hotair--2020-12-07--Seattle's embattled Mayor Jenny Durkan will not seek another term

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan has announced that she will not seek another term as mayor : “ I ’ ve decided that I will not seek a second term , ” Durkan told KING 5 .
“ 2020 has just been a brutal year , but we have some really tough months ahead of us .
We still have to fight COVID , we ’ ve got to deliver a vaccine , and we ’ re gon na have a really hard job of rebuilding our economy , our downtown and continuing all the work on equity .
I could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ keep the job , or I can focus all my energies on doing the job .
And I think there ’ s only one right choice for Seattle and that ’ s for me to do the job.
” … Durkan faced significant criticism , even from her staunchest allies , for the Seattle Police Department ’ s ( SPD ) handling of protests on Capitol Hill and negotiations over funding .
There has been a recall effort and vocal civic groups , some of which were her former supporters , calling for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under intense pressure by leftist activists including several members of the City Council .
Socialist Council Member Kshama Sawant led protesters to Durkan ’ s house over the summer .
Protesters returned to her home this October and left messages like “ Jenny is a Nazi ” on the sidewalk outside .
Today , Durkan said that had nothing to do with her decision not to run for reelection , but I don ’ t believe it .
Durkan also took significant criticism for her handling of the CHAZ/CHOP this summer .
She @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ block party ” but finally pushed to restore order after five people were shot in the vicinity .
During the debate of CHOP , Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best was the loudest voice pushing to get police back into the area .
Initially , Durkan seemed to be against that .
Chief Best eventually resigned after her own conflict with the City Council .
Specifically , Best was publicly critical of the Council ’ s plan to defund the police , a move which she said would have forced her to fire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most diverse officers in the Seattle PD .
City Council member Lisa Herbold responded by suggesting that Best lay people off by race , something that Best ( rightly ) said was illegal .
In reaction to this criticism from the Chief , the Council voted to cut Best ’ s salary and that of all of her command staff .
That was the last straw .
In an opinion piece for Fox News , Seattle radio host Jason Rantz predicted this would accelerate Seattle ’ s leftward slide : Progressive and socialist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and King County Executive Dow Constantine , have already laid the groundwork to appeal to the activist class .
I ’ ve reported for almost a year that Mosqueda was planning a run for mayor .
Almost immediately after Monday ’ s announcement , Constantine ’ s name started to pop up ( though he ’ s waiting to see if Governor Jay Inslee resigns to take a role in a Joe Biden administration ) .
Both have helped steer the region hard to the left… The frightening reality is that with any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of greater power , with a city council on their side , there ’ s no telling what could happen to this once-great city .
Here ’ s a King 5 interview with the Mayor about her decision .

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan has announced that she will not seek another term as mayor:
“I’ve decided that I will not seek a second term,” Durkan told KING 5. “2020 has just been a brutal year, but we have some really tough months ahead of us. We still have to fight COVID, we’ve got to deliver a vaccine, and we’re gonna have a really hard job of rebuilding our economy, our downtown and continuing all the work on equity. I could have spent the whole year campaigning to keep the job, or I can focus all my energies on doing the job. And I think there’s only one right choice for Seattle and that’s for me to do the job.”… Durkan faced significant criticism, even from her staunchest allies, for the Seattle Police Department’s (SPD) handling of protests on Capitol Hill and negotiations over funding. There has been a recall effort and vocal civic groups, some of which were her former supporters, calling for her resignation.
Durkan has been put under intense pressure by leftist activists including several members of the City Council. Socialist Council Member Kshama Sawant led protesters to Durkan’s house over the summer. Protesters returned to her home this October and left messages like “Jenny is a Nazi” on the sidewalk outside. Today, Durkan said that had nothing to do with her decision not to run for reelection, but I don’t believe it.
Durkan also took significant criticism for her handling of the CHAZ/CHOP this summer. She initially downplayed the whole thing as a “block party” but finally pushed to restore order after five people were shot in the vicinity.
During the debate of CHOP, Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best was the loudest voice pushing to get police back into the area. Initially, Durkan seemed to be against that. Chief Best eventually resigned after her own conflict with the City Council. Specifically, Best was publicly critical of the Council’s plan to defund the police, a move which she said would have forced her to fire some of the most recently hired and most diverse officers in the Seattle PD. City Council member Lisa Herbold responded by suggesting that Best lay people off by race, something that Best (rightly) said was illegal. In reaction to this criticism from the Chief, the Council voted to cut Best’s salary and that of all of her command staff. That was the last straw.
In an opinion piece for Fox News, Seattle radio host Jason Rantz predicted this would accelerate Seattle’s leftward slide:
Progressive and socialist leaders, like city councilwoman Teresa Mosqueda and King County Executive Dow Constantine, have already laid the groundwork to appeal to the activist class. I’ve reported for almost a year that Mosqueda was planning a run for mayor. Almost immediately after Monday’s announcement, Constantine’s name started to pop up (though he’s waiting to see if Governor Jay Inslee resigns to take a role in a Joe Biden administration). Both have helped steer the region hard to the left… The frightening reality is that with any one of these voices in a position of greater power, with a city council on their side, there’s no telling what could happen to this once-great city.
Here’s a King 5 interview with the Mayor about her decision.


hotair--2020-12-07--NYT: Don't look now, but Democrats *still* have a working-class problem

That much should be clear from the election results — and if not from that , then from the election reaction down ticket .
We ’ ll get to the latter in a moment , but the New York Times analyzed the former this weekend to see where Joe Biden won in 2020 but where Democrats lost more broadly .
The results show that “ Joe from Scranton ” didn ’ t sell except in places other than Scranton .
His success came mainly from Academia and Democrats ’ latest environs : Demographics , it turns out , are not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be .
The clearest way to understand the results of the 2020 election — and , perhaps , the shifting state of our politics — is through the education voting gap .
Voters with college degrees flocked to Mr. Biden , emerging as the crucial voting bloc in the suburbs .
Those without them continued their flight from the Democratic Party .
“ The big-picture problem is that the Democratic Party is increasingly reflecting the cultural values and political preferences of educated white people , ” said David Shor , a data scientist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Culturally , working-class nonwhite people have more in common with working-class white people.
” It depends on which demographics , actually .
Democrats ’ insistence on identity politics has been predicated on the idea that ethnicity overrides all other considerations .
And to a certain extent it still exerts a signifiant effect , but that appears to be changing as the GOP adopts a more populist economic position .
It ’ s not ethnic demographics that count now , but economic demos .
And that spells trouble for Democrats in elections where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
When the election results get filtered by composition of the workforce in counties , the disparity becomes glaring .
Few bought the “ Joe from Scranton ” conceit in places where blue-collar workers largely exist .
Blue-collar workers instead voted for Donald Trump , and that tended to be true even in ethnic demographics that Democrats dominate : Of the 265 counties most dominated by blue-collar workers — areas where at least 40 percent of employed adults have jobs in construction , the service industry or other nonprofessional fields — Mr. Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from researchers at the Economic Innovation Group , a bipartisan policy research group .
On average , the work force in counties won by Mr. Biden was about 23 percent blue collar .
In counties won by President Trump , blue-collar workers made up an average of 31 percent of the work force .
Here ’ s a fun stat dug up by the NYT : Joe Biden actually did worse among these blue-collar counties than Hillary Clinton .
And Biden actually won his election , thanks in large part to Trump making @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2020 .
Democrats down-ballot fared even worse despite the strong turnout for Biden in this election cycle .
That portends disaster for Democrats in upcoming elections if they can ’ t find a way to connect with the working class .
And as long as they continue to pander to ethno-sexual identity politics , they ’ re not likely to gain any ground with the demographics that are peeling off to the GOP .
For confirmation of this , look no further than Iowa .
Politico reported yesterday that Iowa Democrats are in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and now worry that the national party might make matters worse by eliminating their caucus as the first contest of the next presidential primary cycle : If it was only that Democrats in Iowa had a difficult caucus or suffered down-ballot losses , it might not have been so bad .
The party did poorly in congressional and legislative races everywhere .
But Iowa , because of its coveted place ahead of all other states in the presidential nominating process , had more on the line than any other state .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democrats flipped two House seats in 2018 and Democratic voter registration shot up ahead of the caucuses , briefly surpassing Republicans for the first time in years .
Biden appeared competitive enough there early this summer that Trump aired defensive ads in the state .
It would have been easier to forget the handling of the caucuses — where an app failed , results were delayed and initial reports appeared to contain errors — had Democrats taken out Ernst or had Biden turned Iowa blue .
Instead , Biden lost the state by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump carrying all but six of the state ’ s 99 counties — just as he did in 2016 .
Ernst clobbered Theresa Greenfield by nearly 7 percentage points , freshman Democrat Rep. Abby Finkenauer lost her bid for a second term and Rep. Cindy Axne , the only successful Democratic House candidate , barely held onto her seat .
… The road back to relevance is going to be a slog , with deep ramifications for a national party that is laboring to regain a durable foothold in the Midwest .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all as long as the party orients itself toward Academia over the the local lodge .
The more that Democrats keep pandering toward progressives and treat people between the coasts as rubes , the tougher future elections will be .
And with Nancy Pelosi already announcing that she thinks the 2020 elections were a “ mandate ” for her progressive agenda , Democrats are well on their way to blowing the midterms already .

