motherjones--2020-11-12--Is Joe Biden Bringing a Knife to a Gunfight?

Don ’ t bring a knife to a gunfight .
That ’ s essentially the advice dispensed by Sean Connery ’ s character in The Untouchables in the middle of a violent ruckus .
And the 2020 post-election period—in which Donald Trump is waging war against American democracy and a president-elect—has raised what ’ s become a perennial question : Do Democrats fully understand what they are up against when they do political battle with Republicans ?
Moreover , is Joe Biden prepared for the partisan rumble that has already begun ?
The clash between Ds and Rs has long @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the imbalance .
Republicans frequently whine that they are the victims of unfair Democratic shenanigans .
But consider recent history .
During the 2000 recount in Florida , it was GOP operatives , including dirty trickster Roger Stone , who organized a fake protest ( populated not by outraged citizens but by Capitol Hill GOP staffers ) to shut down the counting of ballots in Miami-Dade county .
In 2004 , conservatives and Republicans mounted the phony Swift Boat attack on Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry .
( This somewhat successful smear campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on how to respond to false accusations . )
In 2008 , GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin accused Barack Obama of “ palling around with terrorists.
” Four years later , Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney , seeking Trump ’ s endorsement , embraced the man who was championing the racist birther conspiracy theory .
Meanwhile , through the Obama years , congressional Republicans , led by Senate Majority Mitch McConnell , reached new heights in obstructionism , refusing to work with the Obama White House on a stimulus bill ( much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ immigration , and health care reform and threatening a financial crisis over the debt ceiling .
And during this time , House Republicans mounted a gazillion Benghazi hearings , abusing their investigative power to tarnish Hillary Clinton , the likely 2016 presidential nominee .
Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California , the No .
2 Republican in the House at the time , even said the quiet part out loud : that these hearings were a success because they lowered Clinton ’ s standing in the polls .
As for McConnell , his scorched-earth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Merrick Garland ’ s Supreme Court nomination .
There aren ’ t comparable actions on the other side of the aisle .
Have congressional Democrats ever threatened financial collapse to get their way ?
Have they denied a Supreme Court appointee a vote ?
Has any member of a Democratic presidential ticket challenged the patriotism of the Republican candidate ( until Hillary Clinton justifiably questioned Trump ’ s refusal to denounce Russia ’ s attack on the 2016 election ) ?
And while Democrats have tried to expand voting , Republicans have engaged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the opposite .
Overall , the GOP has played a meaner game .
Then came Trump .
He aided and abetted Vladimir Putin ’ s assault on American democracy in 2016 .
Yet he falsely claimed that election was being rigged against him .
As president , he has made more than 22,000 false statements and ruled by resentment .
He called for the arrest of his political opponents .
He brazenly used the White House as a campaign prop .
He demonized his political opponents as a “ left-wing ” mob that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He encouraged violence and winked at the “ very fine people ” who advocate white supremacism .
He threatened to withhold pandemic assistance to states run by Democratic governors .
He accused the media , the Democrats , tech companies , and government officials of plotting against him—and , in recent days , of stealing the election from him .
Trump sought to exploit divisions and mobilize hatred .
He branded Biden and everyone else arrayed against him as enemies of the nation .
( Some of his evangelical supporters have claimed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ league with the devil . )
And Trump is now striving to undermine the country ’ s political system by hurling false accusations of fraud regarding the 2020 election results .
No Democratic president or leader has ever engaged in such hate-filled action and rhetoric .
No Democratic president or leader has ever cast the other side as a vicious enemy bent on the destruction of the United States .
( Hillary Clinton did claim that “ half ” of Trump ’ s supporters were “ deplorables ” because they were “ racist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Islamaphobic—you name it.
” But she said the other half felt “ that the government has let them down ” and needed to be understood . )
While Trump was leading a red-state crusade of vilification and essentially vowing to wipe out Blue America , Biden asserted he wanted to be president of all Americans and bridge differences .
He and Trump were mounting different fights .
More Americans responded to Biden , but Trump ’ s bandwagon of loathing found more than 70 million riders .
And as Trump has stuck with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the election , the Republican Party has mostly continued to march in lockstep with him .
He has been recklessly alleging that his diabolical enemies are stealing the election from him .
Every day , he and his campaign send out multiple emails to millions of his supporters asking for money and declaring that Biden and his evil allies are betraying America by robbing it of its rightful president .
Trump is trying to undermine the election and delegitimize the coming-soon Biden presidency .
McConnell , Marco Rubio , David Perdue , Kelly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enabling this by refusing to acknowledge Biden ’ s victory and by stating that Trump ’ s pursuit of unfounded legal challenges is justifiable and appropriate .
These Republicans are endangering the republic with their actions : They are hobbling a transfer of power during a national emergency , and they are fueling baseless paranoia and distrust among the millions who voted for Trump , which could impede the governance of the nation and render its political discourse even more poisonous .
This is crooked and deceptive conduct for which you can not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not how Democrats play ball .
Four years ago , Obama and Biden graciously welcomed Trump and Mike Pence into the White House .
( George W. Bush did the same in 2008 with Obama . )
They oversaw an effective transition .
The Obama White House even left a pandemic playbook behind for Trump and Co. Trump is , of course , being Trump .
He can not acknowledge he lost .
He desperately needs to create an I-was -robbed/stabbed-in-the-back narrative—for his own psyche and for his future plans , be that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outfit , or some other scheme to profit off his millions of supporters .
And in response , Biden has played it cool .
At a press conference on Tuesday , he downplayed Trump ’ s long-shot efforts to overturn the election tallies , referring to all this as “ not of much consequence.
” He added , “ It ’ s an embarrassment.
” And he insisted , “ We ’ re going to be moving along.
” Biden didn ’ t express any outrage or anger .
He remained calm .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ fray .
No doubt this is a strategic decision : Let Trump have his tantrum but , for the most part , ignore it .
Perhaps in this instance , not matching Trump in a rhetorical arms race is the wise choice .
Especially given that Trump ’ s lawyers have so far flopped in courts and Biden ’ s attorneys remain confident Trump can not blow up or reverse the election .
But Trump ’ s dishonest game plan has been adopted by the GOP writ large , and though Trump will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden will have to work with the Rs , particularly if they retain control of the Senate after the two special elections being held in Georgia in early January .
During the campaign , Biden repeatedly said he believed he could collaborate with McConnell , his former Senate colleague , and other Republicans on key issues .
At the Tuesday press conference , acknowledging that McConnell and other Republicans are refusing to recognize his victory , Biden commented , “ the whole Republican Party has been put in a position…of being mildly intimidated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reiterated that once Trump has departed , there will be “ enough Republicans…to be able to get things done.
” He even said that many Trump voters are “ ready to unite , and I think we can pull the country out of this bitter politics.
” These are certainly words of hope .
And hope might be the order of the day after a tough electoral battle .
But McConnell ’ s support of Trump ’ s attack on the election is a troubling sign , especially because it is no aberration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after years and decades of GOP foul play and unscrupulous tactics .
Obstructionism , demagoguery , deception , mendacity—it didn ’ t start with Trump .
And it won ’ t vanish when he is gone from the White House and stewing in Mar-a-Lago .
Maybe now is not the time for Biden to call out the heavy artillery .
A steady and low-key president-elect who doesn ’ t focus on his own grievances and concentrates on the job at hand is quite the relief .
But after all the ugliness and indecency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Republicans blessing Trump ’ s assault on the 2020 results , Biden would be smart to factor into his calculations the fundamental reality that the GOP has long relied on underhanded and disingenuous means and ploys .
This post-election scuffle may not be a gunfight for Biden .
But there is an alarming history of GOP devious brawling .
While he calmly proceeds with his presidential transition through Trumpian obstacles , Biden ought to be steeling—and arming—himself for the battle ahead .

