The Election Is Really, Truly, Actually, Finally, Probably Over
Everything you need to know for Monday, Dec. 14: Beasley concedes + Wake reconsiders in-person classes + Biden gives civil rights leaders the cold shoulder
Monday, Dec. 14, 2020
Happy Electoral College Voting Day!
2 days until season 5 of The Expanse debuts
11 days until Christmas
18 days until this cursed year ends
38 days until this cursed presidency is over
Today’s Number: 27
Percentage of DMV positions the NCGA relocated from Raleigh to Rocky Mount that are now vacant. More vacancies are expected in the coming months.
+ ABOVE THE FOLD
—> It’s Over, Really, for Real This Time
On Friday, the US Supreme Court dealt what any rational person would view as a death blow to Donald Trump’s chances of overturning Joe Biden’s victory, refusing to hear the Texas lawsuit asking to throw out election results in four key states Biden won. With the Electoral College formally voting today, that is pretty much that—or, it would be, if we were dealing with rational people. We are not.
“But as the president continues to refuse to concede, a small group of his most loyal backers in Congress is plotting a final-stage challenge on the floor of the House of Representatives in early January to try to reverse Mr. Biden’s victory. Constitutional scholars and even members of the president’s own party say the effort is all but certain to fail. But the looming battle on Jan. 6 is likely to culminate in a messy and deeply divisive spectacle that could thrust Vice President Mike Pence into the excruciating position of having to declare once and for all that Mr. Trump has indeed lost the election.”
The president’s dead-enders—including the Proud Boys—held a “stop the steal” rally on Saturday in DC, during which four people were stabbed and one other shot.
Trump melted down on Twitter.
—> RELATED: My column this week looks back on the worst people of 2020, including those who tried to kneecap democratic institutions on his behalf.
“Since 2020 has been a parade of horribles, I figured it fitting to cap it off with a list of the year’s worst people. Okay, technically, the worst Americans, as I’ve excluded the rest of the world. (Apologies to Narendra Modi.) I’ve also ignored the Trumps—Donald, Bloodshot Eyes Don, the Dumb One, Javanka, the Daughter Donald Forgets He Has, Soon-to-Be-Donald’s-Ex, the whole batch—because what’s the point?”
+ LOCAL & STATE
—> Beasley Concedes, Newby to Be Chief Justice
In the end, a contest of 5.5 million votes came down to a margin of about 400. But that was enough for Republican Paul Newby to dislodge the state’s first Black woman chief justice, Cheri Beasley, who conceded on Saturday.
Democrats went into the election with a 6–1 lead on the court. They wound up with a 4–3 split.
—> Wake Schools Reconsidering In-Person Classes
The school board meets at three this afternoon to discuss switching back to remote instruction amid surging COVID cases. Chairman Keith Sutton says it’s becoming increasingly difficult to staff schools because of the number of employees in quarantine. A vote could come as soon as Tuesday.
—> RELATED: DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen says the COVID vaccine likely won’t be available to everyone in North Carolina until the spring.
—> In Other News: NC
Republicans who have downplayed the COVID threat since March are blaming Roy Cooper for people ignoring the COVID threat. (N&O)
Mecklenburg’s health director says the idiots who hung out maskless at the QC Lounge in uptown Charlotte need to isolate and get tested. (Charlotte Observer)
Insurance companies have asked state regulators to jack up homeowners insurance rates by 25%. (WRAL)
—> In Other News: Triangle
The Alamance News, Triad City Beat, and The News & Observer filed an emergency appeal asking the North Carolina Court of Appeals to force Alamance County to open judicial hearings to the public. (N&O)
Weather: Rain today, high of 58. (WRAL)
+ NATION & WORLD
—> Briefs: 7 Stories to Read Today
“President-elect Joe Biden's decision to fill his White House and Cabinet with longtime colleagues has led to frustration from liberals, civil rights leaders and younger activists, who worry he's relegating racial minorities to lower-status jobs while leaning on Obama-era appointees for key positions.” (WaPo)
“The head of the N.A.A.C.P. had a blunt warning for President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. when Mr. Biden met with civil rights leaders in Wilmington this week. Nominating Tom Vilsack, a secretary of agriculture in the Obama administration, to run the department again would enrage Black farmers and threaten Democratic hopes of winning two Senate runoffs in Georgia, the N.A.A.C.P. head, Derrick Johnson, told Mr. Biden. … Mr. Biden promptly ignored the warning.” (NYT)
“Biden also warned the civil rights leaders [last week] that pressure on the incoming administration around police reform could hurt the party’s chances in the Georgia Senate runoffs, claiming that the Republicans’ ability to define that party as in favor of defunding the police is ‘how they beat the living hell out of us across the country.’” (The Intercept)
“The first of nearly three million doses of the first Covid-19 vaccine were packed in dry ice and put on trucks at a Pfizer plant in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Sunday morning, destined for hundreds of distribution centers in all 50 states, the most ambitious vaccination campaign in American history.” (NYT)
“Some White House staff members will be among the first wave of people in the United States to receive coronavirus vaccinations, a Trump administration official said Sunday night. The news comes as boxes of the first shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine departed a facility in Michigan, with front-line health-care workers, the elderly and other vulnerable people expected to receive top priority.” (WaPo)
“The Trump administration acknowledged on Sunday that hackers acting on behalf of a foreign government—almost certainly a Russian intelligence agency, according to federal and private experts—broke into a range of key government networks, including in the Treasury and Commerce Departments, and had free access to their email systems. Officials said a hunt was on to determine if other parts of the government had been affected by what looked to be one of the most sophisticated, and perhaps among the largest, attacks on federal systems in the past five years.” (NYT)
“The UK and EU have agreed to carry on post-Brexit trade talks after a call between leaders earlier on Sunday. In a joint statement, Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it was ‘responsible at this point to go the extra mile.’ … The two sides had said Sunday was the deadline for a decision on whether to continue with talks, with the UK set to leave EU rules at the end of the month. … Mrs. von der Leyen said Sunday's call with Mr. Johnson had been ‘constructive and useful.’ But Mr. Johnson repeated his warning from earlier in the week that a no-deal scenario was ‘most likely.’” (BBC)
+ OUR SO-CALLED LIVES
—> Et Cetera
Charley Pride, country music’s first Black superstar, died of COVID-19. (NYT)
The spy novelist—and former British spy—known as John Le Carre died of pneumonia at the age of 89. (WaPo)
Apple executive Tim Cook killed a planned Apple TV show about the old Gawker websites. (NYT)
After 105 years, Cleveland’s baseball team will lose the “Indians” mascot. (WaPo)
Blue Ivy Carter—Jay Z and Beyonce’s 8-year-old daughter—is nominated for a Grammy, because of course she is. (CNN)
Disney announced approximately 327 new Star Wars show. (OK, actually 10.) (AV Club)
Thanks for reading—and to Beth Keena for helping out. I’ll see you tomorrow.