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Rigging the Election
Author: BobR    Date: 10/26/2016 13:09:35

tRump knows he is going to lose this election. He's seen the polls, he knows he blew the debates... He is a consummate used-car salesman, however, and has too much invested in his own ego to admit it. So - he's been lying to his supporters, telling them he's ahead in the polls (he isn't), and claiming that the only way Hillary Clinton could win is by "rigging the election". He never really explains how that would be done, and he doesn't have to. His supporters aren't big on details - they only want to know that they will have their choice stolen from them by an evil group that will be lording over them with access to healthcare, treating non-whites fairly, and having - *gasp* - a GURL in charge. tRump is salting the earth on his way out of town as a last sour-grapes "fuck you" to the electoral system that he couldn't wheel and deal to his advantage.

The claim is laughable, because it's always been the Republicans trying to rig the vote - primarily by denying the ability to vote to those who are likely to vote Democratic. Here at FourFreedomsBlog, we've written about that here, here, here, and here (and those are just the ones I was able to find quickly). VoterID laws, purging large swaths of people from the voter rolls, making voter registration painful, and reducing the number of voting machines in Democractic-voting precincts are all tactics they've used in the past. A lot of those tactics have been challenged in court and deemed unconstitutional, but they still try.

What's amazing is when they are so blatant about it. Green Bay Wisconsin - the state's largest city - has refused to open an early-voting location close to the university, ostensibly because of the cost. Privately, though, a city clerk had another reason:
But privately Teske gave a different reason for opposing an early-voting site at UW–Green Bay, writing that student voting would benefit the Democratic Party. “UWGB is a polling location for students and residents on Election Day but I feel by asking for this to be the site for early voting is encouraging the students to vote more than benefiting the city as a whole,” she wrote on August 26 in an e-mail to David Buerger, counsel at the Wisconsin Ethics Commission. “I have heard it said that students lean more toward the democrats…. I have spoken with our Chief of Staff and others at City Hall and they agree that budget wise this isn’t going to happen. Do I have an argument about it being more of a benefit to the democrats?”

Her claim is that they can't do anything that favors one party over the other. I would counter that her job is to do what is necessary to allow as many people to vote (regardless of party affiliation) with as little trouble as practically possible. That means more access and/or options in areas with greater concentrations of people who are trying to vote.

Down in Florida, it's a different story. The governor tried to toss out tens of thousands of mailed-in ballots for the flimsiest of reasons:
Florida’s Democratic Party filed a lawsuit asserting that thousands of vote-by-mail ballots were rejected each election, because the voter’s ballot envelope and the registration file signatures do not match. Without a signature, Florida law says that a vote-by-mail ballot cannot be counted.

The lawsuit says that Florida county canvassing boards in the 2012 presidential election rejected over 23,000 votes. Anyone who forgets to sign their ballot can sign it. But when those signatures do not match, the lawsuit says they should have that same right to make sure their signatures match.
[...]
Those who use mail-in ballots tend to be elderly with health issues that affect their signature, making it hard to sign the ballots perfectly. The standard for the dual signatures is so high, that it looks like an excuse to toss legitimate ballots.

Elderly people in Florida? Shocking, I know.

Still - these two stories perfectly encapsulate two tactics used by Republicans to rig elections: Prevent people from voting, and create reasons not to count the votes of those who do. There's nothing the Clinton campaign or the Democrats can do that comes anywhere close to this kind of massive voter fraud. But like I said - tRump supporters aren't interested in details. They just want someone to hate, and blame for their lot in life.

BONUS CLICK: Four ways tRump supporters may harass you at the polls, and what you can do about it
 

23 comments (Latest Comment: 10/26/2016 23:10:26 by Raine)
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Comment by Raine on 10/26/2016 13:22:12
good morning!

This made me giggle this morning. Regarding the ribbon cutting on t_rumps hotel today....
A few seats away from the Buckley-ite at the bar Tuesday night, another gentleman sat with his younger, heavily made-up date, who scrolled through her glitter-encased iPhone looking at her own selfies while he yammered on, ordering champagne, tasting it, and then asking for a different one.

The chairs, she remarked, were “so slutty.”

The man introduced her to the bartender with a smirk. “This is my cousin,” he said, remarking that he’d been in the previous night with a different cousin. “I have a lot of cousins.”

The man, the woman and the bartender all laughed. “They don’t know the sort of clientele they’re gonna get here,” the man said.



Comment by BobR on 10/26/2016 13:49:34
BLOG IS POSTED - please refresh

Comment by Raine on 10/26/2016 13:59:47
Good morning again!

I'm so damn over this election. There are rumblings that if PA is close, t-Rump is going to ask for a recount.

PA and the other states without paper ballots are the ones that will still give us trouble. I wish that ALL states would just move to optical scanners already.

and I want that horrible man to Go Away!

Comment by Scoopster on 10/26/2016 14:07:09
Mornin' all..

Comment by Mondobubba on 10/26/2016 14:09:26
Quote by Raine:
good morning!

This made me giggle this morning. Regarding the ribbon cutting on t_rumps hotel today....
A few seats away from the Buckley-ite at the bar Tuesday night, another gentleman sat with his younger, heavily made-up date, who scrolled through her glitter-encased iPhone looking at her own selfies while he yammered on, ordering champagne, tasting it, and then asking for a different one.

The chairs, she remarked, were “so slutty.”