That much should be clear from the election results — and if not from that, then from the election reaction down ticket. We’ll get to the latter in a moment, but the New York Times analyzed the former this weekend to see where Joe Biden won in 2020 but where Democrats lost more broadly. The results show that “Joe from Scranton” didn’t sell except in places other than Scranton. His success came mainly from Academia and Democrats’ latest environs:
Demographics, it turns out, are not political destiny. But diplomas just might be. The clearest way to understand the results of the 2020 election — and, perhaps, the shifting state of our politics — is through the education voting gap. Voters with college degrees flocked to Mr. Biden, emerging as the crucial voting bloc in the suburbs. Those without them continued their flight from the Democratic Party. “The big-picture problem is that the Democratic Party is increasingly reflecting the cultural values and political preferences of educated white people,” said David Shor, a data scientist who advises Democratic campaigns and organizations. “Culturally, working-class nonwhite people have more in common with working-class white people.”
It depends on which demographics, actually. Democrats’ insistence on identity politics has been predicated on the idea that ethnicity overrides all other considerations. And to a certain extent it still exerts a signifiant effect, but that appears to be changing as the GOP adopts a more populist economic position. It’s not ethnic demographics that count now, but economic demos. And that spells trouble for Democrats in elections where Donald Trump isn’t the issue.
When the election results get filtered by composition of the workforce in counties, the disparity becomes glaring. Few bought the “Joe from Scranton” conceit in places where blue-collar workers largely exist. Blue-collar workers instead voted for Donald Trump, and that tended to be true even in ethnic demographics that Democrats dominate:
Of the 265 counties most dominated by blue-collar workers — areas where at least 40 percent of employed adults have jobs in construction, the service industry or other nonprofessional fields — Mr. Biden won just 15, according to data from researchers at the Economic Innovation Group, a bipartisan policy research group. On average, the work force in counties won by Mr. Biden was about 23 percent blue collar. In counties won by President Trump, blue-collar workers made up an average of 31 percent of the work force.
Here’s a fun stat dug up by the NYT: Joe Biden actually did worse among these blue-collar counties than Hillary Clinton. And Biden actually won his election, thanks in large part to Trump making himself too much of an issue in 2020. Democrats down-ballot fared even worse despite the strong turnout for Biden in this election cycle. That portends disaster for Democrats in upcoming elections if they can’t find a way to connect with the working class. And as long as they continue to pander to ethno-sexual identity politics, they’re not likely to gain any ground with the demographics that are peeling off to the GOP.
For confirmation of this, look no further than Iowa. Politico reported yesterday that Iowa Democrats are in a “meltdown” over their losses, and now worry that the national party might make matters worse by eliminating their caucus as the first contest of the next presidential primary cycle:
If it was only that Democrats in Iowa had a difficult caucus or suffered down-ballot losses, it might not have been so bad. The party did poorly in congressional and legislative races everywhere. But Iowa, because of its coveted place ahead of all other states in the presidential nominating process, had more on the line than any other state. And expectations in Iowa were unusually high after Democrats flipped two House seats in 2018 and Democratic voter registration shot up ahead of the caucuses, briefly surpassing Republicans for the first time in years. Biden appeared competitive enough there early this summer that Trump aired defensive ads in the state. It would have been easier to forget the handling of the caucuses — where an app failed, results were delayed and initial reports appeared to contain errors — had Democrats taken out Ernst or had Biden turned Iowa blue. Instead, Biden lost the state by more than 8 percentage points, with Trump carrying all but six of the state’s 99 counties — just as he did in 2016. Ernst clobbered Theresa Greenfield by nearly 7 percentage points, freshman Democrat Rep. Abby Finkenauer lost her bid for a second term and Rep. Cindy Axne, the only successful Democratic House candidate, barely held onto her seat. … The road back to relevance is going to be a slog, with deep ramifications for a national party that is laboring to regain a durable foothold in the Midwest.
It’s not going to happen at all as long as the party orients itself toward Academia over the the local lodge. The more that Democrats keep pandering toward progressives and treat people between the coasts as rubes, the tougher future elections will be. And with Nancy Pelosi already announcing that she thinks the 2020 elections were a “mandate” for her progressive agenda, Democrats are well on their way to blowing the midterms already.


hotair--2020-12-07--Chicago Teachers Union tweet calling push to reopen schools "rooted in sexism, racism and misogyny"

Chicago Teachers Union tweet calling push to reopen schools "rooted in sexism, racism and misogyny" deleted

The Chicago Teachers Union posted an unusual tweet Sunday .
“ The push to reopen schools is rooted in sexism , racism , and misogyny.
” That was it .
That was the post .
The tweet was soon deleted as reactions came in .
Teacher unions have been fighting against reopening schools all across the country and Chicago is no exception .
The teachers union represents 28,000 educators in the nation ’ s third-largest city .
The seemingly random tweet brought replies that called out such an unnecessary and random post .
One look at the union ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this sort of logic is not unusual .
There is a whole lot of grievance-peddling going on with the tweets in that timeline .
This particular tweet just popped up without explanation .
The union ’ s contention that the public ’ s demand for reopening schools is racist flies in the face of reality .
One of the conclusions drawn from statistics of the coronavirus pandemic is that minority communities are harder hit than others , especially black and Hispanic communities .
Minority parents , for example , are suing in California @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The fact is that minority parents are at the forefront of the push to reopen schools .
Moms can ’ t work full-time if they can ’ t find help in watching their children at home .
Inner-city schools , like in Chicago , are disproportionately populated by minority students .
The demands of the parents are not racist or sexist , they are based on the reality that at-home learning is failing their children and putting unnecessary stress on families .
Parents should be putting pressure on teacher unions because they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Teachers get paid whether they are teaching in a classroom or online .
There is little incentive for them to return to classroom instruction except that , simply put , it ’ s their job .
Think of all the other workers who show up and do their jobs that are just as essential as educating the next generation .
There have not been any superspreader results reported by any school system that is up and running with classroom instruction .
By taking the same precautions that other school systems take , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chicago schools would produce different results in new cases .
Medical experts like Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield and Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci argue that in-person instruction can continue as long as it follows the science and is done in a safe way .
Redfield said last week that infections among teachers and students occur because of community transmission or virus spread at home .
“ We ’ re not seeing intra-school transmission , ” he said .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ learning , like socialization , mental health services , and food programs , saying at-home learning can , unfortunately , give rise to more substance abuse and suicide .
“ I just think it ’ s healthy for these kids to be in school , ” Redfield continued .
“ That said , they got to do it safely and they ’ ve got to do it responsibly .
And when this was started over the summer , no one really knew for certain .
They thought that these public health measures would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shows us that you can operate these schools in face-to-face learning in a safe and responsible way.
” Liberals like to sanctimoniously say that they follow the science .
If that is true , why aren ’ t they following the guidance of Dr. Fauci or the CDC ?
Both Fauci and the CDC call for schools to reopen .
Children are suffering from isolation and a lack of all the resources necessary to thrive in school , especially minority students .
Dr. Fauci often says , “ Close the bars , open @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should be to try as best as possible , within reason , to keep the children in school , to get them back to school , ” Fauci told ABC News reporter Martha Raddatz , who noted that New York City public schools had recently closed down again due to rising coronavirus rates in the community .
“ If you look at the data , the spread among children and from children is not very big at all , not like one would have suspected , ” said Fauci .
“ So let @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back and try to mitigate the things that maintain and push the kind of community spread we are trying to avoid.
” The Chicago Teachers Union tweet was an example of poor judgment , lashing out using the buzzwords of victimhood .
Students that are ill-served by online-only learning are the real victims during the coronavirus pandemic , not the teachers who are expected to do their jobs .
Taxpayer money continues to go to school districts whether schools are open or not .
How about returning that money back to parents so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ children need if teachers can not meet their needs online ?
This , of course , is the best solution : The union soon realized its mistake and deleted the tweet while posting another one saying more “ nuance ” is needed in the discussion .
That ’ s the problem , though , with the original tweet .
There was no discussion , just a random tweet claiming victimhood .
There isn ’ t a one-size-fits-all solution for school districts across the country but basic precautions are universal in mitigating the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ apart and providing hand sanitizer for students to use throughout their day in school , as well as face mask policies are all basic safety measures that schools can take to protect students and teachers .
It sure looks sexist and misogynist to keep schools shut .
Generally speaking , women are responsible for children and many have had to leave their jobs to stay home with their children .
Moms are the ones making huge sacrifices for their families to get through the pandemic .
Spare us the victimhood from teacher unions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ school .