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Don’t bring a knife to a gunfight. That’s essentially the advice dispensed by Sean Connery’s character in The Untouchables in the middle of a violent ruckus. And the 2020 post-election period—in which Donald Trump is waging war against American democracy and a president-elect—has raised what’s become a perennial question: Do Democrats fully understand what they are up against when they do political battle with Republicans? Moreover, is Joe Biden prepared for the partisan rumble that has already begun?
The clash between Ds and Rs has long been asymmetrical warfare, and Trump exacerbated the imbalance. Republicans frequently whine that they are the victims of unfair Democratic shenanigans. But consider recent history. During the 2000 recount in Florida, it was GOP operatives, including dirty trickster Roger Stone, who organized a fake protest (populated not by outraged citizens but by Capitol Hill GOP staffers) to shut down the counting of ballots in Miami-Dade county. In 2004, conservatives and Republicans mounted the phony Swift Boat attack on Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry. (This somewhat successful smear campaign prompted plenty of after-the-fact pondering by Dems on how to respond to false accusations.) In 2008, GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin accused Barack Obama of “palling around with terrorists.” Four years later, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, seeking Trump’s endorsement, embraced the man who was championing the racist birther conspiracy theory.
Meanwhile, through the Obama years, congressional Republicans, led by Senate Majority Mitch McConnell, reached new heights in obstructionism, refusing to work with the Obama White House on a stimulus bill (much needed after the 2008 crash), immigration, and health care reform and threatening a financial crisis over the debt ceiling. And during this time, House Republicans mounted a gazillion Benghazi hearings, abusing their investigative power to tarnish Hillary Clinton, the likely 2016 presidential nominee. Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, the No. 2 Republican in the House at the time, even said the quiet part out loud: that these hearings were a success because they lowered Clinton’s standing in the polls. As for McConnell, his scorched-earth campaign culminated in the norm-shattering smothering of Merrick Garland’s Supreme Court nomination.
There aren’t comparable actions on the other side of the aisle. Have congressional Democrats ever threatened financial collapse to get their way? Have they denied a Supreme Court appointee a vote? Has any member of a Democratic presidential ticket challenged the patriotism of the Republican candidate (until Hillary Clinton justifiably questioned Trump’s refusal to denounce Russia’s attack on the 2016 election)? And while Democrats have tried to expand voting, Republicans have engaged in all sorts of maneuvers to do the opposite. Overall, the GOP has played a meaner game.
Then came Trump. He aided and abetted Vladimir Putin’s assault on American democracy in 2016. Yet he falsely claimed that election was being rigged against him. As president, he has made more than 22,000 false statements and ruled by resentment. He called for the arrest of his political opponents. He brazenly used the White House as a campaign prop. He demonized his political opponents as a “left-wing” mob that was out to destroy the United States. He encouraged violence and winked at the “very fine people” who advocate white supremacism. He threatened to withhold pandemic assistance to states run by Democratic governors. He accused the media, the Democrats, tech companies, and government officials of plotting against him—and, in recent days, of stealing the election from him. Trump sought to exploit divisions and mobilize hatred. He branded Biden and everyone else arrayed against him as enemies of the nation. (Some of his evangelical supporters have claimed that Trump’s foes are in league with the devil.) And Trump is now striving to undermine the country’s political system by hurling false accusations of fraud regarding the 2020 election results.
No Democratic president or leader has ever engaged in such hate-filled action and rhetoric. No Democratic president or leader has ever cast the other side as a vicious enemy bent on the destruction of the United States. (Hillary Clinton did claim that “half” of Trump’s supporters were “deplorables” because they were “racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic—you name it.” But she said the other half felt “that the government has let them down” and needed to be understood.) While Trump was leading a red-state crusade of vilification and essentially vowing to wipe out Blue America, Biden asserted he wanted to be president of all Americans and bridge differences. He and Trump were mounting different fights. More Americans responded to Biden, but Trump’s bandwagon of loathing found more than 70 million riders.
And as Trump has stuck with his extreme politics of animus after losing the election, the Republican Party has mostly continued to march in lockstep with him. He has been recklessly alleging that his diabolical enemies are stealing the election from him. Every day, he and his campaign send out multiple emails to millions of his supporters asking for money and declaring that Biden and his evil allies are betraying America by robbing it of its rightful president. Trump is trying to undermine the election and delegitimize the coming-soon Biden presidency. McConnell, Marco Rubio, David Perdue, Kelly Loeffler, and other top Republicans are enabling this by refusing to acknowledge Biden’s victory and by stating that Trump’s pursuit of unfounded legal challenges is justifiable and appropriate. These Republicans are endangering the republic with their actions: They are hobbling a transfer of power during a national emergency, and they are fueling baseless paranoia and distrust among the millions who voted for Trump, which could impede the governance of the nation and render its political discourse even more poisonous.
This is crooked and deceptive conduct for which you cannot find a Democratic corollary. This is not how Democrats play ball. Four years ago, Obama and Biden graciously welcomed Trump and Mike Pence into the White House. (George W. Bush did the same in 2008 with Obama.) They oversaw an effective transition. The Obama White House even left a pandemic playbook behind for Trump and Co.
Trump is, of course, being Trump. He cannot acknowledge he lost. He desperately needs to create an I-was -robbed/stabbed-in-the-back narrative—for his own psyche and for his future plans, be that a 2024 run, a new media outfit, or some other scheme to profit off his millions of supporters. And in response, Biden has played it cool. At a press conference on Tuesday, he downplayed Trump’s long-shot efforts to overturn the election tallies, referring to all this as “not of much consequence.” He added, “It’s an embarrassment.” And he insisted, “We’re going to be moving along.”
Biden didn’t express any outrage or anger. He remained calm. He stayed out of Trump’s fray. No doubt this is a strategic decision: Let Trump have his tantrum but, for the most part, ignore it. Perhaps in this instance, not matching Trump in a rhetorical arms race is the wise choice. Especially given that Trump’s lawyers have so far flopped in courts and Biden’s attorneys remain confident Trump cannot blow up or reverse the election.
But Trump’s dishonest game plan has been adopted by the GOP writ large, and though Trump will presumably be gone come January 20, Biden will have to work with the Rs, particularly if they retain control of the Senate after the two special elections being held in Georgia in early January. During the campaign, Biden repeatedly said he believed he could collaborate with McConnell, his former Senate colleague, and other Republicans on key issues. At the Tuesday press conference, acknowledging that McConnell and other Republicans are refusing to recognize his victory, Biden commented, “the whole Republican Party has been put in a position…of being mildly intimidated by the sitting president.” But he reiterated that once Trump has departed, there will be “enough Republicans…to be able to get things done.” He even said that many Trump voters are “ready to unite, and I think we can pull the country out of this bitter politics.”
These are certainly words of hope. And hope might be the order of the day after a tough electoral battle. But McConnell’s support of Trump’s attack on the election is a troubling sign, especially because it is no aberration. This act of anti-democratic defiance comes after years and decades of GOP foul play and unscrupulous tactics. Obstructionism, demagoguery, deception, mendacity—it didn’t start with Trump. And it won’t vanish when he is gone from the White House and stewing in Mar-a-Lago.
Maybe now is not the time for Biden to call out the heavy artillery. A steady and low-key president-elect who doesn’t focus on his own grievances and concentrates on the job at hand is quite the relief. But after all the ugliness and indecency of the Trump years, and after the Republicans blessing Trump’s assault on the 2020 results, Biden would be smart to factor into his calculations the fundamental reality that the GOP has long relied on underhanded and disingenuous means and ploys. This post-election scuffle may not be a gunfight for Biden. But there is an alarming history of GOP devious brawling. While he calmly proceeds with his presidential transition through Trumpian obstacles, Biden ought to be steeling—and arming—himself for the battle ahead.


motherjones--2020-11-12--Biden Desperately Needs a Fleet of Science Communicators

Saad Omer , an epidemiologist and infectious disease specialist , directs the Yale Institute for Global Health .
His background has positioned him as an authority on the medical and social dimensions of the COVID-19 pandemic .
An expert on respiratory diseases and the immunizations that prevent them , he ’ s also done extensive work investigating the political , psychological , and societal factors that influence individuals ’ trust in vaccines .
This summer , Omer was a member of the Committee on Equitable Allocation of Vaccine for the Novel Coronavirus at the National Academies of Sciences , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to vaccinate against COVID-19 .
Omer and I spoke about how Biden might change course on the pandemic response—from the importance of bipartisan endorsement of a COVID-19 vaccine to restoring the CDC to its former glory—and the critical importance of consistent and credible communication during a pandemic .
On letting scientists lead : The first thing Biden can do is to make sure the career people are empowered .
There is a lot of muscle memory at CDC and at FDA .
This is what following science looks like in practice .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We have some of the best-trained people .
Let them handle it .
There has to be inclusion of the career folks .
These are not just bureaucrats , they are the best in the world .
They should get a free hand in terms of setting guidelines .
I hate to use a militaristic term , but fighting a pandemic is not just a big war , it ’ s a lot of little battles .
What are the guidelines for indoor transmission ?
What are the guidelines , for example , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ policy level , there needs to be radical transparency .
Not only what the government is saying , but why they ’ re saying it .
People can absorb information .
If it ’ s worth implementing , it ’ s worth defending .
On how to get the message right : I can see why people have concerns that the name “ Operation Warp Speed ” conveys speed without rigor .
Operation Warp Speed has done a good job of developing products—the vaccines are very promising .
But if they create a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them ?
We developed a $ 10–12 billion vaccine program , and we didn ’ t realize what the message sent by its name would be .
Why is this an afterthought ?
Science communication just can ’ t be an afterthought .
There ’ s a whole infrastructure training people to do this kind of thing .
Dr. Fauci is great .
He ’ s a natural communicator .
But we need a whole infrastructure of communicators .
We need a mainstream , transparent , regulatory recommendation process .
Then , you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , by engaging with leaders of those communities .
You don ’ t patronize people .
This is not your run-of-the-mill vaccine hesitancy—a lot of people who would take other vaccines are concerned about this one , because of President Trump ’ s endorsement of hydroxychloroquine .
I think there ’ s been a course correction at FDA , but a lot of people don ’ t know that .
We need to send the message that we ’ re back to what we ’ ve been doing for decades .
Before the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ colleagues in political science , where we randomized people into two groups .
We asked one group if they would take and have confidence in a vaccine approved a week before the election , and we asked the other the same question about a vaccine approved in December .
There was a significant difference between the two groups—the December one was much more popular .
We found that having a depoliticized process improves trust in your outcome .
We also asked questions about what factors would increase trust in vaccines .
We found @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in building confidence was Dr. Fauci .
If a vaccine is endorsed by Trump and Pelosi together , that also moves people .
The idea is to have bipartisan endorsement .
This is not a fantasy .
If there is a direct place for outreach where we have evidence , we can build trust .
This would be a good starting point .
On the importance of coordinating the federal and local response : Our model of public health used to be the envy of the world , and one reason was that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In other countries you have really strong ministries of health , but there are local issues .
With the CDC , the system we have is that the state and local health departments are very strong .
They have a lot of power .
But they ’ ve been deprived of a lot of resources .
They need support from a strong technical agency in the form of the CDC .
We need the whole of government to respond to this pandemic .
It should not just be a federal response , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ working with state and local health departments .
This was not supposed to be a model where everyone was just on their own .
That ’ s what ’ s happening now .
States are trying to figure it out , but they could use a central template rather than everyone reinventing the wheel .
It ’ s supposed to be that state and local health departments know their communities .
We have overcome challenges in the past .
HIV hasn ’ t been eradicated , but we ’ ve reduced rates and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We still have tuberculosis , but not at the level that it used to be .
It ’ s not like we started public health in January 2020 .
There is a whole history of doing these things well .

