03 October 20
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Joseph Stiglitz | How the Republican Party Threatens the US Republic
Joseph Stiglitz, Guardian UK
Stiglitz writes: "Whereas Nero famously fiddled while Rome burned, US President Donald Trump has famously hit the links at his money-losing golf courses while California burns."
Without a big election victory for Democrats at all levels, Republican minority rule will be locked in indefinitely
hereas Nero famously fiddled while Rome burned, US President Donald Trump has famously hit the links at his money-losing golf courses while California burns – and as more than 200,000 Americans have died of Covid-19 – for which he himself has now tested positive. Like Nero, Trump will undoubtedly be remembered as an exceptionally cruel, inhumane, and possibly mad political figure.
Until recently, most people around the world had been exposed to this American tragedy in small doses, through short clips of Trump spouting lies and nonsense on the evening news or social media. But in late September, tens of millions of people endured a 90-minute spectacle, billed as a presidential “debate”, in which Trump demonstrated unequivocally that he is not presidential – and why so many people question his mental health.
To be sure, over the past four years, the world has watched this pathological liar set new records – logging some 20,000 falsehoods or misleading statements as of mid-July, by the Washington Post’s count. What kind of debate can there be when one of the two candidates has no credibility, and is not even there to debate?
When asked about the recent New York Times exposé showing that he had paid just $750 in US federal income tax in 2016 and 2017 – and nothing for many years before that – Trump hesitated and then claimed without evidence that he had paid “millions”. He was clearly offering whatever answer he thought would move things along to a more comfortable topic, and there is no good reason why anyone should believe him.
Even more disturbing was his refusal to denounce white supremacists and violent extremist groups such as the Proud Boys, whom he instructed to “stand back and stand by”. Combined with his refusal to commit to a peaceful transition of power and persistent efforts to delegitimise the voting process, Trump’s behaviour in the run-up to the election has increasingly posed a direct threat to American democracy.
When I was a child growing up in Gary, Indiana, we learned about the virtues of the US constitution – from the independent judiciary and the separation of powers to the importance of properly functioning checks and balances. Our forefathers appeared to have created a set of great institutions (though they were also guilty of hypocrisy in declaring that all people are created equal so long as they are not women or people of colour). When I served as chief economist at the World Bank in the late 1990s, we would travel the world lecturing others about good governance and good institutions, and the US was often held up as the exemplar of these concepts.
Not anymore. Trump and his fellow Republicans have cast a shadow on the American project, reminding us just how fragile – some might say flawed – our institutions and constitutional order are. We are a country of laws, but it is the political norms that make the system work. Norms are flexible, but they are also fragile. George Washington, America’s first president, decided that he would serve only two terms, and that created a norm that would not be broken until the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. After that, a constitutional amendment codified the two-term limit.
Over the past four years, Trump and his fellow Republicans have taken norm-shattering to a new level, disgracing themselves and undermining the institutions they are supposed to defend. As a candidate in 2016, Trump refused to release his tax returns. And while in office, he has fired inspectors general for doing their jobs, repeatedly ignored conflicts of interest and profited from his office, undermined independent scientists and critical agencies, attempted outright voter suppression, and extorted foreign governments in an effort to defame his political opponents.
For good reason, we Americans are now wondering if our democracy can survive. One of the greatest worries of the founders, after all, was that a demagogue might emerge and destroy the system from within. That is partly why they settled on a structure of indirect representative democracy, with the electoral college and a system of what were supposed to be robust checks and balances. But after 233 years, that institutional structure is no longer robust enough. The GOP, particularly its representatives in the Senate, has failed utterly in its responsibility to check a dangerous and erratic executive as he openly wages war on the US constitutional order and electoral process.
There is a daunting task ahead. In addition to addressing an out-of-control pandemic, rising inequality, and the climate crisis, there is also an urgent need to rescue American democracy. With Republicans having long since neglected their oaths of office, democratic norms will have to be replaced with laws. But this will not be easy. When they are observed, norms are often preferable to laws, because they can be more easily adapted to future circumstances. Especially in America’s litigious society, there will always be those willing to circumvent laws by honouring their letter while violating their spirit.
But when one side no longer plays by the rules, stronger guardrails must be introduced. The good news is that we already have a roadmap. The For the People Act of 2019, which was adopted by the US House of Representatives early last year, set out an agenda to expand voting rights, limit partisan gerrymandering, strengthen ethics rules, and limit the influence of private donor money in politics. The bad news is that Republicans know they are increasingly in the minority on most of the critical issues in today’s politics. Americans want stronger gun control, a higher minimum wage, sensible environmental and financial regulations, affordable health insurance, expanded funding for preschool education, improved access to college, and greater limitations on money in politics.
