Election Integrity Update

WITH NO ASSHOLES BARRED from pro-  persecuting Donald Trump, it takes time and attention to keep up with it all, but here’s a digest for the week on the broader topic of election integrity. First, Trump got a victory of sorts from the U.S. Supreme Court when on Monday, it denied a writ of certiorari from anti-Trump lawfare activist, John Castro, who has racked up cases in multiple states to get the 45th president off state ballots to be the 47th.

The Court relied on the good old standby, standing, in this case out of Arizona. And this happens to be a very good example of where it was, indeed, lacking, especially given the Court correctly believed Castro’s candidacy was a mere pretext to sue. The Court effectively affirmed U.S. District Court Judge Douglas L. Rayes’ refusal to hear Castro’s case in December. Not a surprise, but still welcomed.

Maine was one of those states that flirted with the notion of denying Trump ballot access there, but the Dems in the Pine Tree State haven’t ruled out throwing rocks at the 45th President. They have threatened to convert the state’s electoral votes to ‘winner-take-all’ if Nebraska goes through with a plan believed to benefit Trump. Specifically, Nebraska’s G.O.P. is seeking to amend its system to prevent Biden from obtaining an electoral college vote by winning the state’s Omaha-district, as occurred in 2020. 

In essence, Maine is attempting to ‘cancel’ a Trump advantage in blue-state Nebraska by ensuring an equal and opposite Democrat advantage for Biden in red-state Maine. It’s just talk at this point, and may not happen, given a special session would have to be called in Nebraska’s legislature and pass a Democrat-led filibuster. Recall Maine and Nebraska abandoned winner-take-all in the electoral college in favor of vote-splitting-by-district since 1972 and 1992, respectively, being the only two states to have done so. Maine claims it doesn’t want Nebraska ‘gaming the system,’ but hypocritically has no qualms about doing so itself. Fortunately, Maine courts reined in Dem activists when they tried to get Trump off the ballot earlier this year. 

Election integrity also took a hit on Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court rejected G.O.P. Senate candidate Kari Lake and former Arizona Secretary of State candidate Mark Finchem’s lawsuit concerning voting machines being wrongly certified due to their optical scanners for use there. Again, the high court simply affirmed a lower court and appellate court rejection of the lawsuit from 2022 based on standing. Lake’s attorney issued a statement, here.  

The Supreme Court also issued a denial of cert. on Monday involving voters in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi. South Carolina, and Tennessee where older voters can obtain obtain absentee ballots for any reason at all, but younger voters cannot. Challengers maintained this violated the 26th Amendment, ratified in 1971 to lower the voting age to 18, barring age-based discrimination. 

Absentee ballots are one thing, but mail-in ballots, another, and they will be a subject of intense debate in the upcoming election. A three-judge panel at the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently ruled 2-1 in a mail-in ballot case out of Pennsylvania, overturning a lower court in favor of the Republican National Committee over the Materiality Provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Sec. (a)(2)(B), regarding signature verification and dating on ballots. (Hopefully the R.N.C. will be a force to reckon with going forward after the recent appointments of Michael Whatley and Lara Trump as co-chairs.) An R.N.C. statement was issued, here. There are supposedly 81 ‘voter integrity’ legal actions launched by the R.N.C. in the current election cycle. 

The R.N.C. was targeted by the Biden Justice Department recently after unveiling a program to monitor the polls for fraud. R.N.C. Senior Counsel for Election Integrity Christina Bobb was indicted for an alleged scheme to use allegedly false claims to challenge Arizona’s alleged results in the 2020 presidential election. Bear in mind the timing of the charges, which suggests a clear intent to intimidate and chill any dissent in election matters going into November. Note Bobb is presumed to be not guilty until she either pleads guilty or her case is tried and she is found guilty.

