Trump has told us he will not commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election. If Biden wins and Trump won’t leave, that’s called a coup. Trump will try to by-pass the Electoral College and the will of the voters by using a cheat to win scheme that will call on Republican legislatures in battleground states, Republicans in positions of power and the Supreme Court to decide whether they want to continue to have a democracy or want to allow Trump to become a dictator. Trump cheats at golf all the time. No one should be surprised that he plans to cheat to stay in power.
Trump is Telling Us He is Planning a Coup
Trump is planning a coup in plain sight. He has already told us his playbook. It’s out in the open about this.
Before Trump flew to Pittsburgh for a super-spreader campaign rally, a pool reporter asked the President how he reacted to Democratic claims that going ahead with the appointment of a new Justice would tear the country apart. “Oh, I don’t think so,” Trump said. “We need nine Justices. You need that. With the unsolicited millions of ballots that they’re sending, it’s a scam; it’s a hoax. Everybody knows that. And the Democrats know it better than anybody else.”
Trump is trying to delegitimize a Presidential election. He is doing it in plain sight, and he is dragging the Supreme Court into the mire with him. (John Cassidy)
Overarching goal: Trump’s goal first and foremost is to get his voters to show up at the polls to vote in person so he can claim he won on Election Night.
To do that he needs to convince his voters NOT to worry about the pandemic. He accomplishes that using disinformation about the pandemic at rallies, with messaging, and by suppressing information from the CDC that would help his voters know the truth about how the disease gets transmitted. At his last rally he said coronavirus “affects virtually nobody.” (Tell that to the families of the over 200,000 Americans who are dead from coronavirus.) This is also why he has politicized mask wearing and made it part of his culture wars.
Covid-19 gets transmitted through the air by aerosols that can linger in the air and go further than epidemiologists originally thought. But that information has just been wiped from the CDC website. Trump might say he doesn’t want to “scare” the voters, but his real goal is to counter factual information with disinformation so they will vote in person.
In short, Trump is actively engaged in conning his followers or, as he said to Woodward, “I want to play it down. I always wanted to play it down. I still want to play it down.” He is doing more than playing it down. He is intentionally misinforming Americans. He needs to get his voters to go to the polls in person so he can say he is ahead on Election night and claim mailed ballots that get counted in the following weeks are fraudulent.
Corollary: Damage the USPS so that the mail system is very slow. Get the honest postmaster general out and get corrupt Louis DeJoy in there to carry out a campaign to cripple the mail service. When ballots are mailed back they will come in too late to be counted. (To thwart that- vote as early as you can by mail in ballot or vote early in person.)
Corollary: Attack mailed ballots as a scam and a rigged system over and over even though it is not. Keep saying that so people will doubt the mail system, lose faith in it, and worry that votes will be compromised, miscounted, stolen or lost. That’s how he gets Americans to believe the results are rigged and bogus.
How Can Democrats Thwart Trump’s Coup?
We Need a Blue Tsunami
Americans need to realize what is at stake. Our democracy is at stake. I think millions do and are going to vote like their lives depend on it because their lives do depend on it. Americans may be agitated on both sides of the political aisle, but Dems, liberals and progressives are MORE agitated because of what they have already lost and know what more could be lost: health care, jobs, a place to live, human rights, reproductive rights, possibly their own lives from Covid, and devastation from climate change. Many Americans do not know how they are going to keep going. The Biden campaign was flooded with donations- $160 million dollars in donations after Ruth Bader Ginsburg died. The Trump campaign is struggling to get money. Money speaks volumes about the level of engagement of the electorate.
I don’t think Trump has any idea just how hated he is. Most Americans have figured out that Trump doesn’t care about them. He only cares about himself. He is deeply despised and distrusted by many millions of Americans who normally don’t hate anybody or anything particularly strongly. He was booed at Ginsburg’s wake on the steps of the Supreme Court and the chant “Vote Him Out!” was repeated over and over. Trump has triggered a remarkable level of hate that people normally reserve for an abusive parent or abusive ex-boyfriend. I see this level of anger and repulsion for him on the internet and hear about it from normally mild mannered suburban women who go to church and the beauty parlor with equal devotion.
As concerned Americans we need to rally the vote and get people who have never voted to show up at the polls. We need to dig deep to find every voter out there who could create a blue tsunami especially in the swing states where Trump is planning to cheat if it’s a close loss for him: Wisconsin, Michigan, PA, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alaska, Arizona, Iowa, Georgia and Maine.
Don’t get depressed and hopeless. Get active!
Go to the Biden/Harris campaign website and sign up to call and text voters. This is one of the most important things you can do to prevent Trump’s coup. Talk with friends and family and people you know to get them out to vote for Biden and Harris. People trust their friends, family and neighbors the most.
