Biden as President-elect - Challenges for #46 and other WTFery

dragonfly9 · November 10, 2020, 7:22pm

With the overwhelming Electoral and popular vote counts, Biden/Harris seem to be our elected 46th - now what?

Endorsements have been flooding in from foreign countries…

In Europe, where many hope Mr. Biden will reverse some of the decisions of the Trump administration, leaders in Germany, France and Italy as well as the secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization applauded Mr. Biden’s win.

“The American citizens have decided,” said German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a statement Saturday. “I look forward to working together with President Biden. Our trans-Atlantic friendship will be critical if we want to overcome the great challenges of the time.”

Germany and other countries had opposed many moves by Mr. Trump, including the reduction of U.S. troop levels in Germany and the withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, the World Health Organization and the Paris climate accord.

Murdoch and Fox Networks are for Biden

What could go wrong??

dragonfly9 · November 10, 2020, 8:27pm

The double-speak and the standing behind false fronts

Sec Pompeo who’s spouting the message

celena · November 10, 2020, 10:52pm

If Pompeo’s statements don’t set off every alarm bell for the GOP then absolutely nothing will.

celena · November 10, 2020, 11:07pm

Who’s the first tweeter? I’d really like to verify that statement. Very seriously, this needs a source, with either names of the GOP in question, something about the author of the tweet, or a direct quote.

dragonfly9 · November 10, 2020, 11:33pm

@Rschooley He is a tv writer…and has a lot of followers/retweets. I actually used to work with him, Robert Schooley so I can vouch for him. He really is only adding the gist of it.

As for who in the GOP is with this viewpoint, I think we are hearing (via these sources below)

Team Trump -post election
Sen Lindsey Graham (defending everything T says and does up to this point)
Sen McConnell - statements on getting the vote count correct
Sec Pompeo

All the Reps Jim Jordan, Matt Gaetz

(Trump holds leverage over McConnel)

On McConnell - wanting to focus really only on GA (Wapo Reporting)

To be clear: The backing of more calculating figures like Barr and McConnell and Senator Lindsey Graham does not make the Trump campaign’s allegations any truer, and any hope the president has of overturning Biden’s victory through a barrage of legal challenges and recounts remains remote. His legal argument is still an incoherent mess, none of the efforts are likely to close his gap with Biden, and the Democrat’s win has been recognized by leaders at home, from George W. Bush to Barack Obama , and abroad. To reverse the results now would openly embrace authoritarianism.

Most of those tweets from above are reporters

CNN
Jim Sciutto
Jake Tapper

Ben Rhodes - Former Obama NSC staffer

But reporters on the more liberal spectrum are thinking that these R’s are ‘going with’ Trump to appear loyal, yet they all know the writing is on the wall.

Newt Gingrich - Former Congressman with big voice in GOP

celena · November 11, 2020, 12:30am

It was just the first tweet I questioned, and the reason is that saying the GOP leadership is telling reporters privately that it’s for show while publicly egging on supporters is a huge statement. There are no names of anyone involved, no specific quotes, and no other source to point to, and Schooly doesn’t (from his twitter profile) seem to affiliate with any organization.

I worry about statements that bold and vague being accepted at face value because they aren’t reliable enough to use to argue anything and could potentially create a “lol jk” cover for their very real actions. And we’ve seen for decades with the GOP that it’s best to take the worst things they have to say as deadly serious and real intent.

edit: This just ran across my feed:

It’s in interview with Sen. Coons where he says basically what Schooly said, but Sen. Coons is a primary source saying he was told specific things in an interview with CNN. It’s waaaaaaaaaaaay better to signal boost this kind of thing IMO.

dragonfly9 · November 11, 2020, 12:56am

Yes, I heard this just now too.

“What the GOP are saying, vs. what can be attributed to GOP sources by newscasters.” has been talked about certainly by reporters, who do have off the record chats… Hopefully, you got the same inference from the other bits of news what is going on.

