thenation--2020-11-04--A Bumpy Night in Berks County, Pennsylvania

eading , a.—If it all comes down to Pennsylvania—and at this point in the night , with Florida and Georgia looking doubtful , and dreams of a big blue wave fading fast , it looks like it might—let the record show that if Joe Biden wins here , he was carried to victory on the backs of the Latinx and immigrant activists in Make the Road , the young Green New Deal enthusiasts in the Sunrise Movement , and the self-organized collection of mostly Bernie Sanders alums who provide the muscle behind Pennsylvania Stands Up .
When the polls opened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Reading—the largest polling place in Pennsylvania ’ s fifth-largest city—at 7 this morning there were about 80 people in line , and a half dozen volunteers to welcome them , hand out palm cards , and make sure everyone legally entitled to vote had the chance to actually do so .
And when the polls finally closed in the 19th Ward , where some voters had to wait in line more than four hours , the volunteers were still there , providing food , water , hand warmers , and even live music @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ You voting , Papi ?
” shouted Julio Martinez , a volunteer with the Berks County Democratic Party .
Trump won this county by 18,000 votes in 2016—about the same margin as Barack Obama ’ s victory here in 2008 .
As anyone who ’ s ever played Monopoly knows , they used to have a railroad here , a busy line carrying anthracite from the western Pennsylvania coalfields to the port of Philadelphia .
In 1871 , the Reading Railroad was the largest company in the world .
At the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Berkshire Mills was the largest knitting mill in the world .
The city of Reading grew in every census until 1930 .
But the city ’ s decline was swift and relentless .
The former mill buildings became factory outlet stores , until that business also dried up .
By 2011 The New York Times named Reading the “ poorest city in the country , ” with over 41 percent of the population living in poverty .
And for Nancy Jimenez , the statistics only tell part of the story .
“ When @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dominican Republic , we first lived in New York .
After our house in Rockland County burnt down , we moved to the Bronx .
But after a few months , I realized the Bronx was not for me .
I had a cousin here—this was 18 years ago—and he said you could live here .
At the time , you never saw a bodega–or if you did , it was because it was the only one.
” No Matter Who Wins , It ’ s Time to Get Rid of the Electoral @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Latinx city , with 64 percent of the population identifying as Hispanic .
The mayor , Eddie Moran , was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in Brooklyn .
I ran into him outside the polls at Christ Lutheran Church , where Carmen Rodriguez told me she ’ d been waiting in line for nearly two hours already , but was prepared to wait as long as it took to cast her vote .
“ I want Trump to win , ” she told me .
“ I ’ m a Christian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ look for a candidate with Christian values.
” Earlier in the day Jonathan Tinoco , who was driving voters to the polls for the Hispanic Center of Reading , said that while most Latinx voters favored the Democrats , there was a sizable contingent of evangelicals who would almost certainly vote Republican .
As if on cue , a family approached the polls wearing matching sweatshirts all proclaiming “ christ is my Savior .
donald trump is my President.
” Trump , who has a knack for turning up in the places the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ held a rally at the Reading airport on Saturday .
Joe Biden , though—as he never tires of reminding us—a Scranton native , visited the state 17 times in this campaign , but has never come here .
“ Trump ’ s visit probably got him some votes , ” said Tinoco , “ but not as many as his signature on those stimulus checks.
” As the line at the church kept getting longer , I made my way inside and asked Rose Althouse , the judge of elections , what was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people and all their names , ” she replied .
Apparently , neither of the election officials assigned to the precinct spoke Spanish—so when voters were asked to identify themselves , and then to spell their names , delays ensued .
And then compounded .
Volunteers from Make the Road tried to intervene , and were eventually allowed to ask voters to print their names on sheets of paper to hand over to officials when they finally reached the front of the line .
But with elections the responsibility of Berks County—still majority-white—not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was able to speed things up .
The mayor himself remained resolutely cheerful .
And during the two and a half hours I spent at this location , I didn ’ t see a single voter give up and go home .
How much will any of the votes cast in Reading , or elsewhere in Berks County , matter ?
We may not know the answer to that for several days .
Right now , the networks keep repeating that Pennsylvania is “ still too close to call.
” Or in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ Fasten your seat belts .
It ’ s going to be a bumpy night .
”

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R eading, P a.—If it all comes down to Pennsylvania—and at this point in the night, with Florida and Georgia looking doubtful, and dreams of a big blue wave fading fast, it looks like it might—let the record show that if Joe Biden wins here, he was carried to victory on the backs of the Latinx and immigrant activists in Make the Road, the young Green New Deal enthusiasts in the Sunrise Movement, and the self-organized collection of mostly Bernie Sanders alums who provide the muscle behind Pennsylvania Stands Up. When the polls opened at the Santander Arena here in downtown Reading—the largest polling place in Pennsylvania’s fifth-largest city—at 7 this morning there were about 80 people in line, and a half dozen volunteers to welcome them, hand out palm cards, and make sure everyone legally entitled to vote had the chance to actually do so. And when the polls finally closed in the 19th Ward, where some voters had to wait in line more than four hours, the volunteers were still there, providing food, water, hand warmers, and even live music to make sure nobody left the line.
“You voting, Papi?” shouted Julio Martinez, a volunteer with the Berks County Democratic Party. Trump won this county by 18,000 votes in 2016—about the same margin as Barack Obama’s victory here in 2008. As anyone who’s ever played Monopoly knows, they used to have a railroad here, a busy line carrying anthracite from the western Pennsylvania coalfields to the port of Philadelphia. In 1871, the Reading Railroad was the largest company in the world. At the turn of the 20th century, the Berkshire Mills was the largest knitting mill in the world. The city of Reading grew in every census until 1930.
But the city’s decline was swift and relentless. The former mill buildings became factory outlet stores, until that business also dried up. By 2011 The New York Times named Reading the “poorest city in the country,” with over 41 percent of the population living in poverty. And for Nancy Jimenez, the statistics only tell part of the story.
“When I came to this country from the Dominican Republic, we first lived in New York. After our house in Rockland County burnt down, we moved to the Bronx. But after a few months, I realized the Bronx was not for me. I had a cousin here—this was 18 years ago—and he said you could live here. At the time, you never saw a bodega–or if you did, it was because it was the only one.” Related Article No Matter Who Wins, It’s Time to Get Rid of the Electoral College Katrina vanden Heuvel
Today, Reading is a majority Latinx city, with 64 percent of the population identifying as Hispanic. The mayor, Eddie Moran, was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in Brooklyn. I ran into him outside the polls at Christ Lutheran Church, where Carmen Rodriguez told me she’d been waiting in line for nearly two hours already, but was prepared to wait as long as it took to cast her vote. “I want Trump to win,” she told me. “I’m a Christian, and so when I vote I look for a candidate with Christian values.” Earlier in the day Jonathan Tinoco, who was driving voters to the polls for the Hispanic Center of Reading, said that while most Latinx voters favored the Democrats, there was a sizable contingent of evangelicals who would almost certainly vote Republican. As if on cue, a family approached the polls wearing matching sweatshirts all proclaiming “christ is my Savior. donald trump is my President.”
Trump, who has a knack for turning up in the places the Democratic National Committee has long forgotten, held a rally at the Reading airport on Saturday. Joe Biden, though—as he never tires of reminding us—a Scranton native, visited the state 17 times in this campaign, but has never come here. “Trump’s visit probably got him some votes,” said Tinoco, “but not as many as his signature on those stimulus checks.”
As the line at the church kept getting longer, I made my way inside and asked Rose Althouse, the judge of elections, what was causing the holdup. “The Spanish people and all their names,” she replied. Apparently, neither of the election officials assigned to the precinct spoke Spanish—so when voters were asked to identify themselves, and then to spell their names, delays ensued. And then compounded. Current Issue View our current issue
Volunteers from Make the Road tried to intervene, and were eventually allowed to ask voters to print their names on sheets of paper to hand over to officials when they finally reached the front of the line. But with elections the responsibility of Berks County—still majority-white—not even the mayor’s personal intervention was able to speed things up.
The mayor himself remained resolutely cheerful. And during the two and a half hours I spent at this location, I didn’t see a single voter give up and go home. Related Article America Votes: Live Updates—and Some Rants Elie Mystal
How much will any of the votes cast in Reading, or elsewhere in Berks County, matter? We may not know the answer to that for several days. Right now, the networks keep repeating that Pennsylvania is “still too close to call.” Or in the words of that renowned psephologist Bette Davis, “Fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.”


