alternet--2020-11-14--What will it take to shock people out of their routines?

The US is enjoying a nice little simulation of what life is like in a failed state , in the midst of a national crisis .
The top of the government has been essentially rendered non-functional , if it ever was .
Donald Trump is using the White House solely as a TV room , and has completely disengaged from the coronavirus outbreak .
When he said that you would n't hear about COVID after November 3 , he must have meant from him .
Beyond raging at the `` medical deep state '' for announcing progress on a vaccine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nary a word .
Trump has always been unforgivably lazy , and that 's part of why we 're in the third wave of this crisis instead of the second .
But the consequences are even greater right now , given the skyrocketing numbers of cases and hospitalizations across the country .
You may see Trump as a moron but 72.6 million people ( and counting ) thought he was good enough to be president , and if the coronavirus does n't exist for him , it does n't exist for them either @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of an ICU nurse in central Michigan who said she constantly hears regret in her patients , just before they 're placed onto ventilators .
`` I did n't know COVID was real , and I wish I 'd worn a mask , '' they say , struggling to breathe .
That 's the result of an utter lack of leadership .
That leadership is urgently needed .
We had 34,000 COVID hospitalizations across the US a month ago ; there are 67,000 and rising now .
The system will be at capacity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trajectory ; some regions are already there .
Thanksgiving is about to `` pour gasoline on a fire , '' as one Biden task force member puts it , with more travel than at any point in the crisis .
The medical profession has done exemplary work , and we have strategies and treatments we did n't have in the spring .
If people ca n't get the medical care they need , none of that matters .
Let 's put lockdowns aside for a moment , as I 'm dubious that any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ right now .
In the spring , New York and other locations set up field hospitals and called in retired health care workers to increase capacity .
Outside of mobile morgues in El Paso I do n't see any evidence of that happening right now .
There 's no federal assets or even interest in this basic function of keeping people alive , and not much activity I can see at the state level , particularly in parts of the Midwest that are hit the hardest .
So what can stand in for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is personal responsibility , a lot to ask of a public that 's adrift .
Really we 're on our own now .
And we can actually make a difference .
The public health measures are not unknowable : wear masks , avoid close congregations to the extent possible , do n't eat indoors at restaurants or work out indoors at gyms .
That would cover an overwhelming majority of this and slow the spread , giving the sick a chance to actually get treatment .
With a vaccine in sight , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
At many moments of the crisis , personal behavior has actually led the way .
Restaurant demand was collapsing before any lockdowns took hold .
Mask usage has actually been decent , though obviously not good enough .
People starting to hoard food again could actually be a positive sign .
But the real moment when the public took the lead was during that first phase of lockdowns , where everyone actually paid heed , went inside , and engaged in a collective action , a rare moment for this country .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to one positive test from a player by shutting down the season .
Tom Hanks ' positive test happened around the same time .
That was the news needed to get everyone to take things seriously .
What is the antecedent to that now ?
What is going to shock people away from their normal routines ?
I mean , it 's probably football , our secular religion in America .
There is active talk now about the college football playoff being delayed .
The majority of the SEC schedule was postponed for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ games .
With quarantine and contact tracing protocols being what they are , it 's entirely possible there are n't enough bodies available to finish the season , and at some point you 'd expect players to just start opting out .
They 're not being paid to risk their health , after all .
In the NFL , at least one practice facility is closed , but there 's so much damn money involved that you 'd have to see a league-wide outbreak before the season is derailed .
The college game @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And that 's as important , if not more so , to a significant portion of the population .
It 's beyond sad that I 'm sitting here strategizing over whether we can see enough leadership—or really resignation—among athletic directors and football coaches , because there is n't any in Washington or state houses .
But the prospect of 100,000 more people dying before Inauguration Day has me grasping at straws .
There 's a vast leadership desert in America right now , and I 'm looking for an oasis .
• Elon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tests , which are antigen tests and admittedly not that accurate .
( Reuters ) • The oldest member of Congress has it .
( Washington Post ) • These billionaire Trump donors have it .
( The Guardian ) • Rand Paul , a doctor ( OK an eye doctor ) , thinks all those people above are lucky duckies because they 'll have immunity .
( Talking Points Memo ) • The liberal wonk consensus appears to be that real fiscal relief will only happen by giving Republicans more tax cuts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Avoiding canvassing seemed like the right public health move but may have been wrong for winning the election , Democrats admit .
( HuffPost ) • The mutation of the virus in minks wo n't be a problem for the vaccine , Dr. Fauci asserts .
( CNBC ) • Thoughts of rage about the third wave .
( ProPublica )

The US is enjoying a nice little simulation of what life is like in a failed state, in the midst of a national crisis. The top of the government has been essentially rendered non-functional, if it ever was. Donald Trump is using the White House solely as a TV room, and has completely disengaged from the coronavirus outbreak. When he said that you wouldn't hear about COVID after November 3, he must have meant from him. Beyond raging at the "medical deep state" for announcing progress on a vaccine after the election, there's been nary a word.
Trump has always been unforgivably lazy, and that's part of why we're in the third wave of this crisis instead of the second. But the consequences are even greater right now, given the skyrocketing numbers of cases and hospitalizations across the country. You may see Trump as a moron but 72.6 million people (and counting) thought he was good enough to be president, and if the coronavirus doesn't exist for him, it doesn't exist for them either. NPR had this heartbreaking story yesterday of an ICU nurse in central Michigan who said she constantly hears regret in her patients, just before they're placed onto ventilators. "I didn't know COVID was real, and I wish I'd worn a mask," they say, struggling to breathe. That's the result of an utter lack of leadership.
That leadership is urgently needed. We had 34,000 COVID hospitalizations across the US a month ago; there are 67,000 and rising now. The system will be at capacity within a couple weeks, on that trajectory; some regions are already there. Thanksgiving is about to "pour gasoline on a fire," as one Biden task force member puts it, with more travel than at any point in the crisis. The medical profession has done exemplary work, and we have strategies and treatments we didn't have in the spring. If people can't get the medical care they need, none of that matters.
Let's put lockdowns aside for a moment, as I'm dubious that any elected official is willing to go there right now. In the spring, New York and other locations set up field hospitals and called in retired health care workers to increase capacity. Outside of mobile morgues in El Paso I don't see any evidence of that happening right now. There's no federal assets or even interest in this basic function of keeping people alive, and not much activity I can see at the state level, particularly in parts of the Midwest that are hit the hardest.
So what can stand in for an absentee government? What's left is personal responsibility, a lot to ask of a public that's adrift. Really we're on our own now. And we can actually make a difference. The public health measures are not unknowable: wear masks, avoid close congregations to the extent possible, don't eat indoors at restaurants or work out indoors at gyms. That would cover an overwhelming majority of this and slow the spread, giving the sick a chance to actually get treatment. With a vaccine in sight, it wouldn't even be an open-ended commitment.
At many moments of the crisis, personal behavior has actually led the way. Restaurant demand was collapsing before any lockdowns took hold. Mask usage has actually been decent, though obviously not good enough. People starting to hoard food again could actually be a positive sign. But the real moment when the public took the lead was during that first phase of lockdowns, where everyone actually paid heed, went inside, and engaged in a collective action, a rare moment for this country.
That came right after the NBA reacted to one positive test from a player by shutting down the season. Tom Hanks' positive test happened around the same time. That was the news needed to get everyone to take things seriously. What is the antecedent to that now? What is going to shock people away from their normal routines?
I mean, it's probably football, our secular religion in America. There is active talk now about the college football playoff being delayed. The majority of the SEC schedule was postponed for this weekend, along with several other games. With quarantine and contact tracing protocols being what they are, it's entirely possible there aren't enough bodies available to finish the season, and at some point you'd expect players to just start opting out. They're not being paid to risk their health, after all.
In the NFL, at least one practice facility is closed, but there's so much damn money involved that you'd have to see a league-wide outbreak before the season is derailed. The college game, though, is probably different. And that's as important, if not more so, to a significant portion of the population.
It's beyond sad that I'm sitting here strategizing over whether we can see enough leadership—or really resignation—among athletic directors and football coaches, because there isn't any in Washington or state houses. But the prospect of 100,000 more people dying before Inauguration Day has me grasping at straws. There's a vast leadership desert in America right now, and I'm looking for an oasis.
Days Without a Bailout Oversight Chair
231.
Today I Learned


alternet--2020-11-14--K-pop fans troll #MillionMAGAMarch as Trump supporters and Proud Boys organize protest against elect

K-pop fans troll #MillionMAGAMarch as Trump supporters and Proud Boys organize protest against election results

K-pop kids are flooding the # MillionMAGAMarch hashtag with photos of delectable pancakes as Trump supporters and Proud Boys hope their protest will lead to changes in the election results .
It all started when actor Shea Depmore called on TikTokers and Twitter users to get to work .
In a video Depmore shared via TikTok and Twitter on Thursday , November 12 , she made a public service announcement to her followers .
`` Proud Boys and mega-mad MAGAers are descending upon D.C this Saturday for the Million MAGA March .
I 've seen many on this app rightfully @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these fools come strapped and they 're angry , '' Depmore said .
`` But I do n't want these Proud Boys to be proud . ''
She went on to offer instructions for social media users to flood the hashtag saying : `` Make yourself some pancakes or find yourself a good stock photo and fill the hashtag # MillionMAGAMarch with syrupy goodness .
Someone please inform the K-pop stans . ''
It did not take long for his followers to respond .
On Saturday morning , they started the day off @ @ @ @ @ @ @ overshadow the MAGA rally .
As they did for Trump 's MAGA rally in Tulsa , Okla. , back in June , they quickly began flooding both social networks with photos of pancakes .
So , why pancakes ?
Well , one social media user put the sentiment into context with a comparison of flipping pancakes to flipping states as Trump is attempting to do by undermining the results of the election .
`` There 's nothing that flips better than a pancake — except ya know ... maybe Georgia , Arizona , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' one person wrote , according to Yahoo !
News .
Now , K-pop fans are once again being commended for firing back and intercepting another MAGA movement on social media .

