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Sure the GOP has held the Presidency for 12 of the past 20 years,despite losing the popular vote in all but 1 election.
But they've never managed to keep the Presidency after losing the Electoral College too. And they will lose the EC this time, regardless of the outcome of..
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But they've never managed to keep the Presidency after losing the Electoral College too. And they will lose the EC this time, regardless of the outcome of..
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..all these meritless lawsuits.
And yes, it is possible for state legislatures to override their popular vote and assign electors. But there are legal precedents preventing this from happening simply because a state doesn't like the results.
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And yes, it is possible for state legislatures to override their popular vote and assign electors. But there are legal precedents preventing this from happening simply because a state doesn't like the results.
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It is also possible to delay/obstruct certification in specific states, which would then allow the House of Representatives to "choose" the President.
In that scenario, each state gets a vote. So even though Dems have a majority, on a state-by-state basis the GOP actually..
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In that scenario, each state gets a vote. So even though Dems have a majority, on a state-by-state basis the GOP actually..
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..has the majority of states. However, failing to certify a vote can't be done arbitrarily. There would need to be a legal basis for doing so, and thus far none of the cases presented on behalf of Trump would justify such actions. They would be buried in legal challenges &...
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...injunctions from Democrats and advocacy groups.
So what's this all really about then? I think it's a combination of things.
First, Trump is going to need money, and lots of it, once he's formally out of office. Between his personal, business and campaign debts...
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So what's this all really about then? I think it's a combination of things.
First, Trump is going to need money, and lots of it, once he's formally out of office. Between his personal, business and campaign debts...
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...he's likely in a billion+ dollar hole. And that doesn't even consider the cost of his legal defense on multiple fronts once he is no longer protected by the cloak of the Presidency.
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So there's the grift aspect, as illustrated by the fine print in his current fundraising (and his stated intention to continue doing rallies), allowing funds to be used for multiple purposes including reimbursing his campaign, legal defense, and supporting a new PAC.
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It's also possible that he's using his office to create illicit income streams for a post-presidency life. Esper's firing, Pentagon staff reshuffling, and the rapid sale of military equipment to UAE would fit nicely into this category.
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Then there's the somewhat confusing ongoing obesience of the Republicans in Congress. But even without considering the possibility of an overt coup, this still makes sense.
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The GOP cannot afford to lose the Senate. They know as well as we do that Trump is cornered, unhinged, loyal to nobody &will happily burn everything down on his way out the door. And that includes Republicans.
Just look at what Trump has done to Sessions, Romney, Flake...
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Just look at what Trump has done to Sessions, Romney, Flake...
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While the balance of power in the Senate is still undetermined, the GOP cannot risk alienating Trump and his minions and allowing him to turn his sycophantic base against Loeffler and Purdue in the Georgia runoff elections.
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So are we looking at a coup in slow motion? It's certainly possible. But at some point there would have to be an overtly antidemocratic action taken (not just words) that would openly and unconstitutionally ignore the election results in multiple places.
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So far, that has not happened. And so far, Trump and his acolytes have operated legally and within the boundaries of the constitution.
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Until that changes, and so long as there are reasonable explanations for the actions that people collectively aggregate into the potential for a coup, I fully expect the system to work, and for Biden to ultimately be sworn in as the 46th President of the United States.
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