The last American election? 2020 and the rise of the anti-democrats
The red lights are blinking brighter than ever.
By Rachel Maddow
Help us celebrate MSNBC’s first 25 years by joining us every day for 25 days as our anchors, hosts, and correspondents share their thoughts on where we've been — and where we’re going.
On September 23, 2020, reporter Barton Gellman published an article at The Atlantic titled “The Election That Could Break America.” It was the stuff of small-d democratic nightmares.
Gellman described “blinking red lights” among expert observers of our political process — alarming signals ahead of the 2020 election that “the mechanisms of decision are at meaningful risk of breaking down.”
Some of the portents Gellman observed were already in clear public view: Former President Donald Trump — in advance of the election — denouncing mail-in ballots as inherently fraudulent; Trump proclaiming the election itself — again, in advance — as “The greatest rigged election in history.” Gellman walked readers through the wooliness and exploitable loopholes in the statutory and constitutional provisions that undergird the lauded “peaceful transition of power” during the interregnum between election day and inauguration.
Gellman also reported for the first time that the Trump campaign was “discussing contingency plans to bypass election results… in battleground states where Republicans hold the legislative majority.” Pennsylvania’s state Republican party chair even admitted to Gellman that he had initiated those discussions with Trump’s campaign because, “If the process… is flawed… our public may lose faith and confidence” in the election’s integrity. And in that instance, the argument goes, Republican state legislators would step in and void the result of the supposedly flawed vote, replacing it with their own declaration of who won. They would then send a slate of electors for their chosen candidate to represent Pennsylvania for the electoral college count.
READ MORE: The last American election? 2020 and the rise of the anti-democrats
https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/last-american-...
Posted By: Dea. Ron Gray Sr.
Tuesday, July 13th 2021 at 12:03AM
You can also
click
here to view all posts by this author...
