motherjones--2020-11-07--Will the Defeat of Democrat Collin Peterson Be Good for the Climate?

Even before the apparent defeat of President Donald Trump , the 2020 election has already shaken up US farm policy .
Rep. Collin Peterson ( D-Minn. ) , the lion of the House Agriculture Committee , lost his seat to right-wing firebrand Michelle Fischbach .
After Fischbach spent months attacking Peterson as a servant of what she called the “ socialist agenda ” of the House ’ s Democratic leadership ( even though he ’ s easily the most conservative Democrat in the House ) , she won by a landslide .
That leaves a power vacuum in the House @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and farm policy by writing the twice-a-decade farm bill .
Peterson served as the committee ’ s top Democrat since 2007 , and started his second stint as its chairman in 2019 , after the Democrats claimed the House in the midterm elections .
With Peterson out , agribusiness lost one of its most potent friends in Congress .
Representing a western Minnesota district carpeted with subsidized soybean and corn crops , Peterson has long championed the status quo of US farm policy , which has been embedded in farm bills since the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crop insurance to convince farmers to maximize production of corn and soybeans .
The policy virtually ensures low prices for these commodities , providing cheap feed for the meat industry and cheap inputs for ethanol makers , another business interest Peterson supports .
It also generates a robust market for patent-protected genetically modified seeds and the herbicides they ’ re designed to withstand .
Peterson ’ s campaigns hoovered up agribusiness cash , and the industry mourned his defeat .
The American Farm Bureau Federation , an insurance conglomerate that doubles as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a note expressing “ our thanks to Rep. Peterson for his decades of service in the House of Representatives.
” Peterson dominated agriculture policy in an era when climate changed emerged as mounting threat to our food system .
Historic droughts bedeviled the crucial fruit , vegetable and nut growing regions in California , and ever-fiercer spring storms pounded the corn and soybean fields of the Midwest , creating a quiet and devastating soil-erosion crisis .
The farm bills he helped shape did little to prepare farms for the ravages of climate change @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deny the existence of global warming , Peterson consistently belittled its importance .
“ They ’ re saying to us [ that climate change is ] going to be a big problem because it ’ s going to be warmer than it usually is , ” he told the Wall Street Journal in 2009 .
“ My farmers are going to say that ’ s a good thing since they ’ ll be able to grow more corn.
” He tirelessly fought efforts to regulate agriculture , helping ensure unimpeded emissions of potent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cattle digestion , and nitrous oxide from fertilizer and manure .
During negotiations over the historic and ultimately failed climate legislation known as the Waxman-Markey bill in 2009 , Peterson used his legislative clout to shape it to Big Ag ’ s liking : exempting farmers from its cap on greenhouse gas emissions but inserting provisions that would have lavished them with cash rewards for practices that do little or nothing to sequester carbon .
A year later , he co-sponsored legislation that would have blocked the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it in 2019 , “ resisting the push within his party ’ s progressive wing to advance a national strategy to fight climate change , ” Politico reported .
“ What is our goal ?
Planting all those trees ?
I ’ m actually cutting down the forest , ” Peterson told the publication , referring to his own land in Minnesota .
The question now becomes who succeeds him .
The Democrats held onto the House on election day , so that means the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee , led by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rep. Nancy Pelosi ( D-Calif. ) is widely expected to maintain her hold on the speakership in the next Congress .
While Pelosi and her team can choose anyone on the House Ag Committee as chair , seniority on the ag committee traditionally drives the choice .
By that metric , three candidates have emerged .
Rep. David Scott ( D-Ga. ) , who has served on the agriculture committee for nearly 20 years , has the most seniority ; followed by Rep. Jim Costa ( D-Calif. ) , who represents a swath @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Valley ; and Rep. Marcia Fudge ( D-Ohio ) , a stalwart of anti-hunger policy whose district includes much of Cleveland and Akron .
Scott , a member of the Congressional Black Caucus , is the likeliest contender .
He represents a semi-rural district in the outskirts of Atlanta , and he is currently the chairman of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges , Energy and Credits .
In negotiations over the 2018 farm bill , he successfully pushed a provision to fund $ 80 million in scholarships at 19 agriculture-focused historically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nov. 5 letter to colleagues , Scott expressed his desire to take the post : “ With each wildfire , hurricane , or flood more devastating than the last , it is incumbent upon us to ensure food security for future generations , ” he wrote .
“ The threat of climate change is a present and growing danger , and we must promote sustainable agriculture solutions that are economically viable , ecologically just , and support the social fabric of our rural communities.
” If he succeeds in his bid and follows @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not only be the first Black House ag committee chair—he ’ d also be the first one to take climate change seriously .

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.
Even before the apparent defeat of President Donald Trump, the 2020 election has already shaken up US farm policy. Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), the lion of the House Agriculture Committee, lost his seat to right-wing firebrand Michelle Fischbach. After Fischbach spent months attacking Peterson as a servant of what she called the “socialist agenda” of the House’s Democratic leadership (even though he’s easily the most conservative Democrat in the House), she won by a landslide.
That leaves a power vacuum in the House Agriculture Committee, which shapes US food and farm policy by writing the twice-a-decade farm bill. Peterson served as the committee’s top Democrat since 2007, and started his second stint as its chairman in 2019, after the Democrats claimed the House in the midterm elections.
With Peterson out, agribusiness lost one of its most potent friends in Congress. Representing a western Minnesota district carpeted with subsidized soybean and corn crops, Peterson has long championed the status quo of US farm policy, which has been embedded in farm bills since the 1990s: using direct payments and subsidized crop insurance to convince farmers to maximize production of corn and soybeans. The policy virtually ensures low prices for these commodities, providing cheap feed for the meat industry and cheap inputs for ethanol makers, another business interest Peterson supports. It also generates a robust market for patent-protected genetically modified seeds and the herbicides they’re designed to withstand.
Peterson’s campaigns hoovered up agribusiness cash, and the industry mourned his defeat. The American Farm Bureau Federation, an insurance conglomerate that doubles as the most prominent agribiz lobbying outfit, issued a note expressing “our thanks to Rep. Peterson for his decades of service in the House of Representatives.”
Peterson dominated agriculture policy in an era when climate changed emerged as mounting threat to our food system. Historic droughts bedeviled the crucial fruit, vegetable and nut growing regions in California, and ever-fiercer spring storms pounded the corn and soybean fields of the Midwest, creating a quiet and devastating soil-erosion crisis. The farm bills he helped shape did little to prepare farms for the ravages of climate change. While he didn’t outright deny the existence of global warming, Peterson consistently belittled its importance. “They’re saying to us [that climate change is] going to be a big problem because it’s going to be warmer than it usually is,” he told the Wall Street Journal in 2009. “My farmers are going to say that’s a good thing since they’ll be able to grow more corn.” He tirelessly fought efforts to regulate agriculture, helping ensure unimpeded emissions of potent greenhouse gases like methane from manure and cattle digestion, and nitrous oxide from fertilizer and manure.
“What is our goal? Planting all those trees? I’m actually cutting down the forest,” Peterson told reporters last year.
During negotiations over the historic and ultimately failed climate legislation known as the Waxman-Markey bill in 2009, Peterson used his legislative clout to shape it to Big Ag’s liking: exempting farmers from its cap on greenhouse gas emissions but inserting provisions that would have lavished them with cash rewards for practices that do little or nothing to sequester carbon. A year later, he co-sponsored legislation that would have blocked the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions. He was still at it in 2019, “resisting the push within his party’s progressive wing to advance a national strategy to fight climate change,” Politico reported. “What is our goal? Planting all those trees? I’m actually cutting down the forest,” Peterson told the publication, referring to his own land in Minnesota.
The question now becomes who succeeds him. The Democrats held onto the House on election day, so that means the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, led by the House Speaker, will decide. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is widely expected to maintain her hold on the speakership in the next Congress. While Pelosi and her team can choose anyone on the House Ag Committee as chair, seniority on the ag committee traditionally drives the choice.
By that metric, three candidates have emerged. Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.), who has served on the agriculture committee for nearly 20 years, has the most seniority; followed by Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.), who represents a swath of California’s ag-centric San Joaquin Valley; and Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), a stalwart of anti-hunger policy whose district includes much of Cleveland and Akron.
“With each wildfire, hurricane, or flood more devastating than the last, it is incumbent upon us to ensure food security for future generations.”
Scott, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, is the likeliest contender. He represents a semi-rural district in the outskirts of Atlanta, and he is currently the chairman of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy and Credits. In negotiations over the 2018 farm bill, he successfully pushed a provision to fund $80 million in scholarships at 19 agriculture-focused historically Black colleges and universities.
In a Nov. 5 letter to colleagues, Scott expressed his desire to take the post: “With each wildfire, hurricane, or flood more devastating than the last, it is incumbent upon us to ensure food security for future generations,” he wrote. “The threat of climate change is a present and growing danger, and we must promote sustainable agriculture solutions that are economically viable, ecologically just, and support the social fabric of our rural communities.”
If he succeeds in his bid and follows through on that statement, Scott would not only be the first Black House ag committee chair—he’d also be the first one to take climate change seriously.


motherjones--2020-11-06--Trump’s Next Target: The GOP?

Trump’s Next Target: The GOP?

