SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Trump supporters wearing "make America great again" hats stand together in back of Vice President Mike Pence as he interviews with Fox news following a rally for President Donald Trump's re-election campaign in Gilford, NH on Sept. 22, 2020. (Photo: Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Trump Keeps Telling Us How He and Republicans Plan to Steal This Election
Can we stop him and save our republic before it's too late?
Sep 23, 2020
Donald Trump became president by exploiting a loophole called the Electoral College. The majority of Americans did not want him or vote for him as president, but he's there anyway.
Now he's planning on using a different loophole, the 12th Amendment, to hang onto power.
"It's come down to us. We are the last bulwark of democracy in America."
Back in the election of 1876, the Democrat, Samuel Tilden, won both the Electoral College and the national popular vote. But four states claimed that occupying union troops were engaging in voter fraud, so they submitted electoral college slates for both candidates. With these competing Electoral College slates, neither candidate won the majority needed to take the Electoral College and become president.
As a result, the election got thrown to the State legislatures via the House of Representatives, and they chose the Republican who had lost the election, Rutherford B. Hayes, as president.
Donald Trump proclaimed, during a rally a few days ago, that he and the Republican Party are planning a very similar strategy, as I wrote about back in March of this year.
All nine swing states have Republican-controlled state legislatures, and the Constitution gives state legislatures the final say in what their Electoral College vote is. They have the ability to completely ignore how the election turned out, and simply choose any presidential candidate they want.
It's pretty clear now that the Republicans in those states are planning to do what Republicans did in 1876, and have their state legislatures direct their electoral vote for Donald Trump, even though Joe Biden may have won more votes in their states.
When this happens, Democrats will claim that Republicans are trying to steal the election, but Republicans will say they're simply doing what the law allows, just like happened in 1876 when Rutherford B Hayes lost the election but still ended up in the White House.
Democrats will then sue the Republicans, and the election will end up before the Supreme Court. Thus Trump, at another rally Tuesday night said that he needs one last vote on the Court who is loyal to him, who was appointed by him.
This is why Republicans are pushing so hard to get a Supreme Court nominee on the bench before November 3.
This election is now in our hands.
If we push hard enough on our senators, we may be able to stall or slow down Trump's plan to line up the Supreme Court to help him steal the election.
If we show up in large enough numbers to vote, particularly in-person voting and particularly in those nine swing states, and our vote is so overwhelming that nobody can deny that Trump lost, we will have a better defense in the court of public opinion against Trump's attempted theft.
It's come down to us. We are the last bulwark of democracy in America.
The fascists, neo-Nazis, and shills for right wing billionaires and foreign oligarchs are planning a full-scale theft of the American presidency.
We must stop them.
Go to IWillVote.com and make sure that Republicans have not removed your name from the voting rolls. Plan now to make sure your vote is counted.
This election may be the last chance to prevent America from sliding irretrievably into fascism. We must do everything we can to save our republic.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Thom Hartmann
Thom Hartmann is a talk-show host and the author of "The Hidden History of Monopolies: How Big Business Destroyed the American Dream" (2020); "The Hidden History of the Supreme Court and the Betrayal of America" (2019); and more than 25 other books in print.
Donald Trump became president by exploiting a loophole called the Electoral College. The majority of Americans did not want him or vote for him as president, but he's there anyway.
Now he's planning on using a different loophole, the 12th Amendment, to hang onto power.
"It's come down to us. We are the last bulwark of democracy in America."
Back in the election of 1876, the Democrat, Samuel Tilden, won both the Electoral College and the national popular vote. But four states claimed that occupying union troops were engaging in voter fraud, so they submitted electoral college slates for both candidates. With these competing Electoral College slates, neither candidate won the majority needed to take the Electoral College and become president.
As a result, the election got thrown to the State legislatures via the House of Representatives, and they chose the Republican who had lost the election, Rutherford B. Hayes, as president.
Donald Trump proclaimed, during a rally a few days ago, that he and the Republican Party are planning a very similar strategy, as I wrote about back in March of this year.
All nine swing states have Republican-controlled state legislatures, and the Constitution gives state legislatures the final say in what their Electoral College vote is. They have the ability to completely ignore how the election turned out, and simply choose any presidential candidate they want.