K-pop kids are flooding the #MillionMAGAMarch hashtag with photos of delectable pancakes as Trump supporters and Proud Boys hope their protest will lead to changes in the election results.
It all started when actor Shea Depmore called on TikTokers and Twitter users to get to work. In a video Depmore shared via TikTok and Twitter on Thursday, November 12, she made a public service announcement to her followers.
"Proud Boys and mega-mad MAGAers are descending upon D.C this Saturday for the Million MAGA March. I've seen many on this app rightfully warn people to stay away, as these fools come strapped and they're angry," Depmore said. "But I don't want these Proud Boys to be proud."
She went on to offer instructions for social media users to flood the hashtag saying: "Make yourself some pancakes or find yourself a good stock photo and fill the hashtag #MillionMAGAMarch with syrupy goodness. Someone please inform the K-pop stans."
It did not take long for his followers to respond. On Saturday morning, they started the day off with a flood of pancake posts to overshadow the MAGA rally. As they did for Trump's MAGA rally in Tulsa, Okla., back in June, they quickly began flooding both social networks with photos of pancakes. So, why pancakes? Well, one social media user put the sentiment into context with a comparison of flipping pancakes to flipping states as Trump is attempting to do by undermining the results of the election.
"There's nothing that flips better than a pancake — except ya know...maybe Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin," one person wrote, according to Yahoo! News.
Now, K-pop fans are once again being commended for firing back and intercepting another MAGA movement on social media.


alternet--2020-11-14--Rand Paul tells Fox News viewers that 11 million Americans should throw away their masks

Donald Trump was , is , and always will be a terrible person .
He 's a mediocre-minded and cruel narcissist , and the entirety of his life 's success comes from being born wealthy and failing his way up .
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is an almost identical case , though probably a touch smarter than Donald Trump .
* However , it is the national distaste of people like Rand Paul , when they are seen in public , that led to Republican voters rushing to Donald Trump in 2016 .
Sen. Rand Paul has been angry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reasons that Donald Trump has been angry with Dr. Fauci : the COVID-19 pandemic lays bare how ideologically bankrupt their political lives and policies really are .
Sen. Paul 's entire schtick is pretending not to be the coddled rich kid brat of a confusingly respected libertarian racist conservative .
This means bootlaces and no handouts ( except from donors and his dad , I guess ) .
It also means pushing 100 % false information about the current COVID-19 pandemic .
On Thursday night , Paul went on Fox News to continue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him in best opposition to whatever solutions and policies the Biden administration tries to mitigate the pandemic with .
Telling the Fox News audience that `` We have 11 million people in our country who have already had COVID .
We should tell them to celebrate .
We should tell them to throw away their masks , go to restaurants , live again because these people are now immune . ''
This is n't true .
At all .
The Trump administration and Rand Paul 's belief in a `` herd immunity '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the American people and the American economy is clearly pathological .
It has been debunked as a working theory of public health policy by anyone with the most basic understanding of science and infectious diseases and economics .
Also , there has been a ton of scientific research done on how immune COVID-19 patients—who survive the virus—actually are .
There is yet to be any proof that the antibodies needed to maintain immunity from re-contracting COVID-19 can last for very long .
Paul 's assertion that you are immune to the virus once @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is false .
Paul 's statement was ended by deriding Dr. Anthony Fauci and implying that now that Donald Trump has lost the election ( though he does n't say `` lost '' or `` Trump '' ) , Dr. Fauci will change his tune .
It 's the Rand Paul , by way of Ron Paul , brand of mushy-mouthed conspiracy lip-service done with the Rand and Ron Paul brand of rich kid cowardice we have come to expect from the Paul clan .
*One can argue that Trump 's hair is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ piece , while Rand may have the single example of condescending hair in the modern era .

Donald Trump was, is, and always will be a terrible person. He's a mediocre-minded and cruel narcissist, and the entirety of his life's success comes from being born wealthy and failing his way up. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is an almost identical case, though probably a touch smarter than Donald Trump.* However, it is the national distaste of people like Rand Paul, when they are seen in public, that led to Republican voters rushing to Donald Trump in 2016.
Sen. Rand Paul has been angry with Dr. Anthony Fauci for the same reasons that Donald Trump has been angry with Dr. Fauci: the COVID-19 pandemic lays bare how ideologically bankrupt their political lives and policies really are. Sen. Paul's entire schtick is pretending not to be the coddled rich kid brat of a confusingly respected libertarian racist conservative. This means bootlaces and no handouts (except from donors and his dad, I guess). It also means pushing 100% false information about the current COVID-19 pandemic.
On Thursday night, Paul went on Fox News to continue promoting the lies he believes will put him in best opposition to whatever solutions and policies the Biden administration tries to mitigate the pandemic with. Telling the Fox News audience that "We have 11 million people in our country who have already had COVID. We should tell them to celebrate. We should tell them to throw away their masks, go to restaurants, live again because these people are now immune." This isn't true. At all.
The Trump administration and Rand Paul's belief in a "herd immunity" solution that somehow works out well for the American people and the American economy is clearly pathological. It has been debunked as a working theory of public health policy by anyone with the most basic understanding of science and infectious diseases and economics. Also, there has been a ton of scientific research done on how immune COVID-19 patients—who survive the virus—actually are. There is yet to be any proof that the antibodies needed to maintain immunity from re-contracting COVID-19 can last for very long. Paul's assertion that you are immune to the virus once you have caught and recovered from COVID-19 is false.
Paul's statement was ended by deriding Dr. Anthony Fauci and implying that now that Donald Trump has lost the election (though he doesn't say "lost" or "Trump"), Dr. Fauci will change his tune. It's the Rand Paul, by way of Ron Paul, brand of mushy-mouthed conspiracy lip-service done with the Rand and Ron Paul brand of rich kid cowardice we have come to expect from the Paul clan.
x
Rand Paul: We have 11 million people in our country who have already had COVID. We should tell them to celebrate. We should tell them to throw away their masks, go to restaurants, and live again because these people are now immune(they are not immune) pic.twitter.com/Un2CQ1b5Tg
— Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) November 13, 2020
*One can argue that Trump's hair is at least a strange ridiculous performance art piece, while Rand may have the single example of condescending hair in the modern era.


alternet--2020-11-14--WATCH: Trump supporter tries to provoke young woman into a fight -- then flips out after she points

WATCH: Trump supporter tries to provoke young woman into a fight -- then flips out after she points out his baldness

A Trump supporter in Dunedin , Florida , threatened to punch a woman who flipped him off in a confrontation recorded on video .
The video begins with the man walking away from a pickup truck festooned with flags supporting President Donald Trump , and approaching a younger woman who is recording on her phone , reported TMZ .
`` You 're just a kid , '' the man says , sneering .
`` If you were n't a kid -- you know what ?
I 'm going to knock that phone out of your hand .
Just sit back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back and relax , yeah .
I wish you were 18 , I 'd f*cking remove your head . ''
The man then tries to provoke the young woman , telling her repeatedly to touch him .
`` Touch me , f*cking touch me , '' he says , filling the camera 's frame .
`` I dare you .
I 'll remove your f*cking head . ''
The man uses homophobic slurs against the woman and her companions , who taunt him as he walks away , and then he turns around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the phone .
When she walks around to the rear of his pickup to record the license plate number , he jumps into the vehicle and reverses quickly , but she steps out of the way before she is struck .
`` You know what you need ? ''
the man says from his truck , after attempting to spit on her .
`` You need to be removed from the gene pool , because you 're too f*cking stupid to be alive . ''
He tries once more to provoke the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the truck and growling when she declines .
An older woman with an accent then approaches and identifies herself as the man 's mother and begins to argue with the younger woman , who flings her own insults back .
`` Go back to your country , b*tch , '' the younger woman says .

