The election is over. Send in the clowns!
Opinion by
Columnist
November 6, 2020 at 5:52 p.m. CST
The
election is over. Send in the clowns!
Twitter
troll Ric Grenell spent his time as
President Trump’s ambassador to Germany offending that
country and later proved too radioactive to be confirmed as national
intelligence director. Now he’s trying to convince Nevadans that they didn’t
really vote for former vice president Joe Biden.
“They
continue to count illegal votes!” Grenell announced Thursday at a Las Vegas
news conference. “It’s giving legal people a sense that the system is corrupt.”
His
proof of this affront to “legal people”? A woman who alleges somebody
voted in her name. Trouble is, she refused to sign a formal challenge, and her
signature matches that of the mystery voter, officials say.
Reporters
asked Grenell if he had any real evidence. “We don’t have access to the
information,” he said, hastily departing. “We’re not going to take any more
questions.”
In
Pennsylvania, where Trump was initially leading in the tally, pro-Trump
demonstrators massed in Philadelphia, chanting: “STOP THE
COUNT!”
In
Arizona, where Biden was leading in the tally, pro-Trump demonstrators massed
in Phoenix, chanting: “COUNT THE
VOTES!”
They
chanted this right outside the Maricopa County Elections Department, where
officials were, um, counting the votes.
In
Georgia, Trump campaign lawyers marched into a Savannah courtroom to challenge 53
ballots that one Republican poll watcher claimed “may have” arrived after the
deadline on Election Day. The county lawyer asked the poll watcher if he had
any evidence. The poll watcher did not.
“The
court finds that there is no evidence that the ballots referenced in the
petition were received after 7:00 p.m.,” the judge ruled.
Case dismissed.
In
Michigan, the Trump campaign went to court to
stop the counting because a Republican poll watcher claimed she’d heard from
one unnamed election worker that another unnamed election worker had said to
backdate late-arriving ballots.
“How is
that not hearsay?” asked the judge.
“Come on, now.” Case dismissed.
In
Arizona, the Trump campaign joined a lawsuit
based on a debunked Internet conspiracy theory falsely alleging that Maricopa
County had invalidated ballots filled out with Sharpies. County officials point
out that the voting-machine manufacturer actually recommends using Sharpies.
Trump lawyers said they needed two weeks to build their case. “I don’t think
that’s feasible,” the judge said.
Trump
did win one ruling, allowing poll
watchers to ignore pandemic restrictions and to get up close to vote counters.
“Big legal win in Pennsylvania!” Trump proclaimed.
That
was probably Trump’s most responsible pronouncement this week.
“Our
campaign has been denied access to observe any counting in Detroit,” he said.
There
were more than 100 poll observers from each party in Detroit, reports NBC News’s
Heidi Przybyla, who was there.
“If you
count the legal votes, I easily win,” Trump said, attempting
to invalidate 64 million legal ballots received
before Election Day.
Trump
claimed that the yet-to-be-decided states “are run in all cases by Democrats.”
Georgia’s governor and secretary of state are Trump-backing Republicans.
Fuming
about Pennsylvania, Trump tweeted “The OBSERVERS were not allowed, in any way,
shape, or form.” His lawyers admitted in court that they had observers (at least 19, reportedly)
in the room.
“STOP
THE COUNT!” Trump demanded, apparently unaware that this would have instantly
sealed Biden’s victory.
“Votes
cannot be cast after the Poles are closed!” Trump tweeted, before taking
another Krakow at the spelling.
If
anything, the fraud is flowing in the other direction.
Wisconsin
Republicans on Thursday “urgently” sought out volunteers
to call Pennsylvania Trump supporters and tell them to send in their (now
invalid) absentee ballots. The U.S. Postal Service, run by a Trump megadonor,
defied a court order and failed to deliver
tens of thousands of ballots on time.
And all
along, Republican officials who know better have been amplifying the
disinformation. “President Trump won this election,” the top House Republican,
Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) declared. (Thankfully, he later said he didn’t mean
it.)
Senate
Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (S.C.), calling Philadelphia elections “crooked
as a snake,” said he was open to Republican state legislatures throwing out the
votes and awarding electoral votes to Trump. Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.) expressed
interest in a “do-over” election.
Such
reckless words have an effect.
In
Arizona, armed Trump supporters massed outside elections offices; conspiracy
theorist Alex Jones and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) joined the protest;
and members of the extremist group AZ Patriots entered elections
offices uninvited, complaining about the “Sharpiegate” conspiracy.
In
California, a man who threatened a mass shooting if Biden wins was taken into
custody Friday, the Los Angeles Times reported.
And in
Philadelphia, two men face firearms charges after police found them outside the
vote-counting center Thursday night; they had an AR-16 and 60 rounds of
ammunition in their car, festooned with QAnon conspiracy symbols. The
Philadelphia Inquirer reports that police
had been alerted that the suspects aimed to “straighten things out” with the
vote counting.
It’s time
for Republicans to “straighten things out” — before this clown show turns dark.
