I spent a lot of time during the closing of last year arguing with those who accused President Donald J. Trump of attacking democracy by challenging the results of the November election.
No, no, I said.
He is going to court, which the rules provide for people with a beef.
That is not attacking the system, it is coloring inside the lines. It is following democracy. Going to court is not a coup.
And when the courts, almost every single one, ruled against his thread bare arguments, he accepted it.
Oh, sure, he pissed and moaned on Twitter, his favorite megaphone (Fox & Friends is his second favorite), but he accepted the court’s verdict. He had to. Why? He had no choice. He can’t get the military to arrest judges. Why?
Because our democracy is strong, the checks and balances created by our genius founding fathers remains strong, stronger than the vanity of a deluded president.
Then he called to arm-twist Georgia’s Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger. The Georgia official is — or maybe was — a proud Trumpster, but had to listen to an hour’s worth of fantasy from the president, who cited “rumors” and things he had “heard” about the election, which has been more closely examined than an astronaut returning from space. Georgia ballots were counted three times, including by hand.
The president and his emissaries have been unable to present — how do you say? — proof of wide scale election fraud. There are some irregularities — there always are — but not enough to change the results.
Sez who? Every damn judge listening to Trump’s whining — including judges he appointed to the bench — not to mention his hand-picked and generally subservient Attorney General, William Barr.
Is he another traitor, like Jeff Sessions?
On Saturday, Trump tried making Raffensperger an offer he couldn’t refuse, like a Mafia don out of a Mario Puzo novel.
This was not going to court. This was not coloring inside the lines. This approached extortion, and a coup to undo the decision of the majority of the nation. He begged Raffensperger to “find” 11,000 votes for him, as if he were seeking a tax break in a real estate transaction.
Now, this was an attack on democracy, and it failed.
The president’s cajoling and bribery lite was rebuffed by a politician who supported him, but whose duty, and we might say honor, required him to uphold his oath. He was not going to “find” 11,000 votes for The Donald.
So here is a standing ovation for Secretary Raffensperger, a Republican to be proud of.
Unlike the dirty dozen U.S. Senators who will protest the election and shame themselves, aligning with the naked king who believes he is clothed.
And also unlike a president who seems to be believing his own bullshit. Yes, I think he actually believes he won, and that he has been cheated. His ego blots out the sun, and also the facts.
He is turning whatever legacy he might have into tragedy by his demented behavior and inability to leave the stage like an adult.
Well said Stu. He went from sore loser to flat out unhinged raving lunatic. Doesn’t the word sedition come into play at some point if these conversations continue in this direction?
Maybe, but with 2 weeks left, why bother?
That is looking at the bright side!
I think today answers your question. Regrettably
Good article Stu
He’s been attacking the constitution since before he was even inaugurated. Never stopped.
There will be violence before he’s removed from office- started by his minions and cultists. He’s counting on it.
I don’t believe either of those things, but violence IS possible. Why should Antifa have all the fun? 🙂
HAPPY MONDAY !!!
pallie,
Where we would be without egos ?!? OUR President Trump, certainly has probably the biggest ego ever to set foot in Washington D.C.. It’s a shame. I believed in the man, and still do. The swamp got to him and Trump doesn’t want to admit it. The odds of him keeping the white house are probably a longer shot than that of hitting the lottery.
Again, it’s a shame. Trump did a lot of good, and no doubt, would have done even greater things for the people of the United States. We’re just not going to see it.
Again, it’s a shame,
Tony
Trump refilled the swamp with lobbyists & his billionaire buddies. I’m a Republican & veteran and Trump is a disgrace. A phony patriot, bad American & a traitor to the Constitution. Far worse than Tricky Dick Nixon.
Tony,
Remember the “insurance policy?” You know, Peter Strock, If Trump were to somehow win in 2016? It set in motion an attempt to bring him down (Russia hoax). For 4 years they tried with the help of the media (complicit, naive or just not interested ). Yes, It ‘s a damn shame. The next 4 under Biden/Harris will shock the hell out of everyone.
