theguardian--2020-10-17--Women march against Trump and Republicans in major US cities

Thousands of mostly young women in masks rallied on Saturday in Washington DC and other US cities , exhorting voters to oppose Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans in the 3 November elections .
The latest in a series of rallies that began with a massive women ’ s march the day after Trump ’ s January 2017 inauguration was playing out during the coronavirus pandemic .
Demonstrators were asked to wear face coverings and practice social distancing .
Rachel O ’ Leary Carmona , executive director of the Women ’ s March , opened the Washington event by asking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ another , saying the only superspreader event would be the recent one at the White House .
She talked about the power of women to end Trump ’ s presidency .
“ His presidency began with women marching and now it ’ s going to end with woman voting .
Period , ” she said .
“ Vote for your daughter ’ s future ” , read one message in the sea of signs carried by demonstrators , who marched through downtown Washington to the supreme court .
“ Fight like a girl @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rallies were planned from New York to San Francisco to signal opposition to Trump and his policies , especially the push to fill the seat of late supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before election day .
One march was held at Cornell University in Ithaca , New York , outside the dormitory where Bader Ginsburg lived as an undergraduate student .
In New York City , a demonstrator wearing a Donald Trump mask stood next to a statue of George Washington at Federal Hall during the the women ’ s march outside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We Dissent ” , said a cardboard sign carried by a young woman wearing a red mask with small portraits of Ginsburg , the liberal supreme court justice whose death on 18 September sparked the rush by Republicans to replace her with a conservative , Amy Coney Barrett .
In Washington , Sonja Spoo , director of reproductive rights campaigns at Ultraviolet , said she had to chuckle when she heard reporters ask Trump if he will accept a peaceful transfer of power if he loses to Joe Biden .
“ When we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , there is no choice , “ said Spoo .
“ Donald Trump will not get to choose whether he stays in power .
That is not his power , that is our power … We are the hell and high water .
”

Thousands of mostly young women in masks rallied on Saturday in Washington DC and other US cities, exhorting voters to oppose Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans in the 3 November elections.
The latest in a series of rallies, which began with a massive women’s march the day after Trump’s January 2017 inauguration, was playing out during the coronavirus pandemic. Demonstrators were asked to wear face coverings and practice social distancing.
Rachel O’Leary Carmona, executive director of the Women’s March, opened the Washington event by asking people to keep their distance from one another, saying the only superspreader event would be the recent one at the White House.
She talked about the power of women to end Trump’s presidency.
“His presidency began with women marching and now it’s going to end with women voting. Period,” she said.
Ruth Novak holds a sign at Federal Plaza in Chicago. Photograph: Pat Nabong/AP
“Vote for your daughter’s future”, read one message in the sea of signs carried by demonstrators, who marched through downtown Washington to the supreme court. “Fight like a girl,” said another.
Dozens of rallies were planned from New York to San Francisco to signal opposition to Trump and his policies, especially the push to fill the seat of late supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before election day.
People march in Nashville, Tennessee. Photograph: Mark Humphrey/AP
One march was held at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, outside the dormitory where Bader Ginsburg lived as an undergraduate student. In New York City, a demonstrator wearing a Donald Trump mask stood next to a statue of George Washington at Federal Hall during the the women’s march outside the New York Stock Exchange.
“We Dissent”, said a cardboard sign carried by a young woman wearing a red mask with small portraits of Ginsburg, the liberal supreme court justice whose death on 18 September sparked the rush by Republicans to replace her with a conservative, Amy Coney Barrett.
In Washington, Sonja Spoo, director of reproductive rights campaigns at Ultraviolet, said she had to chuckle when she heard reporters ask Trump if he will accept a peaceful transfer of power if he loses to Joe Biden.
“When we vote him out, come 3 November, there is no choice,” said Spoo. “Donald Trump will not get to choose whether he stays in power. That is not his power, that is our power … We are the hell and high water.”


theguardian--2020-10-17--US records highest daily coronavirus case total since July

More than 68,000 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded in the US on Friday , the highest number in a single day since July , further confirmation the country is in the midst of a coronavirus resurgence .
According to data from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project , the last time the US saw close to 68,000 new cases in a day was 31 July , when a summer peak was starting to recede .
Cases dipped from August to mid-September .
But public health experts have long feared a rise in cases as the weather starts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where the virus is more likely to spread .
Cases are increasing in a majority of states , particularly in the northern midwest , including the Dakotas , Montana and Wisconsin – where Donald Trump was due to stage a rally on Saturday night .
This week , the US has averaged 55,000 new cases a day , a 60 % increase compared with mid-September .
“ You can ’ t enter into the cool months of the fall and the cold months of the winter with a high community infection baseline , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ top US infectious disease expert , on Friday , while discussing the difficulties the virus will present in the coming weeks .
Fauci has said repeatedly that the US is still in its first wave of coronavirus , pointing out that case numbers have not dipped to a low enough point to constitute an end to that first phase .
On Friday , the US hit a global record of total cases , 8 million since March , with a death toll close to 220,000 .
Public officials are bracing for a rise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hospitalization rate stood at 37,336 , according to the Covid Tracking Project , the highest since 28 August .
Officials in Utah , Missouri and Indiana have indicated some hospitals are starting to be overwhelmed .
The governors of New Mexico and Kentucky said they will tighten Covid-19 guidelines .
A number of states are seeing their highest numbers of new cases .
On Saturday , Indiana reported a record 2,521 , the second straight day new cases had topped 2,000 in the state of about 6.5m people .
Governor Eric Holcomb said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the state ’ s mask mandate , but would not renew tough restrictions on businesses and crowd sizes .
At the end of September , Holcomb , a Republican up for re-election , lifted capacity and crowd limits for restaurants , bars and social events .
In Wisconsin , new cases reached 4,100 on Friday , a record high .
The state has set up overflow hospital facilities and the national guard is manning extra testing sites .
Joe Biden currently leads Donald Trump by about seven points in Wisconsin , generally considered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was due to stage a rally in Janesville , about 175 miles away from La Crosse , Minnesota , his intended venue until local officials urged the president to move the rally amid a surge of cases .
“ Wisconsin is in the grips of one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in the country , ” he said .
“ President Trump is knowingly downplaying the severity of the virus .
At virtually every turn , he has panicked and tried to wish it away rather than doing the hard work to get @ @ @ @ @

More than 68,000 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded in the US on Friday, the highest number in a single day since July, further confirmation the country is in the midst of a coronavirus resurgence.
According to data from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project, the last time the US saw close to 68,000 new cases in a day was 31 July, when a summer peak was starting to recede.
Cases dipped from August to mid-September. But public health experts have long feared a rise in cases as the weather starts to cool, leading people indoors, where the virus is more likely to spread. Cases are increasing in a majority of states, particularly in the northern midwest, including the Dakotas, Montana and Wisconsin – where Donald Trump was due to stage a rally on Saturday night.
This week, the US has averaged 55,000 new cases a day, a 60% increase compared with mid-September.
“You can’t enter into the cool months of the fall and the cold months of the winter with a high community infection baseline,” said Dr Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease expert, on Friday, while discussing the difficulties the virus will present in the coming weeks.
Fauci has said repeatedly that the US is still in its first wave of coronavirus, pointing out that case numbers have not dipped to a low enough point to constitute an end to that first phase. On Friday, the US hit a global record of total cases, 8 million since March, with a death toll close to 220,000.
Public officials are bracing for a rise in hospitalizations. On Friday, the hospitalization rate stood at 37,336, according to the Covid Tracking Project, the highest since 28 August. Officials in Utah, Missouri and Indiana have indicated some hospitals are starting to be overwhelmed. The governors of New Mexico and Kentucky said they will tighten Covid-19 guidelines.
A number of states are seeing their highest numbers of new cases. On Saturday, Indiana reported a record 2,521, the second straight day new cases had topped 2,000 in the state of about 6.5m people.
Governor Eric Holcomb said earlier in the week he would extend the state’s mask mandate, but would not renew tough restrictions on businesses and crowd sizes. At the end of September, Holcomb, a Republican up for re-election, lifted capacity and crowd limits for restaurants, bars and social events.
In Wisconsin, new cases reached 4,100 on Friday, a record high. The state has set up overflow hospital facilities and the national guard is manning extra testing sites.
Joe Biden currently leads Donald Trump by about seven points in Wisconsin, generally considered a battleground state. On Saturday Trump was due to stage a rally in Janesville, about 175 miles away from La Crosse, Wisconsin, his intended venue until local officials urged the president to move the rally amid a surge of cases.
Biden released a statement on Trump’s plans.
“Wisconsin is in the grips of one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in the country,” he said. “President Trump is knowingly downplaying the severity of the virus. At virtually every turn, he has panicked and tried to wish it away rather than doing the hard work to get it under control.”


theguardian--2020-10-17--Trump blasts Sasse for predicting Senate Republican bloodbath

