the party of voter suppression
February 24, 2021 3:11 AM Subscribe
'5-Alarm Fire': Arizona Republicans Lead Nationwide GOP Push To Curb Voting Rights - "Arizona Republicans have launched a 'full-scale assault' on democracy, voting rights groups warned, pointing to the introduction of bills that would restrict ballot access and overhaul the state's election system in the wake of major GOP losses in 2020."
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis calls for restrictive new voting laws - "DeSantis wants to make it harder to vote by mail after a record number utilized the voting method last year."
State GOP lawmakers propose flurry of voting restrictions to placate Trump supporters, spurring fears of a backlash - "The effort is dividing Republicans, some of whom are trying to head off the measures to prevent being labeled the party of voter suppression."
also btw...
How the battle over redistricting in 2021 could decide control of the U.S. Congress - "The once-a-decade process of redrawing electoral maps can determine which party controls Congress. Though Democrats hold power in Washington, Republicans have the redistricting advantage heading into 2021."[3,4,5]
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis calls for restrictive new voting laws - "DeSantis wants to make it harder to vote by mail after a record number utilized the voting method last year."
State GOP lawmakers propose flurry of voting restrictions to placate Trump supporters, spurring fears of a backlash - "The effort is dividing Republicans, some of whom are trying to head off the measures to prevent being labeled the party of voter suppression."
The proposals include measures that would curtail eligibility to vote by mail and prohibit the use of ballot drop boxes. One bill in Georgia would block early voting on Sundays, which critics quickly labeled a flagrant attempt to thwart Souls to the Polls, the Democratic turnout effort that targets Black churchgoers on the final Sunday before an election.Kelly Loeffler, Inspired by Stacey Abrams, Starts a New Voting Rights Group to Prevent People From Voting - "Perhaps jealous of all of the attention and praise that's been justifiably given to Stacey Abrams's organization Fair Fight, Loeffler has started a new group named Greater Georgia, with the goal of, as far as I can tell, ensuring as few Democrats in the state can vote as humanly possible."[2]
States where such legislation is under consideration also include Arizona, Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin...
“There’s still an appetite from a lot of Republicans to do stuff like this, but it’s not bright,” said a Republican strategist in Georgia who spoke on the condition of anonymity to candidly discuss internal party debates. “It just gives Democrats a baseball bat with which to beat us.”[1]
also btw...
How the battle over redistricting in 2021 could decide control of the U.S. Congress - "The once-a-decade process of redrawing electoral maps can determine which party controls Congress. Though Democrats hold power in Washington, Republicans have the redistricting advantage heading into 2021."[3,4,5]
Mod note: One deleted; let's please not immediately redirect to how the dems suck / might suck? tyvm.
posted by taz (staff) at 4:37 AM on February 24, 2021 [33 favorites]
posted by taz (staff) at 4:37 AM on February 24, 2021 [33 favorites]
hey national Dem party, you're useless if you can't work this to your advantage
You wanna know how to getposted by mikelieman at 4:49 AM on February 24, 2021 [32 favorites]Caponevoting rights? Theypull a knifepropose a restrictive voting law, youpull a gunpropose 3 to expand voting
The same thing is happening in Iowa, even though the GOP expanded their control of state government in the last election. Needless to say, the public isn’t on board.
posted by Big Al 8000 at 5:21 AM on February 24, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by Big Al 8000 at 5:21 AM on February 24, 2021 [6 favorites]
What if there was a mechanism like "disbarring" for politicians? Of course that assumes that politicians have a code of ethics.
posted by bitslayer at 6:09 AM on February 24, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by bitslayer at 6:09 AM on February 24, 2021 [5 favorites]
The effort is dividing Republicans, some of whom are trying to head off the measures to prevent being labeled the party of voter suppression.
Years too late for that, no?
posted by Thorzdad at 6:09 AM on February 24, 2021 [35 favorites]
Years too late for that, no?
posted by Thorzdad at 6:09 AM on February 24, 2021 [35 favorites]
They're more afraid of being labeled the party of voter suppression than they are of actually BEING the party of voter suppression.
posted by brundlefly at 7:58 AM on February 24, 2021 [44 favorites]
posted by brundlefly at 7:58 AM on February 24, 2021 [44 favorites]
Never forget that their wrecking baall in the USPS, Postmaster General DeJoy, is still in power and still doing everything he can to utterly demoish the postal service.
While he has yet to release it, people close to DeJoy say his ten year plan involves eliminating 1st class mail and putting all mail on an 11 day minimum delivery schedule, which will wreak havock with vote by mail across the country.
In a lot of places they don't even need to officially prohibit vote by mail, DeJoy's ongoing destruction of mail sorting machines, efforts to lose mail, and general slowdown of service will make vote by mail all but impossible even if it remains formally legal.
posted by sotonohito at 8:05 AM on February 24, 2021 [29 favorites]
While he has yet to release it, people close to DeJoy say his ten year plan involves eliminating 1st class mail and putting all mail on an 11 day minimum delivery schedule, which will wreak havock with vote by mail across the country.
In a lot of places they don't even need to officially prohibit vote by mail, DeJoy's ongoing destruction of mail sorting machines, efforts to lose mail, and general slowdown of service will make vote by mail all but impossible even if it remains formally legal.
posted by sotonohito at 8:05 AM on February 24, 2021 [29 favorites]
Historian Heather Cox Richardson's Letters from an American column last Friday had a great perspective on this:
I've been hearing a lot about Republican anti-voting laws, but not much about Democrat-sponsored pro-voting laws at the state level.
If the Democrats can get the "For the People Act" passed, I'm curious what effect that would have on state laws. I don't know much about how federal voting laws interact with state laws.
(I also think making it harder for your senior citizens to vote from home is going to meet with some major disappointment from that constituency.)
