Overviews on Republican tactics to limit powers of Democrats who won

This is the big picture with several good summaries. I have posted specific items on individual states.

What we’re witnessing in Wisconsin, Michigan and North Carolina will disenfranchise voters for years to come https://t.co/Yx1y60BYC8 pic.twitter.com/HMrtYHhSD1

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) December 5, 2018

Republicans are putting unprecedented stress tests on democracy in North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Michigan: https://t.co/xb0Tp2UUlg pic.twitter.com/hhcU6nYEaL

— Slate (@Slate) December 5, 2018

Analysis | The Trailer: How lame-duck legislatures are trying to affect the 2020 election https://t.co/j20SRlQapJ

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 5, 2018

Opinion: Once again, Republicans are waging war on democracy https://t.co/97aWEvq23Y

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 4, 2018

In Wisconsin, Michigan, and other states, the refusal of Republicans to accept election results sends an ominous signal. https://t.co/SdF8EPedhu

— The Nation (@thenation) December 4, 2018

This effort to sustain minority rule is what makes these tactics norm violations worth opposing in the name of a stronger democratic norm. A principle from @ThePlumLineGS @joshchafetz . /fin

— Jedediah Purdy (@JedediahSPurdy) December 5, 2018

It’s National Cookie Day!

#NationalCookieDay: Here's where to pick up some free or discounted cookies https://t.co/qES3o22xHR pic.twitter.com/LhoexppdXt

— Newsweek (@Newsweek) December 4, 2018

See all those bags of cookies in the back? Yeah, they’re also his. Happy #NationalCookieDay to the one and only @MeCookieMonster! pic.twitter.com/cGmVBMetwZ

— Sesame Street (@sesamestreet) December 4, 2018

Happy #NationalCookieDay, America! #GMADay

Find the best cookie recipes here: https://t.co/1l73nzGSzb pic.twitter.com/GlXvAbF0aP

— Good Morning America (@GMA) December 4, 2018

#NationalCookieDay you say … pic.twitter.com/6FYdPNI1zR

— National Museum of American History (@amhistorymuseum) December 4, 2018

#NationalCookieDay calls for a viewing of Gingerdead Man, starring Gary Busey as a killer whose soul winds up inside of a gingerbread cookie. And yes, the cookie of course goes on a killing spree. We wouldn't dare celebrate any other way. pic.twitter.com/TaDu4p7rGC

— Bloody Disgusting (@BDisgusting) December 4, 2018

Happy #NationalCookieDay! 🍪🍪🍪🍪

This strip is from August 28, 1986. pic.twitter.com/TK6DPiDjhi

— SchulzMuseum (@SchulzMuseum) December 4, 2018

What’s going on with Trump and China?

Trump and his team can’t get their story straight. Who know what the truth is. I’m not saying Trump lied. I’m saying he may not know enough about the issues to have a coherent discussion and policy.

And even if there were a deal on autos, it would cut tariffs for all exporters to China, meaning most of the benefits would not go to the US. This is not optional: Most Favored Nation status is integral to the WTO 3/ https://t.co/Q3XB5K6za1

— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) December 4, 2018

Fast! Trump has gone from "it's an incredible deal" to "seeing whether or not a REAL deal with China is actually possible," and "China will be buying massive amounts of product from us, including agricultural," to "China is supposed to start buying Agricultural product." pic.twitter.com/WPa8mSYsjc

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) December 4, 2018

Trump left his top advisers scrambling to explain a trade deal he claimed he’d struck with China to reduce tariffs on U.S. cars exported to the country — an agreement that doesn’t exist on paper and hasn’t been confirmed in Beijing.https://t.co/m7ig2H5scX

— Kevin Whitelaw (@KevinWhitelaw1) December 3, 2018

Trump declared on Twitter that China “has agreed to reduce and remove tariffs on cars coming into China from the U.S.” His top economic advisors are already disputing that claim. https://t.co/eR7VQYsDrd

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) December 3, 2018

Today in trade: Trump says China is cutting car tariffs, Navarro doesn’t know what he’s talking about, Kudlow gets China’s deadline off by a month, Lighthizer takes the reins from Mnuchin. https://t.co/Zsh4Dd2bxO

— Alan Rappeport (@arappeport) December 4, 2018

1) Trump: China is removing auto tariffs.
2) Kudlow: Hopefully, but no agreement.
3) China: <crickets>
4) WH: 90-day clock starts Dec 1
5) Kudlow: Jan 1
6) WH: ahem, Dec 1
7) Toomey: USMCA won't pass Congress.
8) Lighthizer has to sort it all out.
https://t.co/zk4pG0Uge0

— Damian Paletta (@damianpaletta) December 4, 2018

The emoluments clause lawsuit against Trump moves forward

We need to find out the full details of Trump’s corrupt behavior. This is good news.

