The prospects for each of post-America's two major political parties remain what they were when I wrote the introductory paragraphs to this post on November 16:
I don't doubt the findings of a Washington Post/ABC News poll showing Republicans having the widest margin of advantage over Democrats in a generic poll concerning how respondents would vote re: their districts' House candidates.
Not surprising at all. Democrats are increasingly recognized as the party of wealth redistribution, climate alarmism and wokeness. And there are even more than a few progressives who are put out with the administration for being completely inept at seeing through its leftist aims. Mediocrity and incompetence characterize the way it operates. Voters know it.
So it's all wrong for the nation and doesn't deserve your vote.
But, you see, this is exactly why I long ago (as in mid-2016) eschewed the binary-choice argument.
The Republican Party's status as a cult can't be reversed. Its leadership has either convinced itself of the rigged-election narrative or signed on to the we-need-to-move-on-and-be-about-a-forward-looking-agenda set of talking points. In any event, there's no room for the only remaining Republicans who refuse to indulge the delusion.
That was well-established already, but with the 38-page memo now in the hands of the public, the dangerousness of this cult should be plain to every citizen who is not caught up in it:
A 38-page plan for overturning President Joe Biden's electoral victory reportedly involved declaring a nationwide national security emergency and invalidating all electronically-cast ballots.
Mark Meadows shared a PowerPoint presentation dated January 5 with the Capitol riot committee, titled 'Election Fraud, Foreign Interference & Options for 6 JAN,' as part of the trove of documents he was compelled to hand over in the House's ongoing probe.
Its existence was revealed by Committee Chair Rep. Bennie Thompson, the lone Democrat representing Mississippi in Congress, in a letter informing Meadows' lawyer that the panel had 'no choice' but to move forward with a criminal referral for the ex-White House Chief of Staff for refusing to appear for a deposition.
This thing leaves no room for doubt that comparisons of the final lineup of Trump-administration personnel to Latin American strongman operations is no exaggeration.
Portions of that presentation shared by The Guardian reporter Hugo Lowell detail a series of 'recommendations,' apparently for Trump, to follow ahead of the planned electoral vote certification the next day.
They include declaring a national security emergency over accusations that China 'gained control over our election system,' claiming US electronic voting systems were 'under foreign influence and control,' and briefing federal lawmakers on the alleged 'foreign interference.'
It also calls for Trump to declare all electronically-cast ballots invalid and instructing Congress to undergo a 'legal & genuine' count of paper ballots or other 'Constitutional remedy.'
Another slide features three recommendations for ex-Vice President Mike Pence, who it's now known told Trump on January 5th that he wanted no part of his efforts to overturn Biden's win:
'VP Pence seats Republican Electors over the objections of Democrats in states where fraud occurred,' the first point states.
'VP Pence rejects the electors from States where fraud occurred causing the election to be decided by remaining electoral votes.
'VP Pence delays the decision in order to allow for a vetting and subsequent counting of the all the legal paper ballots.'
It appears to be in line with a memo written by John Eastman, a law professor who advised Trump on how to overturn the election and was also subpoenaed by the committee.
Eastman took part in a January 4 Oval Office meeting where participants debated whether Pence had the authority to not accept votes certified by states that ultimately made Biden president when Congress met to count votes on January 6.
Another slide in the PowerPoint allegedly linked to Meadows refers to all non-paper ballots as 'counterfeit.'
It claims that electronic voting machines 'are shifting votes from Trump to Biden' and therefore only paper ballots could be counted, which would 'almost certainly' hand victory to Trump.
By eliminating mail-in ballots, a majority of which went to Democrats in 2020, 'US Senators, US House Races, State, and Local races now turn to Republican,' the presentation states.
It also appears to call for all urban-area votes to be rendered invalid, claiming without evidence that foreign actors changed votes 'in traditionally Republican strongholds in order to deliver a Biden win because they could jam no more into the major cities (fraud votes).'
The purported plan goes on to outline a recount scenario in which the remaining paper ballots would be 'locked and physically protected' by Trump's government and the vote count would happen under the National Guard's watch.
'A Trusted Lead Counter will be appointed with authority from the POTUS to direct the actions of select federalized National Guard units and support from DOJ, DHS and other US government agencies as needed to complete a recount of the legal paper ballots for the federal elections in all 50 states,' the presentation details.
