Steve Barron’s War Room for today. Richard Baris, the King of Pollsters, is on at 1:05: 12. He makes the point that the President’s legal strategy seems to be failing and it is time for him to ask state legislatures to vote alternate slates of electors. That likely would toss the election into the House where the President would be chosen by majority vote of each state’s delegation to the House, and in the new Congress the Republicans will control 27 delegations. I give this strategy a one in four chance of succeeding, due to uncertainties as to what State legislatures will do, possible Supreme Court intervention and Republicans being under enormous pressure in the House to simply allow Biden’s election to go through.
At this point President Trump has to decide what he wants to do. Thus far he has played at contesting the election, hoping that the courts would hand him victory on the basis of fraud. That is not going to happen and the legal proceedings thus far have merely been embarrassing. The President needs to understand that his only path to win this is by becoming what he has always been, the ultimate salesman. The lawyers can’t give him a second term, but maybe he can.
The course of the state legislatures is full of danger, not only of loss, but of bringing this country to the verge of civil war. If the President does not wish to take that risk, he should accept the result and start planning for Trump TV and 2024.
On the other hand if he believes that he wants to fight it out, this is what he needs to do:
- Stage massive rallies in Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
- Repeat over and over again that the election was not stolen from him but from the American people.
- Tell his supporters to deluge the Republican controlled legislatures with demands that they certify alternate slates of electors.
- Convince the Republican legislators in these states that they face political oblivion if they do not certify alternate elector slates.
- Have competent legal teams to defend this strategy in the courts from ceaseless legal challenges. I think the Supreme Court will view this as a struggle of the political branches and will stay out of it.
- Put pressure on GOP House members to hold the line.
- In the event of the strategy succeeding, be ready to put down with deadly force the widespread riots that will ensue. A second term erected on this foundation would make his first term a feast of cordiality by comparison.
- Above all convince a majority of the American people that the election was stolen and that what Trump is doing is right and necessary for the country.
Trump could look at all this and rationally decide that it simply isn’t worth it. I could accept that decision as a reasonable one. Myself, I think he should fight, but he should do so with eyes open, and with everything in him. Anything less is a betrayal of his voters.
Problem: If Biden is inaugurated as President, there will be 20 million new voters and 4 new Demoncrat
senators before the next election. They will never cheat again. They won’t need to. This is the final battle.
Does anyone else find it odd that the fear is of increased representation and increased voting? In any case, granting DC and Puerto Rico statehood only ensures 2 additional democratic senators as Puerto Rican politics is more nuanced than that. The senate would still remain with a pronounced Republican bias given the current political environment – and of course the current Republican senate will never vote for statehood in the first place. I have no idea how an executive order would create 20M new voters. Assertions of (widespread and sufficient to affect the election) cheating remain untethered from evidence – unless Kris Kobach is holding out on us. But I suppose it is the final battle – at least until the next one.
I believe Trump would better serve the common good by starting a 3rd political party + a TV show + partner with Vigano.
Oh the Democrats would love that Michael. All talk of a third party is suicidal rubbish.
Im a first time voter. I voted for Trump in 2016 and again in 2020. I don’t think I will vote Republican again … oh well they lost my vote
Captain Thai Tea; They lost you vote because they couldn’t find enough solid evidence to overturn the election results? Or because they did not have enough political power in the states in question to force proper voting procedures? I am guessing you have a reason beyond Trump’s loss in the recent election.
It’s possible you have the same reason as others have mentioned before, but everyone is different and I’ve never been a fan of assuming I can read the minds of others.
Does anyone else find it odd that the fear is of increased representation and increased voting?
You forgot the modifiers on those… increasingly imbalanced representation, and increased voting for only one side be the voters dead, imaginary or non-citizens.
I would gladly trade statehood for Puerto Rico (not DC, look at the behavior of her mayor to see why it’s not supposed to be a state) for breaking up some of the other states to allow better representation of their interests. Eastern and Western Washington, Eastern and Western Oregon, and then California into North, Jefferson, South, Central and Eastern California.