Thanks for your news post - keep on posting with timely and factual posts. That way we can review what you are seeing and hearing too!

celena · November 11, 2020, 1:17am

It still makes me incredibly nervous that this is being reported this way because again, it’s cover for them to do their worst under the guise of “no it’s you guys who are getting the truth.”

I am not usually this cynical. But you know what they say. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me for multiple straight decades, shame on me.

MissJava · November 11, 2020, 1:27am

“ding ding ding!” just keeps circling around in my head lol. it’s been their strategy from the start why stop with all the winning!

dragonfly9 · November 11, 2020, 2:06am

These assumptions may be in play.

A) we are dealing with a power-mad powder keg of an ex-president. Most do not want to rock the boat too much, knowing how vindictive he is, irrational etc.

B) Reporters and all of us see that this is a complicated issue with that bull in our American china shop. People say do not coddle him but let the proof of fair elections play out. T is possiblity facing charges so that makes him more volatile. So there maybe some hopped up GOPers who will not let this go, but i think far fewer than we need to be nervous about.

C) Trump’s 71 million base is what all the R’s want to get on the good side. With T or someone from his family hoping to run, no one wants to upset T or that base. So everyone speaks behind closed doors and takes cover.

D) Biden as president-elect knows the levers of power and is assuming the mantle… He is getting a lot of praise inside the country and out. But Biden also knows what T hates the most - humiliation, being a loser, forced to leave. So he’s waiting him out…unless he needs to spring the National Guard on them.

E) That said, i am very nervous about this transition phase where weapons, secrets, secret deals could be exchange. Are we in coup territory…? Not sure.

All I know aading through more blasted Trump thuggery is exhausting.

Yes, we’ve had it with T, and his messing with his power. But we do have some angry losers out there and we can wait them out.

dragonfly9 · November 11, 2020, 2:35am

More on R’s not really speaking out, but they are having ‘real-time discussion’ about T’s behavior and what we do in National Security matters.

Senate Republicans, who might stop the post-election revenge campaign, face a growing tension between Trump’s demands and the country’s interests. The senior congressional source described it this way: “How much do you stay quiet during the tantrum period? What damage will it do to national security? That’s a real-time discussion that’s going on.”

Trump will depart the White House Jan. 20, barring an unlikely legal miracle. The question is how much damage he will do to national security before he leaves.

dragonfly9 · November 11, 2020, 2:38am

Sweeping victory.

celena · November 11, 2020, 3:04am

Yeah I bet there’s just a ton of tension because something the Senate GOP has always been deeply passionate about is putting the country’s interests above selfish partisanship.

macro · November 11, 2020, 3:42am

Absolutely! And MM is such a paragon of virtue! Not an ounce of hypocrisy in his body. His dedication to promoting the country’s interest far over shadow anything else, such as stacking the courts with conservative judges.

dragonfly9 · November 11, 2020, 3:40pm

Sen Rubio, as co-chair of Senate Intel may be giving Biden some transitional paperwork but not the GSA. Glad Rubio is cognizant of any delays may prove harmful.

Advice from Andy Card GW’S chief of Staff and John Podesta Clinton’s here to get the transition moving.

The Washington Post: The life-threatening costs of a delayed transition

dragonfly9 · November 11, 2020, 6:50am

Nyt’s reporting

dragonfly9 · November 11, 2020, 6:55am

More leaks from WH per nbc

celena · November 11, 2020, 7:12am

I’m not too savvy but I do not understand what McConnell gets out of not dropping Trump right now before he completely neuters the Senate beyond recognition. McConnell has achieved his all his life goals but the power and role of the Senate seems to matter to him, if he weren’t all the way on the train what does he get for the appearance of it? It’s not like Trump can fire him.

macro · November 11, 2020, 8:46am

From my own personal perspective - and I might be way off beam here, but for what it’s worth here goes.
I think the GOP are keeping sweet with Trump here because of the 2 senate places in Georgia still up for election. They do not want to spook the Trump base by contradicting Trump and thereby loosing votes. I’m sure that that forthcoming re-election will be pretty hard fought because a huge amount hangs upon the outcome.

celena · November 11, 2020, 10:17am

Oof. What a dangerous game that would be.