As the world grapples with the devastation of the coronavirus, one thing is clear: The United States simply wasn’t prepared. Despite repeated warnings from infectious disease experts over the years, we lacked essential beds, equipment, and medication; public health advice was confusing; and our leadership offered no clear direction while sidelining credible health professionals and institutions. Infectious disease experts agree that it’s only a matter of time before the next pandemic hits, and that one could be even more deadly. So how do we fix what COVID-19 has shown was broken? In this Mother Jones series, we’re asking experts from a wide range of disciplines one question: What are the most important steps we can take to make sure we’re better prepared next time around?
Saad Omer, an epidemiologist and infectious disease specialist, directs the Yale Institute for Global Health. His background has positioned him as an authority on the medical and social dimensions of the COVID-19 pandemic. An expert on respiratory diseases and the immunizations that prevent them, he’s also done extensive work investigating the political, psychological, and societal factors that influence individuals’ trust in vaccines. This summer, Omer was a member of the Committee on Equitable Allocation of Vaccine for the Novel Coronavirus at the National Academies of Sciences, which released guidelines for prioritizing groups of Americans to vaccinate against COVID-19. Omer and I spoke about how Biden might change course on the pandemic response—from the importance of bipartisan endorsement of a COVID-19 vaccine to restoring the CDC to its former glory—and the critical importance of consistent and credible communication during a pandemic.
On letting scientists lead: The first thing Biden can do is to make sure the career people are empowered. There is a lot of muscle memory at CDC and at FDA. This is what following science looks like in practice. We have a huge level of capacity. We have some of the best-trained people. Let them handle it. There has to be inclusion of the career folks. These are not just bureaucrats, they are the best in the world. They should get a free hand in terms of setting guidelines.
I hate to use a militaristic term, but fighting a pandemic is not just a big war, it’s a lot of little battles. What are the guidelines for indoor transmission? What are the guidelines, for example, specifically for cruise ships? At the policy level, there needs to be radical transparency. Not only what the government is saying, but why they’re saying it. People can absorb information. If it’s worth implementing, it’s worth defending.
On how to get the message right: I can see why people have concerns that the name “Operation Warp Speed” conveys speed without rigor. Operation Warp Speed has done a good job of developing products—the vaccines are very promising. But if they create a vaccine, are people going to take them? We developed a $10–12 billion vaccine program, and we didn’t realize what the message sent by its name would be. Why is this an afterthought? Science communication just can’t be an afterthought. There’s a whole infrastructure training people to do this kind of thing. Dr. Fauci is great. He’s a natural communicator. But we need a whole infrastructure of communicators.
We need a mainstream, transparent, regulatory recommendation process. Then, you engage with communities who are disproportionately impacted, by engaging with leaders of those communities. You don’t patronize people. This is not your run-of-the-mill vaccine hesitancy—a lot of people who would take other vaccines are concerned about this one, because of President Trump’s endorsement of hydroxychloroquine. I think there’s been a course correction at FDA, but a lot of people don’t know that. We need to send the message that we’re back to what we’ve been doing for decades.
“We need to send the message that we’re back to what we’ve been doing for decades.”
Before the election, we did a study with colleagues in political science, where we randomized people into two groups. We asked one group if they would take and have confidence in a vaccine approved a week before the election, and we asked the other the same question about a vaccine approved in December. There was a significant difference between the two groups—the December one was much more popular. We found that having a depoliticized process improves trust in your outcome. We also asked questions about what factors would increase trust in vaccines. We found that the biggest impact across the board in building confidence was Dr. Fauci. If a vaccine is endorsed by Trump and Pelosi together, that also moves people. The idea is to have bipartisan endorsement. This is not a fantasy. If there is a direct place for outreach where we have evidence, we can build trust. This would be a good starting point.
On the importance of coordinating the federal and local response: Our model of public health used to be the envy of the world, and one reason was that it was an example of cooperative federalism. In other countries you have really strong ministries of health, but there are local issues. With the CDC, the system we have is that the state and local health departments are very strong. They have a lot of power. But they’ve been deprived of a lot of resources. They need support from a strong technical agency in the form of the CDC. We need the whole of government to respond to this pandemic. It should not just be a federal response, it should be a national response, working with state and local health departments.
This was not supposed to be a model where everyone was just on their own. That’s what’s happening now. States are trying to figure it out, but they could use a central template rather than everyone reinventing the wheel. It’s supposed to be that state and local health departments know their communities.
We have overcome challenges in the past. HIV hasn’t been eradicated, but we’ve reduced rates and prevalence. We’ve eliminated polio. We still have tuberculosis, but not at the level that it used to be. It’s not like we started public health in January 2020. There is a whole history of doing these things well.


motherjones--2020-11-12--Trump’s Latest False Fraud Claim Came From an Anonymous Internet Poster

On Thursday , Donald Trump posted a tweet falsely claiming a computerized voting system vendor had switched or deleted millions of his votes .
The unfounded allegation appears to have originally been concocted by an anonymous poster on a pro-Trump forum , illustrating a common chain of right-wing disinformation : A baseless conspiracy theory is posted anonymously , a right-wing blogger cites it , a conservative news outlet picks it up , and , next , the president of the United States spreads it as supposed fact .
In this instance , Trump sourced his information to a “ report @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a right-wing cable network with a penchant for pumping out propaganda and completely made-up conspiracy theories .
In doing so , Trump helped them boost another one .
The segment featured an OAN anchor saying an “ unaudited analysis of data obtained from Edison Research ” showed that “ states using Dominion voting systems may have switched as many 435,000 votes from President Trump to Joe Biden ” and that “ the author also finds another 2.7 million votes for Trump were deleted by Dominion , including almost 1 million in Pennsylvania alone.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the theft and threat and destruction of votes are attributed to so-called glitches in Dominion software.
” The terms OAN used— “ unaudited analysis , ” “ analyst , ” and “ author ” —may have been selected to make the claim seem legitimate .
They also obscure exactly who made it .
But the numbers , supposed findings , and rhetoric are nearly identical to a Tuesday post on Gateway Pundit , a right-wing site that regularly publishes falsehoods and hoaxes .
Unlike OAN , Gateway Pundit decided to cite the “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ research.
” As it turns out , it ’ s an anonymous poster on TheDonald , a pro-Trump web forum .
Gateway Pundit admitted that it didn ’ t verify the poster ’ s work , calling the analysis “ unaudited ” —a term of art indicating that the information was found from a random person on the internet .
The anonymous forum poster alleges that the supposed irregularities took place on Dominion voting machines and that the company worked to steal the election from Trump .
The New York Times has debunked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ caused widespread voting problems nor affected the final counts .
Trump ’ s own Department of Homeland Security released a statement late on Thursday saying there “ is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes , changed votes , or was in any way compromised.
” There ’ s no reason to believe the claims on TheDonald .
In attempt to demonstrate alleged irregularities , the poster makes sweeping conclusions about how certain number patterns in the Edison set he claims to draw from prove fraud .
They even admit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at one point writing that 2,324 Trump votes disappeared , before editing the post to note they went to third-party candidate Jo Jorgensen .
While anonymous posters can and do find useful data or information that can be verified to form the basis of valuable reporting , here , both OANN and Gateway Pundit openly admit having done no such work to corroborate the data they cite from a forum with a history of posting disinformation along with racist and Islamophobic content .
The anonymous poster ’ s track record does not inspire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ IF BIDEN WINS GOODBYE WHITE PEOPLE , ” along with others boosting the conspiracy theory that Biden is a pedophile .
The flow of disinformation from a random post on a forum to the president ’ s feed is part of a growing and ever-quickening trend .
Earlier in Trump ’ s administration , claims from little-known right-wing forums would trickle up to the mainstream right-wing press , where they could be posted by Trump himself , but the process often took longer .
Over the last several months , message-board conspiracy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ feed in a matter of days .
Today , the pace shows no sign of relenting .

