2020 Election Results 12: Riots, Social Media Banning, And The Longest Election Cycle In History

[clueliss]

Unfortunately - that is exactly what I anticipated Mitch to do. 

[thoughtful]

I've loved my semi-retired status for a lot of reasons, and being able to just give up on all but the most vital responsibilities and watch this has been one of them, lately.

I'm OK when I have to teach - years of working with kids has wired my "forget everything else and just teach" switch quite securely. I think it's harder for people who are surrounded by adults at work.

[closetcagebaby]

52 minutes ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

Anyone else feel weird working and going about normal life while there is an active fight to keep from losing our country to a dictator?

It's surreal to me.

It makes me wonder about other countries who have been through similar stuff - like is this how it feels? Just normal until it’s not anymore? I listened to the podcast series It Could Happen Here and it just feels like we’re in it. 

[dawbs]

9 minutes ago, closetcagebaby said:

It makes me wonder about other countries who have been through similar stuff - like is this how it feels? Just normal until it’s not anymore? I listened to the podcast series It Could Happen Here and it just feels like we’re in it. 

Right? What's polite protocol during insurrection and a pandemic? 

(I work a stone's throw from my state capitol [I used to work in it] and we are closed and nobody is working Sunday, out of 'an abundance of caution " because of armed asshats)

[HerNameIsBuffy]

5 minutes ago, dawbs said:

Right? What's polite protocol during insurrection and a pandemic? 

(I work a stone's throw from my state capitol [I used to work in it] and we are closed and nobody is working Sunday, out of 'an abundance of caution " because of armed asshats)

Stay safe, Dawbs.  I wouldn't go near your capital next week for a million dollars.

[onekidanddone]

Normally I’d put this in the weird ads forum, this isn’t weird.  This is downright scary 

[HerNameIsBuffy]

Anyone else wish there was a live stream of his epic meltdown right about now? Fury and then because he can't Tweet an extra dose of rage?

I'll admit it, schadenfreude isn't something I'm proud of but I'd be glued to watching live while he loses his shit.

[JMarie]

2 minutes ago, onekidanddone said:

Normally I’d put this in the weird ads forum, this isn’t weird.  This is downright scary 

Daily Caller, co-founded by Tucker Carlson.

[closetcagebaby]

4 minutes ago, onekidanddone said:

Normally I’d put this in the weird ads forum, this isn’t weird.  This is downright scary 

Gross. Isn’t that Tucker Carlson’s site?

[libgirl2]

2 minutes ago, closetcagebaby said:

Gross. Isn’t that Tucker Carlson’s site?

He is a pig! 

[GreyhoundFan]

6 minutes ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

Anyone else wish there was a live stream of his epic meltdown right about now? Fury and then because he can't Tweet an extra dose of rage?

I'll admit it, schadenfreude isn't something I'm proud of but I'd be glued to watching live while he loses his shit.

It should be a Pay-Per-View event. Millions could be raised.

[Destiny]

7 minutes ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

Anyone else wish there was a live stream of his epic meltdown right about now? Fury and then because he can't Tweet an extra dose of rage?

I'll admit it, schadenfreude isn't something I'm proud of but I'd be glued to watching live while he loses his shit.

I'm not going to lie, I kind of wish his twitter account was working so we could watch him melt down. It was the right thing to do for the country, but dammit, I want to watch the meltdown. 

[HerNameIsBuffy]

1 minute ago, Destiny said:

I'm not going to lie, I kind of wish his twitter account was working so we could watch him melt down. It was the right thing to do for the country, but dammit, I want to watch the meltdown. 

Me too.  I know it's better than he can't incite more publicly, but damn I'd enjoy it.

 

[JMarie]

3 hours ago, thoughtful said:

This guy (who represents Atlantic City NJ) is embracing the sleazy mob stereotype happily. Needs a dark shirt, though.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

He's the Democrat who voted against impeachment the first time, then switched to the Republican party a week later. Amy Kennedy (who married into THE Kennedy family) sadly lost to him in November. How I wish she had won.

3 hours ago, Penny said:

Workg and have the tv on mute. Do these people not know how to wear a mask correctly 

Ronny Jackson, former White House physician, was the worst offender. He's a doctor! He should know better!

[GreyhoundFan]

"4 takeaways from Trump’s second impeachment"

Quote

Exactly one week after members of Congress and the vice president had to run for their lives from supporters of President Trump, the House moved to impeach him for his role in it. By Wednesday evening, the president was the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice.

Here are four takeaways.

1. The break within the Republican Party is significant — but not huge

Ten House Republicans voted to impeach Trump, while 197 opposed it.

There are a few ways to look at this: Some members are speaking out against the president in remarkable ways. One of those is the third-ranking House Republican, the daughter of a conservative former vice president. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) left no uncertainty as to her reasoning: “There has never been a greater betrayal by a president of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.”

On the same day, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was reported to have said he’s pleased Democrats are pursuing impeachment. McConnell told his colleagues Wednesday that he hasn’t decided how he’ll vote, meaning he hasn’t ruled out convicting Trump.

Still, Trump had his defenders. “If we impeached every politician that gave a fiery speech to partisans, this Capitol would be deserted,” said Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), who said he didn’t like the president’s speech but defended it as free speech.

The future of the Republican Party and Trump’s influence on it is uncertain. But the fact remains that before the smoke had cleared on the riots, some 140 Republicans still voted not to seat legitimate electors that would have confirmed Trump’s loss. And after Trump encouraged his supporters to “fight like hell” against his loss before the deadly siege on the Capitol, less than a dozen voted to impeach him.

2. A majority of Republicans are dodging directly defending the president

Actions speak louder than words, of course. But for a party that has spent four years trying to close any daylight between themselves and their erratic leader, it was notable Wednesday to hear such relatively subdued opposition from mainstream Republican lawmakers.

