(stock image of a mail-in ballot) A postal worker in Pennsylvania who claimed that a postmaster in Erie told post office employees to backdate ballots received after Election Day has reportedly admitted he lied. His claims have been spread by high ranking Republicans as evidence of “widespread voter fraud.” This was supposed to be the Republicans big “gotcha.” From the Washington Post:
A Pennsylvania postal worker whose claims have been cited by top Republicans as potential evidence of widespread voting irregularities admitted to U.S. Postal Service investigators that he fabricated the allegations, according to three officials briefed on the investigation and a statement from a House congressional committee.
Richard Hopkins’s claim that a postmaster in Erie, Pa., instructed postal workers to backdate ballots mailed after Election Day was cited by Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) in a letter to the Justice Department calling for a federal investigation.
Attorney General William P. Barr subsequently authorized federal prosecutors to open probes into credible allegations of voting irregularities and fraud, a reversal of long-standing Justice Department policy.
But on Monday, Hopkins, 32, told investigators from the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General that the allegations were not true, and he signed an affidavit recanting his claims, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe an ongoing investigation.
The original allegations were reported last week by Project Veritas, an organization that has been caught spinning fiction into made-up ‘facts’ trying to demonize the mainstream media. After being hailed as a hero among Trump supporters, a GoFundMe campaign was launched that raised over $135K for Hopkins – until the campaign was yanked down today in light of his reversal. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee tweeted the revelations late Tuesday.
BREAKING NEWS: Erie, Pa. #USPS whistleblower completely RECANTED his allegations of a supervisor tampering with mail-in ballots after being questioned by investigators, according to IG.
#USPS IG investigators informed Committee staff today that they interviewed Hopkins on Friday, but that Hopkins RECANTED HIS ALLEGATIONS yesterday and did not explain why he signed a false affidavit.
My favorite meme of the day – and yes, it’s fake but pretty funny. It is, however, based on remarks made by Trump during a campaign rally in Macon, Georgia last month. Trump told the crowd he might have to “leave the country” if he were to lose to now-President-elect Joe Biden. “You know what, running against the worst candidate in the history of presidential politics puts pressure on me. Could you imagine if I lose, my whole life, what am I gonna do? I’m gonna say, I lost to the worst candidate in the history of politics. I’m not gonna feel so good. Maybe I’ll have to leave the country. I don’t know.”
"Maybe I'll have to leave the country. I don't know." — Trump on what could happen if he loses to Biden pic.twitter.com/NGrXDwjaSd
With Joe Biden and Kamala Harris projected to be the next President and Vice President of the U.S., many are looking to who might be tapped by California Gov. Gavin Newsom to take Sen. Harris’s seat in the U.S.Senate.
Politico reports that those inside Newsom’s inner circle say he would like to make a historic choice, and there are multiple contenders being mentioned who could become the first openly LGBTQ senator from the Golden State.
Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, viewed as a rising star in the Democratic Party, is reportedly on the shortlist of those being considered for the Senate seat. Garcia would be the first openly gay and first Latino senator from California.
In a recent poll by the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, Garcia received the highest response (57%) when voters were asked about individual possible candidates.
According to that survey, almost half of voters (48%) would prefer someone without experience in Washington, D.C., or in Sacramento. Thirty-one percent said they would like to see Newsom pick the state’s first Latino U.S. senator and 24% hoped for the state’s first LGBTQ U.S. Senator.
The first woman and openly LGBTQ person to lead the state Senate, State Senate pro Tempore Toni Atkins of San Diego, is also among those being floated to be the next senator from California. In the aforementioned survey, Atkins received 40% support.
The Victory Fund, which supports more representation of queer Americans in public office, adds to those possibilities California Assemblymember Evan Low, U.S. Representative Mark Takano, and California Senator Scott Wiener.
Newsom could still make history with a non-LGBTQ choice like Secretary of State Alex Padilla or state Attorney General Xavier Becerra. Either would be the first Latino senator in California history, plus choosing a statewide officer for the seat would allow the governor to name both the next senator and a powerful state officeholder’s replacement as well.
Many in political circles say the replacement should, like Harris, be a woman of color making Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) of Los Angeles a strong contender. Bass was long reported as a possible choice for running mate for Biden and garnered 53% support in the Schwarzenegger Institute poll.
Also in the mix are Rep. Barbara Lee from Oakland who had 51% approval in the Institute’s survey,and freshman Rep. Katie Porter, who has shown to have strong support among younger voters. One small snag for Porter could be that she’s the first Democrat to represent California’s 45th District. A traditionally red district, if she were to take Harris’s seat, her House seat could possibly flip back to Republican.
