alternet--2020-11-16--Biden's presidency could be the 'last gasp' of democracy — unless Democrats dump neoliberal economic

Biden's presidency could be the 'last gasp' of democracy — unless Democrats dump neoliberal economics: Thom Hartmann

There is the good : Joe Biden is president-elect .
He has defeated Donald Trump , winning the highest percentage of eligible voters since Richard Nixon in 1972 .
Biden also received the highest number of votes in American history — approximately 77 million .
It is clear that the American people have given Biden a mandate to lead the country into a better future .
As expected , Donald Trump continues to claim , against all evidence to the contrary , that the 2020 election was `` stolen '' from him through `` voter fraud '' and is attempting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election results .
To this point these efforts have completely failed .
Biden has announced a committee of esteemed experts who will lead the country 's efforts to defeat the coronavirus pandemic .
Pfizer recently announced that it has developed a vaccine against the coronavirus which should be ready for mass distribution in 2021 .
Despite all of Donald Trump and his movement 's assaults on the country 's democracy , social cohesion and even its future , there is a sense that President Biden could both return the country to `` normalcy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stronger .
Then there is the bad .
Donald Trump received approximately 72 million votes in the 2020 election , about 10 million more than he did in 2016 .
The ideology of Trumpism , built on white supremacy , nativism , collective narcissism , misogyny , greed , corruption , right-wing Christian extremism , anti-intellectualism , cruelty and other pathologies were enthusiastically endorsed , rather than rejected , by tens of millions of Americans .
Trump is also attempting an obvious slow-motion coup , in which he is purging senior national security @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do his bidding , for example , by turning the country 's military against the American people .
Trump 's coup plot is part of a much bigger effort to delegitimize the very idea of democracy and free elections in America .
Breaking from centuries of tradition in the United States , Trump has refused to concede defeat or assist in the lawful transfer of power to Biden .
Trump 's right-wing paramilitaries and other political thugs remain `` standing by '' to engage in acts of violence against his `` enemies .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to remain president for life .
The coronavirus pandemic continues to spread uncontrollably .
The country 's economy is still in ruins .
Joe Biden is a much better human being than Donald Trump .
That fact is indisputable .
But just because Biden is a good person does not mean that he will have any advantage in successfully managing the deeply entrenched forces of social inequality , injustice , societal alienation and loneliness , plutocracy , gangster capitalism , white supremacy and pathocracy .
At the Nation , Tom Engelhardt describes the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Thom Hartmann , a radio host , bestselling author , and leading progressive voice counsels that the American people — and liberals and progressives in particular — should be both optimistic and cautious about Joe Biden 's presidency .
Hartmann 's newest book is `` The Hidden History of Monopolies : How Big Business Destroyed the American Dream . ''
The Thom Hartmann Show can be heard from 12 to 3 p.m. , Eastern time , via the nonprofit Pacifica Network and on commercial radio stations all across the United States .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden and Kamala Harris have the potential to enact a progressive policy agenda if they are sufficiently pressured and held accountable .
Hartmann also explains that the Democratic Party has for too long run away from its winning message on the economy by embracing neoliberalism instead of the history and legacy of the New Deal and Franklin D. Roosevelt .
Such bad habits still linger after Biden 's victory over Trump , as even now some mainstream Democrats are complaining that the party has gone too far left , which is why it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to win the Senate .
Hartmann also issues an ominous warning : Biden 's presidency may be the last opportunity to save American democracy from the Republican Party and a global right-wing authoritarian movement .
You can also listen to my conversation with Thom Hartmann on my podcast `` The Truth Report '' or through the player embedded below .
As usual , this conversation has been edited for clarity and length .
Is this what victory feels like ?
This is like a moment when the child in the story says , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ! ''
We got rid of the emperor , but the empire is still here , in the form of the Republican Party and conservatives .
There is also a worldwide coalition of governments run by strongman leaders who do not like democracy and see it as a threat to their rule , wealth and power .
That group will continue to do everything they can to destroy democracy .
Right now , their useful idiots are the Republican Party and particularly these Republican senators who are feeding the whole Trump narrative that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' and `` You ca n't trust democratic institutions , you ca n't trust democracy . ''
These are messages carefully calibrated to destroy our faith in democratic institutions .
And yes , it is absolutely true that America is not so much a democracy any longer , we are an oligarchy .
Republican senators represent about 25 percent of the American people .
The Electoral College is not reflective of America as a whole .
The Supreme Court has handed over to billionaires and big corporations the keys to the kingdom , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and sell politicians and they do so every day..
There is a struggle for democracy in this democratic republic .
This is the last gasp of that struggle .
I keep trying to remind people that the 2020 election and Biden 's victory was a battle and not a war .
Declaring victory is premature .
Do you think that the American people are going to stay engaged , or are they so exhausted that they have convinced themselves that they won and Trumpism is defeated ?
I suspect that we are going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sees after a presidential election .
The runoff in Georgia is probably going to be more like a midterm .
That having been said , people want a return to normalcy , or at the very least not having to compulsively check their news sources five times a day to see what new , fresh hell Donald Trump just rolled out .
I think that all the elections going forward are going to be somewhat different than elections in the past few decades .
Up until the 2020 election , the Republican Party @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Reagan revolution , in arguing that they had new ideas .
They knew what would work and what would n't work .
They were good at governing .
They were prepared to take leadership .
The Republicans were going to campaign on their ideas .
In this election , people figured out that the principal tool that the Republican Party uses to win elections is not ideas , it is voter suppression .
The spectacle of the 24/7 news media and the commentariat is always something to behold .
They seemed to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Donald Trump there is in America .
They could not believe how close this election was .
One would think that the mainstream news media and its commentators would understand the reality of the sheer amount of rage and white supremacy there is in the country .
I was expecting a tighter race than the polls were predicting , although I was expecting Biden to win .
I think that a lot of us , particularly a lot of whites of goodwill , had completely misread the level of malevolence or toxicity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was guessing that the really hardcore white racist vote in the United States was 10 % , 15 % or maybe 20 % .
I am now thinking it is more like 35 % or 40 % , which horrifies me .
I do not know how else to explain this .
I understand that Trump 's populist economic message was very successful after 40 years of neoliberalism and shipping our jobs to China .
The tragedy is that it is a process begun by Reagan and Bush .
Democrats never talk about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wants to trash Bill Clinton .
But I believe that it is really time that we trash Bill Clinton and reject the neoliberalism that he introduced into our party .
The other issue that must be confronted is how extraordinarily toxic Facebook is .
Mark Zuckerberg and his colleagues have used algorithms in a way that has really amplified the hard-right echo chamber and hate message .
Instead of becoming more progressive and forward-thinking , the Democrats over the last few decades have too often retreated from those ideas .
I worry that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election .
They have to recognize the economic component .
And that is the problem : the Democrats have the winning economic message .
Consider those places around the country where a $ 15 minimum wage was on the ballot — it typically won .
Economic messages are great for Democrats , but the Democratic Party does not want to run on them because there is this internal debate between the corporate Democrats who want to protect the oil industry and the banking industry and the insurance industry , and the people-funded Democrats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ perfectly willing to take those industries on because the latter are basically parasites .
We pay twice as much for health care as any other country in the world .
That is a $ 3,000 to $ 5,000 a year tax on the average American family .
We pay more than twice as much than any other country in the developed world for internet , for telephone service , for cable TV , for health insurance , and for airfare .
The average family in America pays $ 5,000 a year more than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ business systems have become so monopolized .
We are in the grip of this neoliberal corporate monster that has just been draining the wealth out of the middle class , out of working-class people 's pockets , and putting it into the top 1 % .
And Democrats are perfectly positioned to talk about that .
But oddly , Donald Trump has been the one for the last five years talking about that issue .
The Democratic Party is leaving so many voters behind by not taking on these economic issues .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a great president .
How do we hold Joe Biden accountable , given his track record as a corporate Democrat ?
The fact that Kamala Harris is his running mate , and that Karine Jean-Pierre is her chief of staff -- she is one of the best progressives out there , and also one of the most well-informed progressives I 've ever seen in the media .
That gives me a lot of hope .
But Biden did run on a far more progressive platform than Obama or Clinton .
We really need @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Great Society and the New Deal .
I am not expecting any big initiatives to come until after the inauguration and possibly until after the election in Georgia .
Biden has been openly reaching out to Trumpists and other Republicans with his language about `` healing '' and saying we are not `` enemies '' of one another here in America .
There are also the persistent discussions of Biden perhaps even including Republicans in his new administration .
What about accountability ?
I am deeply concerned about Biden 's temperament and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doing so betraying the American people and the mandate they have given him .
I suspect that if Joe Biden reaches out to Republicans , he is going to get his hand slapped .
And once again , much is going to depend on the election in Georgia .
We just have to keep the pressure on him .
I am not willing to prejudge Biden on how he is going to govern .
I am willing to give it a couple of months and then let us see what happens .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We ca n't just go on vacation .
This is the immediate , small but noisy cancer that may have been excised from our republic or will be hopefully by Jan. 20 .
But the metastasis of it , all the thousands of cancer cells throughout the body , they 're still there .
And we really need the chemotherapy of an aggressive progressive agenda , the Green New Deal , eliminating student debt and Medicare for All , as a starting point .
Will the corporatists and plutocrats and other members of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ power after Trump ?
They are to a certain extent above it all .
They are going to continue making their money no matter .
The system has been so rigged to the advantage of very wealthy people since the 1980s .
They have not seen any real serious challenges to their power .
For example , with Medicare for All , the only rich people who are going to be hurt are the multi-millionaires in the insurance industry .
Good riddance .
It 's a relatively small number of people .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be a money-making opportunity for people in business .
Eliminating student debt can be done by using government funds .
If we can hand a trillion and a half dollars to the top 15 % of Americans in a Trump tax cut and the republic survives , there is only a trillion and a half dollars worth of student debt and we could just literally pay it all off and say , `` That 's it , no more , nor in the future . ''
And nobody would be hurt .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be against the libertarian billionaires , the Charles Kochs of the world who are funding all these groups , the state policy groups , ALEC , FreedomWorks and the like in what is an ideological battle between libertarians and people who believe in democracy .
There will be opposition .
There will be people screaming , `` Socialism ! ''
— but they were screaming `` Socialism ! ''
around Medicare .
They screamed `` Socialism ! ''
around Medicaid .
They screamed `` Socialism ! ''
around Social Security .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ What does accountability and reckoning look like for the Trump regime ?
I want prosecutions .
Kellyanne Conway should be facing jail for breaking the Hatch Act .
Ivanka Trump should be facing jail .
They knew that what they were doing was illegal .
They flaunted it intentionally .
The campaign finance violations .
I also believe that we really need to be looking into Wilbur Ross playing the stock market with inside information .
It is time that the rule of law has to apply to rich white people .

