I'd flip that statement. If Trump loses, there will be civil unrest thanks to his "Good boys standing back and standing by". He will not go quietly, even if Biden wins in a landslide.

Yet it seems no one, not even Biden, has openly called Trump out on the biggest double-standard he holds. If the election is rigged, a scam, a disaster and will be a disgrace if Biden wins, how is it free and fair only if Trump wins?

I concur. I fear there will be violence if Trump does not win - the only question is how bad it will be. Even a landslide Biden victory will not stop it.

From the NYT:

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/09...gtype=Homepage

President Trump used his biggest television audience of the campaign to try to undermine confidence in the integrity of the election as no modern president has ever done, using the debate to urge his supporters “to go into the polls and watch very carefully” and continuing to suggest, despite no evidence of widespread problems, that the vote would be “fraudulent.”

The barrage of accusations from a president who is behind in the polls — and who refused, when asked by the moderator, Chris Wallace, to say whether he would pledge not to declare victory until the election was independently certified or urge his supporters to stay calm after the election — alarmed scholars who study election monitoring around the world, who said the comments laid the groundwork for political violence.

---


This is not a game. This is not an academic thought exercise. I wish those without a stake in the future of the country would stop pretending it's all for the lulz.

Yeah, really. It is a shame that Biden hasn't called him out on that. I won't be surprised if Biden takes a more hardcore approach in the second debate, on Oct. 15th. But who knows... I think he's also trying to keep his cool, and I respect him for that, especially since Trump is clearly doing his best to try to rattle him.

I think Trump can't bear the thought of losing, so he's trying to set the stage in advance with "I win, no matter what." He's already expressed that he will refuse to transfer power peacefully -- if at all (which is absolutely mind-blowing to realize that a US President has implied that). He has also already been trying to instill in his supporters' minds that if he loses the election, it's due to voter fraud and mail-in-ballots rather than being due to his own incompetence.

I wonder what the GOP would have been saying if Obama had suggested or expressed that he would refuse a peaceful transfer of power or implied that a militia should form in order to keep him in office. There seems to be a very fine line, at this point, between Trump being a President and Trump being a dictator.

Edit: Sorry, I was typing this and then posted it before seeing Meloncollie's post above. So I apologize if it seems like I'm just kind of repeating what she had said.

As I posted elsewhere, Trump may well encourage civil disobedience if he loses the election.
But that will not change the election result, there may well be some weeks or months of violence that will be very uncomfortable but will not actually change anything.

Getting interesting?
Source

Exactly, thank you!
I would have sworn you're far to biased to ever support any of my posts!

From The New York Times:

Study Finds ‘Single Largest Driver’ of Coronavirus Misinformation: Trump

Cornell University researchers analyzing 38 million English-language articles about the pandemic found that President Trump was the largest driver of the “infodemic.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/30/u...?smid=em-share

I think this gets you to the article despite the paywall.

I hope, nay, ferverenty pray, that this is true.

Yet again and again we have seen that Trump, McConnell and Barr have so weakened our institutions that I fear they will not be able to withstand post election civil unrest.

I fear that things will get a lot worse than 'uncomfortable'. Trump's shout-out to the Proud Boys has guaranteed that.

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Trump has the SC in his pocket with Coney Barrett. He now has the wherewithall stop the ballot count. He has already said he will do so.

Trump's aim is to create so much disorder that the election results in swing states cannot be certified by the deadline, tossing the nomination of electors back to state legislators - which in these states are Republican-majority. Even if Biden were to clearly win the popular vote in one of those states, and thus theoretically the electoral delegates, Trump has set the stage to make an end run around the results.

We are indeed on the brink of a constitutional crisis. And so far our consititution has fallen at every attempt to stand up to a president who believes he is above the law.

Who today is willing, and able, to enforce the law? Terrifyingly, that is a question we need to consider.

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This article in the Atlantic lays out the things that Trump might do. He has already said that he will not accept the election results if he loses.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine...oncede/616424/

Cue the Maya Angelou quote that seems to be everywhere these days: "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time."

In the event of a contested election result, even with delayed counting or whatever upheaval there is, doesn't the presidency go to the senate leader or something in the interim? The term of the President and VP end on the 20th of January, so in the event of a contest does it shift to the speaker of the house?

Yes it does, for the interim.

And surprise, surprise, House GOP conservatives are pushing for a 'motion to vacate the Speaker's chair,' in order to remove Nancy Pelosi.

It's a long shot, but shows how far the GOP has gone.

So far the SC has not demonstrated it is in Trump's pocket, usually, it takes a year or more for cases to reach the SC so it depends how much they are
prepared to bend over for Trump.

If the Dems gain a Senate majority then they could have a better chance of a successful impeachment.

A very good idea.

Tom

Trump's view of life is that rules are for other people
Source

Why?

I can't stand American football, but I found this interesting...

During the debate the other night, Trump bragged about "opening up Football again." And in today's headlines... The first game of the season has been pushed back due to more of its players having tested positive for COVID.

NFL postpones first game amid pandemic
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...tests-n1241571


"The Pittsburgh Steelers-Tennessee Titans game set for Nashville early next week has now been pushed back to later this season over coronavirus fears, officials said Thursday.

The game, originally set for Sunday, was postponed with hopes to play it on Monday or Tuesday after several Titans tested positive for the virus, the NFL said Wednesday.

But after learning on Thursday that another player and team employee had tested positive, the league decided to take the Steelers-Titans off the Week 4 schedule. A reschedule date wasn't immediately set."

Trump went outside his hospital yesterday in his vehicle to greet supporters. Trump' doctor said Trump might return to the White House today putting more Secret Service and pilots to unecessary risk.

You know the feeling when your holidays are coming to an end so you try and eke out as much time and value on the beach as possible and abuse the hotel buffet, knowing you'll probably never be back? I think this is how Trump feels about the whitehouse.

Trump Adds 'Black Lives Matter' Sticker To SUV So Media Can't Claim He's Spreading COVID

lol!

Pity we all can’t have world-class medical care at home 24/7, all paid by (other) taxpayers.