Thompson's Tuesday letter to Meadows' lawyer reveals the Trump ally was exchanging emails about the lengthy presentation up until the day before the Capitol attack and it was intended for presentation 'on the hill.'
The letter also revealed further bombshell details about communications that the former North Carolina congressman did send over to the committee.
One of the most damning appears to be a text exchange between Meadows and an unnamed federal lawmaker that took place after the November 2020 election.
The letter refers to a 'November 6, 2020, text exchange with a Member of Congress apparently about appointing alternate electors in certain states as part of a plan that the Member acknowledged would be "highly controversial" and to which Mr. Meadows apparently said, "I love it"...'
If, God forbid, he were to win the 2024 election, think about what the whole world would know right off the bat about the value system, if you want to call it that, that informs Trumpist foreign policy. During his 2016-2020 term, he was rightly lauded for overseeing a pro-Israel foreign policy, and he reveled in having established a buddy relationship with Benjamin Netanyahu. But what's transpired regarding that bond over the course of this year reveals two things: one, that Trump is truly nuts and believes this whole scenario he's concocted in his head. and, two, he hadn't the slightest understanding or regard for the reason for the US-Israel alliance: Israel is the only Western nation in the Middle East and the only one with a diversified, advanced economy. For the Very Stable Genius, it was all about personal loyalty and betrayal. He had no use for Netanyahu when the latter took the same view of the US election that 60 courts where Trump zombies filed lawsuits did.
Former President Trump accused Benjamin Netanyahu of disloyalty after the former Israeli prime minister congratulated President Biden on his presidential win earlier this year.
"I haven’t spoken to him since," Trump said, according to comments released from an interview taken by Israeli journalist Barak Ravid. "F--k him," he added.
Trump accused Netanyahu of speaking up too quickly following what the former president has still yet to concede was a legitimate election.
"Nobody did more for Bibi. And I liked Bibi. I still like Bibi," he said, referring to the former prime minister by his nickname. "But I also like loyalty. The first person to congratulate Biden was Bibi. And not only did he congratulate him, he did it on tape."
Despite Trump’s condemnation of Netanyahu, the then-prime minister was not amongst one of the first world leaders to congratulate Biden for securing the presidential win.
Netanyahu waited roughly 12 hours after the election had been called to congratulate Biden on his election.
Okay, so there's a - what? - 15 percent chance the VSG won't run. There are a few variables that could dictate a different turn of events from what is likely.
Who gets the mantle? Some drool-besotted throne sniffer like this?
- NIKKI HALEY finally landed a one-on-onewith DONALD TRUMPafter he rejected her request for a sit-down in February, following her condemnation of his actions on Jan. 6. While Haley faced the prospect of being one of Trump’s sworn enemies ahead of a potential 2024 presidential campaign, she praised him during a recent speech in Iowa and said she won’t challenge him in a primary (something Florida Gov. RON DESANTIS hasn’t done).
- So last week, nearly 10 months after the first snub, Trump finally granted her a visit to Mar-a-Lago to kiss the ring. “He doesn’t see the point in making enemies,” a source close to Trump said, adding that the former president is still skeptical of Haley because of her back-and-forth statements about him. “He likes teasing people,” another aide said.
It will have to be, won't it? Won't the vast majority of Pub voters demand it?
By a 74%-to-25% margin, Republicans and Republican-leaning independent voters (who we'll call potential Republican primary voters) say that Biden didn't win enough votes to win the 2020 election legitimately.But it's not just that there are a lot of them. They look to be the ones who are going to be the most likely to cast a ballot next year.The margin grows to 86% to 13% that Biden didn't win legitimately among potential Republican primary voters who are extremely enthusiastic about voting next year. Compare that to Republicans who are not enthusiastic about voting in 2022: They believe Biden didn't win legitimately by a 62% to 38% margin.Either way, there are a lot of Republicans who don't think Biden won fairly in 2020.Importantly, a lot of Republicans are going to prioritize their feelings about 2020 in how they vote in 2022. That is, it's not likely going to be an afterthought when casting a ballot.A majority (61%) of potential Republican primary voters say believing Trump won the 2020 election is important to what being a Republican means to them. Only 39% disagreed.Again though, primaries are often about turnout. The potential Republican voters who are extremely enthusiastic about voting in 2022 say that believing Trump won is important to what being a Republican means to them by a 77% to 23% margin.
This is outside the bounds of any previous consensus on normal. This ought to be on the nation's front burner.
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