thenation--2020-11-03--Stephen Miller’s Second-Term Immigration Agenda Is Worse Than He Wants People to Know

Stephen Miller has a special place in Donald Trump ’ s heart .
A public relations flack who hijacked the Department of Homeland Security in his early 30s , Miller has long exerted outsize influence on his boss because of his particular brand of expertise in the issue that got Trump elected : immigration .
In a March 2019 meeting about a rise in border apprehensions , Trump indicated that he was frustrated with everyone else .
“ Stephen ’ s in charge , ” he said .
Miller referred to it in a subsequent conversation with a former senior @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on immigration issues as his “ coronation.
” Now , in a pandemic-ravaged United States , immigration has lost salience for the average American .
Only about 51 percent of registered voters say it ’ s a top issue for them , according to the Pew Research Center—down from 70 percent four years ago .
If Trump is reelected , Miller , an idealogue with an affinity for white nationalism , has a wish list of immigration items he has yet to pursue because they were deemed too politically risky ahead of November @ @ @ @ @ @ @ administration officials I interviewed for my book Hatemonger : Stephen Miller , Donald Trump and the White Nationalist Agenda .
And it goes far beyond what he recently told NBC about his plans .
Miller has already succeeded in gutting asylum at the southwest border , restricting access to green cards , suspending travel from Muslim-majority countries , separating families at the border , locking up children , slashing refugee admissions to historic lows , and torching the vision of America as a haven for the poor and the persecuted .
While Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cartels , for Miller they ’ re about deterring , deporting , and denying entry to Black and brown people who may , as he sees it , have children and enhance what he believes to be the apocalyptic threat of “ multiculturalism , ” per his white-supremacist reading preferences .
In a second Trump term , Miller would have even freer rein .
“ Stephen knows that , in a second term , the president will feel unencumbered—and far less receptive to his communications and legal teams telling him he can ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ politically damaging , or illegal , ” former Trump Homeland Security chief of staff Miles Taylor , the anonymous official who wrote a New York Times op-ed in 2018 criticizing the president , told me in an interview last month .
( Taylor is facing criticism for previously defending the policies he has come to criticize . )
How Stephen Miller Turned the Department of Homeland Security Into a Political Weapon Among Miller ’ s top priorities if Trump is reelected would be an attack on birthright citizenship , rooted in the 14th @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof ” are citizens .
Xenophobes , white supremacists , and other bigots argue that birthright citizenship is a magnet for people from the “ Third World ” to come and have “ anchor babies , ” according to some of the white nationalist publications Miller has recommended to others , according to the Southern Poverty Law Center .
Miller ’ s attack on birthright citizenship would likely come in the form of an executive order , according @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expectation would be that it would be legally challenged and ultimately end up in the Supreme Court , where Miller hopes for a new interpretation of the 14th Amendment to exclude the children of people who lack legal immigration status .
It ’ s reasonable to suspect that the tortured legal arguments supporting this policy would come from the Claremont Institute , a California-based think tank that promotes racist ideas , including that diversity spells our doom .
Its “ scholars ” were behind the birther lie about Kamala Harris and have cheekily @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year , Trump awarded the institute with a National Humanities Medal .
( Former president Barack Obama gave the medal to renowned Chicano author Rudolfo Anaya , among others . )
Miller ’ s parents have donated to the Claremont Institute .
When conservatives refer to an alleged debate among legal scholars about the meaning of the 14th Amendment , they ’ re talking about the Claremont Institute .
It ’ s not up for debate elsewhere .
Taylor said that in a second term , Miller would also expand the Muslim ban @ @ @ @ @ @ @ populations by relying on Section 212 ( F ) of the Immigration and Nationality Act , which gives the president authority to “ suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants , ” if deemed “ detrimental to the interests of the United States.
” Taylor told me , “ They ’ re going to go hog-wild on using the 212F authority to block people from countries they don ’ t like.
” In just under four years , Miller has transformed the DHS , with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a range of threats , into a political weapon targeting families from Latin America , Africa , and the Middle East—and , recently , American citizens protesting systemic racism .
Current and former administration officials believe the continued politicization of the DHS would distract from threats of domestic terrorism , election interference , and pandemics .
For months , as Covid-19 has taken over the public consciousness , immigration has become less of a concern for most people–but not for Trump .
He ’ s used the pandemic response as an excuse to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ refugees .
Since Trump took office , Miller has weaponized the DHS for his extremist goals in partnership with the far-right leaders of the Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ) unions , whose endorsements he secured for Trump in 2016 by promising them a role in making policies .
“ The Border Patrol union ’ s role has been one of the most damaging aspects for CBP , ” a former Trump senior Homeland Security official told me in a recent interview .
“ By becoming a political arm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vocal positions , they have put the agency at odds with an entire political party and even a moderate wing of the Republican side .
That could have lasting and damaging impacts.
” News of the Trump administration ’ s increased politicization of the DHS has ramped up the sense of urgency and anger among movements and activists determined to dismantle the department or parts of it , including the push to # AbolishICE .
DHS officials fear that the conflation in the public mind of their work with Miller ’ s fanaticism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or compromise congressional funding .
“ The politicization of DHS ultimately could threaten the structure and organization of the department itself , ” the former senior official told me , citing as an example the possible dissolution of ICE .
Miller has already led a purge of DHS leadership , such as the removal of Francis Cissna and Kirstjen Nielsen in 2019 , leaving top positions vacant or held by people in an acting capacity , making manipulation easier .
This includes the department ’ s current acting secretary , Chad Wolf .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wolf , ” a former senior administration official told me in a recent interview .
“ Stephen would call Chad Wolf on an almost daily basis and basically , through a verbal war of attrition , convinced Wolf that his job and his career in the administration depend on him doing what the president wants on immigration and shutting up about policies he disagrees with .
And over time that verbal war of attrition has actually turned into hypnosis and Chad has become what appears from the outside to be a true believer.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ request for comment .
In a second term , Miller would push for eliminating all temporary protected status programs ; making the citizenship test and process more difficult ; restricting access for international students ; slashing refugee admissions to zero ; further restricting asylum , green cards , and work visas ; and more , according to current and former administration officials who worked on immigration policy with Miller .
He would significantly intensify a federal crackdown on Democratic-leaning jurisdictions , particularly those with “ sanctuary ” policies that limit coordination with ICE @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with ICE for public safety reasons—to encourage people in immigrant communities to report crimes to the police .
Cities that oppose Trump ’ s policies are among Miller ’ s favorite adversaries , in addition to immigrants , which explains his advocacy for the DHS presence in Portland during the summer .
Miller is a master of vilification : He created an office within the DHS dedicated to vilifying immigrants , inserted graphic descriptions of crimes committed by immigrants into Trump ’ s speeches , and generally shaped the president ’ s apocalyptic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ far-left fascism ” —linking immigration and Democrats with the destruction of the United States .
There ’ s no reason to believe that his hatemongering against people of color , anti-racists , and anti-fascists through the president ’ s rhetoric—courting the rage that fuels white terrorism , the top threat to this country ’ s security—would stop because Trump ’ s first term has ended .
If anything , a second term will unleash Miller , because Trump won ’ t have to face the electoral consequences for his administration ’ s actions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wrote that Miller learned as a teenager how to invert the language of the civil rights movement to attack it , such as characterizing white people rather than people of color as victims of racial discrimination .
In a second term , anyone to the left of Miller , including moderate Republicans , would be labeled fascists , racists , and terrorists by Trump and Miller .

