hotair--2020-11-19--Trump-appointed judge rejects GOP suit to block certification of Georgia election; <span color='red'

Trump-appointed judge rejects GOP suit to block certification of Georgia election; Update: Recount confirms Biden win

Big day tomorrow .
Maybe even bigger than Monday .
Like I said here , the problem with Trump ’ s coup plot is that he needs some state to go first in voiding their election with no assurance that other states will follow .
It ’ s one thing to cancel a democratic election and trigger the insane upheaval that would follow knowing that it ’ ll mean your party ’ s leader will remain in power .
It ’ s another thing to do it knowing that the effort might — and almost certainly will — fail .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ that ’ s 16 electoral votes off the board for Trump .
Even if Michigan and Pennsylvania go through with the coup on Monday , Biden would still stand at 270 .
Trump would need to flip Nevada or Arizona or Wisconsin or something else to achieve his aim .
So why would Michigan or Pennsylvania go through with it ?
And if Georgia cowboys up and certifies , it ’ ll look that much weaker and inexplicable if Michigan and Pennsylvania refuse to do so .
After all , Biden ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it is in MI or PA. Georgia might effectively detonate the whole plot tomorrow , in other words , and if it does , according to CNN , that might end GSA chief Emily Murphy ’ s resistance to certifying Biden as the apparent winner for transition purposes .
I think she ’ ll probably hold out until Monday to see what Michigan and Pennsylvania will do but the start of the formal transition may be a lot closer than you think if you ’ re getting your news from Rudy Giuliani and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legal effort to block certification in Georgia had a favorable draw today in federal court : The presiding judge was Steven Grimberg , appointed to the bench by Trump himself 14 months ago .
Result : Reporter Adam Klasfeld watched today ’ s hearing .
Sounds like it wasn ’ t a hard one for Grimberg : I assume another suit will be filed overnight since this is , after all , a coup attempt , not a serious legal effort .
The goal is to simply delay certification while Trump tries to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Republican politicians , starting with Brian Kemp , to try to get them to intervene .
We ’ ll find out tomorrow whether Kemp fears Trump more than he fears the residents of his own state .
Even if certification does happen , there are bound to be lawsuits after that .
But the further this process moves towards recognizing Biden ’ s victory , the less likely judges will be to reverse it .
Local TV caught up with secretary of state Brad Raffensperger this afternoon and asked about the state of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden won ?
Nope , said Raffensperger .
He ’ s done a *lot* of media lately , which initially I assumed was just him enjoying the spotlight a bit .
But increasingly I think it ’ s strategic .
He knows that not every Republican official can be trusted right now to behave as ethically as him .
The more he ’ s on TV updating voters about the state of the recount , the harder it gets for Kemp or some Trump ally somewhere in the bureaucratic food chain to swoop @ @ @ @ @ @ @ second before certification .
It ’ ll reek of exactly what it is , an attempt to slow down the process for Trump on the pretense that the canvassing process has hit a snag somewhere .
There ’ s no snag anywhere , Raffensperger has said over and over again this week .
Our Townhall colleague Guy Benson conducted a notable interview with Joni Ernst today , keying off this even more notable soundbite from the deranged press conference led by Giuliani and Powell : So Republicans who don ’ t go along @ @ @ @ @ @ @ themselves accused of complicity in the alleged communist vote-rigging plot , huh ?
I should have anticipated that .
It ’ s how witch hunts work , after all .
Ernst , who just got reelected easily , fortunately had no patience for it : [ S ] he stressed there needed to be “ proof ” of wrongdoing and called accusations by Sidney Powell , one of the president ’ s lawyers , that lawmakers in both parties had helped rig the balloting “ absolutely outrageous.
” “ That is an offensive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stand up and represent our states in a dignified manner , ” said Ms. Ernst , the fifth-ranking Senate Republican who was re-elected this month .
“ We believe in honesty.
” She added : “ I ’ ve worn our nation ’ s uniform to protect the values and freedoms that our nation espouses and to have that accusation just offhandedly thrown out there just to confuse our voters across the United States , I think that is absolutely wrong.
” That ’ s a nice show of spine by Ernst in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see if she ’ s willing to show any in defense of fair elections that didn ’ t turn out the way she wanted .
I ’ ll leave you with Powell on Fox Business tonight , openly advocating for a coup that ’ ll break the country apart to a host who ’ s clearly willing to entertain that scenario as well .
Exit quotation from retiring Rep. Francis Rooney : “ What about self-esteem or respect ?
What are these people going to do in the long run when they look @ @ @ @ @ @ @ slavishly devoted themselves to this guy ?
” Trump can request a full recount after the results are certified .
That ’ ll be done via scan .
There ’ s no reason to think it ’ ll be much , if at all , different .

Big day tomorrow. Maybe even bigger than Monday.
When the states are projected to certify their electionshttps://t.co/cdpxpk64YA Tomorrow: Georgia
Monday: Michigan, Pennsylvania
Nov 30: Arizona
Dec 1: Nevada, Wisconsin The uncontested states + GA/MI/PA puts Biden at 279 electoral votes. — Derek Thompson (@DKThomp) November 19, 2020
Like I said here, the problem with Trump’s coup plot is that he needs some state to go first in voiding their election with no assurance that other states will follow. It’s one thing to cancel a democratic election and trigger the insane upheaval that would follow knowing that it’ll mean your party’s leader will remain in power. It’s another thing to do it knowing that the effort might — and almost certainly will — fail. If Georgia certifies its results tomorrow, that’s 16 electoral votes off the board for Trump. Even if Michigan and Pennsylvania go through with the coup on Monday, Biden would still stand at 270. Trump would need to flip Nevada or Arizona or Wisconsin or something else to achieve his aim. So why would Michigan or Pennsylvania go through with it?
And if Georgia cowboys up and certifies, it’ll look that much weaker and inexplicable if Michigan and Pennsylvania refuse to do so. After all, Biden’s margin in GA is much smaller than it is in MI or PA. Georgia might effectively detonate the whole plot tomorrow, in other words, and if it does, according to CNN, that might end GSA chief Emily Murphy’s resistance to certifying Biden as the apparent winner for transition purposes. I think she’ll probably hold out until Monday to see what Michigan and Pennsylvania will do but the start of the formal transition may be a lot closer than you think if you’re getting your news from Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell.
The campaign’s legal effort to block certification in Georgia had a favorable draw today in federal court: The presiding judge was Steven Grimberg, appointed to the bench by Trump himself 14 months ago. Result:
🚨🚨BREAKING: Georgia Federal Court REJECTS Republican effort to block certification of election results. There are no remaining lawsuits currently pending in Georgia. Trump and his allies are now 1-32 in post-election litigation.https://t.co/nOMwMTYhjI — Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) November 19, 2020
Reporter Adam Klasfeld watched today’s hearing. Sounds like it wasn’t a hard one for Grimberg:
To review: The sole witness in the federal election case in Georgia is a Republican activist who thinks it’s “amazing” and suspicious that Biden got so many more votes than Trump in the batches that she saw. — Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) November 19, 2020
Willard, Georgia's Assistant AG: "Plaintiff attempts to change the rules at the end of the game in order to alter the score." "I understand the plaintiff's frustration that his favored candidate has lost." That doesn't give him the right to manufacture claims, he adds. — Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) November 19, 2020
"His undue delay prejudiced the Secretary of State and certainly prejudiced the millions of voters in this election," U.S. District Judge Steven Grimberg said of the plaintiff. — Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) November 19, 2020
Plaintiff's lawsuit "does not have merit," the judge says. — Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) November 19, 2020
Judge: The requested relief—blocking Georgia's certification—is "quite striking." That would harm the public in "countless ways." "To halt the certification at literally the 11th hour, would breed confusion and disenfranchisement that I find have no basis in fact and law." — Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) November 19, 2020
I assume another suit will be filed overnight since this is, after all, a coup attempt, not a serious legal effort. The goal is to simply delay certification while Trump tries to pull whatever levers he can among Georgia Republican politicians, starting with Brian Kemp, to try to get them to intervene. We’ll find out tomorrow whether Kemp fears Trump more than he fears the residents of his own state. Even if certification does happen, there are bound to be lawsuits after that. But the further this process moves towards recognizing Biden’s victory, the less likely judges will be to reverse it.
Local TV caught up with secretary of state Brad Raffensperger this afternoon and asked about the state of the hand recount. Any doubt that Biden won? Nope, said Raffensperger.
Developing next live at 5 on @wsbtv – @GaSecofState tells me the statewide audit results are in and there's "not a thimble full of difference" between the hand & manual recount. He says he has no doubt Joe Biden has won Georgia pic.twitter.com/9PO9C6t8Bu — Justin Gray (@JustinGrayWSB) November 19, 2020
He’s done a *lot* of media lately, which initially I assumed was just him enjoying the spotlight a bit. But increasingly I think it’s strategic. He knows that not every Republican official can be trusted right now to behave as ethically as him. The more he’s on TV updating voters about the state of the recount, the harder it gets for Kemp or some Trump ally somewhere in the bureaucratic food chain to swoop in and disrupt everything at the last second before certification. It’ll reek of exactly what it is, an attempt to slow down the process for Trump on the pretense that the canvassing process has hit a snag somewhere. There’s no snag anywhere, Raffensperger has said over and over again this week.
Our Townhall colleague Guy Benson conducted a notable interview with Joni Ernst today, keying off this even more notable soundbite from the deranged press conference led by Giuliani and Powell:
This is a holy crap moment: “In terms of the level of corruption we are looking at here, we have no idea how many Republican or Democratic candidates… paid to have the system rigged to work for them.” – Sydney Powell Listen up, GOP. They're calling out your elections next. — Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) November 19, 2020
So Republicans who don’t go along with the big coup attempt might find themselves accused of complicity in the alleged communist vote-rigging plot, huh? I should have anticipated that. It’s how witch hunts work, after all. Ernst, who just got reelected easily, fortunately had no patience for it:
[S]he stressed there needed to be “proof” of wrongdoing and called accusations by Sidney Powell, one of the president’s lawyers, that lawmakers in both parties had helped rig the balloting “absolutely outrageous.” “That is an offensive comment for those of us that do stand up and represent our states in a dignified manner,” said Ms. Ernst, the fifth-ranking Senate Republican who was re-elected this month. “We believe in honesty.” She added: “I’ve worn our nation’s uniform to protect the values and freedoms that our nation espouses and to have that accusation just offhandedly thrown out there just to confuse our voters across the United States, I think that is absolutely wrong.”
That’s a nice show of spine by Ernst in her own defense. Let’s see if she’s willing to show any in defense of fair elections that didn’t turn out the way she wanted.
I’ll leave you with Powell on Fox Business tonight, openly advocating for a coup that’ll break the country apart to a host who’s clearly willing to entertain that scenario as well. Exit quotation from retiring Rep. Francis Rooney: “What about self-esteem or respect? What are these people going to do in the long run when they look back at how they just sort of slavishly devoted themselves to this guy?”
Sidney Powell: "The entire election, frankly, in all the swing states should be overturned and the legislatures should make sure that the electors are selected for Trump" pic.twitter.com/gA6aFVhvdt — Jason Campbell (@JasonSCampbell) November 19, 2020
Update: The recount’s over.
After a manual hand-recount of roughly 5 million votes cast in the presidential election, Georgia state election officials confirmed President-elect Joe Biden received more votes than President Trump in the state. Georgia’s secretary of state ordered the recount as a part of the risk-limiting audit process to ensure the public’s trust in the outcome of the presidential vote in the state, where Biden led by 12,284 votes, according to the audited results. That resulted in a 0.0099 percent variation from the original margin, they said.
Trump can request a full recount after the results are certified. That’ll be done via scan. There’s no reason to think it’ll be much, if at all, different.