America is in limbo.
There is the good: Joe Biden is president-elect. He has defeated Donald Trump, winning the highest percentage of eligible voters since Richard Nixon in 1972. Biden also received the highest number of votes in American history — approximately 77 million. It is clear that the American people have given Biden a mandate to lead the country into a better future.
As expected, Donald Trump continues to claim, against all evidence to the contrary, that the 2020 election was "stolen" from him through "voter fraud" and is attempting to use the courts to overturn the election results. To this point these efforts have completely failed. Biden has announced a committee of esteemed experts who will lead the country's efforts to defeat the coronavirus pandemic. Pfizer recently announced that it has developed a vaccine against the coronavirus which should be ready for mass distribution in 2021. Despite all of Donald Trump and his movement's assaults on the country's democracy, social cohesion and even its future, there is a sense that President Biden could both return the country to "normalcy" and then make it better and stronger.
Then there is the bad. Donald Trump received approximately 72 million votes in the 2020 election, about 10 million more than he did in 2016. The ideology of Trumpism, built on white supremacy, nativism, collective narcissism, misogyny, greed, corruption, right-wing Christian extremism, anti-intellectualism, cruelty and other pathologies were enthusiastically endorsed, rather than rejected, by tens of millions of Americans.
Trump is also attempting an obvious slow-motion coup, in which he is purging senior national security officials who have shown themselves unwilling to do his bidding, for example, by turning the country's military against the American people. Trump's coup plot is part of a much bigger effort to delegitimize the very idea of democracy and free elections in America. Breaking from centuries of tradition in the United States, Trump has refused to concede defeat or assist in the lawful transfer of power to Biden. Trump's right-wing paramilitaries and other political thugs remain "standing by" to engage in acts of violence against his "enemies." Trump will not surrender his efforts to remain president for life. The coronavirus pandemic continues to spread uncontrollably. The country's economy is still in ruins.
Joe Biden is a much better human being than Donald Trump. That fact is indisputable. But just because Biden is a good person does not mean that he will have any advantage in successfully managing the deeply entrenched forces of social inequality, injustice, societal alienation and loneliness, plutocracy, gangster capitalism, white supremacy and pathocracy.
At the Nation, Tom Engelhardt describes the myriad challenges Biden will soon inherit:
Trumpism has split America in two in a way that hasn't been imaginable since the Civil War. The president and the Senate are likely to be in gridlock, the judicial system a partisan affair of the first order, the national security state a money-gobbling shadow empire, the citizenry armed to the teeth, racism rising, and life everywhere in an increasing state of chaos.
Welcome to the (Dis)United States. Donald Trump led the way and, whatever he does, I suspect that this, for at least the time being, is still in some sense his world, not Joe Biden's. He was the man and, like it or not, we were all his apprentices in a performance of destructive power of the first order that has yet to truly end.
How should the American people navigate such a state of personal and national limbo and the feelings and emotions which come from such a deep lack of certainty about the future of the country?
Thom Hartmann, a radio host, bestselling author, and leading progressive voice counsels that the American people — and liberals and progressives in particular — should be both optimistic and cautious about Joe Biden's presidency.
Hartmann's newest book is "The Hidden History of Monopolies: How Big Business Destroyed the American Dream." The Thom Hartmann Show can be heard from 12 to 3 p.m., Eastern time, via the nonprofit Pacifica Network and on commercial radio stations all across the United States.
In this conversation, Hartmann explains that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have the potential to enact a progressive policy agenda if they are sufficiently pressured and held accountable. Hartmann also explains that the Democratic Party has for too long run away from its winning message on the economy by embracing neoliberalism instead of the history and legacy of the New Deal and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Such bad habits still linger after Biden's victory over Trump, as even now some mainstream Democrats are complaining that the party has gone too far left, which is why it lost seats in the House and failed to win the Senate.
Hartmann also issues an ominous warning: Biden's presidency may be the last opportunity to save American democracy from the Republican Party and a global right-wing authoritarian movement.
You can also listen to my conversation with Thom Hartmann on my podcast "The Truth Report" or through the player embedded below.
As usual, this conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
Is this what victory feels like?
This is like a moment when the child in the story says, "But the emperor has no clothes!" We got rid of the emperor, but the empire is still here, in the form of the Republican Party and conservatives.
There is also a worldwide coalition of governments run by strongman leaders who do not like democracy and see it as a threat to their rule, wealth and power. That group will continue to do everything they can to destroy democracy.
Right now, their useful idiots are the Republican Party and particularly these Republican senators who are feeding the whole Trump narrative that "Our democratic institutions have been corrupted" and "You can't trust democratic institutions, you can't trust democracy." These are messages carefully calibrated to destroy our faith in democratic institutions. And yes, it is absolutely true that America is not so much a democracy any longer, we are an oligarchy.
Republican senators represent about 25 percent of the American people. The Electoral College is not reflective of America as a whole. The Supreme Court has handed over to billionaires and big corporations the keys to the kingdom, essentially. They can own and buy and sell politicians and they do so every day..
There is a struggle for democracy in this democratic republic. This is the last gasp of that struggle.
I keep trying to remind people that the 2020 election and Biden's victory was a battle and not a war. Declaring victory is premature. Do you think that the American people are going to stay engaged, or are they so exhausted that they have convinced themselves that they won and Trumpism is defeated?
I suspect that we are going to see the normal drop-off that one sees after a presidential election. The runoff in Georgia is probably going to be more like a midterm. That having been said, people want a return to normalcy, or at the very least not having to compulsively check their news sources five times a day to see what new, fresh hell Donald Trump just rolled out.
I think that all the elections going forward are going to be somewhat different than elections in the past few decades. Up until the 2020 election, the Republican Party had been successful, starting with the Reagan revolution, in arguing that they had new ideas. They knew what would work and what wouldn't work. They were good at governing. They were prepared to take leadership. The Republicans were going to campaign on their ideas. In this election, people figured out that the principal tool that the Republican Party uses to win elections is not ideas, it is voter suppression.
The spectacle of the 24/7 news media and the commentariat is always something to behold. They seemed to be shocked and dismayed at how much support for Donald Trump there is in America. They could not believe how close this election was. One would think that the mainstream news media and its commentators would understand the reality of the sheer amount of rage and white supremacy there is in the country.
I was expecting a tighter race than the polls were predicting, although I was expecting Biden to win. I think that a lot of us, particularly a lot of whites of goodwill, had completely misread the level of malevolence or toxicity of white racism in America. I was guessing that the really hardcore white racist vote in the United States was 10%, 15% or maybe 20%. I am now thinking it is more like 35% or 40%, which horrifies me. I do not know how else to explain this. I understand that Trump's populist economic message was very successful after 40 years of neoliberalism and shipping our jobs to China. The tragedy is that it is a process begun by Reagan and Bush.
Democrats never talk about that because Clinton continued it and nobody wants to trash Bill Clinton. But I believe that it is really time that we trash Bill Clinton and reject the neoliberalism that he introduced into our party. The other issue that must be confronted is how extraordinarily toxic Facebook is. Mark Zuckerberg and his colleagues have used algorithms in a way that has really amplified the hard-right echo chamber and hate message.
Instead of becoming more progressive and forward-thinking, the Democrats over the last few decades have too often retreated from those ideas. I worry that will be the lesson of the 2020 election.
They have to recognize the economic component. And that is the problem: the Democrats have the winning economic message. Consider those places around the country where a $15 minimum wage was on the ballot — it typically won. Economic messages are great for Democrats, but the Democratic Party does not want to run on them because there is this internal debate between the corporate Democrats who want to protect the oil industry and the banking industry and the insurance industry, and the people-funded Democrats, the progressive Democrats, who are perfectly willing to take those industries on because the latter are basically parasites.
We pay twice as much for health care as any other country in the world. That is a $3,000 to $5,000 a year tax on the average American family. We pay more than twice as much than any other country in the developed world for internet, for telephone service, for cable TV, for health insurance, and for airfare.
The average family in America pays $5,000 a year more than in other developed countries just because our business systems have become so monopolized. We are in the grip of this neoliberal corporate monster that has just been draining the wealth out of the middle class, out of working-class people's pockets, and putting it into the top 1%. And Democrats are perfectly positioned to talk about that.
But oddly, Donald Trump has been the one for the last five years talking about that issue. The Democratic Party is leaving so many voters behind by not taking on these economic issues.
I want Joe Biden to succeed and be a great president. How do we hold Joe Biden accountable, given his track record as a corporate Democrat?
The fact that Kamala Harris is his running mate, and that Karine Jean-Pierre is her chief of staff -- she is one of the best progressives out there, and also one of the most well-informed progressives I've ever seen in the media. That gives me a lot of hope.
But Biden did run on a far more progressive platform than Obama or Clinton. We really need to get back to the values of the Great Society and the New Deal. I am not expecting any big initiatives to come until after the inauguration and possibly until after the election in Georgia.
Biden has been openly reaching out to Trumpists and other Republicans with his language about "healing" and saying we are not "enemies" of one another here in America. There are also the persistent discussions of Biden perhaps even including Republicans in his new administration. What about accountability? I am deeply concerned about Biden's temperament and willingness to compromise with Republicans and in doing so betraying the American people and the mandate they have given him.
I suspect that if Joe Biden reaches out to Republicans, he is going to get his hand slapped. And once again, much is going to depend on the election in Georgia. We just have to keep the pressure on him. I am not willing to prejudge Biden on how he is going to govern. I am willing to give it a couple of months and then let us see what happens. We can't just go to sleep. We can't just go on vacation. This is the immediate, small but noisy cancer that may have been excised from our republic or will be hopefully by Jan. 20.
But the metastasis of it, all the thousands of cancer cells throughout the body, they're still there. And we really need the chemotherapy of an aggressive progressive agenda, the Green New Deal, eliminating student debt and Medicare for All, as a starting point.
Will the corporatists and plutocrats and other members of the financial elite have more or less power after Trump?
They are to a certain extent above it all. They are going to continue making their money no matter. The system has been so rigged to the advantage of very wealthy people since the 1980s. They have not seen any real serious challenges to their power.
For example, with Medicare for All, the only rich people who are going to be hurt are the multi-millionaires in the insurance industry. Good riddance. It's a relatively small number of people.
The Green New Deal is actually going to be a money-making opportunity for people in business.
Eliminating student debt can be done by using government funds. If we can hand a trillion and a half dollars to the top 15% of Americans in a Trump tax cut and the republic survives, there is only a trillion and a half dollars worth of student debt and we could just literally pay it all off and say, "That's it, no more, nor in the future."
And nobody would be hurt. The main battle in that regard is going to be against the libertarian billionaires, the Charles Kochs of the world who are funding all these groups, the state policy groups, ALEC, FreedomWorks and the like in what is an ideological battle between libertarians and people who believe in democracy.
There will be opposition. There will be people screaming, "Socialism!" — but they were screaming "Socialism!" around Medicare. They screamed "Socialism!" around Medicaid. They screamed "Socialism!" around Social Security. I think we can get past that.
What does accountability and reckoning look like for the Trump regime?
I want prosecutions. Kellyanne Conway should be facing jail for breaking the Hatch Act. Ivanka Trump should be facing jail. They knew that what they were doing was illegal. They flaunted it intentionally. The campaign finance violations. I also believe that we really need to be looking into Wilbur Ross playing the stock market with inside information. It is time that the rule of law has to apply to rich white people.


