Election 2020 – Pensito

Sidney Powell Sued for $1.3 Billion

January 8, 2021 Buck Banks

$1.3 billion

Dominion Voting Systems filed a defamation lawsuit against lawyer Sidney Powell, demanding more than $1.3 billion in damages for havoc it says Powell has caused by spreading “wild” and “demonstrably false” allegations, including that Dominion played a central role in a fantastical scheme to steal the 2020 election from President Trump, the Washington Post reports.

Pence on the Fence

January 5, 2021 Buck Banks

Presiding when Congress certifies electors,
Mike Pence will be “Democracy’s Protector.”
If he delivers for Trump,
He’ll get over the hump,
If not, he’ll be proclaimed a Trump defector.

Business Leaders Call on Congress to Certify Election

January 5, 2021 Buck Banks

200

Almost 200 of the country’s top business leaders urged Congress to certify the electoral results for President-elect Joe Biden in a letter Monday, arguing that “attempts to thwart or delay this process run counter to the essential tenets of our democracy,” the Washington Post reports.

Battleground States Had Four Times the Disinformation

December 18, 2020 Buck Banks

4X

Swing states had four times as much election disinformation in 2020 as non-swing states. Pennyslyvania, Michigan, Georgia, and Florida experienced the biggest disinformation deluges, in that order, according to MIT Technology Review.

Trump: Always a Loser

December 18, 2020 Buck Banks

“[Trump] is crying so long and loudly about the unfairness of his loss that he is forcing officials at every level of government, across the country, to take sides—against him. His frenetic efforts to deny his defeat have simply underscored it. Trump really is leaving office on January 20th, and he really will go out as an impeached and defeated President, forevermore listed in the history books alongside Herbert Hoover and Jimmy Carter and all the other one-termers he disdains. He is now, and will always be, a loser.”

— Susan Glasser

Republicans Just Missed Winning the House in 2020

December 18, 2020 Buck Banks

31,751

Inside Elections: “Republicans needed a net gain of 17 seats. They won 10, and may net another two (Iowa’s 2nd and New York’s 22nd), where their candidates cling to slim leads but are fending off challenges from their Democratic opponents. … If those results stand, Republicans will be five seats shy of a majority. In the five closest races won by Democrats, the Republican candidates lost by a combined 31,751 votes.”

Thune: ‘Time to Be Done with This’

December 18, 2020 Buck Banks

“I know there probably are members who still have concerns about the election… But the fact of the matter is-that’s been litigated over and over. The DOJ has weighed in. The states have all certified. The Electoral College has acted. It’s time to be done with this.”

— Sen. John Thune (R-SD), quoted by CNN.

Dems’ Long-Term Structural Issue with Rural Voters

December 17, 2020 Buck Banks

“I think there’s a long-term structural issue. And by the way, I’ve had this conversation with Chuck Schumer several times — that we have to do a better job developing a message so that rural Americans can say, ‘Yeah, those guys, they think like I do.’ Because that’s what Trump has right now.”

— Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), quoted by the New York Times, on Democrats and rural voters.

Australian Pol: Trump’s Mishandling of Pandemic Lost the Election

December 17, 2020December 17, 2020 Buck Banks

“If Donald Trump had handled the pandemic half-decently he would have won the election. He was headed towards a victory until the pandemic hit. It was his mishandling of that because, in the end, the public, when threatened, want their leaders to defend them against the threat.”

— Former Australian prime minister John Howard said that Donald Trump penned a lengthy “political suicide note” with his “terrible” handling of the coronavirus pandemic, The Guardian reports.

Over a Third of Republicans Say Trump Should Never Concede

December 16, 2020 Buck Banks

37%

A new Morning Consult poll finds a growing share of Republicans say President Trump should never concede the election: 37% of Republican voters now believe the president should never concede, no matter what, up from 29% last week, and 27% in mid-November.

$1.3 billion

200

Almost 200 of the country’s top business leaders urged Congress to certify the electoral results for President-elect Joe Biden in a letter Monday, arguing that “attempts to thwart or delay this process run counter to the essential tenets of our democracy,” the Washington Post reports.

4X

Swing states had four times as much election disinformation in 2020 as non-swing states. Pennyslyvania, Michigan, Georgia, and Florida experienced the biggest disinformation deluges, in that order, according to MIT Technology Review.

— Susan Glasser

31,751

“I know there probably are members who still have concerns about the election… But the fact of the matter is-that’s been litigated over and over. The DOJ has weighed in. The states have all certified. The Electoral College has acted. It’s time to be done with this.”

— Sen. John Thune (R-SD), quoted by CNN.

— Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), quoted by the New York Times, on Democrats and rural voters.

“If Donald Trump had handled the pandemic half-decently he would have won the election. He was headed towards a victory until the pandemic hit. It was his mishandling of that because, in the end, the public, when threatened, want their leaders to defend them against the threat.”

— Former Australian prime minister John Howard said that Donald Trump penned a lengthy “political suicide note” with his “terrible” handling of the coronavirus pandemic, The Guardian reports.

37%

A new Morning Consult poll finds a growing share of Republicans say President Trump should never concede the election: 37% of Republican voters now believe the president should never concede, no matter what, up from 29% last week, and 27% in mid-November.

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“There is a myth around that Jared and Ivanka will be rejected socially. The rich are never rejected — until they go to prison or lose their money.”

— Tina Brown, quoted by Town & Country.

— New York Times

“My guess is the first thing history will mention is the riots. And rightly so. Tax reform doesn’t offset armed insurrection.”

— Former Trump Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, quoted by the Wall Street Journal, on Donald Trump’s legacy.

“Have a good life, we will see you soon.”

— President Trump, in remarks before leaving Washington, D.C.

— Jonathan Last

Numerati

400,000

The John’s Hopkins tracker shows more than 400,000 Americans have died from COVID-19.

32%

47%

As President Trump prepares to leave the White House, 47 percent of Americans say he will be remembered as one of the worst presidents in American history, according to the latest PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll.

$850,000

100

President Trump is preparing to issue around 100 pardons and commutations on his final full day in office Tuesday, a major batch of clemency actions that includes white collar criminals, high-profile rappers and others but — as of now — is not expected to include Trump himself, CNN reports.