"If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself."

"If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself." – Henry Ford

Week two of our limbo.

Lawsuits.

45's lawsuits challenging the election kept a flyin' and were withdrawn or thrown out at great pace. Two that he won were minor matters and did not change the outcome of the election. Attorneys on the plantiff side admitted in open court that they did not have evidence of the fraud for which they were suing. Smart attorneys: they know it's quite unwise to lie to a judge. 

Not to say they aren't incompetent. After all, Rudy Giuliani is in charge. Get this: 45's lawyers filed an affidavit in Michigan where they were complaining about 150%! - 200%! - 350%! voter turnout in many precincts. The trouble is, the voter data were for precincts in Minnesota, not Michigan. What a circus.

Today a Pennsylvania lawsuit fell flat on its face, with strong rebukes from the judge. Judge Matthew W. Brann wrote in part: “Rather than requesting that their votes be counted, they seek to discredit scores of other votes, but only for one race. This is simply not how the Constitution works.”

Thank you, Founding Fathers, for our Judicial Branch and for the rule of law. Every one of 45's attempts to subvert our democracy is failing. So much failing. Are they sick and tired of failing yet?

Cracks.

Republican Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey issued a statement after today's Pennsylvania ruling. “I congratulate President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on their victory.... President Trump has exhausted all plausible legal options to challenge the result of the presidential race in Pennsylvania. To ensure that he is remembered for these outstanding accomplishments, President Trump should accept the outcome of the election and facilitate the presidential transition process."

Several other Republican leaders have acknowledged and supported the Biden win.

 Even ƒucker Carlson is calling them out on their ridiculousness. About 45 attorney Sidney Powell, he wrote:

But she never sent us any evidence, despite a lot of polite requests. When we kept pressing, she got angry and told us to stop contacting her. When we checked with others around the Trump campaign, people in positions of authority, they also told us Powell had never given them any evidence to prove anything she claimed at the press conference.

Powell did say that electronic voting is dangerous, and she's right, but she never demonstrated that a single actual vote was moved illegitimately by software from one candidate to another. Not one.

Why are we telling you this? We're telling you this because it's true, and in the end, that's all that matters. The truth is our only hope and our best defense. 

 

via GIPHY

Threats.

At least a couple secretaries of state have been receiving death threats. Arizona's Katie Hobbs (D) and Georgia's Brad Raffensperger (R) have both had threats against them for asserting their integrity while performing their jobs in certifying the results of the election. Philadelphia officials are also receiving death threats. Unconscionable.

Corruption. Oh, the corruption!

45's lawsuits falling flaccid, he turned to state officials. It's unknown whether 45 wielded the carrot or the stick against some Michigan Republicans. He first called a Republican member of Wayne County’s Board of Canvassers, and she nearly overturned her vote to certify. When that didn't work, he invited Michigan Senate Majority Leader and Speaker of the House to the Whitewash House for a chat. He wanted them to subvert their duties and give Michigan's electors to him. Thankfully, they didn't succumb, and they will follow the law to have Michigan's electors vote for Biden. Biden got the majority of votes in Michigan. Duh. 

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham badly overstepped ethical and legal lines when he called Georgia's Secretary of State to ask that all legally cast ballots from certain counties be thrown out. Will he face consequences for his alleged felony action? Doubtful.

Fiirings.

A man of high integrity, Chris Krebs, head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, was summarily fired after his agency made a statement that the election was "the most secure in American history." The agency did a great job in not allowing foreign – or domestic – cyber interference. And when you do your job with integrity and contradict the boss's flagrant corruption, ...well, you are fired. His firing followed a that of couple other DHS officials in his agency. It's widely speculated that more firings of perceived non-loyalists are to come. 

This is why we can't have nice things. Like a functioning democracy. 

The Usual. 

Hair Twitler has still been quiet in public, but tweeting the usual weird stuff like, "I WON THE ELECTION!" He has not said a word or a tweet about the surging COVID numbers across the country. Cases are increasing exponentially, and we're now losing about 1500 Americans per day to COVID. But from him: silence.

Don Jr. tested positive for "the 'rona" today, instagramming the usual inanities. What an ass. He is at least the 50th person in daddy's orbit to become infected. 

The Giuliani Factor. What is going on with Rudy? Once respected, nicknamed "America's Mayor," he's devolved into a (literally) scum-oozing sycophant. His behaviors have been bizarre for at the last year or more. He has some language difficulties in court ("I’m not quite sure what ‘opacity’ means. It probably means you can see"), and he seems to have forgotten how to lawyer. 

And why was he leaking? 

Embed from Getty Images

Whatever it was, it was hilarious!

It's altogether fitting that this insane clown is leading the Joker-in-Chief's legal posse.

Obstruction.

The current administration continues to block Biden's transition team access to briefings and funds. General Services Administration director Emily Murphy continues to refuse to send a letter formally starting the transition. It is supposed to be sent once she "ascertains" the "apparent winner" of the election. Here we are, two weeks after the election was called, and the transition is still in limbo. And Congress wants to know why. Murphy has until Monday to explain, or she may be called to testify. 

In any transition, it is important to make the hand-off as smooth and timely as possible. This year, with a raging – truly raging – pandemic, the safety and well-being of United States citizens is at risk. Most importantly, two vaccines have recently been reported to be 95% effective and are ready to manufacture and ship as soon as emergency F.D.A. approval is given. The U.S. Government will be instrumental in coordinating the distribution and administration of the vaccines. It is imperative that Biden's team be allowed to start their work so that this massive undertaking can be done as efficiently and as smoothly as possible. 

The Onion's Competition. 

It's been a real thin line between satire and reality the last four years, but this story takes the Onion Cake. TЯUMP supporters in Georgia have decided to rebel. In a way only Cheeto Benito supporters can reason out a resistance. They are going to take down the GOP in Georgia by boycotting the January Senate runoff election. Go, rebels, go! #Resist!

Moving forward.

Georgia's hand recount confirmed Biden to be the winner of Georgia's electoral votes, and Georgia's Republican governor Brian Kemp moved to certify the results. (Just this evening, though, 45 requested another recount.)

Speaking of Georgia, let's help the MAGATs in that state reach their goal! Let's move forward together in a big way by supporting the Democrat candidates for Senate in Georgia, Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock. You can write to voters in Georgia, like I'm doing! Check out Postcards to Voters; Georgia Postcard Project; or Vote Forward. Or, donate to Stacey Abrams's Fair Fight, or to the candidates' campaigns directly. Through ActBlue, you can donate to all three at one time! 

Current and former TЯUMP administration officials have been reaching out to Biden and his transition team. Though they aren't official meetings, and Biden still does not have access to briefings, it's baby steps toward the inevitable.

Though taxpayer funds allocated for the transition are being held up because of Ms. Murphy's obstruction, Joe Biden is moving ahead with the transition. He has built a diverse team – the most diverse in history. He is crowdsourcing funds and has already raised $10 million. It's common for incoming presidents to raise some transition funds themselves, but Biden has been accelerating fundraising. 

He's also been doing what leaders do. He's been reaching out to Democrat and Republican lawmakers to ask their help in ending the standstill. He hasn't directly attacked SCROTUS or the GSA administrator, but he has blasted their decision to obstruct and has calmly outlined the problems of a delayed transition, appealing for a difference course.

Twitter has announced they will be assigning @POTUS handle to Biden on Inauguration Day, along with other official Twitter handles, concession or no concession.

And the Team at Jimmy Fallon put together the concession speech we badly need: