memeorandum: The Republican Plan for the Next Four Years Isn't Normal (Peter Nicholas/The Atlantic)

2:35 PM ET, December 6, 2020

Top Items:

McCarthyism was never defeated. Trumpism won't be either. — Censure brought down a crusading anti-communist senator but fired up his followers. — A month after the presidential election, most Republican lawmakers have refused to acknowledge the obvious: Despite President Trump's fondest hopes …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog

Tim Miller / The Bulwark:

The Devil Went Down to Georgia — The president of the United States asks his supporters to overturn a free and fair election through extralegal means. What could possibly go wrong? — When the defeated president of the United States holds a maskless, anti-democracy disinformation rally straight …

Discussion: Raw Story and Associated Press

Allie Bice / Politico:

Special session over Georgia election would ‘nullify the will of the people,’ secretary of State says — Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Sunday a special session to overturn the state's election results “would be then nullifying the will of the people.”

Discussion: Fox News, Baltimore Sun, Conservative News Today, Mediaite and Breitbart

Celine Castronuovo / The Hill:
Trump floats a Doug Collins run against Kemp for Georgia governor

Discussion: Business Insider, Common Dreams, HotAir, Raw Story, The Daily Caller and New York Post

Meridith McGraw / Politico:
Trump plays a new role: Campaigner in chief

Discussion: The Guardian, American Greatness, HotAir, NBC News, The Moderate Voice, USA Today, RedState, Forbes, Bloomberg, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, unz.com, CBS News, The Daily Wire and Israpundit

Maeve Reston / CNN:
Trump rants about his election grievances in Georgia, even though it may hurt the GOP

Discussion: CNBC, Associated Press, Politico, The Hill, Wall Street Journal, Washington Times, KVIA-TV, The Root, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Washington Post, Big League Politics, Raw Story, Common Dreams, The Guardian and KLAS

Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
At Georgia rally, Trump tells GOP to vote in ‘rigged’ election

Discussion: Business Insider, Raw Story, NBC News, Breitbart, Washington Free Beacon, Washington Times, Forbes, Boston Herald, The Hill, TheGrio and Axios

New York Times:
At Rally for Georgia Senators, Trump Focuses on His Own Grievances

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Raw Story, Al Jazeera, NPR, The Guardian, Slate, NBC New York and Morning Consult

Bojan Pancevski / Wall Street Journal:

Long a Holdout From Covid-19 Restrictions, Sweden Ends Its Pandemic Experiment — Government imposes mandatory measures after failing to contain new surge in infections — Sweden's Covid-19 experiment is over. — After a late autumn surge in infections led to rising hospitalizations and deaths …

Discussion: New York Post

E.J. Dionne / Washington Post:

Two cheers for the Never Trump conservatives — The shameful complicity of Republican leaders in President Trump's torrent of deceit about our election tells us there is little hope for a more reasonable post-Trump GOP. But what about conservatism as a philosophy? Is it equally discredited?

Discussion: Zandar Versus The Stupid

Peter Nicholas / The Atlantic:

The Republican Plan for the Next Four Years Isn't Normal — A national party whose leaders won a civil war in the 19th century and a cold war in the 20th looks to be little more than a promotional tool for Donald Trump at this point in the 21st. — Trump will lose his titular role as head …

Discussion: Washington Times, Business Insider, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, CNN, Washington Post, Politico, Media Matters for America, Foreign Policy, Al Jazeera, National Memo and New York Daily News

Wall Street Journal:
Trump's Possible 2024 Bid Leaves Other GOP Candidates in a Bind

Discussion: CBS News

Kevin Roose / New York Times:

How Joe Biden's Digital Team Tamed the MAGA Internet — The campaign's empathetic digital strategy held up surprisingly well against President Trump's passionate digital following. — Last April, when Rob Flaherty, the digital director for Joe Biden's presidential campaign …

Discussion: NBC News, Business Insider, Defense One, Washington Examiner, The Guardian, unz.com, NPR and Greensburg Tribune-Review

Harry Enten / CNN:

Biden's already more popular than Trump's ever been — (CNN)Poll of the week: A new Gallup poll finds that President-elect Joe Biden has a 55% favorable rating and a 41% unfavorable rating. — The same poll gives President Donald Trump a 42% favorable rating and a 57% unfavorable rating.