A Trump supporter in Dunedin, Florida, threatened to punch a woman who flipped him off in a confrontation recorded on video.
The video begins with the man walking away from a pickup truck festooned with flags supporting President Donald Trump, and approaching a younger woman who is recording on her phone, reported TMZ.
"You're just a kid," the man says, sneering. "If you weren't a kid -- you know what? I'm going to knock that phone out of your hand. Just sit back and relax, dumbass. Just sit back and relax, yeah. I wish you were 18, I'd f*cking remove your head."
The man then tries to provoke the young woman, telling her repeatedly to touch him.
"Touch me, f*cking touch me," he says, filling the camera's frame. "I dare you. I'll remove your f*cking head."
The man uses homophobic slurs against the woman and her companions, who taunt him as he walks away, and then he turns around and continues trying to provoke the woman with the phone.
When she walks around to the rear of his pickup to record the license plate number, he jumps into the vehicle and reverses quickly, but she steps out of the way before she is struck.
"You know what you need?" the man says from his truck, after attempting to spit on her. "You need to be removed from the gene pool, because you're too f*cking stupid to be alive."
He tries once more to provoke the girl into touching him, jumping out of the truck and growling when she declines.
An older woman with an accent then approaches and identifies herself as the man's mother and begins to argue with the younger woman, who flings her own insults back.
"Go back to your country, b*tch," the younger woman says.


alternet--2020-11-14--'Worst way to end a campaign': Trump campaign workers lash out at president for vote fraud hotline d

'Worst way to end a campaign': Trump campaign workers lash out at president for vote fraud hotline debacle

According to a report from the Daily Beast , workers who manned the vote fraud hotlines set up by Donald Trump 's campaign in the wake of his loss to former Vice President Joe Biden are lashing out at the president for the conditions they worked in and for providing them with no protections from abusive callers .
With one worker calling it the `` room from hell , '' the Beast 's Asawin Suebsaeng reports the `` bare , depressing communal office space tucked away on a floor of the Team Trump headquarters in Arlington , Virginia , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of employees being forced to sit and listen to death threats and pranksters calling to tell operators that the president lost when they were n't making bogus reports .
`` When the room first opened for business , staffers worked in rotating shifts , from 7 a.m .
ET to 1 a.m. the following day , a source with knowledge of the matter said .
No complimentary food was regularly provided .
And the phones were constantly ringing in the dreary , dull hell-space , '' the report states .
`` According to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the hotline was inundated for nearly a week by crank callers impersonating public figures such as Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani , anti-Trump callers launching into vulgarity-laden tirades , pranksters making sounds of flatulence , and others issuing threats of physical violence at the lower- and mid-level Trump 2020 staffers . ''
The report states that employees often took breaks to go sit in the bathroom and cry , with many leaving work at the end of the day looking visibly upset .
According to one former staffer who wished to remain anonymous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's one of the worst ways to end a campaign that you could think of . ''
`` The fiasco of Team Trump 's hotline was a perfect microcosm of the ongoing flailing of the president and his senior officials ' efforts to play make-believe that Trump had actually won the election , '' Suebsaeng wrote .
`` Some Team Trump staff have talked amongst themselves about filing for unemployment next week , as many contracts were set to expire on Nov. 15 and the campaign undergoes downsizing .
Senior officials offered scant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ though the human resources department did tell them that many of their campaign emails would soon be shut off .
And in keeping with Trump 's delusion of an imminent second term , the situation froze several more senior officials from even offering themselves up as listed references to junior staff scrambling to find another job for fear that they 'd get in trouble for aiding with some informal transition . ''
According to the report , an email did go out to the employees on Friday morning thanking them for their work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Beast it was `` too little , too late . ''
You can read more here .

According to a report from the Daily Beast, workers who manned the vote fraud hotlines set up by Donald Trump's campaign in the wake of his loss to former Vice President Joe Biden are lashing out at the president for the conditions they worked in and for providing them with no protections from abusive callers.
With one worker calling it the "room from hell," the Beast's Asawin Suebsaeng reports the "bare, depressing communal office space tucked away on a floor of the Team Trump headquarters in Arlington, Virginia," was shut down on Friday after days of employees being forced to sit and listen to death threats and pranksters calling to tell operators that the president lost when they weren't making bogus reports.
"When the room first opened for business, staffers worked in rotating shifts, from 7 a.m. ET to 1 a.m. the following day, a source with knowledge of the matter said.No complimentary food was regularly provided. And the phones were constantly ringing in the dreary, dull hell-space," the report states. "According to three people familiar with the situation, the hotline was inundated for nearly a week by crank callers impersonating public figures such as Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, anti-Trump callers launching into vulgarity-laden tirades, pranksters making sounds of flatulence, and others issuing threats of physical violence at the lower- and mid-level Trump 2020 staffers."
The report states that employees often took breaks to go sit in the bathroom and cry, with many leaving work at the end of the day looking visibly upset.
According to one former staffer who wished to remain anonymous, "It's misery. It's one of the worst ways to end a campaign that you could think of."
"The fiasco of Team Trump's hotline was a perfect microcosm of the ongoing flailing of the president and his senior officials' efforts to play make-believe that Trump had actually won the election," Suebsaeng wrote. "Some Team Trump staff have talked amongst themselves about filing for unemployment next week, as many contracts were set to expire on Nov. 15 and the campaign undergoes downsizing. Senior officials offered scant guidance about what was coming next, though the human resources department did tell them that many of their campaign emails would soon be shut off. And in keeping with Trump's delusion of an imminent second term, the situation froze several more senior officials from even offering themselves up as listed references to junior staff scrambling to find another job for fear that they'd get in trouble for aiding with some informal transition."
According to the report, an email did go out to the employees on Friday morning thanking them for their work, but one of the staffers told the Beast it was "too little, too late."
You can read more here.


alternet--2020-11-14--Mental health experts: Trump's been out of sight because he's been out of his mind

Mental health experts : Trump 's been out of sight because he 's been out of his mind President Donald @ @ @ @ @ Vice President Mike Pence , senior White House advisors and senior military personnel , delivers @ @ @ @ @ address Wednesday , Jan. 8 , 2020 , from the Cross Hall of the White @ @ @ @ @ retaliatory missile strikes against U.S. military and coalition forces in Iraq on Tuesday by the @ @ @ @ @ ( Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead ) Termination of this top Pentagon official @ @ @ @ @ the Trump administration

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alternet--2020-11-14--The Trump campaign can't find a judge who will ignore the facts -- but it's trying

