Countdown To Freedom

 

One month from today, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will become President and Vice President. The Biden Inaugural Committee is urging Americans not to travel to Washington but, rather, to settle in at home for a virtual event similar to how the Democrats retooled their 2020 party convention. That's great news — because the convention was fabulous! We'll be parked in front of the TV all day on January 20. In the meantime, we PURR.

Trump's Martial Plan

By Hubie and Bertie

A few years back, journalist Sarah Kendzior warned that if Benedict Donald lost the 2020 election, the weeks between Election Day and Inauguration Day would be the most dangerous period in American history. Sorry to say, but she was right.

Word is surfacing of a Oval Office meeting that took place yesterday, in which Benedict Donald hosted a wackier-than-usual group of right-wing nutjobs: Sidney Powell, Rudolph Giuliani and Michael Flynn. A few regular administration officials were toddling in and out. Apparently one of the toddlers was alarmed enough to tip off Axios and The New York Times about it. Ideas discussed included:

• Declaring martial law to overturn the election. This is favored by Flynn, who has gone even further off the deep end since Trump pardoned him.
  

• Telling the Department of Homeland Security to seize voting machines (presumably, Dominion's). Giuliani even called Ken Cuccinelli about it. Cootchy, who is in his position at DHS illegally, thought it a bridge too far, even for him.

• Naming Sidney Powell some sort of a special counsel to investigate the 2020 voter fraud that didn't exist. (Now that, actually, might have some entertainment value.)
  

Still and all, none of this is funny. "I’ve been covering Donald Trump for a while," tweeted Jonathan Swan of Axios. "I can’t recall hearing more intense concern from senior officials who are actually Trump people. The Sidney Powell-Michael Flynn ideas are finding an enthusiastic audience at the top."

So, are we going to wake up tomorrow to hear tanks rolling through the streets? Don't bet on it, says government ethics guru Walter Shaub — career civil servants will save the day.

"Their allegiance is to this nation and not to some politician temporarily residing in government housing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," he explains. "The career civilian and uniformed public servants would refuse to carry out the orders to facilitate his coup." (Of course, it's not very reassuring that Shaub also says, "God help us all if I'm wrong.")

You know whose fault this is? The Republican Party's. They're the ones who nominated this tinpot dictator in 2016. They're the ones who have enabled him ever since.

It's also the fault of the 17 state attorneys general and the 126 Republican House members who recently threw their weight behind Ken Paxton's ridiculous Texas lawsuit — including our own Congresswoman, who disgusts us. And it's the fault of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who was one of the 126. And let's not forget Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who stayed silent on the Presidential election for far too long. 

Are you freaked out that we're even having a martial-law conversation in the first place? Blame the GOP. We cats HISS.

(PHOTO: The Lincoln Memorial on June 2, one day after Trump tear-gassed George Floyd demonstrators so he could march across Lafayette Park and hold up a Bible. Win Mcnamee/Getty Images)

The Next Howard

By Miss Kubelik

Joe Biden's Cabinet picks have been swell so far. We're thrilled because, to a person, they are all smart people who have been around the block a few times and know how to fix things. Or, if they're relatively new to Washington — like Pete Buttigieg is — they're young, brilliant, fired up, and ready to go.

We have to mention Buttigieg, because there are plenty of folks who think it would have been great to have him step in as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Yes, he would have been terrific. But it's a position he's competed for before, and didn't get. And since then, he's raised his profile to such an extent that it's right and good that Biden tapped him for Secretary of Transportation. This is a guy who will make Infrastructure Week rock!

But where does that leave the DNC? The party is already two months behind in planning for the 2022 midterms. So we need someone tough and no-nonsense in there — someone who believes that Democrats should welcome everyone to the party, and run everywhere, in all 50 states. Someone like our perennial favorite, Howard Dean.

So, who? Who could run the DNC in the spirit of Howard, knowing that the Democrats can appeal to a broad swath of Americans — because what most Americans believe is what the Democratic Party stands for? Someone who understands the difference between the word "Democrat" as a noun and "Democratic" as an adjective — who would that be?

The answer is simple: Steve Schmidt. Please, Democrats, make your most recent convert the offer — and please, Steve, accept. This is a guy who knows how to organize, who messages extremely well, and who will go for the jugular when necessary (which will probably happen often in Joe Biden's first term). We cats PURR.