After Donald Trump is done trashing American democracy , he may have a new target : the Republican Party .
As Trump during the last few days has baselessly claimed that the election is a “ fraud ” and is being stolen from him , his henchmen have rushed to establish a litmus test for conservatives and the GOP : whether or not they rally to Trump ’ s side and support his unfounded accusations .
Like those defeated in the Civil War , they are setting up a new Lost Cause and creating a loyalty test : A true @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against the “ corrupt ” voting system that is trying to rob him of the presidency .
Though a few Republicans have joined Trump ’ s attack on the election—Ted Cruz , Lindsey Graham , Newt Gingrich—the party and the conservative movement have not rushed to the barricades to defend Trump .
Sen. Mitt Romney ( R-Utah ) tweeted : “ Counting every vote is at the heart of democracy…Have faith in democracy , in our Constitution , and in the American people.
” Sen. Pat Toomey ( R-Penn . )
said Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and pointed out there was no evidence of fraud .
Former New Jersey Gov .
Chris Christie called on Trump to stop inflaming the situation .
On Fox News , pro-Trump anchors did not amplify the president ’ s claim of election theft ( though they did complain mightily about the vote-counting system ) .
The New York Post described a tweet from Donald Trump Jr.—calling for “ total war ” —a “ clueless tweet.
” Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro rebuked Trump for claiming he had won : “ It is deeply irresponsible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Friday morning , Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said every vote should be counted , and ignored Trump ’ s claim that the president was being shafted .
The lack of GOP solidarity with Trump ’ s assault on the election has enraged Trumpers—especially Donald Trump Jr .
He retweeted a conservative commentator who griped , “ I can ’ t help but think that a lot of republicans are hiding because they would rather be rid of Trump than fight.
” At a press conference in Atlanta on Thursday night—where no questions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Party for too long had “ no backbone ” and that any Republican who didn ’ t join Trump ’ s fight to retain power “ should go.
” Eric Trump has also been trying to whip up support among Republicans .
After Lindsey Graham donated $ 500,000 to Trump ’ s legal defense fund , Eric Trump tweeted : “ Thank you for having spine !
Fight this fraud !
” He retweeted right-wing commentator Dan Bongino ’ s criticism of Republicans : “ Awfully odd that some of the people on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ’ s coattails to an enormous GOP down-ballot upset , seem pretty quiet about the bullshit going on right now .
SPEAK UP .
WE ’ RE ALL LISTENING !
” And Eric Trump tweet-cried himself : “ Where are Republicans !
Have some backbone .
Fight against this fraud .
Our voters will never forget you if your sheep !
” Trump Jr. even appears to have a particular ( and extreme ) strategy in mind that he wants Republicans to adopt : press GOP-controlled state legislatures , such as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ counted vote and send a slate of pro-Trump electors to Congress .
He retweeted a message from right-wing radio host Mark Levin , who urged state legislatures to choose electors .
This would be a legally dubious move , but it could throw the election into turmoil and force a slew of court fights and possibly a battle within Congress .
Graham , for one , has talked up the idea .
But the Republican majority leader of the Pennsylvania senate has repeatedly said he does not support such a step .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , to envision pro-Trumpers directing anger at him , should they decide to push forward with this desperate strategy .
Trump Jr. has done more than just moan about AWOL Republicans .
He has issued a not-too-veiled threat to GOPers : If you don ’ t stand with my father now , we will seek revenge , especially if you ’ re considering running for the Republican presidential nomination in four years .
On Thursday afternoon , he tweeted : “ The total lack of action from virtually all of the ‘ 2024 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They have a perfect platform to show that they ’ re willing & able to fight but they will cower to the media mob instead .
Don ’ t worry @ realDonaldTrump will fight & they can watch as usual !
” And in another tweet , Junior exclaimed , “ For GOPers to not stand up now shows your true colors .
Will make the 2024 primary process a lot easier.
” Get it ?
As expected , the 2024 race has already begun .
There has been speculation that Trump might @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of other Republicans considering a bid .
And what Trump Jr. was suggesting to them was that they ’ ll likely need Trump ’ s voters—and perhaps Trump ’ s blessing—to win the nomination .
But if they don ’ t rush to Trump ’ s side now , forget about it .
Moreover , the entire GOP might become a target of Trump ’ s wrath if it leaves him in his moment of need .
This could all be bluster .
That runs in the family .
But if Trump and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been abandoned by the Republicans—stabbed in the back !
—the party could face a rough ride , as the Trump crowd has a habit of pursuing vengeance .
( Trump , as we know , is motivated by spite , spite , and spite . )
The Republicans are going to have a tough time figuring out what to do after Trump .
It won ’ t be easier if there ’ s an internecine battle between the Trump clan and party regulars .
Losing is lonely , and Trump has been stewing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his back .
So far , most of the Republican Party—finally—is not tying itself to Trump ’ s mast and joining his demagogic effort to delegitimize the election .
But there might be a price to pay for this .
Trump never forgets a grudge .
He never forgives .
A wounded , defeated Trump could become a serious problem for the GOP .

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.
After Donald Trump is done trashing American democracy, he may have a new target: the Republican Party.
As Trump during the last few days has baselessly claimed that the election is a “fraud” and is being stolen from him, his henchmen have rushed to establish a litmus test for conservatives and the GOP: whether or not they rally to Trump’s side and support his unfounded accusations. Like those defeated in the Civil War, they are setting up a new Lost Cause and creating a loyalty test: A true Republican stands with Trump in his crusade against the “corrupt” voting system that is trying to rob him of the presidency.
Though a few Republicans have joined Trump’s attack on the election—Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham, Newt Gingrich—the party and the conservative movement have not rushed to the barricades to defend Trump. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) tweeted: “Counting every vote is at the heart of democracy…Have faith in democracy, in our Constitution, and in the American people.” Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Penn.) said Trump’s accusations were “disturbing” and pointed out there was no evidence of fraud. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie called on Trump to stop inflaming the situation. On Fox News, pro-Trump anchors did not amplify the president’s claim of election theft (though they did complain mightily about the vote-counting system). The New York Post described a tweet from Donald Trump Jr.—calling for “total war”—a “clueless tweet.” Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro rebuked Trump for claiming he had won: “It is deeply irresponsible for him to say this.” On Friday morning, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said every vote should be counted, and ignored Trump’s claim that the president was being shafted.
The lack of GOP solidarity with Trump’s assault on the election has enraged Trumpers—especially Donald Trump Jr. He retweeted a conservative commentator who griped, “I can’t help but think that a lot of republicans are hiding because they would rather be rid of Trump than fight.” At a press conference in Atlanta on Thursday night—where no questions were taken—he angrily exclaimed that the Republican Party for too long had “no backbone” and that any Republican who didn’t join Trump’s fight to retain power “should go.”
Eric Trump has also been trying to whip up support among Republicans. After Lindsey Graham donated $500,000 to Trump’s legal defense fund, Eric Trump tweeted: “Thank you for having spine! Fight this fraud!” He retweeted right-wing commentator Dan Bongino’s criticism of Republicans: “Awfully odd that some of the people on the GOP side, who just rode Trump’s coattails to an enormous GOP down-ballot upset, seem pretty quiet about the bullshit going on right now. SPEAK UP. WE’RE ALL LISTENING!” And Eric Trump tweet-cried himself: “Where are Republicans! Have some backbone. Fight against this fraud. Our voters will never forget you if your sheep!”
Trump Jr. even appears to have a particular (and extreme) strategy in mind that he wants Republicans to adopt: press GOP-controlled state legislatures, such as the one in Pennsylvania, to nullify the counted vote and send a slate of pro-Trump electors to Congress. He retweeted a message from right-wing radio host Mark Levin, who urged state legislatures to choose electors. This would be a legally dubious move, but it could throw the election into turmoil and force a slew of court fights and possibly a battle within Congress. Graham, for one, has talked up the idea. But the Republican majority leader of the Pennsylvania senate has repeatedly said he does not support such a step. It’s not too hard, though, to envision pro-Trumpers directing anger at him, should they decide to push forward with this desperate strategy.
Trump Jr. has done more than just moan about AWOL Republicans. He has issued a not-too-veiled threat to GOPers: If you don’t stand with my father now, we will seek revenge, especially if you’re considering running for the Republican presidential nomination in four years. On Thursday afternoon, he tweeted: “The total lack of action from virtually all of the ‘2024 GOP hopefuls’ is pretty amazing. They have a perfect platform to show that they’re willing & able to fight but they will cower to the media mob instead. Don’t worry @realDonaldTrump will fight & they can watch as usual!” And in another tweet, Junior exclaimed, “For GOPers to not stand up now shows your true colors. Will make the 2024 primary process a lot easier.”
Get it? As expected, the 2024 race has already begun. There has been speculation that Trump might run again. But there are plenty of other Republicans considering a bid. And what Trump Jr. was suggesting to them was that they’ll likely need Trump’s voters—and perhaps Trump’s blessing—to win the nomination. But if they don’t rush to Trump’s side now, forget about it. Moreover, the entire GOP might become a target of Trump’s wrath if it leaves him in his moment of need.
This could all be bluster. That runs in the family. But if Trump and his family come to believe they have been abandoned by the Republicans—stabbed in the back!—the party could face a rough ride, as the Trump crowd has a habit of pursuing vengeance. (Trump, as we know, is motivated by spite, spite, and spite.) The Republicans are going to have a tough time figuring out what to do after Trump. It won’t be easier if there’s an internecine battle between the Trump clan and party regulars.
Losing is lonely, and Trump has been stewing in the White House over who has his back. So far, most of the Republican Party—finally—is not tying itself to Trump’s mast and joining his demagogic effort to delegitimize the election. But there might be a price to pay for this. Trump never forgets a grudge. He never forgives. A wounded, defeated Trump could become a serious problem for the GOP.


motherjones--2020-11-06--Democratic Senate Candidates Raised Eye-Popping Amounts in 2020. They Still Lost.