Thanks so much for this post, kliuless!
posted by kristi at 8:09 AM on February 24, 2021 [25 favorites]
Republican state lawmakers are attacking the expanded access to voting put in place in 2020, especially mail-in voting. Although there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud in 2020, and repeated studies have shown voter fraud is vanishingly rare, 33 states are considering more than 165 bills to restrict voting, more than four times the number from last year. These bills are intended to stop mail-in voting, increase voter ID requirements, make it harder to register to vote, and expand purges of voter rolls.(emphasis mine)
But, even as Republicans are trying to curtail voting, Democrats are trying to expand it. Lawmakers in 37 states have introduced 541 bills to expand mail-in voting, expand early voting, promote voter registration, and restore the right to vote for those who have lost it. At the national level, the first measure Democrats introduced into Congress this year was the “For the People Act,” which embraces the policies in the state bills and also reforms campaign financing, requires candidates to disclose the previous ten years of their tax returns, and ends gerrymandering.
I've been hearing a lot about Republican anti-voting laws, but not much about Democrat-sponsored pro-voting laws at the state level.
If the Democrats can get the "For the People Act" passed, I'm curious what effect that would have on state laws. I don't know much about how federal voting laws interact with state laws.
(I also think making it harder for your senior citizens to vote from home is going to meet with some major disappointment from that constituency.)
Thanks so much for this post, kliuless!
posted by kristi at 8:09 AM on February 24, 2021 [25 favorites]
If you were not following Marc Elias and Democracy Docket during the post-election period, now is a good time to start.
posted by JoeZydeco at 8:18 AM on February 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by JoeZydeco at 8:18 AM on February 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
Republican-backed voting curbs set for U.S. Supreme Court scrutiny - "Supreme Court arguments over the 2016 ban and another Arizona voting restriction - both ruled unlawful by a lower court - are scheduled for next Tuesday, with a decision due by the end of June. A broad ruling by high court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, endorsing the restrictions could further weaken the Voting Rights Act, a landmark 1965 federal law that barred racial discrimination in voting, by making it harder to prove violations."
posted by kliuless at 8:36 AM on February 24, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by kliuless at 8:36 AM on February 24, 2021 [6 favorites]
Same old white conservative rule, "If you can't win cheat." 3/5ths compromise, electoral college, voter suppression...whatever it takes.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 8:53 AM on February 24, 2021 [28 favorites]
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 8:53 AM on February 24, 2021 [28 favorites]
Why is DeJoy still in place?
posted by maxwelton at 8:57 AM on February 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by maxwelton at 8:57 AM on February 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
Why is DeJoy still in place?
Why Biden Can’t Fire Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. Short answer: federal law bars the president from terminating the postmaster general under any circumstances.
posted by RichardP at 9:10 AM on February 24, 2021 [24 favorites]
Why Biden Can’t Fire Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. Short answer: federal law bars the president from terminating the postmaster general under any circumstances.
posted by RichardP at 9:10 AM on February 24, 2021 [24 favorites]
putting all mail on an 11 day minimum delivery schedule
This...this is going to lead to a lot of unintended consequences.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 9:11 AM on February 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
This...this is going to lead to a lot of unintended consequences.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 9:11 AM on February 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
This...this is going to lead to a lot of unintended consequences.
I assure you, the consequences are intended.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:13 AM on February 24, 2021 [37 favorites]
I assure you, the consequences are intended.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:13 AM on February 24, 2021 [37 favorites]
There’s still an appetite from a lot of Republicans to do stuff like this
I have decided to write a simple political primer for my children, explaining in age-appropriate language the nuts-and-bolts of how the American political system operates.
My working title is "R Is For Asshole.'
posted by nickmark at 10:12 AM on February 24, 2021 [13 favorites]
I have decided to write a simple political primer for my children, explaining in age-appropriate language the nuts-and-bolts of how the American political system operates.
My working title is "R Is For Asshole.'
posted by nickmark at 10:12 AM on February 24, 2021 [13 favorites]
Rectum, surely. For all the wrecking.
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:04 AM on February 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:04 AM on February 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
Without trying to mindread, I suspect many Republicans are so much in favor of voter suppression because they don't actually like democracy. But it's currently not socially acceptable to openly say you don't want a democratic form of government.
In addition to subverting democracy they're also engaged in a PR effort to make it more acceptable to reject democracy. The main approaches appear to be trying to associate the term "democracy" with direct democracy without representatives and thus paint it as an absurd impossibility, and their constant refrain that America is not a democracy but rather a republic (as if those were two incompatible things).
Since they are, at best, dubious about democracy and at worst are openly monarchists (see the so-called "Dark Enlightenment" for details), they're fine with subverting democracy to get what they want.
When David Frum said "If conservatives become convinced that they can not win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. The will reject democracy." I'm pretty sure he meant that as a threat, not a warning, but it's apparently accurate.
The essay "Not a Tea Party A Confederate Party" is now seven years old, and it's even more relevant today than when it was written.
If they can have power democratically they are happy to have power democratically. If they can't win via democracy they will chose other means of assuring power.
William F Buckley argued that the American South was wholly justified in preventing Black people from voting because he held that Black people were uncivilized and that civilization was more important than democracy.
Further he used a twisted and perverse version of the paradox of tolerance to present the suppression of Black voters as a defense of democracy rather than an attack on democracy. Buckley argued that because he thought Black people were uncivilized if they got power via democracy they would dismantle democracy entirely and that therefore the sham of democracy where only white people get to vote is the true defense of democracy.
Whatever their justification, they simply don't think democracy is important. It's nice, sure, if they can have power via democratic elections they'll gladly take it.
But they believe that since any ideology other than theirs is bad then it is impossible for any ideology other than theirs to legitimately hold power. And since their ideology is the only one that can legitimately hold power how it acquires that power is essentialy irrelevant.
Whether via democracy, coup, dictatorship, cheating, or anything else if they have power they believe that to be legitimate.
Which leads naturally to the corollary: no other ideology can ever legitimately have power, so any action taken against that illegitimate ideology is justifiable and patriotic.
posted by sotonohito at 11:19 AM on February 24, 2021 [38 favorites]
In addition to subverting democracy they're also engaged in a PR effort to make it more acceptable to reject democracy. The main approaches appear to be trying to associate the term "democracy" with direct democracy without representatives and thus paint it as an absurd impossibility, and their constant refrain that America is not a democracy but rather a republic (as if those were two incompatible things).
Since they are, at best, dubious about democracy and at worst are openly monarchists (see the so-called "Dark Enlightenment" for details), they're fine with subverting democracy to get what they want.