alternet--2020-11-17--'There is no path': One federal appeals court ruling could destroy several of Trump's post-election

'There is no path': One federal appeals court ruling could destroy several of Trump's post-election lawsuits

A federal appeals court ruling could ultimately destroy several President Donald Trump 's lawsuits filed in hopes of overturning President-elect Joe Biden 's election win .
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled on Friday in response to the president 's lawsuit in Pennsylvania .
Despite Trump 's claims , the court ruled against a number of Pennsylvania voters and a Congressional candidate who cited Constitutional arguments in alleging that voters were disenfranchised by changes to election rules which were brought on by the coronavirus pandemic and U.S .
Postal System delays , according to USA Today @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Pennsylvania , Georgia and Wisconsin also presented similar arguments in court , but ultimately volunteered to toss their own claims .
The ruling came just one day before the Trump campaign 's appearance in a Pennsylvania court on Tuesday .
While Trump 's legal team still argues that 689,472 ballots were processed improperly and Trump 's watchers were obstructed from viewing the vote counters ' view , they are not seeking any legal resolution for that .
However , there are legal experts who also see trouble ahead for that case .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , an election and campaign law expert at the University of California , Irvine , School of Law , if Trump had any chance of overturning the election results , that small possibility may be completely over now .
`` Trump 's legal path to overturn the election results appears 100 percent dead , '' Hasen wrote on his Election Law Blog on Monday .
`` With an overwhelming number of losses and withdrawals of caseswithdrawals of cases , there is no path for the Trump campaign to overturn the results in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up more than 36 electoral college votes .
It 's over .
Trump may still say he has won the election .
But there is no path .
Even the two key federal cases in Pennsylvania do not involve nearly enough votes to overturn the results there even if they were successful ( and I do n't expect them to be ) . ''
He concluded with a vivid example of Trump 's defeat saying , `` We are not talking three Hail Marys anymore .
We are talking done . ''

A federal appeals court ruling could ultimately destroy several President Donald Trump's lawsuits filed in hopes of overturning President-elect Joe Biden's election win.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled on Friday in response to the president's lawsuit in Pennsylvania. Despite Trump's claims, the court ruled against a number of Pennsylvania voters and a Congressional candidate who cited Constitutional arguments in alleging that voters were disenfranchised by changes to election rules which were brought on by the coronavirus pandemic and U.S. Postal System delays, according to USA Today.
On Monday, voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Wisconsin also presented similar arguments in court, but ultimately volunteered to toss their own claims. The ruling came just one day before the Trump campaign's appearance in a Pennsylvania court on Tuesday. While Trump's legal team still argues that 689,472 ballots were processed improperly and Trump's watchers were obstructed from viewing the vote counters' view, they are not seeking any legal resolution for that.
However, there are legal experts who also see trouble ahead for that case. In fact, according to Richard Hasen, an election and campaign law expert at the University of California, Irvine, School of Law, if Trump had any chance of overturning the election results, that small possibility may be completely over now.
"Trump's legal path to overturn the election results appears 100 percent dead," Hasen wrote on his Election Law Blog on Monday.
"With an overwhelming number of losses and withdrawals of caseswithdrawals of cases, there is no path for the Trump campaign to overturn the results in a single state, much less states making up more than 36 electoral college votes.
It's over. Trump may still say he has won the election. But there is no path. Even the two key federal cases in Pennsylvania do not involve nearly enough votes to overturn the results there even if they were successful (and I don't expect them to be)."
He concluded with a vivid example of Trump's defeat saying, "We are not talking three Hail Marys anymore. We are talking done."


alternet--2020-11-17--Georgia GOP secretary of state debunks claims by Trump and 'liar' campaign aide leading recount effo

Georgia GOP secretary of state debunks claims by Trump and 'liar' campaign aide leading recount effort