Down in the polls to Joe Biden and campaigning through a surging pandemic , Donald Trump chose to devote time on Saturday morning to a Twitter rant against a member of his own party in the Senate , a chamber Republicans face losing on 3 November .
The president called Ben Sasse “ little ” , “ the least effective of our 53 Republican senators ” , “ rather stupid and obnoxious ” and “ an embarrassment to the great state of Nebraska ” .
Sasse ’ s crime was to have criticised Trump in robust terms on a call @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Examiner , saying the president “ kisses dictators ’ butts ” and “ flirts with white supremacists ” .
“ I ’ m now looking at the possibility of a Republican bloodbath in the Senate , and that ’ s why I ’ ve never been on the Trump train , ” Sasse said .
This week , analysts at the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia predicted Senate Democrats would earn “ a net gain of between one and eight seats ” .
The Democrats need a net gain of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ majority .
Sasse , 48 , a libertarian-tinged conservative widely thought to be eyeing a presidential run in 2024 , is a shoo-in for re-election .
In 2018 he published a book-length appeal for civility across the aisle , Them : Why We Hate Each Other – and How to Heal .
But critics scoffed at his claim never to have “ never been on the Trump train ” – he has voted with the Trump White House 87 % of the time , and joined the rest of his party except Mitt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ both impeachment charges .
Speaking to constituents , Sasse criticised Trump for treating the coronavirus pandemic “ like a PR crisis ” and said the president “ kisses dictators ’ butts [ and ] mocks evangelicals behind closed doors ” .
“ His family has treated the presidency like a business opportunity , ” Sasse said .
“ He ’ s flirted with white supremacists.
” Evidence for such charges is plentiful .
But Trump also pointed at hard political truths , as he highlighted the fate of other senators who have turned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as nice as a RINO [ Republican in Name Only ] can be until he recently won the Republican nomination to run for a second term , ” Trump wrote .
“ Then he went back to his rather stupid and obnoxious ways .
Must feel he can ’ t lose to a Democrat.
” Trump later added that Sasse “ seems to be heading down the same inglorious path as former senators Liddle ’ Bob Corker … and Jeff ‘ the Flake ’ Flake ” .
Corker , from Tennessee , was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ secretary of state but ended up comparing Trump ’ s White House to an “ adult daycare centre ” and retiring in 2018 .
Flake , of Arizona , also stepped down that year .
Trump said both were “ totally unelectable , couldn ’ t come even close to winning their primaries , and decided to drop out of politics and gracefully ‘ RETIRE ’ .
Sasse could be next , or perhaps the Republicans should find a new and more viable candidate ?
” That will not happen .
Nonetheless , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ columnist Jennifer Rubin lambasted Sasse for not opposing Trump in public .
“ He has remained silent when his countrymen needed candor , ” Rubin wrote .
“ Sasse has not publicly come to the defense of Anthony Fauci , the nation ’ s top infectious disease expert , in the face of Trump ’ s attacks .
He has not warned governors not to follow Trump ’ s recommendations on the pandemic , or admonished the White House for eschewing masks and social distancing , or spoken out about Trump ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or leveled in any meaningful way with the American people about Trump ’ s racism and contempt for religion .
“ One must conclude that sheer cowardice and a yen to remain in office ( requiring he avoid the wrath of the MAGA crowd ) account for his reticence .
As with every other silent Republican in this era , personal ambition won out over obligation to the country and the constitution.
” On Saturday James Wegmann , a spokesman for Sasse , claimed : “ Ben said the same thing to Nebraskans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president directly in the Oval Office .
Ben is focused on defending the Republican Senate majority , and he ’ s not going to waste a single minute on tweets .
”

Down in the polls to Joe Biden and campaigning through a surging pandemic, Donald Trump chose to devote time on Saturday morning to a Twitter rant against a member of his own party in the Senate, a chamber Republicans face losing on 3 November.
The president called Ben Sasse “little”, “the least effective of our 53 Republican senators”, “rather stupid and obnoxious” and “an embarrassment to the great state of Nebraska”.
“Other than that,” Trump concluded, “he’s just a wonderful guy!”
Sasse’s crime was to have criticised Trump in robust terms on a call with constituents first reported by the Washington Examiner, saying the president “kisses dictators’ butts” and “flirts with white supremacists”.
“I’m now looking at the possibility of a Republican bloodbath in the Senate, and that’s why I’ve never been on the Trump train,” Sasse said.
This week, analysts at the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia predicted Senate Democrats would earn “a net gain of between one and eight seats”. The Democrats need a net gain of three or four seats to win a majority.
Sasse, 48, a libertarian-tinged conservative widely thought to be eyeing a presidential run in 2024, is a shoo-in for re-election. In 2018 he published a book-length appeal for civility across the aisle, Them: Why We Hate Each Other – and How to Heal.
But critics scoffed at his claim never to have “never been on the Trump train” – he has voted with the Trump White House 87% of the time, and joined the rest of his party except Mitt Romney in voting to acquit Trump on both impeachment charges.
Speaking to constituents, Sasse criticised Trump for treating the coronavirus pandemic “like a PR crisis” and said the president “kisses dictators’ butts [and] mocks evangelicals behind closed doors”.
“His family has treated the presidency like a business opportunity,” Sasse said. “He’s flirted with white supremacists.”
Evidence for such charges is plentiful. But Trump also pointed at hard political truths, as he highlighted the fate of other senators who have turned against him.
“Senator Sasse was as nice as a RINO [Republican in Name Only] can be until he recently won the Republican nomination to run for a second term,” Trump wrote. “Then he went back to his rather stupid and obnoxious ways. Must feel he can’t lose to a Democrat.”
Trump later added that Sasse “seems to be heading down the same inglorious path as former senators Liddle’ Bob Corker … and Jeff ‘the Flake’ Flake”.
Corker, from Tennessee, was once considered as a running mate or secretary of state but ended up comparing Trump’s White House to an “adult daycare centre” and retiring in 2018. Flake, of Arizona, also stepped down that year.
Trump said both were “totally unelectable, couldn’t come even close to winning their primaries, and decided to drop out of politics and gracefully ‘RETIRE’. Sasse could be next, or perhaps the Republicans should find a new and more viable candidate?”
That will not happen. Nonetheless, on Friday, the conservative Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin lambasted Sasse for not opposing Trump in public.
“He has remained silent when his countrymen needed candor,” Rubin wrote.
“Sasse has not publicly come to the defense of Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, in the face of Trump’s attacks. He has not warned governors not to follow Trump’s recommendations on the pandemic, or admonished the White House for eschewing masks and social distancing, or spoken out about Trump’s conduct once the president was infected, or leveled in any meaningful way with the American people about Trump’s racism and contempt for religion.
“One must conclude that sheer cowardice and a yen to remain in office (requiring he avoid the wrath of the MAGA crowd) account for his reticence. As with every other silent Republican in this era, personal ambition won out over obligation to the country and the constitution.”
On Saturday James Wegmann, a spokesman for Sasse, claimed: “Ben said the same thing to Nebraskans that he has repeatedly said to the president directly in the Oval Office. Ben is focused on defending the Republican Senate majority, and he’s not going to waste a single minute on tweets.”


theguardian--2020-10-17--'Captain Covid': crowdsurfing Democrat tries to stir Black support for Trump

When Vernon Jones , a Black Democratic state representative from Georgia , crossed party lines to deliver a passionate endorsement of Donald Trump at the Republican national convention , the party greeted him like a rock star .
Now comes evidence the label has gone to his head .
At a Trump rally in Macon , Georgia , on Friday night , Jones launched arguably the most ill-advised and dangerous crowdsurf since the electro dance legend Steve Aoki broke a concertgoer ’ s neck in a dinghy .
Thumbs raised and not wearing a mask , the 59-year-old lawmaker launched @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Riding a sea of red Maga hats , packed tightly together in contravention of Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention Covid-19 social distancing guidelines , the grinning Jones was passed overhead from deplorable to deplorable , to use a term for Trump supporters Jones cited in a tweet defending the stunt .
“ Yes , I surfed that crowd !
” Jones wrote .
“ To the haters – stay mad !
You ’ ll be even more mad come 3 November.
” On social media , reaction was swift and brutal .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Covid ” .
Others denounced him as an idiot and a loser , living in fairytale land .
Republicans hope Jones , who was first elected to the Georgia state house in 1992 , can help shore up the Black Republican vote in his state .
Trump won Georgia from Hillary Clinton by more than five points in 2016 , but recent polls show the president trailing Joe Biden by almost one and a half points .
Race has also emerged as a key theme in Georgia ’ s tightly contested US Senate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democratic candidates , Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff , hold narrow leads , according to Quinnipiac polling this week .
One of the Republican incumbents , David Perdue , was involved in an incendiary moment at Trump ’ s Macon rally when he mangled the name of Kamala Harris , Biden ’ s running mate , the first Black woman on a major party presidential ticket .
Perdue ’ s campaign claimed it was an innocent mistake but Ossoff , in an interview with MSNBC , attacked his opponent for “ vile , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other race , a special election in which Warnock , a Black pastor , faces both the Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler and Doug Collins , a serving Republican congressman , the spectre of QAnon looms large .
Loeffler has embraced the endorsement of the far-right congressional candidate Marjorie Taylor Greene , an enthusiastic peddler of baseless QAnon theories who has expressed racist views in social media posts .
At the Republican convention in August , as one of a number of first-night speakers of color to deliver a similar message , Jones tore @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Why is a lifelong Democrat speaking at the Republican national convention ?
” he said , in a controversial speech he later said he intended to be “ a culture shock ” .
“ The Democratic party does not want black people to leave their mental plantation .
We ’ ve been forced to be there for decades and generations.
” Jones resigned his Georgia House seat in April , after first endorsing Trump .
But he rescinded his decision days later , claiming he had received “ overwhelming support ” @

