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The Proto-Fascist Cauldron 
This situation with Joe DiGenova saying whistleblower (in the informal sense) Chris Krebs should be “taken out at dawn and shot” deserves our attention for a few reasons. The first, of course, is the sheer unacceptability and outrageousness of it. But it’s also a window into the permissive and transgressive far-right/Trumpist ecosystem.
You’ve probably noticed that my posts have been perhaps a bit more reflective than usual in recent days. Biden not only won and Trump is leaving but now Trump gets it and knows he’s leaving, even as he labors to manufacture a narrative in which he won but is being deprived of office by a conspiracy against him. Like TPM Reader MM below, there is a certain relaxing of muscles and tension. This really is over. And despite Trump’s still fairly successful efforts to project a reality in which he remains a presence past his presidency, I suspect it’s really over to a degree greater than we quite yet suspect.
Where Things Stand: Diverging Realities
Not that we needed any more reason to declare it over, but, as of yesterday, all six states where President Trump has attempted to contest the results of the election have finalized their vote counts. Joe Biden was and is and will be the next president.
Yet, even after Wisconsin and Arizona both officially certified the results of their elections yesterday, the Trump campaign filed another lawsuit this morning — this time in Wisconsin. The campaign is alleging “abuse” of absentee ballots, targeting 270,000 ballots.
TPM Reader MM channels some of my recent thinking …
I viewed that priceless video last night, and was delighted and unsurprised to learn that Trump was furious about it. That’s the thing about losing, when a majority hates you: nobody who matters is listening. Raised $170 million on lies? Delighted to see the money well wasted by those who contributed. Trump was politically successful in a restricted, time-limited sense, but a Trump propaganda organization fueled by supporters’ bucks? Money down the toilet, just like every other business enterprise ever undertaken by Trump. Keep the money flowing in! Give more next month!
It’s hard for me to think of a point in American history where an incoming President has faced a greater range of compounding crises with as little freedom of action as Joe Biden will have on January 20th of next year. There is COVID. There is economic calamity COVID created. There is the seemingly more distant but gravely important wrecked international system which portends a rising tide of foreign policy crises and disruptions in trade which has the potential to ramify out for decades into the future.
It is still just possible that Democrats will control the Senate, if they pick up both Senate seats in Georgia. But assuming Republicans hold on, basically no legislation of any significance will be possible and Mitch McConnell will have a stranglehold over staffing and presidential confirmations, not even to mention judges.
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The Slapdowns To Trump’s Bid To Reverse His Defeat Are Getting More Painful
Where Things Stand: Even The Bare Minimum Isn’t Enough
Alas, even the bare minimum enforcement of basic elements of democracy is too much for President Trump.