"We will keep fighting until every legal vote is counted, until every illegal vote is thrown out"

--Outgoing VP Mike Pence, yesterday in a speech to the "Council for National Policy"

THREAD

"In an extension of Donald Trump's refusal to concede the election to Joe Biden, Vice President Mike Pence on Friday said the administration plans to remain in place for another full term." https://www.businessinsider.com/pence-trump-to-be-in-place-for-4-more-years-2020-11

So, who are the "Council for National Policy"?

Hmm... wouldn't an organization seeking to limit the size and scope of government be horrified by the actions of the Trump Administration?

. @splcenter says the Council for National Policy are "a key venue where mainstream conservatives and extremists mix". http://splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/05/17/council-national-policy-behind-curtain

Pence gave spoke to them because their interests are aligned.

Here is what they care about.

All underlined issues are 100% attempts to impose their hateful ideologies on the American people.

You just have to understand the code.

Here's a guide:

> "Judicial Activism": Get more ppl with hateful views in positions of legal authority + power to change the rules for us

> "Abortion/Euthanasia": Stop other people from having power over our own bodies

> "Religious Freedom": Protect their rights to deny equal rights to others

> "Marriage": Prevent scary gays from having equal legal rights.

> "Education": Protect children from scary science (and other undesirable information).

> "Immigration": Prevent scary brown people from taking whites' resources and ruining America.

These are people with power in our society:

"[...] business titans, Christian college presidents, owners and editors of right-wing media outlets, GOP mega-donors, government staffers and leading members of conservative think tanks."

"[...] officials of organizations like the National Rifle Association and the Federalist Society.

There are politicians and political appointees, anti-abortion activists and also some who are less known publicly as conservatives, like Linda L. Bean, who owns L.L. Bean Inc."

"[...] the CNP has become a key meeting place where ostensibly mainstream conservatives interact with individuals who are, by any reasonable definition, genuinely extremist."

In yesterday's speech, Pence mentioned that President Trump previously spoke to the same organization in August 2019.

Pence's speech, Nov 13, 2020: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-vice-president-pence-council-national-policy-meeting/

Trump's speech, August 21, 2019: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-2020-council-national-policy-meeting/

What "agenda" have these folks been pursuing so doggedly?

"Election reform" is another coded term.

What Trump said to the same group was much less targeted to their interests, and focused mainly on himself.

1. Chad Wolf, illegally appointed to run ICE, the man who deployed armed DHS agents and contractors to harm protestors in Oregon and elsewhere, is given a fawning mention.

2. In referring to an executive order he signed, he alluded to a time when "they" (presidential administrations?) did "powerful things"

3. He segued the speech from "we packed the courts" to "I defeated ISIS" right, "law and order", and "radical-left"

4. He distances/future-proofs himself against any bad actors in the audience by making a reference to "bad apples" in the context of law enforcement.

5. Here he accuses Democrats of trying to execute similar strategy to the CNP's own stated agenda [spiderman pointing gif]

6. This is the most dangerous part of the speech. The resultant applause shows us he is only giving voice to the beliefs of those in attendance.

7. He went on to delegitimize the future election, casting doubt on the legitimacy of mail-in ballots, having previously stated earlier in the speech that Democrats wanted to eliminate requirement for voter IDs to enable election fraud.

This is all foreshadowing.

8. He attempts to delegitimize Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House & 3rd in line of succession -- AND the LAW:

The Presidential Succession Act ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Succession_Act) takes effect if the results of an election are not certified in time for a new president to be inaugurated.

Every single one of these speeches is probably going to be dissected over time by those who study the rise of the far-right.

I'd love to see a breakdown of coded themes in each speech, so if you've heard of any project like that lmk.