I don’t know the other states well enough to see where they have large, disenfranchised populations that are regularly swamped by the cities that share none of their interests.
But I do know that “increased representation” has jack-all to do with the Dem plots.
Mr. MCclarey, I just wanted to comment that you are one of the few online writers I stalk. I find your observations and insights insightful and entertaining. Thank you
All talk of a third party is suicidal rubbish.
I’m sure the Whigs were telling their supporters the same thing.
I don’t think I will vote Republican again … oh well they lost my vote
About the only thing the Reublicans have to recommend them is they’re not the Democrats. That becomes less and less of a recommendation with each passing election cycle. So I’m probably right there with you.
That was a serendipitous typo.
Rubelicans… I own the copyright on that.
Thanks DR! Greatly appreciated!
I’m sure the Whigs were telling their supporters the same thing.
The Republican party was basically the refurbished Whig party of the North, with additions from anti-slavery Democrats and free soilers. Abraham Lincoln changed none of his policy positions as a Republican, and no one was ever more of a Whig than Abe. The history of third parties in this country is colorful but futile, except for ideas that they pass on to the two major parties. To a large extent with Trump the Republicans had a third party candidate at the helm of the party and he has massively impacted it, mostly for the good.
Rubelicans? I like it. Alternate Republicans from the Bearded Spock Universe!
Actually the Republicans are more conservative and more broad based than at any time in my life. I like the direction of the party, always making allowance for the imperfections of all political parties. Trump was good for it, much to my astonishment, and I think he will remain a dominant factor in it as long as he lives.
If Trump decides to run again in 2024, it would be a disaster for Republicans. I don’t mean that they have to go back to the party of 2012. But Trump won in 2016 by latching onto some new ideas and by running against the worst candidate ever. In 2024 the Republicans can run on the new ideas but without the baggage that comes with Trump.
If the Democrats succeed in defrauding Trump of his second term, it won’t matter who the Republicans nominate in 2024, 2028, 2032, etc. Because the Republican nomination won’t be worth a warm bucket of spit.
In fact, if they don’t find ways to make Biden wish he’d stayed in his basement, I expect them to get wiped out in the 2022 midterms, because, why bother participating in a rigged game?
But my guess is they’ll be powerless to do anything meaningful after the Georgia Senate seats are both stolen.
If the Republicans can keep the Senate by winning the Georgia seats, then things will keep going through this term. Dems aren’t going to be able to pack the court or add DC as a state. Of course winning those seats requires Trump to do something that he seems incapable of: thinking about someone other than himself. The Republican candidates need strong Republican turnout and if Trump turns on them or tries to get legislatures to overturn state votes, they are not going to get it.
If the Democrats succeed in stealing Georgia for Biden, what’s to stop them from doing it a second time?
Because, Ernst, Orange Man Bad.
So anything that hurts Trump and makes all failure his fault– even if it is a frankly insane notion like “trying to fight obvious fraud will make Republicans lose house seats because of suppressed turn-out and overturning (really obviously failing to meet standards to certify) state votes.”
Orange Man Bad has a Bad Orange Legacy in the now orange tinted Supreme Court, so court-packing is fully justified, including anything necessary to flip the Senate Majority.
There was fraud. Enormous amounts of it. If it is not exposed and Trump given his rightful win, this country is done. If Biden is awarded the presidency, it is obvious that God has allowed our destruction. The disgusting policies of the democrats must disappoint God greatly.
I don’t listen to anyone claiming that Donald Trump was a bad candidate unless they first admit that Mitt Romney was one of the worst candidates in history.
Because if you just say “Trump was bad, we just need a more reasonable candidate next to me” without condemning what Republicans did before Trump, you’re just going to get another Romney look-a-like loser in 2024. Hell, you might even get Romney himself!