Today's Liberal News

Trump Is the Loser

Donald Trump leaves the White House briefing room on November 5. (Carlos Barria / The Atlantic)“We’re going to win so much that you’re going to be sick and tired,” Donald Trump promised in 2016. Over the next four years, the American people did get sick (nearly 10 million of them so far from COVID-19), and they did get tired, and in the end they decided they’d had enough.

She Did It

When I interviewed Vice President–elect Kamala Harris last year at the Essence Festival, she had plenty of wisdom to share about the challenges a Black woman faces when pursuing national office. “Some might think that breaking barriers means you start off on one side of the barrier,” said Harris, who was running for president at the time, “and then you just turn up on the other side of the barrier. No, there’s breaking involved.

Joe Biden addresses the nation as networks resist making the final call

Though networks are still milking this moment of heightened attention for all the ratings points and ad dollars they can rake in, it’s clear tonight that the real drama is over. With that in mind, Joe Biden is going to address the nation. Kamala Harris is also at the Chase, and may also speak, though without a clear call from the networks, that’s not certain.

It will likely be brief, and don’t expect Biden to directly say what AP will not.

Friday Night Owls: Exit polls show most people want climate action. Why did so many vote for Trump?

Night Owls, a themed open thread, appears at Daily Kos seven days a week

Kate Aronoff at The New Republic writes—Voters Said They’re Worried About the Climate. Many Voted for Trump Anyway:

Early Tuesday night, Fox News gave Democratic viewers rare cause for optimism. Exit polls, the network reported, had found that 70 percent of voters support increased government spending on green and renewable energy.

Donald Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows tests positive for coronavirus

Donald Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows has tested positive for the coronavirus. Jennifer Jacobs of Bloomberg News reported that “Meadows informed a close circle of advisers after the election.” Meadows becomes yet another member of the Trump administration to come down with the virus. Bloomberg also reports that Trump’s campaign Director of Battleground Strategy Nick Trainer has also tested positive for the virus.

A round up of fun and joy from a day of waiting and watching Trumpland crumble

It’s Friday and things look very close to wrapping up. Yes, I’m being optimistic, and no, I don’t underestimate the lows that Donald Trump and the Republican Party can and will plumb to hold onto and concentrate their power. But, unless we have to hit the streets in a physical battle to stop a literal coup d’état, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will soon be announced as the next president and vice president of our country.

77 Years, and a Few More Hours

Updated at 11:18 p.m. ET on November 6, 2020.WILMINGTON, Del.—The difference between Biden headquarters tonight and Waiting for Godot is that Waiting for Godot had more action.Everyone is waiting for the obvious to happen. We’re by the stage around the corner from the Wilmington Westin. Red, white, and blue Jeeps and trucks—props—are still parked here, remnants of the Tuesday-night victory celebration that never happened. A giant American flag is blowing in the wind.

GOP gerrymandering may grow even more extreme in the coming decade thanks to the Supreme Court

Nov. 3 delivered a crippling blow to fair elections for the coming decade after Republicans scored a sweeping victory in the battle for control over redistricting following this year’s census, giving them the power to gerrymander up to half of the country. The GOP is poised to draw four or even five times as many congressional districts as Democrats, almost as extreme as the advantage the party enjoyed following the 2010 wave.

The Atlantic Daily: A Dispatch From Election Purgatory

Every weekday evening, our editors guide you through the biggest stories of the day, help you discover new ideas, and surprise you with moments of delight. Subscribe to get this delivered to your inbox.GETTY / THE ATLANTICTime froze. States stopped being called.For days, Joe Biden seemed perma-stuck on the precipice of victory. And the sitting president seemed to know it, delivering extraordinary and baseless claims about election fraud.