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Sunday issued a surprisingly forceful rebuke of the election misinformation pushed by President Donald Trump and Rep. Doug Collins , R-Ga. , who is leading the campaign 's recount effort in the state .
Raffensperger , a Republican whose election was endorsed by Trump , hit back at Trump 's baseless claims raising doubts about the integrity of Georgia 's elections by pointing out in a series of Facebook posts that he had repeatedly made it harder for people to vote .
Raffensperger also called Collins was a `` failed candidate '' and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ claimed that a consent decree signed by Raffensperger and backed by Republican Gov .
Brian Kemp `` at the urging '' of Democrat Stacey Abrams made it `` impossible '' to match signatures on ballots .
In a fact-check , Raffensperger clarified that the consent decree not only allowed election clerks to check signatures but also required them to be matched twice before a ballot is cast .
( The Associated Press also deemed Trump 's claims about voter signature checks in the state `` wrong . ''
) `` They knew they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alleged .
Collins also labeled the signature matches a `` sham . ''
`` Frankly , the secretary of state 's office has caused this problem to develop .
They 've been continually problematic in this , and I will continue to call them out and force them to do this , '' Collins told the conservative outlet Newsmax .
`` The problem is we 're dealing in areas in which the secretary of state is setting the rules .
We 're having to challenge him on the rules .
They seem to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But these ballots will be counted , and we 'll see ( that ) those ballot counts . ''
`` Let 's address this disinformation about signature match . ''
Raffensperger wrote .
`` We strengthened signature match .
We helped train election officials on GBI ( Georgia Bureau of Investigation ) signature match—which is confirmed twice before a ballot is ever cast .
Failed candidate Doug Collins is a liar— but what 's new ? ''
Raffensperger also hit out at a lawsuit alleging that the consent decree was unconstitutional .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ballots for the first time since 2005 .
As Secretary of State the first thing I did was push legislation that —OUTLAWED—absentee ballot harvesting in Georgia , '' he wrote .
`` Next , for the first time in the history of Georgia , Absentee ballots submitted through our electronic portal required photo ID .
My team—we made that happen . ''
In another false claim , Trump alleged that poll `` watchers and observers '' had not been allowed into counting rooms .
Raffensperger wrote that the state `` placed responsibility of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' adding that any issues should be directed toward `` your state party . ''
Raffensperger also refuted an attempt by Trump to link the Dominion voting system , which is used by about half of states , to Venezuela .
The company , Raffensperger wrote , is `` American owned .
America .
'Merica .
Not Venezuela . ''
It was far from the first time that the secretary of state had to correct misinformation about Georgia pushed by Trump and his allies .
Last week , Sens .
David Perdue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ R-Ga. , dubbed the recent elections in the state an `` embarrassment . ''
The pair called for Raffensperger to step down , even though the lifelong Republican managing the state 's voting system dismissed allegations of fraud as `` hoaxes and nonsense . ''
Raffensperger refuted that there were any widespread problems with the votes , adding that his resignation was `` not going to happen . ''
`` As a Republican , I am concerned about Republicans keeping the U.S. Senate , '' he added .
`` I recommend that Senators @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ''
Raffensperger ordered a hand recount after President-elect Joe Biden defeated Trump by about 14,000 votes in the state .
With the recount nearly completed , about 48 county officials said they finished `` with either no change or minor shifts '' like `` differences of fewer than five votes , '' according to Bloomberg News .
Four counties reported no changes at all .
`` More Georgians voted for President-elect Biden than voted for President Trump , '' Democratic lawyer Marc Elias told the outlet .
`` There is nothing that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ change that . ''

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Sunday issued a surprisingly forceful rebuke of the election misinformation pushed by President Donald Trump and Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., who is leading the campaign's recount effort in the state.
Raffensperger, a Republican whose election was endorsed by Trump, hit back at Trump's baseless claims raising doubts about the integrity of Georgia's elections by pointing out in a series of Facebook posts that he had repeatedly made it harder for people to vote. Raffensperger also called Collins was a "failed candidate" and a "liar."
Trump falsely claimed that a consent decree signed by Raffensperger and backed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp "at the urging" of Democrat Stacey Abrams made it "impossible" to match signatures on ballots. In a fact-check, Raffensperger clarified that the consent decree not only allowed election clerks to check signatures but also required them to be matched twice before a ballot is cast. (The Associated Press also deemed Trump's claims about voter signature checks in the state "wrong.")
"They knew they were going to cheat," Trump alleged. Collins also labeled the signature matches a "sham."
"Frankly, the secretary of state's office has caused this problem to develop. They've been continually problematic in this, and I will continue to call them out and force them to do this," Collins told the conservative outlet Newsmax. "The problem is we're dealing in areas in which the secretary of state is setting the rules. We're having to challenge him on the rules. They seem to be changing as we go . . . But these ballots will be counted, and we'll see (that) those ballot counts."
"Let's address this disinformation about signature match." Raffensperger wrote. "We strengthened signature match. We helped train election officials on GBI (Georgia Bureau of Investigation) signature match—which is confirmed twice before a ballot is ever cast. Failed candidate Doug Collins is a liar— but what's new?"
Raffensperger also hit out at a lawsuit alleging that the consent decree was unconstitutional.
"My team secured and strengthened absentee ballots for the first time since 2005. As Secretary of State the first thing I did was push legislation that —OUTLAWED—absentee ballot harvesting in Georgia," he wrote. "Next, for the first time in the history of Georgia, Absentee ballots submitted through our electronic portal required photo ID. My team—we made that happen."
In another false claim, Trump alleged that poll "watchers and observers" had not been allowed into counting rooms. Raffensperger wrote that the state "placed responsibility of recruitment of monitors solely on both parties," adding that any issues should be directed toward "your state party."
Raffensperger also refuted an attempt by Trump to link the Dominion voting system, which is used by about half of states, to Venezuela. The company, Raffensperger wrote, is "American owned. America. 'Merica. Not Venezuela."
It was far from the first time that the secretary of state had to correct misinformation about Georgia pushed by Trump and his allies. Last week, Sens. David Perdue, R-Ga., and Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., dubbed the recent elections in the state an "embarrassment." The pair called for Raffensperger to step down, even though the lifelong Republican managing the state's voting system dismissed allegations of fraud as "hoaxes and nonsense."
Raffensperger refuted that there were any widespread problems with the votes, adding that his resignation was "not going to happen."
"As a Republican, I am concerned about Republicans keeping the U.S. Senate," he added. "I recommend that Senators Loeffler and Perdue start focusing on that."
Raffensperger ordered a hand recount after President-elect Joe Biden defeated Trump by about 14,000 votes in the state. With the recount nearly completed, about 48 county officials said they finished "with either no change or minor shifts" like "differences of fewer than five votes," according to Bloomberg News. Four counties reported no changes at all.
"More Georgians voted for President-elect Biden than voted for President Trump," Democratic lawyer Marc Elias told the outlet. "There is nothing that the recount's going to do to change that."


alternet--2020-11-17--Ivanka Trump once again misleads public with claim media is 'silent' on violence against conservativ

Ivanka Trump once again misleads public with claim media is 'silent' on violence against conservatives

As right-wing groups clashed with counter-protesters at pro-Trump demonstrations over the weekend , Ivanka Trump , the senior White House adviser and daughter of outgoing President Donald Trump , condemned the media on Twitter for `` near total silence '' over alleged assaults on conservatives .
The tweet came as selectively edited video wrongly portraying Trump supporters as victims of violence circulated online in right-wing circles .
`` The media 's near total silence about the physical violence being perpetrated against conservatives is shameful & dangerous .
Just image the outrage and indignation if this went the other way , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ never the answer and instigators must be condemned and prosecuted . ''
Donald Trump Jr. one-upped his sister 's allegation an hour later by claiming , without evidence , that the media was `` complicit . ''
He also suggested that `` they might as well '' put Trump supporters on a non-existent Gulag list controlled by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , D-N.Y. '' The media 's silence on the violence against Trump supporters is deafening .
After four years of calling them Nazis , at this point they might as well just dox @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ] to AOC 's lists for the Gulags , '' Don Jr. baselessly tweeted .
`` They are complicit in the violence .
They are the worst of the worst . ''
Trump supporters and right-wing groups marched in several cities on Saturday in protest of the president 's recent electoral loss to President-elect Joe Biden .
The demonstrators echoed the president 's evidence-free allegations of a stolen election .
Many of these groups were met by counter-protests , and violence broke out in some instances .
The most serious of these incidents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Boys and other right-wing groups and militia members clashed with counter-protesters , according to multiple reports .
Contrary to the Trump family 's assertions , conservatives were filmed launching attacks .
It was not the first time Ivanka had misleadingly tweeted about political violence .
In a tweet referencing `` inner city communities , '' the first daughter cited the wrong number of people killed and wounded in the wrong location ( `` near a playground '' ) over the course of a weekend in Chicago in August 2019 .
In his first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Proud Boys to `` stand back , and stand by . ''
Unlike his offspring , the president outwardly applauded Saturday 's violence in the streets .
`` ANTIFA SCUM ran for the hills today when they tried attacking the people at the Trump Rally , because those people aggressively fought back , '' he tweeted .
The president also shared a selectively edited video posted by Andy Ngo , a right-wing sympathizer with a history of wrongly framing left-wing groups .
The clip showed a man getting knocked out by a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` A close-up angle of BLM rioters knocking a man unconscious who was leaving the # MillionMAGAMarch in DC earlier today , '' Ngo wrote .
`` They also steal his phone when he 's on the ground . ''
`` Human Radical Left garbage did this , '' the president added , quoting Ngo 's original tweet .
`` Being arrested now ! ''
But an extended clip appears to shows the man was with a group of Trump supporters who earlier attacked a counter-protester holding a bullhorn by pushing him down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ head .
D.C. police on Sunday said they had arrested nearly two dozen people , many of them on gun charges , according to The Washington Post .
One person was stabbed , and four officers were injured .
Police Chief Peter Newsham told The Post that groups on both sides had descended on the city `` intent on clashing , '' and `` the police department was put directly in the middle of it . ''
In Sacramento , Calif. , a group of Proud Boys met counter-protesters with bear spray , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ News .
Police broke up the incident .
President Trump urged police to use force on counter-protesters , tweeting : `` Antifa waited until tonight , when 99 % were gone , to attack innocent # MAGA People .
DC Police , get going — do your job and do n't hold back !
!
! ''
There is no evidence to support the protesters ' accusations of widespread electoral fraud in the presidential election .
Courts have summarily dismissed the vast majority of the Trump campaign 's lawsuits .

