The Days After Election Day

David Posnett — Sat, 31 Oct 2020 15:30:32 +0000

As our democracy hangs by a rapidly fraying thread, it is critical that each of us do everything we can to ensure that Donald Trump is voted out of office, and once voted out of office, that he actually LEAVES office.

“The Day After Election Day,” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/30/opinion/trump-election-officials.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage an article in The New York Times, is an account of officials and aides who are worried the president will use the power of the government to keep himself in office. Following are highlights (lowlights is probably a more accurate term) from the article for those who can’t access it:

“Even though they can’t predict exactly what will happen, their concerns range from the president welcoming, then leveraging, foreign interference in the election, to encouraging havoc that grows into conflagrations that would merit his calling upon U.S. forces.

“I think the biggest shock he had — ’cause his assumption was the generals, ‘my generals,’ as he used to say and it used to make us cringe — was he …just assumed that generals would be completely loyal to the kaiser….And when we weren’t, that was a huge shock to him….

“This shock, and his first two-plus years of struggle with seasoned, expert advisers, led to an insight for Mr. Trump. It all came back to loyalty. He needed to get rid of any advisers or senior officials who vowed loyalty to the Constitution over personal loyalty to him. Which is pretty much what he proceeded to do.

“….Having loyalists at both the Department of Justice and D.N.I….allows him, potentially, to coordinate two key agencies of the government — secret intelligence and prosecution — toward his own political ends.

“Key officials in several parts of the government told me how they thought the progression from the 3rd to the 4th might go down.

“…Disruption would most likely begin on Election Day morning somewhere on the East Coast, where polls open first….A group could just directly attack a polling place, injuring poll workers of both parties, and creating a powerful visual — an American polling place in flames, like the ballot box in Massachusetts that was burned earlier this week — that would immediately circle the globe.

“Violence and conflict throughout that day at the polls would surely affect turnout, allowing Mr. Trump to claim that the in-person vote had been corrupted….There are many scenarios that might unfold from here, nearly all of them entailing weeks or even months of conflict, and giving an advantage to the person who already runs the U.S. government. There will likely be some reckoning of the in-person vote drawn from vote tallies and exit polls. If Joe Biden is way ahead in these projections…Mr. Trump may find himself having to claim fraud or suppression that amounts to too large a share of votes to seem reasonable. Inside the Biden campaign they are calling this “too big to rig.

“No matter how the votes split, there’s an expectation among officials that Mr. Trump will claim some kind of victory on Nov. 4, even if it’s a victory he claims was hijacked by fraud….If the streets then fill with outraged people, he can easily summon, or prompt, or encourage troublemakers among his loyalists to turn a peaceful crowd into a sea of mayhem.

“…But across the government, another official argues that citizens may yet manage to rise to the challenge of this difficult election, in a time of division.

“The last line of defense in elections is the American voter,” he told me. “This is the most vulnerable phase,” now and the days immediately after Election Day, “where we’re so eager to have an outcome, that actors both foreign and domestic are going to exploit that interest, that thirst, that need for resolution to the drama.”

And there you have it. The days and weeks after the election are likely to be a referendum – not on Donald Trump, but on each and every one of us. When everything is on the line, it’s time to do everything you can. Stay tuned.

Virginia’s Gerrymandered State House

David Posnett — Tue, 22 Oct 2019 02:55:42 +0000

On November 5th, Virginians go to the polls to vote for their state representatives. After an historic flip of 15 House of Delegate seats in 2017, Democrats are within 2 seats of taking back control of both the state house and the state senate for the first time since Republicans gerrymandered the state in 2011. Because the census and redistricting will occur in 2020 and 2021, and because in May 2019 the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that partisan gerrymandering is legal, the survival of our Democracy depends on Democrats flipping as many state houses as possible between now and November 2020. The People PAC, run by local Long Island activist and Resist and Replace member, Mara Gerstein, is running data-driven, targeted digital advertising in 3 of the closest races in the state: Phil Hernandez in HD 100, Lindsey Dougherty in HD 62, and Karen Mallard in HD 84. Because this is an “off off” year election (with no races at the top of the ticket) more than ever, these races will come down to turn out. The People PAC is laser focused on reaching Democratic leaning voters who are at-risk of not voting. Please give what you can to support their efforts and do your part to help FLIP VIRGINIA BLUE!

Donate here: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/virginia19

More about the candidates and ad examples:

Phil Hernandez (HD100): https://vimeo.com/364831652 — Phil was born on the Eastern Shore, raised by a mom who used every trick in the book to get by and get the best for her kids. Aside from running a childcare business out of her living room to make ends meet, she also took them to all the restaurants where kids ate free. Because of her dedication and support, Phil was able to excel in school, and that was his ticket. He eventually became an environmental policy expert in the Obama administration, where he worked with people all over the country and from both parties to encourage clean energy jobs. Eventually, he realized that he could best be of service to the district where he was raised, and would be proud to serve the 100th.

Karen Mallard (HD84): https://vimeo.com/364831013 — In a district that cares deeply about education, Karen has been a dedicated teacher for more than 21 years. In fact, when she graduated from a teaching school, her retired coalminer dad said “Hey, maybe I can be your first student.” So, from the start, she saw what the impact of education could be not just on individuals, but entire families. She grew up poor, a daughter of hardworking parents, and understood how resources are allocated differently for folks who are already underresourced. She also experienced how education can pull you out of any circumstance, and became an educator herself out of that knowledge and passion to give back. But she kept running into all kinds of policy issues that were inhibiting the education of her students and realized that she needed to run for office to overcome those obstacles.

Lindsey Dougherty (HD62): https://vimeo.com/364831337 — Lindsey was driven in large part to run for office by struggling with insurance companies over the treatment of her child, who was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder. Instead of focusing on all the things a family should be focusing on when a child is ill, she instead spent countless hours arguing with insurance companies over whether her child’s treatments were covered. She realized that there were lots of families like hers and that it was the larger system that needed changing. Now she’s a tireless campaigner and has knocked on more doors than almost anyone in the state.

Mara Gerstein
Executive Director
The People

www.thepeoplePAC.org

gerrymandering – R&R – Reachout and Rebuild

The Days After Election Day

Virginia’s Gerrymandered State House