Election interference by Dems continues with the weaponization of government and multiplicity of agencies. Among the latest are attempts to ‘de-bank’ MAGA Republicans, including (again) former Trump attorney John Eastman, who held accounts with Bank of America and USAA that were unceremoniously closed without notice by utilizing apparently very broad and vague Depositary Agreements that authorized the banks’ “right to no longer do banking business” with customers for any reason(s) or no reason(s) at all. Along with the use of lawfare, this is a Dem weapon of first choice to intimidate, harass, and chill the speech and actions of Republicans perceived to pose a credible threat to them. 

First They Came for Trump. Then They Came for the GOP…

THE TIMING COULDN’T BE MORE PRECISE. On Wednesday, as Trump’s ‘hush money’ non-case flounders in New York, mischief is afoot in another state half a continent away in Arizona. A grand jury in the Grand Canyon state indicted 18 of the 45th president’s allies meant to echo the dangers to them and their ilk when they are ‘election deniers.’ 

Those indicted include former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, along with five attorneys, including Rudy Giuliani and Boris Epshteyn (whose names are redacted) and John Eastman, Jenna Ellis, and Christina Bobb (whose names are unredacted). Campaign operative Mike Roman is named, as well. Trump is described as an unindicted co-conspirator, and Ken Chesebro, an attorney who worked on Trump’s post-election strategy, was named as co-conspirator 4. Bobb is an interesting case because she was recently promoted to a senior role at the Republican National Committee on election integrity.

The indictments include felony counts of conspiracy, fraud, and forgery over allegedly subverting the 2020 election, to wit, “Defendants and unindicted coconspirators schemed to prevent the lawful transfer of the presidency to keep Unindicted Coconspirator 1 in office against the will of Arizona’s voters.” The 58-page indictment can be read here. 

The public release of the indictment issued by the Arizona Attorney General’s office only displays the name of eleven Republicans who were prepared to be alternate electors in what appeared to Dems to be a very close Biden victory in 2020. They include former Arizona G.O.P. Chairwoman Kelli Ward; state senators Jake Hoffman and Anthony Kern; and Arizona’s RNC committeeman Tyler Bowyer. 

This is the work product of Arizona’s A.G., Kris Mayes, who is obviously a Democrat who enjoys aggressive prosecutions. She replaced a Republican in that role in 2022. She is the fifth prosecutor in the nation to attempt to convict Trump or any of his associates for their ‘election denials.’ The latest addition to the persecutions is Michigan, which is also calling Trump an unindicted co-conspirator in that state.

When Hillary Clinton thought the 2016 election was stolen from her, she never affirmed Trump won, so why she is entitled to election denial and he isn’t, is less than clear. She’s talking about it to this day. The only notable difference is party. The fact there were alternate electors chosen shouldn’t matter: after all, there is so little precedent for it, any time it happens, it will be a novel case deserving of being argued and heard. The fact Jan. 6th happened shouldn’t matter, either. Like it or not, Trump did recommend law enforcement presence which was denied by those whose job it was to decide: then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and did his best to calm things down. Dems and the Deep State that controls them simply wants Trump out of the way by any means possible. We’re just beginning to see how scary that is…

Drain the RNC Swamp. Then Bulldoze It.

THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE is in deep doo-doo. It is chairperson, Ronna Romney McDaniel has overseen a cash flow problem that has caught the eyes of concerned Republicans. Yes, she’s from the same Utah family as Mitt, the Rino loser in the Senate, who voted against 45th President Donald Trump in his impeachment. (Nepotism, anyone?)  It’s her fourth stint at the job.  

Ronna has been busy getting all hands on deck to defeat the illicit occupant of the White House, Joey Biden regardless of who will be doing the actual defeat. That’s admirable enough, but some in the party (some would call them far-right) think the party should anoint Trump at this point and spend limited party resources specifically in a Trump versus Biden showdown rather than a  general G.O.P. (read: Nikki Haley) versus Biden comparison. Steve Bannon is one of those advocating for anointment, and others from the first Trump administration agree. 

I don’t. And interestingly, neither does Trump. My argument is just one of fundamental fairness. Haley has a shot, albeit a very long one, and who is Bannon to close that chance for her, however remote it may be. Haley’s strategy is clearly to be the one left holding the G.O.P. delegates if (God forbid) something unforeseen or tragic happens to the president. It’s unsavory, perhaps, but it’s a plan and hers to play till the proverbial fat lady sings. 

