"There are only two sides in American politics now. There is the American side and the Autocratic side. May God help us all if we falter, flag or fail in defense of American democracy."
– Steve Schmidt, GOP strategist and Co-Founder of the Lincoln Project, with reflections on January 6, 2021
The United States House Republicans are planning to vote against the counting of electoral college votes on January 6. According to a report by CNN, at least 140 House Republicans are planning to vote against the certification of US Presidential election results on January 6, when the electoral college will cast their votes.
Talk of "civil war" broke out among Trump supporters on the Parler social media platform after the Republican senators announced their plans to challenge Biden's Electoral College certification. The crew says it plans to block electors from at least six Biden states.
Thousands of Trump supporters are expected to head to Washington, D.C. on January 6 to join protests after being urged to do so by Trump. Members of the Proud Boys, a far-right group known to incite violence, are also expected to attend in large numbers.
Steve Schmidt writes …
"The autocratic side will roll over the pro-democracy remnant of the GOP like the Wehrmacht did the Belgian Army in 1940. The '22 GOP primary season will be a blood letting. The 6th will be a loyalty test. The purge will follow."
(Khaleda Rahman. “Steve Schmidt Says January 6 Will Start Destructive 'Civil War' in the GOP.” Newsweek. January 3, 2021.)
Joan Walsh, national affairs correspondent for The Nation, says the irresponsible affair on January 6 is being run “by the Congressional Doofus Caucus – Representatives Mo Brooks, Matt Gaetz, Jody Hice, Jim Jordan, and Andy Biggs and Representative-elect Marjorie Taylor Greene of QAnon fame.
And, the freak show includes the participation of Vice President Mike Pence, whose job it is to preside over the congressional proceedings. This support is going on despite outgoing Attorney General Bill Barr declaring voter fraud was virtually nonexistent in the 2020 election and multiple courts across the country ruling the election was fair – of the more than 50 lawsuits Trump and his allies have filed challenging election results, nearly all have been dismissed or dropped. He’s also lost twice at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Walsh says of Pence, “He’s clearly continuing to try to stay in Trump’s good graces as well as court the GOP’s wing nut base in order to keep his political future alive.”
Jonathan Swan of Axios reports, adding, “Trump would view Pence performing his constitutional duty—and validating the election result—as the ultimate betrayal.”
(Joan Walsh. “Can the GOP Doofus Caucus Block Joe Biden on January 6?” The Nation. December 22, 2020.)
Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse in a Facebook post on Wednesday urged his fellow party lawmakers to not participate in a "project to overturn the election". According to CNN, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has also privately requested his colleagues to approve the electoral college votes without objection.
Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland said, “The scheme by members of Congress to reject the certification of the presidential election makes a mockery of our system and who we are as Americans.”
Former House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican, said in a statement that “Biden’s victory is entirely legitimate” and that efforts to sow doubt about the election “strike at the foundation of our republic.”
Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the third-ranking House Republican, warned in a memo to colleagues that objections to the Electoral College results “set an exceptionally dangerous precedent.”
(Lisa Mascaro and Mary Clare Jalonick. “Republicans condemn GOP ‘scheme’ to undo election for Trump.” Associated Press. January 03, 2021.)
A civil war in the GOP is imminent. However, much more is at stake when Trump supporters – office holders and voters alike – refuse to abide with official election results. As this group of Republicans insist their efforts to overturn the election are aimed at protecting “election integrity,” the truth is the move is born of a sick devotion to a narcissistic demagogue who refuses to accept defeat.
Incoming president Joe Biden said …
"I think that we're witnessing incredible irresponsibility, incredibly damaging messages being sent to the rest of the world about how democracy functions, and I think it is – well, I don't know his motive, but I just think it's totally irresponsible.”
As Trump refuses to concede, America is caught between crisis and confusion. Fantasies of widespread fraud have caused these Trump Republicans to take their cues and assume their parts in a dangerous game that threatens American democracy.