The reelection campaign of President Donald Trump , having failed to persuade the majority of American voters , is now making its case to the American courts .
The campaign and its allies are n't doing much better in the latter quest than they did in the former .
Close to half of the two dozen or so cases brought since Election Day in key swing states have already been withdrawn or tossed by judges , with many of the rest seemingly destined for a similar fate .
American politics may be notoriously divided , but inside the halls of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unanimity seems to be prevailing : Whether the judges are liberal or conservative , working for state or federal courts , they 've overwhelmingly demanded that the Trump and Republican plaintiffs deliver evidence to back their claims and they 've been quick to reject what they consider baseless lawsuits .
One pattern has emerged in the fusillade of lawsuits : a frenzied search for a sympathetic judge .
In each of four states — Pennsylvania , Michigan , Nevada and Arizona — the Trump campaign and its allies have filed a succession of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before several different state and federal judges .
A little over a week into the Trump campaign 's postelection wave of litigation , the lawsuits have generated more heat than light .
The GOP has scored some minor victories — an order , for example , from a Pennsylvania state judge who threw out a handful of ballots that were granted more than six days after the election to provide missing information .
But mostly things are n't going according to the Trump campaign 's plan , to the extent that a coherent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pattern of lawsuits .
For example , in Michigan , where the current 148,000-vote margin in Biden 's favor makes the odds of a reversal particularly steep , the Trump campaign and supporters have filed a total of five suits .
In Wisconsin , where the margin is a much smaller 20,500 votes , only one has been filed , in this instance by a pro-Trump group on Thursday .
Still , failure has n't slowed the pace of the legal challenges , which can seem chaotic .
One Michigan suit was apparently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ filed first in the wrong federal court , the court of claims , before being refiled later the same day in federal district court .
A new suit the Trump campaign initiated Wednesday in federal court in Michigan goes so far as to append , in its entirety , another lawsuit , a 77-page document filed by a pair of GOP poll observers two days earlier in state court in Detroit .
Both suits ask the courts to block the certification of the state 's presidential election .
They claim widespread impropriety and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ GOP observers from conducting oversight .
The claims are backed by dozens of affidavits that offer much in the way of rhetoric , but little in the way of factual support .
These lawsuits build on yet another couple of lawsuits with similar allegations , which were thrown out for lack of evidence by two different state judges .
One of the judges , Timothy Kenny , was assigned to hear the new state court lawsuit filed this week .
“ By now , we 've seen this before , and we 're @ @ @ @ @ @ @ David Fink , who is representing the city of Detroit and other municipal defendants in that case , told Kenny during a hearing Wednesday afternoon .
“ In some ways , it 's starting to feel , in this courtroom at least , like Groundhog Day . ''
During a conference call with reporters , also on Wednesday , Michigan 's top legal official , who has responsibility for investigating allegations of election fraud , said aloud what Fink implied .
“ In my view , this is really a brazen case of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nessel , a Democrat , said .
Even though the campaign 's new federal lawsuit focused on Detroit , Nessel observed , the suit was n't filed in the Eastern District of Michigan — the federal court that encompasses Detroit — but in the Western District of Michigan , where all five judges were appointed by Republican presidents .
( The lawyer opposite Fink in Michigan state court , David Kallman , said during Wednesday 's hearing that neither he , his firm , nor his clients had any involvement with other Republican @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Kallman called allegations of forum shopping in his case “ just silly . ''
He has not coordinated with the Trump Campaign or the Republican National Committee , he said , and he did n't seek the case and decided to take it on after being approached by a Detroit poll worker . )
There 's been similar gamesmanship in Arizona , where two nearly identical cases , centered on the allegedly unfair treatment of Sharpie markers used by Trump voters at polling precincts in the Phoenix area , were tripped up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the GOP lawyers finally appeared to get the cases consolidated under the judge they preferred .
Thor Hearne , the Trump campaign lawyer behind the Michigan federal lawsuit brought on Wednesday and a longtime evangelist of the view that voter fraud is rampant , took these types of tactics a step further and sought out a particular judge .
Hearne marked the federal lawsuit “ related '' to another suit , which had been filed in June .
The “ related '' designation assigns the same judge to both cases .
To call @ @ @ @ @ @ @ related — meaning , under the court 's local rules , that the underlying facts overlap and the cases share similar legal questions — is a stretch at best .
The June lawsuit sought to require Michigan officials to purge 800,000 registered voters from the state 's rolls under a federal voter registration law .
It has nothing to do with how the 2020 election was run .
But the appeal for Hearne of the judge presiding over the June case , a George W. Bush appointee named Robert Jonker , is easy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Jonker denied a request by state officials to dismiss the voter purge case .
The maneuver failed .
On Thursday , the court deemed the cases not related and randomly assigned Hearne 's lawsuit to another judge .
( Hearne did not immediately reply to a request for comment . )
Judges have repeatedly expressed irritation with Hearne and other lawyers on the Trump side .
A judge in Michigan last week had to teach Hearne what hearsay is .
The judge , Cynthia Stephens , provided this helpful definition — “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — before adding , regarding one of Hearne 's key claims : “ Tell me why that 's not hearsay .
Come on , now . ''
At an emergency hearing in Philadelphia requested by the Trump campaign , a federal judge was exasperated with a local campaign lawyer , Jerome Marcus , who would n't give him a straight answer about the representation of GOP observers at the city 's canvassing center .
( Marcus ' legal filings claimed they were being barred from observing . )
Marcus acknowledged that a “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the Republicans .
“ I 'm asking you , as a member of the bar of this court , are people representing Donald J. Trump for president , representing the plaintiff , in that room ? ''
the judge , Paul Diamond , asked .
Marcus answered , “ Yes . ''
“ I 'm sorry , then what 's your problem ? ''
Diamond shot back .
Earlier this week in a nearby suburb , another judge 's questioning of a lawyer representing the Trump campaign , Jonathan Goldstein , forced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he was challenging were tainted by neither fraud nor improper influence .
“ Your Honor , accusing people of fraud is a pretty big step , '' Goldstein said .
The lawyer did not address the fact that his client , the president of the United States , is regularly making that precise accusation on Twitter .
At a hearing in the Arizona Sharpie case on Thursday , too , it was difficult to discern exactly what wrongdoing the Trump side believed had occurred .
“ This is not about fraud , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Trump campaign , told a judge .
The lawsuit was premised , in part , on the idea that bleeding Sharpies and poll worker error had cost a slew of Trump supporters their vote .
Sworn witness affidavits filed with the lawsuit included the sentence , “ I believe my vote for Donald J. Trump and Michael Pence was not counted . ''
Under cross-examination , however , the witnesses told a different story .
The refrain became familiar by the end of the six-hour hearing .
A lawyer for the Arizona @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any reason to believe that your vote was n't counted ? ''
Trump campaign witness : “ No . ''
On Friday , Langhofer conceded in court papers that his case as to the presidential election was moot .
( He 's still pursuing a separate part of the suit that relates to a State Senate election . )
Biden 's margin of victory vastly exceeded the 191 ballots at issue in the case .
Even when the Trump side uncovered apparent irregularities , they tended to fizzle under closer scrutiny .
A @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wednesday 's hearing in Detroit submitted the sworn affidavits of several witnesses who attested to what they believed to be fraud at Detroit 's main canvassing site .
Kenny , the judge , summarized the pattern alleged by the claims as follows : “ This is what I saw , with the conclusion being this must be representative of fraudulent behavior . ''
For example , workers at the convention center never checked the signatures on mail-in ballots , some witnesses alleged , which proved , as the president and his surrogates had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by mail was ripe for fraud .
Others saw workers enter some voters ' birth dates as Jan. 1 , 1900 .
The dead , they concluded , were voting in Detroit .
The city countered .
You may have seen what you claim you saw , but the conclusion that you draw is incorrect , asserted Chris Thomas , a longtime state elections director who had come out of retirement this year to help Detroit run its election , in written testimony .
The mail-in ballot signatures were checked at a different @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the convention center .
And the 1900 date was a placeholder .
Workers counting mail-in ballots lacked access to voter birth dates , which the computerized tabulation system required them to enter , so they entered Jan. 1 , 1900 .
Only two days after the hearing , the judge dealt the Trump supporters a sweeping defeat .
Kenny declined to block the state from certifying its election results or to order an audit .
The affidavits of Republican observers and other witnesses were , as the judge described one affidavit , “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ motives '' by poll workers , claims they raised only after it became clear their preferred candidate , Trump , would n't carry Michigan .
GOP observers had skipped a training session ahead of the election and misinterpreted what they saw because they “ knew little about the process . ''
There 's little sign the newest ( as of this writing ) pro-Trump suit will have better prospects .
On Thursday , three Wisconsin voters , backed by a controversial Texas conservative group called True the Vote , filed suit , asking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ certifying votes in three counties that favored Biden over Trump .
( The group has filed similar lawsuits in Michigan , Georgia and Pennsylvania . )
According to the lawsuit , the “ Plaintiffs possess advanced technical capability to conduct statistical analyses '' and want officials to give them a range of voting data to analyze .
But when ProPublica interviewed James Bopp , an Indiana-based attorney representing the plaintiffs , he offered an account at odds with the document he filed .
“ None of the plaintiffs have the credentials to , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ very sophisticated data analytics operation , '' he said .
Bopp is hoping True the Vote , which is not a party to the suit , will be allowed to conduct the analysis .
Even if the Trump campaign were to turn its legal luck around , the quantities of votes questioned by most of the postelection lawsuits fall far short of the numbers needed to change the outcome of the election .
The campaign has failed to find evidence of the kind of widespread irregularities that it would need to turn up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a chance to push Biden 's presumptive 306 electoral votes below the 270 threshold and throw the election to Trump .
Biden 's margins in the states key to his victory range from nearly 148,000 in Michigan , as noted , to 59,000 ( and counting ) in Pennsylvania and 35,000 in Nevada , on down to 11,000 in Arizona , a figure that may tighten but is expected to allow Biden to carry the state .
The rare elections in which challenges to ballots make a difference tend to be dramatically smaller @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conspiracy not in the theoretical sense raised by Trump 's lawsuits but in the criminal sense .
In 2018 , the North Carolina state elections board ordered a revote in the race for the state 's 9th Congressional District after a local operative working for the Republican candidate , Mark Harris , was found to have perpetrated a ballot fraud scheme .
Harris won by only 905 votes out of around 278,000 cast in the 2018 election and decided not to run in the re-vote in 2019 .
( The seat was then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) More than two decades ago , a Florida court threw out 5,200 absentee ballots cast in the 1997 Miami mayoral runoff following the discovery that a massive fraud scheme had so infected the pool of ballots that they had to be invalidated .
It was a rare instance where the outcome changed .
Fewer than 3,000 votes separated the candidates , out of about 44,000 votes cast , and most of the people involved in the fraud scheme had worked for the candidate who initially appeared to have won .
In both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clock ticks closer to key deadlines in late November and early December , the Trump campaign and its allies have also grown more aggressive in what they 're asking of judges .
In lawsuits filed over the past week in Michigan , Wisconsin , Georgia , Arizona and Pennsylvania they have asked judges to block state officials from certifying the election results until the plaintiffs ' concerns are met or to order officials not to include ballots from entire counties that went to Biden .
As of Thursday afternoon , there was no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those requests .
In swing states with close margins , recounts offer another remedy for Trump .
In Georgia , where Biden commands a 14,000-ballot lead , the Republican secretary of state , Brad Raffensperger , announced an unusual manual recount after coming under pressure from members of his own party .
( A New York Times article on Thursday asserted that the recount would technically be an audit . )
Although Arizona is likely to produce the narrowest margin , the state will recount the votes only if the gap between Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ points .
At present , Biden is ahead by a little more than 0.3 percentage points , and his 11,000-vote lead would need to fall to somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 votes to trigger a recount .
Last week , the Trump campaign announced it intended to seek a recount in Wisconsin once the vote count is finalized .
Biden 's 20,500-vote lead — a 0.6-percentage-point edge — falls within the 1 point margin for a recount .
But because it 's greater than a quarter of a percentage point , the campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 3 million for it .
It 's unlikely to be worth it .
Biden 's margin in Wisconsin is similar to Trump 's over Hillary Clinton in 2016 , and a recount that year paid for by Green Party candidate Jill Stein had a negligible impact on the outcome — netting Trump 131 additional votes .
In the infamous Florida recount of 2000 , there was a bit more movement , but not enough to change the result : 1,784 votes initially separated Bush and Al Gore , and the recount was eventually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after the U.S. Supreme Court halted the process .
Subsequentstudies found there was a high likelihood Bush would still have won had the recount proceeded .
( It 's also worth noting that , for all the controversy about the Supreme Court 's role in 2000 , the court 's decision was to halt a recount in one state .
The court did not overturn the election results in a state , much less in multiple states , which is what would likely be required for Trump to prevail . )
So if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the tide in Trump 's favor , what 's the point of all this litigation ?
At present , it 's unclear , and it may be there is no single motivation driving it .
Some reporting has suggested it 's the final flailing of a president who ca n't stand to lose .
Others believe the goal is to keep the Republican base fired up ahead of two Jan. 5 runoff campaigns in Georgia that will determine which party controls the Senate .
Given the nonstop solicitations for donations coming out of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pointed to the fundraising value of the litigation push .
Tellingly , the fine print notes that 40 % of donations to Trump 's “ Official Election Defense Fund '' goes to the Republican National Committee .
The other 60 % goes first to a new PAC Trump has set up , Save America , up to the maximum contribution , $ 5,000 .
Only after that limit is exceeded does the contribution go to funding election litigation .
So , for a $ 10,000 donation , $ 4,000 would go to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Save America , and only $ 1,000 would go to the Trump campaign 's litigation fund .
The aim is , at least in part , to get judges to block states from certifying their popular votes before key deadlines , according to a report in the Wall Street Journal that cited “ advisers and lawyers involved . ''
Certification delays could prevent states from finalizing their presidential election results by Dec. 8 , a key deadline under the federal Electoral Count Act .
If a state has finalized its election results by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state 's electors meet to cast their vote for president — it generally prevents Congress from rejecting that state 's electors .
A lot of weird things can happen when Congress meets on Jan. 6 to tally the results of the Electoral College vote and the relevant laws are ambiguous and untested .
Suffice it to say that states really do n't want to miss that Dec. 8 deadline .
The Constitution gives state legislatures the power to choose how their state selects electors , and in theory a legislature could step in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that would vote for Trump even though Biden won the popular vote in the state or vice versa .
This would be worse news for Biden , though .
Apart from Nevada , the legislatures of the states essential to his Electoral College majority are under Republican control .
There are also scenarios where a state might certify competing slates of electors .
It gets messy and confusing fast .
In the worst case , if somehow the situation ended up such a mess that neither Biden nor Trump received 270 Electoral College @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S. Constitution throws the decision to the House of Representatives , with each state delegation awarded one vote — a set of circumstances that would favor Republicans .
The threat of activist state legislatures is n't as scary as it might sound to Democrats .
It 's a politically fraught and legally complicated process for a legislature to disenfranchise its citizens after they 've voted , though the Florida Legislature considered it as the 2000 recount dragged on .
And there 's no sign that legislatures are moving in this direction .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ majority leaders of both houses of the legislature have disavowed this kind of intervention .
Republican legislators in Michigan , Wisconsin and Pennsylvania have announced inquiries into the presidential election in their states , but though these inquiries may serve as pretext to push for more restrictive voting laws , there 's no reason yet to believe that it 's a way to gin up an argument for intervening to void an ostensibly illegitimate election .
Still , it 's worth keeping in mind — as it seems at least some in Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for mischief grows if a state is at risk of missing , or does miss , the Dec. 8 deadline .
If this kind of scenario is what Trump and his allies are playing for , that 's the date they 've got their eye on .