Trump’s rationale is probably more compelling than mine. He does not want to be accused of not winning fair and square. He believes it would reflect poorly on his support in the party, or lessen it altogether. He also believes party unity would be enhanced if he wins the nomination the proper way.

Anyway, what Ronna hasn’t been busy at is minding the books. The RNC had only $8 million banked last week, with a debt of $1.8 million, according to campaign finance disclosures. The RNC’s executive committee had to authorize a $10 million line of credit, and rewrite a more conservative budget. It will be “collateralized with the RNC donor list.” Projected revenue for the year was presumed to be under $200 million, a fraction of 2020’s take. 

Some of the expenses have come under attack, including $1.5 million on floral arrangements, private jets, and media consultants. The DNC, conversely, was frugal: The RNC dropped over $1 million on management consulting, but the DNC only spent $114,000. Where the RNC spent $250,000 on limousines, the DNC spent about $7,000. The RNC spent almost $300,000 on office supplies; the DNC, $45,000. The RNC spent $70,328 of floral arrangements; the DNC, only $795. Kinda gives a new meaning to Republican conservatism, doesn’t it? 

A striking contrast in spending habits can be illustrated by how the DNC actually spends its money. It spent $1.6 million in get-out-the-vote texting, for example, compared to the RNC, which allocated only $86,019. The DNC spent $235,865 on voter file maintenance as compared to $39,223 for the RNC. And critically, the DNC transferred $23,835,437 to state parties compared to the RNC’s $13,800,200.

And will I be sued for defamation and suffer a judgement God Himself couldn’t pay if I point out the DNC surely paid out some hefty sums for election correction, voter registration reeducation, and voting machine cleanings?

This obviously affects a party’s candidates. Trump’s campaign has $42 million cash on hand, but by contrast, the Biden machine raised $97.1 million through its various committees with $117.4 million on hand. 

The winter RNC meeting was set for this week in Las Vegas, and the question has been how Trump will leave his mark on the party and, oh, by the way, what will be McDaniel’s fate be in it all? Trump first appointed her back in 2016, but it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. In fact, it’s quite apparent he has second-guessed that decision. Still, he plans to fundraise for the party, but MAGA Republicans aren’t on board with keeping Ronna at the helm, preferring to donate to the president himself because they don’t trust the RNC (and with good reason, IMO.)

However, Rino Republicans would counter that the reason G.O.P. coffers are falling short is that many in the G.O.P. don’t want to support Trump. That may very well be true, and doesn’t bode well for the party, but Trump promised to shake things up and he surely has. 

And that’s a good thing. 

Feds, Feds Everywhere But Not a One ID’d

THERE HAS BEEN SPECULATION about pipe bombs that were placed in close proximity to the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 5, 2021, only a night before the now infamous protests or demonstrations. Strangely enough, the person who placed them there evaded capture by the F.B.I. despite being captured on video that night. 

The Capitol was closed on Jan. 6th when the explosives were discovered. A bomb squad deactivated the weapons shortly thereafter. The F.B.I. shared the videos with the public in dribs and drabs over a period of months to try to determine the person’s identity. In 2022, a whistleblower emerged who claimed the F.B.I. had been withholding details about an ongoing investigation. Finally, in 2023, the F.B.I. offered a $500,000 reward to anyone with information about the suspected bomber. 

Despite their attempt to locate the individual who planted the bombs, the F.B.I has, to this day, been unsuccessful. Of course, it the same Deep State sleuth that has announced an intent to arrest Trump supporters not only inside, but outside the Capitol that memorable day. And that it what it’s doing, begging the question as to how it can identify Trump supporters in a massive horde, but be unable to find one lone bomber. (It was dark and he was dressed for winter, to be fair.)

