
”

Donald Trump has promised to put forward a female nominee in the coming week to fill the supreme court vacancy created by the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, pushing the Republican-controlled Senate to consider the pick without delay.
Taking the stage at a North Carolina rally to chants of “Fill that seat”, the president said he would nominate his selection despite Democrats’ objections.
After conducting what he joked was a “very scientific poll” of the Fayetteville crowd as to whether supporters wanted a man or a woman, he declared the choice would be “a very talented, very brave woman”.
“I will be putting forth a nominee next week. It will be a woman,” Trump said. “I think it should be a woman because I actually like women much more than men.”
He added that he did not yet know whom he would choose.
“We win an election and those are the consequences,” said the president, who then seemed to signal that he’d be willing to accept a vote on his nominee during the lame duck period after the election. “We have a lot of time. We have plenty of time. We’re talking about 20 January.”
He praised Ginsburg as a “legal giant ... Her landmark rulings, fierce devotion to justice and her courageous battle against cancer inspire all Americans.”
Earlier, Trump had said that he had an “obligation” to act without delay. “We have an obligation. We won and we have an obligation as the winners to pick who we want. That’s not the next president. We’re here right now.”
One Republican senator has already broken ranks, with Maine’s Susan Collins, who is in a tough re-election battle, saying on Saturday that she believed replacing Ginsburg should be the decision of the president who is elected 3 November. Three more defections from the GOP ranks would be needed to stop Trump’s nominee from joining the court.
At stake is a seat held by a justice who spent her final years on the bench as the unquestioned leader of the court’s liberal wing. The Senate majority leader, Republican Mitch McConnell, vowed to call a vote for Trump’s nominee, but Democrats countered that Republicans should follow the precedent that GOP legislators set in 2016 by refusing to consider a supreme court choice in the run-up to an election.
The impending clash over the vacant seat – when to fill it and with whom – scrambles the stretch run of a presidential race for a nation already reeling from the coronavirus pandemic that has killed nearly 200,000 people, left millions unemployed and heightened partisan tensions and anger.
McConnell pledged to Trump in a phone call Friday night to bring the choice to a vote, though he has not said if it would be before the election. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said any selection should come after 3 November.
“Voters should pick the president and the president should pick the justice to consider,” Biden said.
The president this month added 20 more names to his roster of potential court nominees, and aides in recent days have focused on a short list heavy on female candidates, according to four White House aides and officials close to the process. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss private conversations.
Those under close consideration for the high court include three women who are federal appeals court judges: Amy Coney Barrett, beloved among conservatives and an early favorite; Barbara Lagoa, who is Hispanic and comes from the battleground state of Florida; and Allison Jones Rushing, who clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas and for Neil Gorsuch, when the current Trump-appointed justice was an appeals court judge.
McConnell, who sets the calendar in the Senate and has made judicial appointments his priority, declared unequivocally in a statement that Trump’s nominee would receive a confirmation vote. In 2016, McConnell refused to consider Barack Obama’s nominee months before the election, eventually preventing a vote on judge Merrick Garland.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York convened a conference call with Democratic senators at midday Saturday, according to a person on the private call who was not authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. He told senators the “number one goal” must be to communicate the stakes of the confirmation vote.
During the 2016 campaign, Trump promised to appoint justices who would overturn Roe v Wade, a long-time goal of conservative activists. Even with the current conservative majority, the court voted 5-4 in July to strike down a restrictive Louisiana abortion law.
Cristine Crispell, who works in special education in Reedsville, Georgia, drove five hours to attend Saturday’s rally with her two teenage daughters.
She said Trump “absolutely” had the right to nominate a new justice, even so close to the election. “I would like to see Roe v Wade overturned,” she said. “Sanctity of life is a huge thing.”


theguardian--2020-09-19--Trump says his pick to replace Ginsburg will 'most likely' be a woman – as it happened

Trump also told reporters he has approved a deal in principle that will allow the Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok to @ @ @ @ @ previous threats to ban it due to national security concerns .
“ I have given @ @ @ @ @ ” the US president said .
