Althouse: "As the mail-in ballots are tallied, the Trump leads erode. But the situation is genuinely unclear. Trump is on the warpath, raging about fraud."

September 4, 2020

"As the mail-in ballots are tallied, the Trump leads erode. But the situation is genuinely unclear. Trump is on the warpath, raging about fraud."

"Within weeks there are lawsuits and challenges everywhere. It’s like Florida in 2000, but the chaos is happening in many states at once. Ballots are getting tossed because of problems with signatures, or not getting tossed, amid national frenzy. Trump says he won’t let Democrats steal the election and declares himself re-elected.... It turns out, amid the existential crisis, there really is a group of sober people who are militant about America, who can see reality unblinkered by the lens of partisanship, and who are finally compelled to organize.... The process of mobilizing for an accurate election outcome, before it is too late, would be a struggle to preserve the order of our civic structure against the myriad foes who talk blithely about tearing down systems, disorder and disruption."

From "What Will You Do if Trump Doesn’t Leave?/Playing out the nightmare scenario" by David Brooks (NYT).

There are way too many people who should know better who are stirring up the forces of chaos. The idea that these people are going to help if there's new chaos as the vote is tabulated and fought over seems overly optimistic. We are already having a national nervous breakdown and if there are "sober people" who "see reality unblinkered by the lens of partisanship," where the hell are they? Partisanship clouded the perception of reality quite a while ago, and it's going to continue and get worse in the next 2 months. Who has the credibility to "preserve the order of our civic structure" so we can get through some creditable tabulation of the vote? Nobody. Nobody even wants it. The fact that the discussion is focused on the idea of big bad Trump refusing to leave makes it all too obvious.

137 comments:

Farmer said...: Never knew a sitting President could simply declare himself re-elected. Good to know, Brooksy!; 9/4/20, 10:24 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: How about one-vote per person, valid ID to vote, purple finger to vote, etc...?

Why are the democrats so desperate for their Al Franken/ CA style 'keep counting til' D's win' boxes of ballots mysteriously found/obvious cheat-the-vote scheme ?; 9/4/20, 10:29 AM
rehajm said...: Not the thing NYT would talk about if they thought Biden was up by +7....; 9/4/20, 10:29 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: Have they EVER considered that Democrats should be ready to concede to save the country if Trump legitimately wins? Asking for a friend.; 9/4/20, 10:29 AM
Carol said...: All these fevered, what-if fantasies make me think people watch too much Netflix.; 9/4/20, 10:30 AM
tcrosse said...: "What will you do if Trump won't leave?"

What will you do if Hillary won't go away?; 9/4/20, 10:30 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: The next article I see pondering what to do when Joe refuses to concede will be the first one.; 9/4/20, 10:31 AM
gspencer said...: During the Summers months just before the 911 attack by Muslims, we were told that "the lights were blinking red" but that those in charge basically ignored the warnings.

The same can be said for the upcoming election. But at least Trump is warning.; 9/4/20, 10:32 AM
Jupiter said...: "There are way too many people who should know better who are stirring up the forces of chaos."

Oh, they know exactly what they are doing.

More ammo. More guns and lots more ammo.; 9/4/20, 10:34 AM
Owen said...: Prof. A: you sound nervous. That makes me nervous.

I do think David Brooks has lost his mind. The trouble with that is, he therefore is in no position to listen to reason. He is going to keep producing this crap until somebody gets the hook. But why would his masters ever want to do that?

As Lenin said, "the worse, the better." We are into some serious mayhem now.; 9/4/20, 10:35 AM
traditionalguy said...: Pelosi wins if the House is Dem + RINO majority. Because the Dem states will keep elections in court for 4 years.; 9/4/20, 10:36 AM
Kate said...: Some people love to play "what if" and concoct the most worrying scenarios. My dad is such a person. He's not a journalist paid to create his parlor game at a major publication, though.; 9/4/20, 10:36 AM
bobby said...: In-person voting. On one day. With approved picture ID. Ink applied to thumb after vote. Have to vote absentee? Only with strict identification requirements, only if ballot is in a week early.; 9/4/20, 10:38 AM
Edmund said...: I have some friends in the military. They will take orders from whomever is the winner of the election. If Biden wins, he's the commander in chief. If Trump wins, he continues. And one way or another the election will be decided by the date the Electoral College ballots are done.

The idea floated that the military will blindly follow Trump is absurd. They don't take an oath to follow him. but to defend the Constitution.

I expect that the rest of the Federal Government is the same. The Secret Service will take orders from the winner. The DOJ will take orders from the winner.

Will there be protests either way? Yes. Might some get violent? Yes. Will there be conspiracy theories spun? Yes.; 9/4/20, 10:40 AM
tommyesq said...: Let me guess... one of the "group of sober people who are militant about America, who can see reality unblinkered by the lens of partisanship, and who are finally compelled to organize" is named David Brooks (NYT).; 9/4/20, 10:42 AM
David-2 said...: The way to "mobilize for an accurate election outcome" would be to demand in-person voting for everyone. Absolutely everyone, no exceptions. Show valid identification, check your name off a list, dip your finger in ink, and vote. Paper ballots only so there's a record to inspect. No need for "provisional ballots" or any other baloney. No room for "harvesting".

People who currently get absentee ballots and need them (as opposed to those for whom it is a convenience) won't get to vote: So be it. Get the voting system back on the rails. Do that for a few national elections so trust comes back and then you can reinstate absentee ballots for those who need them.

I live in Washington State. Mail in ballots only. The Dems have perfected the system over the last decade: No chance of any non-Dem winning a statewide or national election ever again, here.; 9/4/20, 10:43 AM
Temujin said...: These articles are everywhere. The Democrat PACs and other funded groups on the Left have made their wargaming public. They want people to understand that Trump will win the election on election day, via the totals from in-person voting. However, the blue tsunami will be the mail-in votes counted over the next few weeks. (they say 'two', but you know it'll go on as long as they need to find all the votes necessary). This is what they are planting in everyone's head as we speak.

They are already setting the table. I am sure there are Republican groups working on scenarios as well, though I've never thought the Republicans have this stuff as organized as Democrats do. No one does anarchy like Democrats. Republicans tend to still think there are rules to follow. I know- funny, huh?