The Chicago Teachers Union posted an unusual tweet Sunday. “The push to reopen schools is rooted in sexism, racism, and misogyny.” That was it. That was the post. The tweet was soon deleted as reactions came in.
Teacher unions have been fighting against reopening schools all across the country and Chicago is no exception. The teachers union represents 28,000 educators in the nation’s third-largest city. The seemingly random tweet brought replies that called out such an unnecessary and random post. One look at the union’s Twitter account, though, shows that this sort of logic is not unusual. There is a whole lot of grievance-peddling going on with the tweets in that timeline. This particular tweet just popped up without explanation.
The union’s contention that the public’s demand for reopening schools is racist flies in the face of reality. One of the conclusions drawn from statistics of the coronavirus pandemic is that minority communities are harder hit than others, especially black and Hispanic communities. Minority parents, for example, are suing in California to get their kids back into classrooms. The fact is that minority parents are at the forefront of the push to reopen schools. Moms can’t work full-time if they can’t find help in watching their children at home. Inner-city schools, like in Chicago, are disproportionately populated by minority students. The demands of the parents are not racist or sexist, they are based on the reality that at-home learning is failing their children and putting unnecessary stress on families.
Then why are minority parents suing in California saying virtual learning has left their children behind? You say you care about your students, but you clearly don't. https://t.co/tND2mIvKeD — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) December 6, 2020
Parents should be putting pressure on teacher unions because they hold a powerful grip on local governments. Teachers get paid whether they are teaching in a classroom or online. There is little incentive for them to return to classroom instruction except that, simply put, it’s their job. Think of all the other workers who show up and do their jobs that are just as essential as educating the next generation. There have not been any superspreader results reported by any school system that is up and running with classroom instruction. By taking the same precautions that other school systems take, there is no reason to think that Chicago schools would produce different results in new cases.
Medical experts like Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield and Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci argue that in-person instruction can continue as long as it follows the science and is done in a safe way. Redfield said last week that infections among teachers and students occur because of community transmission or virus spread at home. “We’re not seeing intra-school transmission,” he said. The CDC director emphasized the benefits of in-person learning, like socialization, mental health services, and food programs, saying at-home learning can, unfortunately, give rise to more substance abuse and suicide. “I just think it’s healthy for these kids to be in school,” Redfield continued. “That said, they got to do it safely and they’ve got to do it responsibly. And when this was started over the summer, no one really knew for certain. They thought that these public health measures would work. But now the data clearly shows us that you can operate these schools in face-to-face learning in a safe and responsible way.”
Liberals like to sanctimoniously say that they follow the science. If that is true, why aren’t they following the guidance of Dr. Fauci or the CDC? Both Fauci and the CDC call for schools to reopen. Children are suffering from isolation and a lack of all the resources necessary to thrive in school, especially minority students. Dr. Fauci often says, “Close the bars, open the schools.”
“The default position should be to try as best as possible, within reason, to keep the children in school, to get them back to school,” Fauci told ABC News reporter Martha Raddatz, who noted that New York City public schools had recently closed down again due to rising coronavirus rates in the community. “If you look at the data, the spread among children and from children is not very big at all, not like one would have suspected,” said Fauci. “So let’s try to get the kids back and try to mitigate the things that maintain and push the kind of community spread we are trying to avoid.”
The Chicago Teachers Union tweet was an example of poor judgment, lashing out using the buzzwords of victimhood. Students that are ill-served by online-only learning are the real victims during the coronavirus pandemic, not the teachers who are expected to do their jobs. Taxpayer money continues to go to school districts whether schools are open or not. How about returning that money back to parents so that they can get the help their children need if teachers cannot meet their needs online?
This, of course, is the best solution:
https://twitter.com/dangainor/status/1335699525600759811
The union soon realized its mistake and deleted the tweet while posting another one saying more “nuance” is needed in the discussion. That’s the problem, though, with the original tweet. There was no discussion, just a random tweet claiming victimhood.
https://twitter.com/CTULocal1/status/1335718772200665091
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution for school districts across the country but basic precautions are universal in mitigating the coronavirus. Social distancing like moving desks further apart and providing hand sanitizer for students to use throughout their day in school, as well as face mask policies are all basic safety measures that schools can take to protect students and teachers. It sure looks sexist and misogynist to keep schools shut. Generally speaking, women are responsible for children and many have had to leave their jobs to stay home with their children. Moms are the ones making huge sacrifices for their families to get through the pandemic. Spare us the victimhood from teacher unions. Kids need to be back in school.


hotair--2020-12-07--Report: White House passed on chance to buy more vaccine doses from Pfizer, which now has commitment

Report: White House passed on chance to buy more vaccine doses from Pfizer, which now has commitments to foreign countries

There has to be more to this story .
Team Trump is all about making sure Americans get first crack at vaccines once they ’ re available , or so one would assume .
( America first ! )
Obviously they ’ re not limiting the number of doses they purchase out of a feeling of altruism towards U.S. allies , to make sure Europeans get their “ fair share ” of what Pfizer ’ s churning out .
So why would they decline an opportunity to buy more doses , knowing full well that foreign governments would be moving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the scarce and precious resource that is Pfizer ’ s vaccine supply ?
I don ’ t understand , and neither does the NYT : Trump administration officials passed when Pfizer offered in late summer to sell the U.S. government additional doses of its Covid-19 vaccine , according to people familiar with the matter .
Now Pfizer may not be able provide more of its vaccine to the United States until next June because of its commitments to other countries , they said… On Nov. 11 — two days after Pfizer first announced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than 90 percent effective — the European Union announced that it had finalized a supply deal with Pfizer and BioNTech for 200 million doses , a deal they began negotiating in months earlier .
Shipments could begin by the end of the year , and the contract includes an option for 100 million more doses .
Asked if the Trump administration had missed a crucial chance over the summer to snap up more doses for Americans , a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services said , “ We are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doses of Pfizer ’ s vaccine as agreed to in our contract , and beyond that , we have five other vaccine candidates.
” 100 million doses is enough for 50 million people , or 15 percent of the U.S. population .
The U.S. has also purchased 100 million doses of Moderna ’ s vaccine , which will cover another 15 percent of the population .
What are we doing about the other 70 percent ?
Note that , as it did with Pfizer , the EU has also purchased more doses from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S. has , meaning that there are foreign commitments in that case too that should also slow that company ’ s ability to supply a later round of vaccines ordered by Uncle Sam .
Declining to buy more doses from Pfizer can ’ t be a cost thing , as money is no object in ending the pandemic as soon as possible .
Is it a matter of spreading the wealth around ?
Back in August , Reuters noted that in addition to its deal with Moderna , the U.S. also had purchase @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and Sanofi .
Put those orders together with the orders from Pfizer and Moderna and it adds up to more than 500 million doses , enough to cover about three-quarters of the population .
That ’ s the best I can do to explain why the White House declined Pfizer ’ s offer , that they already had their bases covered with other manufacturers .
The not so minor problem is that there ’ s no guarantee that those other vaccines will be as effective as Pfizer ’ s and Moderna ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re effective at all .
( AstraZeneca is partnering with Oxford and it is indeed an open question whether that vaccine is as effective as Pfizer ’ s . )
The White House couldn ’ t have known when it turned down Pfizer this summer that its vaccine would prove more than 90 percent effective , but presumably it could have contracted for that eventuality with the company .
E.g.
, an option to purchase an additional 100 or 200 million doses once it saw the data from the clinical trial .
Seems @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on those other companies to release their own data to see if we ’ ve negotiated ourselves into a bum deal here .
If 100 million people end up being vaccinated with the Pfizer/Moderna product that ’ s 90+ percent effective and another 100 million have to settle for a product that ’ s , say , 60 percent effective , questions will be asked why we didn ’ t stock up on Pfizer and Moderna ’ s product by negotiating options to purchase more doses .
The Times story mentions that Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that would “ ensure that United States government prioritizes getting the vaccine to American citizens before sending it to other nations , ” but surely that doesn ’ t mean they ’ re going to try to stop Pfizer and Moderna from fulfilling their contracts with foreign governments .
The order seems like a nationalist fig leaf to distract from their inexplicable decision not to buy more from Pfizer .
We ’ re putting Americans first in principle !
We ’ re just … not actually doing it when we have the chance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ long time to wait for more of Pfizer ’ s vaccine , especially if it ends up being one of only two that are highly effective against the virus .
In fact , Pfizer ’ s already having trouble with its supply chain , which may mean the vaccination process will be slower than everyone expected even in the best-case scenario .
Now , on top of that , it may be that we end up having to wait in line behind Europeans for our second batch .
“ Scaling up the raw @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” a company spokeswoman said .
“ And it ’ s important to highlight that the outcome of the clinical trial was somewhat later than the initial projection.
” … Pfizer on Nov. 9 , in announcing the vaccine candidate the company and BioNTech had developed had proven more than 90 % effective in preventing Covid-19 in trial participants , said it expects “ to produce globally up to 50 million vaccine doses in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021.
” That was a step back from its earlier @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the year .
“ We were late , ” said a person directly involved in the development of the Pfizer vaccine .
“ Some early batches of the raw materials failed to meet the standards .
We fixed it , but ran out of time to meet this year ’ s projected shipments.
” Initially they had hoped to crank out 100 million doses globally by the end of the month , now they ’ re aiming for half that amount .
By next week , Pfizer may have only 6.4 million doses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of vaccinations , enough for less than one percent of the population .
Operation Warp Speed had aimed to ship 300 million doses of all available vaccines to U.S. states before year ’ s end .
As it is , they ’ re looking at something like 35-40 million doses .
The logistical difficulties are problematic enough without having to worry about other nations taking priority over us in fulfillment .
If a Democratic administration had declined to purchase more doses when it had the chance my suspicion would be that they were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — i.e .
they thought it would make for good diplomacy to make sure that our allies had some of the product before every American was vaccinated .
Nationalists would have been irate about that ; in any event , it surely isn ’ t Team Trump ’ s rationale for passing on buying more doses .
So what ’ s the rationale ?
What happened here ?