Dozens of subpoenas were issued Tuesday to businesses affiliated with President Donald Trump and others in a lawsuit by Maryland and the District of Columbia. https://t.co/p4xbv3sTSV

— The Baltimore Sun (@baltimoresun) December 4, 2018

The D.C. and Maryland attorneys general say they're moving forward with subpoenas for records in their case accusing Trump of profiting off the presidency.

Subpoenas are expected to be sent out within hours, according to the AP. https://t.co/yftMpDaGDC

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 3, 2018

Well done @AshaRangappa_ re Trump's possible Russia #emoluments. So proud that @crewcrew & I serve as cocounsel in two of these cases, including the DC/MD one that is now moving to discovery! https://t.co/fAPX3T8hTA

— Norm Eisen (@NormEisen) December 4, 2018

BREAKING: the court has ordered discovery to begin in the Maryland & DC #emoluments case led by @BrianFrosh & @AGKarlRacine & cocounseled by @CREWcrew @deepakguptalaw & @CohenMilstein. Here we go! pic.twitter.com/Z1uWvsDGJM

— Norm Eisen (@NormEisen) December 3, 2018

Here's why this lawsuit moving forward is such a big deal.

It affirms the principle that the whole point of the emoluments clause is to **remove any doubt** that officials are engaging in precisely the kind of self-dealing that Trump has engaged in to an unprecedented degree: https://t.co/picz0TBPGb

— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) December 4, 2018

NEW: Trump asked to appeal negative rulings in DC/MD emoluments suit. Judge said no. DOJ now plans to appeal anyway. https://t.co/ouSFLlwxWl

— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) December 3, 2018

Great @latams @AP story on our #emoluments case moving forward, with quotes from @BrianFrosh @AGKarlRacine & yours truly. As I told her, POTUS is violating the constitution every day, so we are glad we have a fast schedule to get to resolution in 2019! https://t.co/iUFloxC6Z5

— Norm Eisen (@NormEisen) December 3, 2018

The Trump Hotel has been profiting from brisk business w/ Saudi Arabia & other countries. This would be fine except it is owned by the President, who is forbidden to receive emoluments from princes & foreign states w/o congressional consent. The law is closing in on this scam. https://t.co/Dve7Ei8YaD

— Rep. Jamie Raskin (@RepRaskin) December 4, 2018

New Trump Inc.! The Emoluments Clause bars presidents from accepting payments from foreign and state governments without congressional approval. We spoke with District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine about a lawsuit contending Trump did just that. https://t.co/kroE7lTNrl

— ProPublica (@ProPublica) November 25, 2018

Let this sink in: Trump is able to use the entire DOJ, at the expense of taxpayers, to defend himself in court against an ongoing Emoluments Clause case alleging he has unconstitutionally used the Trump Hotel to personally profit.

— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) December 4, 2018

update 12/5/18

A month after @realDonaldTrump was elected, Saudi-funded lobbyists began reserving blocks of rooms at Trump's DC hotel. We estimate they reserved 500 rooms, in the middle of the busy weeks around Trump's inauguration. Total cost: more than $272K.https://t.co/rdDsanX3nC

— David Fahrenthold (@Fahrenthold) December 5, 2018

Subpoenas have been served on the Trump Organization and a dozen linked entities in a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's ongoing business ties while in office, per ⁦@LauraAJarrett⁩ https://t.co/VNIJ6UPpXj

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 5, 2018

Wisconsin update 12/4/18

This is disgraceful. Republicans are trying to neuter the election results.

update 12/4/18

Panelist calls attempted GOP power grab ‘disgusting’ https://t.co/7dMt7vuYXx @MargaretHoover @JohnAvlon @AsteadWesley @pbump discuss @TheLeadCNN

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) December 4, 2018

That is the new party philosophy, stated outright by the majority leader of the Wisconsin senate. https://t.co/awWkKqohZo