What I cannot understand and have never understood: How is it so hard to register once in order to vote every 2 or 4 years? And you don't have to re-register for each election. You just have to manage it once. How is that difficult? How is it a racist standard to require an ID to match up with your own name to vote? And why can't people manage to vote in person? And why are Democrats expected to be 80% of all mail-in votes. 80% How is that possible?

How is it possible that we're being led to the slaughter of our entire system by people who cannot seem to do the simplest, most basic tasks to take part in a democratic system. They cannot register. They cannot show ID. They cannot even vote on election day in person. They have to vote by ballot mailed to them, even though they may be dead, or non-citizens, or have already filled out 6 other ballots.

We're watching and allowing this.; 9/4/20, 10:43 AM
Mike Sylwester said...: President Trump's nomination of conservative judges to federal courts for eight years -- unimpeded by Senate filibusters -- is a political catastrophe for liberals.

A few months ago, I watched Brooks answer questions for about an hour on BookTV. Brooks said he does not consider himself to be a political conservative.

Brooks is in a state of despair about Trump's imminent re-election. He knows that Trump will continue to nominate conservative judges for another four years.

This situation is making Brooks crazy. It is making millions of liberals crazy.

------

Aside from this judiciary issue, President Trump might be able to essentially end illegal immigration and significantly reduce legal immigration during his second term. That too will be a political catastrophe for the Democrat Party.

Trump will be an extraordinarily important US President. In that regard, he will be similar to President Reagan.; 9/4/20, 10:44 AM
Dave Begley said...: I can hear CNN and MSMNBC on Election Night now. "Although it appears that Trump has won 40 states, we still have the mail-in and absentee ballots to tally. We will not call the election."

And, of course, they will leave out the fact that even if ALL the uncounted ballots went for Biden, Trump would still win.

Setting this narrative now is so, so evil.; 9/4/20, 10:47 AM
buwaya said...: Yep. This is not the 1960s.; 9/4/20, 10:48 AM
DanTheMan said...: >>Who has the credibility to "preserve the order of our civic structure" so we can get through some creditable tabulation of the vote?

I'd propose the Supreme Court as perhaps the last remnant of our government that both sides still have some regard for. John Roberts may well cast the one and only vote that counts.

>> Nobody even wants it.
The Dems want chaos on election night and thereafter, and are saying so. The more uncertain the vote, the better for them. They have already said the election won't be over until they've had time to "find" the votes they need.

>> The fact that the discussion is focused on the idea of big bad Trump refusing to leave makes it all too obvious.

This is all about changing the discussion to "What happens after Biden wins", hoping to leap over the fact that he lost. It's a Trump-like move. :); 9/4/20, 10:50 AM
wendybar said...: Democrats and Progressives are burning down cities, and you don't think they would CHEAT to win the election???; 9/4/20, 10:50 AM
404 Page Not Found said...: The Democrats know they are going to lose. Everyone knows their polls are fake, and lately they've taken to not even posting their fake polls, now that Trump is clearly far ahead, so far that even fake polls can't hide it.

Their last resort is massive voter fraud.; 9/4/20, 10:51 AM
Jason said...: Why is Trump refusing to leave after lost the election more of a nightmare than Trump being forced to leave when he actually won the election?

This chaos isn't just a one-way ratchet.; 9/4/20, 10:53 AM
Masscon said...: I note that in all the media portrayals of Trump he's is said to be raging or depicted like he is wildly lashing out. This is in direct conflict with how Trump acts whenever I (and I assume others) see him.

His language may be intemperate at times but he is always calm in the face of the unrelenting attacks and lies told about him and his policies, for example, see the new attack about Trump disparaging dead heroes on his trip to France. These attacks would be enough to make any normal person enraged but Trump carries on as a happy warrior. As someone who never liked Trump since the 80s and didn't see him as a viable national leader, I can't say enough about how he has held up under this withering blizzard of lies. Surely there is no one else that could come close to withstanding this assault.; 9/4/20, 10:58 AM
rehajm said...: The whole meme is the new #MeToo- saturation bomb the electorate with the pretense so they'll be sensitized to your plight when you try to pull off the scam...

...and it just might work. We've seen it work on people before, eh Althousians?; 9/4/20, 10:58 AM
Anonymous said...: Where are they? They are the never-Trumpers. They are the ones who are wiser than the rest of us; the ones can rise above all this petty bickering. Yeah right.; 9/4/20, 10:59 AM
Achilles said...: They know Trump is going to win a legitimate election in a landslide. Open socialism will not win an election in this country.

Their only option to win is to drive truckloads of "mail in ballots" up for a week or two.

Their current ongoing campaign of violence is the exact parallel of the NAZI party shenanigans during the Wiemar Republic.

This is just an ongoing coup.

It started on November 7th 2016.; 9/4/20, 11:01 AM
tim maguire said...: I assume by '"sober people" who "see reality unblinkered by the lens of partisanship,"' Brooks means people who value the democratic system above any particular winner or loser and will do the right thing even if it means their preferred candidate loses.

Well, there are lots of those people, but they will only be allowed to argue in favor of Biden because they will have voted for Trump. Any defense of Trump, no matter how legitimate, will be dismissed as partisanship by people like Brooks.; 9/4/20, 11:01 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Are the leftists already counting votes?; 9/4/20, 11:08 AM
Yancey Ward said...: All you gotta do, Brooks you shit-for-brains essayist, is to advocate for mail-in-ballots to arrive by election day or be void. At this point, the Democrats are going to be going to court to say a ballot with a postmark after January 20th 2021 should be counted.

There are a lot of problems with mail in voting, but setting a hard deadline for their arrival shouldn't be one of them.; 9/4/20, 11:09 AM
Achilles said...: We are already having a national nervous breakdown and if there are "sober people" who "see reality unblinkered by the lens of partisanship," where the hell are they? Partisanship clouded the perception of reality quite a while ago, and it's going to continue and get worse in the next 2 months. Who has the credibility to "preserve the order of our civic structure" so we can get through some creditable tabulation of the vote? Nobody. Nobody even wants it.

This is complete Bullshit Ann and you know it.

The people who support Trump have been extremely peaceful in the face of outrageous provocation.

Trump has been very restrained.

The last 4 years have been an unrestrained tantrum thrown by our political class.

