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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
The people who really decide the U.S. Presidential election have finally decided to weigh in, as the electoral college declares Joe Biden the victor.
Meanwhile, the U.S. crosses 300,000 deaths from coronavirus, as the first vaccines go out to healthcare workers and Congress waffles over another spending bill.
And lastly, Attorney General William Barr has resigned, after losing Trump’s favor at the very end of his tenure, largely because he couldn’t do enough to facilitate Trump’s clumsy attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
THESE ARE THE STORIES YOU NEED TO KNOW:
Joe Biden officially won the 2020 election today. Wait, didn’t he do that weeks ago? In fact he did not: but today, the Electoral College finally cast their votes, certifying Biden as the winner.
It’s kind of funny that we’ve spent the past month and a half agonizing over the votes of everyday people when we have a system where none of them actually matter, because technically a couple hundred handpicked people are the only ones who can say who our next president will be.
The electoral college voted as it should have, of course, with the electors for each state voting in accordance to which candidate won the popular vote there. Republican officials in Michigan had to specifically rebuff the petulant President in their remarks certifying the election in favor of Biden, which just highlights the fact that it’s absurd to have random middlemen anywhere near the process.
There are also signs that the President’s supporters may be going out with a whimper. Both the New York Times and the Washington Post reported that protests were minimal while electors voted in most states, which might have something to do with the fact that barely anyone knows anything about when and where state electors vote, but could also mean that even the die-hard Trumpists know that their guy is a big old loser by now.
The danger now is that liberals see this as a sign that everything is working well again and we shouldn’t change anything, which will come back around to bite us just as soon as the next time a Republican finds a way to lose the election by millions of votes but squeak by in the electoral college. See you in 2024!
COVID Deaths Cross 300,000
You’ve heard the phrase “grim milestone” so many times by now it’s probably almost meaningless. But once again, we’ve passed one. The U.S. broke 300,000 recorded coronavirus deaths on Monday, even as healthcare workers in New York, Florida and other regions got the first doses of a vaccine.
But the vaccine won’t come quick enough to stop what scientists fear is a rapidly increasing rate of death. They think we could see another 100,000 deaths in the next month, as hospitals overflow and case rates soar nationwide.
Meanwhile, in Washington, the gears of government bureaucracy are turning at a snail’s pace. Politico reports that Congress might be getting closer to a compromise on a relief deal that could go through before the end of the year, thanks to a $748 billion proposal by a centrist group of Senators.
If that last phrase sounds like doom to you, well, you’d be right: the bill that’s on the table only has money for education and vaccine causes, not the stimulus for state and local governments on the verge of mass layoffs across the country. That money is still tied up in a separate $160 billion add-on that Republicans have successfully linked to corporate liability protections.
House Democrats are still working on a larger combined bill, but we’ve seen how far those get with the GOP. In the Senate, Bernie Sanders is still fighting the good fight, insisting that he won’t vote for any bill that doesn’t include direct $1200 payments to every American. It’s a pity there aren’t more like him in the Democratic party.
Bye Bye Bill Barr
The President’s biggest law boy William Barr is out, resigned and done. Barr, the Attorney General who was perhaps most effective in stooging for the Trump administration’s moronic legal schemes and various rights abuses, had recently lost favor with the President when he was forced to admit that not even his incredibly corrupt underlings could find compelling evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 election.
This wasn’t the answer Trump wanted to hear of course, so in the month or so that Trump’s got left, he decided that Barr’s head would roll.
The parting was framed amicably, weirdly enough. Trump announced it in a tweet on Monday evening, saying that Barr’s last day would be shortly before Christmas. This is exactly his style -- he loves to announce things for his underlings just so it’s very clear they have no agency or dignity left. Remember when he told us all that Rudy had COVID?
Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen is stepping into the hot seat for the last days of Trumpland.
There’s a lot of talk in the mainstream press over what this will mean for Barr’s legacy, but we all know the score. He went out like he came in: as a corrupt sycophant for the stupidest president in modern history. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
AND NOW FOR SOME QUICKER QUICKIES:
This isn’t a news item, but today is the deadline for open enrollment in the healthcare marketplace. If you’ve been waiting to sign up for or purchase new health insurance, today’s the deadline. It’s absurd that you have to buy it, but here we are.
The United States removed Sudan from its list of countries who sponsor terrorism, giving it access to international financial systems that could speed its recovery and development. The Washington Post reports the deal was done in return for Sudan normalizing relations with Israel, a major push that the Trump administration has made in recent months.
In other world news, the U.S. dropped sanctions on Turkey over a 2017 deal where Turkey bought a Russian air defense system. The crackdown certainly won’t make things any easier between Turkish leaders and the incoming Biden administration.
And finally, there may be more momentum building at the FTC for a probe on some of the biggest social media companies. On Monday, the FTC said it had issued demands to Amazon, Facebook, and Youtube to turn over records about how they collect and use customers’ data.
That’s it for the majority report’s AM Quickie. Stay tuned for the full show this afternoon!
DEC 15, 2020 - AM QUICKIE
HOSTS - Sam Seder & Lucie Steiner
WRITER - Jack Crosbie
PRODUCER - Dorsey Shaw
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - Brendan Finn