On today’s BradCast: A preview of the unimaginably worse dysfunction that awaits us all after Democrats take over the U.S. House majority in January and Donald Trump becomes even worse and more dishonest at his job? [Audio link to show follows below.]
First up today, some quick news headlines, including Time Magazine’s announcement that several journalists, killed or imprisoned, are “Person of the Year” for 2018, and a life sentence plus 419 years recommended by the jury for the neo-Nazi who murdered activist Heather Heyer by plowing a car into counter-protesters during the August 2017 “United the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Also, the Washington Post Fact Checkers have been forced to create a new category to describe Donald Trump’s dozens of endlessly repeated lies, such as his claims that Mexico would pay for his border wall (he’s demanding U.S. tax-payers do so instead) and that his tax cuts were the largest in U.S. history (they weren’t. They were the 8th largest.) The new category will be called “Bottomless Pinocchio” and will apply to lies that repeated more than 20 times after they’ve long been debunked by the fact-checkers as a falsehood. To date, Trump is the only politician to merit such a rating. At least 14 of his most frequently repeated lies have already earned the dubious new distinction.
Then, Trump’s bizarre on-camera pageant in the Oval Office today with presumptive, soon-to-be Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer. During a media avail before what was to be a meeting regarding the impending federal budget deadline, the three bickered about Trump’s threat to shut down the U.S. Government if a budget deal fails to include billions for his southern border wall. “If we don’t get what we want,” Trump threatened the Democrats during the lengthy and bizarre televised negotiation, “I will shut down the government.”
Pelosi and Schumer tried to convince the President to accept one of two bi-partisan deals they say could be immediately passed by both the House and Senate. But Trump, the great deal-maker, failed to budge — so far. Trump’s threat to shutdown the U.S. Government despite the costs to Americans and the economy, comes even while Republicans still control both chambers of Congress. Things are likely to get much uglier once Dems take over the House with their (at least) 40-seat majority on January 3.
Speaking of which, we’ve got a few more new details today on the GOP election fraud scandal in North Carolina‘s still-uncertified 9th Congressional District race. Republican Mark Harris is said to have won the election in November by just 905 votes over Democrat Dan McCready. But evidence of absentee ballot fraud by a GOP contractor hired by Harris (in both the general election and Republican primary) has delayed certification of the race by the State Board of Elections. They will decide whether to order a new election or declare one of the two candidates the winner. The Board had planned to review evidence from the ongoing investigation by December 21, but has now told a state court they they may need more time, given that the Harris Campaign has been slow in responding to documents subpoenaed by the Board.
Also, new evidence this week reveals that election workers in Bladen County (one of two NC counties at the center of the probe), illegally tabulated early vote results and leaked them to non-election officials (the Harris campaign?) several days prior to the close of polls on November 6th.
Meanwhile, election officials in Florida have now revealed that more than 6,600 vote-by-mail absentee ballots sent and post-marked by Election Day went uncounted in the Sunshine State’s midterm election. Those numbers don’t yet include ballots from Palm Beach County, a Democratic stronghold. The untabulated ballots might have effected a number of close races in FL, including those tallied in statewide “recounts” for U.S. Senate, Governor and Agricultural Commissioner. While state law allows ballots post-marked by Election Day from overseas military votes to be included in the tally if they are received up to ten days after the election, all other “late” ballots are ignored.
Finally today, Desi Doyen joins us for the latest Green News Report with news from COP24, the U.N. climate conference in Poland, where the U.S. has joined Russia and Saudi Arabia in an “Axis of Oil” and is, literally, being laughed at for pushing coal while youth protesters demand fossil fuels be kept in the ground. Back home, the Trump Administration is now planning to reclassify high-level nuclear waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state (and other facilities) in order to avoid billions of dollars in clean-up at the nation’s most polluted former nuclear weapons site…
Dear Brad and
Desi,
It may be news to some, but a noted coal mining museum in Kentucky has recently converted over to solar electric power….
clean coal, indeed.
Meanwhile, election officials in Florida have now revealed that more than 6,600 vote-by-mail absentee ballots sent and post-marked by Election Day went uncounted in the Sunshine State’s midterm election. Those numbers don’t yet include ballots from Palm Beach County, a Democratic stronghold. The untabulated ballots might have effected a number of close races in FL, including those tallied in statewide “recounts” for U.S. Senate, Governor and Agricultural Commissioner. While state law allows ballots post-marked by Election Day from overseas military votes to be included in the tally if they are received up to ten days after the election, all other “late” ballots are ignored.