For years , Democratic candidates and campaign finance watchdogs have railed against the injection of increasingly large amounts of money into elections , arguing that it gives candidates who cater to special interests and the wealthy an advantage .
Traditionally , it has .
Over the years , the candidate who spends the most money typically wins .
This year , Democrats , riding a wave of public anger over racial injustice and an outpouring of angst over the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the fate of the Supreme Court , raised more money than ever before , much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lot of this money flowed to high-profile Senate races , including a long-shot challenge to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell .
And yet , in many of these contests , it meant nothing .
In nine of the top 10 most-expensive Senate races , the Democratic candidate raised more than his or her Republican opponent , collecting a combined $ 595 million .
Democrats won just three of those races .
And then there ’ s the presidential race .
Joe Biden ’ s campaign , along with his allies , raised about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his allies raised about $ 863 million .
While it may take weeks to fully settle the vote counts in every state , Biden is unlikely to beat Trump as resoundingly as he outraised him .
So has money lost its power in elections ?
Not quite .
According to the nonpartisan money-in-politics website OpenSecrets.org , in eight of the previous nine elections , the top spender has been the winner in races for the House of Representatives more than 90 percent of the time ( the 2010 election was the exception , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only about 85 percent of the time ) .
In 2020 , that was still true in 90.4 percent of House races .
On the Senate side , the top spender has prevailed more than 72 percent of the time over the last 20 years .
In 2020 , it happened in 73 percent of the races .
In aggregate , the pattern of candidates who spend the most being most likely to win has actually held up—it ’ s just that the exceptions to the rule this election were particularly painful ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the South Carolina Senate race , Democrat Jaime Harrison raised a record $ 107.5 million in a bid to unseat Sen. Lindsey Graham , pulling in $ 57 million in one three-month period this summer .
Those numbers would make many presidential primary campaigns envious .
To put Harrison ’ s haul in further context , in 2018 , the average Senate candidate raised about $ 8.9 million .
And yet Harrison lost by 14 points .
Sheila Krumholz , executive director of OpenSecrets.org , points to the popularity of the fundraising tool @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of online donations—and to a lesser extent its Republican equivalent , WinRed—as the cause of this record fundraising .
She says these sites make it extremely easy for candidates who might not have had any fundraising advantage on their own to reap the benefit of a tumultuous national election .
All it takes is a link to a candidate ’ s fundraising page going viral to unleash a flood of donations .
“ It ’ s ubiquitous , and that led to fund-raging—people giving tons of small donations in races across the country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that up with voting , ” Krumholz says , “ leading to a lot of money that was driven by passion rather than strategy.
” Candidates didn ’ t need to have a good shot at winning to attract donations .
Ginsburg ’ s death and the concern over the balance of the Supreme Court may have helped Maine Democratic Senate candidate Sara Gideon raise $ 68.5 million ( in the seven Senate elections that have taken place in Maine in the last 20 years , all of the candidates combined raised just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ didn ’ t mean that was going to be money well-spent .
Or even spent at all .
According to the last fundraising report filed by Gideon ’ s campaign , as of October 14 she still had $ 20.6 million in cash on hand .
There is also a point of diminishing returns , Krumholz says .
Even if a candidate outraises her opponent by tens of millions of dollars , it may not make much difference if her rival has raised sufficient funds to cover operatives , ads , and other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Graham went on national television a few weeks before the election and pleaded for donations , saying he was “ being killed ” by money from the left , he still managed to raise $ 72 million .
That was far less than Harrison but more than enough to get him over the finish line .
In fact , prior to 2020 , only two Senate candidates had ever raised more than that .
Similarly , Sen. Susan Collins ( R-Maine ) raised $ 26.5 million , which was dwarfed by Gideon ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to spend wooing the 365,000 voters she ultimately needed to win the race .
While fundraising success didn ’ t translate to electoral success for most of 2020 ’ s Democratic stars , the ability to tap into huge veins of funding is still not a bad problem for a candidate to have , Krumholz says .
“ It ’ s not a hindrance , ” she says .
“ But how to leverage it in ways that really take advantage fo the possibilities , I think , remains a challenge .
”

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.
For years, Democratic candidates and campaign finance watchdogs have railed against the injection of increasingly large amounts of money into elections, arguing that it gives candidates who cater to special interests and the wealthy an advantage. Traditionally, it has. Over the years, the candidate who spends the most money typically wins. This year, Democrats, riding a wave of public anger over racial injustice and an outpouring of angst over the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the fate of the Supreme Court, raised more money than ever before, much of it from small donors. A lot of this money flowed to high-profile Senate races, including a long-shot challenge to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. And yet, in many of these contests, it meant nothing.
In nine of the top 10 most-expensive Senate races, the Democratic candidate raised more than his or her Republican opponent, collecting a combined $595 million. Democrats won just three of those races.
And then there’s the presidential race. Joe Biden’s campaign, along with his allies, raised about $1.3 billion; President Trump and his allies raised about $863 million. While it may take weeks to fully settle the vote counts in every state, Biden is unlikely to beat Trump as resoundingly as he outraised him.
So has money lost its power in elections?
Not quite. According to the nonpartisan money-in-politics website OpenSecrets.org, in eight of the previous nine elections, the top spender has been the winner in races for the House of Representatives more than 90 percent of the time (the 2010 election was the exception, with the spending winner taking the race only about 85 percent of the time). In 2020, that was still true in 90.4 percent of House races.
On the Senate side, the top spender has prevailed more than 72 percent of the time over the last 20 years. In 2020, it happened in 73 percent of the races.
In aggregate, the pattern of candidates who spend the most being most likely to win has actually held up—it’s just that the exceptions to the rule this election were particularly painful (and costly) for Democrats.
In the South Carolina Senate race, Democrat Jaime Harrison raised a record $107.5 million in a bid to unseat Sen. Lindsey Graham, pulling in $57 million in one three-month period this summer. Those numbers would make many presidential primary campaigns envious. To put Harrison’s haul in further context, in 2018, the average Senate candidate raised about $8.9 million. And yet Harrison lost by 14 points.
Sheila Krumholz, executive director of OpenSecrets.org, points to the popularity of the fundraising tool ActBlue, which centralizes billing and processing of online donations—and to a lesser extent its Republican equivalent, WinRed—as the cause of this record fundraising. She says these sites make it extremely easy for candidates who might not have had any fundraising advantage on their own to reap the benefit of a tumultuous national election. All it takes is a link to a candidate’s fundraising page going viral to unleash a flood of donations.
“It’s ubiquitous, and that led to fund-raging—people giving tons of small donations in races across the country where they had no ability to back that up with voting,” Krumholz says, “leading to a lot of money that was driven by passion rather than strategy.”
Candidates didn’t need to have a good shot at winning to attract donations.
Ginsburg’s death and the concern over the balance of the Supreme Court may have helped Maine Democratic Senate candidate Sara Gideon raise $68.5 million (in the seven Senate elections that have taken place in Maine in the last 20 years, all of the candidates combined raised just $47.7 million), but it didn’t mean that was going to be money well-spent. Or even spent at all. According to the last fundraising report filed by Gideon’s campaign, as of October 14 she still had $20.6 million in cash on hand.
There is also a point of diminishing returns, Krumholz says. Even if a candidate outraises her opponent by tens of millions of dollars, it may not make much difference if her rival has raised sufficient funds to cover operatives, ads, and other expenses.
In South Carolina, although Graham went on national television a few weeks before the election and pleaded for donations, saying he was “being killed” by money from the left, he still managed to raise $72 million. That was far less than Harrison but more than enough to get him over the finish line. In fact, prior to 2020, only two Senate candidates had ever raised more than that. Similarly, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) raised $26.5 million, which was dwarfed by Gideon’s fundraising but still a massive amount to spend wooing the 365,000 voters she ultimately needed to win the race.
While fundraising success didn’t translate to electoral success for most of 2020’s Democratic stars, the ability to tap into huge veins of funding is still not a bad problem for a candidate to have, Krumholz says. “It’s not a hindrance,” she says. “But how to leverage it in ways that really take advantage fo the possibilities, I think, remains a challenge.”