In May of 2022, however, an F.B.I. whistleblower, Kyle Seraphin, disclosed that technicians had informed him the explosive devices used were non-functional. Some have speculated that this had been a propaganda operation aimed at targeting Trump supporters. This led Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Andy Biggs (R-Az.), and Bill Posey (R-Fla.) to jointly send a letter to the Bureau to again request an update on the J6 pipe bomber investigation, reiterating a request made on Jan. 17, 2021 that has been ignored. The recent letter highlighted a critical revelation: there is apparently a possibility that the F.B.I. has information about the license plate number of the suspect’s vehicle. It also indicated a former F.B.I. agent in the case revealed the Bureau had linked the suspect to a MetroRail SmarTrip Card that stopped in Northern Virginia. With security cam footage at the stop, the F.B.I. identified the suspect’s plate. Still, nothing. No I.D. No arrest. 

None of this makes sense, but multiple congressional staffers have confirmed they now have the identity of the suspect, who had previously been referred to as a ‘passerby.’ The undercover cop approached a Metropolitan Police car in the DNC parking lot and informed them of the pipe bomb. He may be the one seen wearing dark clothes and a backpack talking to officers in the cop car, per a video posted by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) Independent reporter Tucker Carlson and Darren Beattie of Revolver News have expressed a theory, here, as has The Blaze, here. Essentially, they suggest, the person who conveniently located the pipe bomb at the D.N.C. H.Q. was an undercover cop from the Capitol Police. Mysteries never cease.

The Weirdest Thing Happened on the Way to the G.O.P. Primary…

Ronna McDaniel, remarkably, is still the Chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, having held the post since 2017. The latest stumble, intentional or not, is her scheduling of two G.O.P. debates with CNN, the most left, woke, fake TV network of them all. One debate is just before the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 10th at Drake U. in Des Moines; and the second, before the New Hampshire G.O.P. primary on Jan. 21st at St. Anselm’s in Goffstown. But the Republican National Committee is just controlled opposition vis-a-vis a Trump nomination. 

Here’s how the imbroglio unfolded. Late last week, CNN announced it scored two GOP candidate debates. People thought the RNC had agreed to them because previously, the candidates had all agreed to only participate in G.O.P. sanctioned debates lest they be excluded from future RNC debates. It turned out, these weren’t sanctioned debates at all—CNN had gone rogue. The RNC didn’t even know about it until after they were announced. And neither of the venues—Drake and St. Anselm’s— knew about them, either. Even the Chairman of New Hampshire’s Republican Party, Chris Ager, didn’t know anything about any of it. 

By late Friday, the RNC made an official statement to the effect that it is no longer hosting debates for the 2024 G.O.P. primary. That means the RNC never conducted even one debate with its top contender, 45th President Donald Trump. In fact, the net effect of its debates had to have been to diminish Trump’s reach among the base, but adding insult to injury to the lower tier candidates, they are doing worse today than they were before the G.O.P. debates even began. If the RNC’s intent was to bolster lower tiered candidates and challenge Trump, it has evidently failed miserably. 

ABC News has also entered the fray of non-RNC sponsored debates and Fla. Gov. Ron DeSantis has already agreed to participate in both. Former N.J. Gov. Chris Christie is rumored to have not qualified for these debates, so it seems the anti-Trump messaging will be curtailed. It will be down to DeSantis, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and former S.C. Gov. and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. 

Next step? The ouster of McDaniel. She’s an abysmal failure. (Her ineffectiveness can be gleaned better if you know her maiden name is ‘Romney,’ as in Mitt’s niece.) The G.O.P. has a net loss of seven governorships, three Senate seats, and 19 House seats, not to mention the presidency under McDaniel’s tenure. Yikes.

Larry Elder Is Pissed. He Should Be.

LARRY ELDER is running for president. I hope he doesn’t win, myself, but he deserves a fair shake, like everybody else. He isn’t getting one, so he’s suing the Republican National Committee. Good for him. They deserve it.

Elder is an ultra-conservative. Not of my ilk—he likes religiosity with his politics and I most certainly do not. But he couldn’t get the good word out last Wednesday at the G.O.P.’s first primary debate because he was excluded wrongfully, he claims.  

