Analysis: How the GOP Lost Control of Washington, and What Comes Next

Washington DC

ow that Democrats are poised to control the White House, Senate and House, the traditional game of finger-pointing and recrimination will begin inside the GOP.

The first instinct for politicians will be to assign blame, call names and jockey for position. But the 2020 election wasn’t just an election, it was a political watershed in which the rules and strategy for winning were rewritten.

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Congress Affirms Biden Electoral College Votes; Trump Agrees to ‘Orderly Transition’

A joint session of Congress, completing its work in the early morning hours of Thursday after lawmakers had been forced to flee their chambers by a violent invasion of the Capitol, affirmed that Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States.

The proceedings concluded shortly after 3:30 a.m. EST, drawing to a close an chaotic day in the nation’s house of laws that saw one person shot dead inside the building after some rioters breached its security during a massive rally to support President Trump.

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Star News Network Working to Restore Tens of Thousands of Posts Deleted from Facebook

Tens of thousands of posts containing news stories from The Star News Network’s Facebook pages were temporarily deleted Wednesday. 

“Hi, we are currently experiencing an issue with Facebook and because of that the sharing is stopped and your Facebook accounts are paused,” a third party software used by The Star News Network to schedule and post stories to social media said by email.

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Commentary: Win or Lose on the Electoral College, President Trump Showed America How to Get Tough with China

The House and the Senate will convene in a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6 to hear any and all objections to the Dec. 14 outcome of the Electoral College in favor of Joe Biden, with challenges expected in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

This is President Donald Trump’s last chance to reclaim the White House, but win or lose on Wednesday, the President has already served America with one of the most consequential single terms in our country’s history.

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‘Burn It Down’: Rioters Threaten to Light Portland Precinct on Fire, Damage Police Cruisers

A group of rioters in Portland threatened to burn down a law enforcement precinct, hurled projectiles at officers and damaged police cruisers on Wednesday, authorities said.

Roughly 50 violent demonstrators, some of whom donned gas masks and shields, chanted “burn it down” in reference to a law enforcement headquarters in the city, according to a press release. Members of the crowd destroyed surveillance cameras outside of the precinct, tried to rip down a fence and used spikes to slash the tires of cop vehicles, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) wrote.

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Apple CEO’s Pay Increased by Nearly 30 Percent During Pandemic

Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook’s annual compensation increased by 28% in 2020 even as the coronavirus pandemic sparked a recession, according to filings.

Tim Cook’s 2020 compensation totaled $14.7 million, which was mainly comprised of performance-based pay, according to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings released Tuesday, Business Insider reported. While the coronavirus pandemic sparked a recession in the spring, Apple consistently reported positive financial figures including increased revenue and growth throughout 2020.

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Commentary: Is Biden’s Team Rooting for Red China?

What if the real winner of November’s presidential election was Red China?

China apparently sees it that way. Its Global Times mouthpiece rejoiced that Joe Biden had selected “a group of ‘elites’” who would be “very ‘predictable’ in foreign policy with a multilateral mind-set.” A prominent Chinese professor, in a now-purged speech, lamented China’s loss of influence during Donald Trump’s presidency – but enthused, “now we’re seeing Biden was elected, the traditional elite, the political elite, the establishment, they’re very close to Wall Street,” and noted that “Biden’s son has some sort of global foundation. . . . There are a lot of deals inside all these.”

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Biden to Pick Merrick Garland for Attorney General

Joe Biden will nominate federal appeals court judge Merrick Garland to serve as attorney general, according to Politico.

Biden’s decision comes after Democrats appear in striking distance of taking control of the Senate following runoff elections in Georgia on Tuesday. Raphael Warnock is projected to defeat Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler. Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff is currently leading David Perdue, a Republican incumbent who holds the other seat in Georgia.

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U.S. Representative Mark Green Repeats Intent to Object to Electoral College Results

Not long before the tallying of and objections to the Electoral College results were disrupted by the violent protest at the Capitol, U.S. Representative Mark Green (R-TN-07) had repeated his intention to contest the election results.

Green on Wednesday announced his intention to object to the slates of electors in “certain states.”

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Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden Denounces Violence in Washington

Scott Golden, chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party, condemned the violence in Washington, D.C., and said the GOP is the party of law and order, a sentiment expressed by several state leaders.

Golden made the statement Wednesday in an email as well as on Facebook, which is available here.

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Minnesota Gov. Walz to Loosen COVID-19 Restrictions; Gazelka Previews 2021 Session Priorities

Lawmakers kicked off the 2021 legislative session at noon on Tuesday, one day before Gov. Tim Walz is expected to announce loosening restrictions on indoor dining and other settings after an improvement in the state’s number of COVID-19 cases.

Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-East Gull Lake, told The Center Square in a phone interview one priority is to craft a new two-year state budget without raising taxes on gas, sales, or income. 

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