motherjones--2020-11-06--Trump’s Election Lawyers Are a Very Swampy Crew

The ragtag legal team that President Donald Trump has dispatched in a long-shot bid to disrupt vote-counting across the country includes several lobbyists who represent domestic and foreign interests .
While there ’ s no reason to think their lobbying efforts are directly related to their work for Trump ’ s legal team , it ’ s worth considering the swampy day jobs of the well-heeled lawyers scrambling to disenfranchise their fellow Americans .
Former GOP Rep. John Sweeney , who is assisting the Trump team ’ s efforts , is registered to lobby for multiple Russian entities .
Former @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is involved in the Trump team ’ s effort to challenge the vote-counting process in Pennsylvania , works for a leading Trump-connected lobbying shop and is a registered foreign agent for Qatar .
Corey Lewandowski , the one-time 2016 Trump campaign boss , works for a firm whose lobbyists represent foreign and domestic clients with interests in Washington .
Lewandowski has said her personally does not do lobbying work .
And then there ’ s Rudy Giuliani , the co-head of Trump ’ s legal assault .
Giuliani reportedly faces a federal investigation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ failing to register as foreign agent in connection with his activities in Ukraine last year .
Giuliani , who is not a registered lobbyist , denies wrongdoing and has suggested that billionaire philanthropist George Soros is behind the probe .
Speaking at a news conference in Philadelphia on Wednesday , Giuliani said that Sweeney , who was on hand for the event , is working with Trump ’ s lawyers , “ going around the country collecting ” information on alleged abnormalities in vote counting .
It ’ s not clear exactly what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elaborate , and Sweeney immediately hung up when Mother Jones called him .
But it ’ s worth noting that Sweeney is registered with the Justice Department as an agent for Vnesheconombank , a Kremlin-controlled investment bank that the United States sanctioned in 2014 as part of the US response to Russia ’ s invasion of Crimea .
( The bank , known as VEB , played a part in the Trump-Russia scandal due to a December 13 , 2016 , meeting between the bank ’ s former chairman and Jared Kushner .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ noted that Kushner and the bank chairman made contradictory claims about the meeting ’ s purpose . )
Sweeney ’ s DOJ registration states that he was hired to help the bank avoid new sanctions .
Sweeney ’ s contract with the bank pays him about $ 750,000 per year .
Sweeney is also a registered lobbyist for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline , a project by Russia ’ s state-run gas giant , Gazprom , to move natural gas from Russia to Germany .
Congress has passed legislation aimed at blocking the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ represented Igor Kolomoisky , a politically powerful Ukrainian tycoon who previously controlled a Ukrainian bank seized by that country ’ s government in 2016 due to a lack of capital and financial improprieties .
The US Justice Department in August announced that it is seeking to seize US property that Kolomoisky allegedly bought in the United States with money stolen from the bank .
Kolomoisky ’ s lawyers deny the allegations .
Bondi , who has appeared at press conferences in Philadelphia this week to fault local ballot-counting procedures , works for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Washington ’ s top lobbying shops by touting its ties to Trump .
The firm ’ s founder , Brian Ballard , is a longtime Florida Republican operative who once worked as a lobbyist for Trump ’ s business interests in that state .
Bondi is registered with the Justice Department as an agent for Qatar ’ s government .
She is also among a slew of Washington operatives who have lobbied for KGL Investment Co. , a Kuwaiti company whose CEO—Marsha Lazareva , a Russian citizen—was arrested in 2017 by Kuwaiti @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lazera , who is imprisoned , continues to dispute the charges .
Bondi also appears to have had a chummy relationship with Lev Parnas , a Giuliani associate and a key figure in Trump ’ s Ukraine scandal , who is under indictment for fraud and campaign finance violations , and who helped steer foreign lobbying business to Ballard in 2017 .
Ballard Partners and Bondi did not respond to inquiries Thursday .
Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee last year accused Lewandowski of selling access to Trump and the White House @ @ @ @ @ @ @ domestic clients as a consultant .
Lewandowski since 2017 has maintained ties to lobbying firms , while saying that he himself is not a lobbyist .
He previously worked for a firm , Avenue Associates , that lobbies for Qatar .
Last year , Lewandowski joined a firm , Turnberry Solutions , that is named for a golf course Trump owns in Scotland .
Lobbyists for the firm , through a legally separate corporation , have represented a pro-Russian Serbian separatist party in Bosnia .
Giuliani himself has spent nearly two decades doing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he acts as a lawyer , helping clients with legal issues in the United States .
At other times , he acts as a consultant , offering security advice to cities and states around the world .
Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York , an office Giuliani once ran , are reportedly looking into whether he violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act .
The probe has reportedly focused on Giuliani negotiating to be paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to represent Ukraine ’ s top prosecutor while helping that prosecutor pursue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ firing of the former US ambassador to Ukraine .
Giuliani has said he was never actually paid by the prosecutor .
Senate Democrats have also asked the Justice Department to look into whether Giuliani is violating foreign lobbying laws by doing work for foreign interests without registering with the DOJ .
This includes Giuliani ’ s prior paid work for a Ukrainian-Russian oligarch investigated by Mueller ; Giuliani ’ s acceptance of a payment to write a letter attacking an anti-corruption effort in Romania ; and his receipt of payments from Mujahedin-e-Khalq , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ promoting its calls for the US to adopt a policy aimed at overthrowing Iran ’ s rulers .
Giuliani has claimed he has no obligation to register under FARA because he does not do work that involves promoting foreign interests within the United States .
He has also never registered as a lobbyist .
These connections by Trump ’ s legal advisers presumably have no direct bearing on their bid to help invalidate the president ’ s likely electoral defeat .
But the kind of team Trump has assembled says something about the @ @ @ @ @ @

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.
The ragtag legal team that President Donald Trump has dispatched in a long-shot bid to disrupt vote-counting across the country includes several lobbyists who represent domestic and foreign interests. While there’s no reason to think their lobbying efforts are directly related to their work for Trump’s legal team, it’s worth considering the swampy day jobs of the well-heeled lawyers scrambling to disenfranchise their fellow Americans.
Former GOP Rep. John Sweeney, who is assisting the Trump team’s efforts, is registered to lobby for multiple Russian entities. Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is involved in the Trump team’s effort to challenge the vote-counting process in Pennsylvania, works for a leading Trump-connected lobbying shop and is a registered foreign agent for Qatar. Corey Lewandowski, the one-time 2016 Trump campaign boss, works for a firm whose lobbyists represent foreign and domestic clients with interests in Washington. Lewandowski has said her personally does not do lobbying work.
And then there’s Rudy Giuliani, the co-head of Trump’s legal assault. Giuliani reportedly faces a federal investigation into whether he violated lobbying laws by failing to register as foreign agent in connection with his activities in Ukraine last year. Giuliani, who is not a registered lobbyist, denies wrongdoing and has suggested that billionaire philanthropist George Soros is behind the probe.
Speaking at a news conference in Philadelphia on Wednesday, Giuliani said that Sweeney, who was on hand for the event, is working with Trump’s lawyers, “going around the country collecting” information on alleged abnormalities in vote counting. It’s not clear exactly what that entails. Giuliani didn’t elaborate, and Sweeney immediately hung up when Mother Jones called him.
But it’s worth noting that Sweeney is registered with the Justice Department as an agent for Vnesheconombank, a Kremlin-controlled investment bank that the United States sanctioned in 2014 as part of the US response to Russia’s invasion of Crimea. (The bank, known as VEB, played a part in the Trump-Russia scandal due to a December 13, 2016, meeting between the bank’s former chairman and Jared Kushner. Special counsel Robert Mueller’s report noted that Kushner and the bank chairman made contradictory claims about the meeting’s purpose.) Sweeney’s DOJ registration states that he was hired to help the bank avoid new sanctions. Sweeney’s contract with the bank pays him about $750,000 per year.
Sweeney is also a registered lobbyist for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a project by Russia’s state-run gas giant, Gazprom, to move natural gas from Russia to Germany. Congress has passed legislation aimed at blocking the effort. In addition, Sweeney has represented Igor Kolomoisky, a politically powerful Ukrainian tycoon who previously controlled a Ukrainian bank seized by that country’s government in 2016 due to a lack of capital and financial improprieties. The US Justice Department in August announced that it is seeking to seize US property that Kolomoisky allegedly bought in the United States with money stolen from the bank. Kolomoisky’s lawyers deny the allegations.
Bondi, who has appeared at press conferences in Philadelphia this week to fault local ballot-counting procedures, works for a Ballard Partners, which has become one of Washington’s top lobbying shops by touting its ties to Trump. The firm’s founder, Brian Ballard, is a longtime Florida Republican operative who once worked as a lobbyist for Trump’s business interests in that state. Bondi is registered with the Justice Department as an agent for Qatar’s government. She is also among a slew of Washington operatives who have lobbied for KGL Investment Co., a Kuwaiti company whose CEO—Marsha Lazareva, a Russian citizen—was arrested in 2017 by Kuwaiti officials for allegedly embezzling public funds. Lazera, who is imprisoned, continues to dispute the charges. Bondi also appears to have had a chummy relationship with Lev Parnas, a Giuliani associate and a key figure in Trump’s Ukraine scandal, who is under indictment for fraud and campaign finance violations, and who helped steer foreign lobbying business to Ballard in 2017. Ballard Partners and Bondi did not respond to inquiries Thursday.
Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee last year accused Lewandowski of selling access to Trump and the White House by offering his services to foreign and domestic clients as a consultant. Lewandowski since 2017 has maintained ties to lobbying firms, while saying that he himself is not a lobbyist. He previously worked for a firm, Avenue Associates, that lobbies for Qatar. Last year, Lewandowski joined a firm, Turnberry Solutions, that is named for a golf course Trump owns in Scotland. Lobbyists for the firm, through a legally separate corporation, have represented a pro-Russian Serbian separatist party in Bosnia.
Giuliani himself has spent nearly two decades doing work for foreign parties. At times he acts as a lawyer, helping clients with legal issues in the United States. At other times, he acts as a consultant, offering security advice to cities and states around the world. Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, an office Giuliani once ran, are reportedly looking into whether he violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The probe has reportedly focused on Giuliani negotiating to be paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to represent Ukraine’s top prosecutor while helping that prosecutor pursue an agenda in Washington that included the firing of the former US ambassador to Ukraine. Giuliani has said he was never actually paid by the prosecutor.
Senate Democrats have also asked the Justice Department to look into whether Giuliani is violating foreign lobbying laws by doing work for foreign interests without registering with the DOJ. This includes Giuliani’s prior paid work for a Ukrainian-Russian oligarch investigated by Mueller; Giuliani’s acceptance of a payment to write a letter attacking an anti-corruption effort in Romania; and his receipt of payments from Mujahedin-e-Khalq, a radical Iranian opposition group, while promoting its calls for the US to adopt a policy aimed at overthrowing Iran’s rulers. Giuliani has claimed he has no obligation to register under FARA because he does not do work that involves promoting foreign interests within the United States. He has also never registered as a lobbyist.
These connections by Trump’s legal advisers presumably have no direct bearing on their bid to help invalidate the president’s likely electoral defeat. But the kind of team Trump has assembled says something about the task they are engaged in.


motherjones--2020-11-07--Meet the Right-Wing Trolls Behind “Stop The Steal”