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Stephen Miller has a special place in Donald Trump’s heart. A public relations flack who hijacked the Department of Homeland Security in his early 30s, Miller has long exerted outsize influence on his boss because of his particular brand of expertise in the issue that got Trump elected: immigration. In a March 2019 meeting about a rise in border apprehensions, Trump indicated that he was frustrated with everyone else. “Stephen’s in charge,” he said. Miller referred to it in a subsequent conversation with a former senior administration official who worked closely with him on immigration issues as his “coronation.”
Now, in a pandemic-ravaged United States, immigration has lost salience for the average American. Only about 51 percent of registered voters say it’s a top issue for them, according to the Pew Research Center—down from 70 percent four years ago. If Trump is reelected, Miller, an idealogue with an affinity for white nationalism, has a wish list of immigration items he has yet to pursue because they were deemed too politically risky ahead of November, according to current and former Trump administration officials I interviewed for my book Hatemonger: Stephen Miller, Donald Trump and the White Nationalist Agenda. And it goes far beyond what he recently told NBC about his plans.
Miller has already succeeded in gutting asylum at the southwest border, restricting access to green cards, suspending travel from Muslim-majority countries, separating families at the border, locking up children, slashing refugee admissions to historic lows, and torching the vision of America as a haven for the poor and the persecuted. While Trump claims that his policies target criminals and cartels, for Miller they’re about deterring, deporting, and denying entry to Black and brown people who may, as he sees it, have children and enhance what he believes to be the apocalyptic threat of “multiculturalism,” per his white-supremacist reading preferences.
In a second Trump term, Miller would have even freer rein. “Stephen knows that, in a second term, the president will feel unencumbered—and far less receptive to his communications and legal teams telling him he can’t do something because it will be politically damaging, or illegal,” former Trump Homeland Security chief of staff Miles Taylor, the anonymous official who wrote a New York Times op-ed in 2018 criticizing the president, told me in an interview last month. (Taylor is facing criticism for previously defending the policies he has come to criticize.) Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Hatemonger How Stephen Miller Turned the Department of Homeland Security Into a Political Weapon Jean Guerrero
Among Miller’s top priorities if Trump is reelected would be an attack on birthright citizenship, rooted in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution that says that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof” are citizens. Xenophobes, white supremacists, and other bigots argue that birthright citizenship is a magnet for people from the “Third World” to come and have “anchor babies,” according to some of the white nationalist publications Miller has recommended to others, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Miller’s attack on birthright citizenship would likely come in the form of an executive order, according to a current DHS official. The expectation would be that it would be legally challenged and ultimately end up in the Supreme Court, where Miller hopes for a new interpretation of the 14th Amendment to exclude the children of people who lack legal immigration status.
It’s reasonable to suspect that the tortured legal arguments supporting this policy would come from the Claremont Institute, a California-based think tank that promotes racist ideas, including that diversity spells our doom. Its “scholars” were behind the birther lie about Kamala Harris and have cheekily debated the merits of eugenics. Last year, Trump awarded the institute with a National Humanities Medal. (Former president Barack Obama gave the medal to renowned Chicano author Rudolfo Anaya, among others.) Miller’s parents have donated to the Claremont Institute. When conservatives refer to an alleged debate among legal scholars about the meaning of the 14th Amendment, they’re talking about the Claremont Institute. It’s not up for debate elsewhere. Current Issue View our current issue
Taylor said that in a second term, Miller would also expand the Muslim ban to include other countries with mostly nonwhite populations by relying on Section 212(F) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which gives the president authority to “suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants,” if deemed “detrimental to the interests of the United States.” Taylor told me, “They’re going to go hog-wild on using the 212F authority to block people from countries they don’t like.”
In just under four years, Miller has transformed the DHS, with its mandate to protect the country from a range of threats, into a political weapon targeting families from Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East—and, recently, American citizens protesting systemic racism. Current and former administration officials believe the continued politicization of the DHS would distract from threats of domestic terrorism, election interference, and pandemics.
For months, as Covid-19 has taken over the public consciousness, immigration has become less of a concern for most people–but not for Trump. He’s used the pandemic response as an excuse to suspend green card processing and turn away refugees.
Since Trump took office, Miller has weaponized the DHS for his extremist goals in partnership with the far-right leaders of the Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) unions, whose endorsements he secured for Trump in 2016 by promising them a role in making policies. “The Border Patrol union’s role has been one of the most damaging aspects for CBP,” a former Trump senior Homeland Security official told me in a recent interview. “By becoming a political arm of the Trump campaign and taking very vocal positions, they have put the agency at odds with an entire political party and even a moderate wing of the Republican side. That could have lasting and damaging impacts.”
News of the Trump administration’s increased politicization of the DHS has ramped up the sense of urgency and anger among movements and activists determined to dismantle the department or parts of it, including the push to #AbolishICE. DHS officials fear that the conflation in the public mind of their work with Miller’s fanaticism will energize efforts to constrain the department or compromise congressional funding. “The politicization of DHS ultimately could threaten the structure and organization of the department itself,” the former senior official told me, citing as an example the possible dissolution of ICE.
Miller has already led a purge of DHS leadership, such as the removal of Francis Cissna and Kirstjen Nielsen in 2019, leaving top positions vacant or held by people in an acting capacity, making manipulation easier. This includes the department’s current acting secretary, Chad Wolf. “Stephen Miller has thoroughly hypnotized Chad Wolf,” a former senior administration official told me in a recent interview. “Stephen would call Chad Wolf on an almost daily basis and basically, through a verbal war of attrition, convinced Wolf that his job and his career in the administration depend on him doing what the president wants on immigration and shutting up about policies he disagrees with. And over time that verbal war of attrition has actually turned into hypnosis and Chad has become what appears from the outside to be a true believer.” Wishlist Checking Off Stephen Miller’s Wish List Sasha Abramsky
Wolf did not respond to a request for comment.
In a second term, Miller would push for eliminating all temporary protected status programs; making the citizenship test and process more difficult; restricting access for international students; slashing refugee admissions to zero; further restricting asylum, green cards, and work visas; and more, according to current and former administration officials who worked on immigration policy with Miller. He would significantly intensify a federal crackdown on Democratic-leaning jurisdictions, particularly those with “sanctuary” policies that limit coordination with ICE. Many of those jurisdictions limit cooperation with ICE for public safety reasons—to encourage people in immigrant communities to report crimes to the police. Cities that oppose Trump’s policies are among Miller’s favorite adversaries, in addition to immigrants, which explains his advocacy for the DHS presence in Portland during the summer.
Miller is a master of vilification: He created an office within the DHS dedicated to vilifying immigrants, inserted graphic descriptions of crimes committed by immigrants into Trump’s speeches, and generally shaped the president’s apocalyptic language—from “American carnage” to “far-left fascism”—linking immigration and Democrats with the destruction of the United States. There’s no reason to believe that his hatemongering against people of color, anti-racists, and anti-fascists through the president’s rhetoric—courting the rage that fuels white terrorism, the top threat to this country’s security—would stop because Trump’s first term has ended. If anything, a second term will unleash Miller, because Trump won’t have to face the electoral consequences for his administration’s actions. In my book Hatemonger, I wrote that Miller learned as a teenager how to invert the language of the civil rights movement to attack it, such as characterizing white people rather than people of color as victims of racial discrimination. In a second term, anyone to the left of Miller, including moderate Republicans, would be labeled fascists, racists, and terrorists by Trump and Miller.