Russia Hoax
Rape Hoax
Ukraine Hoax
COVID Hoax
Police killing peaceful unarmed black people Hoax

Every one of these has been a manufactured lie from their inception. In between these massive assaults on the truth and our liberty their have been countless lies and falsehoods like that bullshit Atlantic story your son is pushing.

It is time for the left to accept our political system and our country as founded.

Or they need to get the fuck out.; 9/4/20, 11:12 AM
Fernandinande said...: Playing out the nightmare scenario"

The nightmare scenario is Joe "Demented Sleazebag" Biden getting elected, or pretending to get elected.

Voting by mail shouldn't be allowed.; 9/4/20, 11:13 AM
Ralph L said...: Trump will be drowned out by the media and rioters. Dorsey will cut the feed.; 9/4/20, 11:13 AM
Birkel said...: Fortunately, the vote tallies will be beyond the margin of fraud in the important states.

I expect Election Day violence.
Black Panther redux.
Governors in Michigan, NC, Virginia, Wisconsin, Minnesota... They will try chicanery.
But in 2020 it won't matter.

Our institutions are having said nervous breakdown.
And they should for they are actively hostile to the people.; 9/4/20, 11:15 AM
AllenS said...: ... by David Brooks (NYT)

Sorry, I'm not buying whatever he has to say.; 9/4/20, 11:16 AM
Gravel said...: Yeah, something something NORMS something something Trump something something CIVIL WAR!!!1!1!ONE!!

What's that about Al Gore and Hillary? Sorry, can't hear you, what?; 9/4/20, 11:17 AM
cyrus83 said...: I'd say the order of our civic structure has been pretty well torn down by a left that has refused to accept that it lost a presidential election each of the last 3 times it lost, this most recent one resulting in a non-stop 4 year scorched earth campaign to get rid of Trump by any means necessary.

The push for mail-in ballots adds a new dimension though as it is highly unlikely Trump voters will accept a narrow loss due to the likelihood of fraud with such ballots, coupled with the way it will play out, with a large Trump lead on election day gradually shrinking until he loses. In the event, the best outcome for the country is that the election is a landslide victory for one side or the other.; 9/4/20, 11:17 AM
Big Mike said...: ... if there are "sober people" who "see reality unblinkered by the lens of partisanship," where the hell are they?

Probably at the rifle range practicing plinking targets at 300 or 400 yards.

Yes, I’m joking. Or so I hope.; 9/4/20, 11:17 AM
I'm Not Sure said...: "Nobody. Nobody even wants it."

Bullshit. It's Democrats who don't want a creditable tabulation of the vote.; 9/4/20, 11:20 AM
Money Manger said...: There are multiple variations of this scenario being pushed in the mainstream press. And in every one the unspoken assumption is that the mailed in ballots are the legitimate voice of the voters. And that Biden is the legitimate winner. And Trump won’t acknowledge it.
My more likely scenario is that most of the deciding mail in votes are bogus.; 9/4/20, 11:22 AM
Yancey Ward said...: With that out of the way, I think these scenarios where a big Trump lead is eroded for weeks afterward and it is Trump who resists is sheer projection. If there is chaos at all, it will be the Democrats stoking it by filing one lawsuit after another trying to extend the period of counting into December, just like it was in 2000.

I think, unlike 2018, the Trump Campaign and the Republicans are fully prepared to do exactly what the Democrats do with mail-in-votes. In 2018, the RNC was caught completely flat-footed in California and Arizona- I don't expect Trump to let that happen to himself- his team did well with mail-in/early voting in 2016, and I expect they will improve on that performance.

The Democrats are making a big mistake here by trying to drive down in-person voting- all they will end up doing, in my opinion, is to suppress their own fucking voting base. If Trump has, lets say, a 5% edge in the popular vote the morning after election day, that edge won't be overcome by mail-in votes- full stop. Biden had better be at least tied with Trump at that point, or Trump will be re-elected.

What I get from this brand new talking point coming out from the left is that they think Trump is going to win, and are trying to soften the ground for a full on legal assault to convince certain governors to not certify Trump's electoral votes in that circumstance- the most likely states where this might be the play are North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Virginia, with minor possibilities of Nevada and New Mexico. Of course, for this to work, the Democrats will need to control 26 state delegations in the House- at present the Republicans control 25 and Democrats control 24- it is very likely that this ratio won't change in a close presidential election given the present breakdown of members.; 9/4/20, 11:24 AM
JAORE said...: "...people who should know better who are stirring up the forces of chaos."

Why it's almost like they WANT to....; 9/4/20, 11:27 AM
Achilles said...: The media and local portland officials have the video of Reinhoel walking up to a man surrounded by BLM/Antifa thugs and shooting him in "self defense."

Local DA's refuse to charge violent leftists.

No warrant was issued by local authorities for Reinhoel.

It took federal marshals to get him.

Kyle Rittenhouse was charged with murder despite the video showing obvious self defense. He shot a child molester, wife and kid beater, and an armed communist who were all violently attacking him.

There are dozens of examples of local authorities giving full support of the law to violent leftist thugs committing political violence.

If they try to steal the election with "mail in ballots" then yeah there is going to be fun and games.; 9/4/20, 11:27 AM
Ken B said...: Accurate elections are easy. Lots of countries do them. Canada does it. In person voting, voter ID, paper ballots, scrutineers.
Anyone against those four things needs to carefully explain why their alternative is not a threat to accuracy.

The mistake is relying on a trusted soul to sort out the mess. The right approach is a reliable process to avert the mess. The mess is not inevitable.; 9/4/20, 11:30 AM
YoungHegelian said...: It turns out, amid the existential crisis, there really is a group of sober people who are militant about America, who can see reality unblinkered by the lens of partisanship, and who are finally compelled to organize....

You know, the good people. Like David Brooks. Not like those evil Trumpies, who believe in old nonsense like the Constitution & Federalism.; 9/4/20, 11:31 AM
Achilles said...: The Minnesota Freedom Fund has said it does not consider individuals’ charges before bailing them out. “I will see [the charges] after I pay the bill because it is not the point,” Greg Lewin, the fund’s interim executive director, said of the group’s efforts. “The point is the system we are fighting.”

Try stealing the election with "mail in ballots."

