* “I’m telling you, I’m not going to take it—it’s my right.”–Brazilian President Jair M. Bolsonaro in underscoring where he stands on taking a coronavirus vaccine.
* “To my friends in Congress: We need your help one more time here. Help us get through what’s going to be a very tough winter.”–Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
* “The original sin of embracing Trump in the first place: To borrow from Aesop, it was clear he was a scorpion from the outset.”–Jonah Goldberg, the Disptach.
* “Anybody contributing to Trump’s ‘Election Defense’ should remember he’s never put his own money on the table when he’s found suckers willing to take the risk instead.”–Trump biographer Timothy L. O’Brien.
* “‘Loser’: That’s his main attack word. The worst thing in his world would be to be a ‘loser.’ To avoid being called a ‘loser,’ he will do or say anything.”—Jack O’Donnell, who once ran an Atlantic City casino for Trump in the ‘80s.
* “Donald Trump is trashing this place before checking out like he’s Axl Rose at a Four Seasons.”–Maureen Dowd, New York Times.
* “We’re certainly not going to move the goalposts at this point in the election.”–Georgia Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, in confirming that Georgia would not be acceding to Trump’s demand that the state legislature appoint electors who would override the popular vote for Biden.
* “Trump has figuratively decapitated our operational civilian leadership in the Pentagon.”–James Stavridis, former supreme allied commander of NATO.
* “If we do not have the capacity to distinguish what’s true from what’s false, then by definition the marketplace of ideas doesn’t work. And by definition, our democracy doesn’t work.”–Former President Barack Obama.
* “Biden’s ambitious vision is to see economic growth and clean energy not as either-or, but as both-and.”–Eugene Robinson, Washington Post.
* “Mr. Biden can get a jump start without Congress by requiring higher wages and paid family leave at the federal contractors level, increasing living standards for hundreds of thousands of Americans.”–Bryce Covert, The Nation.
* “Biden’s Cabinet picks went to Ivy League schools, have strong resumes, attend all the right conferences and will be polite and orderly caretakers of America’s decline.”—Sen. Marco Rubio.
* “We will be able to encourage the president not to be drawn to the far left. I think that’s a message the American people are sending, and that they want more centrist politics pursued.”–Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine.
* “Despite a historic loss, there has been absolutely no introspection in the (Republican) party. And to the contrary, the leaders in waiting are doubling down” on Trump’s base appeal.–Republican strategist Brendan Buck.
* “People like (SCOTUS Justices) Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett did not just fall out of the sky when Trump and McConnell needed them. They were created by a judicial-industrial complex that includes the Federalist Society, the Heritage Foundation and the Judicial Crisis Network.”–Elie Mystal, The Nation.
* “If the transition is any indication, (Biden) is going to be met with stonewalling, obstruction and bad faith. That is his cue to go out to the voters—both who voted for him and who did not. Perhaps the voters in turn can remind their representatives that they chose to end the Trump era and to give Biden a shot at righting the ship of state.”–Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post.
* “Despite its relative novelty, ‘Latinx’ has taken its place in the long struggle over Latino identity in the United States. Instead of trying to eliminate its use … resisters should agree that one term could never encapsulate the vast array of ambitions and identities of the country’s largest minority group. Their diverse policies and political agendas should take center stage, however they define themselves.”–Benjamin Francis-Fallon, author of “The Rise of the Latino Vote: A History.”
* “It’s going to be a tough holiday season for most retailers. Target, Walmart, grocers and sporting goods stores are cleaning up, but hundreds of thousands of independent retailers have already gone out of business. Things are going to get worse before they get better.”–Paula Rosenblum, managing partner at RSR Research.
* “Marco Rubio was brutalized by Trump in the 2016 Republican presidential primaries, and he has not recovered from the trauma. That experience, plus the fact that he is an inveterate opportunist who always folds under pressure, makes it highly unlikely he is now going to defy Trump.”–Veteran Republican strategist Mac Stipanovich, who is now registered NPA.
* “Together we can make Make America Governable Again. It’s MAGA for all of us, not just for the party in power.”–Dick Batchelor, former Democratic member of the Florida House.
* “This has been a challenging year for small, local businesses, and this is one small way the Tampa Downtown Partnership can help.”–TDP CEO Lynda Remund, referring to the partnership using grant money (from its Special Services District) for a new stimulus program called Downtown Dollar, which involves handing out $10 vouchers that can be used at a number of local businesses.
* “It really is up to the individuals in the community to take responsibility for themselves and not just wearing a mask, but wearing it correctly.”–Hillsborough County Commissioner Harry Cohen.
* “It’s a huge need. All too often workforce and affordable communities are left with less healthy food choices, more costly food choices and convenience-type stores as opposed to mainstay grocer stores, so this is a huge accomplishment.”–Leroy Moore, chief operating officer of the Tampa Housing Authority, on the inclusion of a major grocery store in Tampa’s West River redevelopment.