The US Government has been shut down since the Federal fiscal year ended on September 30. In this episode we talk a bit about the history of shutdowns and note that this is the first one that happened when one political party, in this case the GOP, controls all branches of government. We also discuss the budget process a bit and note that Congress has not been able to pass an actual budget for some time, and the government has operated for years on Continuing Resolutions to fund the government at current levels. We also note that the GOP could end this any time they like by killing the filibuster for budget or CR votes so they could pass something by majority vote.
The Epstein thing also came up.
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Yesterday I spoke at the No Kings rally at the Williamsburg/James City County (WJCC) Courthouse, and thought I’d post a video of my remarks here.
Experts estimated the crowd at about six thousand people. I can tell you that protestors lined Monticello Avenue five or six deep for about a quarter mile or more, and many more gathered on the lawn next to the courthouse and the terrace where the speakers stood.
I can tell you that I saw elderly folks who clearly needed assistance to be there and still showed up. I spoke with middle-aged folks who remember Jim Crow and understand that Trump and his minions want to bring back oppression of out-groups and minorities of all kinds. And I engaged with young people who see very clearly that the system created by corporate capitalism simply does not work for them because they came too late to the party – the billionaires have already hoovered up all the wealth and they have no plan to share it or use it for the greater good.
The people I spoke with understand that MAGA is angry because Trump and his minions have lied to them about the state of the Nation and created fear in their hearts of people who live differently, love differently, and worship differently than they do. They lied to them so they can cripple the state, pervert law and order, and expand their fascist project of oppression.
Thanks to Heather Allen Meany and her team (looking at you, Rex!) for organizing this and creating a wonderful event with amazing speakers, including Lisa Vidernikova Khana (candidate for Congress in the First Congressional District, Ty Hodges (candidate for WJCC School Board), Diane Carter de Mayo (Chair of the Virginia First Congressional District Democratic Committee), Jason Moulenbelt (Marine Corps veteran and philosophy professor), Jessica Anderson (candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates in the 71st District), and Mark Downey (Pediatrician and incumbent Delegate and candidate for reelection in the 69th District).
None of these people were paid to organize this event. None of the protesters were paid to attend. Patriotic Americans – the real core of the American identity, those of us who believe in a Nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all – showed up for free.
Voting in Person, 2019 Photo Credit: R. Stanton Scott
An authoritarian figure who has joked about being President for life runs the Federal Government during a pandemic that could literally kill millions of Americans and disrupt society for months. States are postponing primary elections and struggling to figure out how voters can cast ballots while keeping social distancing. Understandably, some people worry that Donald Trump might take advantage of the crisis to stay in power.
Lots of journalists have written about this, including Evan Halper in the LA Times, Blake Rutherford for The Hill, and Chris Cillizza for CNN. The general assessment boils down to “Trump may be desperate with the economy in the tank but has no power to postpone elections. His term ends on 20 January 2021 even if he could, and the Presidential Succession Act kicks in if he isn’t reelected or replaced through a Constitutional election before that time.”
These discussions focus narrowly on two questions: whether States could physically hold elections during a pandemic using modern systems and what would happen if they couldn’t. Most agree that elections can take place if state legislatures hurry up and figure out how to use expanded absentee voting, other voting by mail systems, or even the internet. They also think that if for some reason elections cannot be held, someone other than Trump would take power based on existing statute.
What none of these articles mention is the Electoral College and the role of state legislatures in choosing these Electors. This is the group that actually elects the President, as we found out the hard way in 2016. These days voters choose these Electors by casting votes at polling stations or by mail because state legislatures want it that way – this is not a Constitutional requirement. This means that elections for President and Vice President can take place as long as state legislatures can meet and choose Electors before Election Day.
So conservatives who complain the loudest about “sanctuary cities” when it comes to immigration seem to be lining up to support “Second Amendment Sanctuaries” now that Democrats control the General Assembly. Yesterday I saw this first-hand at the Hanover and Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors meetings. Both Boards passed resolutions objecting to gun control laws that has not yet passed the General Assembly on the assumption they will infringe on Second Amendment rights.
Do they understand that socialism suppresses individuality, forces collectivism, causes mass starvation, imprisons people with divergent ideas in labor camps, herds them off their properties into high rise cinder block apartments, nationalizes all industries, and confiscates all private property and wealth?
This accurately describes East European and Russian political economies up to the end of the Cold War, so in a way Johnson comes by this view honestly. She experienced it this way. And because everyone called this kind of political and economic system “socialism” or “communism” back in the day, this is pretty standard-issue conservative rhetoric about the dangers of making sure the economy and political system work for everyone. I wonder though how much this has to do with protecting corporations and the wealthy from calls for a more equitable distribution of economic productivity than it does with any real concern over liberty. It’s not as if our system protects citizens from voter suppression and gerrymandering in a way that restricts elite power. In the end the conservative project looks a lot like a defense of corporate rights to profits while showing little concern for what liberty looks like to people who have to work two jobs so they can pay the rent and keep dinner on the table.
The Williamsburg-James City County Indivisible group has invited me to speak about the Electoral College at their meeting on 29 August. This talk will take place at the James City County Library at 7770 Croaker Road in Williamsburg from 6:30 to 9:00 PM.
I’ll discuss how and why the men who wrote the Constitution settled on this method for selecting a President, including how slavery created the conditions that made direct election of the President all but politically impossible. I’ll also discuss efforts to eliminate the EC or render it moot.
Please join me and the WJCC Indivisibles for an informative evening and a chance to meet new Democratic activist friends.
