Will Trump’s December Surprise be an attempt to pull off an Electoral College Coup?

I have no doubts that Trump and his administration with help from the GOP, are planning to attempt an Electoral College coup.

For Trump and the GOP to pull off this coup, they will have to flip 56 Electoral College votes in the battle ground states where Biden won the popular vote.

Those states are: Nevada, Minnesota, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

To pull off this coup and steal the election, Trump must be supported by the Republican Party in those states, but Trump will not be able to flip Nevada’s 6 electoral votes – Nevada has a Democratic Governor and both state legislatures have Democratic majorities.

Then there is Minnesota with 10 electoral votes. This state has a Democratic Governor with a GOP majority in the state Senate and a Democratic majority in the state House, Trump and the GOP will probably not be successful in flipping the electors in this state. Any faithless electors in this state will be challenged in court and their votes changed to support Biden.

There is only one state that is probably a safe bet for Trump to flip and that is Arizona with 11 Electoral College votes. Arizona is the only state among the six that has a GOP governor and both legislatures controlled by the GOP.

The rest of the states with a total of 46 Electoral College votes have Democratic governors, but the GOP controls the state legislatures. Can those Democratic governors veto any legislation the GOP controlled legislatures attempt to pass to make it legal to flip their Electoral College votes and/or may those Democratic governors go to court without support from their legislatures to hold their electors accountable to state law?

Right now, 48 states have laws that direct their electors to cast their vote with the popular vote winner in their states and all 6 of these battle ground states are on that list. For this coup to be legal, those laws must be changed or the state must not contest the Faithless Electors.

In July 2020, a unanimous U.S. Supreme court ruled that Electoral College voters can be forced to back state popular vote winners.

The key point of this unanimous ruling: “States can require Electoral College voters to back the victor of their state’s popular vote.” I’m not sure if there is any language in that ruling that says a governor cannot hold his state’s electors responsible to cast their votes with the winner of the popular vote in his or her state.

For Trump to pull off an Electoral College coup there will be a bitter battle fought through the courts all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, and no matter who wins, the country may still be torn apart by a Civil War.

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Lloyd Lofthouse is a former U.S. Marine and Vietnam combat veteran with a BA in journalism and an MFA in writing, who taught in the public schools for thirty years (1975 – 2005). He is the award winning author of several books.

My Splendid Concubine

“Packed cover to cover with intriguing characters and plot, a must read for history fans and a fine addition to any collection on the genre.” – Midwest Book Review, May 8, 2008

Honorable Mentions in General Fiction
2012 San Francisco Book Festival
2012 New York Book Festival
2012 London Book Festival

The Guardian Endorses Joe Biden

Why Trump and Trumpism must go.

Diane Ravitch's blog

This editorial was published yesterday.

Donald Trump’s presidency has been a horror show that is ending with a pandemic that is out of control, an economicrecessionand deepening political polarisation. Mr Trump is the author of this disastrous denouement. He is also the political leader least equipped to deal with it. Democracy in the United States has been damaged by Mr Trump’s first term. It may not survive four more years.

If the Guardian had a vote, it would be cast to electJoe Bidenas president next Tuesday. Mr Biden has what it takes to lead the United States. Mr Trump does not. Mr Biden cares about his nation’s history, its people, its constitutional principles and its place in the world. Mr Trump does not. Mr Biden wants to unite a divided country. Mr Trump stokes an anger that is wearing it down.

The Republican presidential nominee is…

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The Most Important Radical Rightwing Group You Never Heard of

The real shadow government that wants to take away the freedoms the U.S. Constitution protects, supports Donald Trump in every dirty way possible. Let’s call them Trump’s Swamp Creatures.

Diane Ravitch's blog

In this post, Bill Moyers conducts an important interview with investigative journalist Anne Nelson, who talks about her new book, SHADOW NETWORK: MEDIA, MONEY, AND THE SECRET HUB OF THE RADICAL RIGHT.

Read this and you will understand the dark forces that are undermining our democracy and our democratic institutions, including our public schools.

BILL MOYERS: Let me begin with the most current part of the story, which comes just a little bit after your book is published when the conservative movement is facing a very decisive encounter with the very forces it’s been trying to defeat now for 40 years. How do you think the shadow network reads the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court? What are they making of it?

ANNE NELSON: Well, I think that they consider it a great triumph and a kind of culmination of 40 years of effort. And…

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What is Russia doing to get Traitor Trump reelected in 2020?

When I Googled this topic, why were the first two sources VOX and the BBC? Why not the New York Times and other major traditional American news sources? To be fair, the NYT and the Atlantic was mentioned on the first page of the search but they were near the bottom of the page.

