November 18th
Dear friends,
It’s two weeks after Election Day and we remain in limbo due to the intransigence of the current Administration. The PA Supreme Court rejected yet another of the bogus lawsuits, ruling that “Philadelphia election officials did not improperly block the Trump campaign from observing the city’s vote count.” I had been waiting on an update from Choose Democracy, and it finally came late yesterday. They note that the Stop the Steal narrative is the most alarming aspect of the current situation, but that it lacks the legitimacy, scope, and strategy of a successful coup (bold type is theirs):
Under one hundred thousand gathered in DC for a mostly calm rally. Meanwhile Trump added fuel to the fire, tweeting for the DC police to be hard on counter-protestors: "do your job and don't hold back!!!" The DC police did not comply.
This is deeply concerning to democracy. Choose Democracy's role is focused on a coup and so we ask ourselves if this is a group in a position to seize control of society and stop the wheels of the democratic election. Successful coups require a plan, coordination, numbers, and a lot of legitimacy. They do not appear to have these things.
Choose Democracy has not moved their coup-o-meter (I’ve wasted time considering the pronunciation of this term) into the attempted coup orange alert zone because election officials of both parties continue to certify state elections, the courts have remained independent, and they’ve “never heard of anyone orchestrating a coup while golfing.” I was feeling a bit of an orange alert because Republican election officials in Wayne County, Michigan (in which Detroit is located) were refusing to certify the vote, but a public outcry led them to reverse themselves very late yesterday.
MeidasTouch put out this extraordinary advertisement a few days ago in Georgia. It’s a damning and accurate portrayal of Kelly Loeffler, who is running for Senate against Raphael Warnock. Watch it and then sign up to phone-bank, text-bank, and or write postcards to support GOTV efforts in the Georgia run-off. In addition to Warnock and Ossoff’s Senate Races, Daniel Blackman is on the run-off ballot for a position on the Georgia Public Service Commission. The odds are against these Democratic candidates, and so we need to get to work.
Here in NYC, schools are open today, but the coronavirus positivity rate is approaching the 3% threshold. The schools are not the cause of the rising number of cases; the need to shut down the sites responsible for community spread is urgent. Please contact the Governor to ask that he prohibit indoor dining and close high-risk non-essential businesses, such as gyms.
with love,
L