Last Line of Defense

Today’s top link is from the Atlantic: The Courts Are the Only Thing Holding Back Total Election Subversion.

The piece by Richard L. Hasen makes several important points:

• The false claim of a stolen election has metastasized into an election-denialist movement far worse than we could have ever imagined.

• Fully 65 percent of Republican Party voters now say they do not believe President Joe Biden won the election in 2020.

• Nearly 300 Republican candidates for office have denied or questioned that Biden won.

• Conspiracism has trickled down to local election officials in areas rife with Trump supporters.

• The greatest danger is in a handful of swing states.

• Rural areas in the swing state of Nevada have become a hotbed for the Big Lie, and pressure has built on rural county commissioners to do the wrong thing with election administration.

• If the gubernatorial candidates Kari Lake of Arizona and Doug Mastriano of Pennsylvania win their races, they will be the ones signing the certificates saying who has won their state’s crucial Electoral College votes in 2024. Both have denied that Biden won in 2020.

• In the past, the country has relied on state and local election officials, regardless of party, to count votes fairly and to accurately report results—but that can no longer be taken for granted.

• If the country cannot trust the vote counters, it will have to turn to the courts, both state and federal. For the most part, courts performed admirably the last time around.

• But in 2024 pressure may come to bear on state judges and state-supreme-court justices, many of whom are elected officials and know that the Republican base is full of election deniers.

• The forces unleashed in 2020 may have begun as little more than an attempt to assuage the ego of a man who lost both the popular vote and the Electoral College vote. But now they are much bigger than him. The threat is real and urgent. Our political leaders have failed us, so it’s up to the judiciary to protect us.

NEWSLINKS:

• Biden sends a stark warning about political violence ahead of midterms: ‘We can’t take democracy for granted any longer’ (CNN)

• Ousted Pakistan PM Imran Khan shot in shin in 'clear assassination' attempt (Reuters)

• Why conspiracy theories about Paul Pelosi's assault keep circulating (NPR)

• GOP campaign ads have demonized Pelosi for years (LAT)

• Capitol Police cameras caught break-in at Pelosi’s S.F. home, but no one was watching (WP)

• Republicans now clear favorites to sweep Congress (538)

• Trump lawyers saw Justice Thomas as 'only chance' to stop 2020 election certification (Politico)

• Stewart Rhodes wrote message to Trump after Jan. 6 calling on him to 'save the Republic,' arrest members of Congress (NBC)

• ‘Boogaloo’ backer arrested, faces federal charges in Detroit (AP)

• White Suburban Women Swing Toward Backing Republicans for Congress (WSJ)

• Once a G.O.P. Stalwart, Liz Cheney Hits the Trail for Democrats (NYT)

• Biden quietly but clearly prepares a potential reelection bid (WP)

• The Courts Are the Only Thing Holding Back Total Election Subversion (Atlantic)

• 10-year-old trapped with the Uvalde school shooter repeatedly called 911 for help. It took officials 40 minutes to act (CNN)

• Fed hikes interest rates again. Will it slow them down now? (USA Today)

• Food Prices Soar, and So Do Companies’ Profits (NYT)

• Watchdog points to dire conditions in Afghanistan amid US agencies’ resistance to oversight (The Hill)

• Russian Military Leaders Discussed Use of Nuclear Weapons, U.S. Officials Say (NYT)

• Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies may have won enough seats to return to power in a nationalist and religious government, exit polls show. [AP]

• North Korea fired at least 23 missiles into the sea, including one that landed less than 60 km off South Korea's coast, which the South's President Yoon Suk-yeol described as "territorial encroachment". (Reuters)

• ‘It’s over’: Jair Bolsonaro reportedly accepts defeat in Brazil election (Guardian)

• ‘Planet killer’ asteroids nearly a mile long detected after being hidden by the sun's brightness (USA Today)

• A Space Rescue Service? Calls grow to create a quick response force for astronauts in distress. (Politico)

• I was right in the middle of the Michigan-Michigan State scuffle. Here's what I saw. (Detroit FP)

• Crows Found to Be Smarter Than We Think (WSJ)

• Four Houston pitchers combined to piztch only the second no-hitter in the 118-year history of baseball’s World Series over Philadelphia Wednesday night. (Fox)

• Man Arriving Late Forced To Use Excuse He Was Saving For Leaving Early (The Onion)