2020 Presidential Election

[Furniture]

Doesn’t matter who wins. Either way there will be plenty of ‘news’ after next week fake or otherwise.

[Steven43]

I've found myself wondering what I'm going to do when I can't have to check this thread multiple times a day for updates. I suppose it might be relaxing, but I've all but forgotten what that feels like.

Same here. It’s going to be very weird. But a good weird, I think.

[Steven43]

Doesn’t matter who wins. Either way there will be plenty of ‘news’ after next week fake or otherwise.

Please don’t use the words “Doesn’t matter who wins”. That phrase freaks me out. PTSD, you know? 😜

[bundabergdevil]

If you're interested in a very specific kind of horror reading this Halloween, check out Politico's Day-by-Day Guide to What Could Happen if This Election Goes Bad.


It takes the much discussed Atlantic article and continues to game out scenarios ranging from legal battles to shenanigans to chicanery to fraud and cheating to an armed uprising to a candidate becoming incapacitated.

We used to watch those Doomsday Prepper shows as entertainment; in 2020, they're great 'how to' videos...

[OldPhiKap]

Don’t y’all wish we could have a presidential election every year? This has been so much FUN!! 😉

Reported.

[PackMan97]

If you're interested in a very specific kind of horror reading this Halloween, check out Politico's Day-by-Day Guide to What Could Happen if This Election Goes Bad.


It takes the much discussed Atlantic article and continues to game out scenarios ranging from legal battles to shenanigans to chicanery to fraud and cheating to an armed uprising to a candidate becoming incapacitated.

We used to watch those Doomsday Prepper shows as entertainment; in 2020, they're great 'how to' videos...

I find Politico missed one nightmare scenario that is perhaps the most likely to cause significant unrest and violence, Trump legitimately wins. There are so many groups that have invested so much in seeing Biden win. The polls have been so favorable, for so long for Biden. The early vote so strong and represented by Democrats primarily. I really think the worst scenario is a legitimate Trump win and the stuff will hit the fan as the left refuses to accept another unexpected Trump win and will feel that he stole the election. in return those on the right lose their minds as the left lose their minds and we all descend into madness. This is my "America is weak and fragile" scenario in which we all break into our tribes and see who can do more damage to our once great nation.

I actually worry less about Trump trying to steal the election because I believe or judges and courts will step up and do the right thing, in addition I also think that blatant cheating will lose him the support of many on the right (certainly not all, but enough to make a difference). This is my "America is awesome and resilient" scenario in which we all come together to make sure the usurper leaves.

The result I'm hoping for most is a victory so large it leaves no doubt about the outcome or the will of the people.
Happy morning everyone!

[budwom]

No. NH is not in play. It was close last time. It will be less close this time. The Trump campaign thinks there are a whole bunch of "silent voters" in NH. Bill Weld took nearly 10% of the votes in the Republican primary this year and Trump only took 85% of the votes total. That's less than the 87% Trump took in Massachusetts. It's wishful thinking on the part of the Trump campaign. Prior to this year primaries, New Hampshire reported that for the first time in a decade, more people were registered as Democrats than as Republicans in the state. New Hampshire is exhibit A for people who have left the Republican party because of Trump.

I strongly agree, not sure what POTUS thinks he sees there...even the Republican Gov (Sununu, does the name sound familiar?) manages to avoid him like the plague (somewhat literally in this particular case)...

[CameronBlue]

Really good column published by the Times' Ben Smith, posted to Yahoo, on the Hunter Biden laptop "scandal", how it was pitched to a WSJ reporter by members of the Trump re-election team and the paper's investigation of sources. From there Smith offers observations on the legacy media's role as gatekeeper against the onslaught of on-line news stories, from the credible to fully fabricated propaganda.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-had...115253037.html

[elvis14]

I find Politico missed one nightmare scenario that is perhaps the most likely to cause significant unrest and violence, Trump legitimately wins. There are so many groups that have invested so much in seeing Biden win. The polls have been so favorable, for so long for Biden. The early vote so strong and represented by Democrats primarily. I really think the worst scenario is a legitimate Trump win and the stuff will hit the fan as the left refuses to accept another unexpected Trump win and will feel that he stole the election. in return those on the right lose their minds as the left lose their minds and we all descend into madness. This is my "America is weak and fragile" scenario in which we all break into our tribes and see who can do more damage to our once great nation.