Right-wing “ Stop The Count ” protests that have sprung up in the last 72 hours to attempt to manipulate the vote-counting process in favor of Donald Trump appear to be at least partially artificially bolstered by paid Republican operatives .
But unlike previous coordinated protests that have been revealed to be supported well-funded and organized conservative interests , the demonstrations have been organized largely by a collection of disgraced right-wing internet figures .
Some have been all but discarded from mainstream Republican circles for being too extreme , too inept , or some combination of the two .
Despite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at one thing : figuring out how to spin never-ending mishaps into continued careers .
The protests have grown since Election Day , with FreedomWorks and Trump ’ s 2020 digital director getting involved in the events , according to The Guardian and Washington Post .
Here ’ s a smattering of some of the more compelling characters involved : After one of the first 2020 primary debates , Alexander went viral claiming that Kamala Harris wasn ’ t an “ American Black , ” because she was of Jamaican and Indian heritage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had been forced into Antebellum-era slavery .
Alexander was convicted of two felonies in 2007 and 2008 , and has a track record of publicly noting people for are Jewish .
He made a sensationalist video with right-wing snafu generator Jacob Wohl and Laura Loomer , the Islamaphobic failed Congressional candidate , wherein Wohl seemingly fakes the group receiving death threats during filming .
Alexander appears to be involved with Stop The Steal both through his tweets promoting it and through his links to one of the websites boosting it .
Stopthesteal.us ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Victory , a possibly defunct political consultancy he ’ s affiliated with .
After clicking the site ’ s donate button , visitors are prompted with the option to donate money to one of several cryptocurrency addresses associated with Alexander , or given links to his Paypal , CashApp , and Amazon wishlist .
It ’ s brazen , but that ’ s typical for Alexander .
On his website , he sells various tiers of access to himself , ranging from $ 25 a month , which gets you a spot on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to $ 250 a month which not only comes with the “ raw analysis ” of his “ private notes , ” but gave subscribers the ability to spend an extra $ 50 for an election night cheat sheet—a product unavailable to most lower tier users .
Despite building a large internet profile ( he has over 700,000 followers on Twitter ) , Mike Cernovich is avoided by mainstream conservatives , potentially because of his history of advocating for various criminal acts of sexual harassment .
In one now-deleted 2012 post on his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ When in Doubt , Whip it Out , ” in a Louis C.K .
manner .
Cernovich has also posted tweets that make proclamations like “ date rape doesn ’ t exist.
” In 2017 when he seemingly worked with alt-right figure Charles Johnson to boost a forged document falsely accusing Sen. Chuck Schumer ( D-N.Y. ) of sexual assault .
Cernovich also boosted Pizzagate , the thoroughly debunked prequel to QAnon , a conspiracy which claimed that children were being kept in the basement of a local pizza restaurant in D.C. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by liberal elites .
Cernovich took the chance to use the post-election period to raise his flagging profile by doing a seven-hour road trip to Arizona , where he claimed to lead a protest to “ monitor the election , ” from which he proceeded to film the unrest he helped aggravate .
Alexander also on Twitter praised Cernovich ’ s trolling work in Stop The Steal protests .
Kremer , a former Tea Party organizer , has more substantial links to the Republican power apparatus , and a history of showing up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The former Delta flight attendant came on the scene in 2009 , and has flitted from one political action committee to another , trying to replicate the grassroots conservative heyday of the Tea party—and its money-minting fundraising appeal .
Kremer was an early Trump supporter in 2016 , starting a political action committee called TrumPAC to support his insurgent campaign .
The PAC ran afoul of campaign finance rules for using the name of a candidate without their permission .
It was rebranded the Great America PAC , which she left after a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on to join with the ex-wife of Trump adviser Roger Stone to launch yet another pro-Trump super PAC , Women Vote Trump , that pledged to raise $ 30 million to support Trump ’ s 2016 ampaign for president .
The group came up $ 29,973,187 short of that goal , went into debt , and also got in trouble with the FEC for the unauthorized use of a candidate ’ s name .
Kremer ’ s own political career hasn ’ t fared much better .
In 2017 , she jumped into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ months before the special election , her staff quit en masse , claiming that she couldn ’ t pay them .
Money problems have been a consistent theme with her efforts .
In October 2018 , Kremer started a new nonprofit , Women for America First—the organization formally behind www.stolenelection.us , the website emblazoned on posters at “ Stop the Steal ” protests .
Donations through that website are directed to Kremer ’ s nonprofit .
The group also appears to have been involved in the Stop the Steal Facebook page .
Last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Stop the Coup ” anti-impeachment rally in DC that might have been a much bigger affair—if the buses scheduled to bring hundreds of activists from other states had actually departed .
Instead , two hours before the busses were slated to leave , the tour company cancelled the trips because Kremer ’ s group ’ s credit card had been declined .
Posobiec , who Alexander has said has a role in the protests , has also been tweeting in support of them , and personally showed up at the group ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s biggest claim to fame is being one of the highest-profile pushers of the Pizzagate conspiracy : [ Posobiec ] once conducted a livestream “ investigation ” of the restaurant where the [ Pizzagate ] hoax pedophile ring was said to be occurring , during which he waltzed into a child ’ s birthday party being held in a back room .
Since then , he acts as though he ’ s been locked in a John Wooden-esque competition with himself to outdo his greatest disinformation achievement .
Since Pizzagate , instead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Posobiec has usually been focused on his own , artisanally crafted solo concoctions .
He once stopped a performance of Shakespeare ’ s Julius Caesar mid-production in New York because he was offended the centuries-old work had been staged with elements that seemed to reference Trump .
I once witnessed him dash around the lawn of the Capitol telling Democratic Senators that supporting net neutrality would mean that they were supporting Satanic porn .
Some of his most repugnant hits include trying to plant “ Rape Melania ” signs at an anti-Trump rally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Loretta Lynch had called for “ blood in the streets , ” a made-up claim that Star Wars ’ Rogue One was being rewritten to include scenes calling Trump racist , and , after Republican congressman Steve Scalise was shot at baseball practice , that Bernie Sanders had told his followers to “ take down ” Trump .
None of rose to Pizzagate levels of fame , but not for lack effort on Posobiec ’ s part .
He has also tweeted in support of a white nationalist conspiracy which holds that immigration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ secret plot to commit white genocide .
As a member of Alexander ’ s Twitter crew , Coudrey promoted and seemingly helped organize a Stop The Steal rally in in Las Vegas , Coudrey used to go by “ Mike Tokes ” on Twitter , but has rebranded as a more serious , GOP insider .
That has not stopped him from putting out a steady stream of falsehoods .
Lately his disinformation has focused on the election , but he has a broader history .
During the 2019 California wildfires , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ something more nefarious than a simple forest fire , feeding into a larger theory about “ direct energy beams.
” Earlier that year , he spread disinformation falesly claiming that Twitter had censored news of a coronavirus treatment to make Trump look bad , and made up fantastically untrue stories about Antifa disguising themselves in MAGA hats and NRA shirts to incite violence .
Since Tuesday , amid his roll in the protests he ’ s been busy spreading wholly unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in Wisconsin .
Presler helped arrange the Harrisburg @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but he ’ s best known for his 2017 “ March Against Sharia , ” which ended up being about Islmaphobic as the name suggested .
Presler worked with Joey Gibson , leader of the violent , far-right group Patriot Prayer , on the eventually cancelled Portland edition of the event .
Since then , he hasn ’ t managed to make much of a splash , aside from an elaborate concern trolling campaigns in which he travels to various cities staging trash clean up events or asking ” homeless people whether the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” as the local San Francisco publication Mission Local put it .

