I always
thought of the New Year as a clean slate – like fresh fallen snow, unmarked,
clean and true. As the poem goes “pure as the driven snow”. There were few
crowds and fireworks as 2021 – the New Year started – due to virus restrictions
- but we already have another presidential mess
on our hands.
As
reported by multiple outlets - audio and transcripts
have been released - with the president berating, threating and demanding that
the Secretary of State in Georgia rework the ballot counts in his state to
produce a win for him. The president indicated that he had won by hundreds of
thousands of votes and the win was being taken from him. He claimed that votes were shredded, and
election machines were tampered with. Georgia has counted ballots three times
now including an in-depth audit and has certified the results. The 16 electoral
college votes which Georgia has were already cast for President Biden and VP
Harris, so overturning the vote in Georgia will not change the necessary 270
vote count threshold. So, even if the 306 – 232 final tally were changed by 16
votes, he would still lose. There has
been some public outcry about this call, but it is early days yet, so we do not
know what the ultimate fallout might be.
Some in Congress have mentioned a censure; there is too little time to
do a full impeachment inquiry. Obviously, these actions are anti-democratic and
threaten our somewhat fragile democracy. However, to my way of thinking, were this
earlier in his term, these actions would be impeachable. These threats have to
be illegal! What do you think? So, of course, the next question is – how
many other state officials are or have been threatened with future punitive
actions if they do not “fix the results” in their states? How many other phone calls were not released
to the public?
Senator Thune
of South Dakota is one of the officials targeted in a presidential tweet, just because
he acknowledged Biden’s win. The Governor of South Dakota was urged to run
against Senator Thune with presidential support – the Governor, Kristi Noem
declined, indicating that she considers Thune a friend and will run for
re-election. (Of course, one of the reasons the president has amassed this huge
“election fraud” campaign chest is so that he can take revenge upon his perceived
enemies.) Others prominently targeted, all Republicans, have included Lisa
Murkowski of Alaska, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, and
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp.
These threats
may be the reasons behind several Republican
Senators who have lined up to demand a ten day hold on certifying the election
in order to review results in disputed states (won by Biden, that is). However,
the rules do not appear to permit this. According to the New York Times those
Senators include: Ted Cruz of Texas who is the leader, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin,
James Lankford of Oklahoma, Steve Daines of Montana, John Kennedy from Louisiana,
Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Mike Braun of Indiana. Johnson is up for
election in 2022. Four newly elected Senators who were just sworn in have said
that they will also support these efforts: Hagerty Lummis, Marshall, and Tuberville.
(Everyone is aware that Cruz wants to run for president in 2024 and does not want
a campaign against him; meanwhile Senator Marco Rubio of Florida has similar
ambitions and does not know where to stand in this issue.) The showdown, if it
occurs, will happen when the Electoral College results are certified by the
Congress. There is a process for challenging these results which Republicans
say they will utilize. In the House, Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri has indicated
that he will contest the certification; any nomination from the House needs a
Senator to sponsor for this to happen. Senator Ben Sasse
of Nebraska has condemned this effort. Hawley is also said to have Presidential
ambitions.
Both
houses must agree to any challenge; since the Democrats control the House, no
challenge will be upheld; however, the process could take a long time. Vice President Pence will be in charge of the
certification and is being put on the spot by his fellow Republicans. He has
said that he supports the move of the Senators as noted above. Many others do not support these efforts
including Senators Romney and McConnell. Romney is becoming the solo voice of
reason against many of these fraud allegations.
In a
remarkable non-partisan letter posted in the Washington Post
10 former Secretary’s of Defense spoke out for the peaceful transfer of power
and indicated that no services of the military should be used to enforce an
election. Noting that the military swears an oath to defend the Constitution
and are not bound by a party affiliation; they indicated that an election has
occurred, the Electoral College has voted and the result is not in question.
They called upon the current Secretary to uphold his oath and defend our
democracy. Some have voiced concerns that the president’s call for his
supporters to come to Washington and “be wild” are setting the stage for him to
declare martial law. Groups such as the Proud
Boys and White Supremacists have vowed to cause trouble and are coming to
town for the Electoral College vote. The president has indicated that he will
join his supporters. Some are even threatening to stay until Inauguration Day
and cause trouble then. DC Police are postering the city with notices that open
and concealed carry of weapons are not allowed in the city. Large areas of the
city are already blocked off and Mayor Bowser has advised residents to stay
away from the downtown. Police are
urging counter protestors to stay away.
Today
the House of Representatives held the election for Speaker of the 117th
Congress. It was won by Nancy
Pelosi who received 216 votes over the 209 received by Kevin McCarthy, the
Minority Leader. Votes were along party lines with 3 Democrats voting present
and two votes for “other”. McCarthy gave a surly partisan speech in acceptance
of his minority role, referencing de-funding of the police and not mentioning the
coronovirus, while Pelosi spoke
of caring for the country and ensuring that no one is left out and no one is
left behind with a major emphasis on beating the coronovirus. She reminded the
members that their emphasis should be “to have peace on earth and to let it
begin with us”. She mentioned the high price paid by minority communities from
the virus and celebrated the diversity of this new Congress, adding the fact
that 141 women were elected, including 51 women of color. She indicated that
the coronovirus had kept her children and grandchildren from celebrating her
Speakership as they had done in previous years, but noted that “all we are doing
in this chamber is for the children”.
She was to be nominated by the Dean of the House: Republican Rep. Don
Young of Alaska, at 87 years old, the longest serving member. He took a moment
before the formal nomination to say a few words, surprising the room with his
remarks. He said that he did not like
what he was seeing in the House, that it was their job to represent the people
and to govern the nation. He did not like the acrimony he was seeing and thought
that there should be more conversations, getting together informally for drinks
and sharing of ideas. Pelosi agreed with
him, indicating that she did not drink, but was always up for ice cream. I am always ready for ice cream too, Nancy!
With all
of this news today, there is no time to do more than mention the override of
the Presidential veto on the Defense Authorization Bill, the passage of the COVID
relief Bill (which the president had threatened to not sign) and the defeat of
the effort for authorizations for $2000 relief checks. This has been a
momentous end to the 116th Congress; one that was not known for
significant legislation. The president has yet to mention the bombing in Nashville
or comment meaningfully on the major agency hacking attack which has been found
to be worse by than originally defined.
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The
coronovirus vaccinations have started but are vastly behind schedule. Twenty million vaccinations were promised by
the end of 2020, but this did not happen.
4.33 million doses have so far been administered, with 11 million doses supposedly
already released, so the US is far behind schedule. The Pfizer vaccine has an approximately 30-day
shelf life, so there is not a lot of room for error without loss of vaccines. There
have been some reports of reactions, but so far these are miniscule in
comparison to the total numbers of doses. Travel over the holidays has not
abated despite warnings from healthcare providers; over 3 million travelers took
airline trips. Authorities still broke up many holiday gatherings of several hundred
unmasked revelers each across the country. With over 20 million cases, one
quarter of all cases in the world are in the US.
COVID
stats NY Times (1/3/21)
Total US
cases: 20,661,700. Total new cases: 291,384. Total deaths: 351,680. Total new
deaths: 2,373.
Maryland
cases: Total: 283,171. Total new cases: 2,952. Total deaths: 5,967. Total new
deaths: 25.
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Before
I close, I would like to send condolences to the family of my Congressman,
Jamie Raskin (D) MD 8th, who recently suffered the loss of their 25-year-old
son, Tommy. They are in my thoughts; I wish peace to them all.
Maybe
time for the panda cam
as Xiao Qi Ji learns to climb.
Til next week- may we all find peace in this
unsettled world.
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