After attacking members of his own party who refused to cooperate with his efforts to overturn the results of the November General Election, Trump has finally succeeded in persuading twelve Republican senators to join with House Republicans in a bid to challenge the electoral votes of several states (Trump's attention has been focused heretofore on Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada). In a joint statement, the senators justified their refusal to certify the election results because "The 2020 election...featured unprecedented allegations of voter fraud, violations and lax enforcement of election law, and other voting irregularities." And The Dallas Morning News reported that Senator Cruz (one of the leaders of the movement) explained the action in the following Tweet: "There is a deep distrust in our democratic processes that must be addressed. That’s why I’m calling for a 10-day emergency audit to resolve serious allegations of voter fraud, not dismiss them out of hand." How ironic that all of those "unprecedented allegations of voter fraud" and "deep distrust in our democratic processes" originated with Trump himself! Talk about a classic case of circular reasoning!
Interestingly a few Republican senators have been courageous enough to point out the very anti-democratic nature of this effort. The Dallas Morning News quoted Senator Pat Toomey as saying: "The effort by Sens. Hawley, Cruz, and others to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in swing states like Pennsylvania directly undermines … the right of the people to elect their own leaders." In another Tweet, the Republican Pennsylvania Senator said: "A fundamental, defining feature of a democratic republic is the right of the people to elect their own leaders. The effort by Sens. Hawley, Cruz, and others to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in swing states like Pennsylvania directly undermines this right." The same paper reported that Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska said: "Adults don’t point a loaded gun at the heart of legitimate self-government." Likewise, they reported this statement by Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska: "I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and that is what I will do January 6 (the day that Congress meets to accept the electoral college results)...I will vote to affirm the 2020 presidential election. The courts and state legislatures have all honored their duty to hear legal allegations and have found nothing to warrant overturning the results."
Of course, these developments would be enough on their own to set off alarms, but this is not the only angle that Trump is still working in his efforts to overturn the election results. The Washington Post claims to have obtained a recording of an hour-long telephone conversation between Trump and the Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger that transpired this last Saturday! During the call, Trump claimed: "So look. All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state." Trump reportedly went on to say: "There’s no way I lost Georgia...There’s no way. We won by hundreds of thousands of votes." The paper reported: "Throughout the call, Raffensperger and his office’s general counsel rejected Trump’s assertions, explaining that the president is relying on debunked conspiracy theories and that President-elect Joe Biden’s 11,779-vote victory in Georgia was fair and accurate."
The Washington Post also reported that Trump threatened the upcoming runoff election for both Georgia senate seats. Apparently, Trump told former ally Raffensperger: "You have a big election coming up and because of what you’ve done to the president — you know, the people of Georgia know that this was a scam,” Trump said. “Because of what you’ve done to the president, a lot of people aren’t going out to vote, and a lot of Republicans are going to vote negative, because they hate what you did to the president. Okay? They hate it. And they’re going to vote. And you would be respected, really respected, if this can be straightened out before the election."
It is not enough to say that Trump's efforts will be unsuccessful in the end - that enough congressmen and senators will vote to confirm the vote tallies which they receive from the Electoral College to confirm Joe Biden's win. The fact that a sitting President of the United States of America is actively trying to overturn the results of an election is astounding and absolutely atrocious! I'll say it again: We simply cannot get rid of this guy fast enough!
See, "there you go again." Trump is always framed as attacking and being devisive, while anybody challenging "Orang-Man-Bad" is only seen as being courageous. Well, what if Trump is actually right? Shouldn't an election be "overturned" if there is election fraud? Trump claims he has evidence of fraud and everyone is refusing to look at it. How's that for circular reasoning?
ReplyDeleteAnd again, did you listen to the full conversation or read the full transcript? Why let The Washington Post do all the thinking for you?
DBP,
DeleteAs you know, I respect you and appreciate your contributions here (even though we often bring very different perspectives to many of these issues). Immediately after I posted this, I was able to actually listen to the full audio recording for myself. Just for the record, it was even worse than The Washington Post reported, and the Georgia Secretary of State (and his attorney) made clear throughout the call that Trump was operating off of faulty information. I have acknowledged that Trump does not do your thinking for you - please accord me the same courtesy. Aren't we having a conversation because we respect each other?
Lonnie
Specifically, how was it worse? Don't you agree that there needs to be some kind of investigation to determine fiction from fact? We shouldn't just rely on the power of someone's position of authority and personality.
DeleteThe call opens with Trump telling the Georgia Secretary of State that the election results didn't make any sense because of the crowd size at his rallies compared with the socially distanced Biden/Harris rallies (great logic)! He goes on to suggest to Raffensperger that another check (signature checks have already been performed) of signatures on ballots would show that 200,000+ signatures were forged! (and no evidence provided). Next, he claims that over 50,000 voters were turned away at the polls (again, no evidence). He then references some smaller numbers and reiterates the claim that there weren't any Republican poll watchers (an outright lie). He complains about out-of-state voters and drop boxes (this time clearly going off of inaccurate information-as pointed out by the GA officials in real time). He goes on to assert that 5,000+ dead folks voted (again, no proof). Trump even has the temerity to recount a similar list of "problems" with other states (as if the GA Secretary of State has time to consider what's happening in PA and MI).