He had posted on X, the site formerly known as Twitter:

“I intend to sue the RNC to halt Wednesday’s presidential debate. I said from the beginning that it appeared the rules of the game were rigged, little did we know just how rigged it is.  For some reason, the establishment leaders at the RNC are afraid of having my voice on the debate stage. Just as I had to fight to successfully be on the ballot in the California recall election, I will fight to be on that debate stage because I fully met all of the requirements to do so.”

It appears he was right. According to the RNC’s own rules, a candidate ha to have accumulated 40,000 unique donors, including at least 200 in at least 20 states or territories. They also had to sign a pledge to support the eventual party nominee (and not said out loud, even if it is Donald Trump). And lastly, a candidate had to have garnered at least one percent support in three qualifying national polls or a combination of national polls and polls from at least two early primary states within a specified period.  

The last is where Elder fell short, according to the RNC. It refused to count Rasmussen polls, claiming the surveyor “has ties to former President Donald Trump.” (Say what?!) Even if true and even if it was a legitimate qualification, Elder says he had another valid poll conducted before the deadline that met the requirement.

Elder didn’t appear on Wednesday’s debate in Milwaukee, and he was all over TV complaining about it, as he should. The next debate is scheduled for Sept. 27th in Simi Valley, Calif. at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute. Fox Business, Univision, and Rumble will broadcast it. Those appearing must have met an increased three percent support level within a deadline, and it is not clear yet if Elder, or some of the others will make the cut. Donald Trump isn’t expected to attend, and shouldn’t, given his tremendous advantage in the polls.

Chris Wray: The “R” After His Name Stands for ‘Reprobate.’

HO HUM. ANOTHER DAY, another Congressional hearing (this time the House Judiciary Committee), another pol off the hook. Such was the case again on Wednesday when F.B.I. Director Christopher Wray (a Republican—sort of) took the hot seat.

Of course not all members were adversarial, like Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), whose name Zoe Lofgren may ring a bell from managing one of 45th President Donald Trump’s impeachments. Lofgren accused her G.O.P. colleagues of “engaging in conspiracy theories” to delegitimize the the Bureau “without any evidence,” a favorite blame-game among her ilk.

She’s wrong, of course, but why let the truth stand in the way of an untrue accusation? She just doesn’t remember the recent opinion in Missouri v. Biden or the findings from the Twitter Files that fly in what should be the very red faces of the bureaucrats who so enthusiastically censored any opposing views. Writing for The Federalist, Tristan Justice helpfully has provided Rep. Lofgren with the mounting pile of evidence to this effect, here. 

On questioning, Wray simply blew Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) off on the topic of Jan. 6th. He dismissed the notion that undercover agents were involved in any way by calling the allegation “ludicrous.” (There were, and it’s been well documented.)

The fact he refused to answer anything further may have told the Committee everything they needed to know. While it can be true the F.B.I. must, at times, keep matters of ‘humint’ under wraps, one would think that time has come and gone even though American citizens still sit in a D.C. jail awaiting trial. When Rep.  Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) asked Wray, “How many individuals that were FBI employees were in the Jan. 6th entry of the Capitol?” Wray replied, I really need to be careful here about were we have or have not used confidential human sources.” And so it went.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) inquired about the agency’s attempt to locate a suspected pipe bomber who had left devices at both the DNC and RNC Thomas Massie on Jan. 6th.  About two months ago, Massie and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) asked to be briefed on the F.B.I.’s failure to track the suspect’s vehicle down after it had been identified. Massie and Jordan had been tipped off by a whistleblower that the F.B.I. was derelict in its duty in failing to follow up on perfectly good leads. In a characteristic noncommital answer, Wray said he didn’t talk about ongoing investigations. Fair enough, perhaps, but as Massie pointed out, it’s been 900 days.

Based on a new interim report issued on Monday by the House Judiciary’s Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, it appears that the F.B.I. colluded with the Security Service of Ukrainian to flag social media posts of Americans for ‘partners’ in Silicon Valley to censor to further the government’s desired narrative. (More here.)