It's pretty clear now that the Republicans in those states are planning to do what Republicans did in 1876, and have their state legislatures direct their electoral vote for Donald Trump, even though Joe Biden may have won more votes in their states.
When this happens, Democrats will claim that Republicans are trying to steal the election, but Republicans will say they're simply doing what the law allows, just like happened in 1876 when Rutherford B Hayes lost the election but still ended up in the White House.
Democrats will then sue the Republicans, and the election will end up before the Supreme Court. Thus Trump, at another rally Tuesday night said that he needs one last vote on the Court who is loyal to him, who was appointed by him.
This is why Republicans are pushing so hard to get a Supreme Court nominee on the bench before November 3.
This election is now in our hands.
If we push hard enough on our senators, we may be able to stall or slow down Trump's plan to line up the Supreme Court to help him steal the election.
If we show up in large enough numbers to vote, particularly in-person voting and particularly in those nine swing states, and our vote is so overwhelming that nobody can deny that Trump lost, we will have a better defense in the court of public opinion against Trump's attempted theft.
It's come down to us. We are the last bulwark of democracy in America.
The fascists, neo-Nazis, and shills for right wing billionaires and foreign oligarchs are planning a full-scale theft of the American presidency.
We must stop them.
Go to IWillVote.com and make sure that Republicans have not removed your name from the voting rolls. Plan now to make sure your vote is counted.
This election may be the last chance to prevent America from sliding irretrievably into fascism. We must do everything we can to save our republic.
Thom Hartmann
Thom Hartmann is a talk-show host and the author of "The Hidden History of Monopolies: How Big Business Destroyed the American Dream" (2020); "The Hidden History of the Supreme Court and the Betrayal of America" (2019); and more than 25 other books in print.
Donald Trump became president by exploiting a loophole called the Electoral College. The majority of Americans did not want him or vote for him as president, but he's there anyway.
Now he's planning on using a different loophole, the 12th Amendment, to hang onto power.
"It's come down to us. We are the last bulwark of democracy in America."
Back in the election of 1876, the Democrat, Samuel Tilden, won both the Electoral College and the national popular vote. But four states claimed that occupying union troops were engaging in voter fraud, so they submitted electoral college slates for both candidates. With these competing Electoral College slates, neither candidate won the majority needed to take the Electoral College and become president.
As a result, the election got thrown to the State legislatures via the House of Representatives, and they chose the Republican who had lost the election, Rutherford B. Hayes, as president.
Donald Trump proclaimed, during a rally a few days ago, that he and the Republican Party are planning a very similar strategy, as I wrote about back in March of this year.
All nine swing states have Republican-controlled state legislatures, and the Constitution gives state legislatures the final say in what their Electoral College vote is. They have the ability to completely ignore how the election turned out, and simply choose any presidential candidate they want.
It's pretty clear now that the Republicans in those states are planning to do what Republicans did in 1876, and have their state legislatures direct their electoral vote for Donald Trump, even though Joe Biden may have won more votes in their states.
When this happens, Democrats will claim that Republicans are trying to steal the election, but Republicans will say they're simply doing what the law allows, just like happened in 1876 when Rutherford B Hayes lost the election but still ended up in the White House.
Democrats will then sue the Republicans, and the election will end up before the Supreme Court. Thus Trump, at another rally Tuesday night said that he needs one last vote on the Court who is loyal to him, who was appointed by him.
This is why Republicans are pushing so hard to get a Supreme Court nominee on the bench before November 3.
This election is now in our hands.
If we push hard enough on our senators, we may be able to stall or slow down Trump's plan to line up the Supreme Court to help him steal the election.
If we show up in large enough numbers to vote, particularly in-person voting and particularly in those nine swing states, and our vote is so overwhelming that nobody can deny that Trump lost, we will have a better defense in the court of public opinion against Trump's attempted theft.
It's come down to us. We are the last bulwark of democracy in America.
The fascists, neo-Nazis, and shills for right wing billionaires and foreign oligarchs are planning a full-scale theft of the American presidency.
We must stop them.
Go to IWillVote.com and make sure that Republicans have not removed your name from the voting rolls. Plan now to make sure your vote is counted.
This election may be the last chance to prevent America from sliding irretrievably into fascism. We must do everything we can to save our republic.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.