Generally speaking, I’m OK with the way things are playing out. I’m happy that, so far, there have been no pro-Trump domestic terrorist attacks. And I like that, despite Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of election fraud, every major news outlet went ahead and called it decisively for Biden. I also like that leaders from around the word have come forward to congratulate Biden on his historic win, even as Donald Trump demanded that, despite all the evidence to the contrary, he’d actually won. I like that some Republicans, like Chris Christie, Mitt Romney, and George W. Bush, have publicly acknowledged the reality of the situation, which is that Trump had been soundly defeated. I like that no one in the legitimate press seems to be taking Trump’s claims, that it was him, and not Biden, who had actually won, seriously. And, of course, I loved the mocking that ensued when Rudy Giuliani spoke on Trump’s behalf outside Philly’s Four Seasons Total Landscaping — right between Fantasy Island Adult Books and Novelties and the Delaware Valley Cremation Center — and attempted, without offering a shred of evidence, to convince the American people that the Democrats had hijacked the election. I loved that Trump has, by and large, been ignored, as Biden has started to actually lead… making announcements about how he intended to spend his first days in office, saying that he intended to getting his COVID task force off the ground, reenter the Paris Climate Accord, etc. I knew that Donald Trump would continue to be a threat to our democracy, but the scorn and ridicule being directed at him every time he claimed to have won, gave me a sense of hope. And I’m still optimistic. At the same time, however, I’m growing more concerned about the steps Trump will take to delegitimize the Biden administration in the eyes of his followers in hopes of further serving his own interests. And I find it alarming that some in government seem intent on going along with him.
There are two things specifically that are concerning me today. First, Attorney General William Barr lent some credibility to the Trump election fraud conspiracy theory earlier today when he issued a memo asking federal prosecutors to investigate what he referred to as “substantial allegations” of voting fraud, saying that this had to happen before the results of the election could be officially certified. [It should be noted that no substantial evidence of widespread fraud has been presented to date. The President and his remaining allies keep talking about voter fraud, but, when asked for examples, they are curiously silent.] And, second, Trump appointee Emily W. Murphy, the administrator of the General Services Administration, is refusing to formally recognize Joe Biden as President-elect, making it impossible for the formal transfer of power to begin. And both of these things are keeping Joe Biden and his administration from the access they need to start preparing for the official transition, putting our national security at risk. So, our country is essentially being held for ransom. The only question is why. Why is Trump refusing to concede? What is it that he’s hoping this will accomplish?
Before we go on, I should mention that the above noted actions on the part of Trump’s people are not going unchallenged. Today, in response to the Barr memo, the Justice Department’s top prosecutor for election crimes, Richard Pilger, announced that he would be stepping down in protest. Furthermore, several individuals working in the two law firms that are overseeing the Trump legal challenges — Jones Day and Porter Wright — have started speaking out. “Six Jones Day lawyers,” the New York Times is reporting today, “said that given the small number of late-arriving ballots involved in the litigation, and the fact that they already had been segregated, the main goal of the litigation seemed to be to erode public confidence in the election…” And they don’t appear to be too thrilled that their firm is participating. And, as you can see here, there’s a campaign afoot to initiate an Inspector General investigation into the previously mentioned Barr memo.
Thankfully, as I said earlier, I don’t get the sense that many people in power — with the exception of some Trump enablers like Lindsey Graham — are investing too heavily in the Trump conspiracy theory about widespread election fraud in the states that he lost. For the most part, it seems to me that they’re following Mitch McConnell’s lead and saying that Trump is “within his rights” to challenge the results, but it doesn’t seem to me that they’re willing to join him in his claim that the election was stolen. But, as you’d expect from people like them, they’re going along for the ride. As one senior Republicans official told the Washington Post today, “What’s the downside of humoring him for this little bit of time? He went golfing this weekend… He’s tweeting about filing some lawsuits; those lawsuits will fail; then he’ll tweet some more about how the election was stolen; then he’ll leave.”
It seems to me to be a dangerous game, allowing the President of the United States to tell his followers that the democratic process in our nation isn’t to be trusted, but apparently they don’t give a fuck about that. “What’s the downside?”, they ask.
Just to be clear, the President’s claims have absolutely no merit. When the Republicans fought on the side of Bush against Gore in 2000, they had the best and brightest the GOP had to offer. In this instance, that’s not the case. A few firms are filing challenges on behalf of Giuliani and Trump, but no one believes there’s a chance that Trump will be able to cheat his way into a second term, given the magnitude of the vote deficit he’s facing in multiple states. The person handing the fight for the Trump campaign — David Bossie — isn’t even an attorney. And, as we just learned today, he’s just tested positive for coronavirus.
As for why Trump is pretending to fight it, and telling his people that he’s won, my guess would be that it has to do with money. The Trump campaign is putting out dozens of emails a day, asking their followers to contribute to the court fight over the “stolen election.” The small print, however, makes it clear that a majority of the funds aren’t being used for that purpose at all, but to pay down the debt of the Trump 2020 campaign. He has 30-some percent of the American population in his thrall, and he’s not about to let them go as long as there’s a dollar to be made. And you can bet he’ll be holding rallies, selling Trump 2024 merchandise, launching his own media channel, and doing whatever else he can to ensure that he gets every cent he can from his obedient followers. Or maybe that’s just the threat. Maybe the real goal here is to strengthen his position before going to the Biden administration to make a deal. Whatever his angle, it’s incredibly dangerous, and I wish that more Republicans would have the courage to step up, acknowledge the Biden win, and make it clear to Trump that they’re done with him.
Oh, and just in case anyone really believes that Trump has evidence of election fraud, here’s one more link that might interest you….
update: OK, shit is really getting fucking scary now. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, when asked about working with the Biden transition team, just said, “There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration.” This is beyond terrifying, especially when one considers the most recent polling, which shows that 70% of Republicans think the election was rigged, and 38% believe that the results of the election will be overturned and that Donald Trump will serve a second term. This is beyond insane, and I cannot believe that Republicans are saying, “What’s the downside of humoring him for this little bit of time?,” when asked about Trump’s refusal to concede. And fuck anyone who says that Pompeo was “probably joking.”