thenation--2020-11-03--No Matter Who Wins, It’s Time to Get Rid of the Electoral College

Something ’ s happening in Texas .
Before today ’ s election , 9.7 million Texans had already voted—108 percent of total ballots cast there in the last presidential election .
In just four years , Texas has catapulted from second-to-last in voter turnout to a national leader in early voting .
This is no coincidence .
Now that this once-red state is emerging as a toss-up , residents are turning out in record numbers , believing that their votes will finally have a meaningful effect on the presidential election .
Though this is a tremendous success story , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s greatest failures : Under the Electoral College , some votes matter far more than others .
Senator Elizabeth Warren ( D-Mass . )
may have said it best : “ Call me old-fashioned , but I think the person who gets the most votes should win.
” The Electoral College is indeed an undemocratic travesty , and no matter who wins this election , it ’ s time for us to move toward a national popular vote .
Many Electoral College advocates cite its antidemocratic nature as a benefit , explaining that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the so-called “ tyranny of the majority.
” In reality , however , the institution enables a tyranny of the minority , allowing political factions to entrench their rule by appealing to a small group of voters .
It ’ s mathematically possible to win the Electoral College with less than 22 percent of the popular vote .
That ’ s an extreme case , but the fact remains that under the Electoral College , a voter in Wyoming has nearly four times the power of a voter in California .
By creating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ makes it 40 times more likely that the results are close enough that the outcome could be swung by unelected judges .
No wonder 61 percent of Americans support the electoral college ’ s abolition , according to a recent Gallup poll .
Read the full text of Katrina ’ s column here .

EDITOR’S NOTE: Each week we cross-post an excerpt from Katrina vanden Heuvel’s column at the WashingtonPost.com. Read the full text of Katrina’s column here.
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Something’s happening in Texas. Before today’s election, 9.7 million Texans had already voted—108 percent of total ballots cast there in the last presidential election. In just four years, Texas has catapulted from second-to-last in voter turnout to a national leader in early voting. This is no coincidence. Now that this once-red state is emerging as a toss-up, residents are turning out in record numbers, believing that their votes will finally have a meaningful effect on the presidential election. Though this is a tremendous success story, it also underlines one of our Constitution’s greatest failures: Under the Electoral College, some votes matter far more than others.
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) may have said it best: “Call me old-fashioned, but I think the person who gets the most votes should win.” The Electoral College is indeed an undemocratic travesty, and no matter who wins this election, it’s time for us to move toward a national popular vote.
Many Electoral College advocates cite its antidemocratic nature as a benefit, explaining that the institution serves as a bulwark against the so-called “tyranny of the majority.” In reality, however, the institution enables a tyranny of the minority, allowing political factions to entrench their rule by appealing to a small group of voters. It’s mathematically possible to win the Electoral College with less than 22 percent of the popular vote. That’s an extreme case, but the fact remains that under the Electoral College, a voter in Wyoming has nearly four times the power of a voter in California. By creating artificially narrow results, the Electoral College makes it 40 times more likely that the results are close enough that the outcome could be swung by unelected judges. No wonder 61 percent of Americans support the electoral college’s abolition, according to a recent Gallup poll.
Read the full text of Katrina’s column here.


thenation--2020-11-03--A DIY Cartoon for Your Post-Election Spiral

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thenation--2020-11-03--America Votes: Live Updates—and Some Rants

Welcome to The Nation ‘ s running Election Day issue-spotter log .
Today , we ’ ll be keeping an @ @ @ @ @ trying to keep you informed about challenges to people exercising their right to vote .
@ @ @ @ @ ’ ll let you know and give some brief analysis about what is happening .
@ @ @ @ @ if you are personally having trouble voting , or see trouble brewing , please call @ @ @ @ @ 866-687-8683 .
Experts and attorneys are standing by , waiting to help .
If you @ @ @ @ @ sit back , grab your favorite comfort snack , and join us until the polls @ @

Welcome to The Nation‘s running Election Day issue-spotter log. Today, we’ll be keeping an eye on the news and trying to keep you informed about challenges to people exercising their right to vote. If anything breaks, we’ll let you know and give some brief analysis about what is happening.
One thing to remember, if you are personally having trouble voting, or see trouble brewing, please call the Election Protection Hotline: 866-687-8683. Experts and attorneys are standing by, waiting to help.
If you’ve already voted, sit back, grab your favorite comfort snack, and join us until the polls close.


