Hoyt
Hoyt's JournalUnfortunately, that is not exactly what happened. The "fake electors" weren't really billed as
being official, that is from the state agency responsible for official electoral votes, usually the Secretary of State.
The letters accompanying the list of electors weren't sent with fake letterhead, seal, etc., to appear as coming from an official source. Didn't read all of them, but the letters essentially said, "If for some reason, you do not accept the 'official electors,' here is a list of people we would like you to consider (followed by a bunch of trump lovers)."
So, why would they think enough Electoral Votes would not be accepted? Well, on Jan 6, 2017, seven Democratic Representatives tried to challenge trump's electoral votes just like GOPers in 2021 (sans the attack on the Capitol). It didn't work in 2017 because then VP Biden properly shut the them down. (We would have been better off if trump was not installed, but that's another matter.)
So, they didn't really commit fraud because they never tried to pass off the electors as official. Immoral, Unethical, should be a law, etc., all apply. But probably not criminal.
Link to 2017 challenge: https://www.cnn.com/2017/01/06/politics/electoral-college-vote-count-objections/index.html
If trump runs in 2024 -- which is highly unlikely, IMO -- we are going to have to beat him at the polls unless they have other evidence. Even, if he doesn't run, someone like him will.
A lot of the Democratic races are unopposed, or weakly opposed-- Like Stacey Abrams is a shoo-in.
Well, to be fair they had loses in 2020. Here's what Paul Krugman says about gouging and inflation:
"Now, what about price-gouging? Elizabeth Warren and other Democrats have been arguing that some companies are taking advantage of an inflationary economy to increase markups, making inflation worse. Many economists disagree, which is a defensible position. But the vitriolic nature of their attacks — talking about gouging is like prescribing ivermectin or injecting bleach — is weirdly over the top, and should provoke some self-reflection"Consider three positions.
1. Gouging is the main cause of inflation
2. Gouging could be a contributory factor
3. Gouging cannot possibly be a cause of inflation, and anyone saying otherwise is ignorant and dangerous
"Position #1 is clearly wrong — but I don’t know any prominent figure who holds it. On the other hand, position #3 is also dubious economics. Gouging is probably a small factor, but it could be *a* factor. Why the vitriol?
"How can gouging cause inflation? Even if corps have monopoly power, weren’t they already exploiting it to the max, so that it caused high but not *rising* prices? Well, let’s get wonky and learn from labor economics. Many economists who study the evolution of wages — for example the Great Compression of the 1940s, which lasted for decades — end up invoking the role of “norms”. But how can these matter in the face of supply and demand. One answer is that when a wage (or price) setter has market power, small deviations from the profit-maximizing price have only second-order effects on profits
"This in turn implies that seemingly small considerations — like fear of customer or political backlash — can inhibit firms from charging or paying what the traffic will bear. E.g., firms don’t cut wages in recessions bc they worry about morale. And firms sometimes hesitate to raise prices, at least visibly — hence the phenomenon of shrinkflation, where you make stuff smaller rather than hike prices.
"But there will be less backlash if lots of other prices are also going up, so it’s not at all crazy to suggest that some corps are feeling freer than usual to exploit their market power, adding to inflation. How big a factor is this? We have no idea. But the venom with which some economists and commentators are rejecting the very possibility is puzzling and disturbing. It would be one thing if Dems were doing a Hugo Chavez, and demanding that the Fed roll the presses while we use price controls to suppress inflation. But they aren’t; heck, they aren’t even doing a Richard Nixon.
"Even the Warren bill, while it would require large firms to offer explanations for price hikes, is far short of a true price control measure. If you think that would be too intrusive, OK. But the anti-anti-price gouging rhetoric I’m hearing is bizarrely over the top. With everything else going on, why get so worked up about this issue? Something isn’t right here . . . . . . .
https://twitter.com/paulkrugman/status/1525837302668443649
Guess it's time to bash Paul Krugman too.
I don't understand the "bombshell fashion" stuff. This is a Congressional Hearing,
ostensibly. I fear a backlash if it’s seen as a political hit.
And, I trust Biden and DOJ to finesse this thing.
Think it is best shot to get trump. It was blatant and taped, although not sure threats were much
more than implied.
I am concerned whether the Fulton County (essentially Atlanta) DA will -- or can -- put all the resources needed into convicting trump. It's just getting started, but they are already having to block off roads near the court house. The city is facing serious crime issues, there is a new Atlanta Mayor, etc.
While Fulton County went 73% for Biden in 2021, the state was a lot closer. Every year the few blue meccas in the state and the rube red areas wrangle over money, who should run the Airport (a BFD), whether state should take over law enforcement from Atlanta, education, etc.
But maybe the evidence here is so simple that it actually gets trump to court. How long it will take to wind through is anyone's guess, but it'll be awhile. Will be interesting, that's for sure.
Just read this story about him. I worked in a situation like this once and loved every minute.
Circa 2010, as Tesla was developing its first mass-market car, the Model S sedan, engineers on the project would occasionally hitch rides from Los Angeles to Silicon Valley on Musk’s private jet. On one such trip, an engineer recalled asking Musk his opinion on the sedan’s suspension – should it be sporty like a BMW, or more cushy like a Lexus?
“I’m going to sell a f*** load of cars, so whatever suspension you need so I can sell a f*** load of cars – that’s the suspension I want,” Musk replied according to the engineer.
I'm with Democrats who believe fighting gerrymandering with gerrymandering
is wrong.
Others apparently think gerrymandering is bad only when it favors GOPers. I’d agree that if you gotta error, error on side of Democrats. But, even Democrats admit this was not an error.
This is good example of why stuff being "uncovered" recently will not lead to criminal charges.
Meadows wrote back, urging Hannity to tell his radio show listeners: "Stress every vote matters. Get out and vote."
There is absolutely nothing illegal about that. Hopefully every Democrat will be saying/urging the same as we approach mid-terms.
If this is the kind of stuff the Select Committee thinks will explode just before November, we are in serious trouble. I fear it's gonna explode in a huge backlash.
I believe they might get Roger Stone, the Proud Boyz, etc. They have actual evidence.
If they find hard evidence on trump and anyone else, present it to people.
Since a small percentage of Independents will likely decide next elections, this is what I worry about:
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And, I'll bet it is even more skewed toward "partisan exercise to gain political points" 6 months later.
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