United States
Election Clash Continues
- Kathleen Chandler -
November 12, 2020. Nurses in San Francisco demand
safe staffing levels and conditions of work they
require.
The continuing clash in the United States over
the results of the presidential election, in the
face of COVID-19 cases surging across the country,
has only further confirmed the sentiment among the
people that the country is headed in the wrong
direction and those in government, at all levels,
are unfit to govern. Health care workers and
other first responders and essential workers still
do not have sufficient personal protective
equipment (PPE) and testing. For example, nurses
in Minnesota caring for COVID-19 patients say they
have not been tested since the pandemic began.
Firefighters and teachers are sleeping in their
cars so as not to infect their families. It is
commonly felt and spoken of that what is occurring
is criminal and government must be held
accountable -- for all the deaths and for not
guaranteeing free PPE, testing, and health care
for all in need.
 There are 11.4
million diagnosed cases and growing, approximately
one out of every 32 people. Already 250,000 people
have died and it is likely to reach 300,000 in the
next two months.
The U.S. has consistently had the most cases and
most deaths of anywhere in the world. The daily
average number of new cases currently stands at
more than 158,000 -- far more cases every day than
reported in total in China (91,906), which has a
far larger population. One million new cases
occurred in just the past week.
To visualize 250,000 deaths, consider the entire
population dead in cities of that size, such as
Rochester, New York; Norfolk, Virginia;
Birmingham, Alabama; Baton Rouge, Louisiana;
Irving, Texas; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Des Moines,
Iowa; Spokane, Washington.
Despite this reality, while it is generally
accepted that Joe Biden won the presidential
election, the clash persists among the rulers over
controlling the reins of power of the presidency.
This is reflected in the ongoing lawsuits and
contention for a "peaceful transition" from Trump
to Biden.
Trump has filed about 30 lawsuits at this point,
with most dismissed, but others could potentially
prevent Biden from keeping the 270 Electoral
College (EC) votes needed for election. If rulings
are made to not certify elections in Pennsylvania
(20 EC votes) and Michigan or Georgia (each with
16 EC votes), or Nevada (6 EC votes) for example,
Biden would not have the 270 Electoral College
votes needed. Such rulings could be made by the
Supreme Court. If no candidate secures 270 EC
votes, the House of Representatives would decide,
possibly in Trump's favour as each state gets only
one vote. Or if the 600,000 workers who have
called for a general strike consider such a ruling
or House decision illegitimate, they could act and
be joined by millions of others -- something all
the rulers want to avoid. The clash then is
further deepening their crisis, including
strengthening the resistance and its demand for a
democracy that favours the people.
November 18, 2020. Airline workers take action for
measures required for a safe workplace.
"Peaceful Transition"
Biden has increased his calls for Trump to
cooperate with the transition. On November 18 he
said of Trump "It's just outrageous what he's
doing." Biden has not ruled out legal action.
Reflecting the politicization of cabinet
agencies, Attorney General William Barr, head of
the Justice Department (DoJ) sent a memo
authorizing any federal prosecutor to investigate
allegations of election fraud prior to state
certification as another means to delay that
process. Richard Pilger, the leader of the
election crimes division for the DoJ immediately
resigned and denounced Barr's action. Sixteen
prosecutors from that division, responsible for
enforcing federal voting laws, called on Barr to
rescind the memo. They said it was not based on
fact and "thrusts career prosecutors into partisan
politics." As is more broadly the case, the
conflict reflects divisions within and between the
various cabinet-level agencies making up the
Office of the President. Governing arrangements
are being restructured to strengthen dictate from
the top and politicizing them serves this.
A current focus is also on the General Services
Administration (GSA), which has to "ascertain" a
victor. The GSA has so far refused to do so,
blocking millions in resources and joint meetings
between the Trump and Biden forces. Two main
concerns raised by Biden and others is access to
the presidential briefings that deal with security
issues both foreign and domestic, as well as
COVID-19 information, including current levels of
federal stockpiles of PPE and plans for
distribution of a vaccine. Biden has repeated,
"More people may die if we don't coordinate."
The transition process involves both providing
continuity for rule by the oligarchs as well as
putting Biden's stamp on the bureaucracy. It
includes replacing some 4,000 political
appointees, 1,200 of which require Senate
approval, in about 40 agencies in the Office of
the President. It involves announcing new cabinet
heads as well as "trading binders, doing
briefings, and having meetings" with mid-level
staff of both. The departments and agencies
involved oversee the federal coronavirus pandemic
response, military, homeland security and other
national security forces, social services,
including health care and education, trade,
finances, labour, etc. Biden has assembled a team
of 500 "agency review teams" to oversee transition
on all these fronts but they are unable to
proceed.
Continuity also involves maintaining U.S.
standing in the world, something that the clash
has also undermined. While many countries have
congratulated Biden, with Canada the first to do
so, along with others like Britain, France,
Germany, Japan, South Korea, Australia and Israel,
others like Russia, Brazil and Mexico have not.
China initially did not then, on November 13,
congratulated Biden but included the qualifier
that the election "result will be confirmed
according to U.S. laws and procedures."
Further delegitimizing the election, Trump's
Secretary of State Pompeo said November 10 there
would be a "smooth transition" to another
four-year Trump administration. He was sent
November 13 to speak with seven countries that had
recognized Biden's victory: France, Turkey,
Georgia, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar,
and Saudi Arabia.
Dysfunctional Institutions Cannot Resolve
Conflicts
The concern about "peaceful transition" stems
from the fact that U.S. institutions of democracy
are dysfunctional and fail to resolve differences
among the rulers which jeopardizes attempts to
make them appear to be legitimate in the eyes of
the people. This is further evident in the
growing possibility of a government shutdown if an
emergency spending bill is not passed by December
11. As well, tens of millions of workers will lose
extended unemployment benefits at the end of
December, with additional federal funding nowhere
in sight. If there is a vaccine, states need at
least $6 billion in federal funding to distribute
it. Not a few are also worried that the vaccine
will be mandatory and the military responsible for
enforcing that.
However people may have voted, or not voted,
large numbers no longer consider the government
legitimate, especially when it comes to meeting
the needs of the people for COVID-19 and use of
force, at home and abroad. The use of violence in
cities across the country -- by state and local
police, by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and
other federal forces -- has been broadly and
repeatedly condemned. The large majority also
support an end to U.S. wars and use of violence
against the peoples worldwide.
A "peaceful transition" is said to be a
hallmark of U.S.-style democracy and proof that
the U.S. Constitution provides governments with
legitimacy. The concern is such that U.S. Chamber
of Commerce President and CEO Tom Donohue,
National Association of Manufacturers President
and CEO Jay Timmons, and the Business Roundtable
for CEOs trade group President and CEO Joshua
Bolten have all said it is time for the transition
process to move forward.
Referring to Trump's failure to permit the
transition process to proceed, Barack Obama
said, "But there's damage to this because
what happens is that the peaceful transfer of
power, the notion that any of us who attain an
elected office, whether it's dogcatcher or
president, are servants of the people. It's a
temporary job. We're not above the rules. We're
not above the law. That's the essence of our
democracy."
All are concerned to hide the actual situation
today, that the notion of public and elected
officials as "servants of the people" has been
eliminated right alongside following rules and
laws. The oligarchs that have seized the state
machinery exclusively for their own interests do
not want to be fettered by rules, laws or serving
the public interest.
The vying factions among the rulers no longer
follow any rules, as the clash shows. Perhaps more
importantly, the utter lawlessness of U.S.
policing and military forces is evident for all to
see here and worldwide. Obama and his illegal
drone warfare and role as Deporter-in-Chief,
separating millions of families, showed this and
Trump followed suit by even further eliminating
any rule of law here or abroad. The failure to
follow rules for the transition is consistent with
this.
The continuing clash is evidence of the
dysfunction and the desperate attempt by the
rulers to overcome their sharpening divisions in a
situation where they no longer have mechanisms and
structures to do so. Biden's calls for unity,
repeating "We have to come together as a country,"
remain futile as a result.
What is being revealed is that U.S.-style
democracy is exhausted and unfit for the modern
age. Its legitimacy, particularly using elections,
is in shambles whatever the result of the
transition. In some respects it can be said that
the people, through their organized resistance and
demand to play their role in deciding and solving
the problems facing humanity are coming forward to
fill the breach left by a dysfunctional and
violent government. They are acting to keep
initiative in their hands and advance their fight
for rights and people's empowerment as necessary
to secure them.
This article was published in
Volume 50 Number 45 - November 21, 2020
Article Link:
United States: Election Clash Continues - Kathleen Chandler
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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