1. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) ("couldn't get it done," "NO FIGHT")
2. John Thune (R-SD): "Mitch's boy," "weakness," "political career over!!!"
3. Susan Collins (R-ME): "Didn't support Healthcare," "Not worth the work!"
4. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK): Promises to campaign against her in 2022, "voted against HealthCare, Justice Kavanaugh, and much else..."
5. Rand Paul (R-KY): "Truly weird," "reminds me of a spoiled brat without a properly functioning brain"
6. Ben Sasse (R-NE): "RINO," "The least effective of our 53 Republican Senators," "a person who truly doesn't have what it takes to be great," "Little Ben Sasse"
7. Pat Toomey (R-PA): "no friend of mine," "RINO," "Pat 'No Tariffs' Toomey"
8. Mitt Romney (R-UT): "a pompous 'ass,'" "a mixed up man who doesn't have a clue," "one of the dumbest and worst candidates in the history of Republican candidates," "a fool"
9. Marco Rubio (R-FL): "lightweight choker," "not as smart as Cruz," "may be an even bigger liar," "looks like a little boy on stage," "too ambitious and very disloyal to Jeb"
10. Ted Cruz (R-TX): "Lyin' Ted," "wacko," "a nasty guy," "loser," "a true lowlife," "I will spill the beans on your wife"
11. Richard Burr (R-NC): (Several RTs criticizing Burr for subpoenaing Don Jr.)
"Elites" get a bad rap lately but the reality is that if Republican elites purely represented their voters’ wishes, the post-election period would've been a whole lot uglier as the GOP “fought” for Trump at every level (certifications, electors, more support for Cong. challenge)
The reason most didn’t is because most of those GOP elites still have an epistemic understanding of the election results that is on some level based in reality — that there was no widespread fraud and that Trump is lying constantly about this.
So whether it was swing state governors or state officials, state legislature leaders, Barr, McConnell, Pence, they largely averted their eyes when asked to actually *do* anything to change the results.
Because of this shared factual understanding that Trump's case is BS
The "25th Amendment legislation" Pelosi references would need to be passed over President Trump's veto, meaning the threshold for success (2/3 of both houses) would actually be higher than for impeachment
I wrote about Raskin's 25th amendment bill last year. Though it might make sense as a reform idea, it makes no sense as a crisis response
The bill Pelosi is referring to would not invoke the 25th Amendment. It would set up a commission that — if Mike Pence agreed — would invoke the amendment.
So the bill itself still wouldn't get around the Pence problem, even if it somehow became law
For impeachment to have any practical consequence, at least 18 Senate Republicans would have to agree to remove Trump from office (or ban him from future office)
The sole Republican who was willing to do so last time, Romney, indicated yesterday he'd prefer waiting it out.
Democrats may have moral or political reasons to pursue impeachment, but the "getting Trump out of office early" really does come down to Republicans and there's no way around it.
Ben Sasse says this morning he will "consider" Democratic impeachment articles. First public sign of any GOP senator's openness to removal.
I think any take on the nature of the "Republican Party" re: Trump's election-stealing effort really has to grapple with the fact that no R swing state governor, swing state legislature leader, judge helped him in any substantive way. And McConnell and Barr didn't either
What's unfolding now is that Trump is making corrupt requests (that don't seem to be working), and that many House Rs and some Senate Rs (though not Senate R leaders) are willing to back him in a congressional vote that's 100% certain to fail.
Judges overwhelmingly spurned him, as did GA/AZ statewide officials. McConnell says it's over. Barr said no fraud. GA/AZ/WI/MI/PA state legislature leaders responded to calls for their intervention by putting their fingers in the ears and saying "la la la I can't hear you."
There's some surprisingly good stuff in Congress's end-of-year bills that hasn't gotten much attention because it doesn't really fit anyone's narrative
One is the ban on anonymous shell companies @cjcmichel discusses in this great thread and calls "the most sweeping counter-kleptocracy reforms in decades—potentially ever"
The coronabus package also contained "the most substantial energy legislation passed in the US in over a decade" per @drvolts who discusses its provisions, including major restrictions on HFCs, here volts.wtf/p/congress-mig…