2020 Election Thoughts

[Dick Allen]

Big press conference today according to Trump. Things are lining up perfectly for his victory. 

[StrangeSox]

Here is how Republicans in Wisconsin plan on disenfrachsing millions of voters to help Trump steal the election:

https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2020/11/18/wisconsin-recount-gets-off-rough-start-elections-commission-clashes/3773591001/

Quote

The three Republicans and three Democrats on the Wisconsin Elections Commission clashed repeatedly in a late-night virtual meeting as they tried to establish guidelines spelling out how clerks should conduct the recount during the coronavirus pandemic.

“I would be delighted to see this commission actually function,” Commission Chairwoman Ann Jacobs, a Democrat, said as she sought to find a way for the two sides to decide how to consider revisions to the commission’s recount manual for clerks.

At 11:30 p.m., after 5 ½ hours of often rancorous debate, the commission unanimously approved the recount. The commissioners inability to get along suggested the recount will be brutal and will likely end in a courtroom. President Donald Trump sought the recount Wednesday in Dane and Milwaukee counties after he lost the state by about 20,600 votes to Joe Biden. That's a margin of about 0.6 percentage points. The recount is to begin Friday and be finished by Dec. 1, in time for the state to certify the results.

The commissioners argued over issues minor and significant, including how to consider claims that absentee ballots were illegally issued and where observers could station themselves. At one point, Republican Commissioner Dean Knudson suggested all the absentee ballots requested through the state’s online portal were invalid because of the way the system logs those requests.

"I hope we haven't created a system at WEC where, you know, we somehow entice people into requesting a ballot that isn't actually in keeping with the law," he said.

Democrats said that position was ridiculous, noting myvote.wi.gov is broadly used by voters to request ballots. Knudson questioned whether Democratic county clerks would treat recount observers fairly. Democrats are in charge of the recount because Trump limited his recount to the two most Democratic counties in the state.

“If they can figure out a way using the pandemic to … make it harder to see what’s going on, to make it harder to observe, then that wouldn’t be out of character because Democrats have been trying to do that for six months,” he said.

Republican Commissioner Bob Spindell expressed frustration about how the recount might be run, particularly in Milwaukee, which drew national attention in the spring when it closed most of its polling locations because of the pandemic.

"I don’t think we can necessarily trust the canvassers of Dane or Milwaukee County, especially after they reduced 180 polling places to five terrible type voting centers for the April election, which caused all sorts of problems including suppression of the vote," Spindell said.

 

 

What should be clear is that the autocratic rot in American conservatism and the GOP runs down to the local dog catcher. This isn't a problem that's going to simply go away if Trump does.

 

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Edited November 19, 2020 by StrangeSox

[Iwritecode]

8 hours ago, greg775 said:

First of all, trust me, Biden will have majorities in the Senate AND House to work with following the Georgia runoffs. I've never been more sure of anything, just as I was positive Joe had the election in the bag. This is a done deal; Senate is going Democrat majority (Kamala has the deciding vote if tied).

Be that as it may, Joe actually still has a chance to get a few things done if somehow the Senate and House were split. That's ONLY IF he is the regular, upstanding, grandfatherly, nice guy, good politician Joe that he's been for 50 years. If he is just Kamala's puppet and AOC's puppet and comes in blazing about radical issues like defund the police, adding 2 new states, 480,000 bucks reparations for every Black family, incredible tax hikes on the little guy, taking away guns, letting everyone out of prison via Kaepernick's demand, refusing to tell the FBI to look harder into Antifa, agreeing with weak mayors and governors who won't prosecute rioters   ... forget it. It'll be WAR just as it's been with Trump.

Regular Joe ... he might be one of the great presidents ever.

Following the radicals Joe ... ugh, he will be in so many fights with the Jim Jordans, etc., it'll make our heads spin.

[Soxbadger]

8 hours ago, greg775 said:

First of all, trust me, Biden will have majorities in the Senate AND House to work with following the Georgia runoffs. I've never been more sure of anything, just as I was positive Joe had the election in the bag. This is a done deal; Senate is going Democrat majority (Kamala has the deciding vote if tied).

Be that as it may, Joe actually still has a chance to get a few things done if somehow the Senate and House were split. That's ONLY IF he is the regular, upstanding, grandfatherly, nice guy, good politician Joe that he's been for 50 years. If he is just Kamala's puppet and AOC's puppet and comes in blazing about radical issues like defund the police, adding 2 new states, 480,000 bucks reparations for every Black family, incredible tax hikes on the little guy, taking away guns, letting everyone out of prison via Kaepernick's demand, refusing to tell the FBI to look harder into Antifa, agreeing with weak mayors and governors who won't prosecute rioters   ... forget it. It'll be WAR just as it's been with Trump.

Regular Joe ... he might be one of the great presidents ever.

