alternet--2020-10-09--How to stop America's slide toward tyranny

Without a shred of evidence , Trump claims that mail-in ballots are rife with fraud .
Rubbish .
Mail-in ballots , also called absentee ballots , have been used for years across America .
They have proven safe and secure .
Even the right-wing Heritage Foundation , after examining 36 years of mail-in ballots , found only 1,285 cases of voter fraud out of nearly two billion votes cast – a rate of .0000007 percent .
That 's about the same probability of being hit by an asteroid .
Or to put it another way , you are 10.5 times @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than for anyone to commit voter fraud .
Trump is raising doubts about mail-in ballots during this pandemic – when no one should have to choose between their health and their right to vote – because Trump is intent on contesting this election if he loses , and he knows that polls are showing him trailing Joe Biden .
Trump even refuses to commit to a peaceful transition of power .
He claimed , `` the only way we 're going to lose this election is if the election is rigged . ''
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ that he loses declare the votes invalid and certify their own slate of Trump electors in January .
His consigliere Roger Stone urges him to declare `` martial law '' if he loses .
Michael Caputo , assistant secretary of public affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services , warns `` the shooting will begin '' when Trump refuses to stand down .
And the white supremacist Proud Boys have already taken Trump 's words from the debate , `` stand down and stand by , '' as a signal to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Never before in the history of our country has a presidential candidate suggested he would n't abide by the results of an election .
Never before has a candidate refused to commit to a peaceful transition of power – the hallmark of our democracy .
This alone makes him unfit to serve a second term .
What can the rest of us do ?
We need a blow-out election – a vast wave of Joe Biden voters that will make it almost impossible for Trump to claim he 's the winner .
Here @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to make it happen , at MoveOn.org/ActNow : 1 ) Check your registration , and read over your state 's rules and deadlines for voting by mail , and in person .
2 ) Make a plan to vote .
There are many options for how to cast your ballot this year , so make sure you know exactly how and when you 're going to vote .
3 ) Do your research and make sure you 're informed about the measures and candidates down the ballot 4 ) Help your friends and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ too .
5 ) If you 're healthy , and feel safe doing so , consider volunteering to be a poll worker .
Being a poll worker will help mitigate long lines and keep the in-person voting process running smoothly .
This is our chance to change our nation 's terrifying course .
We can deliver a resounding defeat to Trump and every single one of his enablers , and stop our slide toward tyranny .
But it 's going to take each and every one of us .
Robert Reich , is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the University of California , Berkeley , and a senior fellow at the Blum Center for Developing Economies .
He served as secretary of labor in the Clinton administration , for which Time magazine named him one of the 10 most effective cabinet secretaries of the the twentieth century .
The author of many books , including the best-sellers Aftershock , The Work of Nations , Beyond Outrage and , Saving Capitalism .
He is also a founding editor of The American Prospect magazine , chairman of Common Cause , a member @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sciences , and co-creator of the award-winning documentary , `` Inequality For All . ''
Reich 's newest book is `` The Common Good . ''
He 's co-creator of the Netflix original documentary `` Saving Capitalism , '' which is streaming now .

Without a shred of evidence, Trump claims that mail-in ballots are rife with fraud. Rubbish. Mail-in ballots, also called absentee ballots, have been used for years across America. They have proven safe and secure.
Even the right-wing Heritage Foundation, after examining 36 years of mail-in ballots, found only 1,285 cases of voter fraud out of nearly two billion votes cast – a rate of .0000007 percent. That's about the same probability of being hit by an asteroid. Or to put it another way, you are 10.5 times MORE likely to be struck by lightning than for anyone to commit voter fraud.
Trump is raising doubts about mail-in ballots during this pandemic – when no one should have to choose between their health and their right to vote – because Trump is intent on contesting this election if he loses, and he knows that polls are showing him trailing Joe Biden.
Trump even refuses to commit to a peaceful transition of power. He claimed, "the only way we're going to lose this election is if the election is rigged."
He's also threatening to have states that he loses declare the votes invalid and certify their own slate of Trump electors in January.
His consigliere Roger Stone urges him to declare "martial law" if he loses. Michael Caputo, assistant secretary of public affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services, warns "the shooting will begin" when Trump refuses to stand down. And the white supremacist Proud Boys have already taken Trump's words from the debate, "stand down and stand by," as a signal to stoke violence in the coming weeks.
Never before in the history of our country has a presidential candidate suggested he wouldn't abide by the results of an election. Never before has a candidate refused to commit to a peaceful transition of power – the hallmark of our democracy. This alone makes him unfit to serve a second term.
What can the rest of us do? We need a blow-out election – a vast wave of Joe Biden voters that will make it almost impossible for Trump to claim he's the winner.
Here's what you can do right now to make it happen, at MoveOn.org/ActNow:
1) Check your registration, and read over your state's rules and deadlines for voting by mail, and in person.
2) Make a plan to vote. There are many options for how to cast your ballot this year, so make sure you know exactly how and when you're going to vote.
3) Do your research and make sure you're informed about the measures and candidates down the ballot
4) Help your friends and family make a plan to vote, too.
5) If you're healthy, and feel safe doing so, consider volunteering to be a poll worker. Being a poll worker will help mitigate long lines and keep the in-person voting process running smoothly.
This is our chance to change our nation's terrifying course. We can deliver a resounding defeat to Trump and every single one of his enablers, and stop our slide toward tyranny. But it's going to take each and every one of us.
Watch:
Robert Reich, is the Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and a senior fellow at the Blum Center for Developing Economies. He served as secretary of labor in the Clinton administration, for which Time magazine named him one of the 10 most effective cabinet secretaries of the the twentieth century. The author of many books, including the best-sellers Aftershock, The Work of Nations, Beyond Outrage and, Saving Capitalism. He is also a founding editor of The American Prospect magazine, chairman of Common Cause, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and co-creator of the award-winning documentary, "Inequality For All." Reich's newest book is "The Common Good." He's co-creator of the Netflix original documentary "Saving Capitalism," which is streaming now.


alternet--2020-10-09--An autoimmune-like antibody response is linked with severe COVID-19

In the earliest days of the pandemic , many immunologists , including me , assumed that patients who produced high quantities of antibodies early in infection would be free from disease .
We were wrong .
Several months into studying COVID-19 , like other scientists , I 've come to realize the picture is far more complicated .
A recent research study published by my colleagues and me adds more evidence to the idea that in some patients , preventing dysregulated immune system responses may be as important as treating the virus itself .
I am an immunologist at Emory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ignacio Sanz , Emory 's chief of rheumatology .
Immune dysregulation is our specialty .
A harrowing turn in the COVID-19 pandemic occurred with the realization that the immune system 's power in fighting infection was sometimes pyrrhic .
In patients with severe COVID-19 infections , evidence emerged that the inflammatory process used to fight the SARS-CoV-2 virus were , in addition to fighting the virus , potentially responsible for harming the patient .
Clinical studies described so-called cytokine storms in which the immune system produced an overwhelming quantity of inflammatory molecules , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of multiple organ systems , including blood vessels , in COVID-recovered children .
All these were warning signs that in some patients , immune responses to the SARS-CoV-2 virus , which causes COVID-19 , may have tipped from healing to destructive .
Quick thinking and courageous decisions made by physicians on the front lines led to the use of steroids , medicines that dampen the immune response , early on in the course of infection of hospitalized patients .
This approach has saved lives .
But it 's not yet clear what parts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that is having the effect .
Understanding the nature of immune dysregulation in COVID-19 could help identify patients in whom these treatments are most effective .
It may even justify more targeted and powerful approaches for modulating the immune system currently reserved for autoimmune diseases .
The right antibodies take time Antibodies are powerful weapons .
Produced by white blood cells called B cells , they latch onto infectious agents like viruses and bacteria and prevent them from infecting your healthy cells .
These antibody-virus aggregates unleash powerful inflammatory reactions and serve as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your immune system to target the pathogens efficiently .
In some circumstances , they can even kill .
Antibodies are so powerful that cases of mistaken identity – when a B cell produces antibodies that attack a person 's own cells – can lead to widespread organ damage and establish a perpetual cycle of immune self-targeting .
We refer to this state of self-destruction as an autoimmune disease .
To avoid autoimmune disaster , and to ensure effective response against the invading pathogen , B cells undergo a training process .
Those that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and mature , ensuring potent antibodies capable of disabling the invader .
B cells that target your own tissue are destroyed .
But that maturation process takes time .
Two weeks of B cell “ training '' during a severe infection can mean the difference between life and death .
Faster antibody responses are needed .
To bridge that gap , the immune system has an alternative form of B cell activation – called extrafollicular activation – that generates fast-acting antibodies that seem to bypass many of the known safety checks that accompany @ @ @ @ @ @ @ develop quickly , are short-lived by design and die back when the more targeted responses emerge onto the scene .
Except when they do n't .
Between 2015 and 2018 , our lab found that these extrafollicular immune system responses were a common characteristic of people who suffered from autoimmune diseases , such as lupus .
Patients suffering from this disease show chronically active extrafollicular responses that led to high levels of self-targeted antibodies and destruction of organs such as the lungs , heart and kidneys .
The presence of specific kinds of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the blood can be an important indicator of disease severity in lupus , and now also COVID-19 .
In a recently published paper , my colleagues and I have identified extrafollicular B cell signatures in cases of severe COVID-19 similar to those we saw in active lupus .
We showed that early on in the response to infection , patients with severe disease undergo a rapid activation of this fast-track pathway for antibody production .
These patients produce high levels of viral-specific antibodies , some which are capable of neutralizing the virus .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ antibodies , some that we saw look suspiciously like the ones found in autoimmune disorders such lupus .
In the end , patients with these autoimmune-like B cell responses fare poorly , with high incidences of systemic organ failure and death .
Let me be clear here : COVID-19 is not an autoimmune disorder .
The autoimmune-like inflammatory responses my team discovered could simply reflect a “ normal '' response to a viral infection already out of hand .
However , even if this kind of response is “ normal , '' it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dangerous .
These prolonged extrafollicular responses have been shown to contribute to autoimmune disease severity both through the production of self-targeted antibodies and through inflammation that can damage tissue like the lung and kidney .
This suggests that these early immune responses to a viral infection like COVID-19 are in tension with the later-targeted antibody response ; in other words , the body 's rapid antibody production to nab the virus runs the risk of targeting not the virus , but the patient 's own organs and tissues .
[ Deep knowledge , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's newsletter . ]
Immunologists like me need to learn more .
Why are only some patients turning on such strong extrafollicular B cell responses ?
Are the antibodies that result from this response particularly prone to attacking and destroying the host 's organs ?
Would an ongoing autoreactive response help explain instances of “ lingering '' COVID-19 even after the viral infection has cleared ?
Despite these uncertainties , the medical community needs to recognize that , in the appropriate patients , dampening immune responses through steroid treatment ( or perhaps even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ critical weapon in combating COVID-19 .
Physicians and scientists must continue to build our arsenal of therapeutics around the idea that in some cases of COVID-19 , controlling your response to the virus might be as important as controlling the virus itself .
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license .
Read the original article .