thenation--2020-11-05--When and How Joe Biden Should Declare Victory

Joe Biden is a rule-follower running against a rule-breaker .
So , while Donald Trump was busy announcing in the wee hours of Wednesday morning , “ Frankly , we did win this election ” —when in truth the race was too close to call—Biden counseled caution .
Trump ’ s statement was rated “ egregiously false ” by fact checkers .
Biden ’ s statement hit such a proper note that it got compliments even from Republicans for his “ patient ” but “ confident ” message .
With each passing hour , however , it ’ s looking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have to cast aside caution .
While anything is possible in so turbulent a political year as 2020 , the headlines and TV tickers now read “ Biden on Brink of Win ” and “ Biden… on Brink of White House.
” Biden has already won two of the three states that gave Trump an Electoral College advantage and the presidency in 2016—Wisconsin and Michigan—and the long count in the third state , Pennsylvania , is trending in his favor .
Where Trump led by over 500,000 votes on Wednesday in Pennsylvania , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ barely 78,000 votes .
The Trump lead has continued to decline as mounds of mail votes are counted in Philadelphia and other Democratic cities .
“ The Biden people are very confident .
The numbers are moving in his direction right now , ” says former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum , a Republican who has reviewed the data from the Keystone State counties that are still counting .
Pennsylvania Democratic Senator Bob Casey Jr. is blunter .
Pointing to the trend lines , Casey declared Thursday afternoon that a Biden win in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ When , exactly ?
“ I can ’ t make that guesstimate , ” said Casey .
But he added , “ No question , I think , Joe Biden will win the state.
” Biden Is Piling Up a Popular-Vote Mandate for Ending Trumpism Biden : ‘ It Ain ’ t Over Till Every Vote Is Counted , Every Ballot Is Counted ’ If Biden wins Pennsylvania , he wins the presidency .
By Thursday afternoon , Biden was projected as the winner of states with 253 electoral votes , as compared @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 270 to win .
He can get there most quickly and easily via Pennsylvania , with 20 electoral votes .
Or he can go via a combination of states that are still counting—Georgia with 16 electoral votes , North Carolina with 15 , Arizona with 11 , and Nevada with 6 .
As of Thursday afternoon , Biden was already ahead in Arizona and Nevada and only narrowly behind in the others .
In Georgia , for instance , Trump ’ s advantage had fallen to less than 10,000 votes .
Biden isn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ himself .
I have covered this man for decades , as a senator , a vice president , and a presidential candidate .
I have seen him in triumph and in defeat .
After 50 years of bidding for office , he knows when and how a winner gets to declare victory .
He will follow the old-school political protocols and wait until the Associated Press has declared him the winner of a sufficient number of states to claim the 270 electoral votes required to take the job from Trump .
That ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in contrast to the petulant president he seeks to replace .
But if and when the moment of victory comes , the former vice president will need to move quickly and decisively .
He can ’ t afford to leave any opening for Trump to claim that a settled result is somehow uncertain .
Fortunately , Biden and his team appear to recognize this .
They ’ ve been proactive in making statements and gently spinning the narrative in their direction .
But when the 270 figure is achieved , the former vice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ transition process has begun .
This is about more than launching a transition website , as the Biden campaign has already done .
This is about putting an exclamation mark on the decision of the people of the United States to end the presidency of Donald J. Trump .
Even if Trump seeks recounts and mounts legal challenges in states that have declared for the Democrat , even if Trump cries “ voter fraud ” and refuses to concede , Biden has to be firm enough to control the narrative .
Trump is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ We have claimed , for Electoral Vote purposes , the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ( which won ’ t allow legal observers ) the State of Georgia , and the State of North Carolina , each one of which has a BIG Trump lead .
Additionally , we hereby claim the State of Michigan if , in fact , there was a large number of secretly dumped ballots as has been widely reported !
” Twitter tagged that announcement with this message : “ Some or all of the content shared in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ misleading about an election or other civic process.
” That was a generous assessment of a delusional set of claims .
On Thursday , the president was beside himself , tweeting , “ STOP THE FRAUD !
” And “ All of the recent Biden claimed States will be legally challenged by us for Voter Fraud and State Election Fraud .
Plenty of proof—just check out the Media .
WE WILL WIN !
America First !
” “ The President is using Twitter to spread disinformation and undermine the integrity of our election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president of the Lawyers ’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law , which with Common Cause has called for Twitter to suspend Trump “ to ensure that its platform is not used to attack the foundations of our democracy.
” When the tide turns against him , this president tweets even more outrageously .
If past is prologue , Trump and allies like Rudy Giuliani will not hesitate to lie about election results .
They will also create confusion by suggesting that the normal processes of recording results—the reviews of provisional ballots , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ballots , the formal canvassing of the totals , the legal challenges , the recounts where necessary—bar Biden from declaring victory .
The accepted practice is that when the 270 threshold is passed , the winner stakes the claim .
Biden should do that immediately , day or night , spelling out how that win was achieve , explaining the contour and character of the count .
He did some of that on Wednesday and Thursday in brief statements on the vote counting .
He said Wednesday : Biden can get to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unity ” that are another part of the protocols for any presidents-elect .
But he will make things less difficult , for himself and for his country , if he fully embraces the will of the people and declares in clear and unequivocal terms that Trump has been defeated .

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Joe Biden is a rule-follower running against a rule-breaker. So, while Donald Trump was busy announcing in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, “Frankly, we did win this election”—when in truth the race was too close to call—Biden counseled caution. Trump’s statement was rated “egregiously false” by fact-checkers. Biden’s statement hit such a proper note that it got compliments even from Republicans for his “patient” but “confident” message.
With each passing hour, however, it’s looking increasingly likely that the Democrat soon will have to cast aside caution.
While anything is possible in so turbulent a political year as 2020, the headlines and TV tickers now read “Biden on Brink of Win” and “Biden…on Brink of White House.” Biden has already won two of the three states that gave Trump an Electoral College advantage and the presidency in 2016—Wisconsin and Michigan—and the long count in the third state, Pennsylvania, is trending in his favor. Where Trump led by over 500,000 votes on Wednesday in Pennsylvania, his advantage had collapsed on Thursday to barely 78,000 votes. The Trump lead has continued to decline as mounds of mail votes are counted in Philadelphia and other Democratic cities. “The Biden people are very confident. The numbers are moving in his direction right now,” says former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, a Republican who has reviewed the data from the Keystone State counties that are still counting. Pennsylvania Democratic Senator Bob Casey Jr. is blunter. Pointing to the trend lines, Casey declared Thursday afternoon that a Biden win in the state had already become “inevitable.”
When, exactly? “I can’t make that guesstimate,” said Casey. But he added, “No question, I think, Joe Biden will win the state.” More From John Nichols A GOP Debate Without Trump Is the Definition of Pointlessness August 11, 2023 A Win for Abortion Rights, a Win for Democracy: Ohio Voters Reject Issue 1 August 9, 2023 The Biggest Threat to Donald Trump Could Be the Constitution Itself August 4, 2023
If Biden wins Pennsylvania, he wins the presidency.
By Thursday afternoon, Biden was projected as the winner of states with 253 electoral votes, as compared with 213 for Trump. He needs 270 to win. He can get there most quickly and easily via Pennsylvania, with 20 electoral votes. Or he can go via a combination of states that are still counting—Georgia with 16 electoral votes, North Carolina with 15, Arizona with 11, and Nevada with 6. As of Thursday afternoon, Biden was already ahead in Arizona and Nevada and only narrowly behind in the others. In Georgia, for instance, Trump’s advantage had fallen to less than 10,000 votes. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
Biden isn’t going to get ahead of himself. I have covered this man for decades, as a senator, a vice president, and a presidential candidate. I have seen him in triumph and in defeat. After 50 years of bidding for office, he knows when and how a winner gets to declare victory. He will follow the old-school political protocols and wait until the Associated Press has declared him the winner of a sufficient number of states to claim the 270 electoral votes required to take the job from Trump. That’s appropriate and, frankly, appealing in contrast to the petulant president he seeks to replace. Current Issue View our current issue
But if and when the moment of victory comes, the former vice president will need to move quickly and decisively. He can’t afford to leave any opening for Trump to claim that a settled result is somehow uncertain.
Fortunately, Biden and his team appear to recognize this. They’ve been proactive in making statements and gently spinning the narrative in their direction. But when the 270 figure is achieved, the former vice president must make it clear that the transition process has begun. This is about more than launching a transition website, as the Biden campaign has already done. This is about putting an exclamation mark on the decision of the people of the United States to end the presidency of Donald J. Trump.
Even if Trump seeks recounts and mounts legal challenges in states that have declared for the Democrat, even if Trump cries “voter fraud” and refuses to concede, Biden has to be firm enough to control the narrative.
Trump is shameless. On Wednesday, he tweeted, “We have claimed, for Electoral Vote purposes, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (which won’t allow legal observers) the State of Georgia, and the State of North Carolina, each one of which has a BIG Trump lead. Additionally, we hereby claim the State of Michigan if, in fact, there was a large number of secretly dumped ballots as has been widely reported!”
Twitter tagged that announcement with this message: “Some or all of the content shared in this Tweet is disputed and might be misleading about an election or other civic process.” That was a generous assessment of a delusional set of claims. On Thursday, the president was beside himself, tweeting, “STOP THE FRAUD!” And “All of the recent Biden claimed States will be legally challenged by us for Voter Fraud and State Election Fraud. Plenty of proof—just check out the Media. WE WILL WIN! America First!”
“The President is using Twitter to spread disinformation and undermine the integrity of our election,” says Kristen Clarke, the president of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, which with Common Cause has called for Twitter to suspend Trump “to ensure that its platform is not used to attack the foundations of our democracy.”
When the tide turns against him, this president tweets even more outrageously. If past is prologue, Trump and allies like Rudy Giuliani will not hesitate to lie about election results. They will also create confusion by suggesting that the normal processes of recording results—the reviews of provisional ballots, the counting of late-arriving overseas and military ballots, the formal canvassing of the totals, the legal challenges, the recounts where necessary—bar Biden from declaring victory.
The accepted practice is that when the 270 threshold is passed, the winner stakes the claim. Biden should do that immediately, day or night, spelling out how that win was achieve, explaining the contour and character of the count. He did some of that on Wednesday and Thursday in brief statements on the vote counting. He said Wednesday:
Of special significance to me is that we’ve won with the majority of the American people. And every indication is that that majority will grow. We have a popular vote lead of nearly 3 million votes and every indication is that will grow as well. Indeed, Senator Harris and I are on track to win more votes than any ticket in the history of this country that ever won the presidency and vice presidency. Over 70 million votes. I’m very proud of our campaign. Only three presidential campaigns in the past have defeated an incumbent president. When it’s finished, God willing, we’ll be the fourth. This is a major achievement. This is a major achievement. And it’s been a long and difficult campaign, but it’s been a more difficult time for our country.
Biden can get to the talk of “healing” and “unity” that are another part of the protocols for any presidents-elect. But he will make things less difficult, for himself and for his country, if he fully embraces the will of the people and declares in clear and unequivocal terms that Trump has been defeated.


