Honestly, the short answer is no. McCorkle Terence Diamond www.terencediamond.com 646-876-1700
On Fri, Nov 13, 2020 at 11:41 AM John Young <[email protected]> wrote: > Comforting to think of a civilian political solution to Mr. Trump's > autocracy agenda. Insufficient critique of how autocratically political are > all military and law enforcement, internationally and domestically, ranked, > uniformed, armed, civilian collateral harm bemedaled. > > At 10:27 AM 11/13/2020, you wrote: > > Hello everyone - > > Dan is basically right about everything, especially the anxiety and horror > this election produced and the devastating realization that you live in a > country where almost fifty percent of the population is willing to support > an openly white supremacist and fascist political formation. Election night > was the most sobering and profoundly depressing political moment of my life. > > From my viewpoint though, there has in fact been a lot of attention to the > danger of a coup. For instance, all the political-ecology and leftist > organizations that I follow repurposed themselves into anti-coup forces > starting two months ago. This movement from below was paralleled by > mobilizations among political figures, career administrators, lawyer types > and corporates, filtering both down and up into the mainstream, to the > point where a few days ago, some large unions declared their readiness to > hold a general strike (gasp! this is the US!) to ensure a proper transition. > > I kept up with everything through the organizing work of XR Chicago, and > this Monday, when coup anxieties focused on the possibility that Republican > legislators could present rival (and illegitimate) slates of Electoral > College voters to Congress on December 14, I drilled down into > constitutional law to see how likely this could be. It goes without saying > that you have to worry. Probably everyone knows that the 2000 election was > stolen by the Republicans with the ginned-up "Brooks Brothers Riot" that > stopped the recount in Florida, followed by a Supreme Court decision that > handed the election to Bush, with all the consequences. Probably it will > come out soon that the whole "Stop the Steal" movement flourishing just a > few days ago was similarly ginned-up (though maybe not by Roger Stone > himself this time). Others might remember that slates of rival electors > were in fact presented by three states in 1876, leading to tremendous > chaos, a back-room deal in Washington, and ultimately, the end of > Reconstruction in the South, with even greater consequences that still face > us today (the myth of the Confederate "Lost Cause" and the persistence of > slaveholder racism now extending throughout the country). > > However, my conclusion is, this Electoral College scenario is not going to > happen for many reasons. Not least of which, because the Electoral Count > Act of 1887 really clarified the process, and it turns out that in case of > disagreement over the validity of the rival electors, either the House and > the Senate would have to agree on which ones to support (which they > obviously wouldn't) or the decision would go back to the Governors of the > states (and in the case of the Northern swing states that are really at > issue, those Governors are Democrats). Trump does not have the support to > overturn all that, his lawsuits are meritless and serve another purpose. > For anyone who wants to wonk out on the question, read this: > https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3685392. > > That does not mean the nightmare is over. The explanation of Trump's > failure to concede that has gradually consolidated over the past three days > is no longer that he is planning organized fraud or an Electoral College > coup, but instead, that he is maintaining the fury of his reality-averse > base in order to keep his hold over the Republican Party, which desperately > needs his support to win the two Senate seats that go to a vote in Georgia > on January 5. Additionally Trump wants to start a new TV channel to > maintain his grip on the party and hold himself up as a candidate for 2024. > This thing could go on forever! Trump's defeat, or what the idiots will > refer to as "the stolen election," could easily become a new caricature of > the old Lost Cause, with everything that entails (basically it would be, or > really, already is like yet another return of the Ku Klux Klan, this time > including armed militias throughout the North). Plus, we don't know what's > behind the firing of top military officials and what kinds of damage Trump > is preparing to do out of sheer spite in the upcoming months, as Covid > spirals out of control... It could go a lot of ways. > > Not all of them are bad though. Trump is likely to lose some popularity, > and depending largely on that, the Dems could take those two Senate seats > in Georgia! > > As for the carping on the left about Biden, I don't get it. We have a > president who pledges to root out "structural racism" (his exact words, > which target every police department in the country) and who has already > released a 300-page white paper detailing what every agency of the federal > government can do about climate change. The new administration actually has > parallel plans under development, one if they take the Senate, the other if > they don't. Plus we have a powerful progressive caucus that's basically > headed by Alexandria Ocasio Cortez now (with Bernie in the background) and > she just delivered an incredible riposte to all the quivering Dems who say > that radicalism cost them seats in the House. AOC says, look, seated > progressives didn't lose *their* campaigns, but instead, incompetence in > both fundraising and social media lost those seats! Biden's politics are > crucially influenced by the continuing progressive mobilization, and > equally if not more, by Black and Indigenous radicalism. It's the first > time I've ever seen serious left politics in this country, and it all began > almost a decade ago now, in the wake of Occupy. Everybody who is seriously > on the left says Biden is a president