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.
On Thursday, Donald Trump posted a tweet falsely claiming a computerized voting system vendor had switched or deleted millions of his votes. The unfounded allegation appears to have originally been concocted by an anonymous poster on a pro-Trump forum, illustrating a common chain of right-wing disinformation: A baseless conspiracy theory is posted anonymously, a right-wing blogger cites it, a conservative news outlet picks it up, and, next, the president of the United States spreads it as supposed fact.
In this instance, Trump sourced his information to a “report” from One America News Network, a right-wing cable network with a penchant for pumping out propaganda and completely made-up conspiracy theories. In doing so, Trump helped them boost another one.
There’s no reason to believe the claims.
The segment featured an OAN anchor saying an “unaudited analysis of data obtained from Edison Research” showed that “states using Dominion voting systems may have switched as many 435,000 votes from President Trump to Joe Biden” and that “the author also finds another 2.7 million votes for Trump were deleted by Dominion, including almost 1 million in Pennsylvania alone.” OAN added that “analysts say the theft and threat and destruction of votes are attributed to so-called glitches in Dominion software.”
The terms OAN used—“unaudited analysis,” “analyst,” and “author”—may have been selected to make the claim seem legitimate. They also obscure exactly who made it. But the numbers, supposed findings, and rhetoric are nearly identical to a Tuesday post on Gateway Pundit, a right-wing site that regularly publishes falsehoods and hoaxes.
Unlike OAN, Gateway Pundit decided to cite the “analyst” and link to their “research.” As it turns out, it’s an anonymous poster on TheDonald, a pro-Trump web forum. Gateway Pundit admitted that it didn’t verify the poster’s work, calling the analysis “unaudited”—a term of art indicating that the information was found from a random person on the internet.
The anonymous forum poster alleges that the supposed irregularities took place on Dominion voting machines and that the company worked to steal the election from Trump. The New York Times has debunked this, reporting how Dominion software neither caused widespread voting problems nor affected the final counts. Trump’s own Department of Homeland Security released a statement late on Thursday saying there “is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised.”
There’s no reason to believe the claims on TheDonald. In attempt to demonstrate alleged irregularities, the poster makes sweeping conclusions about how certain number patterns in the Edison set he claims to draw from prove fraud. They even admit to making mistakes in their work, at one point writing that 2,324 Trump votes disappeared, before editing the post to note they went to third-party candidate Jo Jorgensen.
While anonymous posters can and do find useful data or information that can be verified to form the basis of valuable reporting, here, both OANN and Gateway Pundit openly admit having done no such work to corroborate the data they cite from a forum with a history of posting disinformation along with racist and Islamophobic content.
The anonymous poster’s track record does not inspire journalistic confidence, but includes posts like “IF BIDEN WINS GOODBYE WHITE PEOPLE,” along with others boosting the conspiracy theory that Biden is a pedophile.
The flow of disinformation from a random post on a forum to the president’s feed is part of a growing and ever-quickening trend. Earlier in Trump’s administration, claims from little-known right-wing forums would trickle up to the mainstream right-wing press, where they could be posted by Trump himself, but the process often took longer. Over the last several months, message-board conspiracy theories have reached Trump’s Twitter feed in a matter of days. Today, the pace shows no sign of relenting.


motherjones--2020-11-11--Trump Wants to Throw Out Legal Votes From Detroit

As part of President Donald Trump ’ s continued battle to overturn his election loss , his campaign announced late Tuesday it would file a new federal lawsuit in Michigan alleging widespread election malfeasance—particularly in Wayne County , home to Detroit , a predominately black city where unofficial results show President-elect Joe Biden winning by nearly 40 percent .
The claims underlying the suit , which lack any substantial evidence and echo ones already made in a state lawsuit by a local conservative legal group , were amplified at a Monday press conference in Washington by White House Spokesperson Kayleigh @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a Michigan native .
The suit , which demands that some of the city ’ s reported votes not be included in the state ’ s final tally , is just part of the campaign ’ s nationwide legal and political strategy focused on states where Trump has received fewer votes than Biden .
The president hopes to hold on to the White House through lawsuits that seek to disqualify hundreds of thousands of voters and that create delays that prevent his loss being formalized .
Election officials in every state from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this week that they have seen no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election .
Trump allies , and even the president himself , privately concede the suits have very little chance of swinging the election .
Publicly , however , Trump ’ s campaign is making no such admission .
Tim Murtaugh , the Trump campaign ’ s communications director , told reporters Tuesday night that the various legal actions will gather more information , but ultimately are focused on one thing : flipping the results .
“ Every filing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are getting us closer to the goal of seeing the president reelected , ” Murtaugh said .
“ We do believe that ultimately President Trump will be declared the winner.
” In Michigan , the latest counts show that Biden earned nearly 150,000 more votes than Trump .
Rudy Giuliani , the president ’ s personal lawyer , has claimed their federal suit will invalidate “ hundreds of thousands ” of the state ’ s votes .
The suit claims that Wayne County election officials and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ challengers proper opportunity to observe ballot tabulation , allowed county election workers to intimidate the ballot challengers , and let “ illegal and ineligible ballots ” to be counted .
The federal lawsuit also claims that isolated software glitches causing incorrect reporting of results—an issue already caught and corrected , according to local and state election officials—have not been properly addressed and need further review .
Trump ’ s campaign has asked a judge in Michigan ’ s western federal district court to delay certification of the state ’ s results until all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and to discard ballots that the campaign says may be among them that were unlawfully cast , including some purportedly received after Election Day .
The suit also seeks to toss out legal votes counted using the software in question unless individual tabulation devices are checked for accuracy , alongside those counted at times the campaign alleges Republican poll viewers were denied proper access .
The filing includes statements from Republican ballot changers who claim they were threatened by elections staff and saw issues with the count they couldn ’ t explain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ once or supposed back-dating of ballots .
Other observations are less substantial : one statement noted that a tranche of military ballots contained votes for Biden .
References to race are scattered throughout the statements , such as a woman who wrote she “ did not feel safe ( I am a small ( 5 ’ 3″ 130lb ) pregnant white woman ) .
” Another claimed “ intimidation by poll workers wearing [ Black Lives Matter ] face masks and another man of intimidating size with a BLM shirt on.
” Jake @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state Benson , said the new lawsuit is “ the same kind of irresponsible false rhetoric and misinformation that we saw throughout the election [ and ] is a press release masquerading as a legal claim designed to promote false claims aimed at eroding the public ’ s confidence in Michigan elections.
” Elections in Michigan “ were conducted fairly , securely , transparently , and the results are an accurate reflection of the will of the people , ” Rollow said .
The city of Detroit and its election commission , in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ level suit filed by a conservative legal group , called the allegations “ one more in a series of ill-conceived cases filed in an attempt to overturn the results of the presidential election ” that relies on “ hearsay , speculation and unfounded conspiracy theories ” to overturn results simply because Trump didn ’ t win .
Most of the objections raised , the filing read , “ are grounded in an extraordinary failure to understand how elections function.
” The city ’ s lawyers said basic procedures around the election are much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , when Trump won in Michigan by less than 11,000 votes .
Trump actually improved his showing in Detroit by nearly 6,000 votes over 2016 , the filing notes , while Biden ’ s final unofficial tally was less than Hillary Clinton ’ s showing in 2016 : “ Nothing about those numbers supports the theory of fraud being advanced [ or ] the completely unsubstantiated claims of tens of thousands of improperly processed ballots.
” Ray Wert , a county-level Democratic Party official , was a credentialed Democratic ballot challenger on election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Detroit ’ s TCF Center , where the bulk of the Trump campaign ’ s witnesses were on hand .
Wert , who has served as a ballot challenger in three previous elections , says he ’ d grown to recognize the Republicans who typically work alongside him .
This election , he says there were many first timers , who were “ poorly trained , ignorant of the process , ignorant of the law , and ignorant of the rules around challenging ballots .
And that ’ s on the GOP.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after Republicans in Michigan ’ s legislature announced they would subpoena state election officials as part of an investigation into election irregularities in order to “ provide needed clarity to concerned residents.
” Also this week , Attorney General Bill Barr advised federal prosecutors around the country that they could pursue “ apparently-credible ” or “ substantial allegations of voting and vote tabulation irregularities ” that “ could potentially impact the outcome of a federal election in an individual State.
” The memo caused deep concern within the Department of Justice , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ top election crimes official to resign and move elsewhere in the department .
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said Barr ’ s move wasn ’ t to benefit voters , but was designed to “ signal to the President that his irresponsible and unsupported insistence that he won his race for reelection is taken seriously.
” On Wednesday , Nessel assailed Trump for carrying out a racist strategy , targeting Black voters and officials in Detroit over other places in the state that are majority white and where Biden did better than Clinton @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kent counties .
“ Really , the themes that we see , that persist , are this : Black people are corrupt , Black people are incompetent and Black people can ’ t be trusted , ” she said , according to the Detroit Free Press .
Sam Bagenstos , a law professor at the University of Michigan and a former official in Obama ’ s Department of Justice , said Tuesday that Barr ’ s memo seems to be carefully worded to limit federal involvement to instances where the claims have merit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election outcome , which is unlikely in Michigan , given counts so far show Biden won nearly 150,000 more votes .
“ To that extent , maybe it ’ s just a CYA kind of memo for his boss.
” Bagenstos said the legal maneuvering and false claims flying in Michigan and other closely decided states like Pennsylvania may fuel fears of Republicans state legislatures stepping in to supplant the will of voters by appointing Trump-supporting electors .
He doesn ’ t think that outcome is likely , given the low caliber of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the fact that Biden clearly won more support .
“ Never underestimate anything these days , but that ’ s a step way beyond anywhere anyone has been willing to go so far , ” he said .
“ If they were to do this with the gap so large in so many states , that would be—no joke , no hyperbole—the most profoundly anti-democratic act of modern American history .
That would be saying they ’ re just abandoning a pretense that we are a democracy where the people choose our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re going to do that ?
”