When David Frum said "If conservatives become convinced that they can not win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. The will reject democracy." I'm pretty sure he meant that as a threat, not a warning, but it's apparently accurate.
The essay "Not a Tea Party A Confederate Party" is now seven years old, and it's even more relevant today than when it was written.
If they can have power democratically they are happy to have power democratically. If they can't win via democracy they will chose other means of assuring power.
William F Buckley argued that the American South was wholly justified in preventing Black people from voting because he held that Black people were uncivilized and that civilization was more important than democracy.
Further he used a twisted and perverse version of the paradox of tolerance to present the suppression of Black voters as a defense of democracy rather than an attack on democracy. Buckley argued that because he thought Black people were uncivilized if they got power via democracy they would dismantle democracy entirely and that therefore the sham of democracy where only white people get to vote is the true defense of democracy.
Whatever their justification, they simply don't think democracy is important. It's nice, sure, if they can have power via democratic elections they'll gladly take it.
But they believe that since any ideology other than theirs is bad then it is impossible for any ideology other than theirs to legitimately hold power. And since their ideology is the only one that can legitimately hold power how it acquires that power is essentialy irrelevant.
Whether via democracy, coup, dictatorship, cheating, or anything else if they have power they believe that to be legitimate.
Which leads naturally to the corollary: no other ideology can ever legitimately have power, so any action taken against that illegitimate ideology is justifiable and patriotic.
posted by sotonohito at 11:19 AM on February 24, 2021 [38 favorites]
nickmark: My working title is "R Is For Asshole.'
Marketing note: it might work better as a primer on American politics for Brits, R is for Arsehole.
posted by Riki tiki at 11:21 AM on February 24, 2021 [10 favorites]
Marketing note: it might work better as a primer on American politics for Brits, R is for Arsehole.
posted by Riki tiki at 11:21 AM on February 24, 2021 [10 favorites]
Without trying to mindread, I suspect many Republicans are so much in favor of voter suppression because they don't actually like democracy.
Understandable, as their "transfer the other half of the nation's wealth to the top 1%" platform isn't popular -- notably, they had to at least pretend to have a replacement for the ACA they wanted to dismantle and claim loudly that they "care about" pre-existing conditions. And Republicans have been aware since the post-Romney election postmortem that being the party of angry white men is demographic suicide.
But it's currently not socially acceptable to openly say you don't want a democratic form of government.
That's why you'll hear code words like "we're a republic, not a democracy," as if being a republic justified an inherently undemocratic pattern of representation.
Republicans seem to be well aware that they can't compete for a majority of voters, because they admit as much when they try to suppress the vote. Democrats must point that fact out constantly and refuse to take their bogus claims about "voter fraud" in good faith. (The fact that Trump constantly touts his own vote totals in an election he claims was fraudulent is proof that they don't really believe it except as a convenient excuse.)
posted by Gelatin at 11:28 AM on February 24, 2021 [7 favorites]
Understandable, as their "transfer the other half of the nation's wealth to the top 1%" platform isn't popular -- notably, they had to at least pretend to have a replacement for the ACA they wanted to dismantle and claim loudly that they "care about" pre-existing conditions. And Republicans have been aware since the post-Romney election postmortem that being the party of angry white men is demographic suicide.
But it's currently not socially acceptable to openly say you don't want a democratic form of government.
That's why you'll hear code words like "we're a republic, not a democracy," as if being a republic justified an inherently undemocratic pattern of representation.
Republicans seem to be well aware that they can't compete for a majority of voters, because they admit as much when they try to suppress the vote. Democrats must point that fact out constantly and refuse to take their bogus claims about "voter fraud" in good faith. (The fact that Trump constantly touts his own vote totals in an election he claims was fraudulent is proof that they don't really believe it except as a convenient excuse.)
posted by Gelatin at 11:28 AM on February 24, 2021 [7 favorites]
Without trying to mindread, I suspect many Republicans are so much in favor of voter suppression because they don't actually like democracy. But it's currently not socially acceptable to openly say you don't want a democratic form of government.
Given how common the silly "we're not a democracy, we're a republic" line is, they aren't exactly hiding it.
posted by brundlefly at 11:29 AM on February 24, 2021 [6 favorites]
Given how common the silly "we're not a democracy, we're a republic" line is, they aren't exactly hiding it.
posted by brundlefly at 11:29 AM on February 24, 2021 [6 favorites]
National treasure Heather Cox Richardson often says that saying "we're not a democracy, we're a republic" is akin to saying "I don't have a dog, I have a golden retriever."
posted by Devoidoid at 11:42 AM on February 24, 2021 [24 favorites]
posted by Devoidoid at 11:42 AM on February 24, 2021 [24 favorites]
Heather Cox Richardson is exactly correct, but I don't think you can attribute any more nuance to the "we're not a democracy, we're a republic" line than, "so Democrats bad, Republicans good, hurf durf!" It's an slogan, not an argument.
posted by bcd at 11:49 AM on February 24, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by bcd at 11:49 AM on February 24, 2021 [6 favorites]
I always dumb the democracy/republic thing down as much as I can when people use that line. One thing can have multiple aspects to it. A ball can be both rubber and red. Being red doesn't mean the ball isn't rubber and being rubber doesn't mean the ball isn't red. The government can be described as both a republic and a democracy. Each describes a different thing about the government and being one doesn't mean it's not the other.
posted by downtohisturtles at 11:52 AM on February 24, 2021 [14 favorites]
posted by downtohisturtles at 11:52 AM on February 24, 2021 [14 favorites]
It's an slogan, not an argument
It's a slogan meant to imply an argument for those in the know. As Richardson points out, the Republican Party's neo-Confederate agenda revolves around the concept that wealthy ought to have control over how society's resources are distributed -- to them, naturally -- and "democracy" only allows the rabble to vote themselves a bigger share of the pie. But they dare not voice that sentiment out loud, hence dogwhistles like "we're not a democracy, we're a republic." There's nothing inherent in being a republic that means power and resources have to be distributed un-democratically, but that's exactly what Republicans want.