thenation--2020-11-05--Athletes Are No Substitute for a Functioning Government

Sometimes there are “ puff pieces , ” stories meant to make us feel good about the state of our world , that actually reveal something rancid beneath the fluff .
Such is the case in Missouri , where Kansas City Chiefs All-World quarterback Patrick Mahomes stepped up when he had to , and by doing so , revealed that we actually live a step down from a decent democracy .
Mahomes , who in the off-season following his team ’ s Super Bowl victory signed a record $ 450 million contract with the Chiefs , wanted to make Arrowhead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Election Day .
The election board , however , said that this was a nonstarter ; it didn ’ t have enough workable voting machines to make that happen .
Instead of throwing up his hands , Mahomes bought new voting machines—splitting the six-figure cost with the Chiefs organization .
Speaking to Jim Trotter and Steve Wyche on the Huddle and Flow podcast , Mahomes said , “ I thought it was very important not only just to get as many people out to vote as possible but also to use a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lot of fun , show a lot of love and unity where people [ are ] coming together , and use that as a place where we can come together and vote and use our voice .
I thought Arrowhead was the perfect place for it , and the Chiefs were all on board with it.
” Sure enough , the reviews from Arrowhead were sublime .
Hundreds of people voted there , with minimal wait times .
In addition , being able to vote in an open-air space during a pandemic surely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is all fine and good , but it raises the question : Why do we need to depend upon the noblesse oblige of an NFL quarterback in order to make sure that people have the ability to cast a ballot ?
It ’ s absurd .
In addition , many other stadiums were used as voting locations , part of an initiative by different sports leagues in cities around the country .
Kudos to the teams for attempting to do something positive—especially in the context of rampant voter suppression—but it also feels uncomfortably @ @ @ @ @ @ @ having to use the Superdome as the homeless shelter of last resort in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina smashed the levees .
The city didn ’ t have adequate emergency shelter , but it did have this stadium , which had been given hundreds of millions of public dollars over the course of 30 years , to provide a tattered cover from the elements .
It was a case of neoliberalism coming home to roost .
Similarly , in the context of voting amid a deadly virus , we should be able to provide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We shouldn ’ t have to depend upon a corrupted Postal Service or lose this precious right .
We also shouldn ’ t have to depend upon the local sports team that has sucked so much of the public treasury dry to provide what should be an expectation of citizenship .
In another gesture , LeBron James and Michael Jordan helped raise $ 27 million to pay off the court costs for formerly incarcerated people in Florida so they could vote .
Their voting rights were supposed to be restored after a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Florida ’ s voters .
But Governor Ron DeSantis , imposing a modern-day poll tax , said that all debts to the court needed to be paid off by the formerly incarcerated or they would not be able to cast a ballot .
It was an outrageous diktat and was held up by five Trump judges .
LeBron and MJ should be praised for their efforts , but needing to depend upon them to extract a measure of democracy from this system isn ’ t really democracy at all .
It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We should be grateful for athletes like Patrick Mahomes for paying for the voting machines or LeBron James for trying to pay off the fines of the formerly incarcerated , but we need to make sure that what comes to us as charity from progressive wealthy elites becomes concretized as rights .
I would love Mahomes or James to say not only that they are lending a hand but also that they shouldn ’ t have to be helping in the first place .

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Sometimes there are “puff pieces,” stories meant to make us feel good about the state of our world, that actually reveal something rancid beneath the fluff. Such is the case in Missouri, where Kansas City Chiefs All-World quarterback Patrick Mahomes stepped up when he had to, and by doing so, revealed that we actually live a step down from a decent democracy.
Mahomes, who in the off-season following his team’s Super Bowl victory signed a record $450 million contract with the Chiefs, wanted to make Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City a polling location on Election Day. The election board, however, said that this was a nonstarter; it didn’t have enough workable voting machines to make that happen. Instead of throwing up his hands, Mahomes bought new voting machines—splitting the six-figure cost with the Chiefs organization.
Speaking to Jim Trotter and Steve Wyche on the Huddle and Flow podcast, Mahomes said, “I thought it was very important not only just to get as many people out to vote as possible but also to use a place as Arrowhead where we have a lot of fun, show a lot of love and unity where people [are] coming together, and use that as a place where we can come together and vote and use our voice. I thought Arrowhead was the perfect place for it, and the Chiefs were all on board with it.”
Sure enough, the reviews from Arrowhead were sublime. Hundreds of people voted there, with minimal wait times. In addition, being able to vote in an open-air space during a pandemic surely put minds at ease.
This story is all fine and good, but it raises the question: Why do we need to depend upon the noblesse oblige of an NFL quarterback in order to make sure that people have the ability to cast a ballot? It’s absurd. In addition, many other stadiums were used as voting locations, part of an initiative by different sports leagues in cities around the country. Kudos to the teams for attempting to do something positive—especially in the context of rampant voter suppression—but it also feels uncomfortably like the voting version of New Orleans having to use the Superdome as the homeless shelter of last resort in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina smashed the levees. The city didn’t have adequate emergency shelter, but it did have this stadium, which had been given hundreds of millions of public dollars over the course of 30 years, to provide a tattered cover from the elements. It was a case of neoliberalism coming home to roost.
Similarly, in the context of voting amid a deadly virus, we should be able to provide safe, open-air polling places to all. We shouldn’t have to depend upon a corrupted Postal Service or lose this precious right. We also shouldn’t have to depend upon the local sports team that has sucked so much of the public treasury dry to provide what should be an expectation of citizenship.
In another gesture, LeBron James and Michael Jordan helped raise $27 million to pay off the court costs for formerly incarcerated people in Florida so they could vote. Their voting rights were supposed to be restored after a referendum in 2018 was overwhelmingly passed by Florida’s voters. But Governor Ron DeSantis, imposing a modern-day poll tax, said that all debts to the court needed to be paid off by the formerly incarcerated or they would not be able to cast a ballot. It was an outrageous diktat and was held up by five Trump judges. LeBron and MJ should be praised for their efforts, but needing to depend upon them to extract a measure of democracy from this system isn’t really democracy at all. It’s a system of oligarchical celebrity dependency.
We should be grateful for athletes like Patrick Mahomes for paying for the voting machines or LeBron James for trying to pay off the fines of the formerly incarcerated, but we need to make sure that what comes to us as charity from progressive wealthy elites becomes concretized as rights. I would love Mahomes or James to say not only that they are lending a hand but also that they shouldn’t have to be helping in the first place.


