John Podesta played Biden in an election war-game, and refused to concede in a scenario that looked

[soothsayer]

Link to tweet

?s=21

Norm Eisen
@NormEisen
I was honored to be a part of these table-top exercises. There were dozens of possible moves on that & the other days across multiple scenarios.

The big takeaway: Trump is positioning himself to behave as authoritarians do.

After the past 4 years I have no doubt about it.


Ben Smith
@benyt
New: John Podesta played Biden in an election war-game, and refused to concede in a scenario that looked a bit like 2016 https://nytimes.com/2020/08/02/business/media/election-coverage.html?smid=tw-share…

[samnsara]

1. if my state of Wash threatened to secede because of trump* i would be all for it..

..i can speak Canadian...

[rzemanfl]

4. The spelling might take a while to get used to though.

[Initech]

14. Only if California and Oregon can join!

[nolabear]

16. Cascadia Forever!!!

[Renew Deal]

2. I don't think I we control enough state delegations in the House to do this.

[Mike 03]

3. It's a good thing that they are doing this; they are not the only group war-gaming

such scenarios. I hope they are including lawyers in these sessions, especially (obviously) Constitutional lawyers, and also taking into account the reactions and actions of leaders of allied countries, because they can play a role as well by immediately recognizing Biden as the POTUS elect.

As these games deepen, maybe they can think about a possible reaction/role of Chief Justice Roberts and former living presidents. Thomas Friedman has been saying for years there could be a vital role for them in the event Trump spins out of control and we face a Constitutional Crisis. (I think we've been in a Constitutional Crisis for two years, but most would disagree.)

[empedocles]

6. Good to see more of these game scenarios. Lot of players, factors, unexpected

dynamics, black swan or two - lot to game.

[Kaleva]

5. Tweet contains factual errors so take it with a grain of salt.

Governors of Wi and Mi have nothing to do with choosing electors.

This tweet by a Ben Smith is outright wrong:

"But Mr. Podesta, playing Mr. Biden, shocked the organizers by
saying he felt his party wouldn't let him concede. Alleging voter
suppression, he persuaded the governors of Wisconsin and
Michigan to send-pro-Biden electors to the Electoral College."

Link to tweet

?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1290095269053227008%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.democraticunderground.com%2F100213847620

The laws of both state prevents the governors of either state from having anything to do with electors.

[Hortensis]

7. Well, the electors to be voted on are chosen by officials

of each party.

Lol. I'm sure none of those in her state who voted for GHW Bush had any idea they were actually voting for a charming, very good looking, and superficially "normal" friend of ours, a saleswoman/snake dancer with long red hair.

Far left before (nursed her son for 5 years because that was a fad then for those prone to extremism in all things), dabbled in various mystic religions, helped destroy the new Green Party before it could get started, and over time continued her (typical) dysfunctional progression to the far right. By then we'd lost direct contact but got a kick out of learning someone too unreliable to trust to feed your pets over a weekend was a Reagan delegate to the 1984 Republican convention and later had somehow managed to get herself appointed to the Republican slate of electors.

[Kaleva]

9. In Mi., electors are chosen by party conventions held throughout the state.

[Hortensis]

10. Umhm. Better than some ways, but I doubt local

powers fail to get their choices elected very often, and when governors express their preferences?

Not saying I don't agree with you on not swallowing everything whole, because I definitely do. But it had occurred that "governors" could just be shorthand for party dynamics, which in the Republican Party tend to be pretty strongly hierarchical.

That's what I was thinking of when I got distracted into wondering where and what our old ex-friend is now.

[Kaleva]

12. Tweet in OP is suggesting a Repub vitory in Mi. but Biden convinces Whitmer to select Biden electors

A scenario that laws in Michigan prohibit from happening as the governor has nothing to do with electors. Neither does the state legislature.

[Fiendish Thingy]

11. And in MI, it's the SOS, cutting out the Republican legislature

Yes, I have some concerns about this war gaming using inaccurate facts and variables.

John Podesta? That’s enough to question the whole scenario.

[Kaleva]

13. Each party that has a candidate for president on the state ballot submits names for electors.

These names are submitted to the state SOS. When the state SOS certifies the winner, the electors chosen by the party of the winning candidate are appointed the electors of the state.

[Me.]

8. Neither The White House Or Senate Have A Say

Biden would be sworn in and the Secret Service would be obliged to escort him in

[Hekate]

15. Fascinating. I am glad they are seriously considering these scenarios.