See what happens.; 9/4/20, 11:33 AM
Sebastian said...: "We are already having a national nervous breakdown"

You keep saying that, but no. Progs are staging a breakdown for the sake of breaking things down. Righties are playing a bit of defense. When we suffer a real breakdown, you'll know. We ain't there yet.; 9/4/20, 11:36 AM
David in Cal said...: This is a version of the crazy myth that Trump might refuse to accept the election results and refuse to leave office. For the New York Times to promote this fantasy is appalling.; 9/4/20, 11:36 AM
lane ranger said...: This effort by Brooks is part of the battle space preparation, to try in advance to label any complaints about ballot fraud as just Trump refusing to accept a "legitimate" loss. The more likely event is a Trump landslide, and we'll just have to hope it's large enough to be outside the margin of democrat vote fraud.; 9/4/20, 11:43 AM
Rory said...: "if there are "sober people" who "see reality unblinkered by the lens of partisanship," where the hell are they?"

Partisanship is a secondary characteristic. What you need are objective people, who can be defined as people who's thinking is derived from Enlightenment thinking. Our problem right now is that virtually everybody who thinks that way is to the right of center politically, and that makes plain good sense appear to be partisan.; 9/4/20, 11:44 AM
John Borell said...: What will you do if Biden steals the election?

Asking for a friend.; 9/4/20, 11:48 AM
John Borell said...: "A certain kind of Republican takes to the streets to enforce Trump’s version of events."

Is that like the Antifa kind who are now in the streets trying to enforce the far left's version of events?

Still asking for that friend.

She's named Our Republic.; 9/4/20, 11:50 AM
Deevs said...: At this point, you could fill up a book or two with "Trump refuses to leave office" speculative fiction articles published by professional journalists. WaPo had an article just the other day where they'd moved from speculative fiction to role playing. The participants in the RPG session were a bunch of people who hate Trump. It was one of the funniest articles I've read in a while.; 9/4/20, 11:53 AM
John Borell said...: This is all rich, coming from people who want to shed the Electoral College because the Democrats lost the popular vote.

Who want to pack the Supreme Court because it does not have a supermajority of left-leaning judged.

Who want to abolish the Senate because it acts as a counterweight to House.

Who want to add states and illegal immigrants who they think will vote left.

Who fight voter ID laws.

Who Do not believe in the founding principles.

Who will tear down any institution that is in the way of the left obtaining power.

Rich.

Fucking rich.; 9/4/20, 11:55 AM
Iman said...: Brooks is a joke.; 9/4/20, 11:55 AM
Two-eyed Jack said...: "What will you do if Trump won't leave?"

Least likely answer: listen to David Brooks.; 9/4/20, 11:56 AM
stlcdr said...: A lot of people ranting about 'what trump will do'...much like people are raving about 'what biden will do'.

Here is the scenario:

Biden has been in a position of power (sic) for 40 years. All the things he (and the left) complain about are under their control to either change or maintain a status quo.

Trump has been in a position just over 3 years and effected a lot of policies which improved the lives of american as individuals - reduced the burdens imposed by federal government - which help minimize the impact of this covid lockdown. He has done nothing that the left have accused him of.

Which is it: someone who wants to impose hardships on the american people, or this upstart Trump who has actually done something?; 9/4/20, 11:56 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: What do we do when we all see the left used fraud, time, and boxes of ballots to steal the election?; 9/4/20, 11:59 AM
Bill Crawford said...: I hope this plays out like some of the overblown weather reports about "snowmageddon" or some other storm where the media drums up a disaster that turns out to be a big nothing. May these dire predictions of the election also fizzle.

And, haven't the Dems been the ones saying Biden should not concede on election night? Why the focus on Trump?

I know, I know...stupid question, it's David Brooks; 9/4/20, 11:59 AM
Freeman Hunt said...: So much nonsense about, "What if the President stays?!" There's no staying. The military would pack up and out anyone who tried. Yet another passing hysteria.; 9/4/20, 12:02 PM
Scott said...: I often wonder how average working people in countries like Lebanon or Nigeria or Venezuela lead normal lives, in chaotic societies with deeply corrupt governments and dishonest news sources that obscure the plain truth.

I fear that in this country, government of the people, by the people, for the people is perishing before our eyes. We are going to have to learn how to live like they do.; 9/4/20, 12:03 PM
Martin said...: Or, how about,

"As the mail-in ballots are tabulated, Biden slowly erodes Trump's large lead in swing states, but at a rate too slow to make up his deficit. Stories of lost, misplaced, found, and corrupted mail-in ballots, mostly with the problems favoring or caused by Democrats, proliferate in local media but rarely appear in the national media, where they are without exception dismissed as inconsequential and proving nothing. Twitter and FB decide that mention of problems with mail-in ballots violates their terms of service and block thousand sof accounts; Google's search algorithm directs people to articles saying that mail-in ballots are perfectly safe and secure, and anything to the contrary is just crazy conspiracy theory. Biden refuses to concede and the media all back him, and build hysteria that Trump stole the election by in some unspecified way manipulating the in-person voting."

Sounds like the much more probable scenario given (1) the multi-phase coup the Obama Admin and Democrats tried to engineer from late 2016 through the 2020 impeachment farce, (3) despite his big mouth, Trump has shown no evidence of ever going against the law once a point has been adjudicated, and (4) via the so-called "Transition Integrity Project" and HRC publicly saying Biden should under no circumstances concede, the Democrats and media/academia are already deep into planning their coup and preparing the public to accept it.

Nowhere else in tew rold tusts mail voting, for all teh obvious reasons. It would have been easy to avoid crowds by just having people spread their voting over the very long early voting periods now in place almost everywhere, but that was never publicly discussed--which is VERY suspicious.; 9/4/20, 12:04 PM
MarkCh said...: Mail in ballots need to be scrapped. To justify this conclusion, we don't need evidence that fraud has happened -just that it easily could happen.; 9/4/20, 12:06 PM
Ambrose said...: Notice how Brooks employs the passive voice to make his argument - votes are tallied, ballots are tossed, chaos is happening. Everything just is - no one is causing it. Only the bad Trump is an actor here saying he won't let Dems cheat and declaring himself the winner.; 9/4/20, 12:07 PM
Aggie said...: The left is thinking they're being smart by setting up for providing the next four years of pestilence in a Trump win. But what will happen if the exterminator comes? There are lots of dissatisfied voters who feel like their last vote for Trump was systematically devalued for 4 years by sore losers. And you want to make them angrier?; 9/4/20, 12:09 PM
Bob Smith said...: I’m so old I remember when massive vote fraud in Cook County Illinois was fodder for every standup comedian in the country.; 9/4/20, 12:10 PM
Kyzer SoSay said...: This is Apocalypse Porn for sissy leftists.