thenation--2020-11-05--Trump Doesn’t Have a Path to Victory Through the Courts

I sincerely hope that this is the last column I have to write about some wackadoodle legal case that has been brought by Donald Trump .
When all the votes are counted , Trump appears likely to lose the Electoral College in the race for president .
His attempts to overturn that result in the courts is likely to fail as well .
I know people are still unsure of the result .
We , as a nation , have been repeatedly abused by Trump and his lawlessness .
Trump seems to have a preternatural ability to speak lies and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ raw political power or legal action .
His premature declarations of victory can induce PTSD among people who remember all the other times he got away with violations of laws or norms .
But it ’ s not going to work this time .
Trump ’ s path to Electoral College victory required him to hold nearly all the states he won in 2016 , and , while the race remains tight and uncertain , he does not appear to be doing it .
As of this writing , multiple news outlets have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and the second congressional district in Nebraska .
Those are all areas Trump won in 2016 .
If Biden holds onto Nevada ( which Hillary Clinton won in 2016 but has not been called for Biden ) and wins Arizona ( where he is leading but votes are still being counted ) , that ’ s the ballgame .
Biden would get to 270 Electoral College votes and victory .
Even if Biden should lose one of these states , Pennsylvania and Georgia , two other states Trump won in 2016 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign feels “ confident ” about Pennsylvania , and Georgia could still turn toward the Democrats .
For Trump , it ’ s hard to make the math add up .
In response , the Trump campaign has turned to the courts .
It has filed a lawsuit in Michigan and vowed to demand a recount in Wisconsin .
It ’ s filed a lawsuit in Georgia to “ segregate ” valid absentee ballots received after Election Day from ballots received by Election Day .
Pennsylvania has already voluntarily decided to do that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ file suit there too .
Frankly , any state that is counting votes Trump thinks won ’ t help him is being threatened with a lawsuit .
Conversely , in Arizona and Nevada , two states where continuing to count late-arriving ballots seems to be helping Trump , no lawsuits have been filed .
Trump himself has promised to go directly to the Supreme Court—which he can ’ t do , since these suits have to start in the lower courts and be appealed .
Theoretically , it is possible that one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ high court , and because Trump and Mitch McConnell have stacked it with conservative justices , and because those justices were eager to help limit early voting in the run-up to the election , people are worried that it will step in and overturn the results .
I myself have spent most of the weeks since Ruth Bader Ginsburg ’ s death worrying that Amy Coney Barrett would hand-deliver the presidency back to Trump .
But we are not in the scenario that has fueled my nightmares .
Once you adjust for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the pollsters predicted , Biden is in as strong a position to fend off court challenges as one could reasonably hope for .
That ’ s because he appears to be on a path to winning .
And he appears to be on this path based on votes that were received by Election Day .
For Trump to change such a result , he would have to convince the court to throw out votes that have already been received and counted by the time his lawsuit reaches the court , and Trump would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than one state .
It ’ s important to recognize that most of the bad court rulings we saw in the run-up to the election involved questions of whether votes received after Election Day had to be counted .
Because the Trump administration gutted the post office , there are an unknown number of people who mailed in ballots that were not received by November 3 .
The US Postal Service is still resisting court orders to find and deliver an estimated 300,000 outstanding ballots .
Those votes should be counted , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those voters .
If Biden truly needed those votes to count in order to win , I ’ d be more worried .
I believe conservatives on the court are prepared to throw out those votes in order to help Trump .
But Biden doesn ’ t appear to need votes that were cast before the election but were received after in order to get the votes he needs .
Biden is ahead based on votes that were received by Election Day in states like Michigan and Wisconsin .
The “ delay ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ caused by states waiting to receive additional ballots ; it ’ s been caused by states counting ballots they ’ ve already received .
In fact , some states have taken longer to count because Republicans wouldn ’ t allow them to start counting mail-in ballots as they received them .
There ’ s just no legal precedent or principle for throwing out ballots that have been received by Election Day and counted by the states .
None .
Mail-in ballots are legal , and millions of citizens relied on them to cast @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ballots by hand at official locations to make sure their votes would arrive by Election Day .
To throw out those ballots is to disenfranchise people who voted timely and legally , long after the point where they could choose to vote some other way .
There is no good argument for courts to prevent those votes from being counted , and it ’ s worth noting that the argument against counting mail-in ballots in , say , Pennsylvania , is the exact opposite of Trump ’ s argument to continue counting mail-in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he hopes will sling him past Biden ’ s lead .
I generally take a dim view of conservative justices on the Supreme Court .
But it would be extreme , even for them , to throw out valid , timely votes because they don ’ t like the candidate who might receive them .
Trump supporters around the country are chanting “ Stop the count , ” but that ’ s not actually possible .
The court can ’ t “ stop ” a count ; in most places , it would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that has already been completed .
And the court would have to do that in a number of states .
As a reminder , in 2000 when the Supreme Court threw the election to George W. Bush , the issue there concerned one state , Florida , that held the Electoral College margin in the balance .
To win this election , the Trump campaign would have to somehow overturn the results in several states .
Trump ’ s easiest path to 270 involves : keeping Georgia , counting enough ballots to come @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and throwing out enough ballots to win Pennsylvania .
Or he ’ d have to keep Georgia , win Pennsylvania , and flip Michigan or Wisconsin , two states that have already been called against him .
Biden Is Piling Up a Popular-Vote Mandate for Ending Trumpism Whatever Happens , It Should Not Be This Close I believe that ’ s too much ballot burning for the Supreme Court to do .
There ’ s no reasonable principle under which it can throw out votes in Pennsylvania and Michigan but keep counting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and do it all to try to change the Electoral College outcome in favor of a man who just lost the popular vote for the second time in a row .
A move like that from the Supreme Court would be viewed as facially illegitimate , and risk sparking real civil unrest .
Maybe Justice Clarence Thomas and alleged attempted rapist Brett Kavanaugh would exchange high-fives while getting revenge on Democrats , but I don ’ t think Chief Justice John Roberts would go along , and I don ’ t think Justice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a final wrinkle , even if the Supreme Court issued such a ruling—which , let ’ s be clear , would amount to a coup d ’ état—there would be a lot of pressure on Democratic-controlled state governments in Pennsylvania and potentially Michigan to simply ignore it and appoint a slate of presidential electors based on the votes they ’ ve already counted in their states .
If the Supreme Court wants to burn down the whole republic , it ’ s not a given that the states would go along .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2000 .
Everybody can remember some time Trump did something lawless and got away with it .
But this time is different .
If it turns out that Donald Trump loses this presidential election outright , based on votes that were received by Election Day , even his courts won ’ t be able to save him .