by Matthew Woodruff, Emory University
In the earliest days of the pandemic, many immunologists, including me, assumed that patients who produced high quantities of antibodies early in infection would be free from disease. We were wrong.
Several months into studying COVID-19, like other scientists, I've come to realize the picture is far more complicated. A recent research study published by my colleagues and me adds more evidence to the idea that in some patients, preventing dysregulated immune system responses may be as important as treating the virus itself.
I am an immunologist at Emory University working under the direction of Dr. Ignacio Sanz, Emory's chief of rheumatology. Immune dysregulation is our specialty.
Inflammation in COVID-19
A harrowing turn in the COVID-19 pandemic occurred with the realization that the immune system's power in fighting infection was sometimes pyrrhic. In patients with severe COVID-19 infections, evidence emerged that the inflammatory process used to fight the SARS-CoV-2 virus were, in addition to fighting the virus, potentially responsible for harming the patient. Clinical studies described so-called cytokine storms in which the immune system produced an overwhelming quantity of inflammatory molecules, antibodies triggering dangerous blood clots and inflammation of multiple organ systems, including blood vessels, in COVID-recovered children. All these were warning signs that in some patients, immune responses to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, may have tipped from healing to destructive.
Quick thinking and courageous decisions made by physicians on the front lines led to the use of steroids, medicines that dampen the immune response, early on in the course of infection of hospitalized patients. This approach has saved lives.
But it's not yet clear what parts of the immune system physicians are dampening that is having the effect. Understanding the nature of immune dysregulation in COVID-19 could help identify patients in whom these treatments are most effective. It may even justify more targeted and powerful approaches for modulating the immune system currently reserved for autoimmune diseases.
The right antibodies take time
Antibodies are powerful weapons. Produced by white blood cells called B cells, they latch onto infectious agents like viruses and bacteria and prevent them from infecting your healthy cells. These antibody-virus aggregates unleash powerful inflammatory reactions and serve as homing beacons that allow the rest of your immune system to target the pathogens efficiently. In some circumstances, they can even kill.
Antibodies are so powerful that cases of mistaken identity – when a B cell produces antibodies that attack a person's own cells – can lead to widespread organ damage and establish a perpetual cycle of immune self-targeting. We refer to this state of self-destruction as an autoimmune disease.
To avoid autoimmune disaster, and to ensure effective response against the invading pathogen, B cells undergo a training process. Those that respond to the virus refine their antibodies and mature, ensuring potent antibodies capable of disabling the invader. B cells that target your own tissue are destroyed.
But that maturation process takes time. Two weeks of B cell “training" during a severe infection can mean the difference between life and death. Faster antibody responses are needed. To bridge that gap, the immune system has an alternative form of B cell activation – called extrafollicular activation – that generates fast-acting antibodies that seem to bypass many of the known safety checks that accompany a more precise response.
Extrafollicular responses develop quickly, are short-lived by design and die back when the more targeted responses emerge onto the scene.
Except when they don't.
Autoimmune-like responses in COVID-19
Between 2015 and 2018, our lab found that these extrafollicular immune system responses were a common characteristic of people who suffered from autoimmune diseases, such as lupus. Patients suffering from this disease show chronically active extrafollicular responses that led to high levels of self-targeted antibodies and destruction of organs such as the lungs, heart and kidneys.
The presence of specific kinds of B cells generated by extrafollicular responses in the blood can be an important indicator of disease severity in lupus, and now also COVID-19.
In a recently published paper, my colleagues and I have identified extrafollicular B cell signatures in cases of severe COVID-19 similar to those we saw in active lupus. We showed that early on in the response to infection, patients with severe disease undergo a rapid activation of this fast-track pathway for antibody production. These patients produce high levels of viral-specific antibodies, some which are capable of neutralizing the virus. However, in addition to those protective antibodies, some that we saw look suspiciously like the ones found in autoimmune disorders such lupus.
In the end, patients with these autoimmune-like B cell responses fare poorly, with high incidences of systemic organ failure and death.
Tempering immune responses in COVID-19
Let me be clear here: COVID-19 is not an autoimmune disorder. The autoimmune-like inflammatory responses my team discovered could simply reflect a “normal" response to a viral infection already out of hand.
However, even if this kind of response is “normal," it doesn't mean that it's not dangerous. These prolonged extrafollicular responses have been shown to contribute to autoimmune disease severity both through the production of self-targeted antibodies and through inflammation that can damage tissue like the lung and kidney. This suggests that these early immune responses to a viral infection like COVID-19 are in tension with the later-targeted antibody response; in other words, the body's rapid antibody production to nab the virus runs the risk of targeting not the virus, but the patient's own organs and tissues.
[Deep knowledge, daily.Sign up for The Conversation's newsletter.]
Immunologists like me need to learn more. Why are only some patients turning on such strong extrafollicular B cell responses? Are the antibodies that result from this response particularly prone to attacking and destroying the host's organs? Would an ongoing autoreactive response help explain instances of “lingering" COVID-19 even after the viral infection has cleared?
Despite these uncertainties, the medical community needs to recognize that, in the appropriate patients, dampening immune responses through steroid treatment (or perhaps even more powerful autoimmune-focused therapies) is a critical weapon in combating COVID-19. Physicians and scientists must continue to build our arsenal of therapeutics around the idea that in some cases of COVID-19, controlling your response to the virus might be as important as controlling the virus itself.
Matthew Woodruff, Instructor, Lowance Center for Human Immunology, Emory University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.


alternet--2020-10-09--Trump flip-flops again — now wants to debate Biden in person

On Thursday , the Trump campaign said that the president wants to debate Joe Biden in person , following the @ @ @ @ @ even in spite of the president 's COVID-19 diagnosis .
The campaign pointed to the @ @ @ @ @ physician Dr. Sean Conley , who claimed earlier in the day that he believes the @ @ @ @ @ safely participate in public events as soon as Saturday — even though that is not @ @ @ @ @ quarantine deadline past the first positive COVID test .

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alternet--2020-10-09--Trump and Pence are doing their best to alienate women voters

If suburban women heard it once during the vice presidential debate on Wednesday , they heard some version of it more than a dozen times .
`` Mr. Vice President , I 'm speaking , '' Sen. Kamala Harris said , as she fought through Mike Pence 's verbal badgering to make the point that Donald Trump lied to the country about how lethal the coronavirus is .
Pence 's manner was n't nearly as bellicose as the disastrous performance Trump gave during last week 's presidential debate , but he still repeatedly talked over Harris and sought to steal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ MSNBC reported Thursday morning that Pence had interrupted Harris at least 16 times—giving the suburban women the Trump-Pence ticket so desperately needs at least 16 reasons to stick with the Biden-Harris ticket .
It 's not like it was a small transgression .
When debate moderator and USA Today Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page laid out the ground rules for the evening , she stipulated that Harris and Pence would have two minutes to respond to each question `` without interruption . ''
In fact , in an effort to preempt another debate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they had two minutes to respond `` without interruption '' or `` uninterrupted '' no less than 13 times .
But Pence , with all that honest-to-goodness white male privilege of his , clearly figured the rules did n't apply to him .
He talked over Page , he talked over Harris , and frankly , Harris repeatedly lobbied to be afforded more time after Pence siphoned away her precious seconds .
In fact , some of Harris ' biggest zingers came after she fought for extra time to make her points .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Harris reminded viewers that Trump was in court `` right now , trying to get rid of '' the Affordable Care Act , Page started to cut her off .
`` He interrupted me and I 'd like to just finish , please , '' Harris noted , before continuing , `` If you have a preexisting condition—heart disease , diabetes , breast cancer—they 're coming for you .
If you love someone who has a preexisting condition , they 're coming for you .
If you are under the age of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they 're coming for you . ''
Pence tried to cut Harris off , calling her charge `` nonsense , '' but it was a clear and forceful moment for Harris as she looked directly at the camera to address viewers watching from their living rooms across America .
But if Pence 's 16 interruptions were n't enough reasons for suburban women to stay in the Biden-Harris camp , here 's a 17th : Harris ultimately logged almost exactly as much speaking time as Pence , with Pence getting 36 minutes and 27 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 24 seconds .
Any woman who 's fought her way into a male-dominated conversation in a board room knows that equal time did n't come without a fight .
And if those 17 reasons were n't enough , Trump 's personal post-debate outreach to `` Suburban Housewives of America '' surely was .
Let 's count Trump 's two references to Harris as a `` monster '' on Thursday morning as reasons number 18 and 19 to flee the GOP ticket—as if the suburban women of America needed any more reasons to ditch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make one of the most important points of the night .