In regard to elections for United States Senator and United States Representative, we need to have a Federal ballot. There is absolutely no reason why bad ballot design by a State should affect the outcome of a Federal election, as was the case with Bill Nelson losing a significant number of votes because of such a shortcoming that was in defiance of the recommendations of the United States Election Assistance Commission. And there is no justifiable reason why ballots in a Federal election cannot be counted because of State rules. Governor and other down ticket races should be on a State ballot.
Philip @1:
Ha! Actually, we covered that story when it first came to light (no pun intended), I want to say, about three years ago! However, time has now, officially, lost all meaning to me, so it might have been within the past year. Feels like forever ago, at this point. Happy for the reminder again today, however, as it’s still rather hilarious (and maddening).
Marvin @2, argued:
Well, setting aside any Constitutional questions related there, what makes you think a federal body, run by …. take your pick of Trump or Dubya appointees, for example …. would create a ballot that was designed any better?
Also, once the feds get to create the ballot itself, what keeps them from also determining how it is to be voted (on a DRE, a barcoded “ballot”, via the Internet, etc?)
Careful what you wish for, amigo!
Brad, the point is not perfection. Of course, there will be difficulty at every level. But, at bare minimum, there should be separation between the two. For “a federal body, run by …. take your pick of Trump or Dubya appointees” pointed out the proper ballot design–precisely the kind that was NOT used by the Sunshine State–and so, if there was a Federal ballot, there would be at least the possibility of that one problem being solved.
Secondly, a 1972 Supreme Court decision written by Justice Black supported an Act of Congress that allowed eighteen year olds to vote in Federal elections. States, at the time, were still able to set the age standards for their elections. (The Consent of the Governed and Other Deceits by Arthur Krock, 24-25) So a separate ballot for Federal and State elections should not raise “any Constitutional questions.”
Finally, my support for a Federal ballot for Federal elections does not change a position previously shared on this site: “Paper ballots, counted–by hand–where cast, before the public, the press, and the parties, would take place at the precinct level; it would be unhackable and, therefore, more secure. Furthermore, it would increase public confidence in the results and also negate foreign influence.”
Marvin @5:
In my previously reply, I was setting aside any Constitutional issues to focus on your argument. Happy to stipulate that a federal ballot, as you describe it, could be found Constitutional for purposes of this discussion.
More to the point then, you say above:
Understood. And I’m not seeking “perfection” either, as you suggest above. But where the problem here happened in one county in Florida, I do have concerns about worse problems being introduced in in EVERY county, and every state if the feds are empowered to make decisions like this.
See, for example, the recent push for unverifiable touchscreen Ballot Marking Devices with barcoded “paper ballots”. That’s something that Dems have been (foolishly) pushing for for years, and Republicans are now joining them. We may get them everywhere eventually anyway, but at least we can currently fight against them in each state and county at this point.
Similarly, after the 2000 election, many Dems were also pushing for DREs at the time. If they were able to institute them at the federal level, we’d likely have them everywhere now!
There are certain things I’d love to see required at the federal level (the right to a HAND-MARKED paper ballot for every voter, for instance.) So, I’m just warning to be careful what you wish for. I’m not looking for perfection, but we should know by now how easily good ideas can be abused by bad (or just dumb) guys.
But where the problem here happened in one county in Florida, I do have concerns about worse problems being introduced in in EVERY county, and every state if the feds are empowered to make decisions like this.
And that is why we must have paper ballots, counted–by hand–where cast, before the public, the press, and the parties, at the precinct level–“a HAND-MARKED paper ballot for every voter.” That would go hand in glove with a Federal ballot.
Yes, the potential for abuse of power is going to exist, whether at the Federal or State level. That is a given, simply due to human nature. And since the Founders could only count by hand at the local level, that would be consistent with past practice and makes the most sense practically. That is the way to contain the “worse problems…in EVERY county.” But the ultimate check will be left to concerned citizens who need to make it clear to their representatives at the Federal and State level that we want legitimate elections.
Marvin @ 7:
Yes. But abuse of power at the county or state level only affects that county or state, theory. At the federal level, one bad decision (doesn’t necessarily need to be abuse of power, as I described in previous responses here), can have an catastrophic national/planetary effect.
I’d be more inclined to join you in the “federal ballot” suggestion if we had the hand-marked and hand-counted paper ballot mandate you’d like to see go with it. Even with it, however, handing too much power to one federal body to undercut (should they chose) our entire democracy in one fell swoop is a precarious idea.
Hope you otherwise understand I agree with your general thinking, of course.