Alfresco

Twenty-three inches of snow? We can deal. Meanwhile, while Manhattan didn't get nearly that much, it's clear that come rain, sleet or Winter Storm Gail, there's still no place like New York. We cats PURR.

(PHOTO: Hiroko Masuike)

Shouting Out With Glee

As Fat Mike Pompeo gets exposed to someone with COVID and cancels his last holiday party, Randy Rainbow shows us how to leaven our Christmas cheer with a touch of schadenfreude. We cats PURR.

Pompeo's Pandemic Party Goes POOF

 

By Zamboni

This is SO GREAT. (No, not the design of this invitation, which is atrocious.)

Remember Fat Mike Pompeo's proposed 900-person superspreader holiday party at the State Department? The one that caused an outcry because it was foolhardy and dangerous? Well, of the 900 invitees, only 70 responded "yes," and today, even fewer of those turned up.

Honestly, COVID or no COVID, would you go to a party that featured "drinks, boxed meals, and a masked Santa"? Ugh! (There was no social distancing, either, despite a promise to enforce such rules.) Pompeo himself also was a no-show, even though he had committed to attending and speaking. Maybe the Santa was actually him? Nah — he doesn't believe in masks.

If this was Fat Mike's big kickoff for his 2024 Presidential campaign, it hasn't started very well. We cats PURR.

The Electors Have Voted

By Baxter

Joe Biden got to give another victory speech today! At this rate, he'll have to give dozens more before he takes office. Here's a question: If Republicans don't accept him as President after January 20, and it keeps getting proven that he won, will he get to give multiple Inaugural Addresses?

Actually, a few Republicans hemmed and hawed and shuffled their feet and finally admitted today that yes, the Electoral College members have put Election 2020 away. Lady Lindsey, Joni Ernst, John Thune, Roy Blunt, Lamar Alexander and a smattering of other GOP clowns grudgingly said uncle. It's despicable — but preferable, we guess, to a Michigan state rep threatening violence on talk radio and Arizona Trumpsters sending fake electoral votes to the National Archives.

For those of you out there who are new to Presidential elections, none of this is normal. What we're witnessing is a major political party going over a cliff, preferring to defend an autocratic narcissist than the Constitution many of them have sworn to protect. Clear-thinking Americans are all relieved that the end of the Trump nightmare is just 37 days away, but the country is still in one of the most dangerous periods of its history. Be happy, be hopeful, but stay vigilant. We cats HISS and PURR at the same time.

Nothing To Be Proud Of.

This image is close to 100 years old, but what happened in the streets of Washington last night echoed it strongly. Racists and haters who call themselves the Proud Boys roamed downtown DC, stirring up trouble. Four people ended up stabbed, one critically, and three dozen were arrested. Why were those jackasses in Washington to begin with? They were protesting the defeat of Donald Trump. January 20 can't come soon enough. We cats HISS.

Nobel Winner Wisdom

Looking for a sliver of light in the Trumpian darkness? President Gore has an op-ed in The New York Times that's worth reading. Twenty years ago after a misguided SCOTUS decision, he conceded to Smirky Bush with patriotism and grace. Now, he's looking forward to the progress the Biden Administration can make — on the pandemic, climate change and everything else. His words are the perfect antidote to the disgust we feel when we see Proud Boys, Alex Jones and the My Pillow dude whipping up fascist fervor in our nation's capital today. We cats PURR.

Vacating The Throne

By Sniffles

Today is the 84th anniversary of the abdication of England's King Edward VIII. Also today, the Supreme Court has just ruled against Donald Trump in his ill-advised bid to overturn his 2020 re-election loss.

So: One Nazi sympathizer gives up his throne for the woman he loves, while the other Nazi sympathizer has to be dragged kicking and screaming from the White House after losing by seven million votes. The situations are not the same, but we're intrigued by the parallels nevertheless.

The key to avoiding disaster in each case was the fact that after the incumbent imploded, there was a solid, serious and experienced replacement waiting in the wings. In Edward's case, it was his unexpectedly thoughtful and mostly underestimated brother, Bertie. In Trump's case, it's the man 81,282,896 Americans voted for to replace him: the long-serving former Senator and Vice President, Joe Biden.

One was a king, and the other will be a President. Not much in common, except what we've noted, and this: They both stuttered. We cats PURR.