“ If they get it done that ’ s @ @ @ @ @ ’ t that ’ s fine too.
” Under the proposed deal , TikTok will @ @ @ @ @ firm Oracle to form a new Texas-based company known as TikTok Global , which has @ @ @ @ @ $ 5bn donation to an educational fund in the state .
“ They ’ re @ @ @ @ @ a very large fund , ” he said .
“ That ’ s their contribution @ @ @ @ @ asking for .
”

Bryan Armen Graham (now) and Tom Lutz and Martin Pengelly (earlier)

19 Sept 2020 22.56 BST Trump also told reporters he has approved a deal in principle that will allow the Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok to operate in the US after previous threats to ban it due to national security concerns. “I have given the deal my blessing,” the US president said. “If they get it done that’s great, if they don’t that’s fine too.” Under the proposed deal, TikTok will partner with US business software firm Oracle to form a new Texas-based company known as TikTok Global, which has reportedly agreed to make a $5bn donation to an educational fund in the state. “They’re going to be setting up a very large fund,” he said. “That’s their contribution that I’ve been asking for.”
19 Sept 2020 22.41 BST Trump says nominee to replace RBG will ‘most likely’ be a woman Donald Trump said he expects to announce his nominee to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg “next week” and it will “most likely” be a woman.
The president revealed his plans during a 12-minute scrum with reporters outside the White House as he prepared to depart for a rally tonight in Fayetteville, North Carolina. “We want to respect the process,” Trump said. “I think it’s going to go very quickly, actually.” Asked to comment on Republican senator Susan Collins’ statement earlier Saturday that Ginsburg’s seat on the high court should be filled by the winner of November’s election “in fairness to the American people”, Trump was to the point. “I totally disagree with her,” he said. “We won.” Trump’s suggestion that he will choose a woman to replace Ginsburg only fuels speculation that he is eying 48-year-old Amy Coney Barrett for the lifetime appointment. Barrett worries progressives as a committed Roman Catholic with conservative views on social issues. At Barrett’s circuit court confirmation hearings, the Democratic senator Dianne Feinstein expressed concern that the judge would be guided by church law instead of the constitution. “The dogma lives loudly within you and that’s a concern,” Feinstein said, “when you come to big issues that large numbers of people have fought for for years in this country.” Donald Trump speaks to members of the press on Saturday prior to his departure from the White House for a campaign rally in North Carolina. Photograph: Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images
Updated at 22.43 BST
19 Sept 2020 22.06 BST Collins: Senate should wait to confirm 'in fairness to the American people' Maine senator Susan Collins has broken her silence on whether Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat on the supreme court should be filled until after the inauguration of the next president.
Collins, a moderate who faces an uphill climb in her re-election campaign against Democratic challenger Sara Gideon, said the decision should be made by the president who is chosen in the November election. “In order for the American people to have faith in their elected officials, we must act fairly and consistently – no matter which political party is in power,” Collins said in a statement Saturday. “President Trump has the constitutional authority to make a nomination to fill the Supreme Court vacancy, and I would have no objection to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s beginning the process of reviewing his nominee’s credentials. “Given the proximity of the presidential election, however, I do not believe that the Senate should vote on the nominee prior to the election.” My statement on the Supreme Court vacancy: pic.twitter.com/jvYyDN5gG4 — Sen. Susan Collins (@SenatorCollins) September 19, 2020 Collins is the second Republican senator to go on record against holding a confirmation vote before election day after Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, who said in July she “would not support” filling a vacancy before 2021, fearing it would create a “double standard” after the stonewalling of Merrick Garland in 2016. The GOP, which controls 53 seats in the US senate, needs only a simple majority to confirm a supreme court nominee, meaning it could only weather one more defection in addition to Collins and Murkowski presuming all 47 Democrats vote to oppose. Maine senator Susan Collins has broken her silence on whether Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat on the supreme court should be filled until after election day. Photograph: Al Drago/AFP/Getty Images
Updated at 22.06 BST
19 Sept 2020 21.40 BST Edward Helmore A national survey conducted shortly before Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death on Friday found substantial majorities of both parties favor hearings on any supreme court nominee in the event of a vacancy this year. The Marquette University Law School poll, which was conducted between 8 to 15 September and released on Saturday, found that 67% of respondents believed confirmation should proceed in 2020 while just 32% said the US senate should hold off. The survey did not suggest strong political divisions on the issue, with 68% of Republicans and 63% of Democrats holding that a nomination vote should take place. Independents supported going forward by a 71% margin. The study mirrors a similar survey in 2016 that found a majority wanted to see the Senate take up the nomination of judge Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama’s nominee to replace conservative justice Antonin Scalia, who died in May 2016. In that case, Republicans argued it would be improper to hold a confirmation vote in an election year. Statements by Republican leaders overnight suggest that with a Republican court nomination in play, they are coming to the opposite conclusion. Still, 48% of respondents from political factions indicated that any appointment to the court is very important to them, 34% said it is somewhat important, while 17% responded that it is not too important or not at all important to them. Broken down by likely voters for each presidential candidate, 59% of Joe Biden supporters said that the next court appointment is very important, against 51% of likely Trump voters. The full results of the poll will be released on 23 September.