They mostly rested their opposition on process — how fast this is going — rather than the president’s involvement.

“With only a week to go,” Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said, “the majority is asking us to consider a resolution impeaching President Trump and doing so knowing full well even if the House passes this resolution, the Senate will not consider these charges until President Trump’s term ends.”

The top House Republican, Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), opposed impeachment but did say: “The President bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on Congress by mob rioters. He should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding.”

He and others even suggested censuring the president as an option (one House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has brushed off as too weak.) That reflects just how quickly the bottom has fallen out for Trump, though. A week ago, after the riots, McCarthy was among those who voted against seating Biden’s electors.

3. Trump is not out of the woods yet

To be kicked out of office before he leaves Jan. 20, the Senate would need to come back in session, hold a trial and convict the president. That’s unlikely — but not for the reason you might think.

Most Senate Republicans remain silent, a sure sign that they’re trying to measure the political winds before taking a side on this. If McConnell decides to vote to convict the president, he could bring the necessary 16 other Republicans along to convict him. That means it’s possible Trump could be the first president in American history to be impeached twice — and the first president to be convicted.

(Though, as I argue here, it would have more of an impact coming while Trump is still in office, and McConnell’s team signaled Wednesday that probably won’t happen.)

From there, only a majority vote is needed to prevent Trump from ever serving in office again.

4. Democrats don’t seem too concerned about the political repercussions of impeachment

Republicans spent much of the day Wednesday arguing that Democrats were going to regret impeaching Trump when he has just seven days in office. What about focusing on coronavirus or President-elect Joe Biden’s agenda, they argued. But Democrats in the House didn’t seem overly worried about that.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) opened the debate Wednesday by arguing this was necessary to give Trump a black mark in the history books. “This is not theoretical, and this is not motivated by partisanship,” she said. A wide array of her caucus — liberal to moderate — apparently feels the same, having spoken in favor of impeachment, too. The support among House Democrats to impeach Trump a second time coalesced in days, compared to months for the last impeachment.

There are still some Democrats who worry this will look like overreach. A prominent one is Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, who said this week of impeachment: “I think this is so ill-advised for Joe Biden to be coming in, trying to heal the country, trying to be the president of all the people when we are going to be so divided and fighting again.”

Biden appears to be more in line with the Manchins of the world. The Post’s Matt Viser and Annie Linskey report that he’s “suggested he doesn’t see the practical need to introduce articles of impeachment so close to Trump’s departure.” He’s proposed splitting the Senate’s first few days between the trial and confirming his Cabinet. It remains to be seen if that’s possible.

But impeachment is coming to the Senate, and it will be part of Democrats’ legacy this Congress, too.

 

[fraurosena]

Like many of you I didn’t expect McConnell to hold a trial in time to remove him. No matter. A lot of Dems speaking today as much as said they’re going to vote to ban him from ever holding public office again. And that’s much better than getting him out of the WH a couple of days earlier. (Yes I realize that he’s capable of doing a lot of damage in these days, but I believe he’s more focused on his business and financial and legal woes).

[feministxtian]

I've had to turn off the news...just too much for me. I'm turning back into the terrified little girl who was just waiting for "the commies" to come and drag me away. 

[Black Aliss]

3 hours ago, clueliss said:

FYI - I think Anderson Cooper mentioned this particular group this morning.  So, I looked it up.  Consider it a cheat sheet for those R's who are not going to budge.  The Freedom Caucus.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Caucus

It’s all about their freedoms, not ours

[nokidsmom]

2 hours ago, ADoyle90815 said:

It really is triggering for those of us who have been in an abusive relationship with a malignant narcissist.

Amen to that.   Just hearing some of this stuff, is giving me flashbacks to the point I can't listen to it as much as I want to be informed of what is going on.

[Black Aliss]

3 hours ago, onekidanddone said:

 

This guy (who represents Atlantic City NJ) is embracing the sleazy mob stereotype happily. Needs a dark shirt, though

Black shirt, white tie. Extra points for pinstripe suit

[Howl]

13 minutes ago, fraurosena said:

but I believe he’s more focused on his business and financial and legal woes).

Apparently he's very worried about his brand.  He's being cut off via multiple avenues - no loans, no companies to process donations/payments, lost PGA and on and on.  He's toxic. 

If he is blocked from running for future public office, he can't do fundraising for future campaigns.  

But, if he is obsessing about that, he's not giving out ridiculous pardons to really bad people, starting a war with Iran, or doing other horrifying shit. 

I think the only thing that could get Pence to move on him is if Trump declares martial law and tries to stop the inauguration.  

Edited January 13, 2021 by Howl

[thoughtful]

There is precedent for a federal official being impeached and going to trial in the senate after no longer being in the post - Belknap, Grant's secretary of war, who had resigned.

https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/impeachment/resignation-was-not-end

[onekidanddone]

2 minutes ago, nokidsmom said:

Amen to that.   Just hearing some of this stuff, is giving me flashbacks to the point I can't listen to it as much as I want to be informed of what is going on.

These whole four years have been one long trigger 

[Satan'sFortress]

Re: the analogy to an abusive relationship, I wholeheartedly agree.  I hear from a lot of Republican elected officials and voters who say they don't like Trump and don't approve of his language, Tweets, life choices, etc. but that the economy is so great that we need to just close our eyes to the bad parts and be grateful for the (perceived) good. It feels like we are being told "I know Daddy beats you, but he brings home a paycheck each week , so you have to overlook that." 

Edited January 13, 2021 by Satan'sFortress
Typo

[Giraffe]

https://people.com/politics/ivanka-trump-wont-attend-joe-biden-inauguration/

First lady Ivanka won't be attending the inauguration after all! I'm glad to hear it.