I actually worry less about Trump trying to steal the election because I believe or judges and courts will step up and do the right thing, in addition I also think that blatant cheating will lose him the support of many on the right (certainly not all, but enough to make a difference). This is my "America is awesome and resilient" scenario in which we all come together to make sure the usurper leaves.

The result I'm hoping for most is a victory so large it leaves no doubt about the outcome or the will of the people.
Happy morning everyone!

The bolded part above is where you lost me. The Republican Administration has used the last several years to politicize and pack the courts (after Mitch blocked appointees for years). I mean they are working overtime right now to approve a 3rd justice to the supreme court (all of whom worked on a team to get Bush elected by shenanigans in Florida back in the day) from a failed president who lost the popular vote by 3 million votes. As we hand away SCOTUS seats to the Brett's and Amy's of the world, we create a diminished court that will NOT step up and do the correct thing...just the "right" thing (where right in this case means the GOP's bidding, now matter how many people vote blue). Right now DT's only path to victory seems judicial.

[Wander]

Welp, it was about 9 or 10 days out that Comey dropped his bomb in 2016 and we're 9 days out now...

Expect something (more) unexpected this week!

I laugh a little bit when people talk about this "October surprise" stuff. There's been a new event or revelation or story about Trump that would qualify as an "October surprise" for any other candidate every day this month. It's become so incredibly normalized to voters. Today it's the 60 minutes interview coverage. Tomorrow it will be something else. The horse race effect of this is there is literally nothing that can happen over the next week that will change many minds. It's all about turnout, how absentee/mail-in votes are counted, court challenges, etc.

[PackMan97]

The bolded part above is where you lost me. The Republican Administration has used the last several years to politicize and pack the courts (after Mitch blocked appointees for years). I mean they are working overtime right now to approve a 3rd justice to the supreme court (all of whom worked on a team to get Bush elected by shenanigans in Florida back in the day) from a failed president who lost the popular vote by 3 million votes. As we hand away SCOTUS seats to the Brett's and Amy's of the world, we create a diminished court that will NOT step up and do the correct thing...just the "right" thing (where right in this case means the GOP's bidding, now matter how many people vote blue). Right now DT's only path to victory seems judicial.

We will just have to agree to disagree. My wife has significant experience in court administration and I've personally met a number of judges. From my experience the further up you go, the more concerned about the law judges become. If a law says that naked ballots don't count, I believe in the courts to rule that naked ballots don't count. If the law states ballots shall be counted in a timely fashion, I trust the courts not to make or enforce an arbitrary deadlines that ignores best efforts to get ballots counted if a machine breaks and instead allow voting counting to continue until done. Whether it be the right thing or the left thing, all I ask is for the laws to be followed and we don't end up with more hanging chads and trying to "divine the will of the voter" to decide the outcome of the election. Your fears and attitude are why I worry most about a legitimate Trump win, both sides will feel the other is stealing the election.

Again, the result I hope most for is a clear and unassailable victory for either side. I have no dog in the fight, I'm pretty sure my preferred candidate is not going to win. One in which no amount of shenanigans can even bring the vote into question. I just want the 2020 thread to be done so we can open up the 2024 thread! Based on feedback from this board, I've decided to throw my hat in the ring for 2024! I'm thinking of trying to bring back the Whig party...whose with me?

[Matches]

The result I'm hoping for most is a victory so large it leaves no doubt about the outcome or the will of the people.
Happy morning everyone!

100% agreed. The only reason the courts mattered in 2000 was that the margin was, as they say, wafer thin. Hopefully that will not be the case this time. There are those who will contest the legitimacy of the election regardless, but a healthy margin of victory will silence all but the most strident.