It's also battlespace prep. Because the implication this article is leading the reader to is that Trump MUST leave, that there is NO WAY he can still be President after the votes are tallied, and that YOU need to do something about it. It's absolute bullshit from top to bottom, and it almost seems like a serious attempt to incite an insurrection movement, 2 months out from the election.

All I can say is: try it. Go ahead. Try marching down from the slums of Crest Hill into my town to intimidate voters. Try marching down, post-election, to cause chaos and destruction in my nice Red county. Try lighting your Molotovs, and chucking your bricks, and wrapping your first in a shroud to smash windows along Broadway.

When you end your life as a red smear on the pavement next to a twitching corpse dressed in "Fash-Bash Chic", I won't notice. My re-target game is tight, and I know when I hit.; 9/4/20, 12:10 PM
MarkCh said...: Brooks talks about Trump claiming a victory that is not rightly his. Mail in ballots could lead to a situation where fair minded people don't know if the victory is rightly Trump's or not. What then? Perhaps a good rule of thumb would be that in the case of uncertainty, let the victory go to the side that opposed creating that uncertainty.; 9/4/20, 12:14 PM
Gusty Winds said...: ALL of the forces of chaos are being stirred up by the Left and RINOs like David Brooks and the members of the Lincoln Project. So proud.; 9/4/20, 12:14 PM
hstad said...: LOL - NY Times pushing election B.S. Notice they don't even cover the swing states. That's because these States look to be moving toward Mr. Trump's corner. MSM, including, The NY Times, has given up about the election specifics now onto doing what 'Climate Huckster' Gore did in Florida in 2000.; 9/4/20, 12:16 PM
Greg The Class Traitor said...: It turns out, amid the existential crisis, there really is a group of sober people who are militant about America, who can see reality unblinkered by the lens of partisanship, and who are finally compelled to organize

Yes, there are

And we're all against the domestic enemies of the United States Constitution that currently control the Democrat Party.

Which is why we won't let Democrat vote creators steal the 2020 election.

You want an honest election? Great! So do we.

And honest election takes place when people are required to come in and show State issued photoID and prove their US Citizenship before voting.

Now, why is it that the Democrats fight against every reasonable measure for ensuring honest elections?; 9/4/20, 12:17 PM
rhhardin said...: You can't do an election with general mail-in ballots. It's all fraud opportunity.; 9/4/20, 12:18 PM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: My concern is we end up calmed and soothed by someone like Tom Hanks or Morgan Freeman: someone capable of acting calming, soothing, and moderate, without actually being moderate.; 9/4/20, 12:33 PM
Greg The Class Traitor said...: You want to know how you keep Trump from "raging about fraud"?

1: Each day, starting two weeks before teh election, every mail in voting recipient lists a count of all the mail in ballots they've received, and who they were from. This is available on the internet, where anyone can see it, and also as an easily downloaded form.

2: As ballots are verified, the online data is updated. So Joe Smith, received 10/31, disqualified 11/4. Or Mike Hunt, received 11/2. signature validated 11/4, counted 11/4

Thus outside observers know at all times how many ballots are outstanding and left to be counted

3: If an office ever "discovers" any ballots, the office is immediately shut down. Federal agents are immediately called in. The office is now a crime scene (either the ballots were mishandled, or else vote fraud is going on. There's no 3rd option).

Every single ballot gets re-counted, all signatures get re-verified, every registered voter is questioned about whether or not they voted, how they submitted their ballot, etc.

You talk to every registered voter so they don't think it's safe to lie and say "of course I voted" when they didn't.

So, do that, do your best to make it impossible for vote counters to cheat, and we'll talk.

Don't do that? Then after President Trump is leading on election night, any attempt to reverse that with later vote counts Is an attempt to steal the election, and should be stopped. With force, if necessary; 9/4/20, 12:33 PM
Jon Ericson said...: Jordan Sather
@Jordan_Sather_

According to BuzzFeed, they will no longer call QAnon a “conspiracy theory“, it is now a “collective delusion“ instead.; 9/4/20, 12:37 PM
Nonapod said...: Obviously Brooks and the rest of the media are prepping the battlespace. They preparing the narrative that even if it looks like Trump has won handily, don't trust it! There's still votes out in the ether somewhere that need to be counted! Chaos needs to be sewn until the desired result is achieved.; 9/4/20, 12:39 PM
Wince said...: Does Brooks even contemplate that Trump might win, or does he somehow know the fix is in after election day?

Brooks, Hillary and others are basically telegraphing their latest coup strategy.; 9/4/20, 12:40 PM
MikeDC said...: It's pretty evident to me that the only way to avoid disaster is for states to force voting in person as much as possible. Just like we've always done. You do that and pretty much the whole problem goes away.; 9/4/20, 12:48 PM
Colin said...: One more second clicks by on the doomsday clock.

So many people are pushing for a conflict, and it seems to be coming not just from the bottom, but higher in the social power structure. The left in self-righteousness, the right in anticipation (some of the rhetoric seems a tad eager).

The thing keeping me up at night now is thinking about what will be left over if this does ignite. Most nations have some sense of self-identity that's independent of their governance. France being the penultimate example - how many failed leaders and systems over the years, and yet everyone is still perfectly happy considering themselves French at the end of the day.

I don't think the US has that kind of cultural glue. It explains some of the over-the-top patriotism, a kind of compensation because we simply don't have that bone-deep cultural inertia of belonging that everyone else takes for granted.