The reelection campaign of President Donald Trump, having failed to persuade the majority of American voters, is now making its case to the American courts. The campaign and its allies aren't doing much better in the latter quest than they did in the former. Close to half of the two dozen or so cases brought since Election Day in key swing states have already been withdrawn or tossed by judges, with many of the rest seemingly destined for a similar fate. American politics may be notoriously divided, but inside the halls of justice, at least one example of unanimity seems to be prevailing: Whether the judges are liberal or conservative, working for state or federal courts, they've overwhelmingly demanded that the Trump and Republican plaintiffs deliver evidence to back their claims and they've been quick to reject what they consider baseless lawsuits.
One pattern has emerged in the fusillade of lawsuits: a frenzied search for a sympathetic judge. In each of four states — Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nevada and Arizona — the Trump campaign and its allies have filed a succession of suits that make essentially the same claims before several different state and federal judges.
A little over a week into the Trump campaign's postelection wave of litigation, the lawsuits have generated more heat than light. The GOP has scored some minor victories — an order, for example, from a Pennsylvania state judge who threw out a handful of ballots that were granted more than six days after the election to provide missing information.
But mostly things aren't going according to the Trump campaign's plan, to the extent that a coherent legal plan can be discerned from the pattern of lawsuits. For example, in Michigan, where the current 148,000-vote margin in Biden's favor makes the odds of a reversal particularly steep, the Trump campaign and supporters have filed a total of five suits. In Wisconsin, where the margin is a much smaller 20,500 votes, only one has been filed, in this instance by a pro-Trump group on Thursday.
Still, failure hasn't slowed the pace of the legal challenges, which can seem chaotic. One Michigan suit was apparently dispatched with such haste that it was filed first in the wrong federal court, the court of claims, before being refiled later the same day in federal district court.
A new suit the Trump campaign initiated Wednesday in federal court in Michigan goes so far as to append, in its entirety, another lawsuit, a 77-page document filed by a pair of GOP poll observers two days earlier in state court in Detroit. Both suits ask the courts to block the certification of the state's presidential election. They claim widespread impropriety and fraud by election officials who allegedly prevented GOP observers from conducting oversight. The claims are backed by dozens of affidavits that offer much in the way of rhetoric, but little in the way of factual support. These lawsuits build on yet another couple of lawsuits with similar allegations, which were thrown out for lack of evidence by two different state judges. One of the judges, Timothy Kenny, was assigned to hear the new state court lawsuit filed this week.
“By now, we've seen this before, and we're seeing it in multiple places," David Fink, who is representing the city of Detroit and other municipal defendants in that case, told Kenny during a hearing Wednesday afternoon. “In some ways, it's starting to feel, in this courtroom at least, like Groundhog Day."
During a conference call with reporters, also on Wednesday, Michigan's top legal official, who has responsibility for investigating allegations of election fraud, said aloud what Fink implied. “In my view, this is really a brazen case of forum shopping," Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, said. Even though the campaign's new federal lawsuit focused on Detroit, Nessel observed, the suit wasn't filed in the Eastern District of Michigan — the federal court that encompasses Detroit — but in the Western District of Michigan, where all five judges were appointed by Republican presidents. (The lawyer opposite Fink in Michigan state court, David Kallman, said during Wednesday's hearing that neither he, his firm, nor his clients had any involvement with other Republican lawsuits. In an interview with ProPublica, Kallman called allegations of forum shopping in his case “just silly." He has not coordinated with the Trump Campaign or the Republican National Committee, he said, and he didn't seek the case and decided to take it on after being approached by a Detroit poll worker.)
There's been similar gamesmanship in Arizona, where two nearly identical cases, centered on the allegedly unfair treatment of Sharpie markers used by Trump voters at polling precincts in the Phoenix area, were tripped up by several days of procedural misfires before the GOP lawyers finally appeared to get the cases consolidated under the judge they preferred.
Thor Hearne, the Trump campaign lawyer behind the Michigan federal lawsuit brought on Wednesday and a longtime evangelist of the view that voter fraud is rampant, took these types of tactics a step further and sought out a particular judge. Hearne marked the federal lawsuit “related" to another suit, which had been filed in June. The “related" designation assigns the same judge to both cases. To call the new case and the June case related — meaning, under the court's local rules, that the underlying facts overlap and the cases share similar legal questions — is a stretch at best. The June lawsuit sought to require Michigan officials to purge 800,000 registered voters from the state's rolls under a federal voter registration law. It has nothing to do with how the 2020 election was run. But the appeal for Hearne of the judge presiding over the June case, a George W. Bush appointee named Robert Jonker, is easy enough to pick out: Last month, Jonker denied a request by state officials to dismiss the voter purge case. The maneuver failed. On Thursday, the court deemed the cases not related and randomly assigned Hearne's lawsuit to another judge. (Hearne did not immediately reply to a request for comment.)
Judges have repeatedly expressed irritation with Hearne and other lawyers on the Trump side. A judge in Michigan last week had to teach Hearne what hearsay is. The judge, Cynthia Stephens, provided this helpful definition — “I heard somebody else say something" — before adding, regarding one of Hearne's key claims: “Tell me why that's not hearsay. Come on, now." At an emergency hearing in Philadelphia requested by the Trump campaign, a federal judge was exasperated with a local campaign lawyer, Jerome Marcus, who wouldn't give him a straight answer about the representation of GOP observers at the city's canvassing center. (Marcus' legal filings claimed they were being barred from observing.) Marcus acknowledged that a “nonzero number of people" were there for the Republicans. “I'm asking you, as a member of the bar of this court, are people representing Donald J. Trump for president, representing the plaintiff, in that room?" the judge, Paul Diamond, asked. Marcus answered, “Yes." “I'm sorry, then what's your problem?" Diamond shot back. Earlier this week in a nearby suburb, another judge's questioning of a lawyer representing the Trump campaign, Jonathan Goldstein, forced him to concede that the 592 ballots he was challenging were tainted by neither fraud nor improper influence. “Your Honor, accusing people of fraud is a pretty big step," Goldstein said. The lawyer did not address the fact that his client, the president of the United States, is regularly making that precise accusation on Twitter.
At a hearing in the Arizona Sharpie case on Thursday, too, it was difficult to discern exactly what wrongdoing the Trump side believed had occurred. “This is not about fraud," Kory Langhofer, a local attorney for the Trump campaign, told a judge. The lawsuit was premised, in part, on the idea that bleeding Sharpies and poll worker error had cost a slew of Trump supporters their vote. Sworn witness affidavits filed with the lawsuit included the sentence, “I believe my vote for Donald J. Trump and Michael Pence was not counted." Under cross-examination, however, the witnesses told a different story. The refrain became familiar by the end of the six-hour hearing. A lawyer for the Arizona Democratic Party: “Do you have any reason to believe that your vote wasn't counted?" Trump campaign witness: “No." On Friday, Langhofer conceded in court papers that his case as to the presidential election was moot. (He's still pursuing a separate part of the suit that relates to a State Senate election.) Biden's margin of victory vastly exceeded the 191 ballots at issue in the case.
Even when the Trump side uncovered apparent irregularities, they tended to fizzle under closer scrutiny. A lawyer representing two Republican poll observers at Wednesday's hearing in Detroit submitted the sworn affidavits of several witnesses who attested to what they believed to be fraud at Detroit's main canvassing site. Kenny, the judge, summarized the pattern alleged by the claims as follows: “This is what I saw, with the conclusion being this must be representative of fraudulent behavior." For example, workers at the convention center never checked the signatures on mail-in ballots, some witnesses alleged, which proved, as the president and his surrogates had been saying for months, that voting by mail was ripe for fraud. Others saw workers enter some voters' birth dates as Jan. 1, 1900. The dead, they concluded, were voting in Detroit.
The city countered. You may have seen what you claim you saw, but the conclusion that you draw is incorrect, asserted Chris Thomas, a longtime state elections director who had come out of retirement this year to help Detroit run its election, in written testimony. The mail-in ballot signatures were checked at a different location, before the ballots arrived at the convention center. And the 1900 date was a placeholder. Workers counting mail-in ballots lacked access to voter birth dates, which the computerized tabulation system required them to enter, so they entered Jan. 1, 1900.
