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Trump thread #109 Election Part 3 and off he goes with a trumpety trump?

966 replies

freddosfrogs · 05/11/2020 10:54

We can but hope!

What will happen in AZ, PA and GA next?

[Title edited by MNHQ at OP's request]

OP posts:
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Igotjelly · 05/11/2020 19:06

Thanks! Been a loooong couple of days
Just been lurking but these threads are excellent!

SabrinaThwaite · 05/11/2020 19:10

Trump’s legal challenge thrown out in Michigan.

From Twitter:

just watched a michigan court throw out a ridiculous trump suit. Here was the face trump's lawyer made when the judge announced she was tossing the whole thing

the only problems with trump's suit, according to the judge, is that it was based on hearsay, brought the wrong party to court, couldn't give names of any of the ppl or locations they said broke the law and the relief sought is unavailable because the counting is over.

Lawyers, is that bad?

Trump thread #109 Election Part 3 and off he goes with a trumpety trump?
AcrossthePond55 · 05/11/2020 19:11

Thanks to all for the info on vote counting in the UK

I really wish we'd move to something similar with no 'calling', just the state by state official results even if it takes a few days. It would save a lot of gnashing of teeth.

At the very least I wish they'd ban any 'calling' until the last polls close in at least the lower 48 which would be around 11pm EST/8pm PST. Most local stations do that now with regards to local races so as to avoid affecting voter turnout.

tobee · 05/11/2020 19:18

It's a snails pace, innit?

Trump thread #109 Election Part 3 and off he goes with a trumpety trump?
MayYouLiveInInterestingTimes · 05/11/2020 19:19

This is why we like American drama though. We like to fully appreciate our superiority (even as we copy the drama instead). Was it Gene Wilders line, “The suspense is terrible I hope it will last”.
Although it’s getting dull with no news at all!

BruceAndNosh · 05/11/2020 19:24

It's been a complete shitshow but this election will hopefully change things going forward.
Polling beforehand will now be treated with a LOT more scepticism.
Media will be much more cautious about calling results - I thought it was really wrong when Associated Press released tweets saying Biden wins X, Trump wins Y without making it clear how much projection was involved.
At least CNN have labelled their results as Projected to Win

MayYouLiveInInterestingTimes · 05/11/2020 19:25

Blushoops that wasn’t meant to post. It’s true though.

BruceAndNosh · 05/11/2020 19:25

Trump's twitter feed has been unusually quiet for him.
Has somebody slipped a sleeping pill in his Macdonalds?

cantdothisnow1 · 05/11/2020 19:26

Presumably once votes come in and he gets over the 270 the votes that come in late will be irrelevant?

Is that right?

cantdothisnow1 · 05/11/2020 19:27

Re. The West Wing, I loved it and watched it years ago.

Think I'll rewatch with my 14 year old Autistic son whose special interest is American Politics. Although I suspect if I ask him he'll have already seen it.

This election needs to wrap up soon for him he's exhausted.

TokyoSushi · 05/11/2020 19:28

@RedToothBrush I was looking at the Guardian, they still have him at 264. That's the thing with this (as with a lot of politics) if you don't keep 'on it' you can lose track very quickly, even if nothing is happening! 😬

RedToothBrush · 05/11/2020 19:30

@MayYouLiveInInterestingTimes

This is why we like American drama though. We like to fully appreciate our superiority (even as we copy the drama instead). Was it Gene Wilders line, “The suspense is terrible I hope it will last”. Although it’s getting dull with no news at all!
Trump thread #109 Election Part 3 and off he goes with a trumpety trump?
BlueCatRedCat · 05/11/2020 19:30

I appreciate the visceral wish to no longer have Trump sullying the presidential office. However, The Presidency, the Senate and The House of Representatives (Congress) are co-equal branches of government. The Presidency has all the prestige, but given the choice, I would rather have the Senate and House, because that's where all the real work gets done. The President's power is to sign executive orders, something that tends to be frowned on as undemocratic (or at least it was under Obama).

But I would also add that the balance of power over the Supreme Court
is the 4th, and possibly most important, power, because of the ridiculous system of lifetime appointments. Mitch McConnell's raison d'être has been to fill any vacant seat with republican lackeys, and he has been very successful in doing this. On this issue alone, Trump - with 3 Supreme Court picks in 4 years - has been the most successful president in a generation.

This issue is crucial. Without the Senate in Dem hands, if Biden is fortunate enough to be able to nominate a Supreme Court pick, the gloves will be off. And here, the odious Lindsay Graham also comes into play, because he will presumably retain his role as Chair of the Judiciary Committee in a Republican majority senate. LG and Biden used to be best friends, in a group with John McCain. I don't know whether that friendship has survived this presidential race. LG is a complete lick-spital, whose true colours came our after John McCain died - I believe JM was his moral compass. LG may toady up to Biden. Or he may take a cold revenge for the way the Dems went after Brett Kavanaugh. Lindsay Graham was practically crying and frothing in the Senate hearings during Kavanaugh's committee process and the Christine Blasey-Ford accusations. Then he was widely ridiculed as a bare faced liar and hypocrite, including by Biden, over the Amy Comey Barratt nomination. Graham had always boasted about how he had always been kind to previous democratic picks, and voted for them without question. In a Senate where any Biden pick would absolutely need the votes of some Republicans, I reckon anyone Biden put forward would be hauled over the coals.