If suburban women heard it once during the vice presidential debate on Wednesday, they heard some version of it more than a dozen times. "Mr. Vice President, I'm speaking," Sen. Kamala Harris said, as she fought through Mike Pence's verbal badgering to make the point that Donald Trump lied to the country about how lethal the coronavirus is.
Pence's manner wasn't nearly as bellicose as the disastrous performance Trump gave during last week's presidential debate, but he still repeatedly talked over Harris and sought to steal her time throughout the hour-and-a-half debate. MSNBC reported Thursday morning that Pence had interrupted Harris at least 16 times—giving the suburban women the Trump-Pence ticket so desperately needs at least 16 reasons to stick with the Biden-Harris ticket.
It's not like it was a small transgression. When debate moderator and USA Today Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page laid out the ground rules for the evening, she stipulated that Harris and Pence would have two minutes to respond to each question "without interruption." In fact, in an effort to preempt another debate circus, Page reminded both candidates that they had two minutes to respond "without interruption" or "uninterrupted" no less than 13 times.
But Pence, with all that honest-to-goodness white male privilege of his, clearly figured the rules didn't apply to him. He talked over Page, he talked over Harris, and frankly, Harris repeatedly lobbied to be afforded more time after Pence siphoned away her precious seconds.
In fact, some of Harris' biggest zingers came after she fought for extra time to make her points. Roughly 30 minutes into the debate, as Harris reminded viewers that Trump was in court "right now, trying to get rid of" the Affordable Care Act, Page started to cut her off.
"He interrupted me and I'd like to just finish, please," Harris noted, before continuing, "If you have a preexisting condition—heart disease, diabetes, breast cancer—they're coming for you. If you love someone who has a preexisting condition, they're coming for you. If you are under the age of 26 on your parents' coverage, they're coming for you."
Pence tried to cut Harris off, calling her charge "nonsense," but it was a clear and forceful moment for Harris as she looked directly at the camera to address viewers watching from their living rooms across America.
But if Pence's 16 interruptions weren't enough reasons for suburban women to stay in the Biden-Harris camp, here's a 17th: Harris ultimately logged almost exactly as much speaking time as Pence, with Pence getting 36 minutes and 27 seconds to Harris' 36 minutes and 24 seconds. Any woman who's fought her way into a male-dominated conversation in a board room knows that equal time didn't come without a fight.
And if those 17 reasons weren't enough, Trump's personal post-debate outreach to "Suburban Housewives of America" surely was.
Let's count Trump's two references to Harris as a "monster" on Thursday morning as reasons number 18 and 19 to flee the GOP ticket—as if the suburban women of America needed any more reasons to ditch Republicans altogether.
Watch Harris fight to make one of the most important points of the night.


alternet--2020-10-10--Republicans are waging all-out war on democracy — and now they're openly admitting it

Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah sparked a backlash this week when made an undercurrent of the modern conservative movement and the driving ideology of the Republican Party explicit .
`` We 're not a democracy , '' Lee tweeted on Oct. 7 .
Twitter 's not exactly known for the capacity to have in-depth discussions on political philosophy , but Lee had n't even come close to using up his 280 characters .
After significant outrage stirred by his first tweet , Lee expanded on the idea the following day with a slightly longer message .
`` Democracy is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and [ prosperity ] are , '' he wrote .
`` We want the human condition to flourish .
Rank democracy can thwart that . ''
Again , it was a striking sentiment , and it inflamed critics who have accused the Lee and the GOP of systematically trying to disenfranchise constituencies they believe wo n't vote for Republicans .
But Lee did n't back down .
He went to the conservative outlet the Washington Examiner , which essentially transcribed his own defense of his claims with little analysis or reflection .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ which offered a more balanced take on the controversy .
And Conn Carroll , a spokesperson for Lee , provided a statement to Vox further defending the comments : At a time when Democrats want to pack the Court , eliminate the Electoral College , and turn the Senate into the House , it is very good that Americans are re-reading The Federalist Papers to rediscover why the founders put these specific republican checks on democratic passion into the Constitution .
But none of the defenses could shield from the fact that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dangerous anti-democratic element on the modern right-wing .
The instinct has always been there , in some form or another , but you would nevertheless hear Republicans pay lip-service to the idea of democracy .
Cynically , though , they began pushing extremely anti-democratic policies , such as restrictive voter ID laws and racial gerrymandering meant to dilute the votes of minorities and Democrats .
They offered pro-forma excuses for these policies , such as voting the virtually non-existent problem of voter fraud , but many surely knew that they were just taking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Lee 's remarks , however , show how those cynical power grabs can merge with an ideology that is intrinsically elitist and whose adherents know it 's deeply unpopular .
This creates a strong incentive to rationalize opposition to democracy and justify restricting the influence of ordinary citizens on the government .
The Utah senator 's willingness to be openly dismissive of democracy may signal that his party will be increasingly willing to not even espouse traditional democratic values .
This is n't likely to be a popular stance , but if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't matter .
Republicans , after all , already know they need to distort the playing field win and rule .
That 's why they concoct bizarre and ad hoc excuses for preserving the Electoral College , despite the fact that it was a ham-fisted compromise at the country 's founding that has served to put the more unpopular candidate in the White House twice in living memory .
That 's why they 're thrilled to appoint conservative Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court , breaking the countless promises they made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign and rushing the process in the weeks before an election .
They want their 6-3 conservative court , which can theoretically stand in the way of Democratic majorities in Congress and a Democratic president from enacting a popular agenda .
Loren Culp , Republican candidate for Washington Governor , articulated the objection to democracy in a recent video : This is exactly the point .
Republicans fear that , if the people are adequately represented in government , the government will have to do things they like , such as providing for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They deride providing such services as `` socialism , '' which the Republican mind can not abide .
In a recent column , the New York Times ' Jamelle Bouie dispelled the frequently touted nonsense that the United States is n't a `` democracy '' but a `` republic '' : For the founders , `` democracy '' did not mean majority rule in a system of representation .
The men who led the revolution and devised the Constitution were immersed in classical literature and political theory .
Ancient Greece , in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ When James Madison critiqued `` democracy '' in Federalist No .
10 , he meant the Athenian sort : `` a society consisting of a small number of citizens , who assemble and administer the government in person . ''
This he contrasted with a `` republic '' or `` a government in which the scheme of representation takes place . ''
Likewise , in a 1788 speech to the New York ratification convention , Alexander Hamilton disavowed `` the ancient democracies in which the people themselves deliberated . ''
They `` never @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' he said .
`` Their very character was tyranny ; their figure deformity . ''
In more modern terms , the founders feared `` direct democracy '' and accounted for its dangers with a system of `` representative democracy . ''
Yes , this `` republic '' had counter-majoritarian aspects , like equal representation of states in the Senate , the presidential veto and the Supreme Court .
But it was not designed for minority rule .
If there 's substance behind `` We 're a republic , not a democracy , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of American government .
There 's really no difference , in the present , between a `` republic '' and a `` democracy '' : Both connote systems of representation in which sovereignty and authority derive from the public at large .
The point of the slogan is n't to describe who we are , but to claim and co-opt the founding for right-wing politics — to naturalize political inequality and make it the proper order of things .
What lies behind that quip , in other words , is an impulse against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parcel of the drive to make American government a closed domain for a select , privileged few .
The anti-democratic impulse is commonplace on the right .
GOP Chair Ronna McDaniel , for example , celebrated on Thursday a series of court rulings that make it harder for the American people to vote : Meanwhile , Trump has explicitly said he thinks he needs Barrett to be approved by the Senate because he expects the Supreme Court to determine the result of the November election .
He 's not satisfied with simply competing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ least in 2016 , was tilted in his favor .
He 's run a months-long disinformation campaign attacking mail-in voting , claiming the election will be rigged , and demanding that his supporters become poll-watchers — likely as an attempt to intimidate Democrats who want to cast ballots .
He wants chaos , and then he wants his hand-picked justices to hand him the election , regardless of the will of the people .
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina , a Trump sycophant , seems to agree .
`` Now , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the election , but the court will decide , '' he said last month .
`` And , if the Republicans lose , we will accept that result .
But we need a full court , and I think that 's possible before the election . ''
So it should be clear that it 's not just a Trump phenomenon .
Republicans are committed to limiting the power of the voters to keep their hold on power .
And in turn , the fact that Republicans need to persuade a minority of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more radicalized , thus pushing them to dilute voters ' power even more .
And since gutting the Voting Rights Act , the conservative-dominated Supreme Court has repeatedly declined to act to preserve voting rights or increase access to the ballot .
With Barrett on the bench , that attitude is almost certain to be further entrenched .

Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah sparked a backlash this week when made an undercurrent of the modern conservative movement and the driving ideology of the Republican Party explicit.
"We're not a democracy," Lee tweeted on Oct. 7.
Twitter's not exactly known for the capacity to have in-depth discussions on political philosophy, but Lee hadn't even come close to using up his 280 characters. After significant outrage stirred by his first tweet, Lee expanded on the idea the following day with a slightly longer message.
"Democracy isn't the objective; liberty, peace, and [prosperity] are," he wrote. "We want the human condition to flourish. Rank democracy can thwart that."
Again, it was a striking sentiment, and it inflamed critics who have accused the Lee and the GOP of systematically trying to disenfranchise constituencies they believe won't vote for Republicans. But Lee didn't back down. He went to the conservative outlet the Washington Examiner, which essentially transcribed his own defense of his claims with little analysis or reflection. He shared a piece from DeseretNews, which offered a more balanced take on the controversy. And Conn Carroll, a spokesperson for Lee, provided a statement to Vox further defending the comments:
At a time when Democrats want to pack the Court, eliminate the Electoral College, and turn the Senate into the House, it is very good that Americans are re-reading The Federalist Papers to rediscover why the founders put these specific republican checks on democratic passion into the Constitution.
But none of the defenses could shield from the fact that the senator's sentiments reflect a growing and dangerous anti-democratic element on the modern right-wing. The instinct has always been there, in some form or another, but you would nevertheless hear Republicans pay lip-service to the idea of democracy. Cynically, though, they began pushing extremely anti-democratic policies, such as restrictive voter ID laws and racial gerrymandering meant to dilute the votes of minorities and Democrats. They offered pro-forma excuses for these policies, such as voting the virtually non-existent problem of voter fraud, but many surely knew that they were just taking whatever advantage they could to keep power.
Lee's remarks, however, show how those cynical power grabs can merge with an ideology that is intrinsically elitist and whose adherents know it's deeply unpopular. This creates a strong incentive to rationalize opposition to democracy and justify restricting the influence of ordinary citizens on the government. The Utah senator's willingness to be openly dismissive of democracy may signal that his party will be increasingly willing to not even espouse traditional democratic values. This isn't likely to be a popular stance, but if they get their way, that won't matter.
Republicans, after all, already know they need to distort the playing field win and rule. That's why they concoct bizarre and ad hoc excuses for preserving the Electoral College, despite the fact that it was a ham-fisted compromise at the country's founding that has served to put the more unpopular candidate in the White House twice in living memory. That's why they're thrilled to appoint conservative Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, breaking the countless promises they made to leave seats open during a presidential campaign and rushing the process in the weeks before an election. They want their 6-3 conservative court, which can theoretically stand in the way of Democratic majorities in Congress and a Democratic president from enacting a popular agenda.
Loren Culp, Republican candidate for Washington Governor, articulated the objection to democracy in a recent video:
This is exactly the point. Republicans fear that, if the people are adequately represented in government, the government will have to do things they like, such as providing for basic needs like health care and housing. They deride providing such services as "socialism," which the Republican mind cannot abide.
In a recent column, the New York Times' Jamelle Bouie dispelled the frequently touted nonsense that the United States isn't a "democracy" but a "republic":
For the founders, "democracy" did not mean majority rule in a system of representation. The men who led the revolution and devised the Constitution were immersed in classical literature and political theory. Ancient Greece, in particular, was a cautionary tale. When James Madison critiqued "democracy" in Federalist No. 10, he meant the Athenian sort: "a society consisting of a small number of citizens, who assemble and administer the government in person." This he contrasted with a "republic" or "a government in which the scheme of representation takes place." Likewise, in a 1788 speech to the New York ratification convention, Alexander Hamilton disavowed "the ancient democracies in which the people themselves deliberated." They "never possessed one good feature of government," he said. "Their very character was tyranny; their figure deformity."
In more modern terms, the founders feared "direct democracy" and accounted for its dangers with a system of "representative democracy." Yes, this "republic" had counter-majoritarian aspects, like equal representation of states in the Senate, the presidential veto and the Supreme Court. But it was not designed for minority rule.
...
If there's substance behind "We're a republic, not a democracy," it's not as a description of American government. There's really no difference, in the present, between a "republic" and a "democracy": Both connote systems of representation in which sovereignty and authority derive from the public at large.
The point of the slogan isn't to describe who we are, but to claim and co-opt the founding for right-wing politics — to naturalize political inequality and make it the proper order of things. What lies behind that quip, in other words, is an impulse against democratic representation. It is part and parcel of the drive to make American government a closed domain for a select, privileged few.
The anti-democratic impulse is commonplace on the right. GOP Chair Ronna McDaniel, for example, celebrated on Thursday a series of court rulings that make it harder for the American people to vote:
Meanwhile, Trump has explicitly said he thinks he needs Barrett to be approved by the Senate because he expects the Supreme Court to determine the result of the November election. He's not satisfied with simply competing in the Electoral College which, at least in 2016, was tilted in his favor. He's run a months-long disinformation campaign attacking mail-in voting, claiming the election will be rigged, and demanding that his supporters become poll-watchers — likely as an attempt to intimidate Democrats who want to cast ballots. He wants chaos, and then he wants his hand-picked justices to hand him the election, regardless of the will of the people.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a Trump sycophant, seems to agree.
"Now, we may have litigation about who won the election, but the court will decide," he said last month. "And, if the Republicans lose, we will accept that result. But we need a full court, and I think that's possible before the election."
So it should be clear that it's not just a Trump phenomenon. Republicans are committed to limiting the power of the voters to keep their hold on power. And in turn, the fact that Republicans need to persuade a minority of the country to win allows them to become more radicalized, thus pushing them to dilute voters' power even more.
And since gutting the Voting Rights Act, the conservative-dominated Supreme Court has repeatedly declined to act to preserve voting rights or increase access to the ballot. With Barrett on the bench, that attitude is almost certain to be further entrenched.


alternet--2020-10-09--New report warns of Bill Barr's devious voter suppression gambit

With one national poll after another showing President Donald Trump losing to former Vice President Joe Biden in November , the president and Attorney General William Barr continue to obsess over `` voter fraud . ''
They baselessly claim the crime is promoted by mail-in voting , despite its history as a reliable practice .
Journalist Pema Levy pointed out that Barr 's actions are part of a long a seedy history in an article published in Mother Jones this week , describing them as thinly veiled attempts at voter suppression .
`` A pattern has emerged in recent years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Levy explains .
`` Right before an election , Republican officials in battleground states announce voter fraud investigations .
The goal is obvious : suppressing turnout .
But what 's new this year is that this underhanded tactic is being employed by the president and the Justice Department . ''
Levy cites Georgia Gov .
Brian Kemp as an example of a Republican who has used bogus voter fraud claims to suppress turnout , recalling that only two days before the 2018 midterms , Kemp — who was Georgia 's secretary of state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with an explosive announcement : he was investigating the state Democratic Party for attempting to hack into the state 's voter registration system . ''
`` At the time , Kemp was both the state 's top election official and the Republican nominee for governor in a dead-heat race against Democrat Stacey Abrams , '' Levy notes .
`` Kemp had a history of bogus voter fraud allegations against his political opponents , and many recognized the brazen tactic this time .
Election law expert Rick Hasen called it 'perhaps the most outrageous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ modern era ' and 'banana republic stuff . '
'' But in May 2020 , Levy adds , Georgia 's Republican attorney general `` confirmed what was suspected all along : there was no evidence of any crime . ''
Republicans , Levy stresses , `` have a long history of making false allegations of voter fraud , only to see their accusations fall apart once scrutinized .
But airing such charges right before an election threatens to destabilize and delegitimize it . ''
This year , according to Levy , one is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the Justice Department itself — and it appears to be part of Barr 's ongoing effort to transform the ( DOJ ) into an arm of the Trump campaign , ready to engage in a longstanding GOP voter suppression tactic . ''
Barr , Levy warns , is showing that he is ready to `` possibly aid the Trump campaign 's legal efforts to get ballots tossed during the vote-counting process . ''
When the U.S. Senate confirmed Barr as U.S. attorney general in 2019 , Levy recalls , he was hailed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to show how much of a Trump loyalist he was when he `` misrepresented '' the findings of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller 's Russia investigation and `` interfered '' in the DOJ 's investigation of long-time Trump ally Roger Stone .
And during this year 's presidential election , Levy predicts , Barr will to do whatever he can to help Trump win reelection .
`` Since Barr has torched his credibility , '' Levy writes , `` any allegations of fraud emanating from the Justice Department in the coming weeks should @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an old playbook .
You 've been warned . ''