Only two days after the hearing, the judge dealt the Trump supporters a sweeping defeat. Kenny declined to block the state from certifying its election results or to order an audit. The affidavits of Republican observers and other witnesses were, as the judge described one affidavit, “rife with speculation and guess-work about sinister motives" by poll workers, claims they raised only after it became clear their preferred candidate, Trump, wouldn't carry Michigan. GOP observers had skipped a training session ahead of the election and misinterpreted what they saw because they “knew little about the process."
There's little sign the newest (as of this writing) pro-Trump suit will have better prospects. On Thursday, three Wisconsin voters, backed by a controversial Texas conservative group called True the Vote, filed suit, asking a federal judge to block officials from certifying votes in three counties that favored Biden over Trump. (The group has filed similar lawsuits in Michigan, Georgia and Pennsylvania.) According to the lawsuit, the “Plaintiffs possess advanced technical capability to conduct statistical analyses" and want officials to give them a range of voting data to analyze. But when ProPublica interviewed James Bopp, an Indiana-based attorney representing the plaintiffs, he offered an account at odds with the document he filed. “None of the plaintiffs have the credentials to, or the resources to, conduct a very sophisticated data analytics operation," he said. Bopp is hoping True the Vote, which is not a party to the suit, will be allowed to conduct the analysis.
Even if the Trump campaign were to turn its legal luck around, the quantities of votes questioned by most of the postelection lawsuits fall far short of the numbers needed to change the outcome of the election. The campaign has failed to find evidence of the kind of widespread irregularities that it would need to turn up in at least three states to have a chance to push Biden's presumptive 306 electoral votes below the 270 threshold and throw the election to Trump. Biden's margins in the states key to his victory range from nearly 148,000 in Michigan, as noted, to 59,000 (and counting) in Pennsylvania and 35,000 in Nevada, on down to 11,000 in Arizona, a figure that may tighten but is expected to allow Biden to carry the state.
The rare elections in which challenges to ballots make a difference tend to be dramatically smaller, and they tend to involve a conspiracy not in the theoretical sense raised by Trump's lawsuits but in the criminal sense. In 2018, the North Carolina state elections board ordered a revote in the race for the state's 9th Congressional District after a local operative working for the Republican candidate, Mark Harris, was found to have perpetrated a ballot fraud scheme. Harris won by only 905 votes out of around 278,000 cast in the 2018 election and decided not to run in the re-vote in 2019. (The seat was then won by a different Republican candidate.)
More than two decades ago, a Florida court threw out 5,200 absentee ballots cast in the 1997 Miami mayoral runoff following the discovery that a massive fraud scheme had so infected the pool of ballots that they had to be invalidated. It was a rare instance where the outcome changed. Fewer than 3,000 votes separated the candidates, out of about 44,000 votes cast, and most of the people involved in the fraud scheme had worked for the candidate who initially appeared to have won. In both cases, indictments followed.
As the clock ticks closer to key deadlines in late November and early December, the Trump campaign and its allies have also grown more aggressive in what they're asking of judges. In lawsuits filed over the past week in Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Arizona and Pennsylvania they have asked judges to block state officials from certifying the election results until the plaintiffs' concerns are met or to order officials not to include ballots from entire counties that went to Biden. As of Thursday afternoon, there was no indication that judges would grant any of those requests.
In swing states with close margins, recounts offer another remedy for Trump. In Georgia, where Biden commands a 14,000-ballot lead, the Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, announced an unusual manual recount after coming under pressure from members of his own party. (A New York Times article on Thursday asserted that the recount would technically be an audit.) Although Arizona is likely to produce the narrowest margin, the state will recount the votes only if the gap between Biden and Trump falls to within 0.1 percentage points. At present, Biden is ahead by a little more than 0.3 percentage points, and his 11,000-vote lead would need to fall to somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 votes to trigger a recount. Last week, the Trump campaign announced it intended to seek a recount in Wisconsin once the vote count is finalized. Biden's 20,500-vote lead — a 0.6-percentage-point edge — falls within the 1 point margin for a recount. But because it's greater than a quarter of a percentage point, the campaign will have to pay somewhere around $3 million for it.
It's unlikely to be worth it. Biden's margin in Wisconsin is similar to Trump's over Hillary Clinton in 2016, and a recount that year paid for by Green Party candidate Jill Stein had a negligible impact on the outcome — netting Trump 131 additional votes. In the infamous Florida recount of 2000, there was a bit more movement, but not enough to change the result: 1,784 votes initially separated Bush and Al Gore, and the recount was eventually certified at a gap of 537 votes after the U.S. Supreme Court halted the process. Subsequentstudies found there was a high likelihood Bush would still have won had the recount proceeded. (It's also worth noting that, for all the controversy about the Supreme Court's role in 2000, the court's decision was to halt a recount in one state. The court did not overturn the election results in a state, much less in multiple states, which is what would likely be required for Trump to prevail.)
So if challenges and recounts are unlikely to turn the tide in Trump's favor, what's the point of all this litigation? At present, it's unclear, and it may be there is no single motivation driving it. Some reporting has suggested it's the final flailing of a president who can't stand to lose. Others believe the goal is to keep the Republican base fired up ahead of two Jan. 5 runoff campaigns in Georgia that will determine which party controls the Senate.
Given the nonstop solicitations for donations coming out of the Trump campaign, still others have pointed to the fundraising value of the litigation push. Tellingly, the fine print notes that 40% of donations to Trump's “Official Election Defense Fund" goes to the Republican National Committee. The other 60% goes first to a new PAC Trump has set up, Save America, up to the maximum contribution, $5,000. Only after that limit is exceeded does the contribution go to funding election litigation. So, for a $10,000 donation, $4,000 would go to the RNC, $5,000 would go to Save America, and only $1,000 would go to the Trump campaign's litigation fund.
The aim is, at least in part, to get judges to block states from certifying their popular votes before key deadlines, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal that cited “advisers and lawyers involved." Certification delays could prevent states from finalizing their presidential election results by Dec. 8, a key deadline under the federal Electoral Count Act. If a state has finalized its election results by that date — six days before each state's electors meet to cast their vote for president — it generally prevents Congress from rejecting that state's electors.
A lot of weird things can happen when Congress meets on Jan. 6 to tally the results of the Electoral College vote and the relevant laws are ambiguous and untested. Suffice it to say that states really don't want to miss that Dec. 8 deadline. The Constitution gives state legislatures the power to choose how their state selects electors, and in theory a legislature could step in and vote for a slate of electors that would vote for Trump even though Biden won the popular vote in the state or vice versa. This would be worse news for Biden, though. Apart from Nevada, the legislatures of the states essential to his Electoral College majority are under Republican control. There are also scenarios where a state might certify competing slates of electors. It gets messy and confusing fast.
In the worst case, if somehow the situation ended up such a mess that neither Biden nor Trump received 270 Electoral College votes, the 12th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution throws the decision to the House of Representatives, with each state delegation awarded one vote — a set of circumstances that would favor Republicans.
The threat of activist state legislatures isn't as scary as it might sound to Democrats. It's a politically fraught and legally complicated process for a legislature to disenfranchise its citizens after they've voted, though the Florida Legislature considered it as the 2000 recount dragged on. And there's no sign that legislatures are moving in this direction. In Pennsylvania, for example, the GOP majority leaders of both houses of the legislature have disavowed this kind of intervention. Republican legislators in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania have announced inquiries into the presidential election in their states, but though these inquiries may serve as pretext to push for more restrictive voting laws, there's no reason yet to believe that it's a way to gin up an argument for intervening to void an ostensibly illegitimate election.
Still, it's worth keeping in mind — as it seems at least some in Trump's orbit are — that the room for mischief grows if a state is at risk of missing, or does miss, the Dec. 8 deadline. If this kind of scenario is what Trump and his allies are playing for, that's the date they've got their eye on.


