Puppet Masters
The letter was released just before Pence was set to preside over a joint session of Congress, where lawmakers will affirm Joe Biden as the next president. Pence has been facing increasing pressure from Trump and his supporters to somehow intervene and reject electors for Biden.
But Pence, who harbors political ambitions of his own beyond the vice presidency, said giving the vice president unilateral authority to decide presidential contests would be "entirely antithetical" to the design of the constitution.
"It is my considered judgment that my oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not," Pence wrote.
Congress convened on Wednesday afternoon to review the Electoral College results that delivered Biden the presidency. Pence's role in the proceedings is mostly ceremonial, and he will be there to recognize the votes and any objections.
Republican lawmakers in both chambers are expected to object to the certification of results in at least three states. The objections will trigger a round of debate on each state, but they will not change the result.
Majorities of both chambers would have to vote to reject the electors from a given state, and Democrats control the House and several GOP senators have said they will not object.
As a result, Trump and his allies have turned their focus to Pence, inaccurately insisting that the vice president has unilateral authority under the Electoral Count Act to reject electors or somehow declare Trump the winner.
"Given the controversy surrounding this year's election, some approach this year's quadrennial tradition with great expectation, others with dismissive disdain," Pence wrote. "Some believe that as Vice President, I should be able to accept or reject electoral votes unilaterally. Others believe that electoral votes should never be challenged in a Joint Session of Congress.
"After a careful study of our Constitution, our laws, and our history, I believe neither view is correct."
Pence cited the Electoral Count Act of 1887 and the proceedings following the 1876 election of Rutherford B. Hayes when explaining how he came to determine that he did not have the power to intercede.
The vice president's decision was largely expected, with those close to him saying he would not act outside the bounds of the Constitution. He reportedly informed Trump of his view during lunch on Tuesday.
Still, Trump was unrelenting in framing Pence as a potential hero. During remarks to thousands of supporters on the White House Ellipse, the president repeatedly described Pence as a potential savior who could snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
"And Mike Pence, I hope you're going to stand up for the good of our Constitution and for the good of our country," Trump said. "And if you're not, I'm going to be very disappointed in you. I'll going to tell you right now. I'm not hearing good stories."
Reader Comments
PRES. NON-ELECT UNCLE PERVY BIDEN SNIFFED THOSE CRISIS ACTORS THEY LET IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
YES, EVEN THE COWARDLY LION/BEAZLEBUB HYBRID ... HE GOT RIGHT IN THERE WITH HIS NOSE .
From: Bribem campaign manager
To: Can'tfifa BLM BM
Good job on the use of agents provocateur!
Police deactivated looting locations to follow.
That does NOT mean the ability to do it does not exist. So ya grow a fuckin set, do it. Then use the next 4 years to fix that loop hole.
Not give it to them on a damn silver platter without a damn fight. What a moron.
Pence chose the devil, unequivocally, it is the devil's balls Pence is concerned with. But he did it a long time ago and it isn't surprising. If everything rested on him that's a joke.
I'm not one you're speaking of, because I never thought the president didn't matter. But I'll put out there that Trump should at this point openly embrace modern monetary theory, which he always supported in "printing money" and investing in military anyway. He already supports UBI. Perhaps go all the way and support M4A. He needs to confuse his supposed ideological opponents.
Probably unpopular opinion here. I have no clue.
And Trump picked him.... like he picked other human garbage to surround himself with.
thanks WEF / UN / WHO / IMF / EU / BOJO / CIA / FBI / DOJ / NSA / SCOTUS etcetera. . . all now exposed as poisonous enemies of truth, justice, freedom and the USA
thanks Social Media Gestapo thanks Mainstream Media morons
thanks Democrat deadshits
You have defrauded, censored and ignored the wishes of one hundred million Americans. You will now begin relentlessly screwing up the lives of the remaining two hundred million - many of whom were either too stupid, ignorant or lazy to resist, research or 'fact-check' your crucifying avalanche of lies and distortions. Even the gullible fools, morons and cretins who voted legally for Biden (how many? how F*CK*NG many?) and are now triumphantly partying in celebration of this inglorious and - in reality - impossible 'victory', will eventually come to realize the insane and totally ill-informed nature of their standpoint, their idiot choices and their universally dumb lack of judgement. Will they, though? Fast forward 10 years - still blaming President Trump? Yeah, no doubt. . .
It is possible (almost) to forgive the stupidity of the young (after all, most of them know F*CK all) including countless seemingly lifelong 'students' (diversity / gender bending / race theory studies - natch) who are mostly penniless due to their own uselessness and fecklessness. Possible (almost? nah) to forgive 'celebrities' and sports 'stars' who are so busy being overpaid, largely for merely being talentless and irritating, that they can think of nothing else, but still need to be 'involved' and 'relevant' and 'influential' and - of course - 'seen'. Not one of those dopes would have taken a minute to check or research the stock-standard, oh-so-original bollocks they brainlessly espouse.
thanks Republican Quislings
thanks Supreme Court lawbreakers
thanks spineless State Judiciaries
thanks lily-livered Law Enforcement
thanks gutless Military
You allowed - no, let's be clear here - aided and abetted, all this to happen - hamstrung, hogtied, cajoled, compromised. . . maybe. But traitors nonetheless. Yellow-belly courts - toothless (when it suits you) - so frightened of riots you won't even THINK about doing the right thing - and now responsible for the death of an unarmed innocent veteran. Doubtless not the first.
So, thanks and thanks again, all you disgusting creeps - for hastening the end of the free world rather than prolonging the torture and provoking decent people for another decade. Now we REALLY know what we're up against. When retribution comes - if there is one shred of capability left in the Left Hand of God - it is going to rain down on your heads with NO mercy.
tlhog
the lazy, brain-scrubbed party line.I could just copy and paste it all, but that makes no sense.