As right-wing groups clashed with counter-protesters at pro-Trump demonstrations over the weekend, Ivanka Trump, the senior White House adviser and daughter of outgoing President Donald Trump, condemned the media on Twitter for "near total silence" over alleged assaults on conservatives. The tweet came as selectively edited video wrongly portraying Trump supporters as victims of violence circulated online in right-wing circles.
"The media's near total silence about the physical violence being perpetrated against conservatives is shameful & dangerous. Just image the outrage and indignation if this went the other way," Ivanka tweeted. "Violence is never the answer and instigators must be condemned and prosecuted."
Donald Trump Jr. one-upped his sister's allegation an hour later by claiming, without evidence, that the media was "complicit." He also suggested that "they might as well" put Trump supporters on a non-existent Gulag list controlled by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
"The media's silence on the violence against Trump supporters is deafening. After four years of calling them Nazis, at this point they might as well just dox them all or add the[m] to AOC's lists for the Gulags," Don Jr. baselessly tweeted. "They are complicit in the violence. They are the worst of the worst."
Trump supporters and right-wing groups marched in several cities on Saturday in protest of the president's recent electoral loss to President-elect Joe Biden. The demonstrators echoed the president's evidence-free allegations of a stolen election.
Many of these groups were met by counter-protests, and violence broke out in some instances. The most serious of these incidents took place in Washington, where Proud Boys and other right-wing groups and militia members clashed with counter-protesters, according to multiplereports. Contrary to the Trump family's assertions, conservatives were filmed launching attacks.
It was not the first time Ivanka had misleadingly tweeted about political violence. In a tweet referencing "inner city communities," the first daughter cited the wrong number of people killed and wounded in the wrong location ("near a playground") over the course of a weekend in Chicago in August 2019.
In his first debate with Biden, President Trump told the Proud Boys to "stand back, and stand by." Unlike his offspring, the president outwardly applauded Saturday's violence in the streets.
"ANTIFA SCUM ran for the hills today when they tried attacking the people at the Trump Rally, because those people aggressively fought back," he tweeted.
The president also shared a selectively edited video posted by Andy Ngo, a right-wing sympathizer with a history of wrongly framing left-wing groups. The clip showed a man getting knocked out by a counter-protester after being attacked from behind.
"A close-up angle of BLM rioters knocking a man unconscious who was leaving the #MillionMAGAMarch in DC earlier today," Ngo wrote. "They also steal his phone when he's on the ground."
"Human Radical Left garbage did this," the president added, quoting Ngo's original tweet. "Being arrested now!"
But an extended clip appears to shows the man was with a group of Trump supporters who earlier attacked a counter-protester holding a bullhorn by pushing him down to the street and stepping on his head.
D.C. police on Sunday said they had arrested nearly two dozen people, many of them on gun charges, according to The Washington Post. One person was stabbed, and four officers were injured.
Police Chief Peter Newsham told The Post that groups on both sides had descended on the city "intent on clashing," and "the police department was put directly in the middle of it."
In Sacramento, Calif., a group of Proud Boys met counter-protesters with bear spray, according to the Bay Area's ABC7 News. Police broke up the incident.
President Trump urged police to use force on counter-protesters, tweeting: "Antifa waited until tonight, when 99% were gone, to attack innocent #MAGA People. DC Police, get going — do your job and don't hold back!!!"
There is no evidence to support the protesters' accusations of widespread electoral fraud in the presidential election. Courts have summarily dismissed the vast majority of the Trump campaign's lawsuits.


alternet--2020-11-17--Awkward: Spelling blunder undermines GOP efforts to fight for Trump in Georgia

On Monday , allies of President Donald Trump tweeted out call to action for supporters to gather at the Georgia @ @ @ @ @ as results confirm Joe Biden carried the state and the GOP elections chief fends off @ @ @ @ @ .
Commenters on social media , however , could n't help but notice that the @ @ @ @ @ convene in `` Georiga '' — and mockery ensued .

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alternet--2020-11-17--'The Reagans' shows how the Gipper paved the way for politicians pretending they aren't racist

Forty years after Ronald Reagan 's ascent to the presidency his legacy is still treated with kid gloves .
Centrist Democrats seeking to find common ground with Republicans quote him as if he were a saint , the modern example of a conservative with bipartisan appeal save for , you know , a few mistakes he could not recall .
In 2003 CBS was set to air a fictionalized miniseries that romanticized Ronald and Nancy Reagan but was hounded by the GOP until the network shunted it off to Showtime , the same network airing Matt Tyrnauer 's new docuseries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Reagans '' does n't adequately dig into who Ron and Nancy were or tell us much of anything we do n't already know about them within its four hours .
But at some point somebody should .
This missed opportunity is but one on a list that anyone seeking to understand Reagan 's presidency will lament after spending time with it .
`` The Reagans '' is n't terrible , but merely serviceable – not particularly flattering , but not all that enlightening either .
At least the premiere 's timing is fortuitous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Reagans as conduits for the Republican mission to bring the Southern strategy into full fruition within the Republican party .
There 's also ample reason to presume that many people are ignorant as to the very basic facts about the less flattering side of Reagan 's history become the catchy aphorisms about `` morning in America '' or the shining city on the hill mythology .
From the very start , the director 's intention to link then to now is crystalline when journalist Lesley Stahl recalls a Reagan observation that stuck with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you are not a good actor , you can not be a good president , ' '' she recalls him saying , `` And it came to pass .
If someone 's running for president and they are not willing to do what an actor does – look good , read your lines well – you can not lead . ''
This bit of implication plays well in 2020 .
Beyond it , much of the series ' early examination of Reagan 's rise in politics is relatively shallow , leaning heavily on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mythmaking nature of the actor 's initial forays into politics , and the similarities between Hollywood political machinery and the one grinding up Washington .
Observations from son Ron Reagan lend additional insight into the president and First Lady as a parents and private people and serve to remind us that in spite of their flaws , they 're still human beings .
Nevertheless , what Reagan lends is limited .
His father enacted destructive policies that hurt America 's poorest even though he grew up in a family that benefited from many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ripped away .
It would be fascinating to find out what fueled such a lack of empathy , but I regret to inform you that tax reform activist and right wing lickspittle Grover Norquist has no answers .
To watch `` The Reagans '' and hear Tyrnauer 's relatively limited gallery of experts describe the direct parallels between Reagan and Donald Trump without explicitly mentioning the latter is a reminder that Trump represents the apotheosis of a destructive political ideology as opposed to an aberration .
Reagan had moves way back when that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the last five years drowning in Trumpland .
`` Make American Great Again '' is directly cribbed from the Gipper ; if you were n't aware of that the series handily reminds us this is the case .
As civil rights activist Maya Riley puts it , `` Reagan 's genius was that he wrapped his racism in a façade of fatherly love .
And it was something that Black people in this country understood was a façade .
And we understood it from his words and his deeds . ''
Several of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` genius '' in reference to Reagan , but the documentary does n't adequately make the case for his genius .
Instead `` The Reagans '' chips away at the veneer of folksy character surrounding the man by peeling back the rhetoric to spell out the true meaning behind noble sounding terms such as `` small government , '' which sounds like it 's preaching support for putting more money back into the pockets of regular Americans but is actually a cover for cementing power and privilege for the upper class .
Presumably @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have survived the last 30 years of right wing partisan hackery and therefore you already know this .
You might also know that Reagan is the first president to hoodwink the working class into voting against their best interests , because to do otherwise would also benefit non-white folks , which `` The Reagans '' also points out .
At least it 's a helpful reminder of the main difference between Reagan and America 's outgoing president : Trump dispensed with the racist subtext Reagan pushed in the '80s and simply made white @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that is n't as effective now as it might have been , given that Reagan won the presidency in 1980 with 489 of 538 electoral votes , and only received 14 % of the African American vote , 73 million voters tell us that marketing racial animus to white voters is still pretty darn effective .
And while `` The Reagans '' leaves the viewer wanting in terms of adequately examining the extent of Nancy 's influence over Ronald and how that may have manifested in terms of the policies he enacted , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is in examining the method by which Reagan tweaked racist messaging into coded language that spoke to white Americans ' racist angst while allowing them to profess that they are n't saying anything racist .
His earliest messages were n't particularly well-disguised as the documentary shows in a commercial featuring Reagan describing California city streets as `` jungle paths '' and claiming `` the jungle is closing in on this little patch that we 've been civilizing '' in the wake of to the Watts riots .
We 're still hearing some of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` Law and order , '' anyone ?
Still , some of Reagan 's greatest hits are breezed on by .
`` The Reagans '' does a decent job of addressing how he sold out unions and dismantled social programs in the name of saving taxpayer dollar and progress while demonizing poor Black women as `` welfare queens . ''
But I would trade in the time spent galloping through Reagan 's early film career to receive more insight about his and Nancy 's abject ignorance to America 's LGBTQIA+ community 's cries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the country during his administration .
Indeed , many of the scandals we closely associated with Reagan are hastily shuffled into the fourth hour , along with the requisite `` Tear down this wall '' soundbite .
Eight years of Reagan produced a legacy we 're still grappling with .
It 's a shame that four hours of `` The Reagans '' does n't do a better job of helping us to better understand what his part in reshaping America back then implies about our future .
The first episode of `` The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at 8 p.m. on Showtime .