alternet--2020-11-14--Trump's former chief of staff admits delaying transition 'hurts our national security'

President Donald Trump 's efforts to stall the White House 's peaceful transfer could be harmful to the United States ' national security , according to John Kelly , the president 's former White House chief of staff .
It has been one week since Trump lost the election to President-elect Joe Biden , but even now , he is refusing to cooperate with the incoming administration .
General Services Administration Administrator Emily Murphy has yet to even sign the documents acknowledging that Biden has been declared the apparent election winner of the election so the transition process is currently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is any indication of how he will handle the situation in the days ahead , he wo n't be committing to a peaceful transfer of power anytime soon .
In fact , the president also appears more focused and involved in his post-election legal battle than governing the country which is another vulnerability and potential risk for the country .
During an interview with Politico , Kelly weighed in with his perspective and concern about Trump 's handling of the situation .
`` The president , with all due respect , does not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about the nation .
It hurts our national security because the people who should be getting [ up to speed ] , it 's not a process where you go from zero to 1,000 miles per hour , '' Kelly said .
Kelly , who has often criticized Trump since his departure from the White House in January 2019 , also admitted that Biden should be included in the daily intelligence briefings because the `` transition , in the national security realm in particular and the homeland security realm , is just so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is delayed really kind of handicaps . ''
While the former Trump administration official appears hopeful that Trump will make the right decision for the country , he also admitted that he is aware of the president 's difficulty and unwillingness to accept defeat .
`` I know Mr. Trump better than most people do , '' Kelly said .
`` I know that he 'll never accept defeat and , in fact , he does n't have to accept defeat here .
He just has to do what 's best for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ''
Kelly 's latest remarks follow his recent statement published by CNN where he also expressed concern about the growing threat of a national crisis .
`` The delay in transitioning is an increasing national security and health crisis , '' he wrote .
`` The current administration does not have to concede , but it should do the right thing just in case the Constitutional system declares they lost . ''

President Donald Trump's efforts to stall the White House's peaceful transfer could be harmful to the United States' national security, according to John Kelly, the president's former White House chief of staff.
It has been one week since Trump lost the election to President-elect Joe Biden, but even now, he is refusing to cooperate with the incoming administration. General Services Administration Administrator Emily Murphy has yet to even sign the documents acknowledging that Biden has been declared the apparent election winner of the election so the transition process is currently stalled.
If Trump's current behavior is any indication of how he will handle the situation in the days ahead, he won't be committing to a peaceful transfer of power anytime soon. In fact, the president also appears more focused and involved in his post-election legal battle than governing the country which is another vulnerability and potential risk for the country.
During an interview with Politico, Kelly weighed in with his perspective and concern about Trump's handling of the situation.
"The president, with all due respect, does not have to concede. But it's about the nation. It hurts our national security because the people who should be getting [up to speed], it's not a process where you go from zero to 1,000 miles per hour," Kelly said.
Kelly, who has often criticized Trump since his departure from the White House in January 2019, also admitted that Biden should be included in the daily intelligence briefings because the "transition, in the national security realm in particular and the homeland security realm, is just so important that every day that the transition is delayed really kind of handicaps."
While the former Trump administration official appears hopeful that Trump will make the right decision for the country, he also admitted that he is aware of the president's difficulty and unwillingness to accept defeat.
"I know Mr. Trump better than most people do," Kelly said. "I know that he'll never accept defeat and, in fact, he doesn't have to accept defeat here. He just has to do what's best for the country and in the country's interest."
Kelly's latest remarks follow his recent statement published by CNN where he also expressed concern about the growing threat of a national crisis.
"The delay in transitioning is an increasing national security and health crisis," he wrote. "The current administration does not have to concede, but it should do the right thing just in case the Constitutional system declares they lost."


alternet--2020-11-14--Abusing 'the rule of law': More 1,000 ex-judges are sick of Trump's voter fraud farce

A large group of legal professionals , comprised of retired federal and state judges , state attorneys general and law professors , are pushing back against President Donald Trump 's post-election legal antics , making it clear the claims of widespread voter fraud are unfounded .
In an open letter , the group described as `` representing a myriad of political and ideological backgrounds '' stressed the importance of `` accountability for false claims of fraudulent election . ''
They called on public officials and lawyers to uphold the oath they have taken to defend the Constitution by refraining from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prolong president 's baseless legal battles to undermine the results of the election .
While the group did acknowledge that every candidate has the right to a fair electoral process , allegations of widespread voter fraud must be based on factual evidence .
They also noted how the president 's approach is a threat to the United States ' democracy and an effort to undermine the integrity of the country 's voting systems .
As they recounted the series of events that have transpired over the last several days , they stressed the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` The President of the United States has directed the filing of court cases seeking to stop ballots from being counted on the ground that there has been widespread ballot fraud , '' the letter stated .
`` His sons have sharply criticized Republicans who are not backing their father 's claims . ''
The letter added , `` Lawyers who represent the President , or his campaign , in challenges to this election – like all lawyers who appear in court – have an ethical obligation of candor to the court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Association 's Model Rules of Professional Conduct 3.3 , `` the lawyer must not allow the tribunal to be misled by false statements of … fact or evidence that the lawyer knows to be false . ''
Due to the severity of the situation , the group has also urged legal professionals to put partisanship aside and put the country before Trump 's unfounded demands .
`` This unprecedented moment transcends partisanship .
The country and the world are watching to see how America responds to the President 's shameful attack on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ There has never been a more important time for America 's lawyers to acknowledge the importance of these solemn commitments , and to demand accountability for those lawyers and federal officials who do not live up to their oaths and ethical obligations . ''
The letter concluded with a lengthy list of the signers who have expressed support for the calls of accountability .

A large group of legal professionals, comprised of retired federal and state judges, state attorneys general and law professors, are pushing back against President Donald Trump's post-election legal antics, making it clear the claims of widespread voter fraud are unfounded.
In an open letter, the group described as "representing a myriad of political and ideological backgrounds" stressed the importance of "accountability for false claims of fraudulent election." They called on public officials and lawyers to uphold the oath they have taken to defend the Constitution by refraining from perpetuating falsehoods and implementing legal actions to prolong president's baseless legal battles to undermine the results of the election.
While the group did acknowledge that every candidate has the right to a fair electoral process, allegations of widespread voter fraud must be based on factual evidence. They also noted how the president's approach is a threat to the United States' democracy and an effort to undermine the integrity of the country's voting systems. As they recounted the series of events that have transpired over the last several days, they stressed the importance of legal professionals remaining ethically grounded.
"The President of the United States has directed the filing of court cases seeking to stop ballots from being counted on the ground that there has been widespread ballot fraud," the letter stated. "His sons have sharply criticized Republicans who are not backing their father's claims."
The letter added, "Lawyers who represent the President, or his campaign, in challenges to this election – like all lawyers who appear in court – have an ethical obligation of candor to the court. As embodied in the American Bar Association's Model Rules of Professional Conduct 3.3, "the lawyer must not allow the tribunal to be misled by false statements of … fact or evidence that the lawyer knows to be false."
Due to the severity of the situation, the group has also urged legal professionals to put partisanship aside and put the country before Trump's unfounded demands.
"This unprecedented moment transcends partisanship. The country and the world are watching to see how America responds to the President's shameful attack on the legitimacy of America's voting process.
There has never been a more important time for America's lawyers to acknowledge the importance of these solemn commitments, and to demand accountability for those lawyers and federal officials who do not live up to their oaths and ethical obligations."
The letter concluded with a lengthy list of the signers who have expressed support for the calls of accountability.


alternet--2020-11-17--'They're holding the whole country hostage': How Mitch McConnell flouts the will of the American peo

'They're holding the whole country hostage': How Mitch McConnell flouts the will of the American people

Tim O'Daniel and his coworkers at Cleveland Clinic Akron General confront additional cases of COVID-19 every day in a hospital so busy it 's sometimes difficult to find an empty bed .
They 're also battling rising frustration after waiting months for comprehensive coronavirus testing and other federal resources essential to containing the pandemic .
Americans voted overwhelmingly in the November 3 election to support the nation 's health care workers and go on the offensive against COVID-19 .
But while President-elect Joe Biden assembles a team of scientific advisers and finalizes his strategy for defeating the virus , there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ takes office on January 20 to begin turning the corner .
Americans can come together to demand that the Republican-controlled Senate immediately pass a commonsense bill providing coronavirus testing , contact-tracing programs and funds that states could use to give hazard pay to essential workers , like health care professionals .
Right now , one person—Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell—stands in the way of America 's fight against COVID-19 .
Instead of rushing to give Americans the support they demand , he defies the will of the people and lets the bill languish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` We 're paying with our lives , '' noted O'Daniel , president of United Steelworkers ( USW ) Local 1014L , who recently lost a colleague to COVID-19 .
`` We 're paying with our health . ''
The House already approved the bill , known as the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions ( HEROES ) Act , which would also set workplace safety standards for the duration of the pandemic and ensure a reliable supply of personal protective equipment ( PPE ) for the frontline workers putting themselves in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ take up the HEROES Act before the election—even as infection rates soared—because saving lives meant less to him than ramming through Justice Amy Coney Barrett 's confirmation to the Supreme Court and cementing the court 's right-wing majority for decades to come .
`` The confirmation of that justice did nothing to help the American people right now , '' observed O'Daniel , who 's infuriated that McConnell and other Republican senators `` can act on a dime '' for partisan political gain while dithering for months on measures essential to controlling COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inundated with COVID patients right now , '' he said .
`` We do n't see any kind of lull in the positive cases .
They keep coming .
We do n't see any outside help . ''
It was n't enough for McConnell to put politics before Americans ' safety in the run-up to the election .
He 's now flouting the marching orders that American voters issued on Election Day , when they braved COVID-19 and turned out in record numbers to demand not only a comprehensive pandemic response but also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shattered economy .
Americans overwhelmingly favor the kinds of economic measures included in the HEROES Act , such as another round of $ 1,200 stimulus checks to help low- and moderate-income families make ends meet during the crisis .
The bill would also extend $ 600 per week in federal unemployment benefits and emergency health care to millions of workers who lost jobs through no fault of their own , while also protecting the unemployed from eviction and mortgage foreclosure .
However , McConnell opposes aid to ordinary Americans—and even made the ridiculous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unemployment benefits than return to the jobs the pandemic took from them .
Instead of aiding O'Daniel and other health care workers overrun with COVID-19 patients , he worries about protecting corporations from what he fears will be a flood of lawsuits filed by workers and customers they recklessly exposed to the virus .
And so , although the American people want a stimulus bill to be the Senate 's top priority , McConnell and his Republican cronies refuse to act .
`` They 're holding the whole country hostage , '' observed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 105 , which represents workers at Arconic Davenport Works in Iowa .
The company laid off more than 100 of Greve 's members in July .
A few moved to take jobs in other cities .
But most just struggle to get by while hoping the economy will improve and enable them to return to work .
`` A stimulus program is going to have to fill the gap here , '' Greve said , noting workers laid off from many other businesses in the Davenport area face similar hardships .
`` They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden will take office on January 20 with decisive measures to defeat the virus and restore the economy .
But it angers him to think that while he and other health care workers do their part to fight COVID-19 every day , McConnell just sits on his hands as the pandemic rages .
Further delay in attacking the virus , O'Daniel noted , will mean the needless deaths of many more good-hearted Americans like the coworker he 'd known for 25 years .
`` This ca n't wait , '' O'Daniel said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ago . ''
Tom Conway is the international president of the United Steelworkers Union ( USW ) .
This article was produced by the Independent Media Institute .