VOX is a general interest news site and in 2019, readership was estimated to be 33.4 million visitors to its website, less than 10% of the US population. Vox is an American news and opinion website owned by Vox Media. The website was founded in April 2014 and is noted for its concept of explanatory journalism. Media Bias/Fact Check rates VOX as Mostly Factual for its reporting, a bit lower than the BBC’s rating.

The BBC’s global reach is 468.2 million people a week and it is one of the most trusted news sources in the world, but it is based in the UK, not the US. Media Bias/Fact Check rates the BBC high for factual reporting.

VOX.com reports, “Yes, Russia is interfering in the 2020 election. It wants to cause chaos again. But it’s also learned some lessons from 2016”

… “Discrediting democratic institutions, including free speech and freedom of the press, is all part of Russia’s election interference playbook. Yet PeaceData offers an intriguing glimpse into how Russian election meddling is evolving. The trolls and bots of 2016 are being replaced by outsourced writers, including, in this case, Americans. Obviously, fake news is being swapped out for articles with a particular slant or point of view.”

“Mueller’s team investigated the ties between Trump campaign officials and Russia. Mueller and a sweeping Senate investigation both documented numerous contacts between the Trump campaign and Russians linked to the Kremlin, but ultimately did not find evidence of conspiracy or coordination.

“Yet the Russia investigation, and Trump’s assault on it, helped transform a foreign adversary’s attack on US elections into a partisan issue, and has muddled the core fact that both Republicans and Democrats initially agreed on: that Russia meddled in the 2016 election and had designs on 2018, 2020, and beyond.” …

The BBC reports: “US election 2020: Who do Russian, China and Iran want to win?”

“These questions are on the minds of the US intelligence community in the run-up to November’s vote. An assessment from a top official warns foreign powers will use “covert and overt influence measures” to try to sway US voters, singling out Russia, China and Iran.

“The three should not be compounded, as each, in the view of US intelligence, has their own goal and their own capabilities.”…

“Last month a Republican-led Senate panel gave further support to the view Russia wanted Trump to win, concluding his campaign was an easy target for foreign influence but stopping short of alleging criminal conspiracy.” …

“What do the candidates say? Joe Biden recently warned there would be a “price to pay” if Russia continues to interfere, calling Russia an “opponent” of the US.

President Trump has frequently downplayed allegations of Russian interference, putting him at odds with his own intelligence experts.”

Concerning China and Iran, the BBIC reported that the U.S. intelligence community says these two countries don’t want Trump elected again because he represents chaos and uncertainty, the same thing Putin’s Russia wants.

Curious I Googled Fox News to find out if it was reporting on Russia’s meddling in the 2020 election and found this: “Wray: Russia ‘very active’ in efforts to influence election, ‘denigrate’ Biden. FBI director says Russia has sought to ‘sow divisiveness and discord’

Note that FBI Director Wray was nominated by President Donald Trump on June 7, 2017 to replace James Comey, who Trump fired. Why did Trump Fire Comey?

Why isn’t this factual news about Russia’s meddling in our 2020 election being reported everyday on prime time TV news and the front pages of every reputable newspaper in the United States?

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My Splendid Concubine

The New York Times: Trump Is “the Worst American President in Modern History”

“The lesson of the last four years (and the recorded history of his always failing businesses) is that Trump cannot solve the nation’s pressing problems because he is the nation’s most pressing problem.”

Diane Ravitch's blog

The New York Times published this editorial for its Sunday edition, accompanied by articles detailing the multiple failures of Donald Trump. This is my favorite line: “the lesson of the last four years is that he cannot solve the nation’s pressing problems because he is the nation’s most pressing problem.” The title of the editorial is: “End Our National Crisis: The Case Against Donald Trump.”

Donald Trump’s re-election campaign poses the greatest threat to American democracy since World War II.

Mr. Trump’s ruinous tenure already has gravely damaged the United States at home and around the world. He has abused the power of his office and denied the legitimacy of his political opponents, shattering the norms that have bound the nation together for generations. He has subsumed the public interest to the profitability of his business and political interests. He has shown a breathtaking disregard for the lives…

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ProPublica: How the Trump Administration Tried to Destroy the CDC

How Trump set about destroying the CDC, the world’s best organization for stopping pandemics from breaking out.

COVID deaths in China where the pandemic started = 4,634 or 3 for every million population

COVID deaths in the US under President Donald Trump who set about politizing the CDC and destroying its ability to protect the country and the world from pandemics.

224,084 deaths in the US from COVID-19 or 676 for each 1 million in population. The USA has had more COVID-19 deaths than any other country. India is in 2nd place with 114,064 deaths.

This is all thanks to a malignant narcissist, sociopath, and mass murder by the name of Donald Trump. He doesn’t care how many Americans die on his watch that he will not take responsibility for.