hotair--2020-11-19--Jill Biden to teacher unions: "With AFT and NEA's help, we won this election"

The winner of the most-hated member of the Trump administration ’ s cabinet may be the Secretary of Education , Betsy DeVos .
Her strongly conservative ideas on public and private education have greatly agitated the union-supporting Democrats who are in charge of our country ’ s schools .
Once Joe Biden ’ s administration comes into power , you can kiss school choice goodbye .
Betsy DeVos made it her mission to increase school choice , especially for underprivileged children trapped in failing schools .
This is the last thing teacher unions want .
Teacher unions want families under @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for which might work best for their children and families .
The union leaders want power from the top down where one size fits all and the federal government knows what is best for school children across the country , not local parents and teachers in each community .
This speaks directly to the differences between conservatives and liberals ( or socialists and Marxists ) .
The teacher unions have become a political fundraising branch of the Democrat Party .
Teachers allegedly teach all students without a political agenda on display though we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ candidates running on the Democrat ticket know that they must have the support of the union leadership in order to win elections .
This year both ATF ( American Teacher Foundation ) and NEA ( National Education Association ) take credit for working so diligently for Joe Biden ’ s election .
Jill Biden held a video conference call with all the players to thank them for their hard work and support .
A Twitter thread was created about the video call and it is as cringeworthy as any conservative person would expect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two frontrunners for the position of Secretary of Education in the Biden/Harris administration .
Biden hasn ’ t been bold enough , yet , to come out and say he will get rid of school choice .
Both frontrunners will promote anti-charter school choice , though .
Former president of the NEA , Lily Eskelsen Garcia is believed to be a frontrunner because she is most likely to be confirmed by Republicans in the Senate .
She claims to be a supporter of charter schools , somewhat anyway , but she is all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ funding that is taken from public schools to support them .
Garcia responded to the largely unchecked growth of charter schools under the Obama administration by issuing a new policy statement in 2016 that drew a line between “ unaccountable ” privately owned charter schools and charter schools that have benefited public school education , calling them a “ failed and damaging experiment.
” In an attempt to grant low income students the ability to seek education outside of their often low-performing school disctricts , the Obama administration more than doubled the number @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 4,600 schools attended by 1.4 million students in 2008 , to more than 7,000 charter schools with a near 3 million student enrollment by 2016 , according to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools .
Garcia is an ardent supporter of increasing charter school accountability while limiting the number of schools available to ensure that funding for public schools is not negatively impacted .
“ Charter schools were started by educators who dreamed of schools in which they would be free to innovate , unfettered by bureaucratic obstacles , ” García said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the NEA .
“ Handing over students ’ education to privately managed , unaccountable charters jeopardizes student success , undermines public education and harms communities.
” Another frontrunner is Randi Weingarten , President of the American Federation of Teachers .
She likely has little chance of being confirmed by Republicans in the Senate .
Weingarten was an ardent supporter of Warren during her presidential bid because of the senator ’ s K-12 education proposal , which omitted federal funding from charter schools , reported USA Today .
“ She gets it , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when Warren was still in the running .
“ We won ’ t be in the streets , we will be in our schools making America what it ought to be.
” Weingarten participated in a four-day citywide teacher strike in Chicago last year , to protest a lack in teachers pay , classroom sizes and staffing needs .
How did that strike work out ?
Children were denied education for four days and parents scrambled to make arrangements for their children but , hey , teachers hit the street to provide some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ never really about the needs of the children , is it ?
It ’ s unclear yet if Biden can get a secretary through a Senate vote who will not support charter schools .
Biden says he ’ ll fill his cabinet with diverse views , including some conservative members , it is unlikely that conservative voices will prevail in his education policy initiatives .
His wife is no conservative and she will be the strongest voice he listens to , having promised the teacher unions they will have a friend in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the campaign .
Jill was happy to criticize DeVos and Trump on the campaign trail .
Perhaps Jill should talk to teacher union members about helping get the schools back open .
Many communities are trying to reopen schools only to have teachers go on strike and refuse to go back into the classroom .