19 Sept 2020 21.16 BST An envelope addressed to Donald Trump containing a substance that federal investigators identified as the lethal poison ricin was intercepted this week before arriving at the White House, the Associated Press has reported citing a law enforcement official. The source, who not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the letter was discovered at a government facility where all mail addressed to the president is screened and sorted before it’s forwarded to the executive mansion. A preliminary investigation indicated it tested positive for ricin, a poison found naturally in castor beans, the official said. The AP reports: Federal investigators were working to determine where the enveloped originated and who mailed it. The FBI, the Secret Service and the US Postal Inspection Service were leading the investigation. In a statement, the FBI said agents were working to investigate a suspicious letter received at a US government mail facility and that there is no known threat to public safety. A Navy veteran was arrested in 2018 and confessed to sending envelopes to Trump and members of his administration that contained the substance from which ricin is derived. Authorities said the man, William Clyde Allen III, sent the envelopes with ground castor beans to the president, FBI Director Christopher Wray, along with then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, then-CIA Director Gina Haspel, Adm. John Richardson, who at the time was the Navy’s top officer, and then-Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson. The letters were intercepted, and no one was hurt. The New York Times, citing a law enforcement official briefed on the inquiry, has reported that investigators believe the letter was sent from Canada. Federal officials intercepted an envelope addressed to the White House that contained the poison ricin according to a law enforcement official who spoke to the Associated Press on Saturday. Photograph: Patrick Semansky/AP
19 Sept 2020 20.56 BST Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and a regular contributor in these pages, has remembered Ruth Bader Ginsburg as “the best of us” and a champion of “equal opportunity and fair justice”. “Ruth Bader Ginsburg was one of the fiercest, most intelligent defenders of equal opportunity and fair justice for all,” Abdul-Jabbar said on Saturday in a statement to the Guardian. “She was the best of us and her example brought out the best in everyone who believes in a truly democratic America.”
pic.twitter.com/xOGXq5UjVj — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (@kaj33) September 19, 2020
Updated at 21.02 BST
19 Sept 2020 20.35 BST Feinstein calls on Graham to not fill RBG's seat before inauguration California senator Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate judiciary committee, has formally called on the committee’s chairman Lindsey Graham to delay action on filling Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat on the supreme court until after the inauguration of the next president. A letter co-signed by all 10 judiciary committee Democrats dated Saturday invokes Graham’s own words following the death of conservative supreme court justice Antonin Scalia in 2016, which don’t leave the South Carolina senator much in the way of wiggle room. You joined other Senate Republicans in arguing against the Senate’s consideration of any nominee. For instance, in March 2016, you said that the “election cycle [was] well under way and the precedent of the Senate is not to confirm a nominee at this stage in the process.” That same month you also said “If there is a Republican President in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term, you can say ‘Lindsey Graham said let us let the next President, whoever it might be, make that nomination.’ And you could use my words against me, and you would be absolutely right.” Two years later, you reiterated that the standard Republicans established in 2016 should apply equally in 2020. As you noted, “[i]f an opening comes in the last year of President Trump’s term, and the primary process has started, we’ll wait until the next election.” There cannot be one set of rules for a Republican President and one set for a Democratic President, and considering a nominee before the next inauguration would be wholly inappropriate. While he has yet to comment on the letter directly, Graham clarified his position on the matter in a thread of tweets on Saturday afternoon, saying:
The two biggest changes regarding the Senate and judicial confirmations that have occurred in the last decade have come from Democrats. * Harry Reid changed the rules to allow a simple majority vote for Circuit Court nominees dealing out the minority. * Chuck Schumer and his friends in the liberal media conspired to destroy the life of Brett Kavanaugh and hold that Supreme Court seat open. In light of these two events, I will support President @realDonaldTrump in any effort to move forward regarding the recent vacancy created by the passing of Justice Ginsburg. Earlier Saturday, Graham responded to Donald Trump’s tweet calling for Republicans to move forward on a nominee “without delay”, saying, “I fully understand where [President Trump] is coming from.”