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As part of President Donald Trump’s continued battle to overturn his election loss, his campaign announced late Tuesday it would file a new federal lawsuit in Michigan alleging widespread election malfeasance—particularly in Wayne County, home to Detroit, a predominately black city where unofficial results show President-elect Joe Biden winning by nearly 40 percent.
The claims underlying the suit, which lack any substantial evidence and echo ones already made in a state lawsuit by a local conservative legal group, were amplified at a Monday press conference in Washington by White House Spokesperson Kayleigh McEnnany and Republican National Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, a Michigan native.
Trump’s team says the lawsuits are ultimately are focused on one thing: flipping the results.
The suit, which demands that some of the city’s reported votes not be included in the state’s final tally, is just part of the campaign’s nationwide legal and political strategy focused on states where Trump has received fewer votes than Biden. The president hopes to hold on to the White House through lawsuits that seek to disqualify hundreds of thousands of voters and that create delays that prevent his loss being formalized. Election officials in every state from both parties told the New York Times this week that they have seen no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.
Trump allies, and even the president himself, privately concede the suits have very little chance of swinging the election. Publicly, however, Trump’s campaign is making no such admission. Tim Murtaugh, the Trump campaign’s communications director, told reporters Tuesday night that the various legal actions will gather more information, but ultimately are focused on one thing: flipping the results.
“Every filing and every action that we are taking are getting us closer to the goal of seeing the president reelected,” Murtaugh said. “We do believe that ultimately President Trump will be declared the winner.”
In Michigan, the latest counts show that Biden earned nearly 150,000 more votes than Trump. Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, has claimed their federal suit will invalidate “hundreds of thousands” of the state’s votes.
The suit claims that Wayne County election officials and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, failed to give Republican poll challengers proper opportunity to observe ballot tabulation, allowed county election workers to intimidate the ballot challengers, and let “illegal and ineligible ballots” to be counted. The federal lawsuit also claims that isolated software glitches causing incorrect reporting of results—an issue already caught and corrected, according to local and state election officials—have not been properly addressed and need further review.
Trump’s campaign has asked a judge in Michigan’s western federal district court to delay certification of the state’s results until all ballots have been confirmed to be eligible, and to discard ballots that the campaign says may be among them that were unlawfully cast, including some purportedly received after Election Day. The suit also seeks to toss out legal votes counted using the software in question unless individual tabulation devices are checked for accuracy, alongside those counted at times the campaign alleges Republican poll viewers were denied proper access.
The filing includes statements from Republican ballot changers who claim they were threatened by elections staff and saw issues with the count they couldn’t explain, like ballots being scanned more than once or supposed back-dating of ballots. Other observations are less substantial: one statement noted that a tranche of military ballots contained votes for Biden.
The campaign asked a judge to toss out legal votes and delay certification of Michigan’s results.
References to race are scattered throughout the statements, such as a woman who wrote she “did not feel safe (I am a small (5’3″ 130lb) pregnant white woman).” Another claimed “intimidation by poll workers wearing [Black Lives Matter] face masks and another man of intimidating size with a BLM shirt on.”
Jake Rollow, a spokesperson for secretary of state Benson, said the new lawsuit is “the same kind of irresponsible false rhetoric and misinformation that we saw throughout the election [and] is a press release masquerading as a legal claim designed to promote false claims aimed at eroding the public’s confidence in Michigan elections.” Elections in Michigan “were conducted fairly, securely, transparently, and the results are an accurate reflection of the will of the people,” Rollow said.
The city of Detroit and its election commission, in a response filed Wednesday in the state level suit filed by a conservative legal group, called the allegations “one more in a series of ill-conceived cases filed in an attempt to overturn the results of the presidential election” that relies on “hearsay, speculation and unfounded conspiracy theories” to overturn results simply because Trump didn’t win.
Most of the objections raised, the filing read, “are grounded in an extraordinary failure to understand how elections function.” The city’s lawyers said basic procedures around the election are much the same as they were in 2016, when Trump won in Michigan by less than 11,000 votes. Trump actually improved his showing in Detroit by nearly 6,000 votes over 2016, the filing notes, while Biden’s final unofficial tally was less than Hillary Clinton’s showing in 2016: “Nothing about those numbers supports the theory of fraud being advanced [or] the completely unsubstantiated claims of tens of thousands of improperly processed ballots.”
Ray Wert, a county-level Democratic Party official, was a credentialed Democratic ballot challenger on election night and into the next day at Detroit’s TCF Center, where the bulk of the Trump campaign’s witnesses were on hand.
Wert, who has served as a ballot challenger in three previous elections, says he’d grown to recognize the Republicans who typically work alongside him. This election, he says there were many first timers, who were “poorly trained, ignorant of the process, ignorant of the law, and ignorant of the rules around challenging ballots. And that’s on the GOP.”
Trump’s legal filing comes days after Republicans in Michigan’s legislature announced they would subpoena state election officials as part of an investigation into election irregularities in order to “provide needed clarity to concerned residents.” Also this week, Attorney General Bill Barr advised federal prosecutors around the country that they could pursue “apparently-credible” or “substantial allegations of voting and vote tabulation irregularities” that “could potentially impact the outcome of a federal election in an individual State.” The memo caused deep concern within the Department of Justice, the Washington Post reported Tuesday, leading its top election crimes official to resign and move elsewhere in the department.
“That would be—no joke, no hyperbole—the most profoundly anti-democratic act of modern American history.”
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said Barr’s move wasn’t to benefit voters, but was designed to “signal to the President that his irresponsible and unsupported insistence that he won his race for reelection is taken seriously.” On Wednesday, Nessel assailed Trump for carrying out a racist strategy, targeting Black voters and officials in Detroit over other places in the state that are majority white and where Biden did better than Clinton did in 2016, like Oakland and Kent counties. “Really, the themes that we see, that persist, are this: Black people are corrupt, Black people are incompetent and Black people can’t be trusted,” she said, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Sam Bagenstos, a law professor at the University of Michigan and a former official in Obama’s Department of Justice, said Tuesday that Barr’s memo seems to be carefully worded to limit federal involvement to instances where the claims have merit and have a chance of effecting the election outcome, which is unlikely in Michigan, given counts so far show Biden won nearly 150,000 more votes. “To that extent, maybe it’s just a CYA kind of memo for his boss.”
Bagenstos said the legal maneuvering and false claims flying in Michigan and other closely decided states like Pennsylvania may fuel fears of Republicans state legislatures stepping in to supplant the will of voters by appointing Trump-supporting electors. He doesn’t think that outcome is likely, given the low caliber of Trump’s legal challenges thus far and the fact that Biden clearly won more support.
“Never underestimate anything these days, but that’s a step way beyond anywhere anyone has been willing to go so far,” he said. “If they were to do this with the gap so large in so many states, that would be—no joke, no hyperbole—the most profoundly anti-democratic act of modern American history. That would be saying they’re just abandoning a pretense that we are a democracy where the people choose our president. Do you really think they’re going to do that?”


motherjones--2020-11-11--Peter Hotez: With COVID-19, Biden Is Inheriting a Homeland Security Problem of “Incredible Magnitude

Peter Hotez: With COVID-19, Biden Is Inheriting a Homeland Security Problem of “Incredible Magnitude”