The winner of the most-hated member of the Trump administration’s cabinet may be the Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. Her strongly conservative ideas on public and private education have greatly agitated the union-supporting Democrats who are in charge of our country’s schools.
Once Joe Biden’s administration comes into power, you can kiss school choice goodbye. Betsy DeVos made it her mission to increase school choice, especially for underprivileged children trapped in failing schools. This is the last thing teacher unions want. Teacher unions want families under their thumb, left with no options for which might work best for their children and families. The union leaders want power from the top down where one size fits all and the federal government knows what is best for school children across the country, not local parents and teachers in each community. This speaks directly to the differences between conservatives and liberals (or socialists and Marxists).
The teacher unions have become a political fundraising branch of the Democrat Party. Teachers allegedly teach all students without a political agenda on display though we know that is not true. Presidential candidates running on the Democrat ticket know that they must have the support of the union leadership in order to win elections. This year both ATF (American Teacher Foundation) and NEA (National Education Association) take credit for working so diligently for Joe Biden’s election. Jill Biden held a video conference call with all the players to thank them for their hard work and support. A Twitter thread was created about the video call and it is as cringeworthy as any conservative person would expect.
I want to thank AFT and NEA members for voting and volunteering. – @BeckyPringle pic.twitter.com/LcRs6eOA8g — AFT (@AFTunion) November 17, 2020
Here is Jill:
This pandemic has shined a light on the disparities in our education system… No one knows what our schools need more than the people who are with students every day. That's us. – @DrBiden to AFT and NEA members pic.twitter.com/cL5rQusvE9 — AFT (@AFTunion) November 17, 2020
Educators, this is our moment. We're going to make sure school have critical resources. We're going to #BuildBackBetter. – @DrBiden pic.twitter.com/d7dDeSbGih — AFT (@AFTunion) November 17, 2020
Ugh.
It is reported that there are two frontrunners for the position of Secretary of Education in the Biden/Harris administration. Biden hasn’t been bold enough, yet, to come out and say he will get rid of school choice. Both frontrunners will promote anti-charter school choice, though. Former president of the NEA, Lily Eskelsen Garcia is believed to be a frontrunner because she is most likely to be confirmed by Republicans in the Senate. She claims to be a supporter of charter schools, somewhat anyway, but she is all about limiting them, mostly over the funding that is taken from public schools to support them.
Garcia responded to the largely unchecked growth of charter schools under the Obama administration by issuing a new policy statement in 2016 that drew a line between “unaccountable” privately owned charter schools and charter schools that have benefited public school education, calling them a “failed and damaging experiment.” In an attempt to grant low income students the ability to seek education outside of their often low-performing school disctricts, the Obama administration more than doubled the number of charter schools in the U.S. from 4,600 schools attended by 1.4 million students in 2008, to more than 7,000 charter schools with a near 3 million student enrollment by 2016, according to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Garcia is an ardent supporter of increasing charter school accountability while limiting the number of schools available to ensure that funding for public schools is not negatively impacted. “Charter schools were started by educators who dreamed of schools in which they would be free to innovate, unfettered by bureaucratic obstacles,” García said in a 2017 statement while president of the NEA. “Handing over students’ education to privately managed, unaccountable charters jeopardizes student success, undermines public education and harms communities.”
Another frontrunner is Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers. She likely has little chance of being confirmed by Republicans in the Senate.
Weingarten was an ardent supporter of Warren during her presidential bid because of the senator’s K-12 education proposal, which omitted federal funding from charter schools, reported USA Today. “She gets it,” Weingarten told the publication in October 2019 when Warren was still in the running. “We won’t be in the streets, we will be in our schools making America what it ought to be.” Weingarten participated in a four-day citywide teacher strike in Chicago last year, to protest a lack in teachers pay, classroom sizes and staffing needs.
How did that strike work out? Children were denied education for four days and parents scrambled to make arrangements for their children but, hey, teachers hit the street to provide some drama, right? It’s never really about the needs of the children, is it?
It’s unclear yet if Biden can get a secretary through a Senate vote who will not support charter schools. Biden says he’ll fill his cabinet with diverse views, including some conservative members, it is unlikely that conservative voices will prevail in his education policy initiatives. His wife is no conservative and she will be the strongest voice he listens to, having promised the teacher unions they will have a friend in the White House because of Jill Biden during the campaign. Jill was happy to criticize DeVos and Trump on the campaign trail.
"We are in Donald Trump's America. And there's just so much chaos. … Educators don't know what to do, students don't know what to do."
– Jill Biden, Joe Biden’s wife, discusses reopening schools safely.https://t.co/5zPHxdwDHp pic.twitter.com/6hD0mQpwxf — New Day (@NewDay) September 2, 2020
Perhaps Jill should talk to teacher union members about helping get the schools back open. Many communities are trying to reopen schools only to have teachers go on strike and refuse to go back into the classroom.


hotair--2020-11-19--Senior Trump official to Reuters: Yes, we're going to try to get state legislatures to execute a cou

Senior Trump official to Reuters: Yes, we're going to try to get state legislatures to execute a coup for us

The most disgraceful episode in American politics of my lifetime , bar none .
It ’ s the worst thing Trump has ever done , which is a highly competitive category .
And it ’ s only just begun .
Hot Air alum Noah Rothman wrote a piece yesterday — before today ’ s hallucinatory Giuliani press conference — titled “ The Dumbest of Coups , ” arguing that Trump ’ s bid to overturn the election is more pathetic than intimidating .
He ’ s placed a washed-up crank at the head of the effort ; he ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the alleged vote-rigging plot .
Rothman ’ s point ultimately , though , is that the yakety-sax vibe of the effort makes it no less sinister or unprecedented : “ There is no modern analog for the display Republicans are engaging in—no parallel to which the right can point and claim their actions are justified by the standards of decency Democrats violated long ago .
This is new.
” Correct .
Nearly everything in cutthroat modern partisan battles , from the filibuster wars to Supreme Court nominations , can be packaged as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this time .
This new low , fittingly , was pioneered by Trump .
Tim Miller , a la Rothman , says the coup plot exists in a twilight zone between serious power grab and MAGA infotainment nonsense : Unconstrained by having to present any evidence at all , the Apple Giuliani Gang concocts a conspiracy that sounds manifestly true to voters who have been trained to believe that the left is evil incarnate , but sounds so preposterous to everyone else that Republican elected officials can avoid engaging on the merits while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to them for asking about it and mock liberals for panicking over this subversion of our democracy .
And so the conspiracy theory exists in an uncanny valley : It ’ s advanced by the president of the United States and believed by untold millions of his followers but at the same time it ’ s so ludicrous that it ’ s impossible to put into context for audiences who do not exist in the Trump Alternative Universe .
It is both deadly serious and utterly ridiculous .
And it will persist in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Republican leaders are not forced to reckon with it and crush it .
It ’ s serious enough .
“ Enemies of democracy , ” Christian Vanderbrouk calls Trump and his team , aptly .
And they ’ re not trying to hide it , reports Reuters : Trump ’ s lawyers are seeking to take the power of appointing electors away from the governors and secretaries of state and give it to friendly state lawmakers from his party , saying the U.S. Constitution gives legislatures the ultimate authority… A person familiar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said it has become a “ more targeted approach towards getting the legislators engaged.
” … A senior Trump campaign official told Reuters its plan is to cast enough doubt on vote-counting in big , Democratic cities that Republican lawmakers will have little choice but to intercede .
The campaign is betting that many of those lawmakers , who come from districts Trump won , will face a backlash from voters if they refuse to act .
The campaign believes the longer they can drag this out , the more they will have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the official said… Legislators in Michigan and Pennsylvania have sought not to become involved .
Several leading Republicans in Michigan privately express dismay at the extent to which Trump has tried to game the election results , believing it will irreversibly tarnish the party ’ s image in the state for years to come .
The effort is focused right now on Michigan and Pennsylvania , which , true to the yakety-sax spirit of this project , don ’ t have enough electoral votes between them to make Trump president .
If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states , it ’ d be Biden 270 , Trump 268 .
He ’ d need a third state .
Which leaves one to wonder : Why would legislators in MI or PA make a move as apocalyptic as trying to void their elections without assurance that the coup would even succeed ?
Which state legislature wants to move first on this , not knowing if others will go along , raising the possibility that they ’ ll throw in with a fascist takeover plot , Biden will end up president anyway , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a furious constituency in their home state ?
What if they throw in with the plot and get derailed in court , as is likely to happen ?
Who wants to try to end American democracy knowing that the effort is all but guaranteed to fail and then have to face the consequences for even attempting it ?
The Republican heads of the Michigan state senate and house are set to meet with Trump tomorrow at the White House .
They should not have taken that meeting .
Even if they walk out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — and Mike Shirkey , the senate majority leader , has said the right things about that so far — chatting with Trump at a moment when his aides are nakedly admitting that they ’ re trying to orchestrate a coup led by state legislatures is grossly irresponsible .
If you ’ re a state legislator and the president calls you up this week asking to talk about the election , you hang up the phone .
If he gets mad and tweets that you ’ re a RINO and you suddenly find @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s fine .
Wear his contempt like a halo .
You ’ ll get another job .
At least , on the day you die , you ’ ll do so knowing that you did the right thing for your country when it mattered .
It would be reassuring if the rest of the party were distancing itself from Trump ’ s coup plot , however ambivalently .
But this was tweeted by the RNC this afternoon : “ President Trump won by a landslide.
” There ’ s already been a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , although it ’ s one that ’ s happened gradually over many years and really only reached its final stage today .
That coup is the takeover of the GOP by cranks : And what we are seeing now , in the twilight of Trump ’ s kookery , is the merger of QAnon , the Republican Party , and the large part of the conservative movement that earns its bread by peddling miracle veggie pills to gullible elderly people on the radio .
When I first starting writing about QAnon , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t a significant phenomenon , that it had no real influence on the Republican Party or conservative politics .
That is obviously untrue .
Rather than ask whether conspiracy kookery is relevant to Republican politics at this moment , it would be better to ask if there is anything else to Republican politics at this moment .
And maybe there is , but not much .
This raises some uncomfortable questions for conservatives .
One of those questions is : How long are we going to keep pretending that this madness isn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ long will we continue to pretend that what ’ s being broadcast by Fox News and talk radio is political commentary rather than the most shameful , irresponsible , and unpatriotic kind of sycophantic for-profit propaganda ?
A third is : What exactly is the benefit — for our ideas , and for the country — of making common cause with these lunatics and hucksters ?
Williamson went on to answer his own question : The benefit , ostensibly , is winning elections — except Trump didn ’ t win this time .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the great domestic policy achievement of his first term was … a tax cut .
I wonder what the GOP would get in return if it successfully executed his coup plot , ending the country as we know it and triggering serious talk of secession .
Another tax cut , I ’ d guess .
We can function as a society that ’ s half left and half right .
We can ’ t function as a society that ’ s half pro-elections and half pro-autocracy : Something that occurred to me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as I ’ m aware , not a single person in the administration or the campaign or Congress for that matter has resigned in protest of what Trump ’ s trying to do .
Not one person .
Lunatics and hucksters , all the way through .

