U.S. Presidential Election 2020

He has a proud history of listening to advice and keeping calm under pressure, so we should be OK. Stand back and stand by.

At what point do the elders of the GOP step in and tell Trump to stop being a ****? Can they even

I don’t think it will do any good, he doesn’t seem like a good listener at the best of times, and I get the impression he wouldn’t give anyone the time of day unless he wanted something from them.

The only way I can see him listening is if/when he admits he’s lost (unlikely), decides he wants another go in 2024 (he might I guess) and thinking he’ll need them for the nomination, but as the Elders of the GOP didn’t want him last time, he probably doesn’t think he needs them now.

I think DT will be advised to not melt down if he loses, keep his cool and he can stand again in 4 years time. When and if he calms down, he will be quietly removed.

He won’t calm down at all. He’ll spend the next 3 months stoking the conspiracy theory fires, telling all his supporters they’ve been robbed, they should rise up and reinstate him to his natural position as Tangerine God, he’ll pass as many laws as he can to make life as difficult as possible for his successors.

It’ll be absolute chaos – wouldn’t surprise me at all if a few Democrat senators and/or voters get shot dead in the violence that he could stoke if he puts his tiny little mind to it.

not so. there have been UK elections where the party with the most votes did not win the most seats

You’re right, happened twice in 1951 and 1974. But then our system is only slightly better 650 seats rather than 50 states just mean that it happens less often

I think DT will be advised to not melt down if he loses, keep his cool and he can stand again in 4 years time.

Not a chance. He’d be 78. 82 at the end of the term.

At what point do the elders of the GOP step in and tell Trump to stop being a ****?

Pence & McConnell are as bad as Trump and I guess the others are going to stay quiet until the initial count has concluded at least. I could imagine him posting a vague call to arms Tweet and the GoP reacting then but only if it’s absolutely sure any of his legal challenges won’t work, at that point their interests won’t align with Trump’s

Not a chance. He’d be 78. 82 at the end of the term.

1 year old then Biden is now of course, but I fancy Biden is the fitter man.

1 year old then Biden is now of course, but I fancy Biden is the fitter man.

Biden won’t see this term out.

Biden won’t see this term out.

You’ve got plans for him have you? 😉

I’m still flabberghasted at how the US system and media can lead to two, three or four different versions of who has won what state and by how much while the counts are still ongoing! Candidates declaring wins when there’s still huge amounts of votes waiting to be counted or even delivered, legal challenges before the result is official etc. I know our system is far, far from perfect but it looks like the pinnacle of efficiency and professionalism compared to the US version, which looks like a corruption-riddled farce. The problem is that calling it that plays into Trump’s version of illegal votes and voter fraud whereas the issue is all about how the votes are counted and declared once the polling stations close!

It really should be run so much better.

Biden won’t see this term out.

Then America will finally get to have a female president and will hopefully realise that it isn’t so bad (or rather, is no worse).

Not a chance. He’d be 78. 82 at the end of the term doing a 10 – 15 stretch in Leavenworth.

oops seems i broke something 🙂

I’m still flabberghasted at how the US system and media can lead to two, three or four different versions of who has won what state and by how much while the counts are still ongoing! Candidates declaring wins when there’s still huge amounts of votes waiting to be counted or even delivered, legal challenges before the result is official etc. I know our system is far, far from perfect but it looks like the pinnacle of efficiency and professionalism compared to the US version, which looks like a corruption-riddled farce. The problem is that calling it that plays into Trump’s version of illegal votes and voter fraud whereas the issue is all about how the votes are counted and declared once the polling stations close!

It really should be run so much better.

Ah it makes for good TV drama.

Just watched the Paula White vid again fully aware of theotherjonv on his way to the campsite bogs but oh my god I nearly choked myself with laughter around about his fourth appearance. When it zooms out and you see him in his shorts I just about shat myself.

Best thing on the internet today.

Word is that the full vid is 2 hrs + and he campsite-bog-man features all the way through. Not sure I could handle that.

Been surfing, what’s the state of play?

From the BBC:

An international observer mission says the US elections were “tarnished by legal uncertainty and unprecedented attempts to undermine public trust”.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said the vote itself was “competitive and well managed” despite the challenges presented by Covid-19.

But, it said, “at the same time, the campaign was characterised by deeply entrenched political polarisation that often obscured the broader policy debate and included baseless allegations of systematic fraud”.

In a statement on its preliminary findings, the OSCE mission said “baseless allegations of systematic deficiencies, notably by the incumbent president, including on election night, harm public trust in democratic institutions”.

——————————————————————————

Honestly if the Democrats can win this against a massive background of lies, voter intimidation and manipulation, lawsuits, confusion and threats then it potentially implies that they have a much bigger margin than the result might actually show.

No real change (unless you’ve been surfing for a week).

Trump may catch Biden in Arizona via mail-ins (suggested GOP chant: ‘count every vote!’)
Mail-ins in Biden’s favour are rapidly closing the gap in Georgia and Pennsylvania. (suggested GOP chant: ‘stop the count!)