The only thing we really have holding us together is respect for the rules and the system...and when that gets tossed in the trash, personal sense of nation goes with it.; 9/4/20, 12:50 PM
PHenry said...: Translation: If Biden doesn't win, it will only be because Trump doesn't accept the results due to the rampant blatant cheating the Democrats have engaged in. And if he dares to do that there will be war on the streets.
The integrity of our democracy depends upon the unquestioned acceptance of Democrat voter fraud on whatever scale is deemed necessary for them to win.; 9/4/20, 12:50 PM
Mary Beth said...: Are these people nonpartisan the way the FBI is nonpartisan? If so, no thanks.; 9/4/20, 12:55 PM
Michael K said...: Hoping for chaos that's called.; 9/4/20, 1:18 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: David Brooks at the NYT stirring up the forces of chaos.

How quaint.

He's really fired up. Don't get your creased trousers in a ringer, Snowflake; 9/4/20, 1:23 PM
rehajm said...: ...and now for some bipartisan battle space prep...

It's almost impossible to defeat an incumbent president with an approval rating above 40%, let alone at 52%... even if you think this poll is 10 points off, (which is unlikely), Biden has a very steep hill to climb & it's getting steeper:

Note that the last incumbent president to lose a re-election race was George H.W. Bush with 37% approval... & it was not a landslide loss

- Jake Novak

Trumps approval at 52% today via Rassmussen.; 9/4/20, 1:26 PM
Sally327 said...: I don’t know why anyone would think Trump would be eager to hang on. I don’t think he even really likes being President. Why would he? He is not treated with anything close to the respect the position calls for. I can’t remember the last Republican president who was treated with respect. They even treated Ike like he was a big dummy and he only lead the effort to win World War II. Not that Trump is anything like Ike.; 9/4/20, 1:27 PM
mandrewa said...: "Who has the credibility to "preserve the order of our civic structure" so we can get through some creditable tabulation of the vote? Nobody. Nobody even wants it."

Well I want it. I want a credible, honest vote. I've always wanted that. And I'll bet there are lots of people like me.

And if I think about it, I can up with lots of ideas for improving the integrity of the vote. And there are other people can come up with even better ideas. Ideas that I would recognize as being very good.

But what's the point? I've been here already.

All those left-wing people, those good people, because make no mistake they see themselves as being good, somehow by some magic they are always opposed to measures that would make it more difficult to commit vote fraud.; 9/4/20, 1:32 PM
rehajm said...: ...and now for some bipartisan battle space prep...

It's almost impossible to defeat an incumbent president with an approval rating above 40%, let alone at 52%... even if you think this poll is 10 points off, (which is unlikely), Biden has a very steep hill to climb & it's getting steeper:

Note that the last incumbent president to lose a re-election race was George H.W. Bush with 37% approval... & it was not a landslide loss

- Jake Novak

Trumps approval at 52% today via Rassmussen.; 9/4/20, 1:34 PM
Rabel said...: "We are already having a national nervous breakdown."

"We" is far too inclusive, and the "breakdown" claim spreads the blame around and deflects it from those responsible.

It's an excuse, not an analysis.; 9/4/20, 1:38 PM
Michael said...: These are the people who called for Trump's impeachment before he was sworn in. These are the people who put on hats resembling vaginas. Think of that last bit. how stupid and paranoid do you have to be to put on a pussy hat and go outside and think you are part of some "resistance." These people are stark raving mad and susceptible to virtually any insane bullshit put in front of them that appears bad for Trump.; 9/4/20, 1:44 PM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: Dave Begley said...

I can hear CNN and MSMNBC on Election Night now. "Although it appears that Trump has won 40 states, we still have the mail-in and absentee ballots to tally. We will not call the election."

You are thinking too small. On election night they will be calling states for Biden, based on mail-in ballot models, despite the fact that Trump is 20 points ahead in those states with 99% of precincts reporting.; 9/4/20, 2:03 PM
DavidUW said...: This is such an obvious set up to give cover for the media not declaring a winner on election night. In fact, they’ll speculate that X number of mail in ballots from democrat strongholds yet to be counted are “likely” to make Biden the projected winner.

Then the fraud, legal fights, barrels of ballots found in every ward heeler’s basement etc etc.

Even if they rightfully lose and concede by December, the riots will commence/continue. And Trump will be an “illegitimate “ president like Bush was after 2000. And every act of “resistance” will be even easier to justify.

Too many grifters can’t stand another 4 years of slightly less grift; 9/4/20, 2:04 PM
DanTheMan said...: >>So much nonsense about, "What if the President stays?!" There's no staying. The military would pack up and out anyone who tried. Yet another passing hysteria.

The military is barred by law from law enforcement action against US citizens.

Should Biden be the clear winner, and Trump refused to leave the White House, It would be a matter for the DC police and the US Secret Service. Not for the US Army.

Having the military take sides and install a new President would end any doubt that we have become a banana republic.; 9/4/20, 2:09 PM
buwaya said...: Qanon is a very successful propaganda channel.

It propagates what amounts to tabloid-level scurrilous material about its opponents.

It works by influencing people by using a series of compelling dramatic narratives, to induce its fans to personally amplify its reach using their own social media accounts. It doesnt even have to repeat these narratives; like a popular but finalized TV series it has a perpetual fan base.

Given that this is a propaganda war and that truth has long since been a casualty (ref the classic "The First Casualty", Knightley; I had the first edition) the Qanon approach cannot be called anything but fair (as turnabout is always fair play) given what the American msm is pleased to give us.; 9/4/20, 2:09 PM
Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...: Farmer nails it right out of the box. I would add, if Trump can declare himself the winner, why not just do it now. There’s no way the left can be any more hysterical than they already are.; 9/4/20, 2:19 PM
RMc said...: There are way too many people who should know better who are stirring up the forces of chaos.

And they all seem to be on the same side! (Funny, that.); 9/4/20, 2:31 PM
Gahrie said...: Hoping for chaos that's called.

Planning for chaos.; 9/4/20, 2:51 PM
Narayanan said...: I asked economics professor: is there difference between Might is Right v Right is Might

he said there is no difference. I know there is difference.

let me put it to professora and commenters this way :

is there difference between Rule of Law(s?!) and Law of Rule(s?!)

discuss please - applies and explains developments forthcoming; 9/4/20, 2:55 PM
Gahrie said...: I don't think the US has that kind of cultural glue.

It does for some of us. I would venture that it does for the majority of the people on the Right. In fact the biggest problem with the Left is that they don't share the cultural glue with us. You know, Mom, flag and apple pie type of stuff.

