Hey! so we';re about to enter 2021, which would be a typical changing of the year if it weren't for an election. Even for an election season this has been far from typical as machinations are afoot to try and force a change in the 2020 election result, eithe rby court decree or in the halls of Congress.
Yes, in the nearly two months since election day the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago still has refused to concede the election and admit that former Vice President Joe Biden will get his job at noon on January 20, 2021. From trying to pressure legislators in states where Biden won to numerous court battles on both the state and federal level the Mad Fuhrer's minions are doing their damnedest to try and keep their power and, in same ver extreme cases, further play footsie with a weird turn of christian theocratic fascism that seems to hold democracy in contempt.
So far it's been at best an extremely uphill battle as states, after facing some pressure, certified their electoral college votes in mid December and sent them to Washington, DC for the Senate to certify on January 6 (about a week from today). In normal times this will be a mere formality as the loser of the lection would've conceded long ago and the transition ould be well underway. However, since the last four years under the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago haven;t been typical we probably shouldn't expect this last step to be quiet and/or non eventful.
Already there are signs that a number of Repubs in the House of Representative plan to challenge the results and the electors' votes on the 6th. Several Senators have also implied that they may do so as well. The purpose of this is a way to force co-electoral vote winner Miikey to overturn the certification of the states that chose Biden and hand the election to electoral vote winner Donny , despite losing the popular vote by 10 million and the legal challenges in these states have almost always lost (there was one win in Pennsylvania and even that was unlikely to change the election result). Add to that a conservative legal group called the Thomas More Society joining with some of Donny's minions to sue co-electoral vote winner Mikey and the electoral college over this and things are truly reaching a level of the absurd.,
As I said so far the legal challenges have been shot down almost instantly. I expect it's unlikely the Supreme Court will take up the latest filing from the Mad Fuhrer's legal team claiming alternate electors were officially chosen (in fact, when some people have claimed to be alternate electors they weren't officially chosen. In addition, some states were required to go with the popular vote winner and would be unable to do so). Like the previous filing with SCOTUS I have a feeling that this newest one will be refused more out of politicall savvy on the part of the new right wing justices Donny appointed rather than any integrity. Or, to quote Scott Soriano of Soriano's Comment, "They wouldn't willing fuck themselves."
This leaves us with the Congressional count on the 6th and the possibility of Repubs in either houses challening electors or the result. Odds are it's going to happen. However, so far it would have to be agreed on by both the House and the Senate to be taken seriously. Even though the Senat eis ontrolled (for now) by Repubs, the House is still controlled by Democrats and it's unlikely (though there may be conservative Dem who might try) they'd choose to overturn the will of the people.
I left out the option of the military coup which may still have some very slight possibility as the Mad Fuhrer called for the military to seize voting machines just before Christmas. While his firing civilian leaders at the Pentagon is alarming and can be seen as planning for a coup, this step would've have to have been taken weeks ago. Also, there are reports that some in the Pentagon are meeting in secret for contingencies in case of violence in January over the election. Whether that's in case there's a call for a coup or to have to remove Donny from office come inauguration day is uncertain. However, military leaders have said they won't interfere in elections in this country. So, I won't say we shouldn't be worried but a close friend of mine who's a military history buff thought it was unlikely citing the military's dislike for the Mad Fuhrer among other things.
So where does that leave us? We have one more step before the 2020 election is officially over. Odds are good that Biden will be declared the winner (Senate Majority leader Addison the Turtle has reportedly warned Senators against acting otherwise) though it's prudent to be aware and prepared for anything at this point.
In a truly just world those Repub Congresspersons who signed onto support that last SCOTUS request to overturn the election wouldn't be seated on ground that they supported a coup of sorts against a leader who, while not their guy, was democratically elected. Sadly, establishment Democrats in the House have probably been warned in advance against doing so by wealthy donors who care more about their tax cuts than you or I. Still, there needs to be some accountability for those who already tried to overturn this election as well as those who might try on the 6th.
The last thing this country needs is a coup for the New Year>
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