The most disgraceful episode in American politics of my lifetime, bar none. It’s the worst thing Trump has ever done, which is a highly competitive category. And it’s only just begun.
Hot Air alum Noah Rothman wrote a piece yesterday — before today’s hallucinatory Giuliani press conference — titled “The Dumbest of Coups,” arguing that Trump’s bid to overturn the election is more pathetic than intimidating. He’s placed a washed-up crank at the head of the effort; he’s floating wild theories that involve Hugo Chavez in the alleged vote-rigging plot. Rothman’s point ultimately, though, is that the yakety-sax vibe of the effort makes it no less sinister or unprecedented: “There is no modern analog for the display Republicans are engaging in—no parallel to which the right can point and claim their actions are justified by the standards of decency Democrats violated long ago. This is new.” Correct. Nearly everything in cutthroat modern partisan battles, from the filibuster wars to Supreme Court nominations, can be packaged as an eye for an eye. Not this time. This new low, fittingly, was pioneered by Trump.
Tim Miller, a la Rothman, says the coup plot exists in a twilight zone between serious power grab and MAGA infotainment nonsense:
Unconstrained by having to present any evidence at all, the Apple Giuliani Gang concocts a conspiracy that sounds manifestly true to voters who have been trained to believe that the left is evil incarnate, but sounds so preposterous to everyone else that Republican elected officials can avoid engaging on the merits while they accuse The Media of being mean to them for asking about it and mock liberals for panicking over this subversion of our democracy. And so the conspiracy theory exists in an uncanny valley: It’s advanced by the president of the United States and believed by untold millions of his followers but at the same time it’s so ludicrous that it’s impossible to put into context for audiences who do not exist in the Trump Alternative Universe. It is both deadly serious and utterly ridiculous. And it will persist in perpetuity if it is not decisively disproved and Republican leaders are not forced to reckon with it and crush it.
It’s serious enough. “Enemies of democracy,” Christian Vanderbrouk calls Trump and his team, aptly. And they’re not trying to hide it, reports Reuters:
Trump’s lawyers are seeking to take the power of appointing electors away from the governors and secretaries of state and give it to friendly state lawmakers from his party, saying the U.S. Constitution gives legislatures the ultimate authority… A person familiar with the campaign’s legal strategy said it has become a “more targeted approach towards getting the legislators engaged.”… A senior Trump campaign official told Reuters its plan is to cast enough doubt on vote-counting in big, Democratic cities that Republican lawmakers will have little choice but to intercede. The campaign is betting that many of those lawmakers, who come from districts Trump won, will face a backlash from voters if they refuse to act. The campaign believes the longer they can drag this out, the more they will have an opportunity to persuade lawmakers to intervene, the official said… Legislators in Michigan and Pennsylvania have sought not to become involved. Several leading Republicans in Michigan privately express dismay at the extent to which Trump has tried to game the election results, believing it will irreversibly tarnish the party’s image in the state for years to come.
The effort is focused right now on Michigan and Pennsylvania, which, true to the yakety-sax spirit of this project, don’t have enough electoral votes between them to make Trump president. If he pulled off a coup in both states, it’d be Biden 270, Trump 268. He’d need a third state. Which leaves one to wonder: Why would legislators in MI or PA make a move as apocalyptic as trying to void their elections without assurance that the coup would even succeed? Which state legislature wants to move first on this, not knowing if others will go along, raising the possibility that they’ll throw in with a fascist takeover plot, Biden will end up president anyway, and suddenly they’ll be facing a furious constituency in their home state?
What if they throw in with the plot and get derailed in court, as is likely to happen?
What they miss, however, is that two clauses later, the Constitution provides that "Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors . . ." That time, of course, was election day, Nov. 3 this year. — Gabriel Malor (@gabrielmalor) November 19, 2020
So this theory runs afoul of both the federal Constitution and each individual state's laws. It does not represent even a plausible possibility for Trump remaining in the White House. — Gabriel Malor (@gabrielmalor) November 19, 2020
Who wants to try to end American democracy knowing that the effort is all but guaranteed to fail and then have to face the consequences for even attempting it?
The Republican heads of the Michigan state senate and house are set to meet with Trump tomorrow at the White House. They should not have taken that meeting. Even if they walk out resolved that their election results will stand — and Mike Shirkey, the senate majority leader, has said the right things about that so far — chatting with Trump at a moment when his aides are nakedly admitting that they’re trying to orchestrate a coup led by state legislatures is grossly irresponsible. If you’re a state legislator and the president calls you up this week asking to talk about the election, you hang up the phone. If he gets mad and tweets that you’re a RINO and you suddenly find yourself unelectable in your district, that’s fine. Wear his contempt like a halo. You’ll get another job. At least, on the day you die, you’ll do so knowing that you did the right thing for your country when it mattered.
It would be reassuring if the rest of the party were distancing itself from Trump’s coup plot, however ambivalently. But this was tweeted by the RNC this afternoon:
"We will not be intimidated…We are going to clean this mess up now. President Trump won by a landslide. We are going to prove it. And we are going to reclaim the United States of America for the people who vote for freedom."—Sidney Powell pic.twitter.com/8KCEOGuL7w — GOP (@GOP) November 19, 2020
“President Trump won by a landslide.” There’s already been a coup this week, writes Kevin Williamson, although it’s one that’s happened gradually over many years and really only reached its final stage today. That coup is the takeover of the GOP by cranks:
And what we are seeing now, in the twilight of Trump’s kookery, is the merger of QAnon, the Republican Party, and the large part of the conservative movement that earns its bread by peddling miracle veggie pills to gullible elderly people on the radio. When I first starting writing about QAnon, some conservatives scoffed that it wasn’t a significant phenomenon, that it had no real influence on the Republican Party or conservative politics. That is obviously untrue. Rather than ask whether conspiracy kookery is relevant to Republican politics at this moment, it would be better to ask if there is anything else to Republican politics at this moment. And maybe there is, but not much. This raises some uncomfortable questions for conservatives. One of those questions is: How long are we going to keep pretending that this madness isn’t madness? Another is: How long will we continue to pretend that what’s being broadcast by Fox News and talk radio is political commentary rather than the most shameful, irresponsible, and unpatriotic kind of sycophantic for-profit propaganda? A third is: What exactly is the benefit — for our ideas, and for the country — of making common cause with these lunatics and hucksters?
Williamson went on to answer his own question: The benefit, ostensibly, is winning elections — except Trump didn’t win this time. And when he did win in 2016, the great domestic policy achievement of his first term was … a tax cut. I wonder what the GOP would get in return if it successfully executed his coup plot, ending the country as we know it and triggering serious talk of secession. Another tax cut, I’d guess.
We can function as a society that’s half left and half right. We can’t function as a society that’s half pro-elections and half pro-autocracy:
What many people are missing: Yes, US institutions/courts are broadly continuing to function in generally democratic ways. But *people* matter too. 30-40% of the US is cheering an autocratic attempt to disregard an election & seize power. Democracy can't survive that long-term. — Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) November 19, 2020
Something that occurred to me while writing this post: As far as I’m aware, not a single person in the administration or the campaign or Congress for that matter has resigned in protest of what Trump’s trying to do. Not one person. Lunatics and hucksters, all the way through.


hotair--2020-11-19--ICE arrests 180 illegal immigrants in Operation Broken Promise

Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ) officials today announced the results of Operation Broken Promise .
The announcement included the number of those arrested – 180 illegal aliens .
The operation targeted those who promised to leave the United States but did not do so .
The illegal aliens violated the terms of their agreement to voluntarily leave the country instead of being deported by ICE .
Operation Broken Promise is a national operation in which ICE-deployed officers across the country search for illegal aliens who have failed to leave on their own accord .
Illegal aliens receive due @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into removal proceedings , they have their cases reviewed by immigration judges .
During that process , the illegal alien is allowed to request an order allowing them to leave the country .
They can ask for the order pre-hearing or litigate their case and then ask for that type of order .
This gives the alien permission to leave the country voluntarily .
This allows them to avoid a removal order which can carry a 5 – 10 year ban on returning to the United States .
The illegal alien is given @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – 120 days , depending on the arrangements , which allows the person the ability to choose the place and time of departure .
Plus , they keep the right to return to the United States at some time in the future .
ICE sees the policy as a win for both the United States and the illegal alien .
The program , when used properly , reduces litigation costs and personnel needed to remove illegal aliens from the country .
It lowers the burden of the court dockets .
Despite the privilege @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decree , thousands of illegal aliens take advantage of the system and do not follow through on their promise to leave .
Shocking , I know .
More concerning than the fact that they take advantage of a generous and benevolent country like America , many of them have criminal backgrounds .
These crimes include domestic violence , cruelty to children , sexual assault , prostitution , burglary , and drug offenses , according to the press conference held by Tony Pham , acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that resulted in the arrest of 180 at-large illegal aliens throughout the United States .
Some former ICE directors grouse that these types of operations are a waste of resources .
Is it a waste of resources , though ?
Doesn ’ t this kind of enforcement fall well within the job description of ICE ?
These illegal aliens have been given every opportunity to leave on their own yet they then turned around and went on their merry way without living up to their part of the agreement .
They abuse the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then be rounded up and removed ?
ICE is working within stricter parameters due to the coronavirus pandemic as it is but some changes are slowly being made .
The agency had limited at-large operations during the coronavirus pandemic , but in late September it changed language on its website to indicate that enforcement would begin again as normal .
In October , Pham led the implementation of a policy that allows officers to arrest and rapidly deport undocumented immigrants who have been in the US for less than two years .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those who take advantage of the generosity of American taxpayers .
Last month ICE performed nationwide sweeps that targeted areas like California that have enacted sanctuary city policies .
ICE is focusing on public safety risks during the coronavirus pandemic .
The voluntary departure option extended to illegal aliens is a generous policy that should be applauded , not tsk-tsked by former ICE officials .

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials today announced the results of Operation Broken Promise. The announcement included the number of those arrested – 180 illegal aliens. The operation targeted those who promised to leave the United States but did not do so.
The illegal aliens violated the terms of their agreement to voluntarily leave the country instead of being deported by ICE. Operation Broken Promise is a national operation in which ICE-deployed officers across the country search for illegal aliens who have failed to leave on their own accord. Illegal aliens receive due process of the law. Once placed into removal proceedings, they have their cases reviewed by immigration judges. During that process, the illegal alien is allowed to request an order allowing them to leave the country. They can ask for the order pre-hearing or litigate their case and then ask for that type of order. This gives the alien permission to leave the country voluntarily. This allows them to avoid a removal order which can carry a 5 – 10 year ban on returning to the United States. The illegal alien is given a date to depart, typically 60 – 120 days, depending on the arrangements, which allows the person the ability to choose the place and time of departure. Plus, they keep the right to return to the United States at some time in the future. ICE sees the policy as a win for both the United States and the illegal alien.
The program, when used properly, reduces litigation costs and personnel needed to remove illegal aliens from the country. It lowers the burden of the court dockets. Despite the privilege of due process and signing a sworn decree, thousands of illegal aliens take advantage of the system and do not follow through on their promise to leave. Shocking, I know. More concerning than the fact that they take advantage of a generous and benevolent country like America, many of them have criminal backgrounds. These crimes include domestic violence, cruelty to children, sexual assault, prostitution, burglary, and drug offenses, according to the press conference held by Tony Pham, acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The operation was a 21-day targeted enforcement operation that resulted in the arrest of 180 at-large illegal aliens throughout the United States. Some former ICE directors grouse that these types of operations are a waste of resources.
NEW: More than 180 immigrants across the US were arrested recently as part of an ICE op targeting those who officials say had promised to leave but did not, according to an internal doc I obtained. Former ICE officials say it's a waste of resources.https://t.co/LlGr8mKyF4 — Hamed Aleaziz (@Haleaziz) November 18, 2020
“It’s a waste of resources,” said John Sandweg, a former acting director of ICE under the Obama administration. “When you’re targeting on immigration status alone and not on criminal history, you’re wasting resources.”
Is it a waste of resources, though? Doesn’t this kind of enforcement fall well within the job description of ICE? These illegal aliens have been given every opportunity to leave on their own yet they then turned around and went on their merry way without living up to their part of the agreement. They abuse the system. Why shouldn’t they then be rounded up and removed? ICE is working within stricter parameters due to the coronavirus pandemic as it is but some changes are slowly being made.
The agency had limited at-large operations during the coronavirus pandemic, but in late September it changed language on its website to indicate that enforcement would begin again as normal. In October, Pham led the implementation of a policy that allows officers to arrest and rapidly deport undocumented immigrants who have been in the US for less than two years.
It’s hard to be sympathetic to those who take advantage of the generosity of American taxpayers. Last month ICE performed nationwide sweeps that targeted areas like California that have enacted sanctuary city policies. ICE is focusing on public safety risks during the coronavirus pandemic. The voluntary departure option extended to illegal aliens is a generous policy that should be applauded, not tsk-tsked by former ICE officials.


hotair--2020-11-19--Today's hot topics on #TEMS: Election muddle, Michigan fumble, Team Trump huddle, economy trouble, a

Today's hot topics on #TEMS: Election muddle, Michigan fumble, Team Trump huddle, economy trouble, and more!

Today on The Ed Morrissey Show ( 4 pm ET ) , we have another great lineup for the news of the day !
The show will be streamed on Hot Air ’ s Facebook page and embedded here and on the show page for those who are not on Facebook .
Join us as we welcome : • Duane “ Generalissimo ” Patterson brings us up to date on the week ’ s top stories and gives us a preview of tomorrow ’ s Hugh Hewitt show .
We ’ ll review today ’ s big press conference , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Michigan , and an opening rift between Democrats and teacher unions in New York and California .
• What do the latest economic indicators mean , and will a new round of lockdowns cripple the economy all over again ?
Peter Grandich of Peter Grandich & Company joins me again today to cover all the economic news !
The Ed Morrissey Show and its dynamic chatroom can be seen on the permanent TEMS page .
Be sure to join us , and don ’ t forget to keep up with the debate on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can Republicans and conservatives keep winning after 2016 ?
Find out in GOING RED , published in April from Crown Forum !

Today on The Ed Morrissey Show (4 pm ET), we have another great lineup for the news of the day! The show will be streamed on Hot Air’s Facebook page and embedded here and on the show page for those who are not on Facebook.
Join us as we welcome:
Duane “Generalissimo” Patterson brings us up to date on the week’s top stories and gives us a preview of tomorrow’s Hugh Hewitt show. We’ll review today’s big press conference, Team Trump’s abrupt exit in Michigan, and an opening rift between Democrats and teacher unions in New York and California.
What do the latest economic indicators mean, and will a new round of lockdowns cripple the economy all over again? Peter Grandich of Peter Grandich & Company joins me again today to cover all the economic news!
The Ed Morrissey Show and its dynamic chatroom can be seen on the permanent TEMS page. Be sure to join us, and don’t forget to keep up with the debate on my Facebook page, too!
How can Republicans and conservatives keep winning after 2016? Find out in GOING RED, published in April from Crown Forum!