There has to be more to this story. Team Trump is all about making sure Americans get first crack at vaccines once they’re available, or so one would assume. (America first!) Obviously they’re not limiting the number of doses they purchase out of a feeling of altruism towards U.S. allies, to make sure Europeans get their “fair share” of what Pfizer’s churning out.
So why would they decline an opportunity to buy more doses, knowing full well that foreign governments would be moving in to stake their own claims to the scarce and precious resource that is Pfizer’s vaccine supply?
I don’t understand, and neither does the NYT:
Trump administration officials passed when Pfizer offered in late summer to sell the U.S. government additional doses of its Covid-19 vaccine, according to people familiar with the matter. Now Pfizer may not be able provide more of its vaccine to the United States until next June because of its commitments to other countries, they said… On Nov. 11 — two days after Pfizer first announced early results indicating that its vaccine was more than 90 percent effective — the European Union announced that it had finalized a supply deal with Pfizer and BioNTech for 200 million doses, a deal they began negotiating in months earlier. Shipments could begin by the end of the year, and the contract includes an option for 100 million more doses. Asked if the Trump administration had missed a crucial chance over the summer to snap up more doses for Americans, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services said, “We are confident that we will have 100 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine as agreed to in our contract, and beyond that, we have five other vaccine candidates.”
100 million doses is enough for 50 million people, or 15 percent of the U.S. population. The U.S. has also purchased 100 million doses of Moderna’s vaccine, which will cover another 15 percent of the population.
What are we doing about the other 70 percent? Note that, as it did with Pfizer, the EU has also purchased more doses from Moderna (160 million) than the U.S. has, meaning that there are foreign commitments in that case too that should also slow that company’s ability to supply a later round of vaccines ordered by Uncle Sam.
Declining to buy more doses from Pfizer can’t be a cost thing, as money is no object in ending the pandemic as soon as possible. Is it a matter of spreading the wealth around? Back in August, Reuters noted that in addition to its deal with Moderna, the U.S. also had purchase deals with AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, and Sanofi. Put those orders together with the orders from Pfizer and Moderna and it adds up to more than 500 million doses, enough to cover about three-quarters of the population.
That’s the best I can do to explain why the White House declined Pfizer’s offer, that they already had their bases covered with other manufacturers. The not so minor problem is that there’s no guarantee that those other vaccines will be as effective as Pfizer’s and Moderna’s are, assuming that they’re effective at all. (AstraZeneca is partnering with Oxford and it is indeed an open question whether that vaccine is as effective as Pfizer’s.) The White House couldn’t have known when it turned down Pfizer this summer that its vaccine would prove more than 90 percent effective, but presumably it could have contracted for that eventuality with the company. E.g., an option to purchase an additional 100 or 200 million doses once it saw the data from the clinical trial.
Seems like now we’re stuck waiting on those other companies to release their own data to see if we’ve negotiated ourselves into a bum deal here. If 100 million people end up being vaccinated with the Pfizer/Moderna product that’s 90+ percent effective and another 100 million have to settle for a product that’s, say, 60 percent effective, questions will be asked why we didn’t stock up on Pfizer and Moderna’s product by negotiating options to purchase more doses.
What’s the answer?
The Times story mentions that Trump is preparing to sign an executive order that would “ensure that United States government prioritizes getting the vaccine to American citizens before sending it to other nations,” but surely that doesn’t mean they’re going to try to stop Pfizer and Moderna from fulfilling their contracts with foreign governments. The order seems like a nationalist fig leaf to distract from their inexplicable decision not to buy more from Pfizer. We’re putting Americans first in principle! We’re just … not actually doing it when we have the chance to place orders.
June is a long time to wait for more of Pfizer’s vaccine, especially if it ends up being one of only two that are highly effective against the virus. In fact, Pfizer’s already having trouble with its supply chain, which may mean the vaccination process will be slower than everyone expected even in the best-case scenario. Now, on top of that, it may be that we end up having to wait in line behind Europeans for our second batch.
“Scaling up the raw material supply chain took longer than expected,” a company spokeswoman said. “And it’s important to highlight that the outcome of the clinical trial was somewhat later than the initial projection.”… Pfizer on Nov. 9, in announcing the vaccine candidate the company and BioNTech had developed had proven more than 90% effective in preventing Covid-19 in trial participants, said it expects “to produce globally up to 50 million vaccine doses in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021.” That was a step back from its earlier projections for output by the end of the year. “We were late,” said a person directly involved in the development of the Pfizer vaccine. “Some early batches of the raw materials failed to meet the standards. We fixed it, but ran out of time to meet this year’s projected shipments.”
Initially they had hoped to crank out 100 million doses globally by the end of the month, now they’re aiming for half that amount. By next week, Pfizer may have only 6.4 million doses available for Americans for the initial round of vaccinations, enough for less than one percent of the population. Operation Warp Speed had aimed to ship 300 million doses of all available vaccines to U.S. states before year’s end. As it is, they’re looking at something like 35-40 million doses. The logistical difficulties are problematic enough without having to worry about other nations taking priority over us in fulfillment.
If a Democratic administration had declined to purchase more doses when it had the chance my suspicion would be that they were practicing “internationalism” with the vaccine — i.e. they thought it would make for good diplomacy to make sure that our allies had some of the product before every American was vaccinated. Nationalists would have been irate about that; in any event, it surely isn’t Team Trump’s rationale for passing on buying more doses. So what’s the rationale? What happened here?


hotair--2020-12-07--Video: Rehabilitation for Vice Bloggers

Video: Rehabilitation for Vice Bloggers

Ryan Long is a Canadian comedian whose bio you can read here .
He also has a YouTube channel where he releases short comic skits , several of which seem to take aim at progressives .
Today he posted a 3-minute clip titled “ Rehabilitation for Vice Bloggers ” in which he portrays a counselor trying to deprogram a former Vice Blogger who now sees everything in his life only in terms of race and who is desperate to tweet criticism of everything in those terms .
“ After leaving Vice , a lot of bloggers have trouble reacclimating to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ character says in the skit .
While the clip is aimed specifically at Vice bloggers , it could really apply to a whole host of writers now producing commentary at mainstream news sites .
Not to mention the thousands of people on Twitter who are pushing these same narratives every day about something .
It ’ s truly hard to overstate the degree to which Critical Race Theory has taken over as the primary lens for a lot of people .
They are still a minority of people at this point , even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they ’ re an extremely noisy minority who garner a lot of attention for themselves and their views .
And I think it ’ s safe to say their numbers are growing quickly .
It ’ s remarkable the media presence these folks have given that 10 years ago most Americans had never heard of any of this .
Comedy has been one of the most frequent targets of the woke scolds and plenty of established comedians from the older generation have taken shots at woke progressives .
Even some from the younger @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doing comedy on college campuses .
Given all of the criticism , you ’ d think comedians would be eager to fire back , mocking some of the cringe-worthy elements of wokeism .
A few have , with predictable results , but most seem willing to take the risk that entails .
And many mainstream comedians now sound more like political commentators than comics .
Here ’ s Ryan Long mining the territory for all it ’ s worth : If you like that , he has several other clips including “ Halloween @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ When your mom is a feminist , ” and “ New CDC Regulations Say Governors Will Bang Your Wife.
” Some of the language in these clips is definitely R-rated and NSFW , but it is funny .
Here ’ s another example titled , “ Progressive Pick-Up Artist.
” I ’ m surprised Ryan Long hasn ’ t been canceled yet .

Ryan Long is a Canadian comedian whose bio you can read here. He also has a YouTube channel where he releases short comic skits, several of which seem to take aim at progressives. Today he posted a 3-minute clip titled “Rehabilitation for Vice Bloggers” in which he portrays a counselor trying to deprogram a former Vice Blogger who now sees everything in his life only in terms of race and who is desperate to tweet criticism of everything in those terms.
“After leaving Vice, a lot of bloggers have trouble reacclimating to normal society,” Long’s character says in the skit. While the clip is aimed specifically at Vice bloggers, it could really apply to a whole host of writers now producing commentary at mainstream news sites. Not to mention the thousands of people on Twitter who are pushing these same narratives every day about something. It’s truly hard to overstate the degree to which Critical Race Theory has taken over as the primary lens for a lot of people.
They are still a minority of people at this point, even on most college campuses. Nevertheless, they’re an extremely noisy minority who garner a lot of attention for themselves and their views. And I think it’s safe to say their numbers are growing quickly. It’s remarkable the media presence these folks have given that 10 years ago most Americans had never heard of any of this.
Comedy has been one of the most frequent targets of the woke scolds and plenty of established comedians from the older generation have taken shots at woke progressives. Even some from the younger generation of comedians have learned to avoid doing comedy on college campuses. Given all of the criticism, you’d think comedians would be eager to fire back, mocking some of the cringe-worthy elements of wokeism. A few have, with predictable results, but most seem willing to take the risk that entails. And many mainstream comedians now sound more like political commentators than comics.
Here’s Ryan Long mining the territory for all it’s worth:
If you like that, he has several other clips including “Halloween is Christmas for Cancel Bloggers,” “When your mom is a feminist,” and “New CDC Regulations Say Governors Will Bang Your Wife.” Some of the language in these clips is definitely R-rated and NSFW, but it is funny.
Here’s another example titled, “Progressive Pick-Up Artist.” I’m surprised Ryan Long hasn’t been canceled yet.


hotair--2020-12-07--Fauci: California did the right thing by locking down parts of the state