The clearly expressed will of the majority puts the GOP in an impossible position: The party cannot simultaneously pursue its unpopular agenda and also endorse honest, transparent, democratic governance. That is why it is now openly waging war on American democracy, doubling down on efforts to disenfranchise voters, politicise the judiciary and the federal bureaucracy, and lock in minority rule permanently through tactics such as gerrymandering.
Since the GOP has already made its deal with the devil, there is no reason to expect its members to support any effort to renew and protect American democracy. The only option left for Americans is to deliver an overwhelming victory for Democrats at all levels in next month’s election. America’s democracy hangs in the balance. If it falls, democracy’s enemies around the world will win.
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett attends a meeting at the U.S. Capitol on September 30, 2020, in Washington, D.C. (photo: Sarah Silbiger/Getty)
COVID Is Screwing With Mitch McConnell's Plans to Get Amy Coney Barrett on the Supreme Court ASAP
Carter Sherman, VICE
Sherman writes: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell didn't plan to let President Donald Trump's positive COVID-19 diagnosis stop him from confirming a Supreme Court justice."
A handful of Republican senators—including two on the Senate committee tasked with approving her nomination—have tested positive for the coronavirus.
But now that a handful of Republican senators—including two on the critical Senate Judiciary Committee, tasked with approving Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination—have tested positive for the coronavirus, that ambitious scheme may be upended.
COVID-19 tore through Trumpworld on Friday. Sen. Mike Lee, of Utah, announced that he had tested positive to the coronavirus and would now isolate himself for 10 days, although he pledged to be back at work in time to advance Barrett’s nomination. North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis also announced late Friday that he tested positive and planned to isolate for 10 days.
Both men are members of the Judiciary Committee. They also both attended a White House Rose Garden ceremony last Saturday, where more than 150 people gathered to celebrate Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court. (Barrett, who currently serves as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, has tested negative for the coronavirus.)
Still, on Saturday, McConnell doubled down on his promise to confirm Barrett, even though Trump had been transferred to the hospital the day before. Although Senate floor activity will be rescheduled until October 19, he said, the Senate Judiciary Committee is still set to start hearings about Barrett on October 12.
“Since May, the Judiciary Committee has operated flawlessly through a hybrid method that has seen some Senators appear physically at its hearings while other members have participated virtually,” McConnell said in a statement. “The committee has utilized this format successfully for many months while protecting the health and safety of all involved. Certainly all Republican members of the committee will participate in these important hearings.”
Sen. Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat and the Senate minority leader, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat and ranking member on the Judiciary Committee, released a joint statement on Friday condemning any plan to hold Barrett’s confirmation hearing virtually.
“There is bipartisan agreement that a virtual hearing for a lifetime appointment to the federal bench is not an acceptable substitute. All circuit court nominees have appeared in person during the pandemic,” they said. “There is far more at stake for the American people with this Supreme Court nomination, including the Affordable Care Act being struck down and more than 7 million COVID survivors being denied health coverage.”
But now, questions are swirling not only about the Senate Judiciary Committee’s ability to hold the meeting, but Republicans ability to successfully win the vote on Barrett’s confirmation on the Senate floor. So far, it’s not clear whether the Senate would vote remotely on the matter.
Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, who is not on the Senate Judiciary Committee but whose vote would likely be needed to confirm Barrett before the full Senate, has also tested positive for the virus, his spokesperson said, CNN reported Saturday. He intends to remain in isolation until his doctor says otherwise.
That announcement has left the GOP with very little margin for error. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have indicated that they will vote against Barrett’s nomination. With a 53-47 majority in the Senate, Republicans can’t lose more than three votes if they want to confirm Barrett, whose ascension to the Supreme Court would cement a 6-3 conservative majority on the bench.
McConnell had hoped to vote on Barrett ahead of the election on November 3. The Senate could instead vote on her confirmation during the lame-duck session, once the sick senators can safely return to work, but Republicans are hoping to avoid that scenario due to the GOP’s precarious hold on the chamber, according to CNN.
Meanwhile, Trump, at 74, is in an age group that’s deeply susceptible to becoming very ill after contracting COVID-19. On Friday, the White House announced that he was being taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, just hours after his physician said Trump planned to remain at the White House.