DeleteHow does Raffensperger respond? The GA SOS said: "Well, I listened to what the President has just said. President Trump, we've had several lawsuits and we've had to respond in court to the lawsuits and the contentions. Um, we don't agree that you have won. And we don't — I didn't agree about the 200,000 number that you'd mentioned. And I can go through that point by point." Trump wasn't interested.
After waving aside the SOS's offer, Trump proceeded: "And the people of Georgia are angry, the people of the country are angry. And there's nothing wrong with saying, you know, um, that you've recalculated." He then goes on to claim that a poll worker counted 18,000 Biden votes three times (a claim that the SOS had thoroughly investigated and found to be false). Once again, Raffensperger offered definitive proof that the claim was false, and Trump wasn't interested in seeing it.
Then, after reiterating his many claims of fraud, Trump summarizes: "So look. All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have because we won the state. And flipping the state is a great testament to our country because, cause you know, this is — it's a testament that they can admit to a mistake or whatever you want to call it. If it was a mistake, I don't know. A lot of people think it wasn't a mistake. It was much more criminal than that. But it's a big problem in Georgia and it's not a problem that's going away. I mean, you know, it's not a problem that's going away."
Continuing his tirade, Trump said: " I would like you ... for the attorneys ... I'd like you to perhaps meet with Ryan ideally tomorrow, because I think we should come to a resolution of this before the election. Otherwise you're going to have people just not voting. They don't want to vote. They hate the state, they hate the governor and they hate the secretary of state. I will tell you that right now. The only people like you are people that will never vote for you. You know that Brad, right? They like you know, they like you. They can't believe what they found. They want people like you. So, look, can you get together tomorrow? And Brad. We just want the truth. It's simple. And everyone's going to look very good if the truth comes out. It's OK. It takes a little while but let the truth come out. And the real truth is I won by 400,000 votes. At least. That's the real truth. But we don't need 400,000. We need less than 2,000 votes. And are you guys able to meet tomorrow Ryan?"
Throughout the call, it was vintage Trump. Never back down, never let the facts get in the way! Bullying, threats and intimidation mixed with appeals for loyalty. Yeah, much, much worse that TWP reported!
A tirade? If you consider Trump's conversation with the Georgia SOS as being a tirade, then you must have had a very utopian upbringing in a very peaceful family. My God, just the other day I overheard a cranky old man throwing an actual tirade with the cashier at the grocery store over the contested price of bananas. Maybe it's because of your prejudice that you have chosen to reframe the President's discussion as being angry and nefarious. I heard it as Trump offering the Georgia SOS an opportunity to address the supposed evidence that is already out there in the public domain. Credibility is at stake here.
DeleteSecondly, I would like to reiterate that there needs to be a more thorough and unbiased investigation and then have those findings fully shared with each other, with perhaps even have it presented before a judge if it needs to go that far. We shouldn't be expected to fully trust the mere words of an individual no matter who they might be. Words need to be backed up with facts. Now sparing you the need to listen to Orange-Man-Bad's voice again, listen to the timestamp starting at 49:58 till 51:40. And then again at 52:30 till 55:20. Who's refusing to share information now?
Ruby Freeman. That is the name behind the censored *BLEEP* in the recorded conversation. Why was her name *BLEEPED* out? Perhaps because there is an ongoing criminal investigation on this matter. Rumor on the street is that she has flipped and is in protective custody. I guess time will tell if that is true or not. Anyway, here is a clip of the video evidence from the State Farm arena. I think it's worth 18 minutes of your time.
Shouting is NOT a necessary component of a tirade. Trump's presentation was long, angry and full of accusations - that makes it a tirade.
DeleteRe: Tirade
DeleteWhen a Hollywood studio boss softy and gently nudges a young actress to sit on his lap, it is rightfully described as a very violent act.
The way Trump talks to and about elected officials and state attorneys and other persons of proven integrity is nothing short of extremely violent, anti democratic and not even defensible from a corporate viewpoint which I have used many times in private to defend some if Trumps policies.
This atrocity of a political figurehead should go as soon as possible. I plead with anyone to not start litigation and lawsuits and prosecution against Trump.
The People had chosen, it was a mistake, the People should move on.
Unfortunately the Scottish government has denied Trump entry into Scotland as requested during the Biden inaugeration.
Golf is currently not a viable reason for travel to and entry into Scotland. So perhaps another country can harbor Trump, provide some rest, so that he csn get his act together from no doubt four stressful years.
Thank you Mr Prez, on behalf of an ungrateful but soon to be happier nation.
Nck
"Trump's presentation was long, angry and full of accusations - that makes it a tirade."
DeleteNow if those accusations end up being true, wouldn't some passion in Trump's demeanor then be justified?
You guys are blinded by prejudice and hate. You are now willing to turn a blind eye to fraud, corruption, and the violation of Constitutional election laws. And all for the cheap price of getting rid of Orange-Man-Bad! Say goodbye to your Constitutional Republic!
One of the main factors in determining fraudulent conspiracy theories is to establish how many people would be needed to keep the conspiracy a secret.
DeleteUsually there are leaks in groups bigger than 10 conspirators.
For the moonlanding to be a hoax I believe 22.000 people would have been in the know and keep their mouths shut for the rest of their lives.
Perhaps feasible since most were techie nerds and mathematicians.
The American election, overseen by international observers for irregularities. Millions of people should have been wined and dined by Soros.
Nck