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I sincerely hope that this is the last column I have to write about some wackadoodle legal case that has been brought by Donald Trump. When all the votes are counted, Trump appears likely to lose the Electoral College in the race for president. His attempts to overturn that result in the courts is likely to fail as well.
I know people are still unsure of the result. We, as a nation, have been repeatedly abused by Trump and his lawlessness. Trump seems to have a preternatural ability to speak lies and turn them into reality, either through raw political power or legal action. His premature declarations of victory can induce PTSD among people who remember all the other times he got away with violations of laws or norms.
But it’s not going to work this time. Trump’s path to Electoral College victory required him to hold nearly all the states he won in 2016, and, while the race remains tight and uncertain, he does not appear to be doing it. As of this writing, multiple news outlets have called Wisconsin and Michigan for Joe Biden, and the second congressional district in Nebraska. Those are all areas Trump won in 2016. If Biden holds onto Nevada (which Hillary Clinton won in 2016 but has not been called for Biden) and wins Arizona (where he is leading but votes are still being counted), that’s the ballgame. Biden would get to 270 Electoral College votes and victory.
Even if Biden should lose one of these states, Pennsylvania and Georgia, two other states Trump won in 2016, are still counting ballots. The Biden campaign feels “confident” about Pennsylvania, and Georgia could still turn toward the Democrats. For Trump, it’s hard to make the math add up.
In response, the Trump campaign has turned to the courts. It has filed a lawsuit in Michigan and vowed to demand a recount in Wisconsin. It’s filed a lawsuit in Georgia to “segregate” valid absentee ballots received after Election Day from ballots received by Election Day. Pennsylvania has already voluntarily decided to do that anyway, but Trump has threatened to file suit there too. Frankly, any state that is counting votes Trump thinks won’t help him is being threatened with a lawsuit. Conversely, in Arizona and Nevada, two states where continuing to count late-arriving ballots seems to be helping Trump, no lawsuits have been filed.
Trump himself has promised to go directly to the Supreme Court—which he can’t do, since these suits have to start in the lower courts and be appealed. Theoretically, it is possible that one of them could make its way to the high court, and because Trump and Mitch McConnell have stacked it with conservative justices, and because those justices were eager to help limit early voting in the run-up to the election, people are worried that it will step in and overturn the results. I myself have spent most of the weeks since Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death worrying that Amy Coney Barrett would hand-deliver the presidency back to Trump. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
But we are not in the scenario that has fueled my nightmares. Once you adjust for the fact that this election was closer than the pollsters predicted, Biden is in as strong a position to fend off court challenges as one could reasonably hope for. Current Issue View our current issue
That’s because he appears to be on a path to winning. And he appears to be on this path based on votes that were received by Election Day. For Trump to change such a result, he would have to convince the court to throw out votes that have already been received and counted by the time his lawsuit reaches the court, and Trump would have to shoot that moon in more than one state.
It’s important to recognize that most of the bad court rulings we saw in the run-up to the election involved questions of whether votes received after Election Day had to be counted. Because the Trump administration gutted the post office, there are an unknown number of people who mailed in ballots that were not received by November 3. The US Postal Service is still resisting court orders to find and deliver an estimated 300,000 outstanding ballots. Those votes should be counted, but Republican-controlled courts have consistently tried to disenfranchise those voters.
If Biden truly needed those votes to count in order to win, I’d be more worried. I believe conservatives on the court are prepared to throw out those votes in order to help Trump. But Biden doesn’t appear to need votes that were cast before the election but were received after in order to get the votes he needs. Biden is ahead based on votes that were received by Election Day in states like Michigan and Wisconsin. The “delay” in announcing those totals has not been caused by states waiting to receive additional ballots; it’s been caused by states counting ballots they’ve already received. In fact, some states have taken longer to count because Republicans wouldn’t allow them to start counting mail-in ballots as they received them.
There’s just no legal precedent or principle for throwing out ballots that have been received by Election Day and counted by the states. None. Mail-in ballots are legal, and millions of citizens relied on them to cast their vote. Many dropped off their ballots by hand at official locations to make sure their votes would arrive by Election Day. To throw out those ballots is to disenfranchise people who voted timely and legally, long after the point where they could choose to vote some other way.
There is no good argument for courts to prevent those votes from being counted, and it’s worth noting that the argument against counting mail-in ballots in, say, Pennsylvania, is the exact opposite of Trump’s argument to continue counting mail-in votes in Arizona and Nevada, which he hopes will sling him past Biden’s lead.
I generally take a dim view of conservative justices on the Supreme Court. But it would be extreme, even for them, to throw out valid, timely votes because they don’t like the candidate who might receive them. Trump supporters around the country are chanting “Stop the count,” but that’s not actually possible. The court can’t “stop” a count; in most places, it would have to “change” a count that has already been completed.
And the court would have to do that in a number of states. As a reminder, in 2000 when the Supreme Court threw the election to George W. Bush, the issue there concerned one state, Florida, that held the Electoral College margin in the balance. To win this election, the Trump campaign would have to somehow overturn the results in several states. Trump’s easiest path to 270 involves: keeping Georgia, counting enough ballots to come from behind to win Arizona or Nevada, and throwing out enough ballots to win Pennsylvania. Or he’d have to keep Georgia, win Pennsylvania, and flip Michigan or Wisconsin, two states that have already been called against him. Election 2020 Biden Is Piling Up a Popular-Vote Mandate for Ending Trumpism John Nichols Whatever Happens, It Should Not Be This Close Joan Walsh
I believe that’s too much ballot burning for the Supreme Court to do. There’s no reasonable principle under which it can throw out votes in Pennsylvania and Michigan but keep counting the votes in Arizona and Nevada, and do it all to try to change the Electoral College outcome in favor of a man who just lost the popular vote for the second time in a row. A move like that from the Supreme Court would be viewed as facially illegitimate, and risk sparking real civil unrest. Maybe Justice Clarence Thomas and alleged attempted rapist Brett Kavanaugh would exchange high-fives while getting revenge on Democrats, but I don’t think Chief Justice John Roberts would go along, and I don’t think Justice Neil Gorsuch would either.
And, as a final wrinkle, even if the Supreme Court issued such a ruling—which, let’s be clear, would amount to a coup d’état—there would be a lot of pressure on Democratic-controlled state governments in Pennsylvania and potentially Michigan to simply ignore it and appoint a slate of presidential electors based on the votes they’ve already counted in their states. If the Supreme Court wants to burn down the whole republic, it’s not a given that the states would go along.
Lots of people have unpleasant flashbacks to 2000. Everybody can remember some time Trump did something lawless and got away with it. But this time is different. If it turns out that Donald Trump loses this presidential election outright, based on votes that were received by Election Day, even his courts won’t be able to save him.