My attitude almost from the start of this nightmare has been to take the libertarian view that information , not restrictions , will see us through .
You don ’ t need to close any businesses .
All you need to do is make sure that the public has good , up-to-date information on the extent of the threat in their community and they ’ ll handle the rest .
As community spread gets worse , people will pull back voluntarily from commercial activities .
Let the market decide which businesses need to close , not halfwit top-down authorities like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ minor flaw in that logic , though .
What if people … don ’ t behave rationally based on the information you give them ?
Or , rather : What if people behave rationally based on the threat COVID poses to them individually but not rationally based on the threat COVID poses to their community ?
A 21-year-old is at practically zero risk of dying if he and his friends have a pub crawl and pick up coronavirus on the way .
But the chains of transmission each of them will have started @ @ @ @ @ @ @ illness to people they end up having contact with later , especially if some of those people are elderly .
Here ’ s the graph of new cases in the U.S.
It ’ s been rising for two months now .
Recently we ’ ve set daily records in cases , hospitalizations , *and* deaths .
And yet many millions of people traveled during Thanksgiving week despite experts pleading with them not to gather , knowing that that would amount to spraying gasoline on a raging fire .
According to Apple ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s ferocious surge , the decline in travel among Americans has been modest lately : So , I don ’ t know .
*Some* people will alter their behavior based on information as the pandemic worsens , even if businesses are open .
But many won ’ t .
Whether because of quarantine fatigue or skepticism about the severity of the crisis , some will proceed more or less normally even if they ’ re told that hospital beds are becoming scarce — which is what happened in California last week , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s why Fauci ended up on the pro-lockdown side in CA during an interview this morning on CNN .
If hospital capacity is being threatened and no volume of “ please stay home !
” requests will convince enough people to stay home , that ’ s when draconian measures are on the table .
Fauci spoke Monday with CNN on the same morning that President-elect Joe Biden named him as chief medical adviser on Covid-19 in addition to director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases .
He said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they moved forward on their stay-home order and that he “ absolutely ” agreed with the state ’ s approach .
“ In fact , I have been in discussion with the health authorities from the state of California who called me and asked , ” Fauci said .
“ You know , they said , ‘ We feel we need to do this , what do you think ?
’ And I said , ‘ You know , you really don ’ t have any choice .
When you have the challenge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ ve got to do something like that . '
” Another argument for partial lockdowns is the fact that Europe recently resorted to them to try to stamp out the explosive growth of infections that some countries were experiencing .
It seems to have worked .
Note the trends in France , Italy , and Belgium especially , where case counts had climbed to frightening levels and are now moving in the opposite direction .
One researcher at Harvard told Axios that that data is great news for both sides of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suggest that lockdowns can turn the tide of an outbreak that ’ s out of control , it suggests that *full* lockdowns of indefinite duration aren ’ t necessary .
“ We have so much more information now that we can respond a lot more quickly and in a more targeted manner — really just shutting down the types of activities that contribute most to the spread , ” he said .
It can also be done with an exception made for schools , as Europeans kept schools open during their “ limited @ @ @ @ @ @ @ point .
The ultimate proving ground for the idea that everything can stay open and a well-informed public can adjust its exposure to risk accordingly is Sweden , of course .
They resisted lockdowns in the spring when most of the western world was shutting businesses down and they stuck to their guns for most of the fall as case counts began to climb again , hoping that their population had achieved a degree of herd immunity that would limit new infections .
They were wrong .
Cases continued to climb .
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ago and , for the first time , imposed state restrictions on gatherings to try to slow the virus ’ s spread .
Ironically , their refusal to lock down may have ended up hurting their economy on balance because that also reduced the government ’ s urgency to provide aid to businesses during the slowdown : Meanwhile , Sweden ’ s laissez-faire pandemic strategy has failed to deliver the economic benefits its proponents had predicted .
In the first half of the year , Sweden ’ s gross domestic product fell by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rise to nearly 10 % in the beginning of 2021 , according to the central bank and several economic institutes .
Businesses such as restaurants , hotels and retail outfits are facing a wave of closures ; unlike in the rest of Europe , where governments coupled restrictions with generous stimulus , Swedish authorities have offered comparatively less support to businesses since they didn ’ t impose closures .
“ This is worse than a lockdown and it has been a catastrophic year for everyone in the business : They haven ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ give us any substantial support , yet they say to people ‘ don ’ t go to restaurants ’ , ” said Jonas Hamlund , who was forced to close one of his two restaurants in the coastal city of Sundsvall , laying off 30 people .
Note in the graph above that Sweden ’ s cases have also leveled off over the past few weeks , as the partial lockdown has taken effect .
Here ’ s Fauci this morning on CNN .
His comments about California come towards the end of @ @ @

My attitude almost from the start of this nightmare has been to take the libertarian view that information, not restrictions, will see us through. You don’t need to close any businesses. All you need to do is make sure that the public has good, up-to-date information on the extent of the threat in their community and they’ll handle the rest. As community spread gets worse, people will pull back voluntarily from commercial activities. Let the market decide which businesses need to close, not halfwit top-down authorities like Andrew Cuomo.
There’s a minor flaw in that logic, though. What if people … don’t behave rationally based on the information you give them?
Or, rather: What if people behave rationally based on the threat COVID poses to them individually but not rationally based on the threat COVID poses to their community? A 21-year-old is at practically zero risk of dying if he and his friends have a pub crawl and pick up coronavirus on the way. But the chains of transmission each of them will have started stand a decent chance of causing severe illness to people they end up having contact with later, especially if some of those people are elderly.
Here’s the graph of new cases in the U.S. It’s been rising for two months now.
Recently we’ve set daily records in cases, hospitalizations, *and* deaths. And yet many millions of people traveled during Thanksgiving week despite experts pleading with them not to gather, knowing that that would amount to spraying gasoline on a raging fire. According to Apple’s mobility data, despite the virus’s ferocious surge, the decline in travel among Americans has been modest lately:
So, I don’t know. *Some* people will alter their behavior based on information as the pandemic worsens, even if businesses are open. But many won’t. Whether because of quarantine fatigue or skepticism about the severity of the crisis, some will proceed more or less normally even if they’re told that hospital beds are becoming scarce — which is what happened in California last week, as John noted at the time. That’s why Fauci ended up on the pro-lockdown side in CA during an interview this morning on CNN. If hospital capacity is being threatened and no volume of “please stay home!” requests will convince enough people to stay home, that’s when draconian measures are on the table.
Fauci spoke Monday with CNN on the same morning that President-elect Joe Biden named him as chief medical adviser on Covid-19 in addition to director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He said he was consulted by California officials before they moved forward on their stay-home order and that he “absolutely” agreed with the state’s approach. “In fact, I have been in discussion with the health authorities from the state of California who called me and asked,” Fauci said. “You know, they said, ‘We feel we need to do this, what do you think?’ And I said, ‘You know, you really don’t have any choice. When you have the challenge to the health care system, you’ve got to do something like that.'”
Another argument for partial lockdowns is the fact that Europe recently resorted to them to try to stamp out the explosive growth of infections that some countries were experiencing. It seems to have worked. Note the trends in France, Italy, and Belgium especially, where case counts had climbed to frightening levels and are now moving in the opposite direction.
One researcher at Harvard told Axios that that data is great news for both sides of the lockdown debate. Not only does it suggest that lockdowns can turn the tide of an outbreak that’s out of control, it suggests that *full* lockdowns of indefinite duration aren’t necessary. “We have so much more information now that we can respond a lot more quickly and in a more targeted manner — really just shutting down the types of activities that contribute most to the spread,” he said. It can also be done with an exception made for schools, as Europeans kept schools open during their “limited lockdown” experiment.
One more data point. The ultimate proving ground for the idea that everything can stay open and a well-informed public can adjust its exposure to risk accordingly is Sweden, of course. They resisted lockdowns in the spring when most of the western world was shutting businesses down and they stuck to their guns for most of the fall as case counts began to climb again, hoping that their population had achieved a degree of herd immunity that would limit new infections. They were wrong. Cases continued to climb. They finally threw in the towel two weeks ago and, for the first time, imposed state restrictions on gatherings to try to slow the virus’s spread. Ironically, their refusal to lock down may have ended up hurting their economy on balance because that also reduced the government’s urgency to provide aid to businesses during the slowdown:
Meanwhile, Sweden’s laissez-faire pandemic strategy has failed to deliver the economic benefits its proponents had predicted. In the first half of the year, Sweden’s gross domestic product fell by 8.5% and unemployment is projected to rise to nearly 10% in the beginning of 2021, according to the central bank and several economic institutes. Businesses such as restaurants, hotels and retail outfits are facing a wave of closures; unlike in the rest of Europe, where governments coupled restrictions with generous stimulus, Swedish authorities have offered comparatively less support to businesses since they didn’t impose closures. “This is worse than a lockdown and it has been a catastrophic year for everyone in the business: They haven’t closed us so they don’t give us any substantial support, yet they say to people ‘don’t go to restaurants’,” said Jonas Hamlund, who was forced to close one of his two restaurants in the coastal city of Sundsvall, laying off 30 people.
Note in the graph above that Sweden’s cases have also leveled off over the past few weeks, as the partial lockdown has taken effect.
Here’s Fauci this morning on CNN. His comments about California come towards the end of the clip.


hotair--2020-12-07--White House coronavirus task force issues strong warnings to states "in a very dangerous place"

