This week in Coup-ville

“With a smile to his soul, he descended Mount tRumpet

Cheerily blowing “Coup! Coup!” on his trumpet.” (with apologies to Dr. Suess)

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee

This week in Coup-ville...

 

Calls for violence

We've moved from lawsuits to increased calls for violence this week. In the aftermath of the election, some election officials, both Democrat and Republican, were faced with threats of violence. The threats have escalated and expanded. They've moved from threatening secretaries of state to threatening low-level poll workers. For example, there was one 20-year-old contractor to Dominion Voting Systems in Georgia who was videoed transferring data, which was part of his normal humdrum duties. QAnon posted the video, laced it with conspiracy theories, and the worker was soon identified. Threats came rolling in, including a noose left at his home. 

Chris Krebs, head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, who was fired for stating that the election was "the most secure in American history," was threatened by one of Hair Furor's own lawyers, saying Krebs should be "drawn and quartered" and "shot." WTAF.

Gabriel Sterling, Voting System Implementation Manager for Georgia's Secretary of State, responded to these and threats against Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger with an impassioned plea for the violence to stop, directing his comments straight to the president*. See below.

Here's a very good summary of the myriad threats in the New York Times. 

Can't stop the losing

There were several lingering lawsuits this week and more judges had scathing remarks in their dismissals. Some of them were 45's appointees, too. SCROTUS lost five times in a matter of hours on Friday, plus a another yesterday to add a little salt. Here's what conservative Judge Brian Hagedorn wrote for the Wisconsin state Supreme Court in their 3-member decision: “The relief being sought by the petitioners is the most dramatic invocation of judicial power I have ever seen. Judicial acquiescence to such entreaties built on so flimsy a foundation would do indelible damage to every future election. Once the door is opened to judicial invalidation of presidential election results, it will be awfully hard to close that door again. This is a dangerous path we are being asked to tread.” 

Here is a recap of this week's lawsuits from Politico.

*Shrug* ...just suspend the Constitution 

Twice-guilty Michael Flynn, freshly pardoned, suggested that the Mango Mussolini simply suspend the Constitution and impose martial law to get what he wants. Coup much, Mike? 

Odious. 

The Long Con

It's not the first time I've said this, but a major reason – if not the reason – 45 has been launching lawsuit upon lawsuit is not that he really wants to overturn the election, but that he really wants to pad his pockets on the way out the door. Since losing the election, he has raised 207 million dollars from his adoring fans. In his barrage of over 500 emailed pleas for money since the election, you had to squint to see the fine print that the money was not really going to his legal fund, but into his big fat wallet. 

The Washington Post reported that during the weeks leading up to the election, the president's* campaign spent over $1.1 million at Donny's properties.

He has said he'll run again in 2024, but I reckon that, too, is just part of his long con. 

Pay to Play

Speaking of cons, there's the stench of a pay-for-pardon scheme in Washington. Names have been redacted and no charges have been filed, but something fishy is going on. 

Side note regarding pardons: A judge has indicated that Flynn's pardon may have been too broad. This bodes interesting for the Orange Scourge's plans to pardon his children. He may have to specify the crimes they did in order to pardon them. I'd tune in to watch that!

Gone with the Wind?

With seven weeks to go, Attorney General Bill Barr must have decided that his job wasn't that great anyway. He publicly admitted that the DOJ found no evidence of fraud in any aspect of the presidential election. This is in direct contradiction to the wind that blows from the ass Barr's lips are usually fast adhered to. Be ready for a new AG to see out the last gasps of this administration.

Speaking of Wind....

Rudy Giuliani is still out there. He met with some Michigan officials in a hearing over the election, and mics picked up his rather loud toots. Yes they really happened. If you giggle at farts, here is the video:

....and yet another bag o' wind

Rudy brought along a "witness" to the election proceedings in Michigan, and, ...well, I'll let Stephen Colbert and his gang tell you all about it.

Straight to Voicemail

What a wonderfully apposite moment: Governor Doug Ducey (R) of Arizona was sitting at his desk with cameras a-rollin' when he got a cell phone call. Some months ago, he had bragged that he speaks to TЯUMP so often by phone that he customized the ringtone to play "Hail to the Chief" when his li'l buddy calls. Well, as he sat with pen in hand, ready to sign to certify Arizona's electors for Joseph R Biden, Jr, the faint sound of Hail to the Chief came from his breast pocket (video). Glancing dismissively, he silenced his phone, set it down, and fixed to sign the certification. Lovely moment. Just lovely. 

All states have now certified the election results, by the way. (Spoiler: Joe Biden won.)

Grand Ouroboros Party

Most delicious of all is that we finally get to witness the GOP self-destruct right before our eyes. The Drumpf team laid the groundwork beautifully for for their base to distrust the system. Repugs have been in lock-step with his insanity. All of this talk about rigged elections and not trusting mail-in ballots? Well, guess who is going to sit out the January Georgia Senate run-off election? Yup, the Repugs are handing over control of the Senate to the Democrats wrapped up with a pretty red bow. 

How? Firstly, a subset of right-wing Georgians (the deepest red MAGAts) want to destroy the Republican Party because the Republican leadership in Georgia (Republican Governor Brian Kemp and Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger) are not leaning on the scale and throwing the election the way that Ghengis Can't wants. So, his base wants to make the Republican Party pay for their outrageous behavior that allowed a free and fair election. "Boycott the election!"

Secondly, another subset of right-wing Georgians are just plain distrustful and feel that the election is already rigged for the Dems, so why bother voting at all? "Do not be fooled twice. This is Georgia, we ain't dumb. We ain't gonna go vote on Jan. 5 on another machine made by China," said pro-Trump attorney Lin Wood, who has no formal affiliation with Trump's campaign. "You're not gonna fool Georgians again." (From NPR)

The Democrats just have to sit back and enjoy the show. ...and enjoy a unified government, with control of both houses of Congress and the Presidency. It shall be a productive – and hopefully progressive – two years. 

(That being said, do not rest! Continue to work hard to support the Dem senate candidates in Georgia!)

The Sound of Silence

The COVID pandemic is raging. Worse-case scenario? It's here. And we haven't even seen the effects of Thanksgiving gatherings yet. And who is the silent-est of them all? BLOATUS, of course. Not a single tweet or word noting the escalation, the lives lost (now at a pace of over 2000 deaths per day), the dangers to come. Just rigged this, fraudulent that, blah blah blah. What a loser. 

Our True Leader

Biden is not waiting until January 20 to lead. He has real plans to combat COVID; he has asked Dr. Anthony Fauci to remain in his role in the new administration; he has stated that he will ask Americans to mask up for his first 100 days; he has urged Congress to act quickly to pass a relief bill. He continues to pick a wonderfully diverse group to help him lead. He has chosen an all-female communications team and will nominate Janet Yellen, the first woman to lead the Treasury Department. There's a lot of hope to be had. 

🎶 Fah who foraze! Dah who doraze!

Welcome Biden, come this way!

Fah who foraze! Dah who doraze!

Welcome, welcome Inauguration Day! 🎶