Alarms, flares, fireworks, klaxons, bugles, accordions, tubas, and more

Joan McCarter of Daily Kos reported that Senate Democrats have started slowing down the business of the Senate to slow down the confirmation of whatever nominee there is for Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat on the Supreme Court. Here are a few ways they can do that. There are various Senate rules about how the chamber runs, including such things as hearings can’t start until two hours after a daily session starts. When a session starts there is usually a unanimous consent to waive these rules. One Democrat can object, but it takes 51 Republicans to override. Also, to achieve a quorum 51 Senators are required. If Democrats don’t show up, 51 Republicans must. Democrats can force debate on everything. An example is frequently asking whoever is speaking to yield to a question. A good question: Why haven’t they passed a bill to help with coronavirus relief? A cool thing is this takes only one Democrat. They can rotate who is on the floor to object. But it takes 51 Republican senators to override. Every time. That means they can’t be off raising money or campaigning. I’ve now seen several mentions that GOP senators appear to have fallen into line yo vote for a Supreme Court nominee who hasn’t been named yet. Lea McElrath tweeted:

Trump’s answer should concern everyone who values our democracy. Everyone regardless of political party or belief: “Get rid of the ballots...there won’t be a transfer, frankly. There’ll be a continuation.”

Kerry Eleveld of Kos supplied details. The nasty guy said this to answer a question by White House correspondent Brian Karem. He said this was “The most frightening answer I have ever received to any question I have ever asked.” Eleveld wrote:

Trump’s answer should be taken both literally and seriously by every media outlet in the country. Trump is overtly and indisputably using every tool in his box—in every branch of government—to undermine our nation’s free and fair election and disenfranchise American voters nationwide.

Yeah, it should. Alas, most corporate media outlets will ignore the seriousness. And maybe the answer too. Eleveld then reviewed many of the other things the nasty guy is doing to sabotage the election and keep himself in power, then wrote:

We are in for one hell of a battle, folks, particularly if this election is close and not called on Nov. 3, which is very likely given all the mail balloting this cycle. Trump doesn’t know the meaning of the word integrity and he gives no f***s about anyone else in this entire world but himself. So, even if he loses, we can be assured that he will go to any and all lengths to rip this country to shreds or die trying before he surrenders his powers as president.

Rick Hasen, professor of law and political science at UC Irvine, tweeted a link to his article on Slate:

I’ve Never Been More Worried About American Democracy Than I Am Right Now; The pre-emptive attack on the vote count is a five-alarm fire.

Hasen lists several things we can do, including:

11. If there are attempts to try to thwart the people's will by ignoring votes or failing to count or report them accurately, be prepared for massive, constant, peaceful protests aimed at preserving the rule of law.

David Folkenflik of NPR responded:

Noted election law scholar sets off alarms, flares, fireworks, klaxons, bugles, accordions, tubas, banshees, panjandrums, stuck pigs, stuck pugs, scrimmage-line audibles, Hail Marys and more.

Jasmin Mujanović, a political scientist focusing on Southeast European affairs, tweeted:

You know, most strongmen at least pretend that they will abide by the results of their (usually fraudulent) democratic elections. Even they know better than to openly say: yes, I’m thinking about clinging to power through the use of force - next question?! ... To be clear: he’s not joking. He’s openly stating that he will continue to make the (false) case that mail-in-ballots are fraudulent/cheating, and attempt to enact a “continuation” of his admin on that basis. That’s called a coup. He’s talking about a coup. And here’s the thing: even a failed, or just incompetent, attempt at overthrowing the constitutional order of the U.S. would be catastrophic for social and political stability in this country. His ploy doesn’t even have to work to be destructive to civil peace.

