Show us any differences from then and today, Mr. Trump
NOTE: Before you read this blog and the update that follows below,
please
read this article regarding the restrictions on voters this election cycle.
This is a first in our history of such widespread voter restrictions. The update continues below. I hope this will be both informative and interesting.
(Reader comments are always welcome).
Now the update on a very timely subject, in part from here and with this introduction:
In both tweets and speeches,
Trump has moved from Breitbart-based crazy theories about the Clinton's, to Info
wars-based crazy (Alex Jones) theories about the whole of humanity. The most damaging of these rants are Trump’s
assault on the first amendment, and his increasingly prominent declaration that
election results can’t be trusted. From one of his latest string of tweets:
“Of course there is large scale voter fraud happening on and before Election
Day. Why do Republican leaders deny what is going on? So naive!”
FACT: No study has found
large-scale, or even more-than-minuscule, voter fraud. However, Republicans
have been passing off this idea for years a pretense for voter ID laws, making
this fertile ground for Trump’s conspiracy crop. Donald Trump is going to fall,
he knows it, and he wants to take democracy down with him.
MORE: Trump continues to offer
broad assertions about the potential for voter fraud and the complaints that 9 women
have alleged he sexually accosted them, are part of an effort to smear his
campaign and win for Clinton.
There is no evidence voter
fraud is a widespread problem in the United States. A study by a Loyola Law
School professor found that out of 1 billion votes cast in all American
elections between 2000 and 2014, there were only 31 known cases of
impersonation fraud. (Also, more here from the Brennan
Center for Justice at NYU and from
here and from
here, and from here,
all regarding the myth of voter fraud).
THEN TRUMP SAID THIS WHILE HE
WAS IN NC: “It's one big ugly lie, it's
one big fix. And the only thing I say is hopefully, hopefully, our patriotic
movement will overcome this terrible deception.”
WE HAVE GONE A BRIDGE TO FAR AS
THEY SAY: Trump's supporters appear to be taking his grievances seriously. For
example, about 1/3 of Republicans said they have a great deal or quite a bit of
confidence that votes on Election Day will be counted fairly.
Re: The firebombing of a RNC
HQ office in Hillsborough, NC (pop 6,000) NC (which is Orange County Seat and
home of UNC at Chapel Hill) (pop 133,000). He and Hillary Clinton issued two
contrasting responses to that act which had this graffiti message “Nazi Republicans
leave town or else” left on the building. It inflicted extensive damage to the
office, according to police officials in Hillsborough, but no one was hurt in
the incident. The police are still investigating.
From Hillary Clinton: “The
attack on the Orange County HQ is horrific and unacceptable. We are very grateful
that everyone is safe.”
From Donald Trump (as usual, quick
to assign responsibility for the incident to Clinton supporters, despite a lack
of evidence from authorities, tweeted): “Animals representing Hillary Clinton
and Dems in North Carolina just firebombed our office in Orange County because
we are winning.”
Trump's motivations for stoking
these sentiments seem clear and his tactics or ploy:
1. One of his last hopes of winning the election
is to suppress turnout by making these final weeks so repulsive to voters that
some just stay home.
2. Trump advisers privately say they hope to
turn off young people in particular. This group leans Democratic but doesn't
have a long history of voting and is already skeptical of Clinton.
3. Trump is also likely considering how he would
spin a loss to Clinton, given that he's spent decades cultivating a brand based
on success and winning.
4. His years in public life offer few examples
where he's owned up to his own failings and plenty where he's tried to pass the
blame on to others, as he's now suggesting he would do if he's defeated
The question of course is
simple: Will Trump act the way he implies if he loses or will they accept the
election outcome like we Americans always do? Theories will abound until
Election Day and thereafter for sure.
The public must be prepared
for any “revolt *that Trump talks about and at any level by anyone for any
reason anywhere and at any time. That is hard for me to say and I do not like
to speculate – it is not my nature, but the question is: How many radicals
trust and believe in what Trump is spewing? That is key for any rational person
to ponder.
Thanks for stopping by.
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