Forty years after Ronald Reagan's ascent to the presidency his legacy is still treated with kid gloves. Centrist Democrats seeking to find common ground with Republicans quote him as if he were a saint, the modern example of a conservative with bipartisan appeal save for, you know, a few mistakes he could not recall. In 2003 CBS was set to air a fictionalized miniseries that romanticized Ronald and Nancy Reagan but was hounded by the GOP until the network shunted it off to Showtime, the same network airing Matt Tyrnauer's new docuseries "The Reagans,"
"The Reagans" doesn't adequately dig into who Ron and Nancy were or tell us much of anything we don't already know about them within its four hours. But at some point somebody should.
This missed opportunity is but one on a list that anyone seeking to understand Reagan's presidency will lament after spending time with it. "The Reagans" isn't terrible, but merely serviceable – not particularly flattering, but not all that enlightening either.
At least the premiere's timing is fortuitous, given Tyrnauer's focus on the Reagans as conduits for the Republican mission to bring the Southern strategy into full fruition within the Republican party. There's also ample reason to presume that many people are ignorant as to the very basic facts about the less flattering side of Reagan's history become the catchy aphorisms about "morning in America" or the shining city on the hill mythology.
From the very start, the director's intention to link then to now is crystalline when journalist Lesley Stahl recalls a Reagan observation that stuck with her over the years. "'If you are not a good actor, you cannot be a good president,'" she recalls him saying, "And it came to pass. If someone's running for president and they are not willing to do what an actor does – look good, read your lines well – you cannot lead."
This bit of implication plays well in 2020. Beyond it, much of the series' early examination of Reagan's rise in politics is relatively shallow, leaning heavily on shots from old Hollywood to reinforce the mythmaking nature of the actor's initial forays into politics, and the similarities between Hollywood political machinery and the one grinding up Washington.
Observations from son Ron Reagan lend additional insight into the president and First Lady as a parents and private people and serve to remind us that in spite of their flaws, they're still human beings. Nevertheless, what Reagan lends is limited. His father enacted destructive policies that hurt America's poorest even though he grew up in a family that benefited from many of the same government safety nets he ripped away. It would be fascinating to find out what fueled such a lack of empathy, but I regret to inform you that tax reform activist and right wing lickspittle Grover Norquist has no answers.
To watch "The Reagans" and hear Tyrnauer's relatively limited gallery of experts describe the direct parallels between Reagan and Donald Trump without explicitly mentioning the latter is a reminder that Trump represents the apotheosis of a destructive political ideology as opposed to an aberration.
Reagan had moves way back when that are easily recognizable to anyone who spent the last five years drowning in Trumpland. "Make American Great Again" is directly cribbed from the Gipper; if you weren't aware of that the series handily reminds us this is the case. As civil rights activist Maya Riley puts it, "Reagan's genius was that he wrapped his racism in a façade of fatherly love. And it was something that Black people in this country understood was a façade. And we understood it from his words and his deeds."
Several of the film's experts use the term "genius" in reference to Reagan, but the documentary doesn't adequately make the case for his genius. Instead "The Reagans" chips away at the veneer of folksy character surrounding the man by peeling back the rhetoric to spell out the true meaning behind noble sounding terms such as "small government," which sounds like it's preaching support for putting more money back into the pockets of regular Americans but is actually a cover for cementing power and privilege for the upper class.
Presumably if you're reading this, you have survived the last 30 years of right wing partisan hackery and therefore you already know this. You might also know that Reagan is the first president to hoodwink the working class into voting against their best interests, because to do otherwise would also benefit non-white folks, which "The Reagans" also points out.
At least it's a helpful reminder of the main difference between Reagan and America's outgoing president: Trump dispensed with the racist subtext Reagan pushed in the '80s and simply made white supremacy his main text.
And while that isn't as effective now as it might have been, given that Reagan won the presidency in 1980 with 489 of 538 electoral votes, and only received 14% of the African American vote, 73 million voters tell us that marketing racial animus to white voters is still pretty darn effective.
And while "The Reagans" leaves the viewer wanting in terms of adequately examining the extent of Nancy's influence over Ronald and how that may have manifested in terms of the policies he enacted, where the series is at its best is in examining the method by which Reagan tweaked racist messaging into coded language that spoke to white Americans' racist angst while allowing them to profess that they aren't saying anything racist.
His earliest messages weren't particularly well-disguised as the documentary shows in a commercial featuring Reagan describing California city streets as "jungle paths" and claiming "the jungle is closing in on this little patch that we've been civilizing" in the wake of to the Watts riots. We're still hearing some of it parroted back at us today. "Law and order," anyone?
Still, some of Reagan's greatest hits are breezed on by. "The Reagans" does a decent job of addressing how he sold out unions and dismantled social programs in the name of saving taxpayer dollar and progress while demonizing poor Black women as "welfare queens."
But I would trade in the time spent galloping through Reagan's early film career to receive more insight about his and Nancy's abject ignorance to America's LGBTQIA+ community's cries for help when AIDS was tearing through the country during his administration. Indeed, many of the scandals we closely associated with Reagan are hastily shuffled into the fourth hour, along with the requisite "Tear down this wall" soundbite.
Eight years of Reagan produced a legacy we're still grappling with. It's a shame that four hours of "The Reagans" doesn't do a better job of helping us to better understand what his part in reshaping America back then implies about our future.
The first episode of "The Reagans" premieres Sunday, Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. on Showtime.


alternet--2020-11-17--Yes, the election was rigged -- but by the Republicans

It turns out that Donald Trump was right : the election was rigged .
He would know , of course , because he and Louis DeJoy were the ones who rigged it .
Historically , `` conservative '' ( e.g .
`` white racist '' ) efforts to rig the vote were almost entirely focused on preventing people of color from voting .
For almost a century , this involved literacy tests , guessing the number of jellybeans in a jar , and other low-tech , blatant strategies .
In the 1960s , William Rehnquist and friends launched `` Operation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they would send `` poll watchers '' to threaten and intimidate Native American , Hispanic and Black voters .
By the 1980s , Republicans had rolled out `` caging , '' where they 'd send a postcard to voters and if it was n't returned they 'd remove you from the voting rolls ; the Democratic Party got a restraining order against caging that just expired a few years ago .
In 2000 , George and Jeb Bush , the governors of Texas and Florida , used the Texas felon list to purge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Florida voter rolls .
Jeb knocked 90,000 African-Americans off the rolls , just in time to steal the 2000 election for George .
Kris Kobach turned this into a system , called Interstate Crosscheck , and took it nationwide over the last 15 years , comparing states ' voting rolls in ways that would largely disenfranchise Asians , Blacks and Hispanics .
Finally , in 2020 , Trump came up with a new scheme that benefited from the Covid virus , and the worse the virus got , the better his scheme worked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ telling his supporters they should only vote in person , Trump and DeJoy dismantled over 600 multimillion dollar high-speed mail sorting machines , hitting swing states the hardest , so mailed ballots would arrive too late to count .
Recent reporting suggests that if the courts had not intervened when and how they did , the mail would have been so slowed in several critical swing states that Trump would 've been declared the winner .
We were saved by a federal judge .
Now the scam Republicans are promoting is to challenge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ballots from big cities , and this has helped them throw out literally millions of ballots just this month .
Nobody is sure what the next conservative scheme will be to disqualify votes in American cities , but you can bet they 're working on it .
Which is why we need a law or Constitutional amendment that unambiguously asserts a `` right to vote . ''
If Governor Brian Kemp wants to take away the home of a person who lives in Atlanta , he has to go to court and prove @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intact .
If Governor Ron DeSantis wants to take away a gun from a person who lives in Miami , he has to go to court and prove his case : the Supreme Court has recently affirmed Americans ' right to own a gun .
But if any governor wants to take away your vote , they do n't even have to tell you , they just kick you off the voting rolls , because right now voting is not a right in America , it 's merely a privilege .
America needs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ world and put the right of citizens to vote into law .
Since everything from pandemic relief to education to foreign policy flows out of the democratic process , this must be Job One in the new Congress .
Thom Hartmann is a talk-show host and the author of The Hidden History of the War on Voting and more than 30 other books in print .
His most recent project is a science podcast called The Science Revolution .
He is a writing fellow at the Independent Media Institute .