It fits hand in glove with the conservative principle that there must be an in-group that the law protects but does not bind (Ted Cruz nicking off to a luxury Mexican vacation in the midst of a winter emergency) and an out-group that the law binds but does not protect (many of the citizens of Texas, probably to the surprise of many of them when they wound up freezing and without utilities too).
posted by Gelatin at 12:09 PM on February 24, 2021 [7 favorites]
It's a slogan meant to imply an argument for those in the know. As Richardson points out, the Republican Party's neo-Confederate agenda revolves around the concept that wealthy ought to have control over how society's resources are distributed -- to them, naturally -- and "democracy" only allows the rabble to vote themselves a bigger share of the pie. But they dare not voice that sentiment out loud, hence dogwhistles like "we're not a democracy, we're a republic." There's nothing inherent in being a republic that means power and resources have to be distributed un-democratically, but that's exactly what Republicans want.
It fits hand in glove with the conservative principle that there must be an in-group that the law protects but does not bind (Ted Cruz nicking off to a luxury Mexican vacation in the midst of a winter emergency) and an out-group that the law binds but does not protect (many of the citizens of Texas, probably to the surprise of many of them when they wound up freezing and without utilities too).
posted by Gelatin at 12:09 PM on February 24, 2021 [7 favorites]
As usual in these threads, I will say that I hope we get some standards passed nationally. Being in DeSantis land, he will get anything he wishes passed through our legislature. Mark my words - he thinks he's the next Trump, and he might be.
posted by wittgenstein at 12:18 PM on February 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by wittgenstein at 12:18 PM on February 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
Yay! "As Postmaster General Louis DeJoy faces House panel, Biden nominates three Democrats to USPS board of governors"
posted by another_20_year_lurker at 12:23 PM on February 24, 2021 [27 favorites]
posted by another_20_year_lurker at 12:23 PM on February 24, 2021 [27 favorites]
I had a psycho boss years ago who suddenly decided one day that they wanted me gone, after being their golden girl for years, with exceeds expectations reviews and putting me into some high level, really visible work. They actually said to me, in front of an outside consultant brought in because the head of HR was their close friend so they needed an "impartial" person and they didn't have any obvious cause to fire me, "If you choose not to quit, I will make your life living hell."
I don't see why Biden or someone else can't make that a really clear statement to DeJoy. It's the least he deserves.
(Oops, on preview maybe someone is thinking along those lines?)
posted by kitten kaboodle at 12:39 PM on February 24, 2021 [7 favorites]
I don't see why Biden or someone else can't make that a really clear statement to DeJoy. It's the least he deserves.
(Oops, on preview maybe someone is thinking along those lines?)
posted by kitten kaboodle at 12:39 PM on February 24, 2021 [7 favorites]
It's a slogan meant to imply an argument for those in the know.
True enough. Though, for exactly the reasons you laid out, it's not really an argument that you can have in good faith with those who subscribe to it. They know their actual position isn't acceptable to the majority if explained honestly so they'll never admit to it openly.
posted by bcd at 12:44 PM on February 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
True enough. Though, for exactly the reasons you laid out, it's not really an argument that you can have in good faith with those who subscribe to it. They know their actual position isn't acceptable to the majority if explained honestly so they'll never admit to it openly.
posted by bcd at 12:44 PM on February 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
The Republican party is an apartheid party. The germ of this probably dates back to Nixon's "southern strategy," or perhaps even to the Dixiecrats, but I think of GW Bush's presidency as the turning point. GW wanted immigration reform; the rest of his party emphatically did not, and seemed to be happy to be viewed as racist in order to appeal to their base. The country's demographic trends were clear at that point, in a way I don't think they were in the 60s or 70s: it would have been clear in the early oughts that the day was coming soon when the GOP could not win without systematically disenfranchising the kind of people who weren't likely to vote for them (that is, everyone other than frightened white people). Here in 2021, that day has arrived.
posted by adamrice at 1:05 PM on February 24, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by adamrice at 1:05 PM on February 24, 2021 [6 favorites]
Matt Shuham of Talking Points Memo: ‘Get Used To Me’: Defiant DeJoy Previews More Cost-Cutting Measures.
posted by RichardP at 1:36 PM on February 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by RichardP at 1:36 PM on February 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
Doesn't the postal clause give Congress authority over the post office? If so, why can't Congress simply vote to remove DeJoy?
posted by Jonathan Livengood at 2:23 PM on February 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Jonathan Livengood at 2:23 PM on February 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
There is a post office board of directors- only they can remove DeJoy. But Biden can appoint directors.
posted by kerf at 2:25 PM on February 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by kerf at 2:25 PM on February 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
Never forget that their wrecking baall in the USPS, Postmaster General DeJoy, is still in power and still doing everything he can to utterly demoish the postal service.
*adds wrecking baal to the cache of potential sockpuppet names*
posted by acb at 2:34 PM on February 24, 2021 [15 favorites]
*adds wrecking baal to the cache of potential sockpuppet names*
posted by acb at 2:34 PM on February 24, 2021 [15 favorites]
Dems need to get rid of the filibuster and start pushing through laws to stop this fascist nonsense, while that remains an option. Clock to the 2022 election is ticking.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 4:28 PM on February 24, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 4:28 PM on February 24, 2021 [8 favorites]
Would I be correct to assume that the Georgia Senate is up to more disenfranchisement shenanigans? Georgia bill clears Senate that would let state take over local election boards.
Is there anything concerned citizens of other states can do to fight these kinds of actions?
posted by another_20_year_lurker at 4:31 PM on February 24, 2021 [6 favorites]
Is there anything concerned citizens of other states can do to fight these kinds of actions?
posted by another_20_year_lurker at 4:31 PM on February 24, 2021 [6 favorites]
For those paywalled away from the WaPo link:
Biden submitted nominations (two Dems and one indie) for the three open seats on the post office board of directors today. They require Senate confirmation, so it will take some time before they are seated. (If need be, he is eligible to replace a fourth, a Dem on an expired term who was appointed by Trump).
When the three nominees are confirmed, assuming the two Dems currently on the board join in, DeJoy can be given the boot.
posted by chimpsonfilm at 5:31 PM on February 24, 2021 [5 favorites]
Biden submitted nominations (two Dems and one indie) for the three open seats on the post office board of directors today. They require Senate confirmation, so it will take some time before they are seated. (If need be, he is eligible to replace a fourth, a Dem on an expired term who was appointed by Trump).