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.
Right-wing “Stop The Count” protests that have sprung up in the last 72 hours to attempt to manipulate the vote-counting process in favor of Donald Trump appear to be at least partially artificially bolstered by paid Republican operatives. But unlike previous coordinated protests that have been revealed to be supported well-funded and organized conservative interests, the demonstrations have been organized largely by a collection of disgraced right-wing internet figures. Some have been all but discarded from mainstream Republican circles for being too extreme, too inept, or some combination of the two. Despite this, they’ve been good at one thing: figuring out how to spin never-ending mishaps into continued careers.
The protests have grown since Election Day, with FreedomWorks and Trump’s 2020 digital director getting involved in the events, according to The Guardian and Washington Post. Here’s a smattering of some of the more compelling characters involved:
Ali Alexander
After one of the first 2020 primary debates, Alexander went viral claiming that Kamala Harris wasn’t an “American Black,” because she was of Jamaican and Indian heritage, instead of descending from African-Americans who had been forced into Antebellum-era slavery. Alexander was convicted of two felonies in 2007 and 2008, and has a track record of publicly noting people who are Jewish. He made a sensationalist video with right-wing snafu generator Jacob Wohl and Laura Loomer, the Islamaphobic failed Congressional candidate, wherein Wohl seemingly fakes the group receiving death threats during filming.
Alexander appears to be involved with Stop The Steal both through his tweets promoting it and through his links to one of the websites boosting it. Stopthesteal.us’s domain is registered to Vice and Victory, a possibly defunct political consultancy he’s affiliated with. After clicking the site’s donate button, visitors are prompted with the option to donate money to one of several cryptocurrency addresses associated with Alexander, or given links to his Paypal, CashApp, and Amazon wishlist.
It’s brazen, but that’s typical for Alexander. On his website, he sells various tiers of access to himself, ranging from $25 a month, which gets you a spot on conference calls, all the way up to $250 a month which not only comes with the “raw analysis” of his “private notes,” but gave subscribers the ability to spend an extra $50 for an election night cheat sheet—a product unavailable to most lower tier users.
Mike Cernovich
Despite building a large internet profile (he has over 700,000 followers on Twitter), Mike Cernovich is avoided by mainstream conservatives, potentially because of his history of advocating for various criminal acts of sexual harassment. In one now-deleted 2012 post on his blog, he encouraged his readers to “When in Doubt, Whip it Out,” in a Louis C.K. manner. Cernovich has also posted tweets that make proclamations like “date rape doesn’t exist.” In 2017 when he seemingly worked with alt-right figure Charles Johnson to boost a forged document falsely accusing Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) of sexual assault.
Cernovich also boosted Pizzagate, the thoroughly debunked prequel to QAnon, a conspiracy which claimed that children were being kept in the basement of a local pizza restaurant in D.C. as part a pedophile ring being run by liberal elites.
Cernovich took the chance to use the post-election period to raise his flagging profile by doing a seven-hour road trip to Arizona, where he claimed to lead a protest to “monitor the election,” from which he proceeded to film the unrest he helped aggravate. Alexander also on Twitter praised Cernovich’s trolling work in Stop The Steal protests.
Amy Kremer
Kremer, a former Tea Party organizer, has more substantial links to the Republican power apparatus, and a history of showing up to right-wing protests with heels on. The former Delta flight attendant came on the scene in 2009, and has flitted from one political action committee to another, trying to replicate the grassroots conservative heyday of the Tea party—and its money-minting fundraising appeal.
Kremer was an early Trump supporter in 2016, starting a political action committee called TrumPAC to support his insurgent campaign. The PAC ran afoul of campaign finance rules for using the name of a candidate without their permission. It was rebranded the Great America PAC, which she left after a falling out, after which she went on to join with the ex-wife of Trump adviser Roger Stone to launch yet another pro-Trump super PAC, Women Vote Trump, that pledged to raise $30 million to support Trump’s 2016 ampaign for president. The group came up $29,973,187 short of that goal, went into debt, and also got in trouble with the FEC for the unauthorized use of a candidate’s name.
Kremer’s own political career hasn’t fared much better. In 2017, she jumped into a Georgia Republican congressional primary; two months before the special election, her staff quit en masse, claiming that she couldn’t pay them.
Money problems have been a consistent theme with her efforts. In October 2018, Kremer started a new nonprofit, Women for America First—the organization formally behind www.stolenelection.us, the website emblazoned on posters at “Stop the Steal” protests. Donations through that website are directed to Kremer’s nonprofit. The group also appears to have been involved in the Stop the Steal Facebook page. Last year, the same group organized a “Stop the Coup” anti-impeachment rally in DC that might have been a much bigger affair—if the buses scheduled to bring hundreds of activists from other states had actually departed. Instead, two hours before the busses were slated to leave, the tour company cancelled the trips because Kremer’s group’s credit card had been declined.
Jack Posobiec
Posobiec, who Alexander has said has a role in the protests, has also been tweeting in support of them, and personally showed up at the group’s Harrisburg, Pennsylvania demonstration.
Posbiec’s biggest claim to fame is being one of the highest-profile pushers of the Pizzagate conspiracy:
[Posobiec] once conducted a livestream “investigation” of the restaurant where the [Pizzagate] hoax pedophile ring was said to be occurring, during which he waltzed into a child’s birthday party being held in a back room. Since then, he acts as though he’s been locked in a John Wooden-esque competition with himself to outdo his greatest disinformation achievement. Since Pizzagate, instead of amplifying other already existing conspiracies, Posobiec has usually been focused on his own, artisanally crafted solo concoctions. He once stopped a performance of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar mid-production in New York because he was offended the centuries-old work had been staged with elements that seemed to reference Trump. I once witnessed him dash around the lawn of the Capitol telling Democratic Senators that supporting net neutrality would mean that they were supporting Satanic porn. Some of his most repugnant hits include trying to plant “Rape Melania” signs at an anti-Trump rally, falsely tweeting that Obama Attorney General Loretta Lynch had called for “blood in the streets,” a made-up claim that Star Wars’ Rogue One was being rewritten to include scenes calling Trump racist, and, after Republican congressman Steve Scalise was shot at baseball practice, that Bernie Sanders had told his followers to “take down” Trump. None of rose to Pizzagate levels of fame, but not for lack effort on Posobiec’s part. He has also tweeted in support of a white nationalist conspiracy which holds that immigration and other trends are part of a secret plot to commit white genocide.
Mike Coudrey
As a member of Alexander’s Twitter crew, Coudrey promoted and seemingly helped organize a Stop The Steal rally in in Las Vegas,
Coudrey used to go by “Mike Tokes” on Twitter, but has rebranded as a more serious, GOP insider. That has not stopped him from putting out a steady stream of falsehoods. Lately his disinformation has focused on the election, but he has a broader history. During the 2019 California wildfires, he pushed the claim that the damage showed something more nefarious than a simple forest fire, feeding into a larger theory about “direct energy beams.” Earlier that year, he spread disinformation falesly claiming that Twitter had censored news of a coronavirus treatment to make Trump look bad, and made up fantastically untrue stories about Antifa disguising themselves in MAGA hats and NRA shirts to incite violence.
Since Tuesday, amid his roll in the protests he’s been busy spreading wholly unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in Wisconsin.
Scott Presler
Presler helped arrange the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Stop The Steal event, but he’s best known for his 2017 “March Against Sharia,” which ended up being about Islmaphobic as the name suggested. Presler worked with Joey Gibson, leader of the violent, far-right group Patriot Prayer, on the eventually cancelled Portland edition of the event.
Since then, he hasn’t managed to make much of a splash, aside from an elaborate concern trolling campaigns in which he travels to various cities staging trash clean up events or asking” homeless people whether the government should prioritize their needs over immigrants,” as the local San Francisco publication Mission Local put it.
Stephanie Mencimer contributed to this story.


motherjones--2020-11-07--“They Are Punitive and Demeaning”—EPA Staff Slams Trump’s Anti-Diversity Orders

This piece was originally published in HuffPost and appears here as part of our Climate Desk Partnership .
Environmental Protection Agency staffers are organizing against President Donald Trump ’ s recent executive order banning diversity trainings , mounting what may be the fiercest opposition to Trump administration policy from within to date .
By Monday morning , at least 80 employees in the agency ’ s Office of General Counsel―more than one-third of staffers there―signed on to a statement warning that Trump ’ s move will “ result in further institutionalizing racism in the federal government ” and “ fly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under the First Amendment , ” according to a copy of the letter HuffPost obtained .
Combined , the signatories represent more than 1,000 years of service to the agency .
“ We reject the approach of these directives , ” the letter read .
“ They are punitive and demeaning to federal employees , contractors , and grantees—especially those who are Black , Indigenous , and People of Color .
These directives both perpetuate and amplify the harmful stereotyping they purport to discourage.
” The White House issued an executive order on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fox News about diversity training that apparently caught the president ’ s attention .
The order claims that certain kinds of anti-racism and anti-sexism trainings are “ un-American , ” particularly those that teach such concepts as systemic racism , white privilege and unconscious bias , and effectively bans all such training within the federal government and any entity that contracts with or accepts funding from the federal government .
The crackdown on trainings that have been standard in the work world for decades has been widely condemned outside the corners of Fox @ @ @ @ @ @ @ week , two civil rights groups , represented by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund , filed suit against the administration in federal court , arguing that the order is an unconstitutional restriction on free speech and asking that the order be immediately rescinded .
Inside federal agencies , the pushback had been more quiet , with most federal workers terrified to speak up for fear of retaliation .
And the letter from the EPA appears to be the most vocal condemnation of the ban from inside the government .
It had been in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a response against increasingly strict guidance from the White House ’ s Office of Management and Budget and Office of Personnel Management on how to interpret the executive orders .
The final letter , dated Nov. 1 , comes less than a week after HuffPost reported that an LGBTQ Pride event inside the EPA had been canceled because of the executive order .
“ The President ’ s Executive Order makes clear that the federal government is ‘ committed to the fair and equal treatment of all individuals before the law ’ and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nation is ‘ that all individuals are created equal and should be allowed an equal opportunity under the law to pursue happiness and prosper based on individual merit , ’ ” James Hewitt , an EPA spokesman , said in an emailed statement .
“ EPA is committed to maintaining fair and equal treatment of every individual who works at the Agency , and the President ’ s Executive Order is fully consistent with these principles.
” The EPA ’ s legal department , which also carries out the agency ’ s civil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ task force on racism following several incidents that exposed inequities within its own office culture .
Racist incidents from 2018 cast the agency as a federal department desperately in need of introspection .
That year , someone left printouts of two apes scrolled with the N-word and the message “ back to the jungle u go !
” on the desk of an African American employee in the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention , the trade publication Government Executive reported .
Months later , a contractor allegedly wrote racist messages on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Affairs .
But within the EPA ’ s Office of General Counsel , more subtle indignities were commonplace , an employee who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal told HuffPost .
White staffers repeatedly mistook Black and South Asian colleagues for other co-workers of their same ethnicity , the employee said .
Black attorneys in the office were at times presumed to be support staff .
The office committee on anti-racism led talks and exercises that helped bring these issues to the fore and facilitate apologies and more respectful dialogue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and basically said the fact that we ’ ve been doing this work and creating an opportunity for some hard conversations and healing is ‘ un-American ’ and ‘ propaganda , ’ ” the employee said .
“ So all of this nonsense hit our office particularly hard , because we had made this really deliberate choice to engage in that work that we knew needed to be done.
” The orders didn ’ t force the committee to disband .
But it “ drove those conversations underground , ” the staffer said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being pulled out from under you , ” the employee said .
“ It ’ s had a massive , massive chilling effect.
” The agency also appeared to halt work on the racial disparities in pollution that EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler actually vowed to expand if Trump won a second term .
On Friday , Sen. Tammy Duckworth ( D-Ill. ) , Sen. Cory Booker ( D-N.J. ) and Rep. Donald McEachin ( D-Va. ) sent a letter to Wheeler demanding answers on why the EPA canceled events on environmental justice .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the coronavirus pandemic , which is disproportionately impacting members of environmental justice communities , we believe that diversity and anti-racism trainings are needed now more than ever , ” the lawmakers wrote .
“ To write off real differences in outcomes among demographic groups as merely divisive rhetoric represents a reckless refusal to do the job that the American people need and a dangerous minimization of the problem .
”