hotair--2020-11-19--Newsmax host: Maybe what we really need is a MAGA party

Via Mediaite , please , for the love of God , let people listen to this guy and take his advice .
The only good thing that could conceivably come from the national humiliation we ’ re enduring this week is a full-on schism on the right between those who support democracy and those who support a fascist coup based on the incoherent theories of voter fraud advanced at this afternoon ’ s press conference : We ’ ll have a Democratic Party , a Republican Party , and a MAGA Party .
The MAGA Party can have whatever rules @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or his heirs being eligible for its presidential nomination .
That ’ s effectively the rule in the GOP right now , but the MAGA Party could make it official .
A formal divorce on the right would simply recognize a reality that already exists , in fact , that the GOP is divided into a “ Paul Ryan party ” and a “ Donald Trump party.
” Those two parties collaborate on nominees and *usually* vote for each other ’ s candidates , but enough members of the Ryan party opposed Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Biden .
It ’ s only right and proper that the Trump party punish them by going their own way .
Do it for the Constitution , as Greg Kelly says — on a day when the president and his legal cronies are trying to get an election voided because he lost .
Watch the first 30 seconds or so here , then read on : Republicans in elected office would bristle at the idea of a party split , knowing how difficult it ’ d be to win a three-way race @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Twitter pal made a good point this morning .
The Ted Cruzes and Marco Rubios may face the wrath of the “ MAGA Party ” next time they run whether or not the MAGA Party officially exists .
It ’ ll exist *informally* , and its core conviction will be that Soros and Hugo Chavez and the mafia and whoever else conspired to steal the 2020 election from Trump .
And if they could steal that election , they can steal any election .
There ’ s no reason why the “ logic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of thousands of ballots ” should be limited to races against Democrats .
Have someone MAGA run against Ted Cruz in Texas , lose by 20 points in the primary , then make his case to Greg Kelly at Newsmax that the globalists rigged the election for Ted just like they did for Biden .
Then the MAGA Party can refuse to turn out for Cruz in the general election , as they wouldn ’ t want to reward his “ theft ” of the primary with another term in the Senate .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ numbly while Trump demagogues a fair election , there ’ s no reason why they shouldn ’ t get a dose of it themselves .
Maybe they ’ ll get it on both ends the next time they run , with MAGA fans complaining about vote-rigging and Democrats complaining about Russian collusion with the candidate .
The only question in the Republican/MAGA divorce is who gets custody of “ Trumpism.
” The MAGA Party gets Trump himself , of course , but the GOP may want to share custody of “ Trumpism ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ very happy that [ President ] Trump lost – and lost narrowly – is that a second term of Trump would have killed us , ” [ Ann ] Coulter said .
“ What we want , and what I think we can get in four years , is Trumpism without Trump , ” she said… “ We have to take care of our own first .
That ’ s Trumpism .
And it hasn ’ t been tried .
It certainly hasn ’ t triumphed , ” Coulter opined .
“ [ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ d say these wild things that we ’ d get blamed for , he ’ d get attacked on , and then actually did nothing , ” she explained .
We could have MAGA Party nominee Donald Trump versus Republican Party nominee Josh Hawley versus Joe Biden or Kamala Harris in 2024 , with one candidate running on Trumpism and Trump himself running on the platform of letting him do whatever he wants to do , including overturning elections .
It ’ d be a fun election .
It would make this ordeal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fisher of Fox News politely debunking the completely insane , embarrassment-to-the-country Giuliani/Powell news conference today .
Fox News will remain the preferred network of the Republican Party in the divorce , of course .
The MAGA Party gets Kelly and Newsmax .

Via Mediaite, please, for the love of God, let people listen to this guy and take his advice. The only good thing that could conceivably come from the national humiliation we’re enduring this week is a full-on schism on the right between those who support democracy and those who support a fascist coup based on the incoherent theories of voter fraud advanced at this afternoon’s press conference:
https://twitter.com/NicoleGoodkind/status/1329484108842594312
We’ll have a Democratic Party, a Republican Party, and a MAGA Party. The MAGA Party can have whatever rules it wants, like only Trump himself or his heirs being eligible for its presidential nomination. That’s effectively the rule in the GOP right now, but the MAGA Party could make it official.
A formal divorce on the right would simply recognize a reality that already exists, in fact, that the GOP is divided into a “Paul Ryan party” and a “Donald Trump party.” Those two parties collaborate on nominees and *usually* vote for each other’s candidates, but enough members of the Ryan party opposed Trump this time around to hand the presidency to Biden. It’s only right and proper that the Trump party punish them by going their own way.
Do it for the Constitution, as Greg Kelly says — on a day when the president and his legal cronies are trying to get an election voided because he lost. Watch the first 30 seconds or so here, then read on:
Republicans in elected office would bristle at the idea of a party split, knowing how difficult it’d be to win a three-way race with the right divided. But a Twitter pal made a good point this morning. The Ted Cruzes and Marco Rubios may face the wrath of the “MAGA Party” next time they run whether or not the MAGA Party officially exists. It’ll exist *informally*, and its core conviction will be that Soros and Hugo Chavez and the mafia and whoever else conspired to steal the 2020 election from Trump. And if they could steal that election, they can steal any election.
dipshits like ted and marco are all gonna get primaried by complete lunatic extremists and in some of those cases the complete lunatic extremists will either win the primary, or just say fuck you I won the primary no matter what the math says and then split their tickets — kilgore trout, ted’s travel agent (@KT_So_It_Goes) November 19, 2020
There’s no reason why the “logic” that “the Illuminati flipped hundreds of thousands of ballots” should be limited to races against Democrats. Have someone MAGA run against Ted Cruz in Texas, lose by 20 points in the primary, then make his case to Greg Kelly at Newsmax that the globalists rigged the election for Ted just like they did for Biden. Then the MAGA Party can refuse to turn out for Cruz in the general election, as they wouldn’t want to reward his “theft” of the primary with another term in the Senate.
If establishment Republicans want to sit by numbly while Trump demagogues a fair election, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t get a dose of it themselves. Maybe they’ll get it on both ends the next time they run, with MAGA fans complaining about vote-rigging and Democrats complaining about Russian collusion with the candidate.
The only question in the Republican/MAGA divorce is who gets custody of “Trumpism.” The MAGA Party gets Trump himself, of course, but the GOP may want to share custody of “Trumpism”:
“The reason I’m very happy that [President] Trump lost – and lost narrowly – is that a second term of Trump would have killed us,” [Ann] Coulter said. “What we want, and what I think we can get in four years, is Trumpism without Trump,” she said… “We have to take care of our own first. That’s Trumpism. And it hasn’t been tried. It certainly hasn’t triumphed,” Coulter opined. “[W]ith Trump … He’d say these wild things that we’d get blamed for, he’d get attacked on, and then actually did nothing,” she explained.
We could have MAGA Party nominee Donald Trump versus Republican Party nominee Josh Hawley versus Joe Biden or Kamala Harris in 2024, with one candidate running on Trumpism and Trump himself running on the platform of letting him do whatever he wants to do, including overturning elections. It’d be a fun election. It would make this ordeal worth it.
Here’s Kristin Fisher of Fox News politely debunking the completely insane, embarrassment-to-the-country Giuliani/Powell news conference today. Fox News will remain the preferred network of the Republican Party in the divorce, of course. The MAGA Party gets Kelly and Newsmax.


hotair--2020-11-19--Team Trump: Our lawsuit tomorrow in Georgia will lay out communist-funded election fraud

Fair enough .
If the Donald Trump campaign has evidence that the 2020 election fell victim to a communist-funded plot originally conceived and created by Hugo Chavez , then a federal court is the correct venue to test and verify that evidence .
In a dramatic afternoon press conference helmed by Rudy Giuliani , Team Trump announced that such a lawsuit would be filed tomorrow in Georgia in a last-ditch effort to stop the state from certifying its recount .
They better hope that their track record on backing up such claims improves , however : As President-elect Joe Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 80 million votes , President Donald Trump ’ s attorneys announced Thursday their client ’ s reelection campaign “ discovered a plan from a centralized place focused on big cities controlled by Democrats ” to commit voter fraud in a number of states , including Georgia .
In an afternoon news conference , Trump ’ s personal attorney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani announced the campaign will file “ a major lawsuit ” in Georgia on Friday , alleging voter fraud .
… Another Trump attorney , Sidney Powell , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through Venezuela , Cuba and likely China and the interference with our elections here in the United States.
” Oooooo-kay .
Powell ’ s theory goes through the Dominion voting system , which has been the subject of a number of conspiracy theories in the past two weeks .
The operation of voting systems likewise involves many , many individuals , so there should be overwhelming evidence and testimony to the plot described by Powell here .
Likewise , that kind of money movement would leave a very distinct trail .
Notably , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any such evidence at this presser , and Giuliani only references a single affadavit in support of this theory : Again , Team Trump will apparently have its day in court tomorrow when it files the promised lawsuit , so perhaps all of these claims will be substantiated .
However , if everything Sidney Powell says is true , why didn ’ t the Trump-era Department of Justice pick up on all that money movement ?
Why didn ’ t they or the intel community alert everyone to a plot to use Dominion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
Don ’ t forget that the Department of Homeland Security already declared that no evidence of any such penetration has been found , a declaration for which Trump fired Chris Krebs this week .
Here ’ s something else to keep in mind about that , too .
Republicans correctly pointed out that the essential truth of Russian interference was that it was a failure by the Obama administration .
If Powell ’ s correct , this would be a massive failure by Trump to protect the 2020 election by the same @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have to posit the existence of a massive conspiracy that somehow eluded the Trump administration ’ s own agencies , basically arguing Trump ’ s incompetency as a supporting claim .
Jonathan Turley , who has been at least solicitous if not supportive of Donald Trump ’ s previous legal arguments , advises extreme skepticism about the claims made in today ’ s presser ( via Twitchy ) : Still , the courts are the place to test those kinds of claims and evidence , assuming Team Trump has any to sustain these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ come up embarrassingly empty in other venues , and have been forced to retreat from fraud claims in other cases .
Today ’ s abrupt withdrawal in Michigan underscored the unseriousness of their claims in that state .
That also brings up another point — why withdraw from any of these cases if they have this kind of evidence ?
Today ’ s presser had its lighter moments .
For instance , here ’ s Giuliani making reference to everyone ’ s favorite courtroom comedy My Cousin Vinny in order to make a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that this is an argument that Team Trump thoroughly lost in Pennsylvania already and seems unrelated to the claims Powell made today , and that Giuliani actually misquotes the exchange : The witness in the film said she saw four fingers , not three , but that ’ s a minor quibble .
Even more entertaining was the meltdown Giuliani ’ s hair experienced in the presser , with some quipping that the former mayor turns out to be “ an attorney to dye for “ : President Donald Trump ’ s personal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rudy Guiliani , held an impassioned press conference Thursday afternoon , during which he railed against alleged foreign influence and massive voter fraud in this month ’ s presidential election .
Guiliani ’ s ire was raised so much that he began sweating during the briefing , which became evident as hair dye began streaking down his face .
The perspiration event was the latest in a string of social blunders by Giuliani on the national stage .
If only “ social blunders ” were the worst of it .

