There are very real consequences of Donald Trump’s claims of voter fraud in the 2016 election. As the Washington Post reports, a good number of Republicans actually believe the President on this nonsense:
Critics of President Trump have repeatedly warned of his potential to undermine American democracy. Among the concerns are his repeated assertions that he would have won the popular vote had 3 to 5 million “illegals” not voted in the 2016 election, a claim echoed by the head of a White House advisory committee on voter fraud.
Claims of large-scale voter fraud are not true, but that has not stopped a substantial number of Republicans from believing them. But how far would Republicans be willing to follow the president to stop what they perceive as rampant fraud? Our recent survey suggests that the answer is quite far: About half of Republicans say they would support postponing the 2020 presidential election until the country can fix this problem… [Pols emphasis]
…Not surprisingly, beliefs about the 2016 election and voter fraud were correlated with support for postponement. People who believed that Trump won the popular vote, that there were millions of illegal votes in 2016, or that voter fraud is not rare were more likely to support postponing the election. This support was also more prevalent among Republicans who were younger, were less educated, had less factual knowledge of politics and strongly identified with the party.
It apparently doesn’t matter much to these people that election officials all across the country have said for a long time that there is no evidence of widespread election fraud. Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams has been adamant in this position, and there is no actual data to support claims of voter fraud from Trump or his bogus “Voter Fraud Commission.”
As Newsweek reported last week, Trump’s “Voter Fraud Commission” doesn’t even really know why it exists:
The commission investigating President Donald Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2016 election doesn’t know what it hopes to achieve, said one of its members Monday.
Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap, who serves on President Trump’s Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, said that he will reject the federal government’s second round of calls to states to submit voter registration data to the group.
Dunlap told the Portland Press Herald Monday that he’s concerned the commission hasn’t made its aims clear and that he’s worried about voters’ privacy.
Both state and national reports have failed to come up with any evidence of widespread voter fraud (including a 2014 report by the Presidential Commission on Election Administration). On the very rare occasion that fraud is discovered here in Colorado, it is almost always perpetrated by Republicans.
Trump has not actually suggested that the 2020 election should/could be postponed, but it is frightening to know that there are a sizable number of Republicans who wouldn’t blink if he did.
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Hell, half of republicans would shoot their grandmothers this afternoon if trump or hannity (or any of the rest of the radical-right shrieking skulls) told them to do it. These are easily some of the dumbest, most gullible and easily misled/manipulated, slack-jawed crapheads America has ever produced — so proudly ignorant and backward they're frightening.
Make no mistake: Their baseless arrogance, proud ignorance and collective, massive stupidity and gullibility represent a clear and present danger and very real threat to our nation's continued survival.
They made a documentary about it called "Idiocracy"
Nice picture of Fluffy and the rest of his flock.
Wouldn't MAGA hats on sheep be objectionable to both PETA and the SPCA?
I am no lawyer, but it seems pretty obvious that the Constitution does not allow any latitude for cancelling or postponing elections. Between Article 2 Section 1:
(emphasis added – terms are four years, no more, no less) and the 20th Amendment:
The election must happen soon enough that the full process can unfold before January 20, 2021. I suppose it could happen sooner though…
If DJT is taking advice from Putin, his path seems clear:
1. Journalists a problem? Lock them up, or kill them.
2. Political rivals irritating? See above.
3. Dissent shutting down roads and giving you bad press? Declare martial law.
4. You might not win an election? Jail or kill your opponents and crank up the propaganda. If that fails, just stuff the ballots, giving yourself 12 million extra votes. Then take political revenge on any nosy critics.
You may think I'm being too paranoid here, but all the signs of autocracy are in place. Even a ridiculous, incompetent clown can still threaten democracy.
But we can still save it, with awareness, action and unity.
"Advice"? Doubtful. Wasted. . . .
"Orders"?!? That's more likely. . . .
Worth noting here that some of the far-righties claimed that Obama would cancel the 2016 election and take over. Didn't happen.
Obama, for all his shortcomings, was interested in making government work for the people.
Trump is clearly interested in making government profitable for himself and his family.
I suspect that all the belligerence around Korea is to set himself up as a "war president" with expanded powers, and to distract from his scandals, the investigation of his debts to Russia, and his deep unpopularity.
I'd like to think that our duly elected Congresspeople would rebel if DJT did something like try to declare martial law or cancel the election; I honestly don't know if enough of the Republicans would.
The far-right "Freedom Caucus" guys and "patriots" like Buck, Coffman, Lamborn, the ones decrying Obama's "tyranny" might be the first ones on board the Trump crazy train.