A Donald Trump supporter holds a QAnon flag at Mount Rushmore National Monument on July 1. (photo: Scott Olson/Getty)
17 Republicans Voted Against Condemning QAnon After a Democrat Got Death Threats From Its Followers
Sarah Mimms, BuzzFeed
Mimms writes: "The House voted to formally condemn QAnon - a collective delusion that alleges President Donald Trump is fighting a Satan-worshipping cabal of elites who abuse children - on Friday, three days after its followers targeted Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski with death threats."
The resolution passed the House 371–18 on Friday, with one Republican voting "present."
he House voted to formally condemn QAnon — a collective delusion that alleges President Donald Trump is fighting a Satan-worshipping cabal of elites who abuse children — on Friday, three days after its followers targeted Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski with death threats.
The resolution, which passed the House 371–18, also comes as at least one avowed QAnon believer is expected to be elected to Congress next month. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has also posted a photo of herself holding a gun next to images of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other members of the "Squad," won the Republican primary for a Georgia seat earlier this year and is very likely to win in November. Several other QAnon followers have won Republican primaries.
Malinowski coauthored the bipartisan resolution condemning QAnon with Republican Rep. Denver Riggleman back in August, two weeks after Greene won her primary and after Trump called her a “future Republican Star.” Trump has praised QAnon, despite Q’s frequent anti-Semitism, the fact that their followers have a history of turning their beliefs into real-world violence, and that the FBI has labeled the group a domestic terror threat.
Seventeen Republicans voted against the resolution on Friday, as did Libertarian Rep. Justin Amash. One member, Republican Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, voted “present.”
On Tuesday, Malinowski was targeted in a “Q-drop” — one of the self-proclaimed US government insider’s conspiracy-filled posts on message boards. As BuzzFeed News reported Wednesday, the post mentioned Malinowski’s resolution, but it also included a screenshot of a false attack from the National Republican Campaign Committee alleging that Malinowski “lobbied to protect sexual predators.”
The false attack — which the NRCC also included in a debunked TV ad in which a narrator says, “Tom Malinowski chose sex offenders over your family” — echoes a core belief of QAnon followers: that powerful Democrats and global elites are engaged in child trafficking. Adherents have actually hindered law enforcement going after child trafficking by overwhelming them with false conspiracy theories.
Malinowski quickly started getting death threats after Q’s post went up Tuesday, which his office reported to the Capitol Police. And the NRCC, the campaign arm of House Republicans, has only doubled down on the false attack since then. The NRCC is currently run by Rep. Tom Emmer, who voted for the resolution Friday. Malinowski told BuzzFeed News that he spoke to Emmer about the NRCC attacks and how they could play into QAnon's hands before the Q drop targeted him. “He said, ‘I don’t know what Q is’ and walked away. … He said, 'I can’t be responsible for, you know, how people use our stuff and I don’t know what that is,'” Malinowski said.
(Emmer traveled with Trump on Air Force One on Wednesday before the president tested positive for the coronavirus and was tested Friday, according to his office. He voted in person on Friday and has not announced any test results.)
The Republicans who voted against the anti-QAnon resolution are Reps. Jodey Arrington, Michael Burgess, Bill Flores, and Brian Babin of Texas; Rob Bishop of Utah; Mo Brooks of Alabama; Buddy Carter and Drew Ferguson of Georgia; Warren Davidson of Ohio; Jeff Duncan and Ralph Norman of South Carolina; Paul Gosar of Arizona; Mike Kelly and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania; Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin; Daniel Webster of Florida; and Steve King of Iowa.
King, a racist, lost the Republican primary for his seat this summer and will not return to Congress next year. Republicans removed King from his committee assignments in 2019 after he questioned why "white nationalist" and "white supremacist" are "offensive" in a New York Times interview. Congress did not, however, attempt to expel King from the House or even censure him. Instead, Democrats passed a resolution condemning white supremacy that only mentioned King once; even King voted for it.
The anti-QAnon resolution passed Friday isn't binding law; it expresses the sentiment of the House as a whole. In addition to condemning QAnon, it calls on the FBI and other federal law enforcement to “strengthen their focus on preventing violence, threats, harassment, and other criminal activity by extremists motivated by fringe political conspiracy theories.” It also “encourages” the intelligence community to investigate whether QAnon is getting financial support or online amplification from foreign actors and if it is coordinating with any “foreign extremist organizations or groups espousing violence."