— Esquire (@esquire) December 4, 2018

This is Wisconsin Republicans' official explanation for the anti-democratic plan they're trying to pass today to strip powers from the newly elected Democratic governor and attorney general. pic.twitter.com/m05Vj5gAY4

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) December 4, 2018

A typically insightful and revealing @WisVoter look at why no state may be closer to the epicenter of 2020 than WI (though MI may not be far behind). https://t.co/AHqJfe4YTQ

— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) December 3, 2018

In other Wisconsin news today, the state posted the official 2018 Assembly election results. It's a beautiful gerrymander. Dems got 190,000 more votes but Reps got 63/99 seats. Key is assuring many GOP districts get just over 50% of vote even in a bad year for the party. pic.twitter.com/WEOvpr4EUD

— Barry Burden (@bcburden) December 4, 2018

This should not be controversial: "The peaceful transfer of power in republican democracies requires that lawmakers do not change the job descriptions, between Election Day and Inauguration Day, of the elected offices their party lost." https://t.co/jMwC8k0NaI

— Brendan Nyhan (@BrendanNyhan) December 4, 2018

In 2016, Republican assembly candidates in Wisconsin got about 161k more votes than the Dems and won 64 of the 99 seats.

In 2018, Democrats got about 205,000 more votes — and Republicans won 63 of the 99 seats. https://t.co/NRFgHciOjc

— Philip Bump (@pbump) December 4, 2018

An example of this is what has happened to Doug La Follette, the secretary of state (and one of the only Dems who was serving statewide). His office used to have 50 staffers. Under Walker, that was changed to ONE PERSON. And his office is now in the basement. https://t.co/TuNIFPts1l

— Amanda Terkel (@aterkel) December 4, 2018

Wisconsin Republicans are mounting a North Carolina–style assault on democracy: https://t.co/5YSABEd8Oh pic.twitter.com/XYeQLmRtJJ

— Slate (@Slate) December 4, 2018

Wisconsin Republicans voted late last night to move forward with their undemocratic proposals to reduce the powers of the new Democratic governor and attorney general; they intend to hold final votes today. https://t.co/YzfihltoKS

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) December 4, 2018

My op-ed on the #WisconsinPowerGrab is up at the @washingtonpost. Please read and share https://t.co/yW2EmEaAiy

— Don Moynihan (@donmoyn) December 4, 2018

Events in Wisconsin aren't getting enough national attention. Not only are Republicans trying to emasculate a new elected Democratic governor, they're doing so to empower a legislature they will control only due to gerrymandering 1/ https://t.co/28rtwXriHZ

— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) December 4, 2018

Republicans nationally increasingly treating elections as valid only if they win. That's terribly dangerous for democracy. https://t.co/urf8ov3HqH

— Garrett M. Graff (@vermontgmg) December 4, 2018

Timeline for the Trump Tower Moscow negotiations and Trump’s comments

This is extremely well done by @MarshallCohen and @talyellin as a timeline of the potential Trump Moscow deal and Trump’s public comments at the time. https://t.co/06mQSKzsq7

— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) December 3, 2018

Republicans have not done a post-mortem on their huge House losses

They’re stuck with Trump.

He certainly cost them suburban districts with his behavior, language and SALT restriction.

NEW: Nearly a month after their 40-seat loss, House Republicans have done little soul-searching. But now some rank-and-file are speaking out.

The biggest worry: The Trump Factor may be unfixable, spurring more retirements & hampering ‘20 recruitmenthttps://t.co/sRTSNc149m

— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) December 2, 2018

.@DavidYoungIA – who narrowly lost his seat bc of an anti-Trump backlash in the Des Moines burbs – illustrates the challenge Rs will have w recruitment: he won’t commit to running again till he sees the environment

— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) December 3, 2018

The House R ldrs have also irritated remaining House R women
-Passed over @RepAnnWagner for NRCC (for a man)
–@SusanBrooksIN did thankless work on Ethics Cmte only to lose her Steering Cmte slot (for a man)
-GRANGER only won Approps RM by 1 vote on 3d ballot (vs less senior men)

— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) December 2, 2018

Keep thinking of what a sharp Hill vet told me in October: most House Rs now didn’t live thru ‘06, are much more siloed a la the base.

In other words, bc Trump won in ‘16 when it wasn’t expected media reports about House peril weren’t to be taken seriously.

— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) December 3, 2018

In 2014, Republicans won suburban voters by 12. 2018? Dead even.