It is possible (almost) to forgive the stupidity of the young (after all, most of them know F*CK all) including countless seemingly lifelong 'students' (diversity / gender bending / race theory studies - natch) who are mostly penniless due to their own uselessness and fecklessness.
I once was at a hearing and a friend - who had an important and valid argument denied by a PC judge, said something like this when judge indicated he was going to rule for the defense: "Judge, we all have heard that 'the law is an ass', but there's no reason to make it a bigger ass than it already is." (He still lost.)
You really write well.
Thanks.
RC
If PDT had lost by a (legal) landslide it would be perplexing and hugely disheartening, even for a lifelong misanthropist such as myself - so convinced, as I am, of the tidal mass of rank stupidity 'out there'. If PDT had lost by a slim (legal) margin it would be monumentally depressing to realize that his almost superhuman resistance to the normal razor wire, shitbombs, landmines and other obstacles had gone unrewarded. If PDT had 'lost' by the eventual (completely illegal) margin but had retained absolute partisan support, instead of watching his slimey crew drop like yellow parrot shit from a pirate's boot then it would still constitute an immeasurable disaster, but would at least have a veneer of 'decency' and 'respect' to hang something positive upon his still disgraceful, still illegal, still unacceptable political 'downfall'.
The disaster has made me physically unwell. It is impossible to overstate how bad it will prove to be for all our future hopes and ambitions.
Final words to Pete Sinfield - from 'Epitaph' on KC's 1969 debut LP 'ITCOTCK':
The wall on which the prophets wrote is cracking at the seams. Upon the instruments of death the sunlight brightly gleams.
When every man is torn apart with nightmares and with dreams, will no one lay the laurel wreath as silence drowns the screams?
Between the iron gates of fate the seeds of time were sown, and watered by the deeds of those who know and who are known;
Knowledge is a deadly friend when no one sets the rules - the fate of all mankind I see, is in the hands of fools.
Confusion will be my epitaph, as I crawl a cracked and broken path. If we make it we can all sit back and laugh.
But I fear tomorrow I'll be crying. Yes I fear tomorrow I'll be crying.
Although all of this PC BS et al. has stressed me out too, I look forward to more of your stuff.
RC
The disaster has made me physically unwell. It is impossible to overstate how bad it will prove to be for all our future hopes and ambitions.
Truly time for a concerted effort to fight back against what has happened. Don't be overwhelmed by the enormity of the task at hand, start in your own neighborhoods, towns, cities and states. All of us doing small things together will start to make a small difference at first and then a little larger difference, until we start to see a larger difference begin to happen. If we wait for someone to swoop down and save us from the calamity to come, we will lose this battle not only for us, but our children and for generations to come.
Sometimes there is JUSTICE, but this time there is JUST US.
But Pence, who harbors political ambitions of his own beyond the vice presidency, said giving the vice president unilateral authority to decide presidential contests would be "entirely antithetical" to the design of the constitution.Pence and his entire family, are parasite pieces of shit....dont let the white hair and avuncular look fool you. His family created an ecological nightmare in the Midwest and basically walked away from it, leaving the states and the federal government, i.e. *us*, to clean it up [Link]
There's humor in collapse.
The national farce is now complete.
And, of course, an ancient quote (found engraved in some Gaelic temple )
Inanity of inanities; all is inanity. RCclesiastes.RC
Republicans get nowhere because they have no core principles to get going from. They agree with the core principle of the left – that the collective has rights – and thus the only disagreement with the left is over how much the individual must submit to the collective and for what reason.[Link] (See others there, too.)
This is why the country marches inexorably toward more collectivism. It will not stop marching until the individual’s right to not be collectivized is respected. The Republicans – which includes “conservatives” – do not respect this right in principle and so in fact
Most if not almost all of them agree with the collectivists that such things as “the schools” – i.e., the government’s schools – must be funded with funds coercively extracted from people, including people who neither use nor want to use them.
They cheer for more government – when it wears a uniform or has a badge.
They attack anyone who suggests that it’s immoral to take someone’s money to finance someone else’s retirement or health care; note that the formal policy of the Republican Party has not been to end the practice of forcing people to buy health insurance but to install a “better plan,” i.e., repeal and replace. They couldn’t even do that..
He is worth bookmarking.
R
Comment: Here's the letter:
As promised, there were objections. Congressman Gosar and Cruz objected to Arizona's submission, garnering applause.
However, proceedings have been halted. Protesters breached security and entered the building earlier this afternoon. The Capitol building has been placed on lockdown. Unless the session resumes today, updates will follow here: MASSIVE crowd of Trump supporters have gathered in DC for "March For Trump" rally.
UPDATE: Oh, how far the mighty have fallen. Now it's other countries turn to tell America that democracy "must be respected." France, UK, NATO... Macron, Johnson, Stoltenberg. They're just following an American tradition: illegitimate tyrants telling other countries they're not being democratic enough. Well, they can all go to a warm and toasty place.
For more village idiots jumping on the virtue-signaling bandwagon (Trudeau, Maas, Morrison), see here.
McConnell sold out even harder than Pence, but you can't expect much from that dinosaur.
Democracy has been dead in the U.S. for years. This just makes it official. These people are spineless liars and fakes. In other words, politicians.
The session resumed a couple hours ago. There isn't much hope.
UPDATE (Jan. 7, 1:40 pm EST): Congress has confirmed Biden as president-elect. The objections didn't stick, and only a handful of Republican senators followed through after the Capitol Hill fiasco.