As always, please go to the links for the full articles/ op eds.
The Biden Administration starts to take shape with foreign policy selections:
President-elect Joe Biden has selected Antony Blinken, one of his closest and longest-serving foreign policy advisers, as secretary of state as he prepares to unveil a slate of new nominees this week that will emphasize a deep well of experience in the foreign policy and national security establishment. [snip]
Biden also is planning to announce Linda Thomas-Greenfield as his nominee for ambassador to the United Nations, giving a former career Foreign Service officer and African American woman one of the most high-profile diplomatic posts in government, according to three people familiar with the decision.
The adults will be back in charge come January 20.
Naming names:
The 21 GOP Senators who have privately expressed their disdain for Trump are: Portman, Alexander, Sasse, Blunt, Collins, Murkowski, Cornyn, Thune, Romney, Braun, Young, Tim Scott, Rick Scott, Rubio, Grassley, Burr, Toomey, McSally, Moran, Roberts, Shelby. (2/3)
— Carl Bernstein (@carlbernstein) November 23, 2020
With few exceptions, their craven public silence has helped enable Trump’s most grievous conduct—including undermining and discrediting the US the electoral system.
— Carl Bernstein (@carlbernstein) November 23, 2020
More from my appearance earlier on @cnn: https://t.co/c1jZXMR0Pv (3/3)
As we noted yesterday, Michigan is one of the states due to certify President- elect Biden's victory there (by 150,000- plus votes). The Washington Post editorial board notes:
[Trump's] target Monday is the Michigan Board of State Canvassers, which is scheduled to meet to certify the results in their state, which Democrat Joe Biden won by the healthy margin of 154,000 votes. Ronna McDaniel, the servile chair of the Republican Party, and her Michigan counterpart, Laura Cox, on Saturday called on the board to delay certification. Their ostensible justification: “numerical anomalies and credible reports of procedural irregularities.”
As usual, there was no substantial evidence. Officials found only minor anomalies in Detroit affecting a small number of votes, and affidavits alleging irregularities were so weak that Trump campaign lawyers dropped the lawsuit based on them. Mr. Trump lobs sweeping allegations of a “rigged” and “stolen” election; his enablers such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) nod solemnly about letting him make his case — and judges across the country point out, again and again, that there is no case. [snip]
...We hope that Michigan’s board on Monday performs its work honorably. And we hope that when this is all over, Americans remember who defended democracy, and who joined in the campaign to upend it.
Meanwhile, this Trump toady continues to stall on getting the transition underway:
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) attacked President Donald Trump's General Services Administration chief, Emily Murphy, for refusing to sign off on President-elect Joe Biden's transition team.
Each of Trump's lawsuits alleging any kind of election fraud has proved to be a failure and some have downright infuriated judges. Still, Ms. Murphy maintains that Biden hasn't been declared the winner. Instead, she did an interview with CNN and whined that she's in a "no-win situation." If she authorizes the election, she could be fired from a job she'd have for one month. If she doesn't sign the letter she's putting the country at risk for a series of national security and public health problems by forcing Biden staff to scramble to get background checks and clearance approved on the first day of the new administration.
E.J. Dionne, Jr., has an observation and a warning:
Moreover, bypassing more polarizing alternatives, Biden’s own party chose the candidate most likely to be acceptable to the other side, itself a form of outreach.
And the GOP’s response to the outreach? With just a handful of exceptions, abject refusal to stand up against the anti-democratic lunacy of Trump’s efforts to nullify the results of a fair election.
It is also a warning: Anyone advising Biden and members of his party to turn the other cheek and reach out to Republican congressional leaders as though none of this has happened is urging them down the path of political suicide.
Ronald Reagan’s expression of hopeful skepticism, “trust but verify,” is far too optimistic for what Biden faces. Republicans aren’t simply denying him a honeymoon; they’re either acquiescing to or advancing Trump’s bid to cast Biden’s presidency as illegitimate from the start.
We close with our strong recommendation that you pay a visit to Infidel 753's link round-up, and while you're over there, be sure to read his post on the Trumpanzee monster turning on Republican leaders. It may help us snag those two Georgia Senate seats.