As the world grapples with the devastation of the coronavirus , one thing is clear : The United States simply wasn ’ t prepared .
Despite repeated warnings from infectious disease experts over the years , we lacked essential beds , equipment , and medication ; public health advice was confusing ; and our leadership offered no clear direction while sidelining credible health professionals and institutions .
Infectious disease experts agree that it ’ s only a matter of time before the next pandemic hits , and that one could be even more deadly .
So how do we fix @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In this Mother Jones series , we ’ re asking experts from a wide range of disciplines one question : What are the most important steps we can take to make sure we ’ re better prepared next time around ?
Vaccinologist and pediatrician Peter Hotez is the dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine .
In addition to his decades-long career studying and developing immunizations , Hotez has also written extensively about vaccine misinformation—he ’ s the author of the 2018 book Vaccines Did Not Cause @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a Vaccine Scientist , Pediatrician , and Autism Dad .
Since the start of the pandemic , Hotez has made frequent appearances on cable news , explaining the science of the virus in an accessible way while fighting for the cause of science itself .
“ I see the election as a triumph of science over anti-science , ” he tweeted in the wake of the election .
“ Our nation is built on the backs of our great research universities that allowed us to achieve victory in WWII , go to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ War , treat HIV/AIDS .
When POTUS tried to slaughter science , he was done.
” Even so , Hotez warns that we ’ re headed into one of the most difficult times our nation has ever faced .
We spoke about his hopes and fears as the Biden administration takes on this unprecedented challenge .
On Biden ’ s COVID-19 homeland-security problem : The country that Biden is going to inherit on January 20 could be in very bad shape .
Some 400,000 Americans may have died by the week after the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a country that is overwhelmed .
This will go beyond a public health problem—he will inherit a homeland security problem of incredible magnitude .
We are in a very weakened state , and that is very dangerous when it comes to our adversaries .
Our enemies could attack us at a very vulnerable point .
The Murdoch media has created so much damage .
I listen to myself and I sound like a crazy person , going on about Fox News and the Russian government .
But all of this is real .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ most aggressive anti-science disinformation situation .
Now you have people like Robert F. Kennedy , Jr. going to Berlin and speaking at anti-mask rallies .
On Biden ’ s competing priorities : We are entering one of the darkest periods in our nation ’ s history .
Cases are going to accelerate , and ICUs are filling up .
What does the president do on day one as he inherits this collapse ?
He needs to make an assessment on where we are with the epidemic .
Are we still seeing surges in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on stronger measures , like mask mandates ?
Can he up our level of production of PPE and ventilators ?
Are we going to need new vaccines with more traditional technology ?
Operation Warp Speed went right to the cutting-edge technologies , and while the innovation is exciting , it ’ s also added an extra element of risk .
We have been pushing Operation Warp Speed to embrace more traditional methods , as well .
On how to restore American trust in vaccines : The low acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ administration .
Operation Warp Speed never had a communications plan .
They left all communications to the pharma CEOs , who fumbled the message with inside trading and clinical pauses .
Then , the anti-science movement really flourished .
The “ health freedom ” and “ medical freedom ” movements shifted the whole anti-vaccine movement right .
Then , in 2020 , it expanded into protests against masks and contact tracing .
Then you had the misinformation campaign from [ White House coronavirus adviser ] Scott Atlas , not to mention Russian anti-science @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fine-tuning the message won ’ t be enough .
We need to begin dismantling the anti-science and anti-vaccine empire .
We ’ re going to need a task force to do that—people from Homeland Security , Justice , and Commerce .
How can we pull on levers to make that happen ?
On what ’ s wrong with the CDC : We need to better understand what went so terribly wrong at the Centers for Disease Control—why they missed the entry of the virus , why the agency was invisible in creating a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was internal failings as opposed to meddling by the White House .
I was very disappointed by the House Select Subcommittee ’ s handling of the CDC .
They asked silly and irrelevant questions , so I don ’ t know if Congress can uncover what went wrong .
I think all the leaders , including Redfield , will be gone pretty soon .
You need someone who knows how to communicate to the American people and how to do change management .
On the importance of ditching the “ herd immunity ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ force approach was that there was no national response .
So now , in the lame-duck session , we still won ’ t have a national response .
Trump can still encourage people to defy masks and social distancing , and he can still put forward this stupid herd immunity idea .
The current administration has made so many damaged goods .
So many governors are now deeply defiant .
It ’ s not so much the ICU beds—what do we do about exhausted hospital staff ?
How do we bring in fresh @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to be an awful , awful winter .
If you just use the Scott Atlas approach , we know the numbers .
We ’ d be looking at 2 million deaths , not to mention all the long-term injuries .
We can ’ t just give up and do nothing .
We have to try .
Biden is going to have to use the power of persuasion of the White House .

As the world grapples with the devastation of the coronavirus, one thing is clear: The United States simply wasn’t prepared. Despite repeated warnings from infectious disease experts over the years, we lacked essential beds, equipment, and medication; public health advice was confusing; and our leadership offered no clear direction while sidelining credible health professionals and institutions. Infectious disease experts agree that it’s only a matter of time before the next pandemic hits, and that one could be even more deadly. So how do we fix what COVID-19 has shown was broken? In this Mother Jones series, we’re asking experts from a wide range of disciplines one question: What are the most important steps we can take to make sure we’re better prepared next time around?
Vaccinologist and pediatrician Peter Hotez is the dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. In addition to his decades-long career studying and developing immunizations, Hotez has also written extensively about vaccine misinformation—he’s the author of the 2018 book Vaccines Did Not Cause Rachel’s Autism: My Journey as a Vaccine Scientist, Pediatrician, and Autism Dad. Since the start of the pandemic, Hotez has made frequent appearances on cable news, explaining the science of the virus in an accessible way while fighting for the cause of science itself. “I see the election as a triumph of science over anti-science,” he tweeted in the wake of the election. “Our nation is built on the backs of our great research universities that allowed us to achieve victory in WWII, go to the moon, defeat USSR in Cold War, treat HIV/AIDS. When POTUS tried to slaughter science, he was done.” Even so, Hotez warns that we’re headed into one of the most difficult times our nation has ever faced. We spoke about his hopes and fears as the Biden administration takes on this unprecedented challenge.
On Biden’s COVID-19 homeland-security problem: The country that Biden is going to inherit on January 20 could be in very bad shape. Some 400,000 Americans may have died by the week after the inauguration. Potentially, Biden could inherit a country that is overwhelmed. This will go beyond a public health problem—he will inherit a homeland security problem of incredible magnitude. We are in a very weakened state, and that is very dangerous when it comes to our adversaries. Our enemies could attack us at a very vulnerable point. The Murdoch media has created so much damage. I listen to myself and I sound like a crazy person, going on about Fox News and the Russian government. But all of this is real. We are in the middle of the most aggressive anti-science disinformation situation. Now you have people like Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. going to Berlin and speaking at anti-mask rallies.
On Biden’s competing priorities: We are entering one of the darkest periods in our nation’s history. Cases are going to accelerate, and ICUs are filling up. What does the president do on day one as he inherits this collapse? He needs to make an assessment on where we are with the epidemic. Are we still seeing surges in ICUs? Can he work with governors on stronger measures, like mask mandates? Can he up our level of production of PPE and ventilators? Are we going to need new vaccines with more traditional technology? Operation Warp Speed went right to the cutting-edge technologies, and while the innovation is exciting, it’s also added an extra element of risk. We have been pushing Operation Warp Speed to embrace more traditional methods, as well.
On how to restore American trust in vaccines: The low acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines is the product of several forces in the Trump administration. Operation Warp Speed never had a communications plan. They left all communications to the pharma CEOs, who fumbled the message with inside trading and clinical pauses. Then, the anti-science movement really flourished. The “health freedom” and “medical freedom” movements shifted the whole anti-vaccine movement right. Then, in 2020, it expanded into protests against masks and contact tracing. Then you had the misinformation campaign from [White House coronavirus adviser] Scott Atlas, not to mention Russian anti-science messaging. This is a mess. Fine-tuning the message won’t be enough. We need to begin dismantling the anti-science and anti-vaccine empire. We’re going to need a task force to do that—people from Homeland Security, Justice, and Commerce. How can we pull on levers to make that happen?
On what’s wrong with the CDC: We need to better understand what went so terribly wrong at the Centers for Disease Control—why they missed the entry of the virus, why the agency was invisible in creating a response, and how much of that was internal failings as opposed to meddling by the White House. I was very disappointed by the House Select Subcommittee’s handling of the CDC. They asked silly and irrelevant questions, so I don’t know if Congress can uncover what went wrong. I think all the leaders, including Redfield, will be gone pretty soon. You need someone who knows how to communicate to the American people and how to do change management.
On the importance of ditching the “herd immunity” idea: The White House coronavirus task force approach was that there was no national response. So now, in the lame-duck session, we still won’t have a national response. Trump can still encourage people to defy masks and social distancing, and he can still put forward this stupid herd immunity idea. The current administration has made so many damaged goods. So many governors are now deeply defiant.
It’s not so much the ICU beds—what do we do about exhausted hospital staff? How do we bring in fresh replacements? I think it’s going to be an awful, awful winter. If you just use the Scott Atlas approach, we know the numbers. We’d be looking at 2 million deaths, not to mention all the long-term injuries. We can’t just give up and do nothing. We have to try. Biden is going to have to use the power of persuasion of the White House.
Image credit: Larry D. Moore, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.


motherjones--2020-11-13--Maricopa County Was the Epicenter of the Anti-Immigrant Movement. It Just Handed Arizona to Biden.