Tim O'Daniel and his coworkers at Cleveland Clinic Akron General confront additional cases of COVID-19 every day in a hospital so busy it's sometimes difficult to find an empty bed.
They're also battling rising frustration after waiting months for comprehensive coronavirus testing and other federal resources essential to containing the pandemic.
Americans voted overwhelmingly in the November 3 election to support the nation's health care workers and go on the offensive against COVID-19.
But while President-elect Joe Biden assembles a team of scientific advisers and finalizes his strategy for defeating the virus, there's no reason to wait until he takes office on January 20 to begin turning the corner.
Americans can come together to demand that the Republican-controlled Senate immediately pass a commonsense bill providing coronavirus testing, contact-tracing programs and funds that states could use to give hazard pay to essential workers, like health care professionals.
Right now, one person—Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell—stands in the way of America's fight against COVID-19. Instead of rushing to give Americans the support they demand, he defies the will of the people and lets the bill languish while the pandemic death toll mounts.
"We're paying with our lives," noted O'Daniel, president of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1014L, who recently lost a colleague to COVID-19. "We're paying with our health."
The House already approved the bill, known as the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, which would also set workplace safety standards for the duration of the pandemic and ensure a reliable supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) for the frontline workers putting themselves in harm's way.
McConnell refused to take up the HEROES Act before the election—even as infection rates soared—because saving lives meant less to him than ramming through Justice Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation to the Supreme Court and cementing the court's right-wing majority for decades to come.
"The confirmation of that justice did nothing to help the American people right now," observed O'Daniel, who's infuriated that McConnell and other Republican senators "can act on a dime" for partisan political gain while dithering for months on measures essential to controlling COVID-19.
"Cleveland Clinic Akron General is inundated with COVID patients right now," he said. "We don't see any kind of lull in the positive cases. They keep coming. We don't see any outside help."
It wasn't enough for McConnell to put politics before Americans' safety in the run-up to the election.
He's now flouting the marching orders that American voters issued on Election Day, when they braved COVID-19 and turned out in record numbers to demand not only a comprehensive pandemic response but also decisive steps to rebuild the nation's shattered economy.
Americans overwhelmingly favor the kinds of economic measures included in the HEROES Act, such as another round of $1,200 stimulus checks to help low- and moderate-income families make ends meet during the crisis. The bill would also extend $600 per week in federal unemployment benefits and emergency health care to millions of workers who lost jobs through no fault of their own, while also protecting the unemployed from eviction and mortgage foreclosure.
However, McConnell opposes aid to ordinary Americans—and even made the ridiculous claim that some workers would rather receive unemployment benefits than return to the jobs the pandemic took from them.
Instead of aiding O'Daniel and other health care workers overrun with COVID-19 patients, he worries about protecting corporations from what he fears will be a flood of lawsuits filed by workers and customers they recklessly exposed to the virus.
And so, although the American people want a stimulus bill to be the Senate's top priority, McConnell and his Republican cronies refuse to act.
"They're holding the whole country hostage," observed Brad Greve, president of USW Local 105, which represents workers at Arconic Davenport Works in Iowa.
The company laid off more than 100 of Greve's members in July. A few moved to take jobs in other cities. But most just struggle to get by while hoping the economy will improve and enable them to return to work.
"A stimulus program is going to have to fill the gap here," Greve said, noting workers laid off from many other businesses in the Davenport area face similar hardships. "They need help."
O'Daniel knows that Biden will take office on January 20 with decisive measures to defeat the virus and restore the economy.
But it angers him to think that while he and other health care workers do their part to fight COVID-19 every day, McConnell just sits on his hands as the pandemic rages. Further delay in attacking the virus, O'Daniel noted, will mean the needless deaths of many more good-hearted Americans like the coworker he'd known for 25 years.
"This can't wait," O'Daniel said. "We needed help a long time ago."
Tom Conway is the international president of the United Steelworkers Union (USW).
This article was produced by the Independent Media Institute.


alternet--2020-11-16--New report reveals Lindsey Graham sought to have a GOP official throw out 'legally cast ballots'

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger , who oversees the state 's elections , gave a disturbing interview to the Washington Post on Monday and described an extensive and unsettling pressure campaign by Republicans upset that President Donald Trump lost .
Most notably , Raffensberger revealed that Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina , a close ally of the president , pushed him to find a way to throw out legal votes in the state .
In their conversation , Graham questioned Raffensperger about the state 's signature-matching law and whether political bias could have prompted poll workers to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Raffensperger .
Graham also asked whether Raffensperger had the power to toss all mail ballots in counties found to have higher rates of nonmatching signatures , Raffensperger said .
Raffspenger said he was stunned that Graham appeared to suggest that he find a way to toss legally cast ballots .
Absent court intervention , Raffensperger does n't have the power to do what Graham suggested , as counties administer elections in Georgia .
`` It sure looked like he was wanting to go down that road , '' he said .
When @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a spokesperson for Graham did n't deny it .
Instead , he `` referred The Post to a letter from Georgia state Republicans expressing concerns with the audit process , as well as the [ Rep. Doug ] Collins tweet attacking the secretary of state . ''
Graham 's involvement in such a scheme undercuts those who have dismissed the president 's coup attempt as entirely unserious or simply a manifestation of Trump 's emotional outbursts .
Rather , it appears to be a symptom of the Republican Party 's growing distaste @ @ @ @ @ @ @ electoral loss as legitimate .
While there 's no sign that the president 's attempt to overturn the election will succeed — indeed , the Post interview with Raffensperger showed that it 's failing — it needs to be taken very seriously .
Raffensperger also told the Post that he had received death threats , including a text that said : `` You better not botch this recount .
Your life depends on it . ''
He explained that the recount is proceeding as expected , and he believes it will affirm the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hand-counted audit that began last week will also prove the accuracy of the Dominion machines ; some counties have already reported that their hand recounts exactly match the machine tallies previously reported , '' the Post reported .

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger, who oversees the state's elections, gave a disturbing interview to the Washington Post on Monday and described an extensive and unsettling pressure campaign by Republicans upset that President Donald Trump lost.
Most notably, Raffensberger revealed that Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a close ally of the president, pushed him to find a way to throw out legal votes in the state.
The Post explained:
In their conversation, Graham questioned Raffensperger about the state's signature-matching law and whether political bias could have prompted poll workers to accept ballots with nonmatching signatures, according to Raffensperger. Graham also asked whether Raffensperger had the power to toss all mail ballots in counties found to have higher rates of nonmatching signatures, Raffensperger said.
Raffspenger said he was stunned that Graham appeared to suggest that he find a way to toss legally cast ballots. Absent court intervention, Raffensperger doesn't have the power to do what Graham suggested, as counties administer elections in Georgia.
"It sure looked like he was wanting to go down that road," he said.
When asked about the incident by the Post, a spokesperson for Graham didn't deny it. Instead, he "referred The Post to a letter from Georgia state Republicans expressing concerns with the audit process, as well as the [Rep. Doug] Collins tweet attacking the secretary of state."
Graham's involvement in such a scheme undercuts those who have dismissed the president's coup attempt as entirely unserious or simply a manifestation of Trump's emotional outbursts. Rather, it appears to be a symptom of the Republican Party's growing distaste for democracy and its resistance to accepting electoral loss as legitimate. While there's no sign that the president's attempt to overturn the election will succeed — indeed, the Post interview with Raffensperger showed that it's failing — it needs to be taken very seriously.
Raffensperger also told the Post that he had received death threats, including a text that said: "You better not botch this recount. Your life depends on it."
He explained that the recount is proceeding as expected, and he believes it will affirm the initial count.
"He said the hand-counted audit that began last week will also prove the accuracy of the Dominion machines; some counties have already reported that their hand recounts exactly match the machine tallies previously reported," the Post reported.