When Vernon Jones, a Black Democratic state representative from Georgia, crossed party lines to deliver a passionate endorsement of Donald Trump at the Republican national convention, the party greeted him like a rock star. Now comes evidence the label has gone to his head.
At a Trump rally in Macon, Georgia, on Friday night, Jones launched arguably the most ill-advised and dangerous crowdsurf since the electro dance legend Steve Aoki broke a concertgoer’s neck in a dinghy.
Thumbs raised and not wearing a mask, the 59-year-old lawmaker launched himself into a mostly maskless audience. Riding a sea of red Maga hats, packed tightly together in contravention of Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention Covid-19 social distancing guidelines, the grinning Jones was passed overhead from deplorable to deplorable, to use a term for Trump supporters Jones cited in a tweet defending the stunt.
“Yes, I surfed that crowd!” Jones wrote. “To the haters – stay mad! You’ll be even more mad come 3 November.”
On social media, reaction was swift and brutal. One Twitter user dubbed Jones “Captain Covid”. Others denounced him as an idiot and a loser, living in fairytale land.
Republicans hope Jones, who was first elected to the Georgia state house in 1992, can help shore up the Black Republican vote in his state. Trump won Georgia from Hillary Clinton by more than five points in 2016, but recent polls show the president trailing Joe Biden by almost one and a half points.
Race has also emerged as a key theme in Georgia’s tightly contested US Senate contests, in which both of the Democratic candidates, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, hold narrow leads, according to Quinnipiac polling this week.
One of the Republican incumbents, David Perdue, was involved in an incendiary moment at Trump’s Macon rally when he mangled the name of Kamala Harris, Biden’s running mate, the first Black woman on a major party presidential ticket.
Perdue’s campaign claimed it was an innocent mistake but Ossoff, in an interview with MSNBC, attacked his opponent for “vile, race-baiting trash talk”.
In the other race, a special election in which Warnock, a Black pastor, faces both the Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler and Doug Collins, a serving Republican congressman, the spectre of QAnon looms large. Loeffler has embraced the endorsement of the far-right congressional candidate Marjorie Taylor Greene, an enthusiastic peddler of baseless QAnon theories who has expressed racist views in social media posts.
At the Republican convention in August, as one of a number of first-night speakers of color to deliver a similar message, Jones tore into Democrats’ handling of racial issues.
“Why is a lifelong Democrat speaking at the Republican national convention?” he said, in a controversial speech he later said he intended to be “a culture shock”.
“The Democratic party does not want black people to leave their mental plantation. We’ve been forced to be there for decades and generations.”
Jones resigned his Georgia House seat in April, after first endorsing Trump. But he rescinded his decision days later, claiming he had received “overwhelming support”.


theguardian--2020-10-17--Trump trails Biden with two weeks to go – but there could yet be surprises

With more than 18 million votes already cast , Donald Trump is struggling to find a coherent closing argument for the US presidential election as opinion polls put him in danger of humiliating defeat by Democrat Joe Biden .
Long queues have formed across the country for early in-person voting , a sign that this year could see a record turnout in spite , or perhaps because , of a coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 215,000 Americans and put millions out of work .
But there could still be surprises before election day on 3 November and fears @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Biden victory , Trump could plunge the world ’ s oldest constitutional democracy into crisis by disputing the result in court , spreading conspiracy theories online and mobilising militant supporters in the streets .
Biden leads by 17 percentage points in an Opinium Research/ Guardian poll , 16 points in a CNN poll , and 11 points in an NBC News/ Wall Street Journal poll .
The last incumbent president to suffer such deficits was the last incumbent president to lose : George HW Bush , beaten by Bill Clinton in 1992 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the crucial swing states that will decide the all-important electoral college and raises the prospect that Democrats could regain the White House and Senate and expand their majority in the House of Representatives .
“ Trump ’ s going to get killed , ” said Joe Walsh , a former congressman who unsuccessfully challenged the president in this year ’ s Republican primary .
“ I think we ’ ll know election night that he lost .
Republicans are going to lose the Senate .
It ’ s probably going to be the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this country and it ’ s going to be a bloodbath for Republicans.
” Trump appears to be haemorrhaging support among two crucial voting blocs .
One is elderly people , who were crucial to his victory over Hillary Clinton in states such as Florida in 2016 .
Walsh added : “ One of the big stories that we ’ ll all analyse after this election will be that Trump lost older voters in this country .
“ He beat Hillary when it came to older voters but Biden will win them by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a fucking lunatic who screwed up this pandemic big time and a bunch of older Americans died.
” The other group deserting Trump is suburban women , apparently rejecting his vulgar insults and shows of machismo regarding the virus .
With a hint of desperation this week at a rally in Johnstown , Pennsylvania , the president begged : “ Suburban women , will you please like me ?
Please , please .
I saved your damned neighborhood , OK ?
” Trump had appeared confident of re-election at the start of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but Covid-19 , and his persistent downplaying of it , wreaked havoc .
The president himself was hospitalised with the virus earlier this month but has since recovered and is back on the campaign trail .
But his rallies do not soak up media coverage like they used to , with some commentators suggesting that the carnival barker act , so novel in 2016 , has become routine and even boring .
His need to hold them in states such as Iowa and Georgia , traditionally safe Republican territory , suggest he is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Carolina on Thursday , he pointed skywards and joked : “ We need help from the boss.
” Biden , a former senator who was Barack Obama ’ s vice-president from 2009 to 2017 , came from behind to win the Democratic primary nomination and , amid America ’ s interlocking health , economic and racial crises , has maintained a remarkably steady poll lead over Trump .
His low-key campaign with far smaller events appears to be working .
Walsh commented : “ Joe Biden has ignored Twitter , which is brilliant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down , campaigned responsibly within this pandemic and let Donald Trump spout off every single day .
Biden has slowly developed trust with the vast majority of the American people and it will deliver him a big victory.
” Trump , 74 , has attempted to portray 77-year-old Biden as mentally declining and a puppet of the radical left .
This week he tweeted a doctored image of Biden in a wheelchair at a nursing home and claimed : “ Simply put , it ’ s a choice between a socialist nightmare and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sleepy Joe ” branding seems to have been a poor sequel to “ Crooked Hillary ” and Biden has been more difficult to demonise than the widely unpopular Clinton .
Trump has also tried hard to change the subject from the pandemic to “ culture wars ” or law and order but the virus has proved an implacable foe .
His campaign has been just as chaotic as in 2016 .
Its manager , Brad Parscale , was demoted and then resigned after being hospitalised following reports that he threatened to harm himself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been forced to withdraw advertising from battleground states after running low on cash , even as Biden breaks fundraising records .
And Trump , who hit populist notes about immigration and trade in 2016 , has veered off script constantly this year .
In October alone he has pushed a conspiracy theory questioning Osama bin Laden ’ s death , criticised America ’ s leading infectious disease expert , described Biden ’ s running mate , Kamala Harris , as a “ monster ” and , in duelling town hall events with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disavow the QAnon conspiracy theory .
Monika McDermott , a professor of political science at Fordham University in New York , said : “ It ’ s been terrible , especially lately , because Trump himself just has no discipline and no control .
He ’ s alienating people left and right and doesn ’ t seem like he ’ s actively trying to win this .
It actually seems almost like he ’ s self-sabotaging or just in denial in some way and that ’ s not where a winning candidate or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ added , benefited from riding out part of the pandemic by doing interviews and fundraisers from his basement at home in Wilmington , Delaware .
“ The fact that the Democrats kept him in the basement for so long was actually to his advantage .
Since he ’ s been out and about , he ’ s been relatively gaffe-free and solid and steady and I think that ’ s what people are looking for right now , as opposed to the craziness of what ’ s going on with Trump these days.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ cast ballots so far , according to data compiled by the US Elections Project .
Democrats led Republicans in mail-in ballots in Florida by more than 400,000 as of Wednesday morning .
But there has been little sign of complacency on the Democratic side , with memories still raw from 2016 when many state polls were off the mark .
Jen O ’ Malley Dillon , Biden ’ s campaign manager , warned Twitter followers : “ Early voting is already under way in many states .
Millions of voters have already cast @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a long way to go in this campaign , and we think this race is far closer than folks on this website think .
Like a lot closer.
” As he runs out of time , Trump could become even more reckless in his efforts to alter the trajectory of the race .
During a virtual fundraiser on Thursday , Biden warned supporters that the president is “ going to throw everything but the kitchen sink at me ” and deliver “ an overwhelming torrent of lies ” .
Biden ’ s son @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after a New York Post report outlining an email that Hunter allegedly received from a Ukrainian businessman discussing a meeting with his father .
Biden ’ s campaign denied the meeting ever happened , and experts raised questions about the veracity of the emails .
Election watchdogs remain on alert for signs of voter suppression or intimidation .
Trump has spent months making baseless claims to discredit mail-in voting , which research suggests that Democrats are more likely to use than Republicans .
The president has also refused to commit to a peaceful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weeks of legal wrangling and potentially explosive street protests .
Asked about this at Thursday night ’ s town hall , he was still somewhat equivocal .
“ They talk about , ‘ Will you accept a peaceful transfer ?
’ And the answer is yes , I will – but I want it to be an honest election , and so does everybody else.
” Activist groups are girding themselves to protect the integrity of the count .
Sarah Dohl , co-founder and acting chief campaign officer of Indivisible , said : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ commit to accepting the legitimate election results , Trump is trying to stoke chaos and fear .
It ’ s all he has left in his playbook .
But we are ready .
“ Should Trump declare victory before all the votes are counted or prevent the legitimate counting of votes , we will mobilise in every corner of this country to ensure voters have the last word in November.
” Democrats have argued that the best antidote is to win by such a massive margin that the result is beyond dispute .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ highly improbable , is now at least possible as Trump ’ s candidacy threatens to implode .
Larry Jacobs , director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota , said : “ Trump has run the worst presidential campaign in modern American history .
Biden ’ s got a lead that ’ s beyond the margin of error and I consider those numbers real .
“ There is nothing going for Trump that ’ s going to shake up the election .
He needs a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election seems to be almost frozen .
It ’ s remarkable when you look at the averages of the polls , you go state by state , it ’ s fairly consistent and there ’ s not a lot of up and down .
So to me , this election is practically over .
”