We used to teach this stuff in our schools, to the parents and the children. It was called Americanization. Today our schools are teaching our kids to hate America and what it stands for, instead of loving America. (For the record I am a public school teacher); 9/4/20, 2:57 PM
Gahrie said...: My concern is we end up calmed and soothed by someone like Tom Hanks or Morgan Freeman:

Freeman is on our side. Have you heard him discuss race relations?; 9/4/20, 2:58 PM
Narayanan said...: Freeman Hunt said...
So much nonsense about, "What if the President stays?!" There's no staying. The military would pack up and out anyone who tried. Yet another passing hysteria
-----------==============
How does Military come into play?
if they are (supposedly) under Civilian Authority who is such Authority in this scenario?
and Military is too vague a term for multi-branch service.

wishing (+ not preparing to act) is not going to make civil war go away.
even the Bogey of nuclear war is out; 9/4/20, 3:14 PM
mikee said...: Trump has driven the scam out into the open, and now everyone is discussing it. Hey, the only people allowed to steal elections are Democrats! How dare Trump even suggest his supporters make sure their votes are counted?! What Trump's opponents are claiming he suggests is an outright fraud - well, yes, that is why he is publicizing the fraud inherently available with universal mail in ballots.

I, for one, recall AlGore trying and failing to steal the 2000 election - and make no mistake, Algore was stealing an election - even the NY Times found his particular selection of precincts to recount the only way he could win, when every single other way of recounting votes produced a win for W.

This time, it will be a shitshow of a farce of clowncars wrecking each other when the Dems try to steal the election. Why? Because Trump has started fighting against it already.; 9/4/20, 3:21 PM
Unknown said...: Why set up the next Russia Hoax now?

Its the Dems via Biden who won't certify the election

and Democrat state secretary will bow to the party (that is why never elect dems)

They can manufacture votes till they win - think the Reps will do that for Trump?

They can then de-legitimize the winner

In their best case, Pelosi picks the President

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contingent_election; 9/4/20, 3:25 PM
h said...: Can anybody point me to the oped piece that asks: "What will you do if Biden refuses to concede defeat?"; 9/4/20, 3:28 PM
Unknown said...: Brooks admits after burning and looting Dem run cities

they play to burn the office of President

if they can't have it nobody will; 9/4/20, 3:30 PM
effinayright said...: Freeman Hunt said...
So much nonsense about, "What if the President stays?!" There's no staying. The military would pack up and out anyone who tried. Yet another passing hysteria.
**************

The military has no such power under our Constitution. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said so just the other day.; 9/4/20, 3:36 PM
BrianE said...: When the election ends up in the Supreme Court, which way do you think Robert's will vote?; 9/4/20, 3:49 PM
Jupiter said...: Too cool. This guy has found where the City of Portland houses Ted Wheeler's Army.

Fort Portland; 9/4/20, 4:02 PM
hombre said...: If Biden doesn't win, the Blue mayors will have allowed their cities to be wrecked and Blue governors will have ruined their states's economies with lockdowns and killed off grammas and grampas for nothing.

He won't be there to bail them out or offer up graft.

And oh yeah, Brooks is a shitheel.; 9/4/20, 4:06 PM
Leland said...: Has anyone asked Chris Wallace if this bothers him?; 9/4/20, 4:14 PM
Readering said...: The person leading the stirring of chaos sits in Oval Office!; 9/4/20, 4:29 PM
Phil 314 said...: What, no mention of the Russians? C'mon there has to be Russians in this scenario. All part of the Putin master plan.; 9/4/20, 4:30 PM
Michael K said...: More Readering political philosophy. Brilliant. Another worthwhile Althouse commenter with deep thoughts.; 9/4/20, 5:05 PM
EsoxLucius said...: I worry that, whoever wins, half the country won't think the president is legitimate. How do we have government if that happens? Can we all tone down the rhetoric?; 9/4/20, 5:06 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: "The military has no such power under our Constitution. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said so just the other day."

Fine. Then it would probably be the Secret Service. Probably wouldn't even be particularly exciting. The old president wouldn't be the actual president anymore. If the old president wouldn't leave the White House, they'd remove him. Probably with utmost discretion and care.; 9/4/20, 5:23 PM
Michael K said...: By the election, Readering is going to be screaming at the moon.; 9/4/20, 5:37 PM
Steven said...: Noisy Democrat activists have refused to accept every adverse Presidential election result since 1988, yet their allies insist the threat to our system of government is somehow Trump.; 9/4/20, 5:41 PM
iowan2 said...: Another David Brooks fable?

What if?????

Leftist are just stupid. Way stupid; 9/4/20, 5:57 PM
Josephbleau said...: "Should Biden be the clear winner, and Trump refused to leave the White House, It would be a matter for the DC police and the US Secret Service. Not for the US Army."

The DC Police have no authority in the White House by design. The election will be determined by the votes of the slate of electors certified by each state and if delivered on time. I assume that state supreme courts would here and there would need to decide if relevant state law is complied with in these certifications. I can think of nothing more ludicrous than if an ex president put the couch up against the oval office door and squatted there, does anyone think that an EO he/she slipped under the door after the inauguration would matter at all?; 9/4/20, 5:57 PM
Drago said...: Readering: "The person leading the stirring of chaos sits in Oval Office!"

Not even Inga and Howard stuck around long enough to push this moronic new narrative but you can always count on readering to pick up the Stupid Torch.; 9/4/20, 6:08 PM
Gk1 said...: "This time, it will be a shitshow of a farce of clowncars wrecking each other when the Dems try to steal the election. Why? Because Trump has started fighting against it already."

I was just thinking the same thing. One thing for sure, Trump won't be standing around holding his dick in his hand (like GW Bush did after the 2000 election) expecting the common decency of the democrats to play fair. Trump is doing his own battle space prep and getting mail-in balloting tossed out at the state level right now. Campaigning against Slow Joe is an afterthought right now.

Trump will have his own flying wedge of election attorneys ready to fly to any state where "mail-in ballots have just been found". Trump is ahead of the power curve lets see the decrepit democratic party try to run their tired Chicago Cook County election play for the millionth time.; 9/4/20, 7:10 PM
n.n said...: 16 trimesters and in progress.; 9/4/20, 7:14 PM
wbfjrr2 said...: Brooks isn’t worth a nanosecond of my time, nor is the entire NYT that Althouse scarfs down every day. Such poor taste, but it’s her life.