When the three nominees are confirmed, assuming the two Dems currently on the board join in, DeJoy can be given the boot.
posted by chimpsonfilm at 5:31 PM on February 24, 2021 [5 favorites]
I have mentioned this before, but there is no reason why it should be easier for me to send money to a politician than to vote for them.
I also don't understand why more Democratic politicians don't just go on the offensive by just...stating the truth about Republicans, their lies, and their goals to take away people's rights and lives.
As Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, Katie Porter, and many others have demonstrated, this actually excites voters.
Collegiality with centrists and conservatives is a privilege for the deluded.
posted by Ouverture at 8:54 PM on February 24, 2021 [29 favorites]
I also don't understand why more Democratic politicians don't just go on the offensive by just...stating the truth about Republicans, their lies, and their goals to take away people's rights and lives.
As Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, Katie Porter, and many others have demonstrated, this actually excites voters.
Collegiality with centrists and conservatives is a privilege for the deluded.
posted by Ouverture at 8:54 PM on February 24, 2021 [29 favorites]
The best way to get me to want something is to try to take it away from me. This is why the Republicans will fail to suppress the vote. And will continue to fail.
The bad news is their fall back plan will be more declarations of fake election results, insurrection, violence.
posted by storybored at 9:17 PM on February 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
The bad news is their fall back plan will be more declarations of fake election results, insurrection, violence.
posted by storybored at 9:17 PM on February 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
oh, for...
But this time, Democrats are not speaking with one clear voice, with some pushing for a brand new slate of governors who could immediately fire DeJoy, while others are taking a more moderate approach, hoping they can instead work with the controversial USPS leader and cut a deal on a long-awaited bill to overhaul the postal service.
In the latter camp is House Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, a New York Democrat who is working behind the scenes with DeJoy on a potential reform bill that has eluded Congress for more than 14 years, according to multiple Democratic sources. Her goal: Secure backing from DeJoy and win over Republicans whose support they'll eventually need in the Senate to push the bill into law.
why are so many Democrats so hopelessly bad at politics
posted by mightygodking at 11:56 PM on February 24, 2021 [11 favorites]
But this time, Democrats are not speaking with one clear voice, with some pushing for a brand new slate of governors who could immediately fire DeJoy, while others are taking a more moderate approach, hoping they can instead work with the controversial USPS leader and cut a deal on a long-awaited bill to overhaul the postal service.
In the latter camp is House Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, a New York Democrat who is working behind the scenes with DeJoy on a potential reform bill that has eluded Congress for more than 14 years, according to multiple Democratic sources. Her goal: Secure backing from DeJoy and win over Republicans whose support they'll eventually need in the Senate to push the bill into law.
why are so many Democrats so hopelessly bad at politics
posted by mightygodking at 11:56 PM on February 24, 2021 [11 favorites]
Her goal: Secure backing from DeJoy and win over Republicans whose support they'll eventually need in the Senate to push the bill into law.
Republicans are never going to support something that leads to their demise. The same reason less populated states will never abolish the electoral college, the same reason they will never agree to DC statehood, the same reason the Senate remains disproportionate.
Democrats have to pass legislation IN SPITE of, not with, Republicans.
posted by ichomp at 12:20 AM on February 25, 2021 [20 favorites]
Republicans are never going to support something that leads to their demise. The same reason less populated states will never abolish the electoral college, the same reason they will never agree to DC statehood, the same reason the Senate remains disproportionate.
Democrats have to pass legislation IN SPITE of, not with, Republicans.
posted by ichomp at 12:20 AM on February 25, 2021 [20 favorites]
sohonito wrote: The essay "Not a Tea Party A Confederate Party" is now seven years old, and it's even more relevant today than when it was written.
I strongly recommend this essay/blogpost. It's disheartening, since it lines up the immensity of the opposition to democracy in the US.
As a European, I'm also thinking about how what he calls Confederate ideology permeates other continents and cultures, spread through popular culture like movies, but also through American foreign policy, even elements of foreign policy both sides agree on. I think the last five years have made the rest of the world realize that something really frightening is going on in the US and that it isn't just about Trump. Neither does it matter wether Putin helped Trump win -- he was just giving a bit of a shove to what was already there.
I don't think the election of Joe Biden is going to make the rest of the world trust that now the US is somehow back on track. A lot will depend on wether the Biden administration and the current congress can effectively stop this de facto counter revolution, and the first step must be to acknowledge it is going on.
posted by mumimor at 3:04 AM on February 25, 2021 [6 favorites]
I strongly recommend this essay/blogpost. It's disheartening, since it lines up the immensity of the opposition to democracy in the US.
As a European, I'm also thinking about how what he calls Confederate ideology permeates other continents and cultures, spread through popular culture like movies, but also through American foreign policy, even elements of foreign policy both sides agree on. I think the last five years have made the rest of the world realize that something really frightening is going on in the US and that it isn't just about Trump. Neither does it matter wether Putin helped Trump win -- he was just giving a bit of a shove to what was already there.
I don't think the election of Joe Biden is going to make the rest of the world trust that now the US is somehow back on track. A lot will depend on wether the Biden administration and the current congress can effectively stop this de facto counter revolution, and the first step must be to acknowledge it is going on.
posted by mumimor at 3:04 AM on February 25, 2021 [6 favorites]
It's pretty terrifying how bad things have gotten. Ben Collins [reporter for NBC News] has rather eloquently put it, “a political movement based on the imminent, public executions of political enemies"
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22252171/qanon-donald-trump-conspiracy-theories
posted by Jacen at 3:40 AM on February 25, 2021 [3 favorites]
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22252171/qanon-donald-trump-conspiracy-theories
posted by Jacen at 3:40 AM on February 25, 2021 [3 favorites]
Amazingly, I agree with DeJoy on one thing. From TalkingPointsMemo:
"And the postmaster general and several other witnesses expressed their support for draft legislation that would, among other things, eliminate the Postal Service’s congressionally mandated pre-funding requirement for workers’ retirement health care benefits. Unlike other federal agencies, USPS is currently required to save up for its current employees’ health care decades in the future, putting it perpetually in billions’ of dollars of debt."