Mark Sumner of Kos said the nasty guy’s comments are not a fantasy because of everything the nasty guy has been doing to make it real. Much of this post is again a list of things the nasty guy is doing. He concluded:

This isn’t a nightmare scenario … or rather, it is a nightmare. It’s just one that Trump’s teams are working to make real. They are already putting in place the legal groundwork and public perception to appeal any outcome unfavorable to Trump. As Mother Jones notes: “The question won’t be whether American democracy can survive Trump. We’ll already know that it hasn’t.” All that remains to find out is whether democracy can be renewed. For that to happen, everyone needs to go into this election with their eyes open, knowing that the more decisive Trump’s loss, the less likely he is to be successful in his all but certain attempts to deny that defeat. Everyone is going to need to work like hell to get as many people to the polls as possible on Election Day, to see that mail-in ballots are counted, and to hold responsible every official, at every level, who gets in the way of allowing people’s votes to be counted. You can’t push back a threat if you won’t admit it’s real, and you better not go into a fight without a plan. Donald Trump will absolutely cheat to hold onto power. He’s demonstrated that again and again. He’s been impeached for it. He will not stop now. And everyone, including Joe Biden, better have a plan for what to do when it happens.

A reminder I’m writing this so that you are prepared, that you know what is and could happen, that you can make decisions on how you want to respond. In another post Sumner reported on plans that the nasty guy campaign is talking about with state legislatures with GOP majorities. The Constitution says states may appoint members to the Electoral College in a manner they see fit. For the last hundred years states have agreed that their members to the EC follow the vote of the people. So it seems the nasty guy campaign is talking to these legislatures to override the voters and choose electors loyal, not to the people or the party, but to the nasty guy. Michigan is one of six critical states where both chambers of the legislature are held by the GOP. What happens if one of these states reassigned their electors? Well, yeah, it would go to the Supremes – where the GOP and the nasty guy are working hard to get a 6-3 majority. Dan K of the Kos community says not so fast. In some of the critical states (he names eight), the legislature isn’t in session. In others, like Michigan, there is a Democratic governor who, supposedly, has a veto over such action. In addition, these lawmakers would have to answer to voters – though, I add, if the nasty guy is reinstalled, there may no longer be votes to answer to. So, Dan wrote, pay attention but don’t panic. Joan McCarter of Kos implores traditional media to not try to be first to call the election.

That would mean no reporting on exit polling on election night. No big boards. No presidential calls until all the ballots are counted. Donald Trump cannot be given the opportunity to declare victory based on premature results. … All of the networks, cable news broadcasters, wire services, and major papers need to decide now that they won't give Trump any ammunition based on incomplete returns, and they need to start setting expectations with the public about it. It's not just me saying it. The National Task Force on Election Crises wants a plan, too.

David Neiwert of Kos reported:

Remember those hoax rumors, concocted by right-wing extremists, about “antifa buses”—supposed busloads of violent leftists from urban areas eager for destruction organized to descend on unsuspecting rural towns to engage in violent protests—and how it inspired a flood of armed vigilantes to roam those towns? Those rumors, of course, eventually morphed into similar hoaxes about “antifa arsonists” setting wildfires on the West Coast, inspiring a similar vigilante response from armed “Patriots.” These rumors weren’t simply hoaxes: they were also pure projection. Because for the past three years, busloads of right-wing thugs eager for violence from rural and exurban areas have been organizing to descend on unsuspecting liberal urban centers—primarily Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco—in order to engage in faux “protests” primarily designed to spark violence.

Neiwert then described many of those events and how some of them were not as peaceful as their organizers intended – other groups intent on violence had invited themselves to come as well. Neiwert concluded:

Perhaps most ominously, the “Cruise for Trump” and other pro-Trump rallies in Oregon featuring Proud Boys and other far-right extremists have become more than mere attempts at intimidation—they are becoming massive conduits for the full absorption of extremist politics into the mainstream Republican Party. Indeed, whatever line existed between them appears to have vanished with a flourish of semiautomatic weapons and camo gear. The stakes could not be higher in 2020, and the Trump-loving right—seeing the polls manifesting their leader’s massive failures, particular in mishandling the COVID-19 pandemic—is increasingly sounding desperate and angry. If this is a strategy that has worked in Oregon, we can probably count on it being applied in many other locales before the year is out.