With more than 18 million votes already cast, Donald Trump is struggling to find a coherent closing argument for the US presidential election as opinion polls put him in danger of humiliating defeat by Democrat Joe Biden.
Long queues have formed across the country for early in-person voting, a sign that this year could see a record turnout in spite, or perhaps because, of a coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 215,000 Americans and put millions out of work.
But there could still be surprises before election day on 3 November and fears persist that, in the event of a Biden victory, Trump could plunge the world’s oldest constitutional democracy into crisis by disputing the result in court, spreading conspiracy theories online and mobilising militant supporters in the streets.
Biden leads by 17 percentage points in an Opinium Research/ Guardian poll, 16 points in a CNN poll, and 11 points in an NBC News/ Wall Street Journal poll. The last incumbent president to suffer such deficits was the last incumbent president to lose: George HW Bush, beaten by Bill Clinton in 1992.
Biden’s consistent advantage includes the crucial swing states that will decide the all-important electoral college and raises the prospect that Democrats could regain the White House and Senate and expand their majority in the House of Representatives.
“Trump’s going to get killed,” said Joe Walsh, a former congressman who unsuccessfully challenged the president in this year’s Republican primary. “I think we’ll know election night that he lost. Republicans are going to lose the Senate. It’s probably going to be the highest turnout in a hundred years in this country and it’s going to be a bloodbath for Republicans.”
Trump appears to be haemorrhaging support among two crucial voting blocs. One is elderly people, who were crucial to his victory over Hillary Clinton in states such as Florida in 2016. Walsh added: “One of the big stories that we’ll all analyse after this election will be that Trump lost older voters in this country.
“He beat Hillary when it came to older voters but Biden will win them by a healthy amount because they think Trump is a fucking lunatic who screwed up this pandemic big time and a bunch of older Americans died.”
The other group deserting Trump is suburban women, apparently rejecting his vulgar insults and shows of machismo regarding the virus. With a hint of desperation this week at a rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, the president begged: “Suburban women, will you please like me? Please, please. I saved your damned neighborhood, OK?”
Trump had appeared confident of re-election at the start of the year based on his economic record but Covid-19, and his persistent downplaying of it, wreaked havoc. The president himself was hospitalised with the virus earlier this month but has since recovered and is back on the campaign trail.
But his rallies do not soak up media coverage like they used to, with some commentators suggesting that the carnival barker act, so novel in 2016, has become routine and even boring. His need to hold them in states such as Iowa and Georgia, traditionally safe Republican territory, suggest he is on the defensive. Speaking in North Carolina on Thursday, he pointed skywards and joked: “We need help from the boss.”
Biden, a former senator who was Barack Obama’s vice-president from 2009 to 2017, came from behind to win the Democratic primary nomination and, amid America’s interlocking health, economic and racial crises, has maintained a remarkably steady poll lead over Trump. His low-key campaign with far smaller events appears to be working.
One of the big stories we’ll analyse after this election will be that Trump lost older voters in this country Joe Walsh
Walsh commented: “Joe Biden has ignored Twitter, which is brilliant. His people have kept their heads down, campaigned responsibly within this pandemic and let Donald Trump spout off every single day. Biden has slowly developed trust with the vast majority of the American people and it will deliver him a big victory.”
Trump, 74, has attempted to portray 77-year-old Biden as mentally declining and a puppet of the radical left. This week he tweeted a doctored image of Biden in a wheelchair at a nursing home and claimed: “Simply put, it’s a choice between a socialist nightmare and the American dream.”
But the “Sleepy Joe” branding seems to have been a poor sequel to “Crooked Hillary” and Biden has been more difficult to demonise than the widely unpopular Clinton. Trump has also tried hard to change the subject from the pandemic to “culture wars” or law and order but the virus has proved an implacable foe.
His campaign has been just as chaotic as in 2016. Its manager, Brad Parscale, was demoted and then resigned after being hospitalised following reports that he threatened to harm himself at his Florida home. The campaign has been forced to withdraw advertising from battleground states after running low on cash, even as Biden breaks fundraising records.
And Trump, who hit populist notes about immigration and trade in 2016, has veered off script constantly this year. In October alone he has pushed a conspiracy theory questioning Osama bin Laden’s death, criticised America’s leading infectious disease expert, described Biden’s running mate, Kamala Harris, as a “monster” and, in duelling town hall events with Biden on Thursday night, failed to disavow the QAnon conspiracy theory.
Monika McDermott, a professor of political science at Fordham University in New York, said: “It’s been terrible, especially lately, because Trump himself just has no discipline and no control. He’s alienating people left and right and doesn’t seem like he’s actively trying to win this. It actually seems almost like he’s self-sabotaging or just in denial in some way and that’s not where a winning candidate or strategy comes from.”
Biden, she added, benefited from riding out part of the pandemic by doing interviews and fundraisers from his basement at home in Wilmington, Delaware. “The fact that the Democrats kept him in the basement for so long was actually to his advantage. Since he’s been out and about, he’s been relatively gaffe-free and solid and steady and I think that’s what people are looking for right now, as opposed to the craziness of what’s going on with Trump these days.”
More than 18 million people have cast ballots so far, according to data compiled by the US Elections Project. Democrats led Republicans in mail-in ballots in Florida by more than 400,000 as of Wednesday morning. But there has been little sign of complacency on the Democratic side, with memories still raw from 2016 when many state polls were off the mark.
Jen O’Malley Dillon, Biden’s campaign manager, warned Twitter followers: “Early voting is already under way in many states. Millions of voters have already cast their ballots. But there is still a long way to go in this campaign, and we think this race is far closer than folks on this website think. Like a lot closer.”
As he runs out of time, Trump could become even more reckless in his efforts to alter the trajectory of the race. During a virtual fundraiser on Thursday, Biden warned supporters that the president is “going to throw everything but the kitchen sink at me” and deliver “an overwhelming torrent of lies”.
Biden’s son, Hunter, came under renewed scrutiny after a New York Post report outlining an email that Hunter allegedly received from a Ukrainian businessman discussing a meeting with his father. Biden’s campaign denied the meeting ever happened, and experts raised questions about the veracity of the emails.
Biden rides the train on a campaign tour in Pennsylvania in September. Photograph: Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images
Election watchdogs remain on alert for signs of voter suppression or intimidation. Trump has spent months making baseless claims to discredit mail-in voting, which research suggests that Democrats are more likely to use than Republicans. The president has also refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power, fuelling worries about weeks of legal wrangling and potentially explosive street protests. Asked about this at Thursday night’s town hall, he was still somewhat equivocal. “They talk about, ‘Will you accept a peaceful transfer?’ And the answer is yes, I will – but I want it to be an honest election, and so does everybody else.”
Activist groups are girding themselves to protect the integrity of the count. Sarah Dohl, co-founder and acting chief campaign officer of Indivisible, said: “With every tweet and refusal to commit to accepting the legitimate election results, Trump is trying to stoke chaos and fear. It’s all he has left in his playbook. But we are ready.
“Should Trump declare victory before all the votes are counted or prevent the legitimate counting of votes, we will mobilise in every corner of this country to ensure voters have the last word in November.”
Democrats have argued that the best antidote is to win by such a massive margin that the result is beyond dispute. Such an outcome, once seen as highly improbable, is now at least possible as Trump’s candidacy threatens to implode.
Larry Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota, said: “Trump has run the worst presidential campaign in modern American history. Biden’s got a lead that’s beyond the margin of error and I consider those numbers real.
“There is nothing going for Trump that’s going to shake up the election. He needs a hydrogen bomb to go off. The election seems to be almost frozen. It’s remarkable when you look at the averages of the polls, you go state by state, it’s fairly consistent and there’s not a lot of up and down. So to me, this election is practically over.”


theguardian--2020-10-17--Wide Awakes: the Lincoln-era youth movement inspiring anti-Trump protests

