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I suspect the plan for 2020 was exactly what it was in 2016. Cheat to the extent it’s possible and hard to detect. Telegraph that by accusing the other side of “rigging,” even before voting starts. If you win, great. If you don’t, point to your own cheating and cry foul.
Even the things done out in the open accrue to the benefit of Republicans - screwing with the mail, voter suppression, long lines, a functional poll tax for former felons in Georgia . . . and this is before we even touch propaganda and help from Russia.
The problem for them is that, even with all this, Trump is so odious, and has created such a SHIT quality of life for everyone in this moment, so their hand on the scales still wasn’t enough.
You won’t find me countering their lies by insisting that this was a flawless, free, and fair election, because IT WASN’T. It WAS rigged, and it was rigged IN THEIR FAVOR. It just wasn’t enough this time.
If they want to crow about election integrity? GOOD. That needs to be addressed. We NEED to patch the holes in our systems that leave them vulnerable. What we’re not going to do is ignore all these real issues in favor of their absolutely baseless allegations of fraud.
Why does Trump talk so confidently about cheating in elections? Because he knows it’s possible, because he does it. In every accusation, there’s a kernel of truth, and a projection. So yes, by all means, let’s root out the fraud. He’s not going to like it, though.
The rhetorical problem we face is the same one we’ve been facing: he accuses Democrats of something egregious, and we’re in the position of spluttering “wait, no, HE did that!!” Which is true, but to people who don’t follow this stuff, sounds like childish tit for tat.
WHICH IS ANOTHER VERY GOOD REASON to take Trump’s crimes seriously, out of the gate. Expose them. Hold him to account. Educate the American people about what’s going on. This is the opportunity Democrats wasted the last two years. I hope they will seize it now.
@sarahkendzior talks a lot about “normalcy bias.” The average person’s feeling that, if there really were all these crimes, surely someone would have stopped it or done something about it? Well, for the most part, no one did. So they have to now.
This is the only way I can think of to break the fever of what is, truly, a cult. A closed ecosystem of disinformation. Which is still a big threat to our stability and security, even with a Biden win.
