The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Raging unemployment. Black Lives Matter protests from coast to coast. A failed photo-op outside the White House. With all of that going on at once, it’s no wonder Donald Trump is shaking in his boots and fearful he may soon be out of a job. That’s why he’s been actively attempting to delegitimize Vote-By-Mail as Plan B, C, and D to save his presidency.
Politics
If the current poll of polls is any indication, Trump’s approval rating has nose-dived to 38% and has him currently trailing Joe Biden by double digits. Even a new Quinnipiac University poll shows Biden as the first Democrat in a generation with a good shot at actually winning Texas. This news has ‘The Donald’ and his handlers looking for an “October Surprise” — which is why they believe an all-out attack against Vote-By-Mail ballots might very well be the trick they’ve been looking for.
For weeks, Trump has been laying the groundwork for his Vote-By-Mail scheme. In May, he named longtime ally and fundraiser Louis DeJoy as the new postmaster general. However, with the postal service set to run out of funds by September and Republicans already hinting they have no desire to save it, DeJoy’s appointment may not matter much. After all, administration officials know the US can’t conduct a Vote-By-Mail election without an active postal service.
Also last month, Trump threatened to withhold federal grants to Michigan and Nevada if those states sent absentee ballots or applications to its voters.
Next. the Republican National Committee filed a lawsuit against the State of California to halt Vote-By-Mail ballots. The move was in response to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order that ballots be sent to all residents in order to assure safety in the event of a 2nd wave of COVID-19.
Then, while we were all paying attention to other news stories, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security were stripped of election security and it’s briefings. That job, thanks to Trump, now belongs to John Ratcliffe, the new director of national intelligence who also just happens to be a longtime Trump ally and a regular defender of ‘The Donald’ on Fox News.
Why is Donald Trump and the GOP so afraid of Americans casting their votes by mail? Why are they so convinced mailed ballots favor Democrats and hurt Republicans?
Those fears are only secondary to the main Trump plot that he’s only staging this Vote-By-Mail challenge so that he can scream holy hell and claim that the results are invalid should he lose in November.
“The United States cannot have all Mail-In Ballots,” Trump tweeted recently. “It will be the greatest Rigged Election in history. People grab them from mailboxes, print thousands of forgeries and ‘force’ people to sign. Also, forge names. Some absentee OK, when necessary. Trying to use Covid for this Scam!” he added.
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There is NO WAY (ZERO!) that Mail-In Ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent. Mail boxes will be robbed, ballots will be forged & even illegally printed out & fraudulently signed. The Governor of California is sending Ballots to millions of people, anyone…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2020
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Interestingly, Trump’s presumed presidential challenger is already well aware of his planned trickery.
“Since 2016, Donald Trump has shown that he is always ready to sacrifice our basic democratic norms for his personal and political interests,” said Bob Bauer, a Biden senior adviser and lawyer for the campaign. “We assume he may well resort to any kind of trick, ploy, or scheme he can in order to hold onto his presidency. We have built a strong program to plan for and address every possibility to ensure that he does not succeed.”
If…IF what I see currently unfolding out there all across this country is *Real*..(?)
And IF the majority (or even a near majority) of Americans who are eligible to vote actually DO vote in Nov. (?)….
Then it won’t matter whether WE voted by mail or in person. Not only will Trump lose in a landslide (or darn near close to a landslide) but the Repubs will lose the Senate and more than their share of down-ballot elections at the state and local levels, as well.
I think most Americans can feel “it” (Our country) slipping away if WE don’t seize the moment to save *Her* and start anew. The moment is Here and Now. It’s all up to Us.
And (as I usually say)…We.Shall.See.