On 21 September , a tweeted image of an eyeball , with the words “ WIDE AWAKE ” , accompanied an urgent appeal to demonstrators in Washington , eager to protest against Republican plans to nominate a supreme court replacement for Ruth Bader Ginsburg .
The tweet was part of a rapidly growing interest in the Wide Awakes , a shadowy youth movement that rose up in 1860 , as the nation teetered toward civil war , then vanished .
Now , in another bitterly divided moment , historians , journalists and even fashionistas are converging on the movement , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were the Wide Awakes ?
At any point in history , it can be hard to pinpoint a sprawling youth movement with no central organization .
But thanks to surviving photographs , we have a strong sense of what the Wide Awakes looked like .
They live on in old ambrotypes and daguerrotypes , staring out resolutely from the faded chemicals , serious young men returning the gaze of the camera .
There is no single collection – like the original movement , the surviving Wide Awakes are spread out , in libraries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and through the half-life of Pinterest , where so many images refuse to die .
We know , from the historical record , that the Wide Awakes began to assemble in Hartford , Connecticut , on the night of 25 February 1860 .
An anti-slavery politician from Kentucky , Cassius Clay , came to speak .
Escorting him , a group of young men formed a parade by torchlight .
Someone improvised a cape , made out of oilcloth , to protect his clothes from the dripping oil of the torches .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ look was born .
A week later , the first Wide Awake Club was formed in Hartford .
Thirty-six young men agreed to buy their own capes , just in time for the next political visitor .
On 5 March , he arrived , an unusual speaker from Illinois , gaunt and angular .
Lincoln had just given his great speech at the Cooper Union in New York , and as one observer put it , the “ presidential bee ” had begun to buzz around him .
That night in Hartford , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ donned their capes and escorted Lincoln to his hotel .
The new look spread like … wildfire .
The capes were splendid , especially when augmented by military caps , the flickering light of the torches and all those painted eyeballs , staring out from large banners .
But it was not just a look .
It was a genuine feeling , as if young people were waking from a long slumber , and seeing for the first time how much corruption and rot had set in .
The country was very young @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But for as long as anyone could remember , the government had been controlled by Washington ’ s largest lobby , the Slave Power , which selected mediocre presidents , eager to do its bidding , and placed compliant lackeys on the supreme court .
Three years earlier , in the Dred Scott decision , the court had ruled that black lives emphatically did not matter – that African Americans could never become citizens or hold any rights at all .
The day before Lincoln came to Hartford , a large slave @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Africa , flouting all laws against the slave trade .
Under President James Buchanan , slaveholders were free to do as they liked ; as Frederick Douglass complained , slave traders actually flew the Stars and Stripes as they carried their human cargoes back from Africa .
But Lincoln and others had risen in protest against these injustices , which so clearly violated America ’ s founding ideals .
Now the young were joining them , in huge numbers .
They wanted their country back .
An editor at the Atlantic Monthly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decide , once and for all , “ whether the American idea is to govern this continent ” .
In defense of that idea , first hundreds , then thousands of Wide Awakes would pour into the streets in 1860 .
The movement grew quickly in the spring and summer , with clubs forming across the north and midwest .
Chicago had 48 clubs alone .
Shrewdly , they used new networks of communication : one young writer improvised a kind of early comic book , Pipps Among the Wide Awakes , to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was a badge of honor to wear “ the Cape of Good Hope ” , as one called it , and they thrilled onlookers with huge nighttime parades , fireworks added to the torchlight , and “ moving transparencies ” , like slide shows , a distant ancestor of what would become cinema .
Wide Awake sheet music was printed and quickly sent around the country , thrilling a nation of young people , waking up .
Even the dour abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison wrote : “ It was hard not to tap @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rhythms.
” The clubs visited each other , and thousands watched the rallies , including large numbers of women , who formed groups of “ Lady Wide Awakes ” , sewed uniforms and linked the cause to their own fight for empowerment .
A Wide Awake rally in Seneca Falls , New York , was addressed by Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton , campaigners for women ’ s suffrage .
African Americans were occasionally invited to join the clubs , especially in Boston – deepening the south ’ s horror .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ infants whose mammas didn ’ t know they were out ” , and threatened violence against them .
But they were intimidated by the sight of thousands of young men , disciplined , standing up for their non-violent ideals .
The Wide Awakes were not , technically , a part of the Republican party .
But they loved Lincoln , whose authenticity mirrored their own .
Party leaders shrewdly adapted their message to the movement , which peaked in the fall , as the election approached .
William Seward , soon to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ speech in Detroit promising that “ the young men throughout the land are Wide Awake ” .
In Boston , Lincoln ’ s running mate , Hannibal Hamlin , marched through the street with “ the boys ” .
On 3 October , a huge torchlight procession and pyrotechnic display dazzled New York City .
Tens of thousands came out .
To be sure , these events were a kind of entertainment .
But true to their banners , the Wide Awakes kept their eyes open as the great day of the election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” at voting stations , on guard against dirty tricks , determined to use “ all honorable means ” to ensure a fair count .
It worked , and Lincoln ’ s victory owed something to tremendous support from the young .
Estimates vary , but as many as half a million young men may have joined the movement , and the number rises quickly when spectators are added .
After Lincoln ’ s election , the Wide Awakes faded away , as mysteriously as they assembled , but they had accomplished something @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 4 March – a year to the day after the Clotilda sailed from Alabama – America had come a long way toward reclaiming its ideals .
A last contingent of Wide Awakes attended his inauguration , determined to shield him from harm .
Nowadays , the Wide Awakes occasionally resurface in the history books , including a study by Jon Grinspan and a book by Adam Goodheart .
Sometimes , they are awakened accidentally – as when the Florida representative Matt Gaetz , a Trump ally , denounced young people as “ woketopians @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Republican convention .
But they will always live on in haunting photographs , lingering evidence of a generation that stood up to reclaim its democracy .
• None Ted Widmer is distinguished lecturer at Macaulay Honors College of the City University of New York , and the author of Lincoln on the Verge : Thirteen Days to Washington

On 21 September, a tweeted image of an eyeball, with the words “WIDE AWAKE”, accompanied an urgent appeal to demonstrators in Washington, eager to protest against Republican plans to nominate a supreme court replacement for Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
The tweet was part of a rapidly growing interest in the Wide Awakes, a shadowy youth movement that rose up in 1860, as the nation teetered toward civil war, then vanished. Now, in another bitterly divided moment, historians, journalists and even fashionistas are converging on the movement, which helped elect Abraham Lincoln.
Who were the Wide Awakes? At any point in history, it can be hard to pinpoint a sprawling youth movement with no central organization. But thanks to surviving photographs, we have a strong sense of what the Wide Awakes looked like. They live on in old ambrotypes and daguerrotypes, staring out resolutely from the faded chemicals, serious young men returning the gaze of the camera.
There is no single collection – like the original movement, the surviving Wide Awakes are spread out, in libraries and old auction catalogues, on eBay and through the half-life of Pinterest, where so many images refuse to die.
We know, from the historical record, that the Wide Awakes began to assemble in Hartford, Connecticut, on the night of 25 February 1860. An anti-slavery politician from Kentucky, Cassius Clay, came to speak. Escorting him, a group of young men formed a parade by torchlight. Someone improvised a cape, made out of oilcloth, to protect his clothes from the dripping oil of the torches. He was quickly imitated – a dashing new look was born.
A Wide Awake, in costume. Photograph: The Progress-Index and Pamplin Historical Park
A week later, the first Wide Awake Club was formed in Hartford. Thirty-six young men agreed to buy their own capes, just in time for the next political visitor. On 5 March, he arrived, an unusual speaker from Illinois, gaunt and angular. Lincoln had just given his great speech at the Cooper Union in New York, and as one observer put it, the “presidential bee” had begun to buzz around him. That night in Hartford, the Wide Awakes lit their torches, donned their capes and escorted Lincoln to his hotel.
The new look spread like … wildfire. The capes were splendid, especially when augmented by military caps, the flickering light of the torches and all those painted eyeballs, staring out from large banners.
A banner in the the Old Capitol building in Springfield, Illinois. Photograph: Michael Christensen
But it was not just a look. It was a genuine feeling, as if young people were waking from a long slumber, and seeing for the first time how much corruption and rot had set in. The country was very young: 51% were 19 or younger. But for as long as anyone could remember, the government had been controlled by Washington’s largest lobby, the Slave Power, which selected mediocre presidents, eager to do its bidding, and placed compliant lackeys on the supreme court.
Three years earlier, in the Dred Scott decision, the court had ruled that black lives emphatically did not matter – that African Americans could never become citizens or hold any rights at all. The day before Lincoln came to Hartford, a large slave ship, the Clotilda, left Alabama for Africa, flouting all laws against the slave trade. Under President James Buchanan, slaveholders were free to do as they liked; as Frederick Douglass complained, slave traders actually flew the Stars and Stripes as they carried their human cargoes back from Africa.
But Lincoln and others had risen in protest against these injustices, which so clearly violated America’s founding ideals. Now the young were joining them, in huge numbers. They wanted their country back. An editor at the Atlantic Monthly wrote that the time had come to decide, once and for all, “whether the American idea is to govern this continent”. In defense of that idea, first hundreds, then thousands of Wide Awakes would pour into the streets in 1860.
A Wide Awakes ribbon made for veterans of the movement, in 1892. Photograph: Library of Congress, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Printed Ephemera Collection
The movement grew quickly in the spring and summer, with clubs forming across the north and midwest. Chicago had 48 clubs alone. Shrewdly, they used new networks of communication: one young writer improvised a kind of early comic book, Pipps Among the Wide Awakes, to celebrate the dashing caped crusaders. It was a badge of honor to wear “the Cape of Good Hope”, as one called it, and they thrilled onlookers with huge nighttime parades, fireworks added to the torchlight, and “moving transparencies”, like slide shows, a distant ancestor of what would become cinema. Wide Awake sheet music was printed and quickly sent around the country, thrilling a nation of young people, waking up. Even the dour abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison wrote: “It was hard not to tap one’s feet to the jaunty rhythms.”
Lincoln as Wide Awake, in a news cartoon from 1860. Photograph: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
A Wide Awake Club ribbon featuring Abraham Lincoln. Photograph: Library of Congress, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana.
The clubs visited each other, and thousands watched the rallies, including large numbers of women, who formed groups of “Lady Wide Awakes”, sewed uniforms and linked the cause to their own fight for empowerment. A Wide Awake rally in Seneca Falls, New York, was addressed by Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, campaigners for women’s suffrage. African Americans were occasionally invited to join the clubs, especially in Boston – deepening the south’s horror. Southern politicians ridiculed the young marchers as “infants whose mammas didn’t know they were out”, and threatened violence against them. But they were intimidated by the sight of thousands of young men, disciplined, standing up for their non-violent ideals.
The Wide Awakes were not, technically, a part of the Republican party. But they loved Lincoln, whose authenticity mirrored their own. Party leaders shrewdly adapted their message to the movement, which peaked in the fall, as the election approached. William Seward, soon to be secretary of state, gave a speech in Detroit promising that “the young men throughout the land are Wide Awake”. In Boston, Lincoln’s running mate, Hannibal Hamlin, marched through the street with “the boys”. On 3 October, a huge torchlight procession and pyrotechnic display dazzled New York City. Tens of thousands came out.
To be sure, these events were a kind of entertainment. But true to their banners, the Wide Awakes kept their eyes open as the great day of the election approached. Many served as “patrol-men” at voting stations, on guard against dirty tricks, determined to use “all honorable means” to ensure a fair count.
A membership certificate sent to Lincoln from Chicago in June 1860. Photograph: Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Abraham Lincoln Papers.
It worked, and Lincoln’s victory owed something to tremendous support from the young. Estimates vary, but as many as half a million young men may have joined the movement, and the number rises quickly when spectators are added.
After Lincoln’s election, the Wide Awakes faded away, as mysteriously as they assembled, but they had accomplished something important. When Lincoln was inaugurated on 4 March – a year to the day after the Clotilda sailed from Alabama – America had come a long way toward reclaiming its ideals. A last contingent of Wide Awakes attended his inauguration, determined to shield him from harm.
Nowadays, the Wide Awakes occasionally resurface in the history books, including a study by Jon Grinspan and a book by Adam Goodheart. Sometimes, they are awakened accidentally – as when the Florida representative Matt Gaetz, a Trump ally, denounced young people as “woketopians” during an angry speech at the Republican convention. But they will always live on in haunting photographs, lingering evidence of a generation that stood up to reclaim its democracy.
Ted Widmer is distinguished lecturer at Macaulay Honors College of the City University of New York, and the author of Lincoln on the Verge: Thirteen Days to Washington


theguardian--2020-10-18--Trump trails Biden as campaigns head for battleground states – live

