...I guess I should apologize for this topic, but let me assure you: I'm not attempting to troll(1). Here's the situation...
Everyone and their dog knows about the presidential election. Most people have come to terms with the results, but a part of the population still believes that there was massive fraud. And that doesn't seem to change after actual lawsuits (what's the current score? 26 losses to 0 wins?), in large part (2) because Donald Trump himself keeps repeating allegations.
The thing is: I can easily list a dozen sources saying that the allegations are unfounded or not based on reality, but that just means these sources are creditworthy TO ME. Trump supporters start from the belief that Trump doesn't lie, and that therefore the media claiming otherwise is lying. Heck...it probably strengthens their resolve ("so many are saying Trump is lying. Therefore, I should back him EVEN HARDER"...that sort of reasoning). Still...it's the reality as we've come to expect.
So...time to focus on that other election. The one about the senate. The one democrats forgot to steal somehow (3): the senate. Because while everyone was watching the presidential elections, republicans just beat all the polls and raked in 50 of the 100 seats(4). Democrats rose far less than expected to just 48...or 49, if you count the new vice-president elect Kamala Harris, who gets to be the tie-breaker. Two seats were too close to be called in Georgia (Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue), so there'll be a runoff election on January 5th.
...and this is where things get interesting: because Georgia went to Biden, Trump isn't too happy with them. And if Trump isn't happy, neither are his allies. Which leads to...well...this situation: Trump supporters openly talking about boycotting this election or staying at home because of the (alleged) voter fraud in the earlier election. I'm talking guys who tweet stuff like not voting in “another fraudulent election with rigged voting machines & fake mail ballots.” (L. Lin Wood) or "writing in the president's name" (making the ballot invalid).
Granted: it's just a local election (Georgia only, IIRC). Still...it's an interesting case.
Thus far, Trump hasalways been running in the republican party since 2016(5). Outside critics claim that he has turned the GOP into Trump's private party. As an even outsiderish outsider, I can't really tell the difference. So this situation is an easy opportunity. Not even a hypothetical one either:
@GOP/Trump supporters: if push came to shove (which seem to become the case), how would you deal if you were in Georgia? Would you support those two candidates? And more broadly: if Trump said something the GOP directly contradicts...who would you believe?
EDIT: I suppose there's an alternative question here as well: if Trump would run for president in 2024 as an independent candidate, would you vote for him or for the GOP candidate?
EDIT: heh...just when you thought it couldn't be more stupid...Trump's former lawyers rally to boycott this election as well.
(1): I won't deny that I personally find the situation hilarious, though.
(2): as of writing, William Barr openly told there'd be no allegation of fraud to the degree it would affect the outcome. It should probably be "exlusively because Trump keeps repeating the lie", but that's not the goal of this thread
(3): yeah, no...I've got no idea how trumpists measure up that outcome in their head. And to be honest, I don't want to know how good they are are doublethink.
(4): it has to be noted that not all the seats were up for election
(5): I'm currently reading 'Fear'. In it, Woodward mentions casually that Trump had initially some hurdles to overcome, among which having contributed to democrat politicians.
Everyone and their dog knows about the presidential election. Most people have come to terms with the results, but a part of the population still believes that there was massive fraud. And that doesn't seem to change after actual lawsuits (what's the current score? 26 losses to 0 wins?), in large part (2) because Donald Trump himself keeps repeating allegations.
The thing is: I can easily list a dozen sources saying that the allegations are unfounded or not based on reality, but that just means these sources are creditworthy TO ME. Trump supporters start from the belief that Trump doesn't lie, and that therefore the media claiming otherwise is lying. Heck...it probably strengthens their resolve ("so many are saying Trump is lying. Therefore, I should back him EVEN HARDER"...that sort of reasoning). Still...it's the reality as we've come to expect.
So...time to focus on that other election. The one about the senate. The one democrats forgot to steal somehow (3): the senate. Because while everyone was watching the presidential elections, republicans just beat all the polls and raked in 50 of the 100 seats(4). Democrats rose far less than expected to just 48...or 49, if you count the new vice-president elect Kamala Harris, who gets to be the tie-breaker. Two seats were too close to be called in Georgia (Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue), so there'll be a runoff election on January 5th.
...and this is where things get interesting: because Georgia went to Biden, Trump isn't too happy with them. And if Trump isn't happy, neither are his allies. Which leads to...well...this situation: Trump supporters openly talking about boycotting this election or staying at home because of the (alleged) voter fraud in the earlier election. I'm talking guys who tweet stuff like not voting in “another fraudulent election with rigged voting machines & fake mail ballots.” (L. Lin Wood) or "writing in the president's name" (making the ballot invalid).
Granted: it's just a local election (Georgia only, IIRC). Still...it's an interesting case.
Thus far, Trump has
@GOP/Trump supporters: if push came to shove (which seem to become the case), how would you deal if you were in Georgia? Would you support those two candidates? And more broadly: if Trump said something the GOP directly contradicts...who would you believe?
EDIT: I suppose there's an alternative question here as well: if Trump would run for president in 2024 as an independent candidate, would you vote for him or for the GOP candidate?
EDIT: heh...just when you thought it couldn't be more stupid...Trump's former lawyers rally to boycott this election as well.
(1): I won't deny that I personally find the situation hilarious, though.
(2): as of writing, William Barr openly told there'd be no allegation of fraud to the degree it would affect the outcome. It should probably be "exlusively because Trump keeps repeating the lie", but that's not the goal of this thread
(3): yeah, no...I've got no idea how trumpists measure up that outcome in their head. And to be honest, I don't want to know how good they are are doublethink.
(4): it has to be noted that not all the seats were up for election
(5): I'm currently reading 'Fear'. In it, Woodward mentions casually that Trump had initially some hurdles to overcome, among which having contributed to democrat politicians.
Last edited by Taleweaver,