We begin today’s roundup with Republican attacks on the right to vote and democracy itself. First up, John Nichols at The Nation:
The second is structural. When Trump creates confusion about recounts, and seeks to discredit or derail them, he attacks the very underpinnings of a functioning democracy. Most of us are familiar with the meltdown that occurred in Florida after the 2000 election, when Republican state officials deliberately constrained and mangled a recount process and then the US Supreme Court shut things down before the process was complete. [...] Unfortunately, in an age of hyperpartisan spin and know-nothing media, there is a tendency to see demands for recounts as the burdensome expressions of sore losers. Sometimes they are that. But for those of us who concern ourselves with the functioning of the elections that confer authority on executives and legislators, recounts are understood as fundamental underpinnings of democracy. They only rarely overturn the results that were anticipated on election night. But even when they simply confirm initial impressions, recounts give us all greater confidence in systems that can only serve their purpose if citizens see those systems as fair and functional.
The Washington Post editorial board:
Last Friday, Mr. Trump floated the idea of holding a new election in Arizona’s Senate race, in which Democrat Kyrsten Sinema narrowly edged her Republican opponent. The president’s standard appears to be: When Republicans are ahead, stop counting. When Democrats are ahead, stage a do-over. The president’s first instinct is to accuse elections officials of acting in bad faith, encouraging Americans to distrust elections results that do not go their way. If anyone is acting in bad faith, it is Mr. Trump.
On another important topic, Rep. Adam Schiff (CA-28), who is currently ranking minority member of the Intelligence Committee, puts acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker on notice:
The president and Whitaker should heed this warning: The new Democratic majority will protect the special counsel and the integrity of the Justice Department. Should Whitaker fail to recuse himself — all indications are that he plans not to — and seek to obstruct the investigation, serve as a back channel to the president or his legal team or interfere in the investigations in any way, he will be called to answer. His actions will be exposed.
Joel Mathis at The Week explains how climate change is indeed one of several factors contributing to the severity of the tragic fires in California:
California has a long history of major wildfires. Why blame the latest devastation on climate change?
Because the climate really is changing. This isn't just anecdotal; we can measure the changes. In California, the days are getting warmer — and the nights are, too. This limits nighttime humidity, which has traditionally made it difficult for big fires to gather strength in the overnight hours. Add to that a declining spring snowmelt and a reduced rainy season, and the result is that California's forests are dry tinder just waiting for a spark.
On the topic of Donald Trump skipping out of ceremonies in France because of a little rain, James Fallows — a seasoned pilot -- brings us the facts:
one hypothesis that has shown up in many stories about his no-show—that Marine One, the presidential helicopter, “can’t fly” in the rain—doesn’t make sense. As you’re looking for explanations, you can dismiss this one. Helicopters can fly just fine in the rain, and in conditions way worse than prevailed in Paris on November 10.
At USA Today, Casey Burgat, Charles Hunt and Trey Billing detail how the new freshman class is invigorating Congress with youth and fresh perspectives:
Diving deeper into the data, Democratic gains come largely on the backs of Democratic winners who are increasingly younger, browner and definitely more female. The average age of newly elected Democrats, for example, dropped a staggering 7.7 years — from 53.2 to 45.5 years — from only one Congress prior. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York is slated to be the youngest member at 29 years old. How much will this age phenomenon impact Democratic choices for party leaders where the frontrunners (Nancy Pelosi of California, Steny Hoyer of Maryland and Jim Clyburn of South Carolina) are all in their late 70s? We will soon find out.
Also at USA Today, Sherrilyn Ifill calls for restoring the Voting Rights Act before 2020:
We don’t have to accept the shameful state of our elections. We’re about to have a new Congress, and among its most urgent priorities should be repairing our ailing voting apparatus. It should give states funds to purchase newer and more reliable voting machinery, just as it provides funding for highway repairs, natural disaster recovery and law enforcement. And it should retore the Voting Rights Act to its full power, so that states will no longer have free rein to discriminate against voters of color.
Restoring the Voting Rights Act isn’t unthinkable, even in these divisive times. In 2015, a bipartisan group including Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., introduced a bill to revive the federal government’s election oversight power under the Voting Rights Act. It died in the House Judiciary Committee, which will soon be led by Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York. Already, Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., has proposed a new voting rights bill; Nadler should schedule hearings on it in early spring.
On a final note, Stereo Williams at The Daily Beast chronicles the late Stan Lee’s “fight against racists”:
“Marvel has always been and always will be a reflection of the world right outside our window,” Lee said in a popular 2017 video. “That world may change and evolve, but the one thing that will never change is the way we tell our stories of heroism.
“Those stories have room for everyone, regardless of their race, gender or color of their skin. The only things we don’t have room for are hatred, intolerance and bigotry.”
Lee has talked about the popular X-Men as a metaphor for black Americans’ struggle for civil rights. In Marvel canon, the X-Men are part of a human subspecies called mutants, born with superhuman abilities and hated by much of humanity for what they are. It has been widely accepted that Charles Xavier, the X-Men’s idealistic founder, was loosely based on Martin Luther King, Jr.; while the team’s most famous foe, Magneto, was drawn from Malcolm X.