[CDu]

I find Politico missed one nightmare scenario that is perhaps the most likely to cause significant unrest and violence, Trump legitimately wins. There are so many groups that have invested so much in seeing Biden win. The polls have been so favorable, for so long for Biden. The early vote so strong and represented by Democrats primarily. I really think the worst scenario is a legitimate Trump win and the stuff will hit the fan as the left refuses to accept another unexpected Trump win and will feel that he stole the election. in return those on the right lose their minds as the left lose their minds and we all descend into madness. This is my "America is weak and fragile" scenario in which we all break into our tribes and see who can do more damage to our once great nation.

I actually worry less about Trump trying to steal the election because I believe or judges and courts will step up and do the right thing, in addition I also think that blatant cheating will lose him the support of many on the right (certainly not all, but enough to make a difference). This is my "America is awesome and resilient" scenario in which we all come together to make sure the usurper leaves.

The result I'm hoping for most is a victory so large it leaves no doubt about the outcome or the will of the people.
Happy morning everyone!

I disagree with your assertion that a legitimate Trump win is the most likely scenario to cause unrest and violence.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

I find Politico missed one nightmare scenario that is perhaps the most likely to cause significant unrest and violence, Trump legitimately wins. There are so many groups that have invested so much in seeing Biden win. The polls have been so favorable, for so long for Biden. The early vote so strong and represented by Democrats primarily. I really think the worst scenario is a legitimate Trump win and the stuff will hit the fan as the left refuses to accept another unexpected Trump win and will feel that he stole the election. in return those on the right lose their minds as the left lose their minds and we all descend into madness. This is my "America is weak and fragile" scenario in which we all break into our tribes and see who can do more damage to our once great nation.

I actually worry less about Trump trying to steal the election because I believe or judges and courts will step up and do the right thing, in addition I also think that blatant cheating will lose him the support of many on the right (certainly not all, but enough to make a difference). This is my "America is awesome and resilient" scenario in which we all come together to make sure the usurper leaves.

The result I'm hoping for most is a victory so large it leaves no doubt about the outcome or the will of the people.
Happy morning everyone!

If there is skepticism around an apparently clear Trump victory he has brought it upon himself. I find it amazing that he thinks that he can constantly be speaking about voting irregularities and think that the only way this could happen is in a way that harms him, not helps him. His constant paranoia (as further demonstrated by accusations against 60 Minutes). We have discussed this ad nauseum here, but countless academic studies (which I value, though much of America seems to no longer place any value in what the eggheads think) have shown that voting irregularities are de minimus. As I have said repeatedly, I wish the conversation was focused on policies that will help ALL Americans and not conspiracy theories and drama.

[rsvman]

The bolded part above is where you lost me. The Republican Administration has used the last several years to politicize and pack the courts (after Mitch blocked appointees for years). I mean they are working overtime right now to approve a 3rd justice to the supreme court (all of whom worked on a team to get Bush elected by shenanigans in Florida back in the day) from a failed president who lost the popular vote by 3 million votes. As we hand away SCOTUS seats to the Brett's and Amy's of the world, we create a diminished court that will NOT step up and do the correct thing...just the "right" thing (where right in this case means the GOP's bidding, now matter how many people vote blue). Right now DT's only path to victory seems judicial.

What has happened during this Trump administration is not what would be typically described as "packing the courts." If Hillary Clinton had won in 2016, and the Democrats controlled both the Senate and the House, do you not think that she would have had three liberal judges appointed to the Supreme Court? Of course she would have. As Joe Biden would say, "C'mon, man!"

[AustinDevil]

What has happened during this Trump administration is not what would be typically described as "packing the courts." If Hillary Clinton had won in 2016, and the Democrats controlled both the Senate and the House, do you not think that she would have had three liberal judges appointed to the Supreme Court? Of course she would have. As Joe Biden would say, "C'mon, man!"

