It is not just about the Polls

[Nancy Waterman]

This is a very astute tweet from Bill Kristol.

You look at the polls and think "he can't win." But Trump's path to victory doesn't depend on persuading Americans. It depends on voter suppression, mass disinformation, foreign interference, and unabashed use of executive branch power to shape events, and perceptions, this fall.


We make a mistake just looking at the polls. If everyone who wants to vote, votes and is counted, Trump loses in a landslide. But think of the Georgia primary multiplied into 20 minority districts in battleground states; think of the capacity of Republican legislatures, secretaries of state and governors to wipe people from the voting rolls; think of the salivating Russians looking for another four years of Trump weakening Western institutions and alliances; think of the right wing provocations of unrest that "necessitate" a military suppression or a national emergency. Trump and his minions have many tools to use to cheat and steal the election. We need to be hyper-vigilant and plan ahead meticulously.

[guillaumeb]

1. Recommended.

The GOP depends on low turnout, and cheating. The cheating aids in creating a low turnout.

[Demsrule86]

6. Despite the efforts in GA...many many more people voted then usual. We will turn out and

toss out the orange murderer.

[cry baby]

2. Now is the time to make plans...plan A, plan B, plan C, etc. nt

[empedocles]

3. Absolutely

[Squinch]

4. There are those who would like us to pretend that none of those things are actually

happening and if we are just really, really cheerful about polls, we will win. They insist that anything less than joyous celebration about polls is equivalent to saying "Trump will win and nothing can stop it."

They are imbeciles. We need to be acutely aware of each area where the republicans are going to cheat, and we need to do everything we can to counteract those efforts.

We can't win any swing state by 3 percent. We have to win by 7, 8, 10 percent or more. Enough so that a few changed votes will not make a difference. Otherwise, we will have 4 more years of this hell.

Once we get in, we can do what we need to make elections safe again. But right now they most definitely are not. We ignore that fact at our own peril.

[dalton99a]

5. Kick

[Doreen]

7. I keep trying to point that out.

The last election was not won by a vote. The last election was stolen through misinformation and outside influence. I think it is nice that there are more people going to Democrat but it does not matter. We need people out there continously fighting for the truth and disabling outside influence.

[Wounded Bear]

8. All good reasons to keep our eyes on the prize...

and not get complacent.

[Sugarcoated]

9. Do you have link to that?

I want to share this quote on my FB feed but always like to include a link to source.

[Glorfindel]

12. I think this is it, Sugarcoated

Link to tweet

[yaesu]

10. China & russian are firmly on tRumps side, not because he kisses their butts, which he does

but because they know 4 more years of tRump will finish off this country & its alliances, china & russia want to fill the void when he does. They will use citizens united & our weakened cyber defenses to help tRump get reelected.

[BamaRefugee]

11. SO WHAT DO WE DO??? I am so sick and tired of hundreds of warnings from pundits, scholars,

politicians, et al, wringing their hands about this but:
NOT A SINGLE ONE OF THEM HAS A SOLUTION.

I don't think any of us have needed more warnings since 2017 or so, we need ANSWERS.

I think if there were any we would have heard them by now.

Impeachment certainly didn't work.

[lagomorph777]

14. +1 What action shall we take? Just be afraid?

Is massive turnout the key? Can we solve this with phone-banking etc?

[BannonsLiver]

15. That's sort of where I'm at

What’s the solution? And when does something that nobody offers a solution for become something that discourages people from bothering to vote at all if it’s fixed anyway?

[CountMyVote4Reality]

13. Voter suppression is the game. Tomorrow's KY primary only has 170 polling spots for the whole state.

https://www.democracynow.org/2020/6/22/headlines/kentucky_slashes_95_of_polling_places_ahead_of_primary_election

https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/22/politics/kentucky-poll-locations/index.html

[peggysue2]

16. Kristol--who I rarely agree with--is 100% correct

As Dems we need to act as if Joe Biden were 10 points down because Trump and his enablers don't care about a clean or fair election. They will do everything in their capacity to steal the vote.

That was true in 2016 and it's 10x as true for 2020. These people are at risk, criminally and financially. They'll be pulling out the stops without a hiccup of hesitation.

Eyes wide open and vote, vote, vote.

[BamaRefugee]

18. That's not really the answer. VOTE VOTE VOTE and Biden has 20 million more than trump, but trump

still wins the electoral college??
I think the answer is do everything we can to FOCUS ON THE CRUCIAL FEW STATES, we know what states Biden is going to win in a runaway already.

So how do we help in those swing states?

[peggysue2]

19. Maybe I should have said vote, vote, vote everywhere

Because, of course, you're right about the swing states, the electoral college and the lessons from 2016. That being said, I expect the breaking of norms when it comes to voting integrity to be even worse in November because Trump and Republicans have been breaking laws in full daylight. They just don't care any longer. Look what they're doing in Kentucky.

It's all about getting away with whatever they can, using the influence of their cronies carefully installed into critical areas and winning. At all costs. We'll need eagle-eyed people on the ground at all venues. Biden and his campaign are fully aware of the shenanigans coming down the track; they've said as much as a heads up.

So I would still say Eyes Wide Open and vote, vote, vote . . . everywhere. But yes, concentrate on the swing states that Dems lost last time out, specifically WI, MI, and PA. And rack up as many others as we possibly can.

[BamaRefugee]

20. Totally agree

[lastlib]

17. We MUST not make the mistake that this will be a re-run of 2008 or 2012!

I have every reason to believe that tRumpski/Putin & Wrecking Crew are planning election theft on a GALACTIC scale! GOPhers at state levels--governors, secretaries of state, etc.--will pull every trick in the universe out of their asses to thwart the will of the true electorate.

Between now and Nov. 3rd, we need to be pounding the pavement to get EVERY Dem-leaning voter in the USA to the voting booth, so that the landslide is insurmountable. We need to be in every legislature and statehouse to block legal manipulation. We need to be in every precinct and every county seat and state capital to make sure votes are COUNTED CORRECTLY! And on Nov. 4th (and thereafter as needed) we need to be ready to hit the streets to scream and protest (and riot if necessary) at EVERY attempt at GOPee fraud and theft. And on January 20th, 2021, we need to be en masse at 1600 Penn (Black Lives Matter Avenue) to drag his corpulent carcass OUT of our White House!

This is WAR, people. Mount up.

[smirkymonkey]

21. +1000

[live love laugh]

22. Replace "Trump" with "Republicans" and everything Kristol said holds true. It's the whole party.

Hopefully we can vote them all out.

[Lock him up.]

23. They tried all that in November 2018.

All of them.

Surprise!

Historic Blue Wave...

Let's make it a Historic Blue Tsunami this time!

GOTV

Then lock him up in a padded cell.

[kentuck]

24. Kristol is absolutely right.

The polls should not give anyone any comfort.

[Cha]

25. Thank you for this Important PSA, Nancy!

I've been wondering how you see the election going?

It's hard to tell with all the Cheating going on like last time.

[Cha]

26. This needs to keep getting KICKED!

TY Nancy Waterman!

[Cha]

27. K