What We're Not Seeing

Not one of us knows whether Trump is laying the foundation for a serious coup attempt or just raising hell because he's desperate. I'm alarmed, in part because some very wise people are apparently just as alarmed.

What I can say: we're not seeing the things we need to see that would reassure us. For every Larry Hogan, Mike DeWine, or other Republican who's saying out loud that the election was fair, Trump lost, and he needs to begin the transition, there are dozens of powerful Republicans calling the election rigged and hundreds keeping mostly quiet. 

The big story Monday: Last week Oklahoma Senator James Lankford said that if Trump didn't allow Biden to receive intelligence briefings by the end of the week, Lankford would step in and make that happen. Since Lankford chairs the committee that oversees the GSA, he'd have some clout.

Apparently somebody got to Jim Lankford. The Wall Street Journal reports that he reversed his strong position over the weekend.

I'm not in a hurry, necessarily, to get Joe Biden these briefings, it's been interesting how the media, the national media, not this network, but others have twisted this term "step in." I happen to chair the committee that oversees GSA, that is the entity that has to be able to make this call.

 He lied. Last week he specifically said

If that's not occurring by Friday, I will step in as well and be able to push and say, this needs to occur.

This is not a good sign. We're not seeing enough good signs, and that should bother us. Because meanwhile Donald Trump is literally stirring up street violence.

And while all that's going on, Georgia' Republican Secretary of State tells us about the pressure he's getting from other Republicans to change the election results there. I said Republican Secretary of State. He called Georgia Rep. Doug Collins a "liar" and a "charlatan" for levying false accusations, and he insinuated that Senator Linseed Lindsey Graham literally suggested tossing all mail-in ballots from certain counties.

Graham also asked whether Raffensperger had the power to toss all mail ballots in counties found to have higher rates of nonmatching signatures, Raffensperger said.

 Surely Graham wouldn't push something illegal?

Raffensperger said he was stunned that Graham appeared to suggest that he find a way to toss legally cast ballots. 

Oh. So while we're telling ourselves it's just a matter of time before Donald Trump heads back to Mar-a-Lago and Joe Biden's dogs make their home on Pennsylvania Avenue, maybe we should pause the premature chicken counting and watch what some really powerful people are doing to our democracy. 

Some of the effects are already evident. Political scientists Vin Arceneaux and Rory Truex have been tracking the opinions of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans concerning this past election, and the results are disturbing. 

Almost half of Republicans don't accept Biden's win as legitimate.

Most Republicans literally don't believe Biden won.

Numbers like that are a five-alarm fire for democracy. Hell, they're bad for Thanksgiving--and a good reason to avoid extended family. And they explain what we're not seeing: Republicans coming out to acknowledge Biden's win.

This is why we need more words like those of National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien. But he's alone.

If there is a new administration, they deserve some time to come in and implement their policies ... if the Biden-Harris ticket is determined to be the winner -- and obviously, things look that way now -- we'll have a very professional transition from the National Security Council.

Be Vigilant: This Ain’t Over

Sure, they called Arizona for Biden last night. I know Darth Vader Karl Rove says it’s time for Republicans to acknowledge the election. And yes, the DHS called the election the “most secure ever.” We all love it when Trump legal claims get just laughed out of court. 

None of that rules out the Republicans trying (again) to steal the election. First the theory, then the evidence. The theory is that Trump is an authoritarian who will not cede power unless he’s forced to do so.  He has stirred up millions and millions of followers to believe the election was rigged. I’ve spoken to them. You have too. These are otherwise competent people who also bought into hydroxychloroquine. Notice that key Republicans, like Mike Pompeo and Kevin McCarthy keep saying they don’t expect or they don’t know that Biden will be inaugurated.

It all looks like a storm stirred up to soothe Trump’s bruised ego, maybe an attempt to negotiate some leverage for his safe exit from power. I still think it’s highly likely things won’t escalate beyond this point. 

But vigilance is called for. Two GOP strategists from Michigan are sending up the alert: there’s a GOP scheme to void the popular vote in key states, handing them over to their Republican state legislatures. It would require enormous bad faith, maybe even criminal conduct, but it’s out there. And there are GOP legislators in Pennsylvania who are up for it. 

And here’s the risk. When have these Republicans ever shown the backbone to say no to Trump and his armies of highly dedicated supporters? The longer this lasts, the deeper the division that sets in, the more likely they are to step forward and cross the line.

The GOP committed itself to ruling as a minority years ago. Don’t assume it won’t cross the ultimate line.

I hope I’m wrong.

Happy Veterans' Day

 I was raised in Alabama, surrounded by men I loved and admired (all men in my case) who served in World War 2 and in Vietnam. I stood beside my Uncle Norman, born 1909, who stood ramrod straight when the band played the national anthem for high school football games, often with a tear breaking out and running down his cheek. You don't forget a thing like that. During my lifetime my Uncle Bernie flew active missions over Vietnam. I heard lots of the stories, not all of them grand or heroic.

As liberal as I am, I am a patriot. And I am grateful for our veterans and active service members. 

So let me share two stories. Military.com is reporting that GOP lists of Nevada "criminal" voter fraud cases include hundreds of active service members and family members. One, the wife of an Air Force major, says

To see my integrity challenged, along with other members of the military to be challenged in this way, it is a shock. And to be potentially disenfranchised because of these actions, that's not OK.

Meanwhile, Bill Kristol describes the scene at the Department of Defense as top-level officials, having been fired as retaliation for who knows what, left the building.

A sign of the loyalty-oath atmosphere now at DOD: When Jim Anderson was fired yesterday as Acting Under Secretary for Policy, he was given a "clap-out" as he left the building. The WH called to request names of any political appointees who joined in so they could be fired.

Remember, what Donald Trump is doing—withholding information from the Biden transition and disrupting the Department of Defense—is wreaking the country at an already-vulnerable moment. There’s no patriotism here.

Tell me again why you think Donald Trump loves the military. And tell me why you think he's not a fascist. 

Tell me those things because right now state legislators are contemplating reversing the election results. From Vox reporter Andrew Prokop.