Fair enough. If the Donald Trump campaign has evidence that the 2020 election fell victim to a communist-funded plot originally conceived and created by Hugo Chavez, then a federal court is the correct venue to test and verify that evidence. In a dramatic afternoon press conference helmed by Rudy Giuliani, Team Trump announced that such a lawsuit would be filed tomorrow in Georgia in a last-ditch effort to stop the state from certifying its recount.
They better hope that their track record on backing up such claims improves, however:
As President-elect Joe Biden’s winning tally approached a record 80 million votes, President Donald Trump’s attorneys announced Thursday their client’s reelection campaign “discovered a plan from a centralized place focused on big cities controlled by Democrats” to commit voter fraud in a number of states, including Georgia. In an afternoon news conference, Trump’s personal attorney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani announced the campaign will file “a major lawsuit” in Georgia on Friday, alleging voter fraud. … Another Trump attorney, Sidney Powell, alleged “massive influence of communist money through Venezuela, Cuba and likely China and the interference with our elections here in the United States.”
Oooooo-kay. Powell’s theory goes through the Dominion voting system, which has been the subject of a number of conspiracy theories in the past two weeks. The operation of voting systems likewise involves many, many individuals, so there should be overwhelming evidence and testimony to the plot described by Powell here. Likewise, that kind of money movement would leave a very distinct trail. Notably, however, Powell doesn’t produce any such evidence at this presser, and Giuliani only references a single affadavit in support of this theory:
Again, Team Trump will apparently have its day in court tomorrow when it files the promised lawsuit, so perhaps all of these claims will be substantiated. However, if everything Sidney Powell says is true, why didn’t the Trump-era Department of Justice pick up on all that money movement? Why didn’t they or the intel community alert everyone to a plot to use Dominion as a Trojan horse in the election? Don’t forget that the Department of Homeland Security already declared that no evidence of any such penetration has been found, a declaration for which Trump fired Chris Krebs this week.
Here’s something else to keep in mind about that, too. Republicans correctly pointed out that the essential truth of Russian interference was that it was a failure by the Obama administration. If Powell’s correct, this would be a massive failure by Trump to protect the 2020 election by the same logic. Trump’s campaign will have to posit the existence of a massive conspiracy that somehow eluded the Trump administration’s own agencies, basically arguing Trump’s incompetency as a supporting claim.
Jonathan Turley, who has been at least solicitous if not supportive of Donald Trump’s previous legal arguments, advises extreme skepticism about the claims made in today’s presser (via Twitchy):
…Giuliani just suggested that we might need "a new agency to protect us" because of the bias of the FBI. Again, that type of rhetoric is less of an "opening argument" than a rave. It does not support these challenges or the evidence that they are suggesting is forthcoming. — Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) November 19, 2020
That was an excruciating 90 minutes. I have said it before. I understand the need to have time to gather evidence but time is of the essence. Certifications are going forward next week. This is not the time for "opening arguments" but evidence production. — Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) November 19, 2020
Still, the courts are the place to test those kinds of claims and evidence, assuming Team Trump has any to sustain these allegations. Thus far they’ve come up embarrassingly empty in other venues, and have been forced to retreat from fraud claims in other cases. Today’s abrupt withdrawal in Michigan underscored the unseriousness of their claims in that state. That also brings up another point — why withdraw from any of these cases if they have this kind of evidence?
Today’s presser had its lighter moments. For instance, here’s Giuliani making reference to everyone’s favorite courtroom comedy My Cousin Vinny in order to make a point about election observers. Note well that this is an argument that Team Trump thoroughly lost in Pennsylvania already and seems unrelated to the claims Powell made today, and that Giuliani actually misquotes the exchange:
Yup, that really happened. Watch Rudy Giuliani reference a courtroom scene from the timely 1992 film "My Cousin Vinny." pic.twitter.com/tBis5HDf6k — The Recount (@therecount) November 19, 2020
The witness in the film said she saw four fingers, not three, but that’s a minor quibble. Even more entertaining was the meltdown Giuliani’s hair experienced in the presser, with some quipping that the former mayor turns out to be “an attorney to dye for“:
President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani, held an impassioned press conference Thursday afternoon, during which he railed against alleged foreign influence and massive voter fraud in this month’s presidential election. Guiliani’s ire was raised so much that he began sweating during the briefing, which became evident as hair dye began streaking down his face. The perspiration event was the latest in a string of social blunders by Giuliani on the national stage.
If only “social blunders” were the worst of it.


hotair--2020-11-19--Jayapal and The Squad: Lindsey Graham must resign for his "dangerous attack on our democracy"