Following the radicals Joe ... ugh, he will be in so many fights with the Jim Jordans, etc., it'll make our heads spin.

Why do you think people in DC and Puerto Rico dont deserve a right to vote and representation if they want one?

Why should they be second class citizens?

Besides for the obvious answer that only Republicans deserve rights in America now. 

Maybe one day you will realize the people you support are the radicals who are trying to destroy America.

[Stinky Stanky]

I know that Joe has told advisers that he doesn't want to prosecute Trump after the transition, but if 4 dead at Benghazi was good for 2 years of hearings, then 250,000 dead of COVID could take us to the year 127,020 AD at the same rate.  ?

[NWINFan]

1 hour ago, Balta1701 said:

Every time Sarah Palin tweeted something in 2009 and 2010 it was treated as big news.

Yes, but we have heard next to nothing from her lately. Even Trump was embarrassed by her. She is no longer relevant. It would be great if the same happened to Trump. He really has nothing to say. He just blathered at his rallies.

It is funny that when Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but lost the Electoral College, the Democrats didn't cry like babies about a fixed election. Now Trump loses the Electoral College and the popular vote by almost 6,000,000, the election is fixed. And it is funny that the Dems lost House seats, and will not gain control the Senate in the same election. 

This is what should happen if this guy doesn't concede and get on with the transition as by law: The House should impeach, the Senate should convict and he should be thrown out. Then unlike Palin, he will truly be remembered.

Edited November 19, 2020 by NWINFan

[Dick Allen]

Why are so many people willing to destroy democracy for Donald Trump? 

[NWINFan]

5 minutes ago, Dick Allen said:

Why are so many people willing to destroy democracy for Donald Trump? 

This is an excellent question for which I have no answer. And to his base: You moan about being shut out of the process, but you walk around with assault rifles, try to run a Biden campaign bus off the road, and show up in masse to intimidate vote counters. And guess what? You do this for a guy who has done absolutely nothing for you. During one of his rallies in Michigan, Trump spoke of new automobile assembly plants in that state. Guess what? There are no new plants in Michigan and there was a net loss of 3,000 auto jobs during Trump's term. But make America great again. Remember that when you think of the tax breaks your man gave to the rich and elite. And remember that when you think of Trump trying to defy the will of the people.

[StrangeSox]

It's about permanent minoritarian rule, not Trump specifically.

[Danny Dravot]

I don’t like Kelly Loeffler but Raphael Warnock doesn’t belong anywhere near the senate unless he totally disowns his comment about serving God and the military.

I know the retort will be something like, “Oh now you care about separation of church and state?” Well, I always have. My Catholicism informs none of my political beliefs. I am pro-LGBT and oppose abortion for entirely non-religious reasons. My Catholicism is something for me to follow and uphold in private.

If Reverend Warnock wants to philosophize on the religious potential of US troops, he should remain behind the pulpit and leave politics to others.

[Danny Dravot]

I’d add, as well, that I am a huge supporter of that separation because it helps both sides. Catholics haven’t really done it at all, thankfully, but evangelicals have done huge damage to their reputation by supporting Trump. FWIW.

[southsider2k5]

1 hour ago, Stinky Stanky said:

I know that Joe has told advisers that he doesn't want to prosecute Trump after the transition, but if 4 dead at Benghazi was good for 2 years of hearings, then 250,000 dead of COVID could take us to the year 127,020 AD at the same rate.  ?

He must think he can win over some amount of Trump voters by not going after him.  Either that or he already knows that someone else is gunning for him so he doesn't have to.

[Dick Allen]

It will be interesting to see how the "rescinding" their certifying works out.

How are elections going to be held moving forward? Trump's own appointee said it was the most secure election in history. He was fired for telling the truth.  

 

Our coronavirus situation should be embarrassing, but it's all about wrecking democracy so the guy that put us in this situation can continue. If, somehow, Trump wins these legal battles, the USA as we know it will be done. 

[pcq]

Evangelicals are still expecting a miracle as told by their leaders. Rules don't matter.

[NWINFan]

18 minutes ago, Dick Allen said:

It will be interesting to see how the "rescinding" their certifying works out.

How are elections going to be held moving forward? Trump's own appointee said it was the most secure election in history. He was fired for telling the truth.  

 

Our coronavirus situation should be embarrassing, but it's all about wrecking democracy so the guy that put us in this situation can continue. If, somehow, Trump wins these legal battles, the USA as we know it will be done. 

Apparently Trump contacted the Republican election officials in Wayne County, Michigan. Something like this should never have happened just as Lindsay Graham contacting the Secretary of State in Georgia. This stuff is way, way over the top. Trump should resign as of now. We still have a crisis facing the country, and all he is doing is trying to overturn an election that was not all that close. This is just another example of abuse of power that has happened with his presidency from day one. But all Mitch McConnell cares about is confirming judges and the remainder of his spineless party is going right along with him.