We can thank Susan Collins for this abomination. Since this mandate went into effect it has been the 50 ton weight on the USPS that makes it look like it's "losing money", when in fact the USPS has been turning a profit each year if you factor it out.
Why DeJoy favors its removal is a mystery, since he seemed installed for the sole purpose of destruction. Maybe he wants it gone so he can point to the massive improvement on the USPS bottom line it will deliver as "proof" he was a miracle to the service. F that guy. USPS had a greater than 90% public approval before he was installed. He is an institutional arsonist.
posted by mcstayinskool at 6:35 AM on February 25, 2021 [14 favorites]
"And the postmaster general and several other witnesses expressed their support for draft legislation that would, among other things, eliminate the Postal Service’s congressionally mandated pre-funding requirement for workers’ retirement health care benefits. Unlike other federal agencies, USPS is currently required to save up for its current employees’ health care decades in the future, putting it perpetually in billions’ of dollars of debt."
We can thank Susan Collins for this abomination. Since this mandate went into effect it has been the 50 ton weight on the USPS that makes it look like it's "losing money", when in fact the USPS has been turning a profit each year if you factor it out.
Why DeJoy favors its removal is a mystery, since he seemed installed for the sole purpose of destruction. Maybe he wants it gone so he can point to the massive improvement on the USPS bottom line it will deliver as "proof" he was a miracle to the service. F that guy. USPS had a greater than 90% public approval before he was installed. He is an institutional arsonist.
posted by mcstayinskool at 6:35 AM on February 25, 2021 [14 favorites]
Why DeJoy favors its removal is a mystery, since he seemed installed for the sole purpose of destruction. Maybe he wants it gone so he can point to the massive improvement on the USPS bottom line it will deliver as "proof" he was a miracle to the service.
Judging from the behavior of other CEO types, he probably wants to raid the pre-funded pensions so they never actually get paid out, and point to it as an example of government failure into the bargain.
posted by Gelatin at 6:44 AM on February 25, 2021 [15 favorites]
Judging from the behavior of other CEO types, he probably wants to raid the pre-funded pensions so they never actually get paid out, and point to it as an example of government failure into the bargain.
posted by Gelatin at 6:44 AM on February 25, 2021 [15 favorites]
It would be very interesting to learn the details of how the efforts to reduce Postal Service expectations so that first class mail takes 11 days are coordinated with state legislative efforts to make it reduce the time period for people to vote by mail. What are the organizations and individuals and funding sources that enable this kind of coordinated anti-democratic effort?
posted by another_20_year_lurker at 9:33 AM on February 25, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by another_20_year_lurker at 9:33 AM on February 25, 2021 [4 favorites]
There's the ballot issue, and also, via TPM: Much of Democrats’ anger at the postmaster general stemmed from a Washington Post report that he is considering ending two-day delivery for first-class mail. The report, parts of which DeJoy confirmed under questioning Wednesday, would also limit the use of air transport for first-class mail. [...] DeJoy acknowledged, for example, that his mid-year decision to order mail delivery trucks to depart facilities strictly on time — rather than taking extra time to ensure they were carrying their full loads — actually delayed mail in the end. Fact check: New postmaster general invested in Postal Service competitors (USA Today, Aug. 13, 2020) Louis DeJoy and his wife Aldona Wos reported between at least $30 million to just over $75 million in assets from XPO Logistics, J.B. Hunt and UPS. All are competitors with U.S. Postal Service operations. While government records confirm their ownership of the assets, the exact value of the holdings is not clear from the records. (Aldona Wos was Trump's pick for ambassador to Canada, but she was not confirmed.)
-- Since this mandate went into effect it has been the 50 ton weight on the USPS that makes it look like it's "losing money", when in fact the USPS has been turning a profit each year if you factor it out. Maybe every agency needs to pre-fund workers’ retirement health care benefits? Maybe the USPS needs to be part of the existing Federal Employees Health Benefits plan... Per the proposed Postal Service legislation: "The bill would require future retirees to enroll in Medicare in order to participate in the Postal Employee Benefits Program (similar to the Federal Employee Health Benefit Program but established as a separate risk pool). However, the bill includes several exceptions ..." TIL that the FEHB doesn't require Medicare enrollment.
posted by Iris Gambol at 12:27 PM on February 25, 2021 [3 favorites]
-- Since this mandate went into effect it has been the 50 ton weight on the USPS that makes it look like it's "losing money", when in fact the USPS has been turning a profit each year if you factor it out. Maybe every agency needs to pre-fund workers’ retirement health care benefits? Maybe the USPS needs to be part of the existing Federal Employees Health Benefits plan... Per the proposed Postal Service legislation: "The bill would require future retirees to enroll in Medicare in order to participate in the Postal Employee Benefits Program (similar to the Federal Employee Health Benefit Program but established as a separate risk pool). However, the bill includes several exceptions ..." TIL that the FEHB doesn't require Medicare enrollment.
posted by Iris Gambol at 12:27 PM on February 25, 2021 [3 favorites]
Mod note: Couple comments deleted. Please don't put giant text dumps in threads, instead please just choose select excerpts and then link to the full version elsewhere such as threadreader for twitter threads. Thanks.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 8:45 AM on February 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 8:45 AM on February 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
> As a European, I'm also thinking about how what he calls Confederate ideology permeates other continents and cultures...
(please note threadreader does not unroll these tweets because a) they are too old, and b) they aren't threaded)
posted by kliuless at 9:24 AM on February 28, 2021 [3 favorites]
on the rise of transnational fascism:
1/ Brexit.
Fascism is a complex phenomenon with multiple roots and multiple forms, such that various fascisms often appears contradictory.
2/ Even more than on the Left, and precisely b/c there IS no 'Ur' text (such as Marx), it is a movement of heterodoxies.
3/ Thus, while there IS such a thing as fascist doctrine – its hardly 'mindless' - there is also much truth in the words of Maurice Bardèche
4/ that fascism is not a doctrine, but an 'instinct in the blood'.
At any rate, in what follows, I simplify...
