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And here is the final stand. The President asserts that the Vice President has authority (presumably unreviewable) to determine which electoral votes count. This is dangerously incorrect, and it's worth going into detail about why. A thread:
This is what @lessig and I have called the "VP Super Power Theory" in our course on disputed presidential elections @Harvard_Law. We do a deep dive into it on the Another Way to Elect a President podcast
What's the backstory of this radical theory of the VP's power? Poor drafting of the Twelfth Amendment, which says: "The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted."
Note the passive voice: the VP opens the certificates, but who does the counting? (Writing tip: avoid the passive voice, especially when drafting a constitutional provision that allocates critical powers among political actors.)
So, the VP Super Power Theorist argues, the VP is the only actor mentioned in the sentence so it *must* be the VP who does the counting (and thus can reject electors' votes). Wrong. Every single method of interpretation demonstrates otherwise. Let's go through them:
The Vice President has the power to reject fraudulently chosen electors.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2021
This is what @lessig and I have called the "VP Super Power Theory" in our course on disputed presidential elections @Harvard_Law. We do a deep dive into it on the Another Way to Elect a President podcast
What's the backstory of this radical theory of the VP's power? Poor drafting of the Twelfth Amendment, which says: "The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted."
Note the passive voice: the VP opens the certificates, but who does the counting? (Writing tip: avoid the passive voice, especially when drafting a constitutional provision that allocates critical powers among political actors.)
So, the VP Super Power Theorist argues, the VP is the only actor mentioned in the sentence so it *must* be the VP who does the counting (and thus can reject electors' votes). Wrong. Every single method of interpretation demonstrates otherwise. Let's go through them:
Just finished hearings with the Enviro Minister. @amymacsouthbris asked some great questions on coal, emissions and climate action. Unfortunately, the new Minister either didn't have the questions or didn't want to answer.
Remember this square? Qld Environment Minister wouldn't indicate whether these 18 new coal mines will still be operating in 2050, and whether that's consistent with the governments’ target for net zero emissions by
In response to an Opposition Question, the Environment Minister says Qld will need to cut about 40M tonnes of carbon or 40% below 2018 levels to reach Labor's 2030 target of a 30% emissions reduction. But she stumbles when asked about the plan to get there...
Before the 2017 election Gov't promised a green paper on how to cut pollution for these targets, but it never happened. They promised it again this yr - now called a “Climate Change Strategy”. But...
When asked what funding has been allocated to develop the Climate Change Strategy and when it will be released, @meaghan_scanlon says repeatedly "the plan is a document... it is a document"... and that it will be developed internally.
No budget, no timeline.
Remember this square? Qld Environment Minister wouldn't indicate whether these 18 new coal mines will still be operating in 2050, and whether that's consistent with the governments’ target for net zero emissions by
You won't see this ad in Brisbane. You might see an ad about Labor's commitment to renewables, or how they "accept the science" of climate change. Here's why I think Labor's wrong to keep walking both sides of the fence here. Thread: pic.twitter.com/IK3wZ6zCZL
— Michael Berkman (@mcberkman) October 19, 2020
In response to an Opposition Question, the Environment Minister says Qld will need to cut about 40M tonnes of carbon or 40% below 2018 levels to reach Labor's 2030 target of a 30% emissions reduction. But she stumbles when asked about the plan to get there...
Before the 2017 election Gov't promised a green paper on how to cut pollution for these targets, but it never happened. They promised it again this yr - now called a “Climate Change Strategy”. But...
When asked what funding has been allocated to develop the Climate Change Strategy and when it will be released, @meaghan_scanlon says repeatedly "the plan is a document... it is a document"... and that it will be developed internally.
No budget, no timeline.
Brief THREAD: OK, basics civics lesson to all these ignorant/dishonest R legislators/leaders/media folk who seem to have NO understanding of the law or the U.S. Constitution.
/1
1. If you enter my place of business & you start calling for an over-throw of the U.S. govt, or shout racist stuff or yell insults at me or my employees or my staff - I will ask you to leave & have the police remove you if U refuse. /2
2. In banning U from my place of business, I have NOT violated any of your rights. U have no right to disrupt my place of business and I have every right to not allow disgusting ppl like you to verbally abuse me, my customers or staff. /3
3. In fact, one of the great things abt American ideals (tho not always f/u in reality) that we should not allow discrimination based on a person's race, sex, religion, class, sexual orientation, disability, etc, BUT indvl citizens have a RIGHT to free association. /4
4. Similarly, businesses should not be allowed to discriminate based on race, sex, religion, class, sexual orientation, disability, etc, but can forbid/ban based on behavior/speech. /5
/1
We cannot live in a world where Twitter\u2019s terms of service are more important than the terms in our Constitution and Bill of Rights.
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) January 11, 2021
1. If you enter my place of business & you start calling for an over-throw of the U.S. govt, or shout racist stuff or yell insults at me or my employees or my staff - I will ask you to leave & have the police remove you if U refuse. /2
2. In banning U from my place of business, I have NOT violated any of your rights. U have no right to disrupt my place of business and I have every right to not allow disgusting ppl like you to verbally abuse me, my customers or staff. /3
3. In fact, one of the great things abt American ideals (tho not always f/u in reality) that we should not allow discrimination based on a person's race, sex, religion, class, sexual orientation, disability, etc, BUT indvl citizens have a RIGHT to free association. /4
4. Similarly, businesses should not be allowed to discriminate based on race, sex, religion, class, sexual orientation, disability, etc, but can forbid/ban based on behavior/speech. /5
Thread Alert
[1] This morning I came across @AmyKazmin ‘s article and tweets. She said it’s a “Mystery”. We gotten off on the wrong foot where I came across as rude. Hence my attempt to make it right. I would like to begin with an apology to Amy. Let us now scientifically see
[2] There is no mystery here if you look at the statistics with a uniform benchmark. This thread is not in the support of govt but in the support of frontline workers who risked everything for keeping rest of us safe. Since your article already has some inaccuracies hence
[2-1] I found it offensive and insulting to the frontline health workers of India.
[3] Lets look at the death rate of India for the past three years. It was 0.5% increase in 2019, 0.49% increase in 2020 & 0.48% increase in 2021. So, there is no huge surge of deaths in India. https://t.co/WHS97TKIYv
[4] Lets compare it with US where there are very high number of deaths due to COVID-19. If you observe US had a higher death rate & death growth rate compared to India even during the previous years.
[1] This morning I came across @AmyKazmin ‘s article and tweets. She said it’s a “Mystery”. We gotten off on the wrong foot where I came across as rude. Hence my attempt to make it right. I would like to begin with an apology to Amy. Let us now scientifically see
[2] There is no mystery here if you look at the statistics with a uniform benchmark. This thread is not in the support of govt but in the support of frontline workers who risked everything for keeping rest of us safe. Since your article already has some inaccuracies hence
[2-1] I found it offensive and insulting to the frontline health workers of India.
[3] Lets look at the death rate of India for the past three years. It was 0.5% increase in 2019, 0.49% increase in 2020 & 0.48% increase in 2021. So, there is no huge surge of deaths in India. https://t.co/WHS97TKIYv
[4] Lets compare it with US where there are very high number of deaths due to COVID-19. If you observe US had a higher death rate & death growth rate compared to India even during the previous years.
