Why I was constantly urging caution about being too confident:
* People underestimate how much Fox-induced hate of democrats drives decisions now. (Look at @RichLowry who argued - even with NATO near collapse and Covid exploding - to vote Trump to give dems "the finger")...

...literally, to so much of this country, including people who are supposed to be smarter than this like @RichLowry, politics is a game of self-affirmation, having to do with imprinting fantasies of democrats without a care about the real world. This "team" mentality is what...

...is destroying us. It is why, no matter how terrible everything Trump did was, his numbers never budged. The more upset those who opposed Trump became because of his abject incompetence and stupidity, some on the right saw the dem upset at objective reality of chaos as an...

...affirmation that Trump is "great." If you put a chimp into the White House, running under R, and he started wrecking the place, if dems got upset, too many republicans would support it. They hate half the country.

*The multi-billion dollar effort by wealthy conservatives...

...to create a media bubble of an alternative reality to deceive viewers that tax increases for the rich are tax increases for everyone, and that the money raised would go to "undeserving" poor people. Then they harp on all the other lies, solely to secure tax cuts and judges...

RAJINIKANTH's POLITICS

I have tried to answer many questions individually through DM, but looks like it's better to do a thread and post it publicly.

This thread only looks at TN Politics through Rajini's entry angle. Will do a detailed post on the whole of TN pitch later.

Rajini's political entry can be analysed from 4 angles.

1. Why is he in Politics?
2. What will be his strengths?
3. How will the pitch change?
4. What will be his challenges?

Thread 1 - Why is Rajini in Politics and What are his strengths?

1. Why is Rajini in politics?

24 years ago, when he first considered politics, TN was a nasty scene with both Dravidian parties neck deep in corruption.

That was the first time Rajini openly participated in the political process, voicing against the corrupt regime of JJ.

Since then, he has been studying politics keenly. However, a decision to enter was not taken for reasons best known to him.

When JJ died, he saw opportunity to reset the fate of TN. His intentions seem to be great.

2. What will be Rajini's strengths?

A. Sharp organisational acumen, leadership, vision, deep intelligence, and astute character.

He has done a lot of homework and organisation build in the three years from 2017.

1/Zach has the history right (again). I doubt the current political leadership read the book where Summers et al explained what they did, unless they look at borrowed copies. Here it is: https://t.co/4gyFiagaj3

2/ But the summary is that Summers, Geithner, Orszag, Emanuel agreed on telling Obama and Biden in December 2008 that about $800b was an adequate stimulus. Would lower unemployment just below 8% by late 2010. Romer thought $2.1T or $1.7T was needed to achieve full employment.

3/ They wouldn't let her make the case in writing for $1.2T because her number could leak. The reasons for $800b were: they wanted the bill passed by February, so they could move on to health care reform and cap and trade; they had no ways to spend more;

4/ spending more might kick off inflation or cause markets to fall for fear of inflation; that might lead to more bank runs; more bank runs might require a second TARP so they couldn't ask Congress for too much for recovery; Pelosi would give them whatever they asked

5/ for but they didn't think they could get the needed 1 or 2 R Senators quickly if they asked for more; they wanted 60 but had only 58 D Senators; popular "moonshots" or signature items in the package would take too long (Biden asked for that);

1/25 ELECTOR CHALLENGE THREAD

Each state governor sent their slate of electors by registered mail to Senate President Pence. By tradition, he will count these votes in a joint session of Congress tomorrow. If he simply counts those votes Biden will become president. But...

2/ Traditionally states have empowered their governors to certify and transmit the votes of their electors to the Senate President but this year at least six GOP-controlled legislatures acted to revoke this authority and count the votes of electors for President Trump.

3/ The first question is whether or not the state's legislatures have the constitutional authority to rescind the governors' traditional authority to transmit the 'official' vote of the electors to the Senate President.

4/ Article II, Section 1, Clauses 2 and 3, gives the state legislature the sole authority to determine the manner of appointment of electors. While a state has the right to outsource this to the governor they do not lose the right to change their mind at a later date.

5/ Six state legislatures changed their minds and voted to send alternative electors to the Senate President. These electors were loyal to President Trump and cast their ballots for him. So what is the problem?