Amash, who left the Republican Party in 2019, said in a statement that he voted no because the resolution "threatens protected speech" and argued that it "may make things worse" by encouraging the intelligence community and the FBI to go after QAnon, which would confirm followers' fears of a "deep state that's fighting against them."
Arrington said in a statement that he also voted against Friday's resolution because of First Amendment concerns. "There is a world of difference between conspiracy and criminal - one is protected by the First Amendment; the other should be condemned in all forms," he said.
But Arrington added that he also voted against it because the resolution made no reference to Antifa "and other radical Leftist groups."
Harvey Weinstein. (photo: Seth Wenig/AP)
Harvey Weinstein Charged With 3 More Rapes in California
Andrew Dalton, Associated Press
Dalton writes: "Harvey Weinstein was charged Friday with the rapes of two more women and now faces 11 sexual assault counts involving five women in California as the former movie mogul serves prison time in New York, prosecutors said."
READ MORE
Voters stand in line to cast their ballots inside Calvary Baptist Church in Rosenberg, Texas, March 1, 2016. (photo: Erich Schlegel/Getty)
'Racist Voter Suppression': Texas Laws Keep Latinos From the Ballot Box, Groups Say
Suzanne Gamboa, NBC News
Gamboa writes: "The coronavirus pandemic could challenge Latino voter turnout this year, and voting advocates say it just adds to the barriers intentionally enacted to keep Latinos and voters of color from casting their ballots."
READ MORE
Small groups of protesters gather in central Cairo shouting anti-government slogans. (photo: Mohamed And El Ghany/Reuters)
Amnesty Urges Egypt to Release Detainees After Rare Protests
Al Jazeera
Excerpt: "Amnesty International has urged the Egyptian authorities to release hundreds of people it said were arrested during anti-government protests last month."
READ MORE
The koala is being considered for official listing as endangered. (photo: Getty)
Australia's Koalas Are 'Sliding Towards Extinction'
Lisa Cox, Guardian UK
Cox writes: "The koala is being considered for official listing as endangered after the summer's bushfire disaster and ongoing habitat destruction on the east coast forced the government to reconsider its threat status."
The iconic species, which is currently listed as vulnerable under national environment laws, is among 28 animals that could have their threat status upgraded, Australia's federal environment minister, Sussan Ley, said on Friday, September 25.
The greater glider, which had 30 percent of its habitat range affected by the bushfire crisis, is also being assessed to determine whether it should move from vulnerable to endangered, while several frog and fish species, including the Pugh’s frog and the Blue Mountains perch, are being considered for critically endangered listings.
Several Kangaroo Island species, including the Kangaroo Island crimson rosella and Kangaroo Island white-eared honeyeater, are among birds being assessed for an endangered listing.
Ley has asked the threatened species scientific committee to complete its assessments by October next year.
The koala assessment will apply to the combined populations of New South Wales, Queensland, and the Australian Capital Territory, where more than 10 percent of the population was affected by bushfire. Koalas on the east coast are also under multiple other pressures due to continued habitat destruction, drought and disease.
Environmental groups, which nominated the species for an endangered listing, said already severe populations declines had been made worse by the 2019–20 bushfire disaster.
“We welcome prioritization for the koala but also hope the process can be sped up and the koala listed as endangered before October 2021,” said Nicola Beynon of Humane Society International.
Josey Sharrad, of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, said koalas on Australia’s east coast were “sliding towards extinction” and immediate action was needed to bring the species back from the brink.
A recent New South Wales parliamentary inquiry found koalas would be extinct in the state by 2050 without urgent intervention to protect habitat and help the species recover.
Ley said on Friday that because of the ongoing effects of the bushfires, the government would introduce additional nomination processes for the listing of threatened species over the next two years on top of the annual nomination process.
The 28 species included on the finalized priority assessment list for formal assessment in the 2020 period include two reptiles, four frogs, seven fish, six mammals and 12 birds, bringing the total number of species currently being assessed to 108.
After a species makes the priority list, it is assessed by the scientific committee, which then makes a recommendation to the minister regarding its threat status.
“This process is critical in ensuring threatened species are given strategic protection, are eligible for targeted funding and that awareness is raised about the issues impacting them,” Ley said.
A recent interim report from a review of Australia’s conservation laws found governments had failed to protect Australia’s unique wildlife and the environment was in unsustainable decline.
The government currently has a bill before the parliament to devolve decision-making powers under national environmental laws to the states.
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