[StrangeSox]

 

[StrangeSox]

Seems kinda odd that there's this open coup, open sedition playing out to subvert American democracy, and the Democrats in the House can't seem to be bothered to start holding emergency hearings or anything.

[Danny Dravot]

4 minutes ago, StrangeSox said:

Seems kinda odd that there's this open coup, open sedition playing out to subvert American democracy, and the Democrats in the House can't seem to be bothered to start holding emergency hearings or anything.

None of this makes any sense, honestly.

If I were Donald Trump, I'd say (or tweet, or whatever), "I congratulate Joe Biden on being President-Elect of the United States and will seek to ease the transition to his administration in every way possible. We may have lost this time, but we turned out 10 million new voters including record numbers of minorities while very likely retaining the Senate. Conservatism will be back and better than ever!" Then I'd shut up, govern like usual, and look forward to golfing endlessly without being nagged about it.

Of course, it's not about conservatism, or America, or anything else. It's about Donald Trump.

[StrangeSox]

The GOP as a whole seems more than happy to sabotage an incoming Biden administration to bolster their electoral chances in 22/24, same as they did in 09-10.

[chw42]

2 minutes ago, Danny Dravot said:

None of this makes any sense, honestly.

If I were Donald Trump, I'd say (or tweet, or whatever), "I congratulate Joe Biden on being President-Elect of the United States and will seek to ease the transition to his administration in every way possible. We may have lost this time, but we turned out 10 million new voters including record numbers of minorities while very likely retaining the Senate. Conservatism will be back and better than ever!" Then I'd shut up, govern like usual, and look forward to golfing endlessly without being nagged about it.

Of course, it's not about conservatism, or America, or anything else. It's about Donald Trump.

He's clearly worried about what may happen to him after he's out of office. Otherwise, he wouldn't be doing all this shit. 

[hogan873]

At this point I wouldn't be surprised if Trump refuses to go to the inauguration and may have to be forcefully removed from the White House.  And I also wouldn't be surprised if he just disappears sometime before January 20th and refuses to say anything.  Regardless, I don't think this will be like any other transfer of power.  As Trump would say, "unlike anything the world has never seen before."

[The Beast]

2 hours ago, Stinky Stanky said:

I know that Joe has told advisers that he doesn't want to prosecute Trump after the transition, but if 4 dead at Benghazi was good for 2 years of hearings, then 250,000 dead of COVID could take us to the year 127,020 AD at the same rate.  ?

Let Vance in NY handle Trump. Why should Biden bother with Trump with everything else they need to do.

[The Beast]

1 hour ago, Danny Dravot said:

I don’t like Kelly Loeffler but Raphael Warnock doesn’t belong anywhere near the senate unless he totally disowns his comment about serving God and the military.

I know the retort will be something like, “Oh now you care about separation of church and state?” Well, I always have. My Catholicism informs none of my political beliefs. I am pro-LGBT and oppose abortion for entirely non-religious reasons. My Catholicism is something for me to follow and uphold in private.

If Reverend Warnock wants to philosophize on the religious potential of US troops, he should remain behind the pulpit and leave politics to others.

If it helps, Warnock is only going to be the senator for two years until the 2022 election. I think he’s got a better shot at winning than Ossoff does, even though I am a bit concerned by those statements. I’d have to dig in a bit more to see if there is context though to see how alarming they actually are.

[Danny Dravot]

7 minutes ago, hogan873 said:

At this point I wouldn't be surprised if Trump refuses to go to the inauguration and may have to be forcefully removed from the White House.  And I also wouldn't be surprised if he just disappears sometime before January 20th and refuses to say anything.  Regardless, I don't think this will be like any other transfer of power.  As Trump would say, "unlike anything the world has never seen before."

He's not going to be forcefully removed from the White House. There'd be no potential gain because it would be easily remedied by a couple of Secret Service agents and it would be more embarrassing than anything else he's ever done. It'd be a terrible look for tough guy Trump to get easily dragged out of the WH by actual tough guys. Worse, he'd risk getting hurt and/or arrested. And it wouldn't in a million years work.

Do I think he'll go down to Mar-a-Lago for Christmas and never return to DC? Abso-fucking-lutely.

[NWINFan]

22 minutes ago, StrangeSox said:

Seems kinda odd that there's this open coup, open sedition playing out to subvert American democracy, and the Democrats in the House can't seem to be bothered to start holding emergency hearings or anything.

Exactly. They sat by in 2000 and let the election be taken from them. It seems like everybody is just sitting by and doing nothing as Trump runs rampant. He had no business contacting the Michigan people, and he has no business inserting himself in the process whatsoever. Some action needs to be taken. Perhaps the Dems should start suing some people. Merely complaining is useless.