In addition, the notion that the Democrats would fill the Supreme Court with additional judges, to equal the tally and effectively neutralise the 2 stolen Supreme Court seats, is now toast. No republican senate will agree to this.

Truly, Trump is beyond the pale, but his power comes from McConnell's support and from the likes of Lindsay Graham, Jeff Flake and Susan Collins too, two faced hypocrites, bleating about being worried about Trump's excesses, but who ultimately always sided with Trump. I would rather have seen these lot lose their seats (well Flake left a while ago, but the other 3 have unfortunately won again), the Dems to take both houses, and Trump remaining in power. The Dems with this power would have another proper crack at impeachment 2, as well as proper power to go after the tax returns and all the other traitorous shit, if they wanted to. Just knowing they could do this would neutralise Trump. And in the meantime, they would have the power to actually pass some decent legislation, improve the Affordable Care Act, get a decent financial package for those effected by Covid, and reverse all the rest of Trump's shit policies.

I disagree that Trump won't continue in politics. Without the Presidency, he is nothing. His business failures are writ large. His brand is poison. Everyone now sees that the emperor has no clothes. Well, everyone apart from his cult followers. His fragile, narcissistic ego needs their adoration. In addition, continuing in politics protects him to an extent against he plethora of legal action that may be taken against him. If he continues as an active political figure, then the Dems actively supporting his trial and jailing is very much vulnerable to the same criticism he has faced, that of seeking to jail a political opponent.

Coquohvan · 05/11/2020 19:33

@BruceAndNosh

Trump's twitter feed has been unusually quiet for him. Has somebody slipped a sleeping pill in his Macdonalds?
A LOT of his tweets been censored 🤣

CNN saying Bidens being briefed on Corona today, now that is a presidential thing to do.

BonnieDundee · 05/11/2020 19:35

@RedToothBrush Grin

Funny how we accept this as "normal". I remember being absolutely astounded in one election when Mr Fishfinger (man dressed up as a fishfinger) actually got several hundred votes. He was standing in Tim Farron's constituency who I think was the LibDem leader at that time

But probably screaming Lord Sutch was my favourite Grin

Coquohvan · 05/11/2020 19:35

@BlueCatRedCat
I disagree that Trump won't continue in politics. Without the Presidency, he is nothing. His business failures are writ large.

With a fair wind and good luck, he will be in jail!

PerkingFaintly · 05/11/2020 19:35

So... that shade of green behind Trump's lawyer...

Will that turn out to be an unfortunate choice...?

chomalungma · 05/11/2020 19:35

Watching West Wing again at the moment.

We're planning a US roadtrip in year or so and so we have a pretty good knowledge of US States geography.

RedToothBrush · 05/11/2020 19:39

I would normally say that

BUT

This is Trump and had he won another election he would have stretched the limits of the powers of office beyond what is legal and would have started to try and destroy the institutions of the constitution with the help of the Senate. And there would be little that either the Democrats or the Courts would be able to do in the long run.

It was a close shave in terms of democracy.

What happens now with a Biden win without the Senate is an interesting question. Especially with Trump still on twitter causing shit.

Really it has to be about restoring trust primarily. Everything else is irrelevant and going to be difficult anyway.

The prospect of Trump standing again in 4 years is possible but he'd be 78 and anything could still happen in terms of his health (just like Biden's).

The Democrats need to have that postmortem and Biden needs to carefully led them and make the case that compromise has to happen to them just as much as convincing the Republicans of anything.

I do agree with the idea that this presidency has to be about 'Healing the Divide'.

The US has to face up to this growing problem.

Janegrey333 · 05/11/2020 19:42

[quote TokyoSushi]@RedToothBrush I was looking at the Guardian, they still have him at 264. That's the thing with this (as with a lot of politics) if you don't keep 'on it' you can lose track very quickly, even if nothing is happening! 😬[/quote]
They project - unlike the BBC - because they use Press Association information, believing it to be reliable.

TokyoSushi · 05/11/2020 19:44

Thank you!

RedToothBrush · 05/11/2020 19:44

Jim Acosta @Acosta
Trump and aides have had discussions about mounting a comeback run in 2024 should he lose reelection to Biden, an adviser tells me. No word whether he would do it. But the subject has come up, I'm told.

I wonder who raised the idea and how Trump took it.

tobee · 05/11/2020 19:44

Bradley Whitford sigh!

TokyoSushi · 05/11/2020 19:45

Just to add, I meant I was losing track, @RedToothBrush never loses track!

Jaichangecentfoisdenom · 05/11/2020 19:48

Mark Steel in The Independant.
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/election-results-biden-trump-supreme-court-votes-count-b1616557.html]]