Newsom has told the press he won’t begin the formal process of vetting candidates until after the election results were certified.
(images via Joe Biden/Jill Biden Instagram) As part of the Biden family, I’m thrilled to see we’ll be welcoming Champ and Major Biden as the nation’s ‘First Dogs.’ Presidential pets have long been a tradition in the White House although Donald Trump is the first president since James Polk to not have a pet while in office. According to PEOPLE, Biden’s German shepherd, Major, will also make history as the first rescue dog to live at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The Biden family adopted Major from the Delaware Humane Association in November 2018, 10 years after the couple welcomed their first German shepherd, Champ.
Champ was welcomed on Christmas 2008 and the beloved pet lived at the vice presidential residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory during Biden’s two terms with former President Barack Obama.
Former President George W. Bush (photo: public domain) Former President George W. Bush issued this statement of congratulations today regarding President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’s victory in the 2020 race. Along the way, Bush thanked Biden for his “patriotic message” in his acceptance last night and noted Biden has “won his opportunity to lead and unify our country.” Bush also tipped his hat to Donald Trump for his “hard-fought campaign” and acknowledged Trump “has the right to request recounts and pursue legal challenges, and any unresolved issues will be properly adjudicated.”
I just talked to the President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden. I extended my warm congratulations and thanked him for the patriotic message he delivered last night. I also called Kamala Harris to congratulate her on her historic election to the vice presidency.
Though we have political differences, I know Joe Biden to be a good man, who has won his opportunity to lead and unify our country. The President-elect reiterated that while he ran as a Democrat, he will govern for all Americans. I offered him the same thing I offered Presidents Trump and Obama: my prayers for his success, and my pledge to help in any way I can.
I want to congratulate President Trump and his supporters on a hard-fought campaign. He earned the votes of more than 70 million Americans – an extraordinary political achievement. They have spoken, and their voices will continue to be heard through elected Republicans at every level of government.
The fact that so many of our fellow citizens participated in this election is a positive sign of the health of our democracy and a reminder to the world of its strength.
No matter how you voted, your vote counted. President Trump has the right to request recounts and pursue legal challenges, and any unresolved issues will be properly adjudicated. The American people can have confidence that this election was fundamentally fair, its integrity will be upheld, and its outcome is clear.
Reporting from the corner of Cynicism and Bitter… A talking head at the far-right leaning streaming website Newsmax tried to insinuate all of the mainstream media (including Fox News Channel) colluded with the state of Pennsylvania to wait for Donald Trump to take his 284th trip to play golf before projecting former Vice President Joe Biden as the next president of the U.S.
“The timing on of all this, Emerald, certainly fascinates me. We talk a lot about media collusion with the Democratic Party and here we have the president just leaving the White House to go to his golf course to play a round of golf and he deserves to be able to do that.”
“We have the press conference that Rudy Giuliani is going to hold in Philadelphia happening. And at the very same time, all of all sudden, all of the networks, with the exception of Newsmax, decide that this is the time that they’re going to call the election. We are, here at Newsmax, not calling the election.”
Check out the creepy laugh when he says “He deserves to be able to do that…” Practically everyone with an interest in the election returns figured out the result would probably be announced today. Why would Trump even play golf today? And then, of course, there’s the fact that Trump lied to the American people four years ago and said there “wouldn’t be time for golf” if he was elected in 2016. It’s almost Shakespearean that Trump learned he lost the race on a golf course.
Newsmax anchor floats a conspiracy theory that the election was called to ruin Trump’s round of golf pic.twitter.com/q8dGEk22MV
President-elect Joe Biden LGBTQ organizations across the U.S. are celebrating the victory of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. From Alphonso David, President of the Human Rights Campaign:
After four long years, we can finally celebrate — our voices were loud and clear, and together, we have elected Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to the White House, by more than four million votes and counting! Their election proves once again that equality is a winning issue, and reflects both the incredible work of this organization and the strength of our shared unity.
The Biden/Harris White House will be the most pro-equality in history. President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris are not just our allies, but they are true advocates for LGBTQ equality. These leaders have a clear vision: a vision where LGBTQ people are protected from discrimination; a vision where transgender and gender non-conforming people don’t fear for their lives walking down the street; a vision where LGBTQ children are loved, embraced and protected from bullying.
The results of this presidential election affirm that every vote and every voter counts. LGBTQ people and all marginalized Americans came together to make this victory possible, and now the journey to safety, equality and acceptance can continue forward.