we can push, they're right about > that, and the carping comes from people who are either fatalists or are > just not paying attention. > > So anyway, the silence comes from exhaustion, uncertainty and a measure of > relief. I am sure there will be more outbursts soon enough, as the > Republicans try new gambits to maintain minority rule. Unless there's a > political miracle and the Dems take the two Georgia Senate seats, this > nightmare is going to go on, and who knows, maybe we'll yet have armed > risings and a state of emergency and other undreamt of things between now > and January 20. I am amazed that violence hasn't already happened, but this > thing is not over. And Dan is particularly right about the blindness of > liberals to most of what actually goes on in this benighted country. I am > probably afflicted by some of that blindness too - even though calling me a > liberal would be fighting words, so watch out, nettimers! > > yours in sorrow, Brian > > > On Fri, Nov 13, 2020 at 6:09 AM Dan S Wang <[email protected] > > wrote: > Hi Nettime, > > Here in the US along with millions of others I have been consumed by the > election drama for the past ten days. Every day beginning with November 3 > has been its own news cycle. That Tuesday went deep into the night. And it > was a dark moment. Early returns made for the appearance of a Trump-led > tidal wave across all the swing states. Trump made his first statement > well after 2 AM East Coast time, basically declaring himself the winner > even though the counting continued. Shortly thereafter the whole mood > changed as Biden's count gained on Trump's 118k lead in the state of > Wisconsin and then dramatically overtook it. Wednesday morning dawned with > a new optimism. But I didn't sleep soundly until Saturday, the day the > states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Nevada were called for Biden, putting > him in a commanding lead for the Electoral College--that political > anachronism and relic of slave vs free state negotiations. I had a stress > rash and lost a few pounds over the week--and I was comparatively > confident compared to many of my nervous wreck friends. > > As has been his way all along and now pushed into an extreme even for him, > since Election Day Trump's produced a cascade of hair raising statements > and tweets, abrupt firings across the security and defense sector that may > signal sinister intentions, and stepped up a blatantly obstructionist > intransigence in relation to the Biden transition team--complemented by > his usual inadvertently sad/hilarious acts of incompetence, ranging from > his campaigns instantly ridiculed press conference outside a random and > unappealing landscaping firm to his chief-of-staff testing positive for > COVID, followed a couple of days later by the confirmed infections of the > billionaire Uihlein couple, major donors to conservative causes, big > supporters of Trump, and noted corona-skeptics who had recently visited > the White House. > > The ten days since the election have forced yet again the crash course in > the peculiarities of US election laws, the arcana of legal scenarios, many > of them varying widely depending on which states may be involved, and the > gaming out of Trump's dwindling but still very dangerous options. Felix, I > think you've got it mostly correct. But it's still a long shot for > Trump--pulling off reversals and/or machinations regarding the electors in > at least four states, each with its own political personalities and local > agendas, all at once in the next four weeks is near impossible. Beginning > today a trickle of Republicans have said as much. If this snowballs even a > little bit, then Trump will soon be running on fumes. > > Meanwhile on the left I see already lots of carping about Biden's > centrism, lots of fawning over the various constituencies that delivered > the victory--the young voters that turned out in record numbers, the > Republican defectors that cut margins in conservative hinterlands, and > especially the Black voters of Detroit, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and > Atlanta--and lots of anxiety about a coup unfolding in broad daylight as > Trump does his very best to delegitimize the counts by crying fraud and > pushing legal challenges that thus far have amounted to nothing, so > ridiculous are they. What worries me is that the left seems to be watching > all developments with neither much of a contingency plan, nor any > agreement on best strategies for countering Trump's assaults on our > democracy. As Felix noted, the loading up of Trump loyalists sets the > stage for repression and new levels of abuse. And it makes provocation the > big danger right now, particularly as Trump runs out of legal challenges. > There hasn't been much noise made about disciplined responses. New rounds > of disorder and street chaos are quite possible--all it would take is > another Kenosha shooting incident. > > And on the right? This, to me, is the most unsettling thing going on > presently. Conservative media have attained a permanent state of frothy > delusion. Conservative radio probably has the deepest reach, providing > millions of listeners with talking points, exhortations from well > practiced voices, and vows to "save the country" from...well, from fraud! > election theft! tyrannical doctors! big tech companies! (Because the > latter have started--four years too late, at least--to place warnings on > Trump's outrageous lies, shut down disinformation-based right wing > Facebook groups, and declare that once out of office Trump's Twitter > account will be held to the same standards of conduct as that of any > private citizen.) Then the Trump grassroots turn to social media to find > each other, and personally reinforce for one another the stream of lies > emanating first from Trump but second from hundreds of conservative media > voices hellbent on winning the media sweepstakes to become the next Rush > Limbaugh (he of the terminal cancer--yes, Goddess, thank you). > > I tell my friends, dare to look, dare to visit right wing media. Trump's > record breaking vote totals--second most only to Biden's--cannot be a > surprise to anyone that pays attention to right wing media. They had a > huge get-out-the-vote effort, a massive campaign to register new voters > (usually a beneficial strategy only for the Dems), particularly young > voters. Moreover, they targeted Black men, Brown men, and Asian men, all > with a measurable degree of success. The shock of your average liberals on > Election Night, sent into despair upon seeing so many of their fellow > Americans choose Trump, confirmed for me that consensus reality is no > longer. And that continues right now, with millions of Trump voters loudly > rejecting a Biden victory as an impossibility, because to them there is > simply no way the country contains this many Biden voters. However the > next few weeks play out, what is clear is that reactionary populism is > here to stay as a major force in US politics. In addition to his repulsive > (and thankfully uncharismatic) sons, there will be plenty of would-be > Great Leaders looking to help themselves to the fat electorate Trump > brought into being. Defending the society against an armed fascist threat > that is networked on a mass scale will be a generation-long struggle, one > that opens in earnest now. COVID and climate remain wild cards. > > Plenty more to say, surely with additional twists to consider by the end > of tomorrow. Thank you friends for helping to think through our situation. > I return the positive energy, particularly for comrades in Vienna. > > Dan W. > > > > —Resident Artist, 18th Street Arts Center, Santa Monica, CA > > IG: type_rounds_1968 > danswang.xyz > > > > > On 11/13/20, 2:07 AM, "Eric Kluitenberg" < [email protected] > on behalf of [email protected]> wrote: > > > > >Hi Felix, all, > > > >The post-election situation in the US is very worrying in many respects. > > > >The darkest scenario, a slow coup d’etat against a clear election result > >has been suggested to me by several friends over the past few days. > > > >I can’t read the local situation that well, so it would be great to hear > >some US subscribers on the list weigh in. > > > >However, when adopting a ‘realist’ perspective on politics it seems > that > >Republicans are keeping all options on the table, mostly to secure future > >positions, when a.o. more senate seats are up for election (in 2 years?). > > > >What is significant about the election outcome is not just that the Biden > >/ Harris ticket has won, but that the landslide victory of Democrats did > >not happen, that their majority in the House declined, and that it seems > >likely they will not gain 50 seats in the Senate (to be decided by the > >Georgia run-off in January). > > > >It seems that voters have voted against Trump, but not for the Democrats, > >and that the electorate remains as bitterly divided as it has been for > >the past twenty years. That is not a good thing for the country and the > >stability of the political system in the world’s most militarised state, > >holding the largest nuclear arsenal. > > > >So it is justified to be worried right now, let’s hope it is a > ‘realist’ > >game for the post-Trump constellation. > > > >bests, > >Eric > > > > > >> On 13 Nov 2020, at 10:10, Felix Stalder <[email protected]> wrote: > >> > >> Hi everyone, > >> > >> I must admit, amidst post-terror assault on civil liberties and covid > >> cases spiraling out of control here in Austria, the US election drama > >> has moved a bit lower in my attention, but not that much. > >> > >>> From what I understand, the numbers show that Trump lost. Period. No > >> recount will change that. > >> > >> But, the game of the Republicans is to create so much doubt about the > >> fairness of the elections (without any evidence) to make it impossible > >> to certify them in time. Frivolous lawsuits are great at gumming things > >> up. This would then allow the Republican dominated legislatures in swing > >> states to appoint their own electors which would bring Trump the > >> majority. In the mean time, the minister of defense, who previously > >> refused to send in troops against mostly peaceful protestors, has been > >> fired and replaced with a loyalist. Apparently, similar moves are in the > >> wings for the FBI and CIA. > >> > >> I know, Trump is often portrayed as an incompetent child, and the > >> strategy is totally outlandish, but the Republican party has shown to be > >> a pretty ruthless and successful power machine playing both a short and > >> a long game, and it's exactly the outlandishness of the strategy that is > >> its strongest point. > >> > >> In the mean time, the democrats pretend all of this to be irrelevant (an > >> 'embarrassment' at worst) and happily appoint a transition team full of > >> corporate insiders like it's 1992. > >> > >> Am I totally misreading the situation? > >> > >> Felix > >> > > > > # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission > # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, > # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets > # more info: http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l > # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: [email protected] > # @nettime_bot tweets mail w/ sender unless #ANON is in Subject: > > # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission > # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, > # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets > # more info: http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l > # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: [email protected] > # @nettime_bot tweets mail w/ sender unless #ANON is in Subject: > > # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission > # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, > # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets > # more info: http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l > # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: [email protected] > # @nettime_bot tweets mail w/ sender unless #ANON is in Subject:
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