The White House coronavirus task force issues weekly updates to states .
The latest report urges health officials to bypass state leaders if they deem measures being taken by lawmakers aren ’ t as serious as coronavirus outbreaks warrant .
States are being told to perform “ aggressive impact testing ” for anyone under 40 years of age to determine who may be affected after the Thanksgiving holiday period .
Health officials are concerned about a new wave of cases created by Thanksgiving gatherings .
The risk of the coronavirus to Americans is at a “ historic high.
” The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ residents of all states , as it is not in Texas .
Last week ’ s report came as Governor Abbott announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is sending 1.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Texas .
They are expected to arrive in mid-December .
The governor promises “ swift ” distribution of the vaccines .
Most people will have to wait months to receive the vaccine so the White House coronavirus task force recommends more stringent measures to be taken for mitigation .
Public health officials believe most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the vaccine , and on Wednesday the head of the CDC issued a bleak forecast about the months ahead , as winter sets in and people weigh whether to travel and gather for the holidays .
“ The reality is December and January and February are going to be rough times , ” the CDC Director , Dr. Robert Redfield , told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation .
“ I actually believe they ’ re going to be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ February , we could be close to 450,000 Americans [ who ] have died from this virus.
” The task force recommends anyone under the age of 40 assume they were infected with the coronavirus over the Thanksgiving holiday if they gathered with anyone outside their household .
Even those without symptoms are recommended to make this assumption and isolate from anyone at increased risk from the virus and get tested immediately .
Older people , those 65 and older , or those with significant health conditions should avoid any indoor spaces where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ report states they should have groceries and medicine delivered to them .
As in the previous week ’ s report , last week the task force recommended that Texas reduce occupancy rates for public and private indoor spaces .
Governor Abbott has resisted another statewide lockdown during the recent spikes in cases .
Instead , the focus is placed on the hot spot areas .
Weekly testing of teachers , college students , county workers , and hospital personnel is recommended .
The task force says Texas is in a “ full resurgence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s mitigation efforts “ must intensify.
” Governor Abbott assured residents that local officials have the tools necessary to manage the risks of outbreaks .
San Antonio and Bexar County imposed curfews over the Thanksgiving holiday , following El Paso County , which put similar measures in place earlier that month .
The curfews so far appear to be one of the few local restrictions that have not drawn legal challenges from the state .
Officials in Houston are considering them as well .
“ The last resource that we have as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arsenal , is to impose a curfew to just shut it down at a certain time , ” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said .
Abbott last month assured the public that local officials had all the tools they need to slow outbreaks , including a requirement that Texans wear masks indoors in public places and when patronizing businesses .
Abbott has also enacted mandatory occupancy reductions — including closing bars — in regions where COVID-19 patients take up 15 percent or more of hospital capacity for seven straight days .
Sunday on Meet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ observations about the latest outbreaks across the country .
She points to lax personal behavior as people experience coronavirus fatigue .
A surge is likely coming on top of the cases already being treated .
“ Right now , across the Sunbelt , we have governors and mayors who have cases equivalent to what they had in the summertime , yet aren ’ t putting in the same policies and mitigations that they put in the summer that they know changed the course of this pandemic .
This is the worst event that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a public health side , yet we know what behaviors spread the virus and we know how to change those behaviors to stop spreading the virus.
” “ Every state across this country needs to increase their mitigation and every state needs to be critically informing their state population that the gatherings we saw on Thanksgiving will lead to a surge — it will happen this week and next week .
We can not go into the holiday season — Christmas , Hanukkah , Kwanza — with the same kind of attitude that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ apply to me.
’ They apply to everyone , if you don ’ t want to lose your grandparents , your aunt.
” In Texas , Governor Abbott says the state is responding “ exactly as suggested by the Task Force.
” The governor encourages all regions to follow the state ’ s plan requiring regions with high hospitalization levels to scale back occupancy at restaurants and certain businesses .

The White House coronavirus task force issues weekly updates to states. The latest report urges health officials to bypass state leaders if they deem measures being taken by lawmakers aren’t as serious as coronavirus outbreaks warrant.
States are being told to perform “aggressive impact testing” for anyone under 40 years of age to determine who may be affected after the Thanksgiving holiday period. Health officials are concerned about a new wave of cases created by Thanksgiving gatherings. The risk of the coronavirus to Americans is at a “historic high.”
“We are in a very dangerous place due to the current, extremely high COVID baseline and limited hospital capacity,” says the task force’s Nov. 29 report, obtained and published by ABC News. “A further post-Thanksgiving surge will compromise COVID patient care, as well as medical care overall.”
The weekly update is not normally provided to residents of all states, as it is not in Texas. Last week’s report came as Governor Abbott announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is sending 1.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Texas. They are expected to arrive in mid-December. The governor promises “swift” distribution of the vaccines. Most people will have to wait months to receive the vaccine so the White House coronavirus task force recommends more stringent measures to be taken for mitigation.
Public health officials believe most people will likely have a long wait for the vaccine, and on Wednesday the head of the CDC issued a bleak forecast about the months ahead, as winter sets in and people weigh whether to travel and gather for the holidays. “The reality is December and January and February are going to be rough times,” the CDC Director, Dr. Robert Redfield, told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. “I actually believe they’re going to be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation.” He predicted that “before we see February, we could be close to 450,000 Americans [who] have died from this virus.”
The task force recommends anyone under the age of 40 assume they were infected with the coronavirus over the Thanksgiving holiday if they gathered with anyone outside their household. Even those without symptoms are recommended to make this assumption and isolate from anyone at increased risk from the virus and get tested immediately. Older people, those 65 and older, or those with significant health conditions should avoid any indoor spaces where people are not wearing masks. The report states they should have groceries and medicine delivered to them.
As in the previous week’s report, last week the task force recommended that Texas reduce occupancy rates for public and private indoor spaces. Governor Abbott has resisted another statewide lockdown during the recent spikes in cases. Instead, the focus is placed on the hot spot areas. Weekly testing of teachers, college students, county workers, and hospital personnel is recommended. The task force says Texas is in a “full resurgence” of COVID-19 cases and the state’s mitigation efforts “must intensify.”
Governor Abbott assured residents that local officials have the tools necessary to manage the risks of outbreaks.
San Antonio and Bexar County imposed curfews over the Thanksgiving holiday, following El Paso County, which put similar measures in place earlier that month. The curfews so far appear to be one of the few local restrictions that have not drawn legal challenges from the state. Officials in Houston are considering them as well. “The last resource that we have as local officials, at least within my arsenal, is to impose a curfew to just shut it down at a certain time,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said. Abbott last month assured the public that local officials had all the tools they need to slow outbreaks, including a requirement that Texans wear masks indoors in public places and when patronizing businesses. Abbott has also enacted mandatory occupancy reductions — including closing bars — in regions where COVID-19 patients take up 15 percent or more of hospital capacity for seven straight days.
Sunday on Meet the Press, Dr. Birx delivered sobering observations about the latest outbreaks across the country. She points to lax personal behavior as people experience coronavirus fatigue. A surge is likely coming on top of the cases already being treated.
“Right now, across the Sunbelt, we have governors and mayors who have cases equivalent to what they had in the summertime, yet aren’t putting in the same policies and mitigations that they put in the summer that they know changed the course of this pandemic. This is the worst event that this country will face not just from a public health side, yet we know what behaviors spread the virus and we know how to change those behaviors to stop spreading the virus.” “Every state across this country needs to increase their mitigation and every state needs to be critically informing their state population that the gatherings we saw on Thanksgiving will lead to a surge — it will happen this week and next week. We cannot go into the holiday season — Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza — with the same kind of attitude that: ‘Those gatherings don’t apply to me.’ They apply to everyone, if you don’t want to lose your grandparents, your aunt.”
In Texas, Governor Abbott says the state is responding “exactly as suggested by the Task Force.” The governor encourages all regions to follow the state’s plan requiring regions with high hospitalization levels to scale back occupancy at restaurants and certain businesses.


hotair--2020-12-07--33 million Californians under lockdown as state adds 30,000 new COVID cases Saturday

California set a new record for the number of new COVID cases on Saturday : 30,075 .
That ’ s up 2.3 percent from Friday ’ s total .
Numbers for Sunday haven ’ t been released yet .
Gov .
Newsom rolled out a new stay-at-home order last week , dividing the state into five regions and mandating that each region go into lockdown once ICU bed capacity in that region dipped below 15 percent .
That threshold has already been hit in Southern California and in the Central Valley .
The stay-at-home order , will be in place @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gatherings of people from different households .
Regions will be eligible to exit from the order on Dec. 28 if ICU capacity projections for the following month are above or equal to 15 % … The Southland ’ s intensive care unit capacity dropped below the 15 % threshold on Friday , to 13.1 % .
That number fell even further on Saturday , to 12.5 % , according to the California Department of Public Health .
The ICU capacity Sunday for the region was 10.3 % .
In addition , several counties @ @ @ @ @ @ @ themselves under a stay-at-home order even though the region they are part of hasn ’ t hit the 15 % threshold .
Health officials for the counties of Alameda , Contra Costa , Marin , San Francisco and Santa Clara as well as the City of Berkeley made the joint announcement that they would implement the state ’ s stay-at-home order this weekend , and would not wait until their intensive care units neared capacity , as the state had laid out in its directive on Thursday .
“ The virus is spreading @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Dr. Grant Colfax , San Francisco ’ s director of public health , said at a news briefing Friday afternoon .
“ We need to move fast , keeping ahead of this virus as much as possible.
” At the current rate of hospitalizations , San Francisco will run out of hospital beds the day after Christmas , Dr. Colfax said .
Running out of ICU beds is a real concern but shutting down counties involves a significant cost for small businesses in the area .
Some of those business owners @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ m most frustrated by the level of investment and commitment my teams and I have made to safety , sanitation , distancing and the like , only to be rewarded by this shutdown , ” Don Berger , the owner of Sport Clips Barbershops ’ three locations in the East Bay , wrote in an email .
“ We ’ ve worked diligently to install new protocols and spent thousands of dollars on supplies and training .
We ’ ve not ONE known virus outbreak in our business , yet , we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for evidence that outdoor dining has contributed to the outbreak and so far they aren ’ t getting it : On two separate occasions , reporters asked the governor and California Health and Human Services Director Dr. Mark Ghaly to provide hard data showing activities like outdoor dining and hair salons are increasing the spread of the coronavirus and would not just encourage more at-home gatherings .
Neither directly answered the question , and instead offered responses along the lines of , “ We want to diminish the amount of mixing.
” … @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is you listen to any state or county press conference where they present reams and reams of data , and hear about how they ’ re data driven , how many people tested positive , how many people are in the hospital , and that they ’ re contact tracing , ” said Julian Skinner , owner of The Style Bar , a hair salon in Greenbrae .
“ But when you ask why some sectors are closed and others open , we get general answers back and not data answers.
” Garth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wireless installation business said , “ We have a governor , a state and local government that is doing everything possible to put us out of business.
” Danielle Rabkin who owns a crossfit gym had harsh works for San Francisco ’ s Health Department : “ SFDPH is behaving criminally , this IS SO WRONG .
They are leveling this city.
” The problem here is that the state can monitor things like ICU bed availability by region but it ’ s not able to tell which specific businesses are contributing to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are these top-down orders that punish everyone even though some of the people taking a hit aren ’ t part of the problem .
What ’ s needed is a much more detailed way to examine the data .
On that front , this morning Gov .
Newsom announced an app which people can download if they want to be notified when they ’ ve crossed paths with someone who tested positive for the virus : Gov .
Gavin Newsom on Monday talked about a new COVID-19 exposure app that ’ s being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Program was tested out at University of California campuses earlier this fall and will be available statewide on Thursday… Sixteen other states , plus Guam and Washington , D.C. , have already made available the system that was co-created by Apple and Google , though most residents of those places aren ’ t using it .
The app was co-created by Apple and Google .
Google has a page describing how this works .
This video summarizes how the app works to create a kind of opt in contract tracing .
As described @ @ @ @ @ @ @ might help by notifying people who could have been exposed in the last two weeks .
Maybe if there was wider usage of something like this , we wouldn ’ t need stay-at-home mandates and curfews .