Lara Trump was also asked about the president ’ s actions at a rally on Saturday when he attacked Michigan @ @ @ @ @ than a dozen men have been charged over a plot to kidnap Whitmer and Donald @ @ @ @ @ his rally that “ They said she was threatened .
And she blamed me .
@ @ @ @ @ sending her packing pretty soon.
” The crowd responded with chants of “ lock her @ @ @ @ @ defended her father-in-law over the comments during her appearance on CNN .
“ He wasn @ @ @ @ @ I don ’ t think , to provoke people to threaten this woman at all @ @ @ @ @ “ He was having fun at a Trump rally ” .
I ’ m not @ @ @ @ @ a kidnap plot qualifies as “ fun ” , but I guess Lara Trump is @ @ @ @ @ can read more about Trump ’ s rally below :

18 Oct 2020 22.17 BST Richard Luscombe The Washington Post is already looking ahead to the contest to become the Republican party’s presidential nominee in 2024, regardless of whether Donald Trump sinks or swims on 3 November. In an opinion piece Sunday penned by the respected political analyst and talk show host Hugh Hewitt, the newspaper lists 20 names of prominent and not-so-prominent Republican governors, senators, congressmen and women and two Trumps – Don Jr and Ivanka – he thinks are likely to throw hats into what promises to be a crowded ring. Some of the names are to be expected, vice-president Mike Pence and former challengers Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, both currently US senators, among them. Others have served in the Trump administration, such as secretary of state Mike Pompeo, former ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and the White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. And then there are some, including several friends and close allies of the president, considered “rising stars”, including governors Ron DeSantis (Florida) and Kristi Noem (South Dakota), and senators Rick Scott, Tom Cotton, Josh Hawley, Tim Scott, Pat Toomey and Ben Sasse, with whom Trump is currently feuding. “You’re gonna need a bigger boat,” Hewitt writes, quoting the Amity Island police chief Martin Brody from the movie Jaws. “Republicans are going to need bigger stages than even 2015’s massive debate venues.” He says the race will begin in earnest on the morning of 4 November. Interestingly, Hewitt notes the field could drop by two if Trump loses next month. His theory? Donald Trump seeks revenge after his defeat by Joe Biden and runs again for a second term in 2024, prompting his children to drop out of the race and try again in 2028.
18 Oct 2020 21.48 BST Donald Trump has arrived at the Orange County home of Palmer Luckey, the 28-year-old tech entrepreneur who designed the Oculus Rift head-mounted virtual reality display, for tonight’s private fundraiser. A White House pool report sets the scene as both critics and supporters have rallied nearby: En route, the motorcade passed a half dozen Biden supporters holding a sign that read: “Honk if you vote Democrat.” As the motorcade drove through Newport Beach, thousands of Trump supporters lined the streets. The throng of supporters included people with hoisting U.S. flags, Trump flags and Trump placards. Many people wore MAGA hats and other Trump apparel. Some chanted “USA” as the motorcade passed. A large crowd lined the street outisde the fundraiser in Newport Beach, apparently waiting to get into the residence. Scores of people shouted at disparaging comments about the news media as the pool exited the press vans and walked passed them. Several men yelled: “Fake news!” A man called out: “Where’s Hunter!” Another man yelled: “The computer is real” and “Don’t spin this event.” An older woman sitting in a golf cart called out: “The lying press has arrived.” Supporters of Donald Trump are seen as Trump arrives at a private residence for a fundraising event on Sunday in Newport, California. Photograph: Carlos Barría/Reuters
18 Oct 2020 21.21 BST The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Sunday reported 53,157 new coronavirus cases, taking the total to 8,081,489. The number of deaths has risen by 593 to 218,511, the health protection agency said. The CDC figures do not necessarily reflect cases reported by individual states.
18 Oct 2020 20.53 BST A peaceful protest in a sleepy and affluent suburb that is home to the head of the California national guard was among four demonstrations monitored by national guard spy planes, according to a Los Angeles Times report. The planes flew over several cities in early June, to monitor street protests following the police killing of George Floyd, triggering concerns the military was improperly gathering intelligence on US citizens, the newspaper reported. Three reconnaissance planes watched demonstrations in Minneapolis, Phoenix and Washington DC that drew large crowds and were marred by violence. But the target of the fourth plane was the prosperous Sacramento suburb of El Dorado Hills, where much smaller rallies were entirely peaceful, the Times said. Local and state authorities have not explained how and why that neighborhood was chosen when other cities that saw property destruction and street clashes amid large protests, including Los Angeles and Oakland, were not.
18 Oct 2020 20.22 BST Twitter has removed a “misleading” tweet by a top US coronavirus adviser for violating its Covid-19 information policy. Dr Scott Atlas has downplayed the importance of masks in stopping the spread of infection – despite the health experts widely endorsing the containment measure. On Sunday, he tweeted: “Masks work? NO.”
Twitter Inc removed the tweet on Sunday, saying it violated its misleading information policy on Covid-19, which targets statements that have been confirmed to be false or misleading by subject-matter experts.
Donald Trump’s advisor – whose views align with the president’s own on mask-wearing, if not with the medical establishment – has been criticized by the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for spreading misinformation. “Everything he says is false,” Robert Redfield said about Atlas, NBC reported. Redfield later confirmed he had been talking about Atlas.
18 Oct 2020 19.55 BST Biden: ‘This guy’s gone around the bend if he thinks we’ve turned the corner' Joe Biden urged North Carolina residents to cast ballots as soon as possible at a drive-in rally on Sunday in Durham, part of the Research Triangle region that is a traditional Democratic stronghold. “Go vote today and don’t just vote for me and Senator Harris,” the former vice-president said in his 20-minute remarks at Riverside High School. “You’ve got a Governor’s race and a Senate race. A record number of black women on the ballot, Congress and Lt Governor, Labor Commissioner and the courts. Folks they’re ready to deliver for North Carolina families. So vote, vote. It’s time.” Biden also criticized Donald Trump for saying over the weekend that the United States had “turned the corner” in the coronavirus pandemic, noting that the rate of new cases across the country has risen to the highest level in months. “As my grandfather would say, ‘This guy’s gone around the bend if he thinks we’ve turned the corner,’” Biden said. “Things are getting worse, and he continues to lie to us about circumstances.” Biden’s pick for vice president, California senator Kamala Harris, canceled in-person events over the weekend as a precaution after an aide tested positive for Covid-19. She will return to the campaign trail on Monday with a visit to Florida to mark that state’s first day of early in-person voting. North Carolina, a battleground state where 1.4m (or 20%) of the state’s registered voters had already voted as of Sunday morning, is considered criticial to Donald Trump’s re-election hopes. Supporters of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden sit on top of their vehicles as they listens to him speak on Sunday at Riverside High School in Durham, North Carolina. Photograph: Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images
Updated at 20.05 BST
18 Oct 2020 19.22 BST Healthcare workers and high-risk populations will be prioritized for vaccination against the coronavirus in New York when a candidate is approved, governor Andrew Cuomo said on Sunday. He announced details of a preliminary five-stage vaccine rollout plan – here’s a summary:
Phase 1: healthcare workers in patient-care settings, long-term care facility workers and some long-term care residents
Phase 2: first responders, school staff, other public-facing frontline workers and people whose health conditions put them at extreme risk
Phase 3: people over 65
Phase 4: all other essential workers
Phase 5: healthy adults and children
Prioritization would also vary by geographic location based on the prevalence of the virus, the governor said.


theguardian--2020-10-18--'It has to stop': Whitmer aide responds to Trump rally 'lock her up' chants

After Donald Trump attacked Gretchen Whitmer at a rally in Michigan on Saturday , prompting chants of “ Lock her up !
” , an aide to the governor said : “ Every single time the president does this at a rally , the violent rhetoric towards her immediately escalates on social media .
It has to stop .
It just has to.
” Lara Trump , a campaign surrogate for her father in law , retorted that the president was merely “ having fun ” .
At his rally in Muskegon , Trump targeted Whitmer several times , criticising @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus , calling her “ dishonest ” and making light of a rightwing plot to kidnap her – and possibly to kill her – that was foiled by the FBI .
Thirteen men have been charged in connection with the plot , which included plans to storm the state capitol and to hold some kind of trial .
On stage , Trump took credit for federal law enforcement ’ s role in foiling the plot .
“ They said she was threatened , ” he said .
“ And she blamed me .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ packing pretty soon.
” The crowd ’ s chant of “ Lock her up !
” was a reprise of chants Trump supporters aimed at Hillary Clinton throughout the 2016 presidential campaign .
Whitmer ’ s digital director , Tori Saylor , responded on Twitter .
So did the governor .
“ This is exactly the rhetoric that has put me , my family , and other government officials ’ lives in danger while we try to save the lives of our fellow Americans , ” Whitmer wrote .
On CNN ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lara Trump , wife of Eric Trump and a campaign surrogate for her father-in-law , said the president “ wasn ’ t doing anything I don ’ t think to provoke people to threaten this woman at all .
“ He was having fun at a Trump rally and quite frankly , there are bigger issues than this right now for everyday Americans people … he wasn ’ t encouraging people to threaten this woman , that ’ s ridiculous.
” Lara Trump also said : “ Well gosh I would like to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ threats against me , the threats against my children.
” Lee Chatfield , the Republican speaker of the Michigan house , wrote : “ Trump didn ’ t chant ‘ lock her up ’ about our governor .
But others did and it was wrong .
She was literally just targeted .
Let ’ s debate differences .
Let ’ s win elections .
But not that.
” As Trump campaigned in Michigan , the state added 1,791 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday , bringing its seven-day total to more than 10,000 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaigned later in the day , reported 3,861 new cases on Friday , also a record .
“ You got to get your governor to open your state and get your schools open , ” he said .
“ The schools have to be open , right ?
” More than 8 million people have been infected by the coronavirus in the US and nearly 220,000 have died .
Biden continues to hammer Trump for his response .
“ All president Trump is offering the people of Michigan is more lies and distractions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plan to get the virus under control , no strategy for pulling our economy out of this recession , no vision for uniting the country.
” Trump told both his rallies Biden “ will shut down the country , delay the vaccine and prolong the pandemic ” .
The president insisted the country was turning the corner on the disease .
Michigan and Wisconsin are key battleground states which can contribute to victory in the electoral college .
Trump won both four years ago as he took the presidency despite losing the national @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ballots .
But he is behind in both states this year .