In 2014, Republicans lost women by 4 points. 2018? Lost women by 19.

No problem here, folks!https://t.co/kpM6mIkuos pic.twitter.com/H4vOcjxYcu

— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) December 4, 2018

GOP pollster @KSoltisAnderson : "There has not been an appetite for a course correction or a change in approach [among Rs]. So it would surprise me if there was a concerted effort to try win over more young voters between now and the 2020 election." https://t.co/X7wEmYCKG0

— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) December 4, 2018

This excellent piece by @jmartNYT — https://t.co/EuHHpxCSJN — should be read in conjunction with this conversation with @RonBrownstein — https://t.co/cDuPb09pqe — if you want to come to grips with what the future of a Trumpist Republican Party looks like.

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) December 3, 2018

Republicans in Michigan are trying to strip power from elected Democrats

This is similar to Wisconsin and North Carolina.

Don’t say impeachment is an effort to overturn the election when you do this.

One party believes in democracy, the other does not. That's most important thing you need to know about American politics right now

Exhibit A: unprecedented GOP power grabs in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio & North Carolinahttps://t.co/9sKFTVQGxX pic.twitter.com/1dtUXwsfuN

— Ari Berman (@AriBerman) December 3, 2018

GOP power grabs in Wisconsin and Michigan undermine the foundation of our republic. The whole idea of elections is they have consequences. Those who lose live to fight for the people’s vote another day. Trying to change the rules on your way out the door is a national shame

— Dan Rather (@DanRather) December 4, 2018

Michiganders passed a ballot measure to make it easier to vote. With their last bit of power, Republicans are working to dismantle this progress — again demonstrating that only one political party wants to make it harder for eligible Americans to vote. https://t.co/6ttvEERYGA

— Let America Vote (@letamericavote) December 3, 2018

Michigan Republicans are undertaking a diabolical plan to kill a popular minimum-wage ballot measure: https://t.co/HneZ7ckmDn pic.twitter.com/9Bj0R37spz

— Slate (@Slate) December 3, 2018

In the @washingtonpost, read this piece on the WI & MI power grabs by @ColbyItkowitz & @feliciasonmez. First quote: @Tony4WI's dead-accurate characterization of the power grabs as "a repudiation of the last election."https://t.co/EpdXfPDQvq

— Ben Wikler (@benwikler) December 3, 2018

And in Michigan, Republicans have legislation that would allow the legislature, instead of the Attorney General, to intervene in court cases, and take campaign finance oversight away from the Secretary of State. #Hardball pic.twitter.com/pQ6k8YdnTR

— Hardball (@hardball) December 4, 2018

Doing the same in MI. Detroit Free Press: Michigan GOP wants to limit elected women's powerhttps://t.co/IVqEYyFIU0

— Just Plain Bill (@vincewlaw) December 1, 2018

THREAD: Local Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin and Michigan are using their lame-duck session to take power away from incoming Democratic governments. pic.twitter.com/u9fXBXHHyU

— Hardball (@hardball) December 4, 2018

It’s not just Wisconsin.

After Michigan Republicans had their worst statewide wipe-out since 1938, the profoundly (and illegally) gerrymandered GOP State House and Senate have launched a smash-and-grab attack on democracy, workers and — even! — puppies.https://t.co/qPzgSqZ0N7

— LOLGOP👀 (@LOLGOP) December 3, 2018

Election fraud in Kentucky

As bad as #NC09 is, it isn't the only recent case of election fraud in rural America. There is this recent rampant vote buying and absentee ballot fraud scheme in Kentucky https://t.co/zSbdxuX98D

— Michael McDonald (@ElectProject) December 4, 2018

I guess Mexico won’t pay for the wall

I never thought they would pay for it.

Trump has abandoned all talk of Mexico paying for the wall https://t.co/5Od7z74OW1

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 3, 2018

update 12/4

OLD: Mexico will pay for the wall

NEW: The wall will pay for itself https://t.co/5QYOhlfhWS

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) December 4, 2018

You PROMISED your supporters who voted for you that

"MEXICO WILL PAY FOR THE WALL"

You knew it was a lie then.

It's a lie now.

And NOW you're threatening Congress because YOU CANNOT DELIVER YOUR SIGNATURE CAMPAIGN PROMISE.

You are a COMPLETE FRAUD.

A Snake oil salesman. https://t.co/2VWBbCUz7x

— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) December 5, 2018