"Joy and pleasure are as real as pain and sorrow and one must learn what they have to teach. . . ." -- Sean Russell, from Gatherer of Clouds

"If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right." -- Helyn D. Goldenberg

"I love you and I'm not afraid." -- Evanescence, "My Last Breath"

“If I hear ‘not allowed’ much oftener,” said Sam, “I’m going to get angry.” -- J.R.R. Tolkien, from Lord of the Rings

Monday, May 25, 2020

Today's Musdt-Read: Election? What Election?

Via Digby, NYT takes a look at the worst-case scenarios and what people are planning to do about them:

In October, President Trump declares a state of emergency in major cities in battleground states, like Milwaukee and Detroit, banning polling places from opening.

A week before the election, Attorney General William P. Barr announces a criminal investigation into the Democratic presidential nominee, Joseph R. Biden Jr.

After Mr. Biden wins a narrow Electoral College victory, Mr. Trump refuses to accept the results, won’t leave the White House and declines to allow the Biden transition team customary access to agencies before the Jan. 20 inauguration.

Far-fetched conspiracy theories? Not to a group of worst-case scenario planners — mostly Democrats, but some anti-Trump Republicans as well — who have been gaming out various doomsday options for the 2020 presidential election.

I'm very confident that the Republicans -- and not just Trump -- will do whatever is necessary to pull a victory out of the hat -- voter suppression, voter intimidation (I believe it's the RNC that plans on having 50,000 "poll watchers" in place -- carrying their AR-15s?), closing polling places in the "wrong" precincts (which, you'll remember, they did in the last election) -- you name it, they'll try it.

Read the whole thing.

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