Martin Pengelly in New York and agencies

Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan who was the subject of a rightwing plot to kidnap and possibly kill her over coronavirus lockdown measures, has accused Donald Trump of “inspiring and incentivising domestic terrorism”.
Whitmer spoke after Lara Trump, a campaign surrogate for her father-in-law, insisted the president was merely “having fun” when he attacked Whitmer and responded to chants of “Lock her up!” at a rally in Muskegon.
“Lock ’em all up,” the president said.
On Sunday, on NBC’s Meet the Press, Whitmer was asked about the coronavirus situation in her state and Trump’s encouragement of the chants against her.
“It’s incredibly disturbing,” she said, “that the president of the United States, 10 days after a plot to kidnap me, put me on trial and execute me was uncovered, the president is at it again and inspiring and incentivising and inciting this kind of domestic terrorism.
“It is wrong. It’s got to end. It is dangerous not just for me and my family, but for public servants everywhere who are doing their jobs and trying to protect their fellow Americans. People of goodwill on both sides of the aisle need to step up and call this out and bring the heat down.
It is dangerous not just for me and my family, but for public servants everywhere Gretchen Whitmer
“This is the United States of America. We do not tolerate actions like he has given comfort to and that’s why we all have to be in this together.”
In Muskegon, Trump targeted Whitmer several times, criticising state rules on the coronavirus, calling the governor “dishonest” and making light of the plot that was foiled by the FBI.
Thirteen men have been charged in connection with the plot, which included plans to storm the state capitol and hold some kind of trial. Trump took credit for federal law enforcement’s role in foiling the plot.
“They said she was threatened,” he said. “And she blamed me. Hopefully you’ll be sending her packing pretty soon.”
The chant of “Lock her up!” was a reprise of chants Trump supporters aimed at Hillary Clinton throughout the 2016 campaign.
Whitmer’s digital director, Tori Saylor, responded on Twitter, writing: “Every single time the president does this at a rally, the violent rhetoric towards her immediately escalates on social media. It has to stop. It just has to.”
Lee Chatfield, the Republican speaker of the Michigan house, wrote: “Trump didn’t chant ‘lock her up’ about our governor. But others did and it was wrong. She was literally just targeted. Let’s debate differences. Let’s win elections. But not that.”
But Lara Trump told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday the president “wasn’t doing anything I don’t think to provoke people to threaten this woman at all. He was having fun at a Trump rally and quite frankly, there are bigger issues than this right now for everyday Americans people … he wasn’t encouraging people to threaten this woman, that’s ridiculous.”
The president’s daughter-in-law also said: “Well gosh I would like to show people my social media and the threats against me, the threats against my children.”
Donald Trump speaks in Muskegon, Michigan. Photograph: Rey Del Rio/Getty Images
Michigan added 1,791 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, bringing its seven-day total past 10,000, a record. Wisconsin, where Trump campaigned later, reported 3,861 new cases on Friday, also a record. Trump slammed anti-coronavirus measures.
“You got to get your governor to open your state and get your schools open,” he said in Muskegon. “The schools have to be open, right?”
More than 8 million people have been infected in the US and nearly 220,000 have died. Joe Biden continues to hammer Trump for his response.
“All President Trump is offering the people of Michigan is more lies and distractions,” the Democratic nominee said. “No plan to get the virus under control, no strategy for pulling our economy out of this recession, no vision for uniting the country.”
Trump told both his rallies Biden would “shut down the country, delay the vaccine and prolong the pandemic”, and insisted the country was turning the corner.
Michigan and Wisconsin are key battleground states in the fight for the electoral college. Trump won both as he took the presidency despite losing the national popular vote to Clinton by nearly 3m ballots. He is behind in both states this year.


theguardian--2020-10-18--‘Guns are a way to exercise power’: how the idea of overthrowing the government became mainstream

Josh Horwitz has been an American gun control activist for nearly 30 years .
In 2009 , he co-wrote a book warning that the idea of armed revolt against the government was at the center of the US gun rights movement .
Now , after a year that has seen heavily armed men show up at state capitols in Virginia , Michigan , Idaho and elsewhere to confront Democratic lawmakers over gun control and coronavirus restrictions , more Americans are taking gun owners ’ rhetoric about “ tyrants ” seriously .
Some of the same armed protesters who showed up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at a pro-gun rally this summer were charged last week with conspiring to kidnap Michigan ’ s governor and put her on trial for tyranny .
Other members of the “ boogaloo ” movement have allegedly murdered law enforcement officers in California and plotted acts of violence across the country in hopes of sparking a civil war .
Horowitz spoke to the Guardian about how mainstream the idea of insurrection has become in American politics , and why lawmakers have failed to challenge it for decades .
The conversation has been condensed and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your book that the idea of violent insurrection against the American government is at the heart of American gun culture .
What do you mean by that ?
There ’ s a belief among some American gun owners that the second amendment is highly individualized and was placed in the constitution as an individual right to fight government tyranny .
Therefore , each individual has the right to own whatever and however many weapons they want , free from any government interference .
A licensing law or a universal background check law would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ got a gun .
If you believe there ’ s an individual right to insurrection , you can ’ t have any gun laws .
The drive to purchase semi-automatic assault weapons , like AR-15s , those weapons are often not purchased for self-defense , but for fear of government tyranny .
When the NRA says , “ Vote Freedom First ” , it ’ s not “ Vote self-defense first ” .
They mean you get to decide when the government becomes tyrannical .
The problem is that one person ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bill .
Is this concept of “ insurrection ” as the reason Americans should have unrestricted gun rights a very fringe idea ?
It ’ s not every gun owner .
But this movement is way larger than people think .
And guns are now seen by a large portion of that community as a tool for political dissent .
When National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre says things like , “ The guys with the guns make the rules ” , or politicians and elected officials say , “ We will rely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they mean is that people with guns will , in fact , set the political agenda and settle political disputes .
That is a profoundly undemocratic idea .
As Abe Lincoln famously said , “ Any appeal from the ballot box to the bullet box must fail.
” We are a country based on the rule of law .
Guns don ’ t make you a super citizen with the ability to make special rules or have special political influence because you happen to be armed .
Where does this “ insurrectionary idea @ @ @ @ @ @ @ take hold ?
The idea that individuals have the right to fight against tyranny is as old as the republic .
But you can trace the modern incarnation of this principle to the early 1990s , and the rise of the militia movement during Bill Clinton ’ s presidency , when national gun violence prevention laws , including the assault weapons ban and background checks , were instituted .
There ’ s a path from Ruby Ridge and Waco [ deadly standoffs between citizens and federal agents , both involving illegal gun charges @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Michigan militia is where Timothy McVeigh , the Oklahoma City bomber , got this start .
He was making his living at gun shows .
He bought fully into the gun rights agenda , and he ended up killing a lot of kids .
I started to pick up the resurgence of this idea in the mid-2000s , at the end of Bush ’ s presidency and the beginning of Obama ’ s presidency .
How does racism play into this idea of “ insurrection ” and its place in US politics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to this .
White men , especially , are feeling that the political reins of power are pulling away from them , and their grip on power is falling away .
Guns are a way to exercise power , let ’ s face it .
Power over policy .
Power over people .
You first published Guns , Democracy and the Insurrectionist Idea in 2009 .
What kind of response did it get ?
People didn ’ t react the way that I hoped , by saying : this is going to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to oppose it .
Instead , a lot of elected officials , including a lot of Democratic elected officials , acquiesced to the idea of an insurrectionary second amendment .
People running for president in 2004 and 2008 would use lines like , “ The second amendment isn ’ t for hunting .
It has to do with protecting ourselves , our homes , our families and our country from tyranny.
” Nobody followed up with : “ What do you mean ?
You think it ’ s OK to shoot politicians ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Michigan legislature taken over , the Idaho legislature taken over , and it ’ s like – there ’ s no opprobrium .
There ’ s a sort of , “ boys will be boys ” response .
Why has politicians ’ response to rhetoric about violent revolt been so muted ?
I think there ’ s the idea that if this really happened , the US army would just mow these people down .
“ Oh , it ’ d be suicide if they did that.
” But the US military should @ @ @ @ @ @ @ begin with .
What are we going to do , have tanks on our own soil ?
We ’ re not going to do that .
The other thing is that this movement is really well armed .
There ’ s a lot of firepower in civilian hands : .50 caliber sniper rifles , AR-15s , AK-47s .
If they really did it , it would be very , very complicated .
How significant are the numbers of US military members and police who personally believe in this insurrectionist idea themselves ?
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ duty service members have been charged in a number of violent plots , including some that were allegedly designed to spark a civil war .
There are some elements of law enforcement that are sympathetic to this .
A lot are not , especially those in leadership .
I have friends in the military , and , to many of them , this idea is complete anathema .
But a lot of the demographics in the military are young white men who like guns .
I do think the vast majority of law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ duty , but that doesn ’ t mean that everyone will .
What shifts have you seen since 2009 in how insurrectionism is playing out ?
There ’ s been a huge change in the last four years , since Trump came to power .
He doesn ’ t condemn violence .
What he said about Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer was awful .
When he ’ s asked about a peaceful transition of power and he hedges , I believe it ’ s because he thinks he has a private militia that will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is about fighting government tyranny , but it would be especially dangerous if it became in service of particular officials , and that ’ s what you ’ re seeing now .
What ’ s also changed : the amount of weapons that the boys have these days is obscene .
The number of AR-15s and high-capacity magazines and assault weapons they have should scare anybody .
Are you worried that there could be a major insurrection against the US government ?
My fear is that there will be violence if the election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like Trump ’ s losing .
I worry that there will be efforts at intimidating election officials and voters .
I ’ ve always been concerned about the one-off person , the lone wolf who takes these ideas to the max .
I am much more concerned now about organized efforts to subvert elections , democratic power , courts .
You issued a report focused on how states can ban gun-carrying at polling places .
Are you concerned about what could happen on election day itself ?
I don ’ t think there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the polls .
I think there will be places where people with guns will attempt to intimidate voters , but not by shooting or anything like that , and I think those places will be relatively rare .
It ’ s really important that each polling place knows what their rights are , but I think there ’ s been enough time to get them up to speed .
I don ’ t want people to be scared : the ultimate response to the insurrectionary second amendment is to go vote .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ now in response to all of this public conversation about insurrection ?
Number one : there needs to be a clear public response , that people who exercise this “ right ” are not patriots , but traitors .
The second piece is a policy response .
We need to limit access to assault weapons .
As soon as legislatures open in 2021 , they should ban guns at polling places .
I would like to see them banning open carry everywhere .
Peaceful protesters are now routinely intimidated by armed insurrectionists .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ openly carrying weapons .
We have proved we can ’ t handle that as a society .
And people who have the bully pulpit need to be careful not to endorse the idea of an insurrectionary second amendment .
Even if you believe in an individual right to own a firearm , the purpose of that right can not be to kill government officials .
Have you seen any tipping point in how Democratic politicians are now responding to this kind of insurrectionist rhetoric ?
Let me be completely clear : the biggest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Republican who consistently use the insurrectionary idea and cheer on this type of behavior .
While I wish Democrats would stand up and not just acquiesce , the Republican party has bought into a “ second amendment remedies ” idea that is now a danger , a grave danger , to America .
The Republican elected officials in Virginia thought the gun rights march on the state capitol was the greatest thing since sliced bread .
There are plenty of Republican officials who just think this is great .

