Guest View: GOP’s Decades-Long Attempts to Rig Elections With Stupid Laws Bit Them in the Ass in 2020
One of Frank Report’s favorite commenters, Erasend, did not particularly care for the article Fred: On the Taboo Topic of Possible Election Fraud. Here is what Erasend wrote: “Frank, I am fully aware you are a pro-Trump Republican who takes pride in your version of ‘fair.’ You faked it with the two “Trans” articles, where one was kind of pro (depending on how you chose to look at it) and the other clearly anti.
“I know you like to pretend-post pro and con things to support ‘fair.’ With the election fraud issue, you failed to post a ‘why-the-election-was- not-rigged’ article. Might want to get on that to maintain your pseudo- ‘fairness.'”
OK, Erasend, I will heed your advice and publish a ‘fair” story on the other side of the rigged election debate, In fact, I am going to publish your story. As I said in my introduction to Fred’s the-election-seemed-rigged story, I do not know the first thing about election fraud and have no opinion on it. I do think it’s fascinating that, as Americans, we cannot have a civil debate on what could be a monumental issue – the integrity of elections.
If it was rigged, let’s try to prove it and if it was not, let us ease the minds of millions of people who think it was rigged. Meantime, Erasend brings a dimension to the debate: Did the GOP dig their own grave thinking only they should be permitted to suppress votes and prevent recounts and in a sense prevent detection of rigged elections?
I don’t know.
Erasend assumes I am a pro-Trump Republican. I am not. If I was in the past, I am not any longer. Though Donald Trump supports many good ideas, I think he also supports many bad ideas. I find it disappointing that he is so divisive. I am politically neutral now and hope to remain that way as long as I live. I am very interested in supporting debate and encouraging readers to actively participate.
By Erasend
Per usual, the GOP crazies ignore that their “stories” of election fraud are coming from GOP-controlled states, with GOP-controlled governors, GOP-controlled statehouses, GOP-controlled election officials.
But sure the Dems put in the fix.
They also forget that it was GOP laws that prevented some of the demanded recounts. Laws put in after 2000 when they thought recounts might hurt them rather than help them. (I remember a certain Supreme Court case that blocked a critical recount from then).
Then we have the ultimate example of Arizona where recounts were done I think four or 5 times now, even by a GOP-owned group, who also came to the same conclusion – Trump won. It practically killed them to do it but had to. Again and again the recounts confirmed the results. Never mind the down ballots often went GOP way. Seems stupid to rig an election and not use it as cover to get overwhelming control of the Senate while at it. Must have slipped their minds to coordinate this grand nationwide conspiracy and forget to flip just 10 more seats for a super majority. (Ever notice that GOP conspiracies require the perpetrators to be both tactical geniuses and stupid at the same time).
Notice also this and other idiots are really just regurgitating the orange one with “I saw” and “I never.” None based on fact. Also none based on the unprecedented amount of mail-in votes that they keep ignoring. Forgetting that Trump et al DEMANDED that Republicans NOT use mail-in ballots. Some states allowed them to be counted before election night, others during the day of the election, you know logical times to do such things. But in GOP land, nope, let’s throw logic out the door and their own laws, usually require mail-in ballots to be counted LAST.
What happened was simple – GOP’s own attempts of the last 30 years to rig elections with stupid laws to try and prevent them from losing bit them massively in the ass in 2020. They never thought there would be mass use of mail-in ballots (which is why they are outlawing them now); they never thought that they would need recounts. They figured that was a Democrat tactic. And they really thought if anyone cried election fraud, they would find only Democrats doing it (so far.)
Talking like 5 votes or so out of the 150 million-plus cast, or in GOP circles what they consider that “all the votes”. Amazing thing that a margin of error on things like people dying of say COVID or children of mass shooting at school falls under “no big deal, nothing should be done” but voter fraud is in the realm of .0025% and suddenly it is something that is an emergency where every signature, every piece of paper and every law should re-written. Unless they win of course (see that lack of complaints about this year's results which were effectively counted by the same people as last year's results). The hypocrisy is real – it's only fraud if my team loses.
As for Frank's “If it was rigged, let’s try to prove it and if it was not, let us ease the minds of millions of people who think it was rigged”. There is nothing but proof that it wasn't rigged. Gobs of it from experts, tacticians, from the people that actually did the count, from GOP paid groups whose only job was to prove it was rigged and failed. The other side's only proof is “I saw as the results came in, I didn't believe them!!” and “Because Trump said so.” And yet people like you keep putting the onus on convincing the other side.
There is no argument, no law, no action, no stat that is going to convince them otherwise when their rich gods spent over a year convincing them they are right and the “facts” are literally just repeating “this election was rigged” over and over every time the polling doesn't look good for them. It's technically a failure of leadership except that leadership spent the last 20 years training their followers to see them as demi-gods anointed by God and thus divine. Somewhere along the way, the whole “You shall have no other gods before Me” became “You shall have no other gods before Me unless rich and Republican.”
They are supposed to be stewards of democracy but instead do the political math, don't benefit from going “yeah your being dumb”, and instead lean into it for the financial windfall in donations every time they ape the conspiracy. It tells you how bad GOP leadership is when they are willing to throw democracy under the bus if they get money and power out of it. The Reagan GOP of 40 years ago would have said “Hell no” to this but then Reagan would be considered a RINO by today's standards. When half the population looks at voting and genuinely believes it shouldn't be done anymore except by a chosen few, then democracy is dead. The time of death just hadn't been called yet.