With one national poll after another showing President Donald Trump losing to former Vice President Joe Biden in November, the president and Attorney General William Barr continue to obsess over "voter fraud." They baselessly claim the crime is promoted by mail-in voting, despite its history as a reliable practice. Journalist Pema Levy pointed out that Barr's actions are part of a long a seedy history in an article published in Mother Jones this week, describing them as thinly veiled attempts at voter suppression.
"A pattern has emerged in recent years that's easy to spot," Levy explains. "Right before an election, Republican officials in battleground states announce voter fraud investigations. The goal is obvious: suppressing turnout. But what's new this year is that this underhanded tactic is being employed by the president and the Justice Department."
Levy cites Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp as an example of a Republican who has used bogus voter fraud claims to suppress turnout, recalling that only two days before the 2018 midterms, Kemp — who was Georgia's secretary of state before becoming governor — "came out with an explosive announcement: he was investigating the state Democratic Party for attempting to hack into the state's voter registration system."
"At the time, Kemp was both the state's top election official and the Republican nominee for governor in a dead-heat race against Democrat Stacey Abrams," Levy notes. "Kemp had a history of bogus voter fraud allegations against his political opponents, and many recognized the brazen tactic this time. Election law expert Rick Hasen called it 'perhaps the most outrageous example of election administration partisanship in the modern era' and 'banana republic stuff.'"
But in May 2020, Levy adds, Georgia's Republican attorney general "confirmed what was suspected all along: there was no evidence of any crime." Republicans, Levy stresses, "have a long history of making false allegations of voter fraud, only to see their accusations fall apart once scrutinized. But airing such charges right before an election threatens to destabilize and delegitimize it."
This year, according to Levy, one is seeing "an increase in fraud allegations from the Justice Department itself — and it appears to be part of Barr's ongoing effort to transform the (DOJ) into an arm of the Trump campaign, ready to engage in a longstanding GOP voter suppression tactic."
Barr, Levy warns, is showing that he is ready to "possibly aid the Trump campaign's legal efforts to get ballots tossed during the vote-counting process."
When the U.S. Senate confirmed Barr as U.S. attorney general in 2019, Levy recalls, he was hailed as "by-the-book institutionalist" — only to show how much of a Trump loyalist he was when he "misrepresented" the findings of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation and "interfered" in the DOJ's investigation of long-time Trump ally Roger Stone. And during this year's presidential election, Levy predicts, Barr will to do whatever he can to help Trump win reelection.
"Since Barr has torched his credibility," Levy writes, "any allegations of fraud emanating from the Justice Department in the coming weeks should be viewed skeptically. Barr is using an old playbook. You've been warned."


alternet--2020-10-09--Trump's resignation would save countless lives

According him more compassion than he has shown others who have died due to his malicious negligence , I wish President Trump a full recovery from COVID-19 , even though he brought this on himself through his wanton recklessness .
Most people did not .
Most people who have contracted the deadly disease would not share Trump 's view that it is a `` blessing from God . ''
When faced with the biggest test of his presidency , Donald Trump failed the American people in just about every way imaginable .
Despite being the wealthiest nation on earth , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID-related deaths .
Every day , more innocent Americans die from the coronavirus who did n't have to die , but it does n't have to be this way .
Donald Trump could perform a great public service and save countless lives by immediately resigning .
Almost seven months after the coronavirus outbreak was declared a public health emergency—with hundreds of Americans dying daily—we still have no coordinated national response to the pandemic .
In fact , we do n't even have empathy .
Instead , we are served up shrugs ( `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and cold-hearted chaos by design .
It 's every state for itself , all in the myopic hope that the economy will somehow rebound just enough in time to re-elect Trump & Co. Donald Trump treats the American people—including his loyal supporters—as expendable resources to be exploited for his personal and political gain .
He does n't care about us .
It 's all about him .
A president who values his own ambitions more than the lives and safety of the American people is not morally fit to lead .
No fan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I am surprised to find myself quoting one of his former speechwriters , David Frum , but facts are facts : `` That the pandemic occurred is not Trump 's fault .
The utter unpreparedness of the United States for a pandemic is Trump 's fault .
The loss of stockpiled respirators to breakage because the federal government let maintenance contracts lapse in 2018 is Trump 's fault .
The failure to store sufficient protective medical gear in the national arsenal is Trump 's fault .
Air travelers summoned home and forced to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alongside infected people ?
That was Trump 's fault too .
Ten weeks of insisting that the coronavirus is a harmless flu that would miraculously go away on its own ?
Trump 's fault again . ''
And lest we forget , it was Trump & Co. that recklessly disbanded America 's global pandemic response team , leaving us even more physically and economically vulnerable to this deadly disease .
As if all of that were not enough , Trump is now pulling the United States out of the World Health Organization in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Along with preserving , protecting , and defending the U.S. Constitution ( which Donald Trump consistently refuses to do ) , there is no more important job of the president of the United States than defending the American people .
When it comes to safeguarding the citizenry , the buck stops at the Oval Office .
Yet President Trump just passes the buck .
Time and again , he has displayed callous disregard for the health and welfare of the people he is charged with protecting .
This is not an opinion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's review Donald Trump 's botched response to the pandemic .
His initial reaction was to try to wish it away .
When it failed to `` miraculously '' disappear , he resorted to deadly delay ( asked if he would accept responsibility for the delay in administering tests , he replied : `` I do n't take responsibility at all. ''
) .
He claimed without shame that he directed a slowdown in testing to make himself look better .
He fixated on hydroxychloroquine .
He floated the idea of injecting or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in calls to poison control centers because of his comments , he feigned ignorance , saying , `` I ca n't imagine why , '' again refusing to take responsibility for the predictable panic that ensued ) .
He encouraged armed protesters to `` liberate '' their states from public health measures .
He buried a CDC report designed to help safely guide the reopening of the economy .
He endangered the health and lives of our children , and teachers , by attacking the CDC 's school reopening guidelines .
He even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the health care coverage of more than 20 million Americans during a national public health emergency .
That 's not all .
He tried to fool us into believing a vaccine will be ready for wide distribution this fall , despite CDC Director Robert Redfield informing us it wo n't be ready until sometime in 2021 .
He disputed Redfield 's finding that masks are the best way to keep the virus from spreading .
He refused to lead by example by simply donning a mask in public until July , while denigrating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He put the public at risk by holding campaign rallies with thousands of unmasked fans .
He campaigned in front of 1,500 mostly unmasked supporters packed together on the White House lawn .
He mingled unmasked with attendees at a crowded Rose Garden ceremony for his Supreme Court nominee .
He hobnobbed with donors in New Jersey despite knowing he had been exposed to the virus .
He went out for a joy ride while being treated for COVID-19 at Walter Reed , recklessly putting his Secret Service detail in harms way .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ he walked into the White House unmasked , selfishly endangering the lives of residence staff with his contagion .
What kind of president does this ?
For that matter , what kind of person does this ?
Belying his public comments , President Trump admitted to Bob Woodward on tape that he purposefully played down the virus threat , and still does .
Trump told Woodward during a February 7 interview : `` You just breathe the air and that 's how it 's passed . ''
He also admitted to Woodward during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deadly stuff . ''
Our president knew and failed to warn us .
This is an unforgivable betrayal of the public trust .
Trump lied and people died .
COVID-19 has now claimed more than 210,000 American lives , with the Trump Death Clock estimating that more than half those people died due to Trump 's inaction .
This is one of the worst derelictions of duty in the 244-year history of our nation .
On top of the innocent lives lost , more than 7 million Americans are infected , many millions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their employer-provided health insurance ) and the economy is in tatters , with minority communities suffering the most .
In fairness to President Trump , this is not all his fault , but much of it is .
Any normal president , like , say , a President Joe Biden , would have rallied a national response to the pandemic , but Donald Trump refused .
He still refuses .
Instead of leading , he rampages .
Like a human wrecking ball , Trump 's callousness has wrecked our families ; his incompetence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has wrecked our global reputation ; and he is determined to wreck the Republic .
How many more of our fellow Americans must suffer economic misery , how many more must die , at the hands of this man ?
It would take a bigger person than Donald Trump to step down to save innocent lives , but that does not absolve me of my civic duty to say he needs to .
Too many Americans have needlessly suffered and died on his watch .
Every day he remains in office , more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time to close the curtain on Trump 's cruel carnival of carnage .
It is time for him to resign .