Josh Horwitz has been an American gun control activist for nearly 30 years. In 2009, he co-wrote a book warning that the idea of armed revolt against the government was at the center of the US gun rights movement.
Now, after a year that has seen heavily armed men show up at state capitols in Virginia, Michigan, Idaho and elsewhere to confront Democratic lawmakers over gun control and coronavirus restrictions, more Americans are taking gun owners’ rhetoric about “tyrants” seriously. Some of the same armed protesters who showed up at Michigan’s state house and at a pro-gun rally this summer were charged last week with conspiring to kidnap Michigan’s governor and put her on trial for tyranny.
Other members of the “boogaloo” movement have allegedly murdered law enforcement officers in California and plotted acts of violence across the country in hopes of sparking a civil war.
Horowitz spoke to the Guardian about how mainstream the idea of insurrection has become in American politics, and why lawmakers have failed to challenge it for decades.
The conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.
You argue in your book that the idea of violent insurrection against the American government is at the heart of American gun culture. What do you mean by that?
There’s a belief among some American gun owners that the second amendment is highly individualized and was placed in the constitution as an individual right to fight government tyranny. Therefore, each individual has the right to own whatever and however many weapons they want, free from any government interference. A licensing law or a universal background check law would mean the government knows who’s got a gun. If you believe there’s an individual right to insurrection, you can’t have any gun laws.
The drive to purchase semi-automatic assault weapons, like AR-15s, those weapons are often not purchased for self-defense, but for fear of government tyranny.
When the NRA says, “Vote Freedom First”, it’s not “Vote self-defense first”. They mean you get to decide when the government becomes tyrannical. The problem is that one person’s tyranny is another’s universal healthcare bill.
Is this concept of “insurrection” as the reason Americans should have unrestricted gun rights a very fringe idea?
It’s not every gun owner. But this movement is way larger than people think. And guns are now seen by a large portion of that community as a tool for political dissent.
When National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre says things like, “The guys with the guns make the rules”, or politicians and elected officials say, “We will rely on second amendment remedies”, what they mean is that people with guns will, in fact, set the political agenda and settle political disputes. That is a profoundly undemocratic idea. As Abe Lincoln famously said, “Any appeal from the ballot box to the bullet box must fail.” We are a country based on the rule of law. Guns don’t make you a super citizen with the ability to make special rules or have special political influence because you happen to be armed.
Guns don’t make you a super citizen with the ability to make special rules or have special political influence because you happen to be armed
Where does this “insurrectionary idea” come from? When did it take hold?
The idea that individuals have the right to fight against tyranny is as old as the republic. But you can trace the modern incarnation of this principle to the early 1990s, and the rise of the militia movement during Bill Clinton’s presidency, when national gun violence prevention laws, including the assault weapons ban and background checks, were instituted. There’s a path from Ruby Ridge and Waco [deadly standoffs between citizens and federal agents, both involving illegal gun charges] to the Oklahoma City bombing. The Michigan militia is where Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber, got this start. He was making his living at gun shows. He bought fully into the gun rights agenda, and he ended up killing a lot of kids. I started to pick up the resurgence of this idea in the mid-2000s, at the end of Bush’s presidency and the beginning of Obama’s presidency.
How does racism play into this idea of “insurrection” and its place in US politics?
There is a big racial element to this. White men, especially, are feeling that the political reins of power are pulling away from them, and their grip on power is falling away. Guns are a way to exercise power, let’s face it. Power over policy. Power over people.
You first published Guns, Democracy and the Insurrectionist Idea in 2009. What kind of response did it get?
People didn’t react the way that I hoped, by saying: this is going to be a big deal unless we move forcefully to oppose it. Instead, a lot of elected officials, including a lot of Democratic elected officials, acquiesced to the idea of an insurrectionary second amendment. People running for president in 2004 and 2008 would use lines like, “The second amendment isn’t for hunting. It has to do with protecting ourselves, our homes, our families and our country from tyranny.” Nobody followed up with: “What do you mean? You think it’s OK to shoot politicians?”
This year, we saw the Michigan legislature taken over, the Idaho legislature taken over, and it’s like – there’s no opprobrium. There’s a sort of, “boys will be boys” response.
Why has politicians’ response to rhetoric about violent revolt been so muted?
I think there’s the idea that if this really happened, the US army would just mow these people down. “Oh, it’d be suicide if they did that.” But the US military should not be deployed in civilian places to begin with. What are we going to do, have tanks on our own soil? We’re not going to do that. The other thing is that this movement is really well armed. There’s a lot of firepower in civilian hands: .50 caliber sniper rifles, AR-15s, AK-47s.
If they really did it, it would be very, very complicated.
How significant are the numbers of US military members and police who personally believe in this insurrectionist idea themselves? This year, US military veterans and active duty service members have been charged in a number of violent plots, including some that were allegedly designed to spark a civil war.
There are some elements of law enforcement that are sympathetic to this. A lot are not, especially those in leadership. I have friends in the military, and, to many of them, this idea is complete anathema. But a lot of the demographics in the military are young white men who like guns. I do think the vast majority of law enforcement and the military will do their duty, but that doesn’t mean that everyone will.
What shifts have you seen since 2009 in how insurrectionism is playing out?
There’s been a huge change in the last four years, since Trump came to power. He doesn’t condemn violence. What he said about Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer was awful. When he’s asked about a peaceful transition of power and he hedges, I believe it’s because he thinks he has a private militia that will back him up.
The insurrectionist idea is about fighting government tyranny, but it would be especially dangerous if it became in service of particular officials, and that’s what you’re seeing now.
What’s also changed: the amount of weapons that the boys have these days is obscene. The number of AR-15s and high-capacity magazines and assault weapons they have should scare anybody.
Are you worried that there could be a major insurrection against the US government?
Yes.
My fear is that there will be violence if the election is contested, or if it looks like Trump’s losing. I worry that there will be efforts at intimidating election officials and voters.
I’ve always been concerned about the one-off person, the lone wolf who takes these ideas to the max. I am much more concerned now about organized efforts to subvert elections, democratic power, courts.
I am much more concerned now about organized efforts to subvert elections, democratic power, courts
You issued a report focused on how states can ban gun-carrying at polling places. Are you concerned about what could happen on election day itself?
I don’t think there’s going to be widespread violence at the polls. I think there will be places where people with guns will attempt to intimidate voters, but not by shooting or anything like that, and I think those places will be relatively rare. It’s really important that each polling place knows what their rights are, but I think there’s been enough time to get them up to speed. I don’t want people to be scared: the ultimate response to the insurrectionary second amendment is to go vote.
What do you think should be done now in response to all of this public conversation about insurrection?
Number one: there needs to be a clear public response, that people who exercise this “right” are not patriots, but traitors.
The second piece is a policy response. We need to limit access to assault weapons. As soon as legislatures open in 2021, they should ban guns at polling places. I would like to see them banning open carry everywhere. Peaceful protesters are now routinely intimidated by armed insurrectionists. The way they intimidate people is by openly carrying weapons. We have proved we can’t handle that as a society.
And people who have the bully pulpit need to be careful not to endorse the idea of an insurrectionary second amendment. Even if you believe in an individual right to own a firearm, the purpose of that right cannot be to kill government officials.
Have you seen any tipping point in how Democratic politicians are now responding to this kind of insurrectionist rhetoric?
Let me be completely clear: the biggest problem is Republican elected officials, and the Republican who consistently use the insurrectionary idea and cheer on this type of behavior. While I wish Democrats would stand up and not just acquiesce, the Republican party has bought into a “second amendment remedies” idea that is now a danger, a grave danger, to America.
The Republican elected officials in Virginia thought the gun rights march on the state capitol was the greatest thing since sliced bread. There are plenty of Republican officials who just think this is great.