Discussion: Fox News

Washington Post:
Biden and Trump vie to project authority, making for a tense transition

Discussion: The Hill, CNN, Business Insider, Raw Story, The New Arab, Defense One, Blue Virginia and gregfallis.com

Mica Soellner / Washington Examiner:

Chris Wallace corrects HHS secretary for not calling Biden the president-elect — Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace made it clear to a top Trump administration official that Joe Biden is indeed the president-elect, following his declared victory in November.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, IJR, Raw Story, The Hill, Crooks and Liars, Mediaite and Breitbart

ABC News:
If advisory committee meetings go well, FDA could authorize coronavirus vaccine ‘within days’: HHS secretary

Discussion: Fox News, Crooks and Liars and Politico

Washington Post:

Trump's Operation Warp Speed promised a flood of covid vaccines. Instead, states are expecting a trickle. — The administration pledged several hundred million doses in 2020. Companies will actually ship about 10 percent of that. — Federal officials have slashed the amount …

Politico:

‘Every Day Was Like a Veep Episode’: The Veepiest Moments of the Trump Era — When House of Cards debuted on Netflix in 2013, Americans were shocked and a little thrilled to imagine that its sharp, murderous plotlines might reflect the real Washington D.C.—a sinister place where calculating …

Noah Bierman / Los Angeles Times:

Kamala Harris is on the cusp of power but has to tread carefully — Kamala Harris began her political career in 2003 with an audacious gambit, running against and unseating her former boss, San Francisco Dist. Atty. Terence Hallinan, just a few years after he'd promoted her to be a top assistant.

Discussion: CNN and Raw Story

Ronn Blitzer / Fox News:

Trump legal team celebrates after Michigan judge allows probe of Dominion voting machines — Trump campaign attorney Jenna Ellis said results of the investigation could come in 48 hours — Rudy Giuliani testifies in Michigan over alleged election fraud — A Michigan judge is allowing …

Discussion: Detroit Free Press, Townhall, Liberty Unyielding, The Gateway Pundit and Business Insider

Susan J. Demas / Michigan Advance:

How does Michigan's Legislature come back from last week's conspiracyfest? — As millions tuned into “Saturday Night Live's” parody of Rudy Giuliani and slurring star witness Mellissa Carone last night, they were laughing at Michigan, not with Michigan. — And we deserved it.

Jane Lytvynenko / BuzzFeed News:

In 2020, Disinformation Broke The US — Disinformation and its fallout have defined 2020, the year of the infodemic. Month after month, self-serving social media companies have let corrosive manipulators out for dollars, votes, and clicks vie for attention, no matter the damage.

Wall Street Journal:

After 2020 Losses, Some Democrats Question Party's Health-Care Focus — Some former candidates and strategists say Democrats should have focused more on people who were losing their jobs and struggling to pay rent — After suffering losses in congressional races across the country …

Discussion: Politico and Washington Free Beacon

Charles Creitz / Fox News:

Patrick Basham explains why Biden victory ‘not statistically impossible, but ... statistically implausible’ — Key ‘non-polling metrics’ indicated that Trump would win second term, Democracy Institute founding director tells ‘Life, Liberty & Levin’ — Patrick Basham: ‘Bizarre anomalies’ abound in 2020 election trends

Discussion: Washington Examiner and The National Pulse

Doyle McManus / Los Angeles Times:

Column: How to detrumpify America — President Trump came to office unencumbered by close study of our founding documents. — From the start, there was only one bit of the Constitution he found compelling: “I have an Article II, where I have the right to do whatever I want,” he said.

Harriet Sherwood / The Guardian:

Roald Dahl's family apologises for his antisemitism — Statement on the author's official website says his views caused ‘lasting and understandable hurt’ — The family of Roald Dahl has apologised for his antisemitism in a statement buried deep in the author's official website.

Discussion: Forbes, New York Times, Deadline, INSIDER and TMZ.com

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:

Trump is leaving press freedom in tatters. Biden can take these bold steps to repair the damage. — When Donald Trump first started accusing the mainstream media of dealing in “fake news,” it was impossible to know the long-term effects of this rhetoric. It seemed like just another of his trademark insults.

Karen Matthews / Associated Press:

Sheriff: Defiant NYC bar owner struck deputy with his car — NEW YORK (AP) — The co-owner of a New York City bar that authorities said has been defying coronavirus restrictions was taken into custody early Sunday after running over a deputy with a car, authorities said.

Discussion: The Daily Caller and CBS New York

Alex Yablon / Business Insider:

Wall Street has always been progressives' ‘Big Bad.’ But a new generation in the finance industry is starting to sound more like allies than enemies. … - After decades of cheerleading for deficit reduction and lower government spending, Wall Street may be changing its tune.