Tom
Agreed, Tom. But “shock” may be putting it mildly.
Trump did some good, but his mouth and tweet storms turned people against him (along with sone of his policies, too)
Did you listen to the entire conversation? I.did.
Philadelphia, PA
Dear Stu,
I think you’ve got this just about right. Mr. Trump is making a fool of himself. The dozen Senate Republicans should be ashamed of themselves; and they undermine the authority of the Senate to boot.
The emperor’s “new clothes” are pretty transparent.
H.G. Callaway
—You wrote:
And also unlike a president who seems to be believing his own bullshit. Yes, I think he actually believes he won, and that he has been cheated. His ego blots out the sun, and also the facts.
Thanks, H.G.
did you look close at the PA results, I worked state wide elections for 14 years in PA , Philly was always in by ten pm , then Pittsburg, then all the little towns to 1am , Biden picked up over 400,000 votes after 1am . It is impossible . No one will look at it , Mark
The results from Philadelphia and Allegheny counties are almost identical to those from 2016. They couldn’t count paper ballots until 8 PM. It’s been looked at. 14 elections? This one was different.
Mark,
Another impossibility. Biden in Michigan, at one fell swoop, gained 138,339 votes, meaning Trump received zero. This is just one of many “glitches” they’re fighting. It’s not sedition as some suggest. In fact it’s constitutional.
Tom
I worked polls, and also covered elections, and found it rare for Philly to have official results by 10 p.m.
Spot on Stu. You are the consummate writer. Always objective. I am opinionated. You have opinions as well. You don’t let them get in the way of telling the truth. This was all said on tape. Georgia is a one party consent state. Brad Raffensperger had every write to release this tape, especially when accused of criminal acts on Trump’s Twitter account. WP had the right to publish the transcript and play the full one hour tape and 4:51 in question. This is news. The president can’t prove malice and his suit again Secretary of State is not valid. Thanks again for being a true journalist. another great article.
Thank you.
As I said before, he is batshit crazy. I just hope I live long enough to see his ample rump in prison. Hopefully the NY lawsuit will proceed now that he will be out of office.
Enjoyed your thoughts.
Thank you. Did you hear that the Trump Presidential Library will be in Sing Sing? 😜
Another dead-nuts-on article, Stu. Your article also reminded me of an old expression used by eccentrics, like Dr, Frankenstein: “They said I was mad, but I’ll show them!”
Thanks, Randy.
Thank you Stu, for putting it out there, clearly, and succinctly. I hope some of your Right-Wing followers will at least think about this, since you have their respect.
I truly believe Trump is a textbook Psychopath. Like all Psychopaths, he becomes increasingly bold the more he gets away with. The real horror to me, is his powerful enablers. No dictator, no matter how monstrous can hold on to power, without the help of others.
Happy to do it, Naomi, just calling them as I see them.
Trump’s eerie craziness of late (what else can I call it? And I voted for the guy!) is truly scary. But the entire mess can be laid at the feet of a US government that, in this day and age of super high tech, cannot come up with a foolproof method of voting that we can believe in without question. Does anyone, even diehard leftists, believe that there were no shenanigans in the most recent election? Paper ballots, really? PAPER BALLOTS in the 21st century? How odd it is that during the Covid crisis, the Postal Service took from December 7 to January 4 to deliver a Christmas card from Ohio to my place in Pennsylvania, yet was able to deliver millions of mail-in ballots without delay. Really? The US voting system is a disgrace, and it’s only because the system is so questionable and subject to fraud and manipulation that President Trump’s diehards believe the election was stolen.
Awomen to that !😀
I got a late notice from Macy’s a week before the notice of payment arrived — on Jan. 3, demanding payment by Dec. 22. (I got the late charge removes.)
Theory, Vince: USPS gave priority to mail ballots.