The man introduced her to the bartender with a smirk. “This is my cousin,” he said, remarking that he’d been in the previous night with a different cousin. “I have a lot of cousins.”

The man, the woman and the bartender all laughed. “They don’t know the sort of clientele they’re gonna get here,” the man said.



That made me laugh. I am not surprised.

Comment by Raine on 10/26/2016 14:11:29
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Raine:
good morning!

This made me giggle this morning. Regarding the ribbon cutting on t_rumps hotel today....
A few seats away from the Buckley-ite at the bar Tuesday night, another gentleman sat with his younger, heavily made-up date, who scrolled through her glitter-encased iPhone looking at her own selfies while he yammered on, ordering champagne, tasting it, and then asking for a different one.

The chairs, she remarked, were “so slutty.”

The man introduced her to the bartender with a smirk. “This is my cousin,” he said, remarking that he’d been in the previous night with a different cousin. “I have a lot of cousins.”

The man, the woman and the bartender all laughed. “They don’t know the sort of clientele they’re gonna get here,” the man said.



That made me laugh. I am not surprised.
it reminded me of this:





Comment by Mondobubba on 10/26/2016 14:14:22
Victoria Gotti's got no use for Trump.



“No, definitely not for Trump, a full of himself spoiled rich brat.”
She said she will be voting for Hillary Clinton, though “I am so disappointed by the choice.” She added, “my man is Joe Biden, ‘Class act.’”


Comment by Raine on 10/26/2016 14:27:59
Quote by Mondobubba:
Victoria Gotti's got no use for Trump.



“No, definitely not for Trump, a full of himself spoiled rich brat.”
She said she will be voting for Hillary Clinton, though “I am so disappointed by the choice.” She added, “my man is Joe Biden, ‘Class act.’”
That was awesome!





Comment by Raine on 10/26/2016 14:32:08
Regarding the story in yesterday blog, the DoD has suspended collecting National Guard Bonus'
Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter said Tuesday he has ordered the Pentagon to suspend its efforts to collect payment from California Army National Guard soldiers who were told to return their enlistment bonuses.

Carter announced a number of steps to resolve the cases of thousands of soldiers who collectively received millions of dollars in bonuses at the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but then were told years later that the money had to be repaid.


Comment by Mondobubba on 10/26/2016 14:34:45
Mala, something else to to stoke the Joss Whedon love.

It’s fitting that instead of facing off against a man, she is facing off against maleness,” says Whedon. “She is campaigning against the male id—all the worst of toxic masculinity in this country. This huge fart, this empty skin that’s filled with gaseous hate, is a kind of Halloween monster of man.


Comment by wickedpam on 10/26/2016 14:41:03
Quote by Mondobubba:
Mala, something else to to stoke the Joss Whedon love.

It’s fitting that instead of facing off against a man, she is facing off against maleness,” says Whedon. “She is campaigning against the male id—all the worst of toxic masculinity in this country. This huge fart, this empty skin that’s filled with gaseous hate, is a kind of Halloween monster of man.



Love the Whedon and love the Save the Date Pac



Morning all.

Comment by Will in Chicago on 10/26/2016 14:51:20
Good morning, bloggers!!! I hope that everyone is well.

I fear that some of Trump's supporters will not accept the results of the election and turn to violence. His words may well stir those of a paranoid bent to see a conspiracy, and cast themselves in imagined historic roles. I would urge the Clinton campaign and the Democrats to be careful.

Comment by Raine on 10/26/2016 15:02:32
Comment by Raine on 10/26/2016 15:03:59

It's sorta wierd becuase that information has been avaible on Fred Trump's wikipedia page for a long time.

Comment by Will in Chicago on 10/26/2016 15:13:28



I am not surprised. I live just a few miles from the Illinois state line, Kirk comes across as an exaggerator who makes embarrassing statements. I hope that Tammy Duckworth trounces him.

Comment by Raine on 10/26/2016 15:16:47
Can he get any more deplorable? It seems the answer is yes.

Comment by Mondobubba on 10/26/2016 15:20:51
Quote by Raine:
Can he get any more deplorable? It seems the answer is yes.



Ugh. I saw that yesterday. I had to take shower of bleach and lye soap.


Comment by BobR on 10/26/2016 15:49:20
Quote by Will in Chicago:



I am not surprised. I live just a few miles from the Illinois state line, Kirk comes across as an exaggerator who makes embarrassing statements. I hope that Tammy Duckworth trounces him.

She was already 10 points ahead of him

Comment by livingonli on 10/26/2016 16:51:26
Keith Olbermann has a good take on this in his latest GQ video.

Comment by Raine on 10/26/2016 18:14:36
Quote by livingonli:
Keith Olbermann has a good take on this in his latest GQ video.

HE's been so awesome.

I hope that GQ keeps him after the election. This is really a perfect platform for him.

Comment by TriSec on 10/26/2016 22:19:20
I am a poll worker here in this city - should I see a Trump Troll anywhere near my station, I won't be above taking a swing at one and having them escorted to the legal minimum distance for campaign workers. (400 feet from a polling station in this Commonwealth.)

Comment by Raine on 10/26/2016 23:10:26
Quote by TriSec:
I am a poll worker here in this city - should I see a Trump Troll anywhere near my station, I won't be above taking a swing at one and having them escorted to the legal minimum distance for campaign workers. (400 feet from a polling station in this Commonwealth.)

That makes you a patriot IMO.