19 Sept 2020 20.03 BST Edward Helmore Democrats have raised more than $31m in the 17 hours since supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death was announced, according to a donation ticker on ActBlue, the party’s online fundraising platform. Democrats have already registered record fundraising totals over the closing months of the 2020 presidential election season: more than 4m unique donors made 10,654,586 contributions on ActBlue in August, for a total of $485,400,545. The party is now looking to leverage Ginsberg’s legacy in more than judicial terms. A separate Senate-focused democratic push specifically mentions Ginsburg’s impact. “In this moment it is vital to give to Senate candidates,” reads an ActBlue fundraising page entitled Protect RBG’s Legacy. “Time to apply maximum pressure so that they do the right thing & refuse to vote to confirm before the 2020 election.” Republicans, too, acted overnight. In Iowa, vulnerable Republican senator Joni Ernst sent out fundraising pleas shortly after Ginsburg’s death was announced.“BREAKING: The future of the Supreme Court is on the line,” Ernst’s campaign wrote in the subject line of an email blast. “Our Conservative values and Constitutional rights are now on the line,” the email said. “The next Supreme Court nominee will shape major decisions for decades to come.” After an online backlash, Ernst later issued an apology. “This email never should have gone out,” she said in a statement. “Though I never saw it, it was sent out under my name and I take responsibility for it. Tonight, my prayers are with the family of Justice Ginsburg.”
19 Sept 2020 19.39 BST Lawrence Douglas explains how Democrats could have the last laugh if Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell succeeds in installing a nominee to the high court before the election, or before Trump leaves the White House, should he lose to Joe Biden: [T]he deeper question is not whether McConnell will be successful. It is how Democrats should respond if he is. The answer, of course, will turn on the results of the coming election. But should Democrats capture the White House and the Senate, they need to bear in mind that it is Congress and not the Constitution that sets the size of the supreme court. In 1937, Franklin Roosevelt, frustrated by a hidebound supreme court that had struck down New Deal laws, proposed expanding the number of justices to fifteen. That court-packing plan was rightly rejected by Congress as a heavy-handed attempt to manipulate the court’s composition to generate specific political outcomes. A new Democratic court-packing plan in 2021 would be prompted by a very different logic. Adding two additional justices to court’s ranks would simply counterbalance the abuse of constitutional rules that enabled the confirmation of Gorsuch and RBG’s replacement. Such an act would be a justified gesture of constitutional restoration, not usurpation. In the battle over the US supreme court, Democrats can still have the last laugh | Lawrence Douglas Read more
19 Sept 2020 19.14 BST Politico reporter – Trump might not fill RBG's seat immediately Martin Pengelly Tim Alberta, the chap I quoted a while back re Mitch “Mule Piss” McConnell and his single-minded pursuit of judicial appointments, has a fascinating piece up at Politico. “If there’s one Republican who could be convinced that filling the sudden supreme court vacancy is a bad idea,” he writes, “it’s President Donald Trump.” The gist of it is that Trump might see the promise of a conservative justice as a more potent weapon in his arsenal against Joe Biden than the actuality of a conservative installed in whatever short and nasty Capitol Hill fight McConnell has lined up and into which Democrats will no doubt determinedly pitch. In short, as Alberta writes, Trump’s decision to publish a list of possible nominees did wonders in 2016 in reassuring evangelicals and others he would not appoint any liberals, thereby aligning such voters behind a candidate they otherwise distrusted. Trump names three sitting senators among 20 possible supreme court picks Read more So, the thinking goes, why not do so again? Trump has already published a list of possible nominees and we all know he likes to manage political theatre like reality TV. “Vote for me or Joe Biden will appoint an anti-gun, pro-abortion, atheist Black Lives Matter