It turns out that Donald Trump was right: the election was rigged. He would know, of course, because he and Louis DeJoy were the ones who rigged it.
Historically, "conservative" (e.g. "white racist") efforts to rig the vote were almost entirely focused on preventing people of color from voting. For almost a century, this involved literacy tests, guessing the number of jellybeans in a jar, and other low-tech, blatant strategies.
In the 1960s, William Rehnquist and friends launched "Operation Eagle Eye" in the Southwest where they would send "poll watchers" to threaten and intimidate Native American, Hispanic and Black voters.
By the 1980s, Republicans had rolled out "caging," where they'd send a postcard to voters and if it wasn't returned they'd remove you from the voting rolls; the Democratic Party got a restraining order against caging that just expired a few years ago.
In 2000, George and Jeb Bush, the governors of Texas and Florida, used the Texas felon list to purge mostly Black and Hispanic people from the Florida voter rolls. Jeb knocked 90,000 African-Americans off the rolls, just in time to steal the 2000 election for George.
Kris Kobach turned this into a system, called Interstate Crosscheck, and took it nationwide over the last 15 years, comparing states' voting rolls in ways that would largely disenfranchise Asians, Blacks and Hispanics.
Finally, in 2020, Trump came up with a new scheme that benefited from the Covid virus, and the worse the virus got, the better his scheme worked.
Letting the pandemic run wild while telling his supporters they should only vote in person, Trump and DeJoy dismantled over 600 multimillion dollar high-speed mail sorting machines, hitting swing states the hardest, so mailed ballots would arrive too late to count.
Recent reporting suggests that if the courts had not intervened when and how they did, the mail would have been so slowed in several critical swing states that Trump would've been declared the winner. We were saved by a federal judge.
Now the scam Republicans are promoting is to challenge the signatures on the outside of mail-in ballots from big cities, and this has helped them throw out literally millions of ballots just this month.
Nobody is sure what the next conservative scheme will be to disqualify votes in American cities, but you can bet they're working on it. Which is why we need a law or Constitutional amendment that unambiguously asserts a "right to vote."
If Governor Brian Kemp wants to take away the home of a person who lives in Atlanta, he has to go to court and prove his case: our property rights are intact.
If Governor Ron DeSantis wants to take away a gun from a person who lives in Miami, he has to go to court and prove his case: the Supreme Court has recently affirmed Americans' right to own a gun.
But if any governor wants to take away your vote, they don't even have to tell you, they just kick you off the voting rolls, because right now voting is not a right in America, it's merely a privilege.
America needs to join the rest of the developed world and put the right of citizens to vote into law. Since everything from pandemic relief to education to foreign policy flows out of the democratic process, this must be Job One in the new Congress.
Thom Hartmann is a talk-show host and the author of The Hidden History of the War on Voting and more than 30 other books in print. His most recent project is a science podcast called The Science Revolution. He is a writing fellow at the Independent Media Institute.


alternet--2020-11-17--The dangerous myth about the so-called 'liberal' media is still going strong

It is an enduring belief that the vast majority of U.S. media are `` liberal '' or `` leftist . ''
This is a powerful myth , used by the political right to convince citizens that a secular , urban elite pushes a leftist agenda on the nation via television , newspapers and Internet .
This notion was n't invented by Trump .
But Trump has , more than any other president , leveraged that pre-existing distrust and taken it to new depths .
As we watch Trump openly fight democracy post-election , it is worth considering how this myth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an American and an academic who studies the media , I have , of course , followed Swedish media coverage of the U.S. elections .
And , as someone invited to comment on those elections in Swedish media , I was even part of that coverage .
During my consumption and participation , it struck me that it was often taken as a fact by Swedish journalists that a large part of the U.S. media landscape is dominated by what is defined as a `` liberal/left '' media , and that a large @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the U.S. were partisan in their opposition to Trump .
The attempt by Trump to undermine the U.S. electoral system leans heavily upon convincing his supporters that media analyses of his attacks are `` fake '' because `` The Media '' are a biased , leftist monolith .
Legitimizing this myth only serves the interests of those opposed to the critical analysis of current events in the United States .
And , it undermines critical analysis of all forms of power , including when Democrats hold that power .
So , let 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Fox News is the most popular news channel in the U.S.. Fox News is n't the rebel outsider .
It is the mainstream .
In 2019 , Fox was the top-rated basic cable network in total viewers with 2.57 million : 50 % higher than MSNBC and 2.5 times higher than CNN .
In 2019 , Fox had its highest-rated primetime in history , averaging 2.5 million viewers ; and , the Fox News program Hannity was the top-rated program in cable news for the third year in a row .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ response to an overwhelmingly liberal/left US media ecosystem , think again .
In a 2019 study conducted by Pew , 16 % of respondents said local TV news was the `` most common '' place for receiving political election news .
( The percentage saying print was their most common source ?
3 % . )
Sinclair Broadcast Group , with 193 local channels reaching 40 % of the population , is the second-largest local TV station owner in the U.S. ( and the largest owner of FOX and ABC affiliate stations ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aggressively pushing right-wing content .
From 2017–19 , Sinclair forced its channels to air `` must-run segments , '' including commentaries by former Trump senior advisor Boris Epshteyn , which stations were required to air 9 times a week .
A 2019 study in the American Political Science Review on the impact of Sinclair purchasing local stations concluded that such purchases resulted in , `` a significant rightward shift in the ideological slant of coverage '' on those channels .
How about radio ?
Of the 15 most popular talk radio shows in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , with top shows pulling up to 15 million listeners per week .
Then there are social media platforms .
A common complaint from the political right is that social media platforms `` censor '' conservative content .
Yet , in October 2020 , the month before the election , Fox News material on Facebook received 76 million `` interactions '' ( reactions , shares , comments ) : more than the combined total for CNN , NBC , the New York Times , NPR , MSNBC , the Washington Post and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Breitbart , recognized as a steady supplier of disinformation , received more interactions ( 45 million ) than the total for CNN , the New York Times and Washington Post ( 38 million ) .
The liberal/leftist media as a myth is shown in more than just conservative ownership or content .
CNN , for example , actively cheered the occupation and destruction of Iraq led by Republican George W. Bush .
In an analysis conducted by Pew of the news content of 52 U.S. mainstream outlets between 2007–2012 , coverage of poverty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tens of millions living in poverty ) accounted for less than 1 % of all news space .
Multiple studies over the years have shown that local and national news has emphasized crimes committed by African-Americans , while downplaying white or police violence .
And , a 2017 study out of Harvard , analyzing the content of mainstream outlets before the 2016 elections , found that coverage of the Clinton e-mail `` scandal '' accounted for more sentences of coverage ( 65,000 ) than all of Trump 's scandals combined ( 40,000 ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump had , for example , been accused of corruption within the Trump Foundation and Trump University , had made Islamophobic comments and bragged about grabbing women by their genitalia .
By repeating the `` liberal '' U.S. media argument , journalists—including in Sweden–legitimize a myth upon which a great deal of division and disinformation is constructed .
Many outside of the U.S. still see CNN , the New York Times , and the Washington Post as typical of U.S. media , with Fox News as the `` outsider . ''
That 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ powerhouse in U.S. news , while newspapers such as the New York Times and Washington Post—yes , agenda setters for the elite—have nowhere near the same influence among ordinary Americans .
As I have addressed , conservative influence is found in a large portion of the U.S. news media that shape U.S. public opinion : cable television , local television , radio and online news .
And , while newspapers may endorse Democratic candidates or critique Trump , their coverage of U.S. society over the decades has been a long way from progressive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other media .
Ignoring this simply leads to shallow , decontextualized analysis of U.S. politics and society .
This piece is an English-language contribution to a rapid-response publication on the US elections by more than 70 academics working in Sweden .
The collection , `` Stjärnspäckat — reflektioner från amerikanska presidentvalet , '' edited by Niklas Bolin , Kajsa Falasca , Marie Grusell and Lars Nord , is open access and can be downloaded here .
Christian Christensen , American in Sweden , is Professor of Journalism at Stockholm University .
Follow him @ @ @ @ @