by Tom Weis
According him more compassion than he has shown others who have died due to his malicious negligence, I wish President Trump a full recovery from COVID-19, even though he brought this on himself through his wanton recklessness. Most people did not. Most people who have contracted the deadly disease would not share Trump's view that it is a "blessing from God."
When faced with the biggest test of his presidency, Donald Trump failed the American people in just about every way imaginable. Despite being the wealthiest nation on earth, the United States leads the world in COVID-related deaths. Every day, more innocent Americans die from the coronavirus who didn't have to die, but it doesn't have to be this way. Donald Trump could perform a great public service and save countless lives by immediately resigning.
Almost seven months after the coronavirus outbreak was declared a public health emergency—with hundreds of Americans dying daily—we still have no coordinated national response to the pandemic. In fact, we don't even have empathy. Instead, we are served up shrugs ("It is what it is") and cold-hearted chaos by design. It's every state for itself, all in the myopic hope that the economy will somehow rebound just enough in time to re-elect Trump & Co. Donald Trump treats the American people—including his loyal supporters—as expendable resources to be exploited for his personal and political gain. He doesn't care about us. It's all about him. A president who values his own ambitions more than the lives and safety of the American people is not morally fit to lead.
No fan of former President George W. Bush, I am surprised to find myself quoting one of his former speechwriters, David Frum, but facts are facts: "That the pandemic occurred is not Trump's fault. The utter unpreparedness of the United States for a pandemic is Trump's fault. The loss of stockpiled respirators to breakage because the federal government let maintenance contracts lapse in 2018 is Trump's fault. The failure to store sufficient protective medical gear in the national arsenal is Trump's fault. Air travelers summoned home and forced to stand for hours in dense airport crowds alongside infected people? That was Trump's fault too. Ten weeks of insisting that the coronavirus is a harmless flu that would miraculously go away on its own? Trump's fault again." And lest we forget, it was Trump & Co. that recklessly disbanded America's global pandemic response team, leaving us even more physically and economically vulnerable to this deadly disease. As if all of that were not enough, Trump is now pulling the United States out of the World Health Organization in the midst of a raging global pandemic.
Along with preserving, protecting, and defending the U.S. Constitution (which Donald Trump consistently refuses to do), there is no more important job of the president of the United States than defending the American people. When it comes to safeguarding the citizenry, the buck stops at the Oval Office. Yet President Trump just passes the buck. Time and again, he has displayed callous disregard for the health and welfare of the people he is charged with protecting. This is not an opinion. This is documented fact.
Let's review Donald Trump's botched response to the pandemic. His initial reaction was to try to wish it away. When it failed to "miraculously" disappear, he resorted to deadly delay (asked if he would accept responsibility for the delay in administering tests, he replied: "I don't take responsibility at all."). He claimed without shame that he directed a slowdown in testing to make himself look better. He fixated on hydroxychloroquine. He floated the idea of injecting or inhaling disinfectants (asked about the spike in calls to poison control centers because of his comments, he feigned ignorance, saying, "I can't imagine why," again refusing to take responsibility for the predictable panic that ensued). He encouraged armed protesters to "liberate" their states from public health measures. He buried a CDC report designed to help safely guide the reopening of the economy. He endangered the health and lives of our children, and teachers, by attacking the CDC's school reopening guidelines. He even asked the Supreme Court to strip away the health care coverage of more than 20 million Americans during a national public health emergency.
That's not all. He tried to fool us into believing a vaccine will be ready for wide distribution this fall, despite CDC Director Robert Redfield informing us it won't be ready until sometime in 2021. He disputed Redfield's finding that masks are the best way to keep the virus from spreading. He refused to lead by example by simply donning a mask in public until July, while denigrating Joe Biden for responsibly wearing one. He put the public at risk by holding campaign rallies with thousands of unmasked fans. He campaigned in front of 1,500 mostly unmasked supporters packed together on the White House lawn. He mingled unmasked with attendees at a crowded Rose Garden ceremony for his Supreme Court nominee. He hobnobbed with donors in New Jersey despite knowing he had been exposed to the virus. He went out for a joy ride while being treated for COVID-19 at Walter Reed, recklessly putting his Secret Service detail in harms way. Then fresh out of the hospital, he walked into the White House unmasked, selfishly endangering the lives of residence staff with his contagion.
What kind of president does this? For that matter, what kind of person does this?
Belying his public comments, President Trump admitted to Bob Woodward on tape that he purposefully played down the virus threat, and still does. Trump told Woodward during a February 7 interview: "You just breathe the air and that's how it's passed." He also admitted to Woodward during that same interview: "This is deadly stuff." Our president knew and failed to warn us. This is an unforgivable betrayal of the public trust. Trump lied and people died.
COVID-19 has now claimed more than 210,000 American lives, with the Trump Death Clock estimating that more than half those people died due to Trump's inaction. This is one of the worst derelictions of duty in the 244-year history of our nation. On top of the innocent lives lost, more than 7 million Americans are infected, many millions more have lost their jobs (and their employer-provided health insurance) and the economy is in tatters, with minority communities suffering the most. In fairness to President Trump, this is not all his fault, but much of it is. Any normal president, like, say, a President Joe Biden, would have rallied a national response to the pandemic, but Donald Trump refused. He still refuses. Instead of leading, he rampages. Like a human wrecking ball, Trump's callousness has wrecked our families; his incompetence has wrecked our economy; his crudeness has wrecked our global reputation; and he is determined to wreck the Republic. How many more of our fellow Americans must suffer economic misery, how many more must die, at the hands of this man?
It would take a bigger person than Donald Trump to step down to save innocent lives, but that does not absolve me of my civic duty to say he needs to. Too many Americans have needlessly suffered and died on his watch. Every day he remains in office, more will suffer and die. It is time to close the curtain on Trump's cruel carnival of carnage. It is time for him to resign.


alternet--2020-10-09--Trump plans his next White House superspreader event for Saturday

Nose-to-the-grindstone Donald Trump is getting back to his mission : personally spreading the coronavirus to as many Americans as humanly possible .
So even as the White House continues to dodge all questions concerning Trump 's COVID-19 status , Trump is planning an event Saturday ( yes , Oct .
10 ! )
with hundreds of people for `` his first in-person event since he announced he had tested positive for the coronavirus , '' reports The New York Times .
Enticing !
Who exactly will show nobody knows , since most of Trump 's besties are still sidelined following @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But Trump will reportedly reprise his triumphant `` Covita '' return from Walter Reed Medical Center earlier this week .
One person who clearly wo n't be there is GOP Majority Leader Mitch McConnell , who told reporters Thursday he had deliberately steered clear of the White House since August since it was clearly a COVID-19 hot zone in the making based on its lax protocols .
Nonetheless , Trump deftly sidestepped McConnell on the way to infecting several members of the Senate Republican caucus , hobbling the U.S. military 's top @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one of the `` most dangerous places in the country , '' as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi put it .
Tragically , Trump 's superspreader event for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett may have also sent the virus back to Barrett 's community , where one teacher and two students recently tested positive at the small private school in South Bend , Indiana , which is attended by some of Barrett 's children .
Anyway , things could change .
As of yesterday , Trump was also planning a campaign stop in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was n't .
And after calling off coronavirus relief negotiations a couple days ago , Trump is now demanding the biggest , bestest deal ever .
So , yeah , Trump 's not well .
Things could change .

Nose-to-the-grindstone Donald Trump is getting back to his mission: personally spreading the coronavirus to as many Americans as humanly possible.
So even as the White House continues to dodge all questions concerning Trump's COVID-19 status, Trump is planning an event Saturday (yes, Oct. 10!) with hundreds of people for "his first in-person event since he announced he had tested positive for the coronavirus," reports TheNew York Times.
Enticing! Who exactly will show nobody knows, since most of Trump's besties are still sidelined following his last coronavirus bash two weeks ago. But Trump will reportedly reprise his triumphant "Covita" return from Walter Reed Medical Center earlier this week.
The president was expected to make remarks from one of the balconies at the White House to the crowd, which was expected to include people attending an event elsewhere in Washington staged by a Trump supporter, Candace Owens, one of the people familiar with the plans said.
One person who clearly won't be there is GOP Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who told reporters Thursday he had deliberately steered clear of the White House since August since it was clearly a COVID-19 hot zone in the making based on its lax protocols.
Nonetheless, Trump deftly sidestepped McConnell on the way to infecting several members of the Senate Republican caucus, hobbling the U.S. military's top brass and turning the White House into one of the "most dangerous places in the country," as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi put it. Tragically, Trump's superspreader event for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett may have also sent the virus back to Barrett's community, where one teacher and two students recently tested positive at the small private school in South Bend, Indiana, which is attended by some of Barrett's children.
Anyway, things could change. As of yesterday, Trump was also planning a campaign stop in Pennsylvania. As of today, he wasn't. And after calling off coronavirus relief negotiations a couple days ago, Trump is now demanding the biggest, bestest deal ever.
So, yeah, Trump's not well. Things could change.


alternet--2020-10-09--Republicans' key electoral coalition appears to be 'in danger of coming apart'