activist in a same-sex marriage from Vermont,” is the short and flippant version of it. Shorter still but still flippant: “Vote for me or the court gets it.” Here’s Alberta: Any number of variables could tip the scales in such a tight election. But it’s not difficult to deduce that had a supreme court seat not been hanging in the balance, Hillary Clinton would be president right now. When I offered this theory last year to McConnell … he grinned. “I agree,” McConnell said. And here he is again: Having been reminded countless times over the past 45 months that his Supreme Court gambit won him the trust of social conservatives – which, in turn, won him the election – Trump surely realizes that this is a moment of maximum leverage. Maybe he doesn’t bother using it; maybe he automatically produces more of the goods, keeping his most important customers satisfied, believing it’s one more accomplishment to point to. But the president is transactional to his core. This was exactly the word– “transactional” – that Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council, used when we discussed the supreme court list Trump unveiled in 2016. “Evangelicals had been used over and over by Republicans. And there was something different about his interaction with us,” Perkins told me. “He wanted our votes, and he made promises that most Christian candidates would never, ever make.”


theguardian--2020-09-19--Trump says he approves TikTok Oracle deal which may include Walmart

Donald Trump has said he “ approves a deal in concept ” that will allow TikTok to continue to operate in the US , after threatening to ban the Chinese-owned app .
The president told reporters at the White House he was giving the deal with Oracle “ my blessing ” and that US national security concerns had been addressed .
About 100 million Americans use TikTok and US officials have expressed concern about the potential for China to access users ’ data .
“ I have given the deal my blessing , ” the US president told reporters .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s great , if they don ’ t that ’ s fine too.
” “ The security will be 100 % , ” Trump added .
“ Conceptually it ’ s a great deal for America.
” Reuters reported on Thursday that the new company , named TikTok Global , will have a majority of US directors , a US chief executive and a security expert on the board .
Oracle has agreed to eventually own a 20 % stake in the company , according to a source .
If Walmart also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chief executive , Doug McMillon , would get a seat on TikTok Global ’ s board , the source said .
Trump said the new TikTok company would be “ totally controlled by Oracle and Walmart ” and would be based in Texas .
The company has reportedly agreed to make a $ 5bn donation to an educational fund in the state .
“ They ’ re going to be setting up a very large fund , ” Trump said .
“ That ’ s their contribution that I ’ ve been asking @ @ @

Donald Trump has said he “approves a deal in concept” that will allow TikTok to continue to operate in the US, after threatening to ban the Chinese-owned app.
The president told reporters at the White House he was giving the deal with Oracle “my blessing” and that US national security concerns had been addressed.
About 100 million Americans use TikTok and US officials have expressed concern about the potential for China to access users’ data.
“I have given the deal my blessing,” the US president told reporters. “If they get it done that’s great, if they don’t that’s fine too.”
“The security will be 100%,” Trump added. “Conceptually it’s a great deal for America.”
Reuters reported on Thursday that the new company, named TikTok Global, will have a majority of US directors, a US chief executive and a security expert on the board.
Oracle has agreed to eventually own a 20% stake in the company, according to a source. If Walmart also successfully negotiates acquiring a stake, its chief executive, Doug McMillon, would get a seat on TikTok Global’s board, the source said.
Trump said the new TikTok company would be “totally controlled by Oracle and Walmart” and would be based in Texas.
The company has reportedly agreed to make a $5bn donation to an educational fund in the state.
“They’re going to be setting up a very large fund,” Trump said. “That’s their contribution that I’ve been asking for.”