5/ Because 'historical' fascism was dominated by Germany and by Hitler, we often think of Nazis. Nazism was ultra-nationalistic and based on
6/ a strictly *biologically* determined racialist view (with occult and pseudo-scientific roots) that is referred to as "Vertical Racism".
7/ This was the view of Hitler and most of the NSDAP (after the purge of 1934), Himmler, and the SS
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_aspects_of_Nazism
8/ This survived, postwar, in Neo-Nazi movements, skinheads, etc; and, of course, in the Nazi diaspora: SouthAmerica, US, Europe, MiddleEast
9/ But the total collapse in 1945, meant that this Hitlerite trend in fascism was to a significant degree discredited -- even among fascists
10/ And so Postwar Fascism saw the rise of a very different trend -- associated with the Strasser brothers - the Strasserite trend –
11/ Gregor was murdered in the Purge of 1934 (Night of the Long Knives), and Otto (Black Front) went into exile and only died in 1974.
12/ Strasserites are called Left Nazis because they were more violently anti-capitalist, anti-bourgeoise (than was Hitler).
13/ This Strasserite trend flourished in Postwar fascism (it had connections also with early Italian fascism, and with the Salò Republic)
14/ Postwar fascism developed in an age that was essentially anti-fascist, and so had to adapt. And its adaptions were quite profound...
15/ First, it abandoned ultra-nationalism & became transnational. This meant that it espoused a multipolar world, constructed of homogenous
16/ cultural/ethnic units -- each of which would live (for the time being) within their set boundaries -- An ethnically pure Europe, Asia,
17/ Pan-Arabists, Pan-Africanists, etc. Within each unit, the societies would be organized on hierarchical, authoritarian lines, where the
18/ community (not the individual - as in post-Enlightenment Europe) was the organic unit. The ethnos was ontologically prior to the citizen
19/ Economically, they are Corporativists: Society is organized along sectoral, rather than class lines; i.e. class collaboration
20/ replaces class conflict. The 'sectors' are themselves subordinated to the community or ethnos, which is *fully* represented by the State
21/ Secondly: Many postwar fascists rejected Vertical Racism, and view the races -- not as determined by Blood - but as products of the long
22/ slow workings of climate, diet, natural selection, inbreeding, and history. This view actually goes back to Montesquieu (!) - l'esprit
23/ It was adopted by most of the (non-Nazi) Italian fascists, incl. Mussolini, by the likes of J. Evola, F.P. Yockey, and so forth. Thus,
24/ the 'race' (razza) is to be molded by the social and political structures (i.e. the State) which thus has a primary pedagogical function
25/ (directed, of course, from above).
This is referred to as 'Horizontal Racism', and is somewhat porous -- unlike in Hitlerism.
26/ Third - and most radical - this Strasserite trend, & this was then the pitch of Yockey's Imperium (which so influenced Euro-neofascism),
27/ turned *EAST*, towards Russia, and not West. It was deeply Anti-American, anti-capitalist, anti-bourgeois, and anti-materialistic.
28/ Thus it formed an alliance with National Bolshevism (Red Fascists who were White Russians that supported Stalinism).
29/ Post 1917, Lenin & the USSR was Fascism’s enemy - because Communism appeared to be internationalist, materialistic, cosmopolitan
30/ And Jewish.
And this is why the Nazis were so Anti-Soviet, and so Anti-Communist.
31/ But by 1940, Trotsky (the principal representative of this brand of Communism) was dead, all the other leading Jews had been purged,
32/ And Stalin had even given up his Internationalism in favor of his "Socialism for One Nation' slogan. He formed deep alliances with
33/ nationalists, Russophiles (Mother Russia), mystics, National Bolsheviks; he was authoritarian and anti-cosmopolitan...
34/ And many Postwar (neo-)fascists felt that, rhetoric aside, Stalinism was simply a form of fascism - that he was 'one of us’.
35/ Thus was born a type of Russian fascism known as Eurasianism -- Think Alexander Dugin and others around Putin -- which many Postwar
36/ European Neofascist could identify with, certainly more than with the mongrelized, hyper-materialistic U.S. (Much like Qutb, actually)
37/ Bardèche, who was the brother-in-law of Robert Brassilach, argued that Postwar fascism would have to hide its true face -- and adapt
38/ becoming Transnational, forming regional homogeneities inside of a multi-polar world; each region being racial pure (but horizontally)
39/ & seeking a Third Way between America and the Soviet Union. Some went so far as to assist Third World nationalist liberation movements
40/ Of course, the fall of the USSR and the arrival of Putinism makes an OPEN alliance with Eurasianism a real option - as Putin knows.
41/ THIS more Strasserite/Yockeyist trend (and not Hitlerism) is the type of fascism which has generally gained traction in Postwar Europe.
42/ It is found in Yockey, Evola, Alain de Benoist and the Nouvelle Droite (and their offshoots - including Dugin in Russia), and it is
43/ THIS that has adopted (as a mask and until the seizure of power) the electoral strategies found in the FN (Le Pen), UKIP, AfD, etc. etc
44/ Hence, the new Extreme Right in Europe is Neofasicst. But it is not anti-European. In fact, it is Pan-European (if not Eurasianist).
45/ What they hate, and what Putin (who has been funding them) hates, therefore, is not a European project per se, but an EU/NATO that tilts
46/ towards America -- that is, capitalist, neoliberal, cosmopolitan, egalitarian, multi-cultural -- and (they think) dominated by Jews.
47/ It is a Europe of Nations, they want, not a Europe of technocrats and cosmopols:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movement_for_a_Europe_of_Nations_and_Freedom
The Europe of a 100 Flags...
48/ Hence, the alliance between the European Far Right and Putinism to do everything possible to undermine the EU and NATO -- and in this,
49/ they won a resounding (!) victory with Brexit.
Left Brexiters were just dupes.
50/ One last point, re: Trump. The fascism of Evola, Yockey, Benoist, etc. is much too sophisticated for America. American redneck fascism
51/ because of its KKK, John Birch Society, or Black Metal origins, tends to be stuck more in the Neo-Nazi mold. But that is changing...