Hoping this hasn’t been posted yet…

Wow, so Trump can't just stop the vote count? pic.twitter.com/HBBwvS79pF

— Adriel Hampton (@adrielhampton) November 4, 2020

Hoping this hasn’t been posted yet…

I posted it a few pages ago. 😉

He won’t calm down at all. He’ll spend the next 3 months stoking the conspiracy theory fires, telling all his supporters they’ve been robbed, they should rise up and reinstate him to his natural position as Tangerine God, he’ll pass as many laws as he can to make life as difficult as possible for his successors.

Or to put it another way, given I mainly repost Marina Hyde columns, this from yesterday:

Should Biden edge a victory, thanks to the way the self-styled greatest democracy in the world works, we will have months of grimly incendiary Trump claims that it was stolen. Or, to put it in terms the rest of the planet would understand: this is like winning the World Cup in November, then having the losing captain use it as a toilet for three months before finally handing the brimming trophy over to you in late January.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/nov/04/ok-america-so-what-the-hell-happens-now

5th, he’ll be told that but they’re certainly not in the habit of letting losers stand twice (he won’t know that), and even some of the GOP realise he’s a bit too much of a hair-triggered orangeutang.

Downfall Trump = Agolf Twitler

(Not my work)

Biden won’t see this term out.

His lizard overlords have a plan for him in another dimension don’t they.

WWG1WGA

One thing (amongst many) that I don’t understand about this election is why are both sides claiming victory and success in various states (sometimes even the same state) before the results?

It’s not like the vote counters are going to say ‘oh, well, if you say so’ and stop counting, nor can they influence the result or voters at this stage?

So what is the point?

So what is the point?

You need to legitimize your position before the legal battles start. Ideally, you want it to look like you were always ahead so that the voting public accept your claims as legitimate.

Pence & McConnell are as bad as Trump

McConnell already has said that all the votes have to be counted, putting a sliver of daylight between him and DT

I think it’s really lovely that in these politically polarized times, democrats and republicans have agreed they can both win.

They are leading the world in polite co-operation.

Trump supporters are literally outside a government building in Arizona protesting the fact that votes are being counted. pic.twitter.com/hxi6VU9ZTS

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 5, 2020

from a friend’s FB

Counting polled votes is not ‘stealing an election’. It’s the definition of ‘an election’

It’s terrifying they’re allowing armed protesters to intimidate vote counters.

So much for shrugging and going back to work.

How trump will have to be removed from the white house

https://fb.watch/1zACqGnYfO/

Ha, I can imagine it’ll be exactly like that! 😆

@tir – How the elections are held and how the votes are counted are decided by each state. In some cases the state doesn’t have to declare a result until the end of November! The polls closed on Tuesday night so all votes have been cast so there’s no influencing of late voters. Voting is done on a “per county” basis and how quickly this gets done depends on the voting population of the county – the rural ones tend to be smaller.

Obviously if a candidate has an unassailable lead then although the remaining votes will be counted (the voting ballot isn’t just for the president but for state and local officials and for various referenda and proposals) but they won’t affect the outcome.

Where it gets “interesting” (or frustrating if you just want it all over and done with) is where one candidate is in the lead but the votes in the counties yet to be counted could overturn that lead. Just whether that is likely to happen depends on the political makeup of the counties yet to be counted. Which is why in Georgia for example, Trump is currently in the lead but the remaining uncounted votes are from areas that are strongly Democratic so Biden needs a certain proportion of those votes to win.

The early calls come about because the various news outlets and pollsters take a punt at the split (based on historical voting patterns) in the yet to be counted votes and make the call. In Wisconsin the losing candidate can contest the result and ask for a recount if there’s less than 1% difference between them and the “winner” – rarely changes the result by all accounts.

Plus as hols says – you want to get your claim in first.

@theotherjonv

Well that depends on whether you get the answer you want.

If it isn’t the answer you want, dig out that right to bear arms and get busy.

You’d like to think that armed protests against vote counting might be the “Are we the baddies?” point for at least some of the less indoctrinated cult members.

Honestly if the Democrats can win this against a massive background of lies, voter intimidation and manipulation, lawsuits, confusion and threats then it potentially implies that they have a much bigger margin than the result might actually show.

It’s not just that. In my lifetime, only twice has an incumbent president been defeated, yet Biden is on track for the highest share of the popular vote in 40 years. I think his performance is far more impressive than he’s being given credit for.

Thanks Houns, properly needed that uncontrollable laughing.

You’d like to think that armed protests against vote counting might be the “Are we the baddies?” point for at least some of the less indoctrinated cult members.

Countering that – in the same way as thugs used football as the vehicle for a good scrap in the UK in the 70’s / 80’s – there’s a proportion of thugs (on both sides) who probably don’t really care about the election outcome or the legality of the counting, and just see it as an excuse to go all militia. But with guns instead of fists. Scary prospect.

So I don’t keep checking the news all day, am I right in thinking we won’t hear anything new re. the counts till this evening?