Vote Early
Dems need to VOTE EARLY AND IN-PERSON if at all possible. Or VOTE EARLY USING THE VOTE BY MAIL OPTION if you can so that the Biden campaign can help remedy a spoiled ballot if that happens. If someone tries to say it’s not your signature on the ballot or there is some clerical error, the Biden team will be watching out for that. They will be there to help you. The Biden campaign knows who is likely to vote and how they are likely to vote. Every state has different rules about vote by mail options so go to the Secretary of State website to find out the rules in your state or go to the Biden website for information.
The Dems Will Have Election Protection Teams in Place
The Biden campaign has 20 paid lawyers per battleground state. They are anticipating the challenges and problems voters may face in each state. Those lawyers are going to oversee hundreds of volunteer lawyers who will be working voter protection hotlines and election protection teams that will be available in local precincts. Mark Elias, probably the leading election protection lawyer in the country, is heading the effort. The team will be ready to litigate as needed.
The Biden team is anticipating Trump’s playbook and informing reporters about what is coming and asking them and the social media platforms to hold off predicting the outcome of the election until ALL THE VOTES ARE COUNTED. All of us can help with this effort by refusing to fall for online social media misinformation that Trump has won before all the votes are counted. It will not be Election Day- it will be Election Day plus another three weeks or more to get all the votes counted.
We can reject Trump’s cheat to win scheme by refusing to believe that mailed ballots are somehow being manipulated. Numerous states have vote by mail for everyone and it works just fine. There are numerous checks from addresses to voter signature that insure the ballot is valid. Trump is delegitimizing the election. Don’t fall for it.
Plan Your Vote
Make your plan today about how you are going to vote. If you decide to vote in person you can do that safely if you follow the guidelines in the Harvard Health online resource. Masks work to protect the wearer even if others around them do not have masks on. Check that your mask is good by holding it up to the light to be sure you cannot see through it. That way even if other people around you are Trumpites without masks on, your mask will protect you. Keep physically distant from people without masks on.
Tell Everyone What Trump is Planning is a COUP= an Illegitimate Take Over
Trump has told us very clearly that he is ready to cheat to stay in power if he can get away with it. Read the Atlantic Article by Barton Gellman that spells out how Trump could break America by refusing to concede. (link is below)
Gellman explains how Trump plans to create chaos by getting Republican state legislatures to challenge the rightful slate of electors chosen by the voters by submitting a slate of illegitimate Trump-loyal electors and then insist they are the rightful slate. They would then use the obscure Electoral Count Act to force the divided Congress to try to decide the election. Given the split control of House and Senate, that will likely result in deadlock. That result could kick the decision for president over to Republican held battleground state legislatures without regard for the winner of the popular vote or the Electoral College. Another possibility would be for the Supreme Court to end up being the ultimate decider. This is why Trump wants his pick on the Supreme Court- to protect him as he works this con job.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/11/what-if-trump-refuses-concede/616424/.
Whether we are Democrats, Republicans or Independents we should all demand that Trump play by the rules. If Trump cheats to stay in power his presidency will be illegitimate.
What Will Stop Trump’s Plot to Take Over America?
Coups have been tried and failed in many other countries. We can stop this one from being successful.
If Biden is the clear winner in Florida or he is the clear winner in the Rust Belt states, then Trump will eventually be forced to concede. Every American must insist we wait to declare a winner until after all the votes are counted.
If Trump does not have the votes for an Electoral College win and it is crystal clear once the votes are all counted, it will be game over for Trump.
If Biden wins in the Electoral College he will have an inauguration on January 20, 2021, and the powers of the presidency will be his to assert at one minute after 12 noon on that day.
That means the power of the military and other powers bestowed on a rightful president will no longer be Trump’s to assert. They will be Biden’s to assert. The Democrats have already had conversations with military leaders to confirm they will not follow illegal orders from a lame duck president trying to hold on to power.
As I understand it, Trump does not need to concede for the power of the presidency to move to Biden if Biden is the clear winner in the Electoral College and that is evident when the votes are all counted.
If Biden wins, Trump would need to vacate the White House January 20, 2021 at one minute after 12 noon. If Trump refuses to leave the White House he could be subject to arrest as a trespasser and escorted out by the Secret Service.
We need to stop Trump’s coup.
The best way to make sure your vote counts and to thwart Trump’s premature victory dance on the 30 yard line and the chaos that will follow, is to VOTE EARLY IN PERSON IF YOU POSSIBLY CAN or EARLY BY MAIL. Get your friends and family to do that.
Whoever wins fair and square should be the next president.