Stu, your theory is correct. One of my neighbors works for the Post Office and I was told they had to put other pieces of mail on “the back burner” in hopes of handling the ballots. You can thank Trump for putting Louis DeJoy in charge of the Post Office with Trump ordering DeJoy to try and destroy it.
HAPPY WEDNESDAY !!!
shoulda, coulda, woulda & hearsay
H,
You have your source of (mis)information. I have mine. My nephew said months ago that this is all b.s.. Sure, there’s always a screw up someplace & somehow, but there is no so called orders to hold up or delay or sit on any mail. My buddy out here said that they were told that “All” mail will get delivered as fast as possible. The carriers were out delivering till 9 p.m.. for two weeks.
We just received a delivery marked “Priority Mail”. It only took 18 days to reach us. It got delayed in Jersey. For some reason, went to Maryland, then to Wilmington, which is the clearing house. You do know that every piece of mail that’s handled by the USPE gets checked for “foreign substance” ?
Tony
Sorry Tony, but I believe my information over your information.
Trump and co at this point are simply nazi’s attempting a Reichstag fire of their own in COngress on the 6th. THey need to be charged with treason and sedition. Its that simple.
I agree. But the cowardice of the GOP will prevail!
Mark, I truly believe Trump is a want-to-be dictator. As far as I am concerned he, and his minions, be it the proud boys, the kkk, and the rest of those groups can KMA!
HAPPY TUESDAY !!!
Stu,
Sorry to say. When you have a blog such as this current one, it’s almost like being on face book.
I joined face book to keep an eye on the Chester County politics. That turned out to be a complete waste of time. My republican party was so busy patting themselves on the back, that they forgot to run an aggressive campaign. I was not aware how democratic the county was, until I got involved in the primary.
Aside from politics, face book is a place to have conversation with people of your ilk. If you own guns and are a patriot, then you should be ready for an revolution. If you joined “biden is not my president” page, then you have perfected your cursing, swearing and useless bantering. The only value that I see from face book, is finding family that I haven’t seen in a million years. All of a sudden, we’re all grand parents ! Go figure !
The point of this babbling is this, pallie. You presented ( as always ) a well written article on a timely subject. You print facts and let the public ( your followers ) do as they may. Sorry to say. There is too much likeness to face book in these replys. There is NOTHING unconstitutional being done. President Trump is exercising his constitutional rights. True, there probably were crimes permitted. I say probably, because they have not been proven otherwise.
Trump tried to drain the swamp of lifetime bureaucrats. If you think otherwise, then you’ve been reading the wrong books. The people he brought were at the top of their field. If you were having a house built. Would you hire a farmer to do the job ? That’s about as ridiculous as it gets.
I understand that everyone has a right to their own opinion. I was given some good advice awhile back, and sometimes I take it. “Write what ever you want. Curse at the world, yell at the moon. Get it all down in print. Read it over, make sure that you have everything that annoys you. THEN HIT DELETE !”
Tony
Facebook earns it keep just by finding lost friends and family.
My FB page, like this blog, attracts both left and right, so it is not an echo chamber.
understood. just venting
Amen, but there are still so many who can’t see it!
Send them my column 😀
Well, Trump and and his idiot followers are rioting in DC. Trump, the bitch that he is, stirred them up. In addition Giuliani suggested physical violence by saying “So let’s have trial by combat,”.
good thing that you’re staying calm and well mannered!
Tony, why are you worried what I said as opposed to the idiot things Trump, his attorneys and his followers are doing and saying?
Tony, I did not expect an answer from you and you did not disappoint me. You appear to be more concerned about a curse word than people breaching our Capitol. You were, however, very upset about the protests, even the peaceful protests, which were about Black people being killed for no good reason. IMO that speaks volumes about where your beliefs/feelings are.
H,
Seldom do you ever write positive thoughts. No, I don’t like cursing. I try ( & fail) to not curse. There are volumes of words that can be used to replace childish vulgarities.