The orderly transfer of power has been a bedrock of American democracy from its founding in the 18th century, and the consequences of Trump’s standoff are far-reaching – especially in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic when the undivided attention of lawmakers should be on fighting the virus.
Has the role of those in U.S. government been reduced to a coddling mother dealing with her infant who is throwing a petulant and dangerous “hail Mary” tantrum?
Governor Hogan says …
“(Such chaos) makes people question the integrity of the system, which is such a fundamental thing to our democratic process here in America. It’s embarrassing around the world. And it has people in America starting to believe in conspiracy theories that are not based in reality.”
(Molly Ball. “As Donald Trump Refuses to Concede, America Is Caught Between Crisis and Confusion. Time. November 12, 2020.)
And now, a recorded phone call revealed Trump pushed Georgia’s Republican top election official to take a call from President Donald Trump in which he pressured the state to overturn his November presidential election defeat there.
In the call on January 2, Trump told Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to overturn his election loss in the southern state, according to a recording published by U.S. media.
What more proof is required of Republicans to realize Trump's unbridled ambitions?
The nation and the rest of the world willwitness unyielding support to Trump and the GOP base as they view the hypocritical spectacle on January 6. Of the date, Trump has tweeted …
"Statistically impossible to have lost the 2020 Election. Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!"
Trump's unhinged invitation to the nation to join the “wild” protest is indicative of his corrupt, treacherous character. It is a dangerous call to do his sick bidding. Why is it dangerous?
The Proud Boys will attend. During November’s rally, some militia groups planned to station themselves outside town so they could swing into action if someone fired up a warning. There’s no reason to think this time will be different.
Also, January 6 meshes with the QAnon conspiracy pseudo-religion about President Trump occasioning a “storm” that will wash away his enemies, so the event will surely draw people who view the date as an epochal moment in their worldview.
People who say they’ll attend have reportedly traded strategies for smuggling weapons into the District. While these plans may be so much keyboard bluster, militia groups are among those who plan to attend the events.
Many of these attendees have adopted Trump’s cavalier attitude toward the coronavirus pandemic. If previous marches are any indication, you won’t see a lot of masks being worn or social distancing taking place. And, Trump supporters view this as his inauguration. Sure to be a travesty.
(Andrew Beaujon. “5 Reasons to Avoid the January 6 Pro-Trump Marches in DC.” Washingtonian. January 4, 2021.)
What Actually Happens In Congress on January 6?
The states have already counted their own electors, and Biden won with 306 to 232 for Trump. Now it's up to Congress to count the votes as submitted by the states. Thanks to Brian Naylor of NPR at https://www.npr.org/2020/12/22/949134479/congress-role-in-election-results-heres-what-happens-jan-6, we can learn what the process on January 6 will be all about.
A joint session, presided over by the vice president, will occur. At 1:00 p.m. lawmakers from the House and Senate will assemble in the House chamber, with Vice President Pence presiding in his role as president of the Senate. He will then begin to open the sealed certificates submitted by each state and hand them to tellers appointed from among the House and Senate members to read.
In some recent elections, the count was expedited, and the entire process was over in less than half an hour. But if there are objections to any of the state's certificates, it could take much longer.
It seems all but certain there will be objections from House members to the certificates from some states that Biden won but where Trump and some of his supporters baselessly charge the vote was "rigged."
A key thing to remember is that a member from the House and the Senate must lodge an objection, in writing, for it to be considered. It's not entirely clear if any senators will choose to do so, although newly elected Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama indicated he would.
If a senator does go along with a challenge, then the House and Senate retire to their own chambers, for a period of "not more than two hours," according to the Congressional Research Service, and members get up to five minutes to speak in favor or against the objection.
Then each chamber will vote, with a simple majority required to uphold the objection. Both chambers must agree to the objection for it to succeed
(Brian Naylor. “Congress' Role In Election Results: Here's What Happens Jan. 6.” NPR December 22, 2020.)
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