Diane Ravitch's blog

A government agency that has long been trusted as nonpartisan relies on public trust for the information it releases. When that agency is the Centers for Disease Control, public trust is essential to persuading the public that its advisories represent the work of scientists, unaffected by political considerations. This article by ProPublica describes how the Trump administration persistently interfered in CDC guidelines in an attempt to convince the public that the pandemic was no big deal and that the administration was doing a fabulous job in handling it.

It begins:

At 7:47 a.m. on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, Dr. Jay Butler pounded out a grim email to colleagues at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

Butler, then the head of the agency’s coronavirus response, and his team had been trying to craft guidance to help Americans return safely to worship amid worries that two of…

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How to stop a Coup

GFBrandenburg's Blog

I am more and more certain that Trump and his racist gangs of violent thugs will attempt a coup when the polling results come in after November 3.

A racist coup d’etat (or armed overthrow of the government) has, in fact, happened before here in the US: Wilmington NC, in 1898. Look it up. There was also an unsuccessful attempt by bankers to overthrow FDR in 1934.

Here are some ideas from one group on how to stop a coup.

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10 Things You Need to Know to Stop a Coup

1. Don’t expect results Election night.

Election season 2020 is shaping up to be very unusual. Many mail-in ballots may not be counted until days or weeks after Election Day. Since Democrats are expected to use them more frequently than Republicans, voter tallies are expected to swing towards Democrats post-election night (they call it a“blue shift”)…

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James Hohmann: Post-Debate Fallout

If you are an American citizen and believe in The U.S. Constitution’s Preamble that introduces the document that defines our freedoms and the limits of our government, then vote on November 3rd.

This election offers two choices:

ONE: the malignant narcissist, con man and fraud, The Emperor of Lies Donald Trump

TWO: The U.S. Constitution

We can only vote for one of the two. That is why I am voting for Biden who will preserve the U.S. Constiution.

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO7FQsCcbD8

Trump’s Bizarro World Reading of the Constitution

By calling the impeachment inquiry unconstitutional, Trump has ignored reality to place himself above the law.

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/10/09/trumps-impeachment-unconstitutional-229838

Diane Ravitch's blog

James Hohmann of the Washington Post gathered interesting post-debate happenings.

Joe Biden left Cleveland on a chartered Amtrak train and made a six-city whistlestop trip through areas of Ohio and a Pennsylvania that Trump won in 2016.

Meanwhile, Trump continues to face negative responses and from Republican leaders, silence, due to his inability to denounce white supremacists, and his dog whistle that inspired the violent rightwing “Proud Boys,” which the Anti-Defamation League calls a hate group.

Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes make it one of the most critical battlegrounds, and Biden predicted that over the next month he will be able to win over more Trump 2016 voters in rural counties like the ones he visited on Wednesday. “Even if we just cut the margin, it makes a gigantic difference,” Biden said at the airport named for Murtha. “A lot of White working-class Democrats thought we forgot them and didn’t pay…

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How Democrats Should Address the ACBarrett nomination

How the Democrats can use Amy Coney Barrett, Trump’s recommendation to fill Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s U.S. Supreme Court Seat, so the nation is reminded of how corrupt Donald Trump and his administration is.

GFBrandenburg's Blog

I wanted to share an absolutely brilliant series of suggestions on how to deal with Trump’s nomination of Judge Barrett. The best parts are towards the end, so read all the way through!

This is by Bill Svelmoe.

I never heard of him before, but this is great. Drag it out until almost the election, and use the hearings to get Barrett on record as either approving or condemning Trumps’s many documented instances of repeated, actual, non-hypothetical but illegal conduct.

Here are Svelmoe’s words:

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A few thoughts on Amy Coney Barrett, our new Supreme Court justice.

As noted above, she’s a done deal. So Democrats should not waste time trying to besmirch her character, focusing on her religion, trying to box her into a corner on how she will vote on hypothetical cases.

The People of Praise is not a cult. I’ve had half a dozen of their kids…

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Dana Milbank: The Reichstag Is Burning. Wake Up!

What does Donald Trump and Adolf Hitler have in common other than small hands and deformed genitals?

Diane Ravitch's blog

Dana Milbank is a regular columnist for the Washington Post.

He writes:

America, this is not a drill. The Reichstag is burning.

For five years, my colleagues and I have taken pains to avoid Nazi comparisons. It is usually hyperbolic, and counterproductive, to label the right “fascists” in the way those on the right reflexively label the left “socialists.” But this is no longer a matter of name-calling.

With his repeated refusals this week to accept the peaceful transfer of power — the bedrock principle that has sustained American democracy for 228 years — President Trump has put the United States, in some ways, where Germany was in 1933, when Adolf Hitler used the suspicious burning of the German parliament to turn a democracy into a totalitarian state.

Overwrought, you say? Then ask Yale historian Timothy Snyder, a top authority on Nazism and Stalinism. “The Reichstag has been on a…

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