As for Trump. You are good at “cherry picking”. As Stu has said earlier. The good that OUR President has done, will be hidden by his enormous ego ! My wife and I were having a political discussion. ( It would scare normal people. ) One point that I made about Trump was this. The man has gone places never before touched by another President. His demeanor ( ego ) got him were he is today ! Trump had almost all of the swamp against him – from before 2016. His team was very good, but they couldn’t hold back the tide from the swamp. What has to be realized is this. Since 2016, the dims have plotted and built their argument. They brought in real constitutional lawyers that found the rules & exceptions that are never mentioned. While all of this was being brought together, the swamp and the repubs sat back and laughed . They fell for it, hook, line and sinker. By the time that they did realize that there was a real threat, the race was over.
As for protests. There you go cherry picking. Try reading some real books ! Get an interpreter and someone that under stands law, and read the U.S. Constitution. After you have actually absorbed that little book, try the PA Constitution. You’ll learn all kinds of things like “right to protest” and “freedom of speech”, 2nd & 4th amendments, et al .
Other than that. We stopped having nonsense discussions last year, and I don’t see any reason to start bringing them up.
Tony
Tony, extremely seldom do you write anything even remotely critical of Trump and his followers.
Trump is attempting a coup, plain and simple. He needs to immediately removed from office by any legal means necessary including executing his traitorous ass! The people who are participating need to be handled the same way they would be handled if they were from a foreign country…shoot them and shoot to kill!
you need to get off of those meds !
coup. traitor. the dims pulled a fast one on a sleeping voting public !
You are the one who cannot see that the emperor has no clothes on.
H., you’re back with your childish argument. You don’t like Trump, good for you. If you remember when Rizzo lost the election, it didn’t take long for Philly’s public to ask, ” where is Rizzo “?!?
Tony, why are you not condemning the coup attempt Trump started?
Trump needs to be removed from office immediately. He is mentally deranged and is a threat to the survival of the U.S.A.
Removal will make things worse, ignite the loons who believe in the Deep State.
We can wait 13 days.
Stu, Trump has the ability, and is deranged enough, to cause problems that would make yesterday look like a friendly get together. Are you willing to take that chance?
I said to you and to people like you. Try a better book selection. Fanatics that don’t read or understand the law – never mind the constitution – make the loudest noise.
No doubt about it ! Trump went too far Tuesday & Wednesday. I wouldn’t doubt that his ravings cost the repubs at least one Senate seat.
Tony
If you fear he is deranged, H., bringing impeachment might push him to do something REALLY rash. That occur to you? 12 days to go. Take a chill pill.
Stu, it is a roll of the dice either way.
I don’t care for empty gestures. 12 days to go.
Stu, while I understand what “empty gestures” means I am not sure what, or who, you are referring to. Please explain it to me.
Impeaching Trump now is like divorcing a dead spouse.
Well Stu, I asked for an explanation and you gave me a great one. Thank you. I now fully understand what you meant.
Stu: Trump is in NO manner “Tragic!”’ A tragic person , at some point, admits his/her culpability, his errors of judgment, the fact that he is his or her own WORST enemy! He understands his own moral culpability and either reverses his immortality— or accepts his fate!
Criminal 45 is a classic VILLAIN, a melodramatic cut out, with limited intelligence and NO morality. His choices are all selfish, narcissistic and bound to fail. The moral world HATES him, wants to see his destruction and only with that blistering end is the moral order of the world restored!
From his descent down his escalator, through his totally “Trumped Up” charges of a rigged election to his sedition, Felon 45 has never been worthy of rational empathy—and yes, there are millions who this despicable man has licensed to lie, steal, cheat and maim! They imitate his behavior!
But, we are now witnessing world wide condemnation of the entire Trump Klan and the Republican Party.
Your terminology of “Tragic” is shortsighted and classically inappropriate needless to say wrong headed.
Stephen
This column appeared too long ago for me to comment on now.