California set a new record for the number of new COVID cases on Saturday: 30,075. That’s up 2.3 percent from Friday’s total. Numbers for Sunday haven’t been released yet.
Gov. Newsom rolled out a new stay-at-home order last week, dividing the state into five regions and mandating that each region go into lockdown once ICU bed capacity in that region dipped below 15 percent. That threshold has already been hit in Southern California and in the Central Valley.
The stay-at-home order, will be in place for at least three weeks and prohibits gatherings of people from different households. Regions will be eligible to exit from the order on Dec. 28 if ICU capacity projections for the following month are above or equal to 15%… The Southland’s intensive care unit capacity dropped below the 15% threshold on Friday, to 13.1%. That number fell even further on Saturday, to 12.5%, according to the California Department of Public Health. The ICU capacity Sunday for the region was 10.3%.
In addition, several counties in the Bay Area have already put themselves under a stay-at-home order even though the region they are part of hasn’t hit the 15% threshold.
Health officials for the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco and Santa Clara as well as the City of Berkeley made the joint announcement that they would implement the state’s stay-at-home order this weekend, and would not wait until their intensive care units neared capacity, as the state had laid out in its directive on Thursday. “The virus is spreading rapidly throughout the city like never before,” Dr. Grant Colfax, San Francisco’s director of public health, said at a news briefing Friday afternoon. “We need to move fast, keeping ahead of this virus as much as possible.” At the current rate of hospitalizations, San Francisco will run out of hospital beds the day after Christmas, Dr. Colfax said.
Running out of ICU beds is a real concern but shutting down counties involves a significant cost for small businesses in the area. Some of those business owners are venting about it:
“I’m most frustrated by the level of investment and commitment my teams and I have made to safety, sanitation, distancing and the like, only to be rewarded by this shutdown,” Don Berger, the owner of Sport Clips Barbershops’ three locations in the East Bay, wrote in an email. “We’ve worked diligently to install new protocols and spent thousands of dollars on supplies and training. We’ve not ONE known virus outbreak in our business, yet, we must close.”
Restaurant owners are asking for evidence that outdoor dining has contributed to the outbreak and so far they aren’t getting it:
On two separate occasions, reporters asked the governor and California Health and Human Services Director Dr. Mark Ghaly to provide hard data showing activities like outdoor dining and hair salons are increasing the spread of the coronavirus and would not just encourage more at-home gatherings. Neither directly answered the question, and instead offered responses along the lines of, “We want to diminish the amount of mixing.”… “One of the most frustrating parts is you listen to any state or county press conference where they present reams and reams of data, and hear about how they’re data driven, how many people tested positive, how many people are in the hospital, and that they’re contact tracing,” said Julian Skinner, owner of The Style Bar, a hair salon in Greenbrae. “But when you ask why some sectors are closed and others open, we get general answers back and not data answers.”
Garth Gilmour, owner of a security and wireless installation business said, “We have a governor, a state and local government that is doing everything possible to put us out of business.” Danielle Rabkin who owns a crossfit gym had harsh works for San Francisco’s Health Department: “SFDPH is behaving criminally, this IS SO WRONG. They are leveling this city.”
The problem here is that the state can monitor things like ICU bed availability by region but it’s not able to tell which specific businesses are contributing to the surge. So what we get are these top-down orders that punish everyone even though some of the people taking a hit aren’t part of the problem. What’s needed is a much more detailed way to examine the data.
On that front, this morning Gov. Newsom announced an app which people can download if they want to be notified when they’ve crossed paths with someone who tested positive for the virus:
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday talked about a new COVID-19 exposure app that’s being rolled out. The California COVID Notify Program was tested out at University of California campuses earlier this fall and will be available statewide on Thursday… Sixteen other states, plus Guam and Washington, D.C., have already made available the system that was co-created by Apple and Google, though most residents of those places aren’t using it.
The app was co-created by Apple and Google. Google has a page describing how this works. This video summarizes how the app works to create a kind of opt in contract tracing. As described it seems like a good idea that might help by notifying people who could have been exposed in the last two weeks. Maybe if there was wider usage of something like this, we wouldn’t need stay-at-home mandates and curfews.


hotair--2020-12-07--Today's hot topics on Relevant Radio®: Your COVID questions, Minneapolis carjackings, Hollywood's ch

Today's hot topics on Relevant Radio®: Your COVID questions, Minneapolis carjackings, Hollywood's changes, pandemic's youth impact, and more!

Once again , I get to step outside the box and guest host the Drew Mariani Show on Relevant Radio® from 3-6 ET today !
The Catholic talk-radio network is heard nationwide on the air , as well as online and through their free mobile app that plays live and podcast shows .
• The inimitable and indispensable James Lileks joins us to discuss the rising crime wave in Minneapolis , especially carjackings , and what that means in other cities choosing to pull back on policing • What is the psychological impact of the pandemic on children ?
Dr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s coming — and what might not be coming .
• Do you have questions about the COVID-19 pandemic and the upcoming vaccines ?
Dr. Robert Tiballi will be with us for an hour to take your calls !
• Has the movie theater become the 21st century ’ s buggy whip ?
Christian Toto joins us to discuss the revolution coming for the film industry , plus discuss the blowback over Ron Howard ’ s Hillbilly Elegy .
• And more to come … stay tuned !
We may add more before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will have the chaplet of Divine Mercy in the second hour .
We will also take your calls at 1-888-914-9149 .
You can also listen on the Relevant Radio® app no matter where you are in the world , so download it now .
I ’ ll look forward to talking with you !

Once again, I get to step outside the box and guest host the Drew Mariani Show on Relevant Radio® from 3-6 ET today! The Catholic talk-radio network is heard nationwide on the air, as well as online and through their free mobile app that plays live and podcast shows.
Today’s Relevant Radio® show includes:
We may add more before the show starts today, plus we will have the chaplet of Divine Mercy in the second hour. We will also take your calls at 1-888-914-9149. You can also listen on the Relevant Radio® app no matter where you are in the world, so download it now. I’ll look forward to talking with you!


hotair--2020-12-07--CNN: Sources say Trump's legal effort appears to be "winding down"