52/ Trump, however, in his clumsy, comical way, is playing to both sides -- his support from Neo-Nazi, Neo-Confederate yokels is known
53/ But his 'playing footsie' with Putin, and now with the Anti-EU, Anti-globalization forces of UKIP and unscrupulous opportunists (Boris)
54/ that gives further cause for worry -- and adds disturbing premises to his "America First' pitch...
55/ A West dominated by FN, Trumpists, AfD, UKIP, AN/MSI, etc -- would be a West that has thoroughly rejected the Enlightenment project and,
56/ along with Putin and the Eurasianists, thrown itself headlong into the arms of the Counter-Enlightenment -- at which point,
57/ the Lights really WILL start going out all over, not just Europe, but the world.
And the setting of the 'evening lands' (Vesper/West)
58/ Spengler's << Untergang des Abendlandes >> will finally have come to pass.
posted by kliuless at 9:24 AM on February 28, 2021 [3 favorites]
Quoting myself, As a European, I'm also thinking about how what he calls Confederate ideology permeates other continents and cultures
There is this article about a film today in the Guardian: New haircuts, old ideology: film warns of shifting far-right strategy in Europe
In Denmark, we have our own impeachment going on, of former cabinet member and orange person Inger Støjberg. Recently, she has been copying Trump even more blatantly, even using his words and phrases, like "drain the swamp". This morning the news is that she wants her trial TV-transmitted just like in America, and that the votes to convict should made public. I don't think it has any chance of going through. Even on the right, very few want to make a spectacle out of this. But it is a clear example of how the US inspires activists in other countries.
I also think she and her supporters live in a bubble, where they think their racist opinions are more popular than they actually are, they have never been more than the usual 27-28%. Basically the difference is that immigration is no longer a wedge issue in Denmark. This is in part because the ruling Social Democratic Party have moved very far to the right on immigration (and luckily we have a multiparty-system so I don't have to vote for them), and partly because the Social Democrats and the supporting parties on the left have successfully shifted the political agenda towards questions of equality and the green new deal, and of course corona.
As in the US, there is a business/economy faction on the right who know that immigration is necessary because of demographics and they are becoming more outspoken, too.
posted by mumimor at 1:11 AM on March 2, 2021 [2 favorites]
There is this article about a film today in the Guardian: New haircuts, old ideology: film warns of shifting far-right strategy in Europe
In Denmark, we have our own impeachment going on, of former cabinet member and orange person Inger Støjberg. Recently, she has been copying Trump even more blatantly, even using his words and phrases, like "drain the swamp". This morning the news is that she wants her trial TV-transmitted just like in America, and that the votes to convict should made public. I don't think it has any chance of going through. Even on the right, very few want to make a spectacle out of this. But it is a clear example of how the US inspires activists in other countries.
I also think she and her supporters live in a bubble, where they think their racist opinions are more popular than they actually are, they have never been more than the usual 27-28%. Basically the difference is that immigration is no longer a wedge issue in Denmark. This is in part because the ruling Social Democratic Party have moved very far to the right on immigration (and luckily we have a multiparty-system so I don't have to vote for them), and partly because the Social Democrats and the supporting parties on the left have successfully shifted the political agenda towards questions of equality and the green new deal, and of course corona.
As in the US, there is a business/economy faction on the right who know that immigration is necessary because of demographics and they are becoming more outspoken, too.
posted by mumimor at 1:11 AM on March 2, 2021 [2 favorites]
Supreme Court Seems Ready To Uphold Restrictive Voting Laws
posted by kliuless at 12:12 AM on March 4, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by kliuless at 12:12 AM on March 4, 2021 [3 favorites]
After a Wave of Violent Threats Against Election Workers, Georgia Sees Few Arrests (ProPublica, March 3, 2021) For nearly a year, election administrators across the country weathered the pandemic while facing attacks and threats [*] — leading many officials to resign or retire. In Georgia, little was done to prevent it from happening again. [...]
In the time between the November election and the January runoffs, Gov. Brian Kemp told reporters about death threats on social media against him and his family; [Secretary of State Brad] Raffensperger reported a text message that said, “You better not botch this recount. Your life depends on it,” sexualized threats against his wife, and people trespassing on their home property; an aggressor followed a Georgia election worker home and called him a racial slur; and Georgia Elections Director Chris Harvey received an email with his address, a photo of his home, and the message: “Your days are numbered. The FBI can’t save you. ... Every time you leave your house in the morning, make sure to say goodbye to your family, as you may not see them again.”
A couple of days before the January runoff election, employees in 10 Georgia counties — all of which lean Republican — received threatening emails about explosives at polling places. Sheriff’s deputies and other police in those counties increased their presence at polling places during the election, and Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix said the GBI [Georgia Bureau of Investigation] later traced the email to an overseas server. As with the other incidents, no arrests were made.
*Previously: For Election Administrators, Death Threats Have Become Part of the Job (ProPublica, Aug. 21, 2020)
posted by Iris Gambol at 9:12 AM on March 4, 2021 [5 favorites]
In the time between the November election and the January runoffs, Gov. Brian Kemp told reporters about death threats on social media against him and his family; [Secretary of State Brad] Raffensperger reported a text message that said, “You better not botch this recount. Your life depends on it,” sexualized threats against his wife, and people trespassing on their home property; an aggressor followed a Georgia election worker home and called him a racial slur; and Georgia Elections Director Chris Harvey received an email with his address, a photo of his home, and the message: “Your days are numbered. The FBI can’t save you. ... Every time you leave your house in the morning, make sure to say goodbye to your family, as you may not see them again.”
A couple of days before the January runoff election, employees in 10 Georgia counties — all of which lean Republican — received threatening emails about explosives at polling places. Sheriff’s deputies and other police in those counties increased their presence at polling places during the election, and Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix said the GBI [Georgia Bureau of Investigation] later traced the email to an overseas server. As with the other incidents, no arrests were made.
*Previously: For Election Administrators, Death Threats Have Become Part of the Job (ProPublica, Aug. 21, 2020)
posted by Iris Gambol at 9:12 AM on March 4, 2021 [5 favorites]
They are literally using fascist methods
posted by mumimor at 9:16 AM on March 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by mumimor at 9:16 AM on March 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
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posted by mumimor at 3:44 AM on February 24, 2021 [1 favorite]