Why the failed effort to disenfranchise Michigan voters matters

[babylonsister]

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/why-failed-effort-disenfranchise-michigan-voters-matters-n1248097


Why the failed effort to disenfranchise Michigan voters matters
The fact that the disenfranchisement plan in Michigan fell apart doesn't make Team Trump's endorsement of the plan any less offensive.
Nov. 18, 2020, 8:40 AM EST
By Steve Benen


As a rule, there's little interest in local vote-certification processes. However, in Michigan last night, there was quite a bit more drama than there should've been, which in turn generated all kinds of interest. The Associated Press reported:

In an abrupt about-face, Michigan's largest county on Tuesday night unanimously certified election results showing Democrat Joe Biden defeating President Donald Trump, hours after Republicans first blocked formal approval of voters' intentions. The initial move was quickly condemned by Democrats, election experts and spectators at the Wayne County Board of Canvassers online meeting as a dangerous attempt to block the results of a free and fair election.

By any fair measure, the initial gambit from Republicans on Wayne County's elections board was indefensible: GOP members refused to certify local election results because they didn't like the outcome. As the New York Times noted, this was, "in essence, an effort to disenfranchise large numbers of Americans."

snip//

But it's just as important to acknowledge just how far the president and his allies are willing to go to attack our democracy. Robert Kelner, a leading Republican election lawyer, used words like "shameful," "dishonorable," and "lawless," before condemning the partisan antics as "antithetical to the founding values of the Republican Party and our Republic."

There may be a temptation among some to think this was a crisis averted: GOP officials tried to engage in a ridiculous abuse, faced swift pushback, and backed down. All's well that ends well.

The truth, however, is that Americans saw a would-be autocratic president and his lawyer celebrate the attempted abuse. The fact that the plan fell apart doesn't make Team Trump's endorsement of the plan any less offensive.

[Cha]

1. Hell Yes It Matters! TY Steve Benen!

[SWBTATTReg]

2. And I hope that these two GOP poll workers who refused to follow the law and certify the election

results are fired from their 'everyday' jobs if they have any. They damaged themselves I think during this whole situation, revealing to all what racists they are, in that they were willing to certify the suburb election results if the election results of the city were excluded. Despicable.

[Wounded Bear]

3. We've been ignoring this kind of shit for far too long...

The price of freedom is never ending vigilance. Or something like that.

[abqtommy]

4. Chant: HEY HEY, HO HO! Send The reTHUGS To Gitmo!

In chains...