This makes sense , but there have been other points in this fiasco when it seemed like Trump was finally throwing in the towel only to end up redoubling his efforts to overturn the election .
When he fired Sidney Powell , one might have thought , “ This insanity has now gone too far even for him.
” It hadn ’ t .
He ’ s made many of the same claims as Powell since then , just without the addendum that Republicans should boycott the Georgia Senate runoffs on January 5 .
Another exit ramp was when the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was the apparent winner of the election and released federal funds to his campaign .
That also freed up Trump officials to start coordinating with Biden ’ s team on the handover and allowed intel agents to start giving Biden the Presidential Daily Brief .
Trump took credit for that “ ascertainment , ” another moment when it seemed like he might finally begin to back down .
Nope .
As recently as Saturday , he dialed up Georgia ’ s governor and asked him to call the state legislature into session to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and award their electors to him .
So , yeah , on the one hand , Kaitlan Collins is right that circumstances seem to be gathering against pushing the lawsuits much longer .
The “ safe harbor ” date for the electoral college is tomorrow .
Rudy Giuliani ’ s in the hospital with COVID .
Powell ’ s “ Kraken ” lawsuit got laughed out of two courts today , adding to the almost perfect record of futility that Trump and his allies have amassed in post-election lawsuits .
And Republican officials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ refused to bend to the president ’ s demands for an extra-judicial remedy .
This *does* feel like the right moment for POTUS to throw in the towel and declare a 2024 candidacy .
But , Trump being Trump , he ’ ll probably triple down and try to dissolve the electoral college via executive order or something .
“ Yep , ” added Times reporter Maggie Haberman to Collins ’ s tweets , which I guess means her sources are telling her the same thing .
It made me think of NBC @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Trump has recently told some advisers he wants to announce a 2024 campaign shortly after the Electoral College meets on Dec. 14.
” Maybe — maybe — he ’ s finally shifting to that phase of this process .
He ’ ll never concede , he ’ ll never allow that Biden won fairly , but there ’ ll be some good done if he lets go of his hope of trying to hang onto power by any means necessary and starts looking ahead to the next election .
Although , if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ d bet on an “ ELECTORAL COLLEGE IS DISSOLVED !
” tweet instead .
Even Kayleigh McEnany seems to be envisioning a Biden presidency at this point , per her allusion to Kamala Harris being the tiebreaker in the Senate : McEnany ’ s just being a realist , recognizing that no court is going to give Rudy and Jenna Ellis what they ’ re asking for .
If a Biden/Harris administration is to be averted at this point , only extraordinary corruption on the order of state legislatures voting to give their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can make it happen .
That ’ s why she ’ s leaning on Georgia ’ s governor in the clip .
Brad Raffensperger , Georgia ’ s secretary of state , has an op-ed today that ’ s cleverly written as an admonition to Democrats but is actually aimed at admonishing Republicans , I think .
Stacey Abrams and her supporters were election truthers before Trump was , he notes , correctly .
Republicans are now imitating what they once rightly derided as contemptible sore-loserdom .
Establishing a playbook that President Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ms. Abrams refused to concede , announced that she would launch major litigation against Georgia ’ s election system , and began collecting hundreds of millions of dollars from donors convinced the election had been stolen from her… The media has rightly pushed back against the president ’ s actions and the dangerous game his legal team is playing .
But for the past two years , the media has endorsed and encouraged Ms. Abrams ’ s campaign to undermine election integrity in Georgia and across the country .
Some outlets cast her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ media outlets have rightly highlighted that the Trump campaign has provided precious little proof of its voter-fraud allegations .
Yet for two years , few asked the same of Stacey Abrams .
Through all this , confidence in the integrity of American elections suffered .
It ’ s pathetic that each party has so little difficulty grasping that the other ’ s claims of election shenanigans are pernicious nonsense while pursuing its own with the utmost seriousness , Raffensperger suggests .
Maybe that “ tu quoque ” at Dems is designed to try @ @ @ @ @ @ @ righties who ’ ve been treating him like a villain , but I suspect the “ tu quoque ” goes both ways here .
His deeper point is that , just as Abrams ’ s allegations of voter suppression were self-serving and unverifiable , so too are Trump ’ s and MAGA Nation ’ s allegations of voter fraud .
Minor difference , though : Abrams wasn ’ t the commander-in-chief of the U.S. military or actively trying to convince the state legislature to void the result of her election loss to Brian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her many times in the past for her election trutherism and Democratic pols ’ embarrassing credulity towards it , but at least Abrams wasn ’ t trying to orchestrate a de facto coup .
Anyway , hopefully the president is indeed easing off the gas pedal on his “ stop the steal !
” campaign .
What his allies are willing to do and say to keep enabling that effort is turning more disgusting by the day : Will that be the new litmus test of party loyalty , believing based on zero @ @ @ @ @ @ @ died a few days ago in a car crash was some sort of linchpin of “ the big steal ” ?
Today A.B .
Stoddard writes , “ What Mitch McConnell and company don ’ t seem to understand is that this is the endgame : The MAGA cult no longer sees Democrats and the media as Enemy Number One .
The Republicans who aren ’ t legally permitted to deny reality are now the big threat .
And Trump is going to spend the next two—or four—years at war them.
” I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a certain sort of Republican populist , Democratic donor Lin Wood — who ’ s urging Georgians *not* to vote in the Senate runoffs — is a bigger hero than anyone in the party save for Trump himself .
One ’ s policy preferences , or even one ’ s preference to see the GOP control the federal government , are no longer the glue that holds the MAGA-fied right together .
The glue is one ’ s willingness to believe the alternate reality created by the president , however weird and delusional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t be a good Republican otherwise .
Just ask Raffensperger .
I ’ ll leave you with this .
He doesn ’ t sound like a man who ’ s about to quit .

This makes sense, but there have been other points in this fiasco when it seemed like Trump was finally throwing in the towel only to end up redoubling his efforts to overturn the election. When he fired Sidney Powell, one might have thought, “This insanity has now gone too far even for him.” It hadn’t. He’s made many of the same claims as Powell since then, just without the addendum that Republicans should boycott the Georgia Senate runoffs on January 5.
Another exit ramp was when the GSA finally “ascertained” that Biden was the apparent winner of the election and released federal funds to his campaign. That also freed up Trump officials to start coordinating with Biden’s team on the handover and allowed intel agents to start giving Biden the Presidential Daily Brief. Trump took credit for that “ascertainment,” another moment when it seemed like he might finally begin to back down. Nope. As recently as Saturday, he dialed up Georgia’s governor and asked him to call the state legislature into session to void the state’s election results and award their electors to him.
So, yeah, on the one hand, Kaitlan Collins is right that circumstances seem to be gathering against pushing the lawsuits much longer. The “safe harbor” date for the electoral college is tomorrow. Rudy Giuliani’s in the hospital with COVID. Powell’s “Kraken” lawsuit got laughed out of two courts today, adding to the almost perfect record of futility that Trump and his allies have amassed in post-election lawsuits. And Republican officials like Brian Kemp and Doug Ducey have refused to bend to the president’s demands for an extra-judicial remedy. This *does* feel like the right moment for POTUS to throw in the towel and declare a 2024 candidacy.
But, Trump being Trump, he’ll probably triple down and try to dissolve the electoral college via executive order or something.
Giuliani is currently supposed to appear remotely in front of a hearing with Georgia House delegates Thursday, but whether he ultimately does depends on his condition. — Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) December 7, 2020
“Yep,” added Times reporter Maggie Haberman to Collins’s tweets, which I guess means her sources are telling her the same thing. It made me think of NBC’s report last week claiming that “Trump has recently told some advisers he wants to announce a 2024 campaign shortly after the Electoral College meets on Dec. 14.” Maybe — maybe — he’s finally shifting to that phase of this process. He’ll never concede, he’ll never allow that Biden won fairly, but there’ll be some good done if he lets go of his hope of trying to hang onto power by any means necessary and starts looking ahead to the next election.
Although, if I had to bet, I’d bet on an “ELECTORAL COLLEGE IS DISSOLVED!” tweet instead.
Even Kayleigh McEnany seems to be envisioning a Biden presidency at this point, per her allusion to Kamala Harris being the tiebreaker in the Senate:
Dead-ender Kayleigh McEnany yells at GA Gov. Kemp on Fox News: "You have the power to call in a special legislative session because right now if we lose these two Senate seats, guess whose casting the deciding vote in this country for our government? It will be Kamala Harris." pic.twitter.com/IW2o55ohWs — The Recount (@therecount) December 6, 2020
McEnany’s just being a realist, recognizing that no court is going to give Rudy and Jenna Ellis what they’re asking for. If a Biden/Harris administration is to be averted at this point, only extraordinary corruption on the order of state legislatures voting to give their electors to Trump instead of to Biden can make it happen. That’s why she’s leaning on Georgia’s governor in the clip.
Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s secretary of state, has an op-ed today that’s cleverly written as an admonition to Democrats but is actually aimed at admonishing Republicans, I think. Stacey Abrams and her supporters were election truthers before Trump was, he notes, correctly. Republicans are now imitating what they once rightly derided as contemptible sore-loserdom.
Establishing a playbook that President Trump is following to the letter now, Ms. Abrams refused to concede, announced that she would launch major litigation against Georgia’s election system, and began collecting hundreds of millions of dollars from donors convinced the election had been stolen from her… The media has rightly pushed back against the president’s actions and the dangerous game his legal team is playing. But for the past two years, the media has endorsed and encouraged Ms. Abrams’s campaign to undermine election integrity in Georgia and across the country. Some outlets cast her as some kind of heroine. Many media outlets have rightly highlighted that the Trump campaign has provided precious little proof of its voter-fraud allegations. Yet for two years, few asked the same of Stacey Abrams. Through all this, confidence in the integrity of American elections suffered.
It’s pathetic that each party has so little difficulty grasping that the other’s claims of election shenanigans are pernicious nonsense while pursuing its own with the utmost seriousness, Raffensperger suggests. Maybe that “tu quoque” at Dems is designed to try to earn him a little goodwill from righties who’ve been treating him like a villain, but I suspect the “tu quoque” goes both ways here. His deeper point is that, just as Abrams’s allegations of voter suppression were self-serving and unverifiable, so too are Trump’s and MAGA Nation’s allegations of voter fraud.
Minor difference, though: Abrams wasn’t the commander-in-chief of the U.S. military or actively trying to convince the state legislature to void the result of her election loss to Brian Kemp. We’ve goofed on her many times in the past for her election trutherism and Democratic pols’ embarrassing credulity towards it, but at least Abrams wasn’t trying to orchestrate a de facto coup.
Anyway, hopefully the president is indeed easing off the gas pedal on his “stop the steal!” campaign. What his allies are willing to do and say to keep enabling that effort is turning more disgusting by the day:
https://twitter.com/LLinWood/status/1336011113838882820
Will that be the new litmus test of party loyalty, believing based on zero evidence that the Kelly Loeffler aide who died a few days ago in a car crash was some sort of linchpin of “the big steal”? Today A.B. Stoddard writes, “What Mitch McConnell and company don’t seem to understand is that this is the endgame: The MAGA cult no longer sees Democrats and the media as Enemy Number One. The Republicans who aren’t legally permitted to deny reality are now the big threat. And Trump is going to spend the next two—or four—years at war them.” I made a similar point yesterday. To a certain sort of Republican populist, Democratic donor Lin Wood — who’s urging Georgians *not* to vote in the Senate runoffs — is a bigger hero than anyone in the party save for Trump himself. One’s policy preferences, or even one’s preference to see the GOP control the federal government, are no longer the glue that holds the MAGA-fied right together. The glue is one’s willingness to believe the alternate reality created by the president, however weird and delusional that reality might get. You can’t be a good Republican otherwise. Just ask Raffensperger.
I’ll leave you with this. He doesn’t sound like a man who’s about to quit.