There is an article over at Salon regarding how the republicans could steal the 2020 election. Their argument (I agree with it) is that it’d be pretty easy to do and, since the republicans are now the party of “in for a dime, in for a dollar” it’s a fool’s game to expect them to play fair.
This is the article: [salon] and I’ve got to warn you it’s depressing reading. In includes a short run-down of some of the other election-stealing activities of the republican party, most notably the 2000 Bush V Gore election, which Al Gore won; republican operatives prevented the complete recount that would have shown Gore having a fair margin of victory.
The republicans are not afraid to get threatening; you’ve got to remember that these are the same southern crackers who threaten a civil war every time legislation goes against them. And, they even started a civil war, once, and then proceeded to endlessly whine and cheat after they lost that fairly handily. The democrats don’t really have the guts for politics, it seems – they are slightly more liberal and that means they’re more likely to be internally divided. There’s always some sucker who’s going to do like Al Gore did, and back down for the sake of the country. What a stupid move; when you’re up against an opponent who’s “all in” they’re not going to give you a break out of some sense of fair play. Today’s republican has whole-heartedly adopted Trump’s sense of fair play, which is “I’ve heard of that concept.” This is a guy who cheats at everything he does, and probably doesn’t even realize that he’s cheating. It’s just how things are done. “Is Mitch McConnell capable of violating his oath and stealing an election?” Are you fucking kidding me? Democrats keep reaching to clutch for their pearls and swoon on the fainting-couch at the idea that their enemies could be so cynical. Thus our political landscape divides into the stupid and the cynical, predator and prey, con-man and mark.
Atlanta, 1864
I’ve been listening to Lindsay Graham’s Wicked Game podcast series, which is a run-through of the various American elections [wg] pretty much every one of which was sneaky, corrupt, and anti-democratic. It’ll leave you stunned by the cynicism that Americans show – all that fine talk about “democracy” is just smokescreen that obscures something much more profoundly nasty. Graham’s doing a public service, though, as he shows that we need to subject all politicians to exceptional scrutiny.
The Salon article asks an important question: “what will we do if Trump steals the election?” and points out several plausible paths for that to happen. It’s a good question. The republicans will threaten a civil war. They were doing that in Virginia, last year. Currently, Brian Kemp is acting as governor of Georgia in spite of the fact that he stole the election. Currently, the republicans in Florida are openly saying they are going to make it harder for ex-convicts to vote – in spite of the democratic process indicating that a plurality of voters want that. It’s clear that Stacey Abrams won the Georgia election and, instead of hauling Kemp out of office in the back of a cop car, the democrats are waffling about how hard it is to prove the degree to which Kemp stole the vote. That’s bullshit- the only vote that matters is one more and there’s no need to re-run an election that was stolen when the theft indicates the thief lost. [kos]
So, what happens when the republicans steal the 2020 election?
I will note the irony (it’s really cynicism) Fucking White Guy-ness of America’s collected Gun Nuts and Second Amendment Literalists who claim that they need their guns in order to dispatch a government that goes off the rails. There were gun nuts engaged in armed protest against gun laws in Virginia, but there were none surrounding Brian Kemp’s office in Georgia and forcing him to resign. Of course that’s not really what’s going on with them; they are on the other side and they are not constitutional literalists. Somehow, Americans have allowed themselves to be ratcheted around to the position that a bunch of armed guys standing around is a “peaceful protest” not a “threatening para-military death squad.” You bet your ass that if a group of would-be revolutionaries started assembling a guillotine in Dupont Circle they would be “a threatening mob of liberals” even if they were carrying no weapons other than a single large blade. The Gun Nuts and Second Amendment Literalists will be on the other side. So, what happens when the republicans steal the 2020 election and there are armed neofascist mobs and police (that’s redundant) putting Washington on lock down?
The system is set up so that if there’s a contested election, the house of representatives decides who’s president with a vote (which they did not do in 2000, because the republicans moved fast and Gore tapped out) – the way that process works is that each state has one representative cast a vote – which means the republicans get to choose the president because there are more republican states right now. That particular fix was put in place after the civil war and it was the southern states that insisted on the head-count vote because it left them in power. They threatened to re-start the civil war over that, too.