During the 1980s and 1990s , political pundits used the term `` Solid South '' to refer to the seemingly impenetrable red wall that Republicans had achieved in southern states — which was a big departure from the years in which that term referred to all the southern states that allied themselves with the Democratic Party .
Now , the Republican Party finds itself losing ground in the Sun Belt , and that shift is the focus of a New York Times article by reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns .
The piece not only describes the ground that Republicans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Deep South , but also , in southwestern states like Arizona — which has evolved into a swing state after being heavily Republican for generations .
`` Nowhere has [ President Donald ] Trump harmed himself and his party more than across the Sun Belt , where the electoral coalition that secured a generation of Republican dominance is in danger of coming apart , '' Martin and Burns explain .
Certainly , some of the southern states are still deeply Republican , including Mississippi , Alabama and Louisiana .
But Florida has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Georgia are two Sun Belt states that could be described as `` light red '' rather than `` deep red '' at this point , and recent polls indicate that both states are in play for former Vice President Joe Biden in this year 's presidential election .
Martin and Burns cite Trump 's response to the coronavirus pandemic as one of the reasons why Biden is competitive in both the southeastern and southwestern parts of the Sun Belt .
`` Many of the Sun Belt states seemingly within Mr. Biden 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to battle the coronavirus , '' the Times reporters note .
`` As a result , states like Arizona , Georgia and Texas faced a powerful wave of infections for much of the summer , setting back efforts to revive commercial activity . ''
Two of the Republicans who candidly discussed the GOP 's problems in the Sun Belt are former Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake and Oklahoma City Mayor David F. Holt .
Flake , a conservative who has endorsed Biden , said of Trump , `` There are limits to what people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ untruthfulness , just the whole persona . ''
And Holt told the Times , `` Cities in states like Arizona and Texas are attracting young people , highly-educated people and people of color — all groups that the national Republican Party has walked away from the last four years .
This losing demographic bet against big cities and their residents is putting Sun Belt states in play . ''
If recent polls are accurate , Biden has a good chance of winning more Sun Belt states than Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Colorado , New Mexico and , of course , deep blue California , but Trump won Florida , Georgia , Texas , Arizona and both of the Carolinas .
`` Even as he stunned Hillary Clinton in three crucial Great Lakes states , ( Trump ) lost Colorado , Nevada and New Mexico and fared worse in Arizona , Texas and Georgia than Mitt Romney had four years earlier , '' Martin and Burns note .
`` Two years later , Democrats performed even better in a series of high-profile races across the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of color . ''
One Democrat who is very bullish on Biden 's prospects in Texas is former Rep. Beto O'Rourke , who lost to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz by only 2 % when he challenged him in the 2018 midterms .
The fact that a Democrat came within striking distance of Cruz in a statewide race in Texas — which Democratic strategists had written off as out of reach for their party — was one of 2018 's biggest political shockers .
`` Texas is really Biden 's to lose if he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his time and presence in the state , '' O'Rourke told the Times .
`` He can not only win our 38 electoral votes , but really help down-ballot Democrats , lock in our maps for ten years , deny Trump the chance to declare victory illegally and send Trumpism on the run . ''
Meanwhile , in Arizona , centrist Democrat Mark Kelly — according to a long list of polls — stands a good chance of defeating incumbent Republican Sen. Martha McSally .
If Kelly is successful , a state that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ politics of Sen. Barry Goldwater and later , Sen. John McCain , will have two Democratic U.S. senators in 2021 .
Describing the fears of Arizona Republicans , Martin and Burns explain , `` If the election… .
unfolds like many Arizona Republicans are dreading it might , they will , in two years , have lost the presidential race , both Senate seats , both chambers of the state legislature — and watched as voters approved a ballot measure levying a surtax on the wealthy for increased education funding . ''
Thirty-two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many pundits at CBS , NBC and ABC commented on how badly former Massachusetts Gov .
Mike Dukakis , a Democrat , had lost the presidential election to Republican Vice President George H.W .
Bush in the Sun Belt — pointing out that Dukakis lost one state after another in the Deep South as well as the Southwest .
Democrats , pundits predicted , would face an uphill climb in their battle to regain ground in the Sun Belt .
But this year , if polls are right , Biden might be headed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

During the 1980s and 1990s, political pundits used the term "Solid South" to refer to the seemingly impenetrable red wall that Republicans had achieved in southern states — which was a big departure from the years in which that term referred to all the southern states that allied themselves with the Democratic Party. Now, the Republican Party finds itself losing ground in the Sun Belt, and that shift is the focus of a New York Times article by reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns.
The piece not only describes the ground that Republicans have been losing in parts of the Deep South, but also, in southwestern states like Arizona — which has evolved into a swing state after being heavily Republican for generations.
"Nowhere has [President Donald] Trump harmed himself and his party more than across the Sun Belt, where the electoral coalition that secured a generation of Republican dominance is in danger of coming apart," Martin and Burns explain.
Certainly, some of the southern states are still deeply Republican, including Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. But Florida has been a swing state. Meanwhile, Texas and Georgia are two Sun Belt states that could be described as "light red" rather than "deep red" at this point, and recent polls indicate that both states are in play for former Vice President Joe Biden in this year's presidential election.
Martin and Burns cite Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic as one of the reasons why Biden is competitive in both the southeastern and southwestern parts of the Sun Belt.
"Many of the Sun Belt states seemingly within Mr. Biden's reach resisted the most stringent public-health policies to battle the coronavirus," the Times reporters note. "As a result, states like Arizona, Georgia and Texas faced a powerful wave of infections for much of the summer, setting back efforts to revive commercial activity."
Two of the Republicans who candidly discussed the GOP's problems in the Sun Belt are former Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake and Oklahoma City Mayor David F. Holt. Flake, a conservative who has endorsed Biden, said of Trump, "There are limits to what people can take with the irresponsibility, the untruthfulness, just the whole persona." And Holt told the Times, "Cities in states like Arizona and Texas are attracting young people, highly-educated people and people of color — all groups that the national Republican Party has walked away from the last four years. This losing demographic bet against big cities and their residents is putting Sun Belt states in play."
If recent polls are accurate, Biden has a good chance of winning more Sun Belt states than Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton did in 2016. Clinton carried Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico and, of course, deep blue California, but Trump won Florida, Georgia, Texas, Arizona and both of the Carolinas.
"Even as he stunned Hillary Clinton in three crucial Great Lakes states, (Trump) lost Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico and fared worse in Arizona, Texas and Georgia than Mitt Romney had four years earlier," Martin and Burns note. "Two years later, Democrats performed even better in a series of high-profile races across the region with college-educated white voters and people of color."
One Democrat who is very bullish on Biden's prospects in Texas is former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, who lost to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz by only 2% when he challenged him in the 2018 midterms. The fact that a Democrat came within striking distance of Cruz in a statewide race in Texas — which Democratic strategists had written off as out of reach for their party — was one of 2018's biggest political shockers.
"Texas is really Biden's to lose if he invests now, and that must include his time and presence in the state," O'Rourke told the Times. "He can not only win our 38 electoral votes, but really help down-ballot Democrats, lock in our maps for ten years, deny Trump the chance to declare victory illegally and send Trumpism on the run."
Meanwhile, in Arizona, centrist Democrat Mark Kelly — according to a long list of polls — stands a good chance of defeating incumbent Republican Sen. Martha McSally. If Kelly is successful, a state that was once synonymous with the conservative GOP politics of Sen. Barry Goldwater and later, Sen. John McCain, will have two Democratic U.S. senators in 2021.
Describing the fears of Arizona Republicans, Martin and Burns explain, "If the election…. unfolds like many Arizona Republicans are dreading it might, they will, in two years, have lost the presidential race, both Senate seats, both chambers of the state legislature — and watched as voters approved a ballot measure levying a surtax on the wealthy for increased education funding."
Thirty-two years ago on Election Night 1988, many pundits at CBS, NBC and ABC commented on how badly former Massachusetts Gov. Mike Dukakis, a Democrat, had lost the presidential election to Republican Vice President George H.W. Bush in the Sun Belt — pointing out that Dukakis lost one state after another in the Deep South as well as the Southwest. Democrats, pundits predicted, would face an uphill climb in their battle to regain ground in the Sun Belt.
But this year, if polls are right, Biden might be headed for a lot of Sun Belt victories.


alternet--2020-10-09--Trump getting COVID is the quintessential October Surprise for science denial