This piece was originally published in HuffPost and appears here as part of our Climate Desk Partnership.
Environmental Protection Agency staffers are organizing against President Donald Trump’s recent executive order banning diversity trainings, mounting what may be the fiercest opposition to Trump administration policy from within to date.
By Monday morning, at least 80 employees in the agency’s Office of General Counsel―more than one-third of staffers there―signed on to a statement warning that Trump’s move will “result in further institutionalizing racism in the federal government” and “fly in the face of freedom of speech under the First Amendment,” according to a copy of the letter HuffPost obtained. Combined, the signatories represent more than 1,000 years of service to the agency.
“We reject the approach of these directives,” the letter read. “They are punitive and demeaning to federal employees, contractors, and grantees—especially those who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. These directives both perpetuate and amplify the harmful stereotyping they purport to discourage.”
The White House issued an executive order on Sept. 22, following a segment on Fox News about diversity training that apparently caught the president’s attention. The order claims that certain kinds of anti-racism and anti-sexism trainings are “un-American,” particularly those that teach such concepts as systemic racism, white privilege and unconscious bias, and effectively bans all such training within the federal government and any entity that contracts with or accepts funding from the federal government.
The crackdown on trainings that have been standard in the work world for decades has been widely condemned outside the corners of Fox News and the right-wing media. Last week, two civil rights groups, represented by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, filed suit against the administration in federal court, arguing that the order is an unconstitutional restriction on free speech and asking that the order be immediately rescinded.
Inside federal agencies, the pushback had been more quiet, with most federal workers terrified to speak up for fear of retaliation. And the letter from the EPA appears to be the most vocal condemnation of the ban from inside the government. It had been in the works for weeks as staffers weighed a response against increasingly strict guidance from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget and Office of Personnel Management on how to interpret the executive orders.
The final letter, dated Nov. 1, comes less than a week after HuffPost reported that an LGBTQ Pride event inside the EPA had been canceled because of the executive order.
“The President’s Executive Order makes clear that the federal government is ‘committed to the fair and equal treatment of all individuals before the law’ and recognizes that the fundamental tenet of our nation is ‘that all individuals are created equal and should be allowed an equal opportunity under the law to pursue happiness and prosper based on individual merit,’” James Hewitt, an EPA spokesman, said in an emailed statement. “EPA is committed to maintaining fair and equal treatment of every individual who works at the Agency, and the President’s Executive Order is fully consistent with these principles.”
The EPA’s legal department, which also carries out the agency’s civil rights and ethics work, formed a task force on racism following several incidents that exposed inequities within its own office culture.
Racist incidents from 2018 cast the agency as a federal department desperately in need of introspection.
That year, someone left printouts of two apes scrolled with the N-word and the message “back to the jungle u go!” on the desk of an African American employee in the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, the trade publication Government Executive reported. Months later, a contractor allegedly wrote racist messages on a whiteboard in the Office of Public Affairs.
“This executive order came out and basically said the fact that we’ve been doing this work and creating an opportunity for some hard conversations and healing is ‘un-American’ and ‘propaganda.’”
But within the EPA’s Office of General Counsel, more subtle indignities were commonplace, an employee who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal told HuffPost. White staffers repeatedly mistook Black and South Asian colleagues for other co-workers of their same ethnicity, the employee said. Black attorneys in the office were at times presumed to be support staff. The office committee on anti-racism led talks and exercises that helped bring these issues to the fore and facilitate apologies and more respectful dialogue.
“This executive order came out and basically said the fact that we’ve been doing this work and creating an opportunity for some hard conversations and healing is ‘un-American’ and ‘propaganda,’” the employee said. “So all of this nonsense hit our office particularly hard, because we had made this really deliberate choice to engage in that work that we knew needed to be done.”
The orders didn’t force the committee to disband. But it “drove those conversations underground,” the staffer said.
“It was like the rug being pulled out from under you,” the employee said. “It’s had a massive, massive chilling effect.”
The agency also appeared to halt work on the racial disparities in pollution that EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler actually vowed to expand if Trump won a second term. On Friday, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Rep. Donald McEachin (D-Va.) sent a letter to Wheeler demanding answers on why the EPA canceled events on environmental justice.
“As our country continues to address the coronavirus pandemic, which is disproportionately impacting members of environmental justice communities, we believe that diversity and anti-racism trainings are needed now more than ever,” the lawmakers wrote. “To write off real differences in outcomes among demographic groups as merely divisive rhetoric represents a reckless refusal to do the job that the American people need and a dangerous minimization of the problem.”


motherjones--2020-11-07--Trump Is Now Bragging About the Popular Vote, Which He Is Also Losing

After returning to the White House from a long day at his Virginia golf course on Saturday , President Trump still did not concede , but he did not really declare victory either .
In his first public comments since an angry statement after the race was first called for Joe Biden , Trump tried out a new message : He had set a new record for votes received by an incumbent president .
This spin was previously embraced by his longtime mouthpiece , Breitbart , which noted that Trump improved on Barack Obama ’ s 2012 showing by half @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bragging is less impressive when you consider the United States has 18 million more people than it did in 2012 , but more to the point : Trump is losing the popular vote by a very large margin !
He will have lost the popular vote by a very large margin in both of his presidential campaigns .
Biden ’ s is currently winning by more than 4 million votes .
That margin is going to grow as more ballots are counted in places like California .
This is sort of like the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ World Series games this year than any American League team .
Don ’ t let anyone tell you participation trophies are just for libs , I guess .

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.
After returning to the White House from a long day at his Virginia golf course on Saturday, President Trump still did not concede, but he did not really declare victory either. In his first public comments since an angry statement after the race was first called for Joe Biden, Trump tried out a new message: He had set a new record for votes received by an incumbent president.
71,000,000 Legal Votes. The most EVER for a sitting President! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2020
This spin was previously embraced by his longtime mouthpiece, Breitbart, which noted that Trump improved on Barack Obama’s 2012 showing by half a million votes:
President Donald Trump has received more popular votes than any of his predecessors, with over 70 million and counting as of Friday afternoon, breaking the previous record set by Barack Obama in 2008 by over 500,000. https://t.co/wDKiaeP0GE — Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) November 7, 2020
This kind of bragging is less impressive when you consider the United States has 18 million more people than it did in 2012, but more to the point: Trump is losing the popular vote by a very large margin! He will have lost the popular vote by a very large margin in both of his presidential campaigns. Biden’s is currently winning by more than 4 million votes. That margin is going to grow as more ballots are counted in places like California. This is sort of like the Tampa Bay Rays bragging about winning more World Series games this year than any American League team.
Don’t let anyone tell you participation trophies are just for libs, I guess.


motherjones--2020-11-07--Garbage In, Trash Out

Garbage In, Trash Out

During the housing crisis , Americans were introduced to a real estate term most hadn ’ t heard before : “ trash out.
” Having been lured into mortgages they couldn ’ t afford , foreclosed homeowners were walking away from properties , abandoning whatever they couldn ’ t pack before the bank came to seize the property .
They left behind garbage , rotting food , furniture , even photographs and other items that were personally dear .
Sometimes the place wasn ’ t just full of trash , but trashed : Embittered owners would say fuck you to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the world by pouring paint on the carpets and into the toilets , punching holes in the walls , smashing tiles , and ripping out copper pipes , light fixtures , and appliances .
A house—and in some places there were neighborhoods full of such houses—would then be visited by trash-out crews , who ’ d haul away the garbage , cut the overgrown lawns and hedges , and change the locks to prep the place for sale , if anyone was still buying .
We are now entering the trash-out phase of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been served to the real estate mogul who somehow got the keys to the White House .
Also facing eviction : his slumlord son-in-law and a host of officials who were directly implicated in causing or profiting off the housing crisis , including Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross .
And scores of other complicit crooks and moral goblins .
Trump ’ s political eviction comes as some 35 million Americans imminently face real evictions , thanks to his negligent handling of the pandemic and Mitch McConnell ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stimulus .
More people will be put into the streets , forced to rely on food banks , unable even to access shelters that have been closed to stop the spread of COVID .
They can not decamp to Mar-a-Lago , or Bedminster , or Doral , or Bedford , or Dubai , or Aberdeen .
But such contrasts in fortune , or love of country , will not sway Trump from trashing the place .
He ’ s never shown much interest in the job except for the pomp and the power @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s powered only by grievances , the epitome of a sore loser .
If it were only damage to America ’ s house that we need fear , we could accept that coda to this annus horribilis .
The British looted and burned the building before , but soon the portrait of George Washington that Dolley Madison rescued was back in , the bullet holes and scorch were plastered and painted over , and the country survived .
Trump has already trashed so many norms and laws and standards of decency that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prompts both weariness and terror .
Accelerate his family ’ s personal looting for sure .
Hand out favors to contributors and flunkies , of course .
Pardon more criminal toadies , racists , his family , maybe even himself .
What will he do to punish political allies he feels let him down—to say nothing of the governors who stood up to him or the states that didn ’ t vote for him ?
Already he ’ s pushing people out .
The chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was booted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fired Bonnie Glick from her post as deputy administrator of the US Agency for International Development , which helps global efforts to fight the pandemic .
Why ?
“ She was fired Friday because the White House would rather have its political allies in control of the agency than an establishment Republican with actual expertise and experience , ” notes the Washington Post .
Who ’ s next ?
Likely contenders are FBI Director Christopher Wray , CIA Director Gina Haspell , even Attorney General Bill Barr ( okay , I ’ m @ @ @ @ @ @ @ super stooges might Trump elevate ?
Maybe Hope Hicks becomes an acting Cabinet official—why not ?
Richard Grenell takes Haspell ’ s place—not impossible .
But don ’ t let your imagination stop there .
He retains the full powers of the presidency until noon on January 20 .
Though he never paid any attention to his presidential daily briefings , what ’ s to stop him from putting the nation ’ s most valuable national security secrets on a thumb drive and hold them hostage or put them on the open market @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into Portland or Philadelphia ?
He ’ s done it before .
What if the next time he gets pissed at Iran or North Korea , he launches missiles ?
We face a very dangerous next two months .
Trump ’ s closest advisors won ’ t even tell him ( or do not believe ) that he ’ s lost ; they ’ re certainly not going to dissuade him from further vandalizing the country .
The Republican establishment has prostrated itself to him in exchange for tax cuts and judges and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of mean tweets , but party leaders view him with contempt , and the feeling is mutual .
No help there .
His kids are complicit .
There ’ s no indication he takes counsel from his wife , and less indication that any such counsel would be wise .
Even if Joe Biden were tempted to pull a Gerald Ford and pardon Trump in exchange for a normalish transition ( which would guarantee a meltdown on the left ) , Trump faces criminal charges and civil lawsuits in state courts .
Some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Spiro Agnew to get him to go away , but here ’ s the other thing : Trump does not want to go quietly .
It ’ s not just that he has no sense of patriotism or personal dignity ; it ’ s that his brand—his psyche—is built on bullying and bluster .
He ’ s incapable of acting in the greater interest , and he ’ s not even able to recognize that going through the motions of such sentiments are in his own interest .
( See : his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s election results . )
So buckle up : It ain ’ t over yet .
When you elect garbage as president , it can only end in a trash out .

