Sounds like a striker.
Jimmy Hoffa? The Teamsters were heavily connected/infiltrated by the Mafia, which is what gave them an outsized profile - but not in a good way.
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https://x.com/teamstersharris/status/1836538074421170353
Something here about nose, face, and spite, methinks.
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May all be irrelevant as Trump will win via a ācontingentā election?
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Speaking of whichā¦
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Sounds like if Republican controlled states decide to āchallengeā those states results with the consequence that the 270 threshold is delayed beyond Jan, then entire election is replaced with a 1 vote per state and Trump victory. Seems like a lay down misere for the MAGA sorts that are in relevant positions of power across many Republican administrations?
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I think the Democrats have already said that if Nebraska does this they would change Maine to eliminate the 2nd district - which would make Maine a solid Blue state as the 2nd district represents about 14 people and several thousand moose.
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Is it now too late with Maine legislature no longer in session?
I believe they could be called back for a special session by Governor Mills. I think Maine will be hesitant to do this but if Nebraska goes that way you have to fight fire with fire.
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Since losing the last election, the Republicans have done a lot of groundwork to undermine the electoral system, while installing officials at county and state level across the nation. They want elections to be decided not on the basis of who votes, but who counts the vote.
The situation is ripe for a steal.
My instinct is that Harris will have to win by quite a margin in order to smash the semblance of ācredibilityā any plans to steal the election might have.
If it is close, they will delay, obfuscate, and then either a contingent election or a friendly Supreme Court will install Trump again.
The whole election system needs ripping up, with something fit for purpose installed instead. However, there is no chance of that happening, because the Republicans just donāt have the numbers, so they will hold on to an arcane system in order to manipulate it to the nth degree to gain/hold power.
Itās appalling.
As it stands Iām hoping for a decent sized Harris win to crush the scheme, and then some introspection on the part of the GOP that would see them decouple from Trump.
It wonāt necessarily mean the dirty tricks will stop, as I think that is too much to hope for. But losing the election, and jettisoning Trump, would be a good place for the Republicans to be, in order to then consider what sort of party they want to be moving forward.
Ideally it will cause him to broaden their tent and offer a proper alternate.
Those things are huge. Magnificent beasts!
This story is a precisely why I often feel I am on crazy pills.
None of this is particularly secret. There has been a good deal of coverage going back almost to the day of Bidenās inauguration about the plans being put in place to run this play. And the response is barely a whimper. The reflex from Americans is āthat could not happen hereā and then tends to be partnered with its sister stupid response āTrump has already been president and he did do that then so why would he try nowā.
We were in exactly this in the final months of the 2020 cycle. There was a good amount of coverage laying out the plans being put in place to perform the soft coup and it was ignored as the fever dreams of people with Trump Derangement Syndrome. And then it happened exactly as described and few people learned any lessons. Imagine living through 2020 and thinking that reporting on moves being made to bypass the electoral process is partisan hysteria because Trump already had the opportunity to do that to stay in power and, in their mind, didnt do it.
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It is my understanding (of course I could be wrong, just ask my wife) that state electors have a deadline they must meet, or they violate federal law. They cannot delay in perpetuity.
The Harris-Walz campaign has retained a large group of the top election attorneys in the country. They should be prepared.
There are several drop dead deadlines within the incredibly convoluted system between the polls closing and the VP doing the ceremonial role of confirming the new president that they tried to pressure Pence to cheat on last time. A delay at any of those can theoretically make the stateās votes in the EC go vacant. Is that āillegalā? Maybe. Does Eilias and crew already know the playbook and have a plan mapped out for how to fight it? Iām sure. But ultimately we have a Supreme Court who have already demonstrated they are in the tank for Trump and willing to offer absurd rationalization to gift him what he is asking for and so the quality of Eliasā arguments wont count for much.
Also remember, there are now 4 members of the RW majority who worked on the Bush team in the 2000 Florida recount that ultimately resulted in the precedent of ādeadlines are more important that the voice of the voterā
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https://x.com/Acyn/status/1836591025340715267
There was no audience
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Its become increasingly clear that the main argument today for engaging with the the major news outlets is not so they have the information necessary to do the job of the 4th estate and keep the electorate informed on what matters, because they simply dont do that with the access they get.
NYT: All Kamala does is talk about the Trump. The voters need to find out what she stands for. What her policies are
Also NYT: Ok, now we have you Mrs Vice President, what is your response to Trump saying you only recently turned black?
The main argument is that if you dont as an administration or a candidate they shit their knickers and develop a vendetta against you
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Iām certainly worried, but I canāt see even THIS Supreme Court going directly against evidence, and the will of the people. This would be tantamount to civil war, imo. Democrats are thought to be the more level headed of political parties, but many of us do own guns, and will not stand for shenanigans from Trump, and any of his cronies.
This is the scary scenario, and why I believe SCOTUS would not want to chance fomenting this possible violence.
What they will be asked if it comes to that is not much different that what they granted in 2000. People forget the details, but they didnāt rule that Bush won in Florida. They ruled that it was better to wrap it up on time even it that meant running with a bad count where there was reason to believe it did not reflect the voice of the electorate than to grant the remedy of finding out who had actually won the most votes.
Thomas was part of that majority ruling, and Roberts, Kavanugh, and ACB were all part of the Bush legal team. And lets be honest, its no more absurd a ruling than saying the president is immune from crimes conducted in office.
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