Just got off the phone with a hysterical friend who is convinced Trump will

[Maraya1969]

be able to steal this election. She mentioned this article, (which was posted here but only got 3 votes and not much attention)

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/11/what-if-trump-refuses-concede/616424/


I was telling her that our representatives know what he is trying to do and not to worry because I do not believe that they will ever allow another election to be stolen, especially after 2000 and 2016.

So has this article been reviewed here and talked about and should I freak out the way she is freaking out?

Here are some paragraphs from the article:

"Trump’s state and national legal teams are already laying the groundwork for postelection maneuvers that would circumvent the results of the vote count in battleground states. Ambiguities in the Constitution and logic bombs in the Electoral Count Act make it possible to extend the dispute all the way to Inauguration Day, which would bring the nation to a precipice. The Twentieth Amendment is crystal clear that the president’s term in office “shall end” at noon on January 20, but two men could show up to be sworn in. One of them would arrive with all the tools and power of the presidency already in hand.

“We are not prepared for this at all,” Julian Zelizer, a Prince­ton professor of history and public affairs, told me. “We talk about it, some worry about it, and we imagine what it would be. But few people have actual answers to what happens if the machinery of democracy is used to prevent a legitimate resolution to the election.”



Maybe you hesitate. Is it a fact that if Trump loses, he will reject defeat, come what may? Do we know that? Technically, you feel obliged to point out, the proposition is framed in the future conditional, and prophecy is no man’s gift, and so forth. With all due respect, that is pettifoggery. We know this man. We cannot afford to pretend.

Trump’s behavior and declared intent leave no room to suppose that he will accept the public’s verdict if the vote is going against him. He lies prodigiously—to manipulate events, to secure advantage, to dodge accountability, and to ward off injury to his pride. An election produces the perfect distillate of all those motives."

[Drunken Irishman]

1. This article was posted multiple times when it came out and created a panic.

You're lucky you missed that week because this place was unbearable.

[Mike 03]

5. +1

[Maraya1969]

8. I probably didn't because I am here everyday. But I forget shit and when

someone is hysterical and trying to convince me that they are right to be hysterical I sometimes buy into it against my better judgement.

I am of the belief that our Democratic reps have no more fucks to give and would not let this orange ass steal anything and if he tried they would do everything possible to stop him

[cwydro]

12. I'm the opposite.

Hysteria turns me right off. I can’t listen to anything coming from a hysterical person.

[brush]

2. 2004 was also stolen in Ohio by SOS Blackburn.

[hlthe2b]

3. This is Laurence Tribe's response to this. He is among or perhaps THE best constitutional scholar.

The entire article is important to read--perhaps several times.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100214171453

[Statistical]

10. This. This. This.

Tribe goes into great detail. Everyone who thinks Trump is "going to steal the election" should be required to read this first.

Stealing the election talk is a good way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. If Trump is "going to" steal the election then your vote doesn't matter so why bother voting so then Trump just wins the old fashion way.

[crickets]

14. Excellent advice. Great article. nt

[SharonClark]

4. The article has been posted and discussed

several times on DU. It scares people but the best thing to do at this point is vote. Pelosi has spoken about it so hopefully the Dems will have a plan.

[MagickMuffin]

6. Best Advice VOTE do not allow them to distract us from our mission

VOTE THEM OUT!

VOTE THEM OUT!

VOTE THEM OUT!

[TheRealNorth]

9. +1

[TheRealNorth]

7. Yes, this article has been discussed

I think the reception here on DU is mixed. Some feel the threat is overblown, some take it seriously. I think I am more in the concerned camp, partially because I have some conservative relatives that always racists, but have become wackadoos, and I see or hear what they post on social media.

To me, if Trump and the GOP have the intent to steal the election. I am going to vote and make them steal it. And I plan to be at least somewhat prepared for anything that happens after that.

[OnDoutside]

11. You should watch Airplane with her...that'll calm her down !!!

[Crunchy Frog]

13. There is reason for concern, but not for hysteria.

Yes, this article and its implications has been discussed at length here.

The overall consensus is that the Biden campaign is well aware of these threats and has a large team who will be working out how to deal with any contingencies that may arise.

EVERYBODY working with or supporting the campaign agrees that the most important thing that WE can do is to vote and make sure that other pro democracy people vote as well.

The more decisively that Biden wins this election, the more difficult it will be for Trump to fuck around with the results. So tell your friend to get ahold of herself and figure out when and how to vote, and do it, and do what she can to help others vote as well.

[Hassler]

15. If I get Tribe right, if the governors of PA, NC, MI, WI (all Dems) certify

Biden as their state's winner, Chump can go pound sand.

[BlueWavePsych]

16. Yup, I just remind myself of this every time.

Governors of PA, NC, MI, WI (all Dems) will certify