Considering that the Senate leadership was openly stating that they would not confirm her appointees, no, it's not obvious that President Clinton II would have had such appointments. You also pick on the word "packing" which, fine, but the underlying point is real: Obama appointees way beyond Garland were ignored and delayed; Trump appointees have been rushed through at record pace.

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgo...cies-to-trump/

[PackMan97]

50 Cent (aka Curtis Jackson) has withdrawn his endorsement of Trump.

https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-kno...-retraction-of

[bundabergdevil]

I find Politico missed one nightmare scenario that is perhaps the most likely to cause significant unrest and violence, Trump legitimately wins. There are so many groups that have invested so much in seeing Biden win. The polls have been so favorable, for so long for Biden. The early vote so strong and represented by Democrats primarily. I really think the worst scenario is a legitimate Trump win and the stuff will hit the fan as the left refuses to accept another unexpected Trump win and will feel that he stole the election. in return those on the right lose their minds as the left lose their minds and we all descend into madness. This is my "America is weak and fragile" scenario in which we all break into our tribes and see who can do more damage to our once great nation.

I actually worry less about Trump trying to steal the election because I believe or judges and courts will step up and do the right thing, in addition I also think that blatant cheating will lose him the support of many on the right (certainly not all, but enough to make a difference). This is my "America is awesome and resilient" scenario in which we all come together to make sure the usurper leaves.

The result I'm hoping for most is a victory so large it leaves no doubt about the outcome or the will of the people.
Happy morning everyone!

I wouldn't say it's the 'most likely' but I do agree that a legitimate Trump victory will reignite unrest, mostly in the forms of mass protests but also in left fringe groups and individuals w/o political affiliation destroying property and clashing with the police. Further, I worry that if this scenario unfolds, Trump will be emboldened to ratchet up, not try to tone down, the use of violence against any groups, whether protesting or looting, which would send us into a dangerous cycle.

If the election is close, regardless of the outcome, I expect clashes throughout the U.S. So, hoping for a blowout, too.

I disagree that this is the 'most likely' to cause violence and unrest but I'd probably be okay with 'as likely'. I believe we've already seen multiple plots thwarted to kidnap/assassinate Democratic political leaders and, at least where I live, I see/hear an awful lot of violent talk directed at liberals. And the big question mark is whether, if he loses, Trump will actively encourage his followers to take up arms because the election was stolen. There's a reasonable basis for believing he might do this, it's just a question of how many of his supporters might follow him down the rabbit hole. Biden, at least, will try to lower the temperature in the country.

I don't know, it's a depressing conversation to have.

[DukeDude]

We will just have to agree to disagree. My wife has significant experience in court administration and I've personally met a number of judges. From my experience the further up you go, the more concerned about the law judges become. If a law says that naked ballots don't count, I believe in the courts to rule that naked ballots don't count. If the law states ballots shall be counted in a timely fashion, I trust the courts not to make or enforce an arbitrary deadlines that ignores best efforts to get ballots counted if a machine breaks and instead allow voting counting to continue until done. Whether it be the right thing or the left thing, all I ask is for the laws to be followed and we don't end up with more hanging chads and trying to "divine the will of the voter" to decide the outcome of the election. Your fears and attitude are why I worry most about a legitimate Trump win, both sides will feel the other is stealing the election.

This is what concerns me. The law in PA says that each absentee ballot can only be dropped off by the person who is voting, but people are having one person drop off all the ballots from their household at the unmanned drop boxes. The "right" decision could be to invalidate all absentee ballots returned in unmanned drop boxes. The "left" decision could be to count all ballots. There is no middle ground that either side would accept.

The hope for PA is that one candidate wins in a landslide nationwide to make the PA results irrelevant, or that the same candidate wins regardless of what happens with the contested votes.

[bundabergdevil]

50 Cent (aka Curtis Jackson) has withdrawn his endorsement of Trump.

https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-kno...-retraction-of

Boy, he turned on a dime.