President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris have promised to fight for America as a place where we all can belong and succeed, where truth and kindness matter. In the early days of their administration, they must prioritize protecting LGBTQ people equally under the law in a country where we can live without fear. We must all also confront the racism and bias that fueled the division of the last four years, and resolve to come together for justice and equality for all. We are eager to act on this historic vote for progress and get our country back on track.
From Rea Carey, Executive Director of the National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund:
Today, I breathed a sigh of relief for the first time in years, even as we know that we have hard work ahead of us. My hope is that after four years of white supremacist policies, actions and rhetoric aimed at the worst impulses of those who see LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, people of color, people with disabilities, and so many as the ‘other’ as targets for discrimination and prejudice, we have elected national leaders who have vowed to see and fight for the humanity in all of us.
I am filled with hope because our children will again live in a nation led by an administration that sees their potential, their resilience, and their diversity as strengths. I am filled with hope because for the first time in history a woman will serve as Vice President of the United States of America. After more than 100 years of women of color being cut out of the protections gained by the constitutional amendment granting mostly white women the right to vote, a woman of color will be bringing her expertise, experience and vision to lead this nation.
From Rebecca Isaacs, Executive Director of Equality Federation:
The will of the people is clear: voters have chosen Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to move us forward together towards a better future. This has been a long, difficult election unlike any we have witnessed before. But the story of the election is this: Despite all of the obstacles, we voted in enormous numbers for democracy, for justice, for equality, and for each other.
There is no question that President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris will be champions for advancing LGBTQ equality.
The will of the people is clear: voters have chosen Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to move us forward together towards a better future. pic.twitter.com/Ie0TyZp3td
From Imani Rupert-Gordon, National Center for Lesbian Rights Executive Director:
President-Elect Joe Biden has long been a champion of our community and he has promised the most LGBTQ-inclusive administration that has ever been in the White House. The opportunity to partner with a friendly administration and rebuild has never been greater.
And additionally noteworthy, Kamala Harris not only represents the first woman ever with the title Vice President-Elect, but also the first Black woman and South Asian woman to hold the position, which will provide a perspective that we have never had in that role before.
Joe Biden will be the 46th president of the United States, CNN projects, after a victory in Pennsylvania puts the Scranton-born Democrat over 270 electoral votes.
Mayor Dean Trantalis of Fort Lauderdale (screen capture/CBS4News) As the counting of ballots continues across the country following Election Day this week, we’ve all seen stories of heated rhetoric between supporters of political candidates at the polls. But it turns out even mayors aren’t immune to ugly vitriol this election cycle. Mayor Dean Trantalis, the first openly gay mayor of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, says he was harassed by supporters of Donald Trump who began yelling homophobic slurs at him while he visited an early voting site on Saturday. “I encountered a number of people who were there on behalf of the Trump campaign who immediately accosted me, calling me pedophile, started calling me a fa**ot, and thought it was fun,” Trantalis told the local CBS News affiliate. But Mayor Trantalis didn’t assign blame to the Republican Party saying the people involved in the incident were “a lot of rabble-rousers that are fringe elements of the Trump organization that felt they could come into our city.” “Several were not from our city,” he added. “They admitted they came from other parts of the state.” (photo via Dean Trantalis) The mayor encountered similar behavior at other polling places and near his home as well. Trantalis shared that in his own neighborhood he saw yard signs for his campaign to which people had attached little pink flags. He said it was clear the flags were “a dog whistle for someone who’s gay.” “Almost to say, ‘We’re watching you, we’re around your house,’” he explained. “They wanted to intimidate me.” But the mayor is steadfast in his belief that such behavior doesn’t represent the people who live in Fort Lauderdale. “If you can’t be respectable, honorable people, you need to take your dog and pony show somewhere else,” he told CBS4News. “That’s not who we are.”
Rick Santorum (screen capture via CNN) CNN political analyst Rick Santorum told CNN viewers this morning that “Democrats need to give Republicans, including Trump, time and space to work through their feelings about losing.” “You know he’s just found out that he’s probably not going to be the president of the United States,” added Santorum.
The Twitterverse found that idea a bit funny considering how famously thoughtful Trump supporters have been about Democrats’ “feelings.”
Rick Santorum just said on @CNN: “Democrats need to give Republicans, including Trump, time and space to work through their feelings about losing.” Below: A photo of a lobster boat in Maine flying a giant “Trump 2020: F— Your Feelings” flag. A good friend of mine sent it to me pic.twitter.com/e5gQXzDt3Q
Guy in my neighborhood – Black SUV with vanity plates PUNSHER1 – had this flag over the summer. Yeah, now this same camp wants civility and respect… Right.. pic.twitter.com/ik4VQCD4Ht