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.
During the housing crisis, Americans were introduced to a real estate term most hadn’t heard before: “trash out.” Having been lured into mortgages they couldn’t afford, foreclosed homeowners were walking away from properties, abandoning whatever they couldn’t pack before the bank came to seize the property. They left behind garbage, rotting food, furniture, even photographs and other items that were personally dear. Sometimes the place wasn’t just full of trash, but trashed: Embittered owners would say fuck you to the bank and the whole state of the world by pouring paint on the carpets and into the toilets, punching holes in the walls, smashing tiles, and ripping out copper pipes, light fixtures, and appliances.
A house—and in some places there were neighborhoods full of such houses—would then be visited by trash-out crews, who’d haul away the garbage, cut the overgrown lawns and hedges, and change the locks to prep the place for sale, if anyone was still buying.
We are now entering the trash-out phase of the Trump presidency. An eviction notice has been served to the real estate mogul who somehow got the keys to the White House. Also facing eviction: his slumlord son-in-law and a host of officials who were directly implicated in causing or profiting off the housing crisis, including Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. And scores of other complicit crooks and moral goblins.
Trump’s political eviction comes as some 35 million Americans imminently face real evictions, thanks to his negligent handling of the pandemic and Mitch McConnell’s refusal to pass a second round of stimulus. More people will be put into the streets, forced to rely on food banks, unable even to access shelters that have been closed to stop the spread of COVID. They cannot decamp to Mar-a-Lago, or Bedminster, or Doral, or Bedford, or Dubai, or Aberdeen.
But such contrasts in fortune, or love of country, will not sway Trump from trashing the place. He’s never shown much interest in the job except for the pomp and the power to ether enemies on Twitter. He’s powered only by grievances, the epitome of a sore loser.
If it were only damage to America’s house that we need fear, we could accept that coda to this annus horribilis. The British looted and burned the building before, but soon the portrait of George Washington that Dolley Madison rescued was back in, the bullet holes and scorch were plastered and painted over, and the country survived.
Trump has already trashed so many norms and laws and standards of decency that to confront what he might do now prompts both weariness and terror. Accelerate his family’s personal looting for sure. Hand out favors to contributors and flunkies, of course. Pardon more criminal toadies, racists, his family, maybe even himself. What will he do to punish political allies he feels let him down—to say nothing of the governors who stood up to him or the states that didn’t vote for him? Already he’s pushing people out. The chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was booted Thursday. On Friday evening, Trump fired Bonnie Glick from her post as deputy administrator of the US Agency for International Development, which helps global efforts to fight the pandemic. Why? “She was fired Friday because the White House would rather have its political allies in control of the agency than an establishment Republican with actual expertise and experience,” notes the Washington Post. On Monday, Trump “terminated” Defense Secretary Mark Esper by tweet; Esper had fallen out with the president for, among other things, disagreeing with Trump over using troops in a domestic law enforcement role, and being open to changing the renaming military bases that honor Confederate generals. “Who’s going to come in behind me?” Esper told the Military Times shortly before he was fired. “It’s going to be a real ‘yes man.’ And then God help us.”
Who’s next? Likely contenders are FBI Director Christopher Wray, CIA Director Gina Haspell, even Attorney General Bill Barr (okay, I’m fine with that). And which super stooges might Trump elevate? Maybe Hope Hicks becomes an acting Cabinet official—why not? Richard Grenell takes Haspell’s place—not impossible. But don’t let your imagination stop there. He retains the full powers of the presidency until noon on January 20. Though he never paid any attention to his presidential daily briefings, what’s to stop him from putting the nation’s most valuable national security secrets on a thumb drive and hold them hostage or put them on the open market? What if he orders federal troops into Portland or Philadelphia? He’s done it before. What if the next time he gets pissed at Iran or North Korea, he launches missiles?
We face a very dangerous next two months. Trump’s closest advisors won’t even tell him (or do not believe) that he’s lost; they’re certainly not going to dissuade him from further vandalizing the country. The Republican establishment has prostrated itself to him in exchange for tax cuts and judges and to avoid being on the receiving end of mean tweets, but party leaders view him with contempt, and the feeling is mutual. No help there. His kids are complicit. There’s no indication he takes counsel from his wife, and less indication that any such counsel would be wise.
Even if Joe Biden were tempted to pull a Gerald Ford and pardon Trump in exchange for a normalish transition (which would guarantee a meltdown on the left), Trump faces criminal charges and civil lawsuits in state courts. Some kind of blanket multi-jurisdictional promise was made to Spiro Agnew to get him to go away, but here’s the other thing: Trump does not want to go quietly. It’s not just that he has no sense of patriotism or personal dignity; it’s that his brand—his psyche—is built on bullying and bluster. He’s incapable of acting in the greater interest, and he’s not even able to recognize that going through the motions of such sentiments are in his own interest. (See: his treatment of John McCain and Arizona’s election results.)
So buckle up: It ain’t over yet. When you elect garbage as president, it can only end in a trash out.


motherjones--2020-11-07--Live Podcast Special: How Biden Banished Trump to the History Books

It ’ s over !
After a nail-biting count that dragged for days in key swing states , Joe Biden will become the 46th president of the United States , with a record-breaking vote count of at least 75 million votes , so far .
The Mother Jones Podcast team has a bonus live podcast to tell you our instant analysis about how Biden clinched the deal .
We discuss the historic moment of having Vice President–elect Kamala Harris become the first Black woman , the first woman of South Asian descent , and the first daughter of immigrants to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Trump will not allow a peaceful transition of power at the White House .
Our host Jamilah King ( and in-house expert on all-things Kamala ) speaks with Mother Jones DC Bureau Chief David Corn—who called in from the Biden Welcome Center on the Delaware Turnpike—about what ’ s next for a deeply divided country in the middle of multiple national crises , and what happens next .
Or listen to the lightly edited podcast version : Listen to the latest episode of the Mother Jones Podcast : Subscribe using Apple Podcasts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ favorite podcast app .

“A VOICE OF REASON.” “A DAILY DOSE OF SANITY.”
“A daily dose of sanity.” “Like chatting with a friend who actually knows what they’re talking about.” That’s how readers describe our free Mother Jones Daily newsletter. See why: Sign up today to get reporting that helps you cut through the noise, plus deep dives on underreported topics.
“Like chatting with a friend who actually knows what they’re talking about.” That’s how readers describe our free Mother Jones Daily newsletter. See why: Sign up today to get reporting that helps you cut through the noise, plus deep dives on underreported topics.
Close Thank you for subscribing!
By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from Mother Jones and our partners.


motherjones--2020-11-07--Trump Refuses to Concede—or Make Any Sense

Minutes after CNN and NBC News declared Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 presidential election , President Trump refused to concede , issuing a statement—apparently from his golf course—asserting that “ this election is far from over ” and promising to fight the results in court .
Biden , according to Trump , is “ rushing to falsely pose as the winner ” with help from his “ media allies.
” Trump ’ s assertions that there has been any sort of cover-up of the election results in states like Pennsylvania are false , and his one big legal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election observers to stand just a little bit closer to the people counting the votes .
What ’ s more , the vote count as of Saturday shows Biden ’ s margins growing in Pennsylvania .
He leads by more than 30,000 votes , a number that ’ s expected to keep rising .
The Democrat leads by more than 7,000 votes in Georgia ( which is heading to a recount ) and nearly two percentage points in Nevada .
He still leads in Arizona , though the final result is expected to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you never know with Trump ) , there ’ s one thing this statement doesn ’ t say—that Trump actually won .
After days of bluster , he ’ s now talking about legal arguments rather than making any claims about the underlying math .
There ’ s no longer any path to victory ; all that ’ s left is denial .

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.
Minutes after CNN and NBC News declared Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 presidential election, President Trump refused to concede, issuing a statement—apparently from his golf course—asserting that “this election is far from over” and promising to fight the results in court. Biden, according to Trump, is “rushing to falsely pose as the winner” with help from his “media allies.”
INBOX: Statement from President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/LJxbbdQBJu — Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) November 7, 2020
Trump’s assertions that there has been any sort of cover-up of the election results in states like Pennsylvania are false, and his one big legal victory so far has been to allow election observers to stand just a little bit closer to the people counting the votes. What’s more, the vote count as of Saturday shows Biden’s margins growing in Pennsylvania. He leads by more than 30,000 votes, a number that’s expected to keep rising. The Democrat leads by more than 7,000 votes in Georgia (which is heading to a recount) and nearly two percentage points in Nevada. He still leads in Arizona, though the final result is expected to be close.
But perhaps notably (you never know with Trump), there’s one thing this statement doesn’t say—that Trump actually won. After days of bluster, he’s now talking about legal arguments rather than making any claims about the underlying math. There’s no longer any path to victory; all that’s left is denial.