It takes guts to truly face hard truths. But facing them is the only way to protect oneself going forward. This is why I keep reminding people that the Republican Party is beyond repair. 1/

The Republican Party’s internal structures, at the state and federal level, are dominated by people actively opposed to democratic pluralism, rule of law, and U.S. constitutionalism. 2/

Once a political party refuses to drop its support for a leader, in this case Donald Trump, who constantly and consistently betrayed the country throughout his time in office that party cannot be salvaged as a player in U.S. constitutional democracy. 3/

Everybody else, from individual rank and file Democrats to President Joe Biden, must radically overhaul how they deal with people who do not disaffiliate from the Republican Party. 4/

Anybody who remains a Republican at this point must be presumed to be an enemy of U.S. constitutionalism, rather than as somebody with right wing policy views. 5/

Patriots,
Here are a few of the Key Concepts of the New Political Party I am looking to form:
1) No Donations from anyone other than "REAL Human Beings" Confirmed Identities
2) Term Limits (3-2 yr for House 1- 6 yr Senate, 13 year Max for Judges, 17 yr Max for SCOTUS

So let's look at some of @JoeBiden BS

Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding, claims to be a "leading Epidemiologist" oves to bash @realDonaldTrump in his Biden commercial. So who is this guy really.

Well he's a democrat hack of course. He's a failed candidate in the 2018 Democratic primary for PA's 10th congressional district. He's a Harvard Grad but actually Feigl-Ding's work focuses on nutrition, health economics. He thinks Vegan's are less susceptible to COVID-19

Dr Nancy Beth Barr claims to be the Medical Director or Family Health Center. USC Grad in Family Medicine. Her focus is:

Abdominal Cramps
Abdominal Migraine
Abdominal Pain
Abnormal Bowel Movement
Abnormal Stool

This is her before she got her makeover to be on Biden commercials and give her expert analysis on how badly Trump did with COVID-19

Dr Thomas Fishbein Claims he's a Surgeon and Executive Director of Transplant Institute.

He Treats

Abdominal Abscess
Abdominal Adhesions
Abdominal Wall Defect
Advanced Heart Failure
Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia

Loves to Bash Trump's lack of contact tracing

1. For people mad at Dems. Can we try to understand how politics (not justice) works? Here are some things: the Dems simply wanted the phone call information to be added to the record. They threatened to call witnesses as a negotiation tactic - thus getting the Republicans to

2. do what the Dems originally wanted - enter the phone call on the record. If witnesses were called - the trial would have gone on for weeks - in the middle of a pandemic when relief HAS to be sent out now. And Merrick Garland has to be confirmed so the DOJ can get to work.

3. However, I WANT WITNESSES CALLED. I want them to have such explosive testimony that the whole world once again knows what it knows - that Trump is guilty. I want more Republican Senators to change their mind and vote to convict. The problem is? We would NEVER GET 17 to do so.

4. It fucking SUCKS. It SUCKS that the Democrats can't just call witnesses and make the Republican Senators appear to the world even more cowardly than they were - hearing that testimony and STILL voting to acquit. BUT that's the fantasy version where the media doesn't once again

5. start blaming Dems during this fantasy-witness-calling-trial for not getting Covid relief out, etc. The issue here is that NO MATTER WHAT - if Trump himself with Jesus back from the dead as his witness says, "I did it" the Republicans will acquit. The issue is that the GOP

Joe Biden is winning the election and Donald Trump is trying to pull a literal coup.

Let's talk about where we are, what we know, and separate the things we shouldn't be worried about from the things we absolutely should be worried about.

1/

First and foremost, this election has largely played out as some of us expected it to. There hasn't been some cataclysmic loss. Biden made in-roads, including in Arizona. We're still looking at a possible 300+ electoral college victory if votes are counted.

2/

Last night felt AWFUL for a variety of reasons. Lingering trauma from 2016. A desire to watch the country reject Trump in a major way. The bizarre feeling of watching the race not get called on Election Night as the networks have trained us to expect.

But that was a feeling.

3/

Trump's attempt to steal this election is predicated on that feeling last night and the feeling that somehow this thing is lost even while Biden is winning in a big way.

Trump is determined to use that anxiety and uncertainty and spin it into his own chosen reality.

4/

For months Trump and his goons have told us what they planned to do. Counting would not be finished on Election Night and Trump would use the appearance of momentum to undermine confidence and hopefully stop the counting before momentum swung.

That's what he's doing.

