Reason # 74: The 2020 Election
Why do we need to defeat Donald Trump and ensure that a Democrat occupies the White House?
We talked yesterday of the very limited role of the vice president in our system of government and listed three key exceptions. The third role, that of certification of electoral votes was the keystone in an elaborate Republican Party plot to suborn the Constitution and illegally steal the presidential election of 2020.
Donald Trump tipped his hand very early in his presidency, when he refused, as early as 2020, to answer the very simple and direct question of whether he would respect the results of the 2024 election if he lost.
https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54274115
He refused to do so and has persisted in doing so ever since. Those Republicans who remain loyal to him (the large majority of Republicans) answer in the same way – specifically including vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/10/02/trump-his-allies-are-not-planning-concede-another-electoral-loss/
The reason for this position became painfully apparent on January 6, 2024, when an angry and violent mob summoned to Washington D.C. by Donald Trump, attacked police and invaded the U.S. Capitol building. Why? They were very specific. They sought to block the certification of electoral votes by the president of the Senate i.e. Mike Pence, the Vice-President of the United States, acting in his constitutional role.
If Pence persisted in his determination to certify the electoral college vote, they were prepared to lynch him and had even brought a scaffold and hangman’s noose to do so.
https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=2KndfzAu&id=DE44409F70E5D6EC4C171ACCED158F2D54665A02&thid=OIP.2KndfzAugybYu5ymoEbbLQHaEK&mediaurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fwp-apps%2Fimrs.php%3Fsrc%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Farc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2FQ27HBWI5S5AVVN32YKGFST4ESY.jpg%26w%3D1200&cdnurl=https%3A%2F%2Fth.bing.com%2Fth%2Fid%2FR.d8a9dd7f302e8326d8bb9ca6a046db2d%3Frik%3DAlpmVC2PFe3MGg%26pid%3DImgRaw%26r%3D0&exph=675&expw=1200&q=noose+for+Mike+Pence&simid=608019550142338364&FORM=IRPRST&ck=F3E889FF0877F9651EB5F657D85D0D4D&selectedIndex=1&itb=0&cw=1030&ch=535&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0
Was this a spontaneous crime by a mob of crazy right wing nutcases? Yes and No. Those who carried out the assault on the Capitol were largely dupes, unaware of the highly organized plot that underlay their cynical deployment as shock troops.
The real action had been in progress for months beforehand. The POTUS Donald Trump had been working the phones, trying to convince or intimidate election officials, to change their state vote certifications. Unfortunately for him, Georgia Secretary of State, Republican Brad Raffensperger taped the phone call with the president The conspiracy is blatantly obvious. The audio and transcript are available via the following link. In case you are not computer savvy, just press the control key and click anywhere on the text below. Listen as the President of the United States repeatedly lies, distorts, manipulates and intimidates. Donald Trump shows exactly who he is.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/03/politics/trump-brad-raffensperger-phone-call-transcript/index.html#:~:text=CNN%20has%20obtained%20the%20full%20January%202%20audio%20call%20between
Donald Trump aided by his chief of staff Mark Meadows and a number of attorneys spend more than an hour hectoring the Georgia Secretary, pressuring him to change the election result, giving Georgia electoral votes to Trump. The President demanded.
“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.”
Raffensperger explains to Trump that the state has recounted the vote by hand and found no irregularities. He had already been through multiple court actions and had spoken with all Georgia legislators about the issue. He specifically mentions a video tape that was altered by Rudy Giuliani’s team that Raffensperger debunked on public television. The bottom line is that Raffensperger explains to Trump that the election was accurate, that Trump’s data is completely wrong and that he will not change the Georgia state vote.
We don’t have audiotapes or transcripts from other states, but presumably similar conversations took place there. This conspiratorial tactic for overturning the election failed. What would Republicans try next? Stay tuned.
Donald Trump has cheated on his wives, his business associates, his investors and most importantly he is trying to cheat U.S. citizens and our republic. He does not deserve your vote.
Have a heart; use your mind, search your conscience, and vote for Democratic candidates – across the ballot – on November. 5th.
Please share this message with your friends and please, add your thoughts, to expand upon what are only brief sketches here.
To date, I have written 74 Reasons NOT to vote for Donald Trump . They are archived at my Facebook page
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Why have I committed to posting 100 Reasons NOT to vote for Donald Trump? Because I do not have time to post 10,000.
Fred Grannis
October 3, 2024