This piece first appeared at The Real News Network .
Back in 2012 , climate science denial created an `` October Surprise '' moment for the presidential election and a turning point against the presidential prospects of Republican candidate Mitt Romney .
In 2020 science denial is again a game changer , this time for Republican President Donald Trump , who has continued to downplay COVID-19 's seriousness , even after he was hospitalized for the disease which has killed more than 210,000 Americans .
A month before Hurricane Sandy reached landfall first in Atlantic City , New Jersey , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 37 people in New Jersey and 44 in New York , and causing $ 70 billion worth of damage , Romney downplayed the threat of the climate crisis .
`` President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans , '' said Romney , pausing to do a clearly scripted lip bite , as if to stop himself from laughing along with the audience .
`` And to heal the planet .
My promise is to help you and your family . ''
On Oct. 31 , just two days @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now-defunct group Forecast the Facts released an advertisement titled `` Romney vs .
Sandy . ''
It got hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube , a huge haul for a climate video , and aired in key swing state TV markets .
`` Mitt Romney must hope we forgot that he mocked climate change at the Republican National Convention , to the raucous cheers and applause of the GOP delegates , '' Brad Johnson , then a campaign manager for the group Forecast the Facts and now a progressive political consultant based @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the time in a press release introducing the video .
`` We did n't forget .
We 're putting out this video to remind every voter struck by Sandy that Mitt Romney thinks the poisoning of our weather is a joke . ''
RL Miller , then an independent climate activist and today a member of the Democratic National Committee and executive director of the group Climate Hawks Vote , explains that Romney 's rhetoric parallels Trump 's downplaying of the novel coronavirus in recent days , weeks and months .
Johnson , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and move it through the blogosphere , said he believes what links 2012 and 2020 together is that the Republican Party still has a stance antithetical to science .
Miller added that this year , `` the messaging writes itself '' for Trump and COVID-19 .
`` I think the only problem is that too many are going to make the same point over and over and over again , '' she said .
`` Trump has said a lot of stupid things regarding COVID throughout the last six months and it 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ added that while there is much to criticize about Biden when it comes to the climate crisis and his lack of support for single-payer healthcare during a pandemic , he is nevertheless , the head of a `` party that , like , accepts that science is real and that government can help . ''
What magnified the Sandy moment all the more in 2012 was the fact that , up until that point , climate change was hardly discussed at all on the campaign trail by either candidate .
Obama was in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and exports buildout throughout the United States and spreading fracking globally .
Meanwhile , Romney 's campaign had a press secretary who was a former fossil fuel industry public relations operative named Andrea Saul , with a public relations background in climate change denial .
Saul said in 2011 that `` CO2 is a naturally occurring gas .
Humans emit it every time they exhale . ''
All of the presidential debates also were devoid of discussion on climate change , provoking a campaign by advocacy groups to end `` climate silence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ completely flipping the election season script .
Climate change went from outside of presidential discourse to the center of the race , just over a week before Election Day .
This was epitomized by a Bloomberg Businesweek cover story published on Nov. 2 , four days before the public went to the polls , with the iconic headline `` It 's Global Warming , Stupid . ''
Sandy compelled Obama to react in his role out in the field as a commander-in-chief first responder , even forging an alliance with Republican New Jersey @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has COVID-19 , and helped prepare Trump prepare for his first debate against Biden .
Christie is one of five people , out of 10 total , who came out of the debate preparation session with the virus .
In Obama 's first comments on climate change during his entire 2012 campaign , Obama said in an Oct. 27 interview on MTV that `` we 're not moving as fast as we need to '' on taking climate action .
`` And this is an issue that future generations , MTV viewers , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with even more than the older generation , '' Obama continued .
`` And there is a huge contrast in this campaign between myself and Governor Romney .
I am surprised it did n't come up in one of the debates…I believe scientists who say we are putting too much carbon emissions into the atmosphere and it 's heating the planet and it 's going to have a severe effect . ''
In that way , COVID-19 has played out far differently in the 2020 election cycle .
News about the pandemic now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an all-consuming reality which has upended society .
`` This is kind of like the only news story .
So it does n't really require much , like additional messaging and things , '' Johnson said .
And yet , the messaging around Trump 's COVID-19 denialism has proceeded and parallels the efforts Johnson and his colleagues made in 2012 .
Miller boiled the message down to a parallel to the Bloomberg cover story , saying it 's `` I mean , at this point , you just run the ads .
What @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the virus science 101 , stupid . ''
That message is already playing out in real time by outside campaign groups , particularly the Lincoln Project , a coalition of 'Never Trump ' Republicans aiming to oust Trump from the White House .
Akin to the Romney ad showing him downplaying climate change while Hurricane Sandy ravaged New York and New Jersey , the Lincoln Project ads play clips of Trump downplaying the virus ' potency alongside his own personal experience—surviving , for now , thanks to access to the best medicine and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dying from it due to his own mismanagement of the public health crisis .
It is too soon to say what impact Trump getting COVID-19 will ultimately have on the election , though polling in recent days both nationally and in key swing states looks very bad for Trump .
Yet even the idea of a normal transition of power , if Trump loses , appears quaint in 2020 .
That aside , Romney himself concluded that Sandy helped shift votes away from him and towards Obama .
Other reporters agreed , such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` Except for a few days after the Denver debate , his grip on the electoral college has never been seriously threatened .
But if Sandy did n't cost Romney the election , it may well have cost him his last shot of winning , '' Cassidy wrote one day before Election Day in 2012 .
`` At the very moment he needed to appeal to undecided voters and make up ground in places like Iowa and Ohio , the storm knocked him off out of the headlines and robbed his campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ''
Still , however the dust clears in 2020 , Miller pointed out one other key difference between COVID-19 coming to an end and combating climate change , which is how much more difficult the latter will be to solve than the former—no matter who wins on Election Day .
`` And so Trump might talk to us about a vaccine for the virus and we can afford to be cynical about that , '' she said .
`` But we all know that there 's no vaccine for climate change .
@

by Steve Horn
This piece first appeared at The Real News Network.
Back in 2012, climate science denial created an "October Surprise" moment for the presidential election and a turning point against the presidential prospects of Republican candidate Mitt Romney. In 2020 science denial is again a game changer, this time for Republican President Donald Trump, who has continued to downplay COVID-19's seriousness, even after he was hospitalized for the disease which has killed more than 210,000 Americans.
A month before Hurricane Sandy reached landfall first in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and then New York City, killing 37 people in New Jersey and 44 in New York, and causing $70 billion worth of damage, Romney downplayed the threat of the climate crisis.
"President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans," said Romney, pausing to do a clearly scripted lip bite, as if to stop himself from laughing along with the audience. "And to heal the planet. My promise is to help you and your family."
On Oct. 31, just two days after the hurricane's landfall, the now-defunct group Forecast the Facts released an advertisement titled "Romney vs. Sandy." It got hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube, a huge haul for a climate video, and aired in key swing state TV markets.
Romney vs. Sandy www.youtube.com
"Mitt Romney must hope we forgot that he mocked climate change at the Republican National Convention, to the raucous cheers and applause of the GOP delegates," Brad Johnson, then a campaign manager for the group Forecast the Facts and now a progressive political consultant based in Washington, DC, said at the time in a press release introducing the video. "We didn't forget. We're putting out this video to remind every voter struck by Sandy that Mitt Romney thinks the poisoning of our weather is a joke."
RL Miller, then an independent climate activist and today a member of the Democratic National Committee and executive director of the group Climate Hawks Vote, explains that Romney's rhetoric parallels Trump's downplaying of the novel coronavirus in recent days, weeks and months.
Johnson, who helped to create the 2012 ad and move it through the blogosphere, said he believes what links 2012 and 2020 together is that the Republican Party still has a stance antithetical to science. Miller added that this year, "the messaging writes itself" for Trump and COVID-19.
"I think the only problem is that too many are going to make the same point over and over and over again," she said. "Trump has said a lot of stupid things regarding COVID throughout the last six months and it's all now fair game."
Johnson added that while there is much to criticize about Biden when it comes to the climate crisis and his lack of support for single-payer healthcare during a pandemic, he is nevertheless, the head of a "party that, like, accepts that science is real and that government can help."
Romney on FEMA Government Spending www.youtube.com
What magnified the Sandy moment all the more in 2012 was the fact that, up until that point, climate change was hardly discussed at all on the campaign trail by either candidate.
Obama was in the midst of expanding fracking, pipeline, and exports buildout throughout the United States and spreading fracking globally. Meanwhile, Romney's campaign had a press secretary who was a former fossil fuel industry public relations operative named Andrea Saul, with a public relations background in climate change denial. Saul said in 2011 that "CO2 is a naturally occurring gas. Humans emit it every time they exhale."
All of the presidential debates also were devoid of discussion on climate change, provoking a campaign by advocacy groups to end "climate silence." And then Sandy arrived, completely flipping the election season script.
Climate change went from outside of presidential discourse to the center of the race, just over a week before Election Day. This was epitomized by a Bloomberg Businesweek cover story published on Nov. 2, four days before the public went to the polls, with the iconic headline "It's Global Warming, Stupid."
Sandy compelled Obama to react in his role out in the field as a commander-in-chief first responder, even forging an alliance with Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who now has COVID-19, and helped prepare Trump prepare for his first debate against Biden. Christie is one of five people, out of 10 total, who came out of the debate preparation session with the virus.
In Obama's first comments on climate change during his entire 2012 campaign, Obama said in an Oct. 27 interview on MTV that "we're not moving as fast as we need to" on taking climate action.
"And this is an issue that future generations, MTV viewers, are going to have to be dealing with even more than the older generation," Obama continued. "And there is a huge contrast in this campaign between myself and Governor Romney. I am surprised it didn't come up in one of the debates…I believe scientists who say we are putting too much carbon emissions into the atmosphere and it's heating the planet and it's going to have a severe effect."
In that way, COVID-19 has played out far differently in the 2020 election cycle. News about the pandemic now plays out on a minute-by-minute basis, an all-consuming reality which has upended society.
"This is kind of like the only news story. So it doesn't really require much, like additional messaging and things," Johnson said.
And yet, the messaging around Trump's COVID-19 denialism has proceeded and parallels the efforts Johnson and his colleagues made in 2012. Miller boiled the message down to a parallel to the Bloomberg cover story, saying it's "I mean, at this point, you just run the ads. What would be the equivalent? It's the virus science 101, stupid."
That message is already playing out in real time by outside campaign groups, particularly the Lincoln Project, a coalition of 'Never Trump' Republicans aiming to oust Trump from the White House. Akin to the Romney ad showing him downplaying climate change while Hurricane Sandy ravaged New York and New Jersey, the Lincoln Project ads play clips of Trump downplaying the virus' potency alongside his own personal experience—surviving, for now, thanks to access to the best medicine and healthcare available—next to the reality of people dying from it due to his own mismanagement of the public health crisis.
It is too soon to say what impact Trump getting COVID-19 will ultimately have on the election, though polling in recent days both nationally and in keyswingstates looks very bad for Trump. Yet even the idea of a normal transition of power, if Trump loses, appears quaint in 2020.
That aside, Romney himself concluded that Sandy helped shift votes away from him and towards Obama. Other reporters agreed, such as The New Yorker's John Cassidy.
"Except for a few days after the Denver debate, his grip on the electoral college has never been seriously threatened. But if Sandy didn't cost Romney the election, it may well have cost him his last shot of winning," Cassidy wrote one day before Election Day in 2012. "At the very moment he needed to appeal to undecided voters and make up ground in places like Iowa and Ohio, the storm knocked him off out of the headlines and robbed his campaign of any momentum it may have had."
Still, however the dust clears in 2020, Miller pointed out one other key difference between COVID-19 coming to an end and combating climate change, which is how much more difficult the latter will be to solve than the former—no matter who wins on Election Day.
"And so Trump might talk to us about a vaccine for the virus and we can afford to be cynical about that," she said. "But we all know that there's no vaccine for climate change."