5/

Sources : Makkal Neethi Maiyam Chief Kamalhasan was furious for my interview that I termed him a B Team of BJP. Link of the interview is as follows :

Kamalhassan furiously tweeted, “ I am not anyone’s B Team”
An hour ago, Kamal tweeted as follows : Two girls, “Arshitha Agarwal” and “Kunisha Agarwal” had helped poor students, who are not able to get gadgets 2/n

to help poor students for attending online classes.
People are wondering who are these Arshitha Agarwal and Kunisha Agarwal. They both are the daughters of Chennai City Commissioner Mahesh Kumar Agarwal IPS. 3/n

Today morning, I tweeted, in regard to the participation of Mahesh Kumar Agarwal’s daughters in the event held at Chennai CoP office with regard to the above event where iPads were distributed for poor girls, which was held in Chennai Commissioner’s office. 4/n

While it is a semi-official function, Mahesh Kumar’s Agarwal’s daughters participated in the event.
I had tweeted as follows : “The @chennaipolice_ Commissioner is doing a great job of distributing free iPads to poor students with the help of NGOs. 5/n

1. Sat. 16 Jan. Twenty Points of Why America is Transitioning Corporate to Republic and B*iden Will Not Be President: https://t.co/ciWkYV4VuO

Trump was not running for just another 4 year election in 2016 – Trump was approached by the military to run & his entire win has...

BREAKING. Sir John Major: "Complacency and nostalgia are the route to national decline"

"We are no longer a great power. We will never be so again. In a world of nearly 8 billion people, well under 1% are British"

"We are a top second-rank power"

2) John Major: "Our hefty international influence rested on our history and reputation, buttressed by our membership of the EU and our close alliance with the US.
Suddenly, we are no longer an irreplaceable bridge between Europe and America. We are now less relevant to them both"

3) Sir John: "I do find it surprising that – in the midst of the Covid crisis – the Government appears to be fostering disputes with the Judiciary [...]; the Civil Service, upon whose help the Government depends; and the BBC, still the most respected broadcaster on the planet"

4) Sir John: "#Brexit divided England & Wales from Scotland and Northern Ireland. It divided political parties and families; the young and their elders; business and trade unions; and friend from friend. As its full impact becomes apparent in the New Year, old wounds may re-open"

5) John Major: "There is no consensus on #Brexit, and never has been. It was a bitterly divisive policy, and uncorked a populism that may be difficult to quell.
The Referendum debate was unlike any I have known before. Emotion overcame reality".

Just a reminder: unofficial channels have already been used once to demonstrate the Bidens are a very real national security threat compromised by hostile foreign powers.

It happened once.

If it has to, it will happen again.

There are people who take their oaths seriously.

No, Mike Pence can't magically do anything on January 6th. No, Louie Gohment can't force the courts to give Pence magic powers. Trump has literally zero chance of magically overturning the election. Stop panicking over imaginary things. This is getting incredibly boring.

There won’t be a civil war. No one will pull off a coup. There won’t be martial law. None of these things are real.

It’s over. But the more clear it becomes that it’s over, the fantasizers on Trump’s side, and the panickers on our side, become more hallucinatory about it.

We have a pandemic, people dying, an economic crisis, people starving, and a runoff election that’s for all the marbles. Yet you’re going to focus on IMAGINARY doomsday scenarios? None of what’s going on is real enough for you? You have to go invent more bad things? Come on.

Those of us who have fought so hard for four years, deserve better than to have our agenda derailed by the doomsday panickers on our side. They don’t care about winning, they’re just addicted to the adrenaline rush of telling themselves they’re going to lose.

In fact the panickers on our side, and the fantasizers on Trump’s side, deserve each other. Both completely removed from reality. Neither interested in helping their own side. Just a shared interest in hallucinating over laugh out loud imaginary scenarios. And of no use to anyone

1) A LOT of balls in the air today on Capitol Hill, as is per usual here in December.

The House is expected to vote on a short-term spending bill today to avoid a government shutdown this weekend. Remember, this was supposed to be the easy part of the puzzle.

2) There are dozens of unresolved issues. So the new deadline for government funding will be 11:59:59 pm on December 18.

It’s possible the Senate could take up the stopgap funding bill today. But unclear. That may have to wait until tomorrow.

3) The Senate could also vote today to align with the House and pass the final version of the defense bill. But that could wait until tomorrow or even next week.

A veto override fight is brewing on this with President Trump.

4) The House scored WELL above the two-thirds necessary to override Mr. Trump’s threatened veto. In fact, the vote total last night went well above what the House had to approve the initial version of the legislation in the summer.

5) Based on the Senate’s vote total on the original version (86 yeas), senators should have the necessary votes to sync with the House and override the President later this month.

Congress has never overriden one of President Trump’s eight vetoes.

🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 Situation Update, Dec. 31st – Game-changing bombshells to be unveiled before Congress on January 6

In today’s SU, we reveal Trump’s plan to unleash bombshell evidence in front of Congress on the 6th, right before Congress votes on which slate of electors to accept.

1)Georgia.”More than 1,700 Georgians illegally cast 2 ballots in the 2020 elections, but their fraudulent votes weren’t canceled out, according to State Election officials. So far, NONE of the cheaters have been prosecuted,” raising concerns about fraud...