Rep. Pramila Jayapal ( D-WA ) calls for the resignation of Senator Lindsey Graham after stories emerged about the senator ’ s conversation with the Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger .
Raffensperger , a Republican , accused Graham of trying to get him to throw out mail-in ballots during a phone call about the process of signature verification .
Graham says that is malarkey , he was asking for clarification .
During an interview this morning on Fox and Friends , Graham said he posed a simple question to Raffensperger , “ How would you verify a mail-in ballot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fact that the outside envelope with a signature is separated from the secrecy envelope inside which contains the actual ballot .
Therefore , there is no way to compare signatures once the envelope is opened .
Graham pointed out that in the last election , the rate of ballot rejection was 3.5 % while this election ’ s ballot rejection rate is 0.3 % though four times more mail-in ballots were counted .
The difference in the vote total is about 39,000 , Graham said , and that is enough to make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Georgia .
Graham requested donations from Fox viewers concerned about counting Georgia ballots .
He asked them to go to LindseyGraham.com to contribute .
The money goes to the Purdue and Loeffler campaigns .
“ Let ’ s make The Squad ’ s life miserable by holding on to the Senate , ” he said .
For some reason , Rep. Jayapal is the flavor of the month with online publications .
I ’ m seeing several articles about her , touting her high level of votes in her re-election race and her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of The Squad in the incoming Biden administration .
She , along with Representatives Ilhan and Tlaib , are calling on Graham to resign .
He poses a threat to our democracy , you know , for asking a question about how voter signatures are verified in Georgia .
Jayapal is interviewed by Teen Vogue magazine which spotlights her demand that Graham resign .
I haven ’ t found a tweet from AOC yet calling for Graham ’ s resignation but one will likely come as The Squad sticks together .
For whatever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Graham is trying to meddle in Georgia ’ s election .
We ’ ve got a Republican on Republican battle going on here .
“ During our discussion , he asked if … the absentee ballots could be matched back to the envelope , ” Raffensperger told CBS This Morning .
“ I explained our process , after it went through two sets of signature match , at that point they were separated .
But then Senator Graham implied for us to audit the envelopes and then throw out the ballots for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of signatures .
I tried to help explain that because we did signature match , you couldn ’ t tie the signatures back anymore to those ballots.
” While the socialist/Marxist women of The Squad may be angered that Senator Graham is asking questions during a very unusual election year , Democrats are asking Biden voters from other states to move to Georgia temporarily , register to vote , and then vote for the two Democrats running for Senate in January .
This action takes advantage of a federal loophole in Georgia law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s anger toward him , as well as anger directed toward him by Senate candidates David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler and other Republicans , is retaliation for turning down the co-chairmanship of the Trump re-election campaign back in January .
“ They thought Georgia was a layup shot Republican win .
It is not the job of the secretary of state ’ s office to deliver a win—it is the sole responsibility of the Georgia Republican Party to get out the vote and get its voters to the polls , ” Raffensperger @ @ @ @ @ @ @ job of the secretary of state ’ s office.
” In January , Raffensperger declined to serve as honorary co-chair of the Trump campaign in Georgia and later rejected GOP requests to publicly show support for Trump , ProPublica reports .
He noted that , if he were to take sides while overseeing an election , it could potentially be seen as a conflict of interest , especially when most secretaries of states in the country tend to remain neutral for this reason .
“ It is our standard practice not to endorse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of State Jordan Fuchs in an email to Robert Kirkland , a senior adviser for the Trump campaign , at the request of Raffensperger , according to ProPublica .
“ This policy is not directed at any specific candidate , but all candidates , as the Secretary oversees elections and the implementation of new voting machines here in Georgia.
” In an ardent push for Raffensperger to endorse Trump , the secretary of state also reported that Kirkland stormed into a meeting uninvited to demand that he publicly support the campaign .
What @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thought he heard an implied order from Graham to toss ballots while Graham says he was asking questions about the process and advising Raffensperger on the legality of his actions .
Raffensperger told The Washington Post on Monday that he had spoken to GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham , who questioned him about the signature-matching law in the state and whether political bias influenced poll workers from accepting or throwing out ballots .
Graham also reportedly asked if Raffensperger had the power to toss out ballots .
Raffensperger told CNN ’ s Wolf Blitzer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ repeatedly questioned the validity of legally cast ballots , pressured him to reverse the results of Georgia ’ s election .
“ He asked if the ballots could be matched back to the voters , ” Raffensperger said .
“ I got the sense it implied that then you could throw those [ out ] …if you look at the counties with the highest frequent error of signatures .
So that ’ s the impression that I got.
” “ It was just an implication that of , ‘ Look hard and see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ' ” he added later .
Raffensperger is making the rounds in the media , bringing the phone call from Graham into question .
All claims of voter fraud will be investigated , he says , though no evidence of widespread voter fraud has been found so far .
Trump lost Georgia by 14,000 votes in the initial count .
Raffensperger ordered a hand recount last week of nearly 5 million votes .
The deadline for counties was 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday in order to certify state election results by Friday .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ out since Georgia ballots keep turning up which had not previously been counted .
In the meantime , Lindsey Graham isn ’ t going anywhere .
Sorry , Squad .

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) calls for the resignation of Senator Lindsey Graham after stories emerged about the senator’s conversation with the Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger. Raffensperger, a Republican, accused Graham of trying to get him to throw out mail-in ballots during a phone call about the process of signature verification. Graham says that is malarkey, he was asking for clarification.
During an interview this morning on Fox and Friends, Graham said he posed a simple question to Raffensperger, “How would you verify a mail-in ballot signature?” The concern comes from the fact that the outside envelope with a signature is separated from the secrecy envelope inside which contains the actual ballot. Therefore, there is no way to compare signatures once the envelope is opened. Graham pointed out that in the last election, the rate of ballot rejection was 3.5% while this election’s ballot rejection rate is 0.3% though four times more mail-in ballots were counted. The difference in the vote total is about 39,000, Graham said, and that is enough to make up what the president is behind in Georgia.
Graham requested donations from Fox viewers concerned about counting Georgia ballots. He asked them to go to LindseyGraham.com to contribute. The money goes to the Purdue and Loeffler campaigns. “Let’s make The Squad’s life miserable by holding on to the Senate,” he said.
For some reason, Rep. Jayapal is the flavor of the month with online publications. I’m seeing several articles about her, touting her high level of votes in her re-election race and her intentions to continue to push the agenda of The Squad in the incoming Biden administration. She, along with Representatives Ilhan and Tlaib, are calling on Graham to resign. He poses a threat to our democracy, you know, for asking a question about how voter signatures are verified in Georgia. Jayapal is interviewed by Teen Vogue magazine which spotlights her demand that Graham resign.
Lindsey Graham must resign. It has now been corroborated that he urged the Secretary of State in Georgia to find a way to throw out legally cast ballots. There must be accountability and justice for this dangerous attack on our democracy. — Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) November 18, 2020
Lindsey Graham attempted to commit voter fraud. He can't get away with it. Thank you @PramilaJayapal for demanding accountability. https://t.co/bzcutG6aM8 — Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) November 18, 2020
It’s time for Lindsey Graham to submit his resignation. https://t.co/XFzHmdV66I — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) November 18, 2020
I haven’t found a tweet from AOC yet calling for Graham’s resignation but one will likely come as The Squad sticks together.
For whatever reason, Raffensperger is telling the media that Graham is trying to meddle in Georgia’s election. We’ve got a Republican on Republican battle going on here.
“During our discussion, he asked if … the absentee ballots could be matched back to the envelope,” Raffensperger told CBS This Morning. “I explained our process, after it went through two sets of signature match, at that point they were separated. But then Senator Graham implied for us to audit the envelopes and then throw out the ballots for counties who have the highest frequency error of signatures. I tried to help explain that because we did signature match, you couldn’t tie the signatures back anymore to those ballots.”
While the socialist/Marxist women of The Squad may be angered that Senator Graham is asking questions during a very unusual election year, Democrats are asking Biden voters from other states to move to Georgia temporarily, register to vote, and then vote for the two Democrats running for Senate in January. This action takes advantage of a federal loophole in Georgia law. The Secretary of State says Trump’s anger toward him, as well as anger directed toward him by Senate candidates David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler and other Republicans, is retaliation for turning down the co-chairmanship of the Trump re-election campaign back in January.
“They thought Georgia was a layup shot Republican win. It is not the job of the secretary of state’s office to deliver a win—it is the sole responsibility of the Georgia Republican Party to get out the vote and get its voters to the polls,” Raffensperger said. “That is not the job of the secretary of state’s office.” In January, Raffensperger declined to serve as honorary co-chair of the Trump campaign in Georgia and later rejected GOP requests to publicly show support for Trump, ProPublica reports. He noted that, if he were to take sides while overseeing an election, it could potentially be seen as a conflict of interest, especially when most secretaries of states in the country tend to remain neutral for this reason. “It is our standard practice not to endorse any candidate,” wrote Deputy Secretary of State Jordan Fuchs in an email to Robert Kirkland, a senior adviser for the Trump campaign, at the request of Raffensperger, according to ProPublica. “This policy is not directed at any specific candidate, but all candidates, as the Secretary oversees elections and the implementation of new voting machines here in Georgia.” In an ardent push for Raffensperger to endorse Trump, the secretary of state also reported that Kirkland stormed into a meeting uninvited to demand that he publicly support the campaign.
What all this kerfuffle sounds like is Raffensperger thought he heard an implied order from Graham to toss ballots while Graham says he was asking questions about the process and advising Raffensperger on the legality of his actions.
Raffensperger told The Washington Post on Monday that he had spoken to GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham, who questioned him about the signature-matching law in the state and whether political bias influenced poll workers from accepting or throwing out ballots. Graham also reportedly asked if Raffensperger had the power to toss out ballots. Raffensperger told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Monday that Graham, who has repeatedly questioned the validity of legally cast ballots, pressured him to reverse the results of Georgia’s election. “He asked if the ballots could be matched back to the voters,” Raffensperger said. “I got the sense it implied that then you could throw those [out]…if you look at the counties with the highest frequent error of signatures. So that’s the impression that I got.” “It was just an implication that of, ‘Look hard and see how many ballots you could throw out,'” he added later.
Raffensperger is making the rounds in the media, bringing the phone call from Graham into question. All claims of voter fraud will be investigated, he says, though no evidence of widespread voter fraud has been found so far. Trump lost Georgia by 14,000 votes in the initial count. Raffensperger ordered a hand recount last week of nearly 5 million votes. The deadline for counties was 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday in order to certify state election results by Friday. We will see how these deadlines play out since Georgia ballots keep turning up which had not previously been counted. In the meantime, Lindsey Graham isn’t going anywhere. Sorry, Squad.