States administer elections in this country. States canvass. States certify. States appoint slates of electors to the EC.

Once those state results are certified, and EC votes cast, there is no federal role beyond Congress tallying them and the sitting VP announcing a winner.
This is very straightforward. Can members of Congress object to the count? Yes. But objections have historically been extremely rare and narrow in scope. They've also been ineffectual—because federal lawmakers wouldn't dare, with the stakes so high, usurp the will of the states.
This is what makes 2020 so special. The same folks who've screamed about federal overreach and #makeDClisten are now proposing Congress disenfranchise tens of millions of Americans and strip states of their electoral sovereignty.

It would be stunning if it weren't so predictable
I'm laying this out, plain as possible, because Fox News wrote a story about my tweets re: the meaning of "conservative." So let's be clear.

What Hawley, Cruz and dozens of House Rs are planning is not—by any definition—conservative.

It is—by any definition—radical and extreme.
Here's that link.

I stand by what I said. Anyone who participates in this cynical sham on Jan. 6—anyone so fearful of their base that they'd rather attempt a power grab than explain the precepts of federalism—must never again be labeled a "conservative."
foxnews.com/media/politico…

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Tim Alberta

Tim Alberta Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @TimAlberta

6 Jan
My goodness. Kevin Williamson this morning. Read every word.

"No one who has participated in this poisonous buffoonery should ever hold office again."

nationalreview.com/the-tuesday/tr…
"I have on many occasions criticized the abuse of the word coup in our politics, but that is what this is: an attempted coup d’état under color of law. It would be entirely appropriate today to impeach Trump a second time and remove him from office before his term ends."
"Trump’s media cheerleaders, who like to call themselves constitutionalists & patriots, are no such thing. They are, for the most part, profiteers who will justify anything if it helps them to hold onto one point of audience share as they peddle their various blends of snake oil"
Read 7 tweets
13 Dec 20
*Long thread alert*

I've spent 2020 writing "Letters to Washington" from across the country to elevate the voices of ordinary Americans.

This is the series finale—with a twist. It's unlike anything I've ever reported or published. Please give it a read.

politico.com/news/magazine/…
This isn't sexy stuff. None of these people are influencers. They are your neighbors, colleagues, friends and family.

They're all trying to make sense of this moment in America. I'll bet you are, too.

To that end—agree or disagree with these folks—you should hear them out.
Meet Chip. He's a socially liberal and fiscally conservative "hippie" who says "It’s [a] pity we can’t be more kind to each other."

Chip voted Trump despite his “lack of empathy for the Covid issue and his nonstop penchant for idiotic rhetoric." The consequence? Family breakage.
Read 23 tweets
4 Dec 20
9 of 10 Trump voters I’ve talked to believe mass voter fraud occurred.

8 of those 9 cite the protracted counting and Biden’s “comeback” after Trump led Tues night.

Again: Legislatures in MI/WI/PA failed America by not allowing pre-processing. This madness could’ve been avoided.
There was no reason—none—to deny clerks the ability to process ballots early. Other red states allow it. Makes perfect sense re: efficiency AND accuracy (less rush, fewer mistakes.)

But Rs there decided to indulge Trump’s war on mail voting. The consequences have been ruinous.
Some credit goes to Lee Chatfield, the Republican House speaker in Michigan, who refused to allow pre-processing—and now admits that was a mistake.

Will Republican leaders in other states follow suit? Hopefully. But I fear a tremendous amount of damage is already done.
Read 5 tweets
3 Nov 20
I asked four GOP campaign managers who lost to Trump in 2016 to predict the 2020 popular vote. They predicted Biden would win by:

-8 million
-6 to 7 million
-6 million
-9 million

But two of them picked *Trump* to win the EC.

Down that path lies madness.
politico.com/news/magazine/…
John Kasich's campaign manager, Beth Hansen, picks Dems to win the House and Senate.... Biden to win the popular vote by 8 million.... and Biden to win the Electoral College w/ 278 EVs. Total turnout: 148 million.
Jeb Bush's campaign manager, Danny Diaz, picks Dems to win the House and Rs to win the Senate.... Biden to win the popular vote by 6 million.... and Trump to win the Electoral College w/ 278 EVs. Total turnout: 150 million +
Read 5 tweets
2 Nov 20
I got something special for you.

VALENCIA COUNTY, NM is the ultimate bellwether of presidential politics—voted w/ the winner of every election the last 68 years.

Here’s what this place, and its people, are trying to tell us...

✉️Letter to Washington✉️

politico.com/news/magazine/…
Funny thing about the streak? Nobody here knew about it.

"I’ve never felt that people around here are real fluid in their political beliefs," said Dale Thule. "Maybe the swings back & forth are on account of people taking turns getting so frustrated that they don’t vote at all.”
I asked Kenneth Tiger (right), a Republican-turned-independent-turned-Democrat, how he thought Valencia County would vote this fall.

“Whatever happens, it’s not going to be good. I’ve already lost 30 friends in the past four years. It’s going to get worse."
Read 12 tweets
8 Oct 20
The answer to court-packing Q is “Look, that isn’t our decision to make. Congress would need to pass legislation to expand the Supreme Court, and there’s no use speculating on that possibility when we’ll face immediate challenges on day one of a Biden adminstration.”

Not hard.
Of course, I’d want to hammer that answer with a thousand follow-ups, because this isn’t just another silly hypothetical exercise.

But that’s not the point. The point is, Biden & Harris have not provided a ready-made answer on this obvious question, which is really bewildering.
Btw... I’m pressing congressional D on this not-so-hypothetical question.

Here’s what Elissa Slotkin told me:

“That’s pretty reactionary... I would rather we just handle this like adults and keep the court the same size but allow the next president to decide who the nominee is”
Read 4 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!