I was wondering at the time why Soros was funding so many state and city level Attorney General candidates. Who thinks of those as the powerhouse electoral positions?

It’s become clear now. To refuse to prosecute and/or release criminals into the population to destabilize cities, and states if possible, ultimately the whole country. And to help resist honest vote counting by using the levers of law they control to sway the outcomes to his desired outcome.

Remember, this is about Congress too. We must capture the down ballot races. Otherwise even if a Trump wins he’ll be impotent.; 9/4/20, 7:19 PM
boatbuilder said...: Let us posit that on election night Trump is up by 4% and has 300 electoral votes. Will Joe Biden concede? Why not?
How could anyone “know” that if they keep counting Joe will catch up?
And why would anyone not trying to engage in fraud support this?; 9/4/20, 7:37 PM
Narayanan said...: Gahrie said... in response to - I don't think the US has that kind of cultural glue.

... It does for some of us. I would venture that it does for the majority of the people on the Right. In fact the biggest problem with the Left is that they don't share the cultural glue with us. You know, Mom, flag and apple pie type of stuff.

We used to teach this stuff in our schools, to the parents and the children. It was called Americanization. Today our schools are teaching our kids to hate America and what it stands for, instead of loving America. (For the record I am a public school teacher)
----------============
Please review and advise : is this teach worthy material and blog worthy at this time of crisis : Most people have no idea what the United States represents.; 9/4/20, 7:39 PM
DanTheMan said...: >>What, no mention of the Russians? C'mon there has to be Russians in this scenario. All part of the Putin master plan.

You're a day behind, Phil. Biden was asked today about Putin, who is also opposed, apparently, to mail in ballots in the USA. So that means Trump is just like Putin.; 9/4/20, 7:44 PM
Narayanan said...: Drago said...
Readering: "The person leading the stirring of chaos sits in Oval Office!"

Not even Inga and Howard stuck around long enough to push this moronic new narrative but you can always count on readering to pick up the Stupid Torch.
----------============
by the flame end by all evidence : hands like ?hell-boy?; 9/4/20, 8:41 PM
Narayanan said...: Josephbleau said...
"Should Biden be the clear winner, and Trump refused to leave the White House, It would be a matter for the DC police and the US Secret Service. Not for the US Army."

The DC Police have no authority in the White House by design. The election will be determined by the votes of the slate of electors certified by each state and if delivered on time. I assume that state supreme courts would here and there would need to decide if relevant state law is complied with in these certifications.
------------=============
we are getting to the rotten core now : ... state supreme courts would here and there would need to decide if relevant state law is complied with in these certifications...

Q: are not most/all of these states in the "popular vote compact" left now without a compacted popular vote totals? if they are still counting found ballots?; 9/4/20, 8:46 PM
The Godfather said...: Particularly if you live in a swing State, make sure you vote, in person if possible or by mail otherwise, but VOTE. If it's possible for you to volunteer to oversee the vote counting, do so.; 9/4/20, 9:25 PM
Readering said...: Thanks faithful followers Michael K and Drago. Heads up I'll post next under tonight's photos.; 9/4/20, 9:48 PM
Gretchen said...: Priming the public for theft of the election.

If they think Russia wants to steal our elections why not insist o. Universal ID and voter id? Has there ever been a recount a Republican won?

Look at OC in Cali, AZ, or Al Franken. Ballots will be discovered in trunks, closets, etc and will magically break for Biden. These people destroy cities over a criminal on a cell phone video, you think they won't rig elections?; 9/4/20, 10:42 PM
DeepRunner said...: The Superior Intellect of David Brooks asked and said...
""What Will You Do if Trump Doesn’t Leave?/Playing out the nightmare scenario...As the mail-in ballots are tallied, the Trump leads erode. But the situation is genuinely unclear. Trump is on the warpath, raging about fraud."

Ah, the NeverTrump movement is focusing on the alleged "fact" that Trump won't accept the results. Let's reverse the camera on this one. What if it were a Dem? Would the Dem step aside in such a chaotic environment? highly doubtful, but, if so, only then to thoroughly de-legitimize the GOP successor in an extremely toxic situation, but never for the good of the country or his alleged fealty to the Constitution. NeverTrumpers and the MSM have sown the seeds of discord and are banking h-e-a-v-i-l-y on Trump grasping, clutching, scraping, clinging onto power. What the Superior Intellect of David Brooks calls a nightmare is his own wet dream.; 9/5/20, 12:44 AM
Jaq said...: I just looked up my status in Vermont, where I haven’t voted in years, as I vote in Florida. There is no way to cancel my registration that I can find on the web site and they have me as an “active voter” meaning they are going to send a live ballot to my rural mailbox there, to sit for anybody to drive along the road opening them and taking them out.; 9/5/20, 8:31 AM
DanTheMan said...: >>Has there ever been a recount a Republican won?

Of course. Bush in Florida in 2000.
But he had to go all the way to the US Supreme Court to get all the counties recounted using a single standard. Gore wanted a selective recount in, amazingly enough, counties that he carried.
The Florida Supremes went along with his nonsense.; 9/5/20, 9:07 AM
Sam L. said...: Davy Brooks and the NYT: Two things I do Not trust!; 9/5/20, 9:19 AM
iowan2 said...: state supreme courts would here and there would need to decide if relevant state law is complied with in these certifications...

Florida tried that in 2000. SCOTUS slapped them down and stayed the courts ruling until the Florida Supreme court explained exactly where the florida constitution gave the court the power to intervene.
The Florida constitution had a clear path, if the votes could not be certified by the Sec of State.
The election went to the house of Representatives to award electors. (That's why the florida supremes force a recount nobody had asked for, because the House was Republican Controlled, and would have installed Republican Electors)

The point is, the judiciary has no constitutional authority to involve themselves in a political proccess.; 9/5/20, 9:34 AM
beafrank said...: TDS has rendered progressives into certifiable loons. Since when in America's constitutional republic is a coup legal? When Trump gets 270 electoral votes, game over, folks.; 9/11/20, 5:41 PM