For years , the news out of Maricopa County , Arizona , was bleak .
It was the site of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio ’ s infamous Tent City jail , the epicenter of anti-immigrant and anti-Latinx laws like SB 1070 , and the staging ground for vigilante groups like the Minutemen .
But after a week of daily vote count updates showed that Joe Biden would defeat Donald Trump there—and at the same time hold onto his statewide lead—it ’ s now clear that Latinx activists and Democratic politicians have scored one of their biggest wins in years in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ county .
As of Thursday , Biden had a roughly 12,000-vote lead in Arizona , thanks in large part to his 45,000-vote advantage in Maricopa County .
These margins can largely be attributed to the work of the Latinx organizers I first wrote about in September , who ran countless voter registration events , information campaigns , and GOTV efforts to push for candidates and propositions that support their communities .
Leading up to Election Day , a collective of local groups knocked on more than 1 million doors and made almost 8 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Black , and Native American voters .
The result was high turnout from those communities , with more than 70 percent of Latinos—who make up about a quarter of the total electorate in Arizona—supporting Biden .
That turnout was crucial in Maricopa , a diverse county of about 4.5 million people that includes Phoenix and the many suburbs that surround it .
“ You can drive for 20 minutes on the freeway and be in a really fancy part of town like Scottsdale or Paradise Valley , with millionaire estate homes , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the Maricopa County Democratic Party .
“ And then you can jump on that same freeway and head out west , and you will be in some of the worst affected areas by COVID and just downtrodden neighborhoods that have been ignored for a long time.
” Martinez said there were a few key parts of Maricopa where Democrats focused their outreach efforts , including the central part of the county , plus traditionally Black and lower-income District 27 and primarily Latinx District 19 , because voters there “ had been ignored @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Phoenix , the district encompassing the majority-white city of Chandler also showed “ good turnout for us in high numbers.
” ( It didn ’ t hurt that Cindy McCain , a key Republican figure and the widow of longtime Sen. John McCain , broke with party lines by endorsing Biden and campaigning for him in Arizona . )
Luis Avila , the founder of Instituto , a capacity-building organization for communities of color in Arizona , notes that this work built on the political infrastructure constructed over the last decade by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the communities they were registering to vote .
Avila says that the 2020 results in Maricopa also couldn ’ t have happened without huge turnout from Native Americans , who overwhelmingly supported Biden , and an increasing share of suburban women turned off by Trump ’ s messaging .
“ I actually think this election was won by women , women of color , and in particular , Latinas in Arizona , ” he says .
Republican losses in Maricopa County—not only Trump , but also incumbent Republican Sen. Martha McSally , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and former Arpaio right-hand man ) Jerry Sheridan—send a message to the rest of the country , Avila adds : You can ’ t win elections by vilifying immigrants anymore .
But as Avila , Gutierrez , and representatives from multiple grassroots organizations have pointed out , the Democratic Party has often taken Latinx voters for granted , reaching out only when their votes are needed in an election cycle .
“ I understand that frustration , and I think that that ’ s one of the huge lessons we have to learn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ communities when we need their vote , but also really make sure that we ’ re there in off-election years , ” Martinez says .
“ I can only speak for Maricopa County , but here we have intentionally tried to break that cycle ” —by investing in the development of community leaders and also by leaning on local grassroots organizations so the Democrats can keep up the momentum .
That ground-up approach is something that I have heard a lot in my reporting in Arizona this election cycle .
The work that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ local schools and churches , and their own family members started as an attempt to protect their communities .
It focused on voting for candidates and propositions that would empower their families and provide adequate access to health care , education , and economic opportunities .
Despite all that , the race was still close .
The more than 900,000 people in Maricopa who voted for Trump are part of the 1.6 million statewide who wanted four more years of Trump .
And that ’ s why 76-year-old Alfredo Gutierrez , a former @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is walking the line between celebrating and focusing on the work ahead .
“ The Trump support is much greater than the polls indicated , it ’ s much more powerful , and it isn ’ t going away , ” he says .
“ Just like it was real when we went to segregated schools in the ’ 50s , it didn ’ t go away .
It manifested itself again and again over time.
” In 1968 , Gutierrez organized one of the first voter registration drives for the Latinx community @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seen the many fights that Latinos and Democrats in Arizona have won and lost for decades , and he ’ s overjoyed at seeing the work that helped flip the state this year .
But , he cautions , it is one more incremental move forward , with many more to come .
“ Back then we were organizing Mexican voting registration drives .
We weren ’ t Latino ; we were Mexicans .
We ’ ve since become Mexicans of American descent , Hispanics , then Latinos , and we ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 68 , we ’ re just plain-ass Mexicans , ” Gutierrez says .
“ We were organizing and although we didn ’ t get very far , we kept on going .
We inspired all these kids today .
They are direct descendants—if you will , ideological descendants—of the folks who were there in ’ 68.
” Watching Maricopa go for Biden and Kelly “ felt like this word in Spanish , escalofrío , which is a sort of mixed dual reaction , ” he says .
“ On the one hand I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of local organizations like LUCHA , Mi Familia Vota , Poder , and Puente .
These folks were extraordinary .
But on the other hand there wasn ’ t a blue wave.
” And Democrats shouldn ’ t get lulled into a false sense of security now that Arizona has gone blue for the first time since 1996 .
“ I think people want to find a silver bullet for how a state like Arizona is now considered a purple state or a blue state , and I think people miss the story @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden , ” Avila says .
“ Did Biden win Arizona ?
No , we won Arizona , our community won it , because we wanted something different from Trump .
”

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For years, the news out of Maricopa County, Arizona, was bleak. It was the site of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s infamous Tent City jail, the epicenter of anti-immigrant and anti-Latinx laws like SB 1070, and the staging ground for vigilante groups like the Minutemen. But after a week of daily vote count updates showed that Joe Biden would defeat Donald Trump there—and at the same time hold onto his statewide lead—it’s now clear that Latinx activists and Democratic politicians have scored one of their biggest wins in years in Arizona’s largest and most influential county.
As of Thursday, Biden had a roughly 12,000-vote lead in Arizona, thanks in large part to his 45,000-vote advantage in Maricopa County. These margins can largely be attributed to the work of the Latinx organizers I first wrote about in September, who ran countless voter registration events, information campaigns, and GOTV efforts to push for candidates and propositions that support their communities. Leading up to Election Day, a collective of local groups knocked on more than 1 million doors and made almost 8 million phone calls focused on Latino, Black, and Native American voters. The result was high turnout from those communities, with more than 70 percent of Latinos—who make up about a quarter of the total electorate in Arizona—supporting Biden.
That turnout was crucial in Maricopa, a diverse county of about 4.5 million people that includes Phoenix and the many suburbs that surround it. “You can drive for 20 minutes on the freeway and be in a really fancy part of town like Scottsdale or Paradise Valley, with millionaire estate homes,” says Edder Martinez, a communications director with the Maricopa County Democratic Party. “And then you can jump on that same freeway and head out west, and you will be in some of the worst affected areas by COVID and just downtrodden neighborhoods that have been ignored for a long time.”
Martinez said there were a few key parts of Maricopa where Democrats focused their outreach efforts, including the central part of the county, plus traditionally Black and lower-income District 27 and primarily Latinx District 19, because voters there “had been ignored by leadership in the past.” Southwest of Phoenix, the district encompassing the majority-white city of Chandler also showed “good turnout for us in high numbers.” (It didn’t hurt that Cindy McCain, a key Republican figure and the widow of longtime Sen. John McCain, broke with party lines by endorsing Biden and campaigning for him in Arizona.)
Republican losses in Maricopa County send a message to the rest of the country, Avila says: You can’t win elections by vilifying immigrants anymore.
Luis Avila, the founder of Instituto, a capacity-building organization for communities of color in Arizona, notes that this work built on the political infrastructure constructed over the last decade by Black and Brown organizers who grew up in the communities they were registering to vote. Avila says that the 2020 results in Maricopa also couldn’t have happened without huge turnout from Native Americans, who overwhelmingly supported Biden, and an increasing share of suburban women turned off by Trump’s messaging. “I actually think this election was won by women, women of color, and in particular, Latinas in Arizona,” he says.
Republican losses in Maricopa County—not only Trump, but also incumbent Republican Sen. Martha McSally, as well as county sheriff candidate (and former Arpaio right-hand man) Jerry Sheridan—send a message to the rest of the country, Avila adds: You can’t win elections by vilifying immigrants anymore.
But as Avila, Gutierrez, and representatives from multiple grassroots organizations have pointed out, the Democratic Party has often taken Latinx voters for granted, reaching out only when their votes are needed in an election cycle. “I understand that frustration, and I think that that’s one of the huge lessons we have to learn: to not just talk to these communities when we need their vote, but also really make sure that we’re there in off-election years,” Martinez says. “I can only speak for Maricopa County, but here we have intentionally tried to break that cycle”—by investing in the development of community leaders and also by leaning on local grassroots organizations so the Democrats can keep up the momentum.
That ground-up approach is something that I have heard a lot in my reporting in Arizona this election cycle. The work that organizers did with their neighbors, their local schools and churches, and their own family members started as an attempt to protect their communities. It focused on voting for candidates and propositions that would empower their families and provide adequate access to health care, education, and economic opportunities.
“I think that that’s one of the huge lessons we have to learn: to not just talk to these communities when we need their vote.”
Despite all that, the race was still close. The more than 900,000 people in Maricopa who voted for Trump are part of the 1.6 million statewide who wanted four more years of Trump. And that’s why 76-year-old Alfredo Gutierrez, a former state lawmaker and longtime public servant, is walking the line between celebrating and focusing on the work ahead. “The Trump support is much greater than the polls indicated, it’s much more powerful, and it isn’t going away,” he says. “Just like it was real when we went to segregated schools in the ’50s, it didn’t go away. It manifested itself again and again over time.”
In 1968, Gutierrez organized one of the first voter registration drives for the Latinx community in Maricopa and Tucson. He has seen the many fights that Latinos and Democrats in Arizona have won and lost for decades, and he’s overjoyed at seeing the work that helped flip the state this year. But, he cautions, it is one more incremental move forward, with many more to come.
“Back then we were organizing Mexican voting registration drives. We weren’t Latino; we were Mexicans. We’ve since become Mexicans of American descent, Hispanics, then Latinos, and we’re moving toward Latinx. But in ’68, we’re just plain-ass Mexicans,” Gutierrez says. “We were organizing and although we didn’t get very far, we kept on going. We inspired all these kids today. They are direct descendants—if you will, ideological descendants—of the folks who were there in ’68.”
Watching Maricopa go for Biden and Kelly “felt like this word in Spanish, escalofrío, which is a sort of mixed dual reaction,” he says. “On the one hand I’m really impressed with the work of local organizations like LUCHA, Mi Familia Vota, Poder, and Puente. These folks were extraordinary. But on the other hand there wasn’t a blue wave.”
And Democrats shouldn’t get lulled into a false sense of security now that Arizona has gone blue for the first time since 1996.
“I think people want to find a silver bullet for how a state like Arizona is now considered a purple state or a blue state, and I think people miss the story when they’re only focusing on Biden,” Avila says. “Did Biden win Arizona? No, we won Arizona, our community won it, because we wanted something different from Trump.”