The Hamberdler could order the arrest of all House and Senate Democrats and have them hanged from the street lights of DC and the “we must defend against tyranny!” gun nuts would be cheering them on if not tying the nooses.
Tabby Lavalamp@#1:
The Hamberdler could order the arrest of all House and Senate Democrats and have them hanged from the street lights of DC and the “we must defend against tyranny!” gun nuts would be cheering them on if not tying the nooses.
Yup. They’re just itching for an excuse to start the violence.
Steal it? They’re giving it away! Trump’s odds-on favourite simply because incumbents usually win*, but if he’s up against Biden it’s as close to a sure thing as anybody will ever let you bet money on.
* My predictive model for US presidential elections is simple: incumbents running for re-election win, othewise it flips to the other side. It’s certainly not perfect, but it’s pretty damn good, and I’ve yet to see a convincing argument that any other model does better.
I think you meant to link to this salon article instead (or in addition to) :
https://www.salon.com/2020/03/16/this-is-how-trump-steals-the-election/
So what happened in 1988 and 1992?
(in 1988, it didn’t flip, and in 1992, the incumbent didn’t win)
(It could be argued that in 2000 and in 2016, there wasn’t really a flip)
Owlmirror, @ #5: I did explicitly say it wasn’t perfect.
I’m also really concerned about how the current actions about/around COVID 19 will effect the elections.
I’m in the San Francisco Bay Area, and over the past couple of days, a lot has shut down. Libraries, UC Berkeley, theatres/venues, public schools, and just last night an order for everything “non-essential” to shut down, including bars and restaurants. There are a lot of people who don’t have any sort of paid time off or sick leave, and who can’t afford to miss two weeks of work. I’m worried what’s going to happen to those people, and whether they will loose their ability to vote in the upcoming election.
(Note: I’m not opposed to taking action to “flatten the curve” about this, I just feel we also need to address the hardships this is going to present to a lot of poor and working-class people.)
I’m skeptical we CAN flatten the curve. This novel flu will simply become part of life.
There were 7,000 pedestrians and cyclists killed in the United States last year, at least partly because we all NEED to drive lifted 6,000 pound trucks filled with distracting electronic toys…yet nobody is calling for a mass ban on private automobiles. Granny run over by the Escalade is just acceptable collateral damage. Like all flus, COVID will be simply a nasty, toxic, deadly part of the landscape of daily life. What, are we going to shut down next year, too, if another mutated version appears?
… the republicans in Florida are openly saying they are going to make it harder for ex-convicts to vote – in spite of the democratic process indicating that a plurality of voters want that.
64.55% approval goes beyond mere “plurality” and even majority into “supermajority” territory (necessary in this case, since the Republicans put in requirements that any constitutional referendum or initiative must reach over 60% approval to take effect.
I am amazed at how long we have had photography.
@8, you had better hope we can flatten that curve. Yes, 7000 pedestrians and cyclists were killed in a year. If this flu, which no one has resistance to, spreads completely, current models pose 1,000,000 or more casualties in a year.
1,000,000
Let that sink in to your brain for a while and maybe you will begin to understand why such drastic action, which Trump certainly does not want to take, is being taken.
They don’t even need to cheat to win. We have met the enemy, and he is us. 43% of Biden voters (exit poll) in SC said health care was their #1 issue. And they voted for Biden. I. can’t, even.
8) @bmiller: 7000 fatalities is barely a blip compared to the number of pedestrians. When 2% or more (or hell, even 0.5%) of all pedestrians can expect to end up killed by cars and trucks, it will no longer be considered “collateral damage.” Of course the response would be to outlaw being a pedestrian or cyclist, but it wouldn’t be a background issue lumped under “accidents.”
Also, if Corona45 becomes a chronic part of life, I’d submit that that is flattening the curve. Otherwise, the entire healthcare system would collapse and we’d have a much bigger problem than just the virus.