It is an enduring belief that the vast majority of U.S. media are "liberal" or "leftist." This is a powerful myth, used by the political right to convince citizens that a secular, urban elite pushes a leftist agenda on the nation via television, newspapers and Internet. This notion wasn't invented by Trump. But Trump has, more than any other president, leveraged that pre-existing distrust and taken it to new depths. As we watch Trump openly fight democracy post-election, it is worth considering how this myth is perpetuated, even internationally.
As an American and an academic who studies the media, I have, of course, followed Swedish media coverage of the U.S. elections. And, as someone invited to comment on those elections in Swedish media, I was even part of that coverage. During my consumption and participation, it struck me that it was often taken as a fact by Swedish journalists that a large part of the U.S. media landscape is dominated by what is defined as a "liberal/left" media, and that a large portion of "mainstream media" in the U.S. were partisan in their opposition to Trump.
This is a misleading, decontextualized position.
The attempt by Trump to undermine the U.S. electoral system leans heavily upon convincing his supporters that media analyses of his attacks are "fake" because "The Media" are a biased, leftist monolith. Legitimizing this myth only serves the interests of those opposed to the critical analysis of current events in the United States. And, it undermines critical analysis of all forms of power, including when Democrats hold that power.
So, let's start with the elephant in the room. Fox News is the most popular news channel in the U.S.. Fox News isn't the rebel outsider. It is the mainstream. In 2019, Fox was the top-rated basic cable network in total viewers with 2.57 million: 50% higher than MSNBC and 2.5 times higher than CNN. In 2019, Fox had its highest-rated primetime in history, averaging 2.5 million viewers; and, the Fox News program Hannity was the top-rated program in cable news for the third year in a row.
But, if you think Fox is one response to an overwhelmingly liberal/left US media ecosystem, think again. In a 2019 study conducted by Pew, 16% of respondents said local TV news was the "most common" place for receiving political election news. (The percentage saying print was their most common source? 3%.) Sinclair Broadcast Group, with 193 local channels reaching 40% of the population, is the second-largest local TV station owner in the U.S. (and the largest owner of FOX and ABC affiliate stations). Sinclair has earned a reputation for aggressively pushing right-wing content. From 2017–19, Sinclair forced its channels to air "must-run segments," including commentaries by former Trump senior advisor Boris Epshteyn, which stations were required to air 9 times a week. A 2019 study in the American Political Science Review on the impact of Sinclair purchasing local stations concluded that such purchases resulted in, "a significant rightward shift in the ideological slant of coverage" on those channels.
How about radio? Of the 15 most popular talk radio shows in the U.S., twelve have Conservative/Libertarian hosts, with top shows pulling up to 15 million listeners per week. Then there are social media platforms. A common complaint from the political right is that social media platforms "censor" conservative content. Yet, in October 2020, the month before the election, Fox News material on Facebook received 76 million "interactions" (reactions, shares, comments): more than the combined total for CNN, NBC, the New York Times, NPR, MSNBC, the Washington Post and the New York Post. The far-right site Breitbart, recognized as a steady supplier of disinformation, received more interactions (45 million) than the total for CNN, the New York Times and Washington Post (38 million).
The liberal/leftist media as a myth is shown in more than just conservative ownership or content. CNN, for example, actively cheered the occupation and destruction of Iraq led by Republican George W. Bush. In an analysis conducted by Pew of the news content of 52 U.S. mainstream outlets between 2007–2012, coverage of poverty in the U.S. (a nation with tens of millions living in poverty) accounted for less than 1% of all news space. Multiple studies over the years have shown that local and national news has emphasized crimes committed by African-Americans, while downplaying white or police violence. And, a 2017 study out of Harvard, analyzing the content of mainstream outlets before the 2016 elections, found that coverage of the Clinton e-mail "scandal" accounted for more sentences of coverage (65,000) than all of Trump's scandals combined (40,000). This, despite the fact that Trump had, for example, been accused of corruption within the Trump Foundation and Trump University, had made Islamophobic comments and bragged about grabbing women by their genitalia.
By repeating the "liberal" U.S. media argument, journalists—including in Sweden–legitimize a myth upon which a great deal of division and disinformation is constructed. Many outside of the U.S. still see CNN, the New York Times, and the Washington Post as typical of U.S. media, with Fox News as the "outsider." That's a problem. Fox News is a powerhouse in U.S. news, while newspapers such as the New York Times and Washington Post—yes, agenda setters for the elite—have nowhere near the same influence among ordinary Americans. As I have addressed, conservative influence is found in a large portion of the U.S. news media that shape U.S. public opinion: cable television, local television, radio and online news. And, while newspapers may endorse Democratic candidates or critique Trump, their coverage of U.S. society over the decades has been a long way from progressive, and their influence a fraction of other media.
Ignoring this simply leads to shallow, decontextualized analysis of U.S. politics and society.
This piece is an English-language contribution to a rapid-response publication on the US elections by more than 70 academics working in Sweden. The collection, "Stjärnspäckat — reflektioner från amerikanska presidentvalet," edited by Niklas Bolin, Kajsa Falasca, Marie Grusell and Lars Nord, is open access and can be downloaded here.
Christian Christensen, American in Sweden, is Professor of Journalism at Stockholm University. Follow him on Twitter: @ChrChristensen


alternet--2020-11-17--A 'horror movie that never ends': Nurse says she's had patients dying of COVID-19 who think it's a h

A 'horror movie that never ends': Nurse says she's had patients dying of COVID-19 who think it's a hoax

One of the greatest— and arguably the most criminal—aspects of Trump and his political party 's stance on the global pandemic has been the anti-science baseline of misinformation .
A pandemic is like math .
It honestly does n't care about your political beliefs or your feelings .
Viruses do what they do and the only way to protect oneself and one 's community is to try and practice the best scientifically supported public health practices until vaccines and control over the spread of the virus takes place .
That 's it .
You do n't have to agree with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do n't even have to care if a virus has a position on a woman 's right to choose what she does with her body .
In fact , if a virus secretly tells you that it believes in an evangelical Christian god , that does n't change anything about how to best protect yourself .
On Saturday , South Dakota nurse Jodi Doering had a night off and decided to tweet about what she was seeing as her state .
Doering 's tweets were about COVID-19 patients who are literally dying from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ believe that the virus is real , or that they have it .
She explained how sad and frustrating it was to watch people in such angry denial , furious that this hoax was being perpetrated on them , only to `` stop yelling at you when they get intubated .
It 's like a fucking horror movie that never ends . ''
On Monday , Doering was on CNN to talk about her experience .
It was tragic and eye-opening .
In the interview , Doering explained that she really had n't @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this and was not blaming the victims of this virus or making a political statement .
She was just reporting on some of what she was seeing .
She explained she just became so sad thinking about the many patients she has seen who are in such denial and so angry that they are missing out on what is in many cases their final chances to speak with their families before passing away .
And because Doering is an adult and a professional , she held CNN 's Alisyn Camerota 's hand to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ take the anger of her patients personally .
`` I think it 's just a belief that it 's not real and nursing happens to be on the receiving end of that .
And that 's okay .
That 's where we 're there for .
It 's just , in the bigger picture , when you try to reason with people , can I call your family , your kids , your wife , your friend , your brother ?
And they say , no , because I 'm going to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
She said that since they first started seeing cases of COVID-19 in March , while they have gotten better at treating and alleviating some of the cases , they can not defeat the surges in the virus and the political bullshit that comes with fighting against basic public health protections like social distancing and wearing masks .
Asked about Gov .
Kristi Noem 's insistence in pretending that people should not wear masks if it makes them happier to do so , Doering explained that this was n't political : `` I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ care provider , because the last thing that we ask anyone when they seek care is how they voted or if they 're a Democrat or a Republican .
The last thing we ever think about is that .
What we think about is how can I help you ? ''
South Dakota is under one of the most worthless governors in the history of the planet .
Republican Noem 's inability to show real leadership and mitigate the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in her state—which may arguably end up having been the largest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the entire world—has led to thousands upon thousands of more deaths and illnesses , as well and billions in healthcare costs .
Noem seems mostly interested in fundraising for her reelection campaign and thinking about ways to make money for her campaign , while her state and the country suffer from her terrible decisions and cowardly , ignorant abuses of power .
South Dakota nurse talks about dying COVID-19 patients who still believe the virus is a hoax

One of the greatest— and arguably the most criminal—aspects of Trump and his political party's stance on the global pandemic has been the anti-science baseline of misinformation. A pandemic is like math. It honestly doesn't care about your political beliefs or your feelings. Viruses do what they do and the only way to protect oneself and one's community is to try and practice the best scientifically supported public health practices until vaccines and control over the spread of the virus takes place. That's it. You don't have to agree with a virus about tax breaks and you don't even have to care if a virus has a position on a woman's right to choose what she does with her body. In fact, if a virus secretly tells you that it believes in an evangelical Christian god, that doesn't change anything about how to best protect yourself.
On Saturday, South Dakota nurse Jodi Doering had a night off and decided to tweet about what she was seeing as her state. Doering's tweets were about COVID-19 patients who are literally dying from contracting the virus but still do not believe that the virus is real, or that they have it. She explained how sad and frustrating it was to watch people in such angry denial, furious that this hoax was being perpetrated on them, only to "stop yelling at you when they get intubated. It's like a fucking horror movie that never ends." On Monday, Doering was on CNN to talk about her experience. It was tragic and eye-opening.
In the interview, Doering explained that she really hadn't expected her tweets to go viral like this and was not blaming the victims of this virus or making a political statement. She was just reporting on some of what she was seeing. She explained she just became so sad thinking about the many patients she has seen who are in such denial and so angry that they are missing out on what is in many cases their final chances to speak with their families before passing away. And because Doering is an adult and a professional, she held CNN's Alisyn Camerota's hand to explain to her that she didn't take the anger of her patients personally. "I think it's just a belief that it's not real and nursing happens to be on the receiving end of that. And that's okay. That's where we're there for. It's just, in the bigger picture, when you try to reason with people, can I call your family, your kids, your wife, your friend, your brother? And they say, no, because I'm going to be fine," it really hits hard.
She said that since they first started seeing cases of COVID-19 in March, while they have gotten better at treating and alleviating some of the cases, they cannot defeat the surges in the virus and the political bullshit that comes with fighting against basic public health protections like social distancing and wearing masks. Asked about Gov. Kristi Noem's insistence in pretending that people should not wear masks if it makes them happier to do so, Doering explained that this wasn't political: "I think it's frustrating as a health care provider, because the last thing that we ask anyone when they seek care is how they voted or if they're a Democrat or a Republican. The last thing we ever think about is that. What we think about is how can I help you?"
South Dakota is under one of the most worthless governors in the history of the planet. Republican Noem's inability to show real leadership and mitigate the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in her state—which may arguably end up having been the largest superspreader event for the COVID-19 virus in the entire world—has led to thousands upon thousands of more deaths and illnesses, as well and billions in healthcare costs. Noem seems mostly interested in fundraising for her reelection campaign and thinking about ways to make money for her campaign, while her state and the country suffer from her terrible decisions and cowardly, ignorant abuses of power.