motherjones--2020-11-13--Former Trump Aide Challenging Vote Count Once Praised a Right-Wing Assassin

Donald Trump ’ s attack on the election has ignited a firestorm of fundraising by his campaign and allied groups to finance efforts to hunt out supposed fraud .
On Monday , Jenny Beth Martin , co-founder of Tea Party Patriots , asked her Twitter followers to contribute to an “ election integrity ” project run by Matt Braynard , a GOP operative who was looking for $ 500,000 to underwrite his endeavor .
As a former data specialist on Trump ’ s 2016 campaign , Braynard had experience in this field .
But Martin didn ’ t mention one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : creating a literary journal that celebrated a real-life political assassin .
Braynard was the leader of the data team for Trump ’ s 2016 campaign until leaving in March 2016 .
At the time , Politico reported that neither Braynard nor Corey Lewandowski , then the campaign manager , would explain the departure—a move that left some campaign officials unable to access data files .
( Braynard tells Mother Jones that he was laid off over a “ minor HR dispute ” with Lewandowski . )
According to an online bio , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the Republican National Committee and for GOP pollster Frank Luntz .
After exiting the Trump campaign , he formed a nonprofit called Look Ahead America to increase conservative voter turnout .
That online bio also notes that Braynard is an “ award winning short fiction writer.
” In that vein , he founded a literary magazine in 2017 as part his MFA coursework at Columbia University .
Called Otoya , it billed itself as a “ Literary Journal of the New Nationalism.
” The publication , Braynard explained in a brief editor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ honor of Otoya Yamaguchi .
In 1960 , Yamaguchi , a 17-year-old rightwing ultranationalist in Japan , brutally murdered Inejirō Asanuma , a member of parliament and the chairman of the Japan Socialist Party , at a televised election debate .
Yamaguchi stabbed Asanuma with a short samurai sword .
The image capturing the horrific moment became one of the most famous press photos of the 20th century .
After he was arrested , Yamaguchi committed suicide and became a fallen hero of the Japanese far right .
A drawing of Yamaguchi graced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ note described the murderer as a nationalist hero who heroically killed a communist .
He pointed out that Yamaguchi shared a birthdate “ with another great patriot who put bayonets through the enemies who threatened his nation , George Washington.
” In an interview this week , Braynard explained his admiration for Yamaguchi .
Braynard recalled visiting Cambodia , where he says he saw piles of skulls of victims who had been murdered during the bloody reign of the Khmer Rouge .
“ I think [ Yamaguchi ] may have prevented the same @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Braynard says .
“ He should be memorialized and remembered.
” Only one issue of Otoya was published .
Braynard ’ s voter fraud project was set up days after the 2020 election , when he established a GoFundMe page seeking half a million dollars to uncover purportedly illegitimate votes in swing states using Social Security and change-of-address databases .
GoFundMe removed the page , criticizing it for attempting “ to spread misleading information about the election.
” He relaunched at GiveSendGo—which bills itself as the “ # 1 Free Christian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Friday , he had raised more than $ 580,000 .
His fundraising page states , “ The funds from this campaign will be received by Matt Braynard.
” But it also notes , “ Matt Braynard will personally receive zero dollars.
” Braynard says that all the money he collects will be spent on his research and that he will not be pocketing any .
On his Twitter feed , Braynard provides updates on leads his team is chasing and has suggested that having met his original funding goal , he may ask @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he has already spent about $ 500,000 acquiring various databases and hiring call centers to contact people who he suspects may be connected to voting irregularities .
He estimates he needs another $ 300,000 : “ Every day we find more ways to spend money.
” The New York Times has reported that election officials across the country say there is no evidence of significant voter fraud .
Yet Braynard contends the matter remains open , as his team conducts up to six different analyses of voting in each of six swing states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of people casting ballots in two different states , including 631 cases in Pennsylvania—even if verified , not remotely enough to change the results .
Braynard still insists this finding is significant .
“ If there is an organized attempt at voter fraud , we will only detect a few cases , ” he says , adding that he hopes his research may “ bring enough pressure ” to encourage judges to order remedies including recounts or audits .
He notes he ’ s been sharing his research with Trump ’ s legal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us to do more.
” Braynard maintains that he “ didn ’ t walk into this with any preconceived notions ” regarding the possibility of fraud in the election .
He just wants to know , “ is this really a clean election ?
” Asked if he expects his findings to be trusted , given that he ’ s a Trump fan , he replies that anyone will be able to check his figures .
He adds , “ And I am the biggest fan .
”

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Donald Trump’s attack on the election has ignited a firestorm of fundraising by his campaign and allied groups to finance efforts to hunt out supposed fraud. On Monday, Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder of Tea Party Patriots, asked her Twitter followers to contribute to an “election integrity” project run by Matt Braynard, a GOP operative who was looking for $500,000 to underwrite his endeavor. As a former data specialist on Trump’s 2016 campaign, Braynard had experience in this field. But Martin didn’t mention one notable project Braynard not long ago pursued: creating a literary journal that celebrated a real-life political assassin.
His publication honored a Japanese 17-year-old who brutally murdered a member of parliament on live TV.
Braynard was the leader of the data team for Trump’s 2016 campaign until leaving in March 2016. At the time, Politico reported that neither Braynard nor Corey Lewandowski, then the campaign manager, would explain the departure—a move that left some campaign officials unable to access data files. (Braynard tells Mother Jones that he was laid off over a “minor HR dispute” with Lewandowski.) According to an online bio, Braynard had worked as a political analyst at the Republican National Committee and for GOP pollster Frank Luntz. After exiting the Trump campaign, he formed a nonprofit called Look Ahead America to increase conservative voter turnout.
That online bio also notes that Braynard is an “award winning short fiction writer.” In that vein, he founded a literary magazine in 2017 as part his MFA coursework at Columbia University. Called Otoya, it billed itself as a “Literary Journal of the New Nationalism.”
The publication, Braynard explained in a brief editor’s note, was named in honor of Otoya Yamaguchi. In 1960, Yamaguchi, a 17-year-old rightwing ultranationalist in Japan, brutally murdered Inejirō Asanuma, a member of parliament and the chairman of the Japan Socialist Party, at a televised election debate. Yamaguchi stabbed Asanuma with a short samurai sword. The image capturing the horrific moment became one of the most famous press photos of the 20th century. After he was arrested, Yamaguchi committed suicide and became a fallen hero of the Japanese far right.
A drawing of Yamaguchi graced the cover, as Braynard’s note described the murderer as a nationalist hero who heroically killed a communist. He pointed out that Yamaguchi shared a birthdate “with another great patriot who put bayonets through the enemies who threatened his nation, George Washington.”
In an interview this week, Braynard explained his admiration for Yamaguchi. Braynard recalled visiting Cambodia, where he says he saw piles of skulls of victims who had been murdered during the bloody reign of the Khmer Rouge. “I think [Yamaguchi] may have prevented the same thing from happening in his own country,” Braynard says. “He should be memorialized and remembered.” Only one issue of Otoya was published.
Braynard’s voter fraud project was set up days after the 2020 election, when he established a GoFundMe page seeking half a million dollars to uncover purportedly illegitimate votes in swing states using Social Security and change-of-address databases. GoFundMe removed the page, criticizing it for attempting “to spread misleading information about the election.”
GoFundMe removed his page saying it had “spread misleading information about the election.”
He relaunched at GiveSendGo—which bills itself as the “#1 Free Christian Crowdfunding Site”—where, as of Friday, he had raised more than $580,000. His fundraising page states, “The funds from this campaign will be received by Matt Braynard.” But it also notes, “Matt Braynard will personally receive zero dollars.” Braynard says that all the money he collects will be spent on his research and that he will not be pocketing any.
On his Twitter feed, Braynard provides updates on leads his team is chasing and has suggested that having met his original funding goal, he may ask for more. He tells Mother Jones he has already spent about $500,000 acquiring various databases and hiring call centers to contact people who he suspects may be connected to voting irregularities. He estimates he needs another $300,000: “Every day we find more ways to spend money.”
The New York Times has reported that election officials across the country say there is no evidence of significant voter fraud. Yet Braynard contends the matter remains open, as his team conducts up to six different analyses of voting in each of six swing states. Braynard claims to have found instances of people casting ballots in two different states, including 631 cases in Pennsylvania—even if verified, not remotely enough to change the results.
Braynard still insists this finding is significant. “If there is an organized attempt at voter fraud, we will only detect a few cases,” he says, adding that he hopes his research may “bring enough pressure” to encourage judges to order remedies including recounts or audits. He notes he’s been sharing his research with Trump’s legal team, and “they are asking us to do more.”
Braynard maintains that he “didn’t walk into this with any preconceived notions” regarding the possibility of fraud in the election. He just wants to know, “is this really a clean election?” Asked if he expects his findings to be trusted, given that he’s a Trump fan, he replies that anyone will be able to check his figures. He adds, “And I am the biggest fan.”