Wray’s response to inquiries into this was just that the Ukrainian Security Service had been a “longstanding good partner” of the F.B.I., despite the fact it has been found to be notoriously compromised by the Kremlin. (Russian collusion, anyone?) The full interim report is here.

Remarkably, Wray admitted to surveillance of Catholic parishes in the U.S. that prefer Latin masses. Apparently a F.B.I. Special Agent named Kyle Seraphin disclosed that the Richmond Division thought it could prevent ‘white supremacy’ by doing so. House Republicans wrote to Wray about this in April. Jordan asked Wray, “Do you think priests should be informants inside the church?”” Wray conceded the fact the F.B.I. may have engaged in such surveillance, but seemed to suggest it was all okay because it didn’t result in any investigative action.

Then there was the Bureau’s raid on and arrest of a ‘pro-life’ activist, ultimately acquitted. Wray said he wouldn’t “second-guess” the agents on the ground. Roy asked if that wasn’t exactly what his job was.

When Wray was asked if he thought the D.O.J. should rescind a memo it issued targeting concerned parents at school board meetings, Wray passed the buck to the A.G., but said the F.B.I. conducted itself properly. An interim staff report by House Republicans on the Judiciary Committee in March concluded there was no legitimate basis to have done this.

Wray also admitted the F.B.I. got Americans’ records from Bank of America without a warrant, and apparently, other banks, as a routine practice. Again, it was a whistleblower who revealed they had a “huge list” of Americans’ financial transactions on credit and debit cards used near the Capitol around Jan. 6th.

Massie asked about similar overly-broad records regarding gun purchases. Wray said he thought it was legal for business ‘partners’ to report or share info with the agency.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) read a transcript of Hunter Biden’s email threat to get paid that referenced Joe. Gaetz asked Wray if it wounded like a shake-down to him. Wray demurred in answering. When asked if he was protecting the Bidens, Wray said, “absolutely not.”

That is inconsistent with reports of at least two whistleblowers, one of whom is facing the wrath of the U.S. government. Dual American-Israeli citizen, Dr. Gal Luft, worked for CEFC, the same company as Hunter did, and did the same type of work. Hunter used the F.B.I. to leak classified data to C.C.P.-linked CEFC for kickbacks. Luft did not. Both violated Foreign Agents Registration Act. One was indicted this week. The other lives freely at the White House.

Arizona: The Grand Canyon State. The Contested State.

On election night, in a remarkable move, Fox News projected Arizona would fall for Biden. It was about 11:40 P.M. with roughly 80 percent of the votes counted, though that was an open question. No one really knew how many ballots, and of what types were out there, or, if they did know, they weren’t saying. This promises to be a real problem in assuring the accuracy of the voting. 

Almost immediately, however, many political commentators were saying Fox jumped the gun. Soon, The Associated Press called it for Biden, too. Trump’s campaign was understandably apoplectic. The G.O.P. wasn’t happy, either. The state was crucial on Trump’s path to victory.

At the time, the general consensus was Biden held 238 electoral votes, including Arizona. Interestingly, perhaps, Biden would be the first Democrat to win the presidential votes in that state since Bill Clinton in 1996 if the call held.

Trump secured a projected 213 electoral votes, with 87 yet to be called. These included Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, West Virginia, and the swing states of Ohio, Iowa, Texas, and Florida. A minimum of 270 electoral votes is needed for a candidate to win. 

Key swing states remained too close or too early to call. These included Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. Some counties/states simply hit the pause button that night, let everyone go home to  drink or sleep it all off, and resume counting some time later. 

It takes time, Arizona whined. Early ballots hadn’t yet been returned. Not all the counties were reporting. Yadiyada. Meanwhile, Arizona voters had been casting ballots for nearly a month! 

Was there fraud? Unquestionably. The accuracy of voting machines has been a perpetual debate in America, for one thing. Pollsters were accused of releasing data designed to suppress voter turnout. Then, the state attorney general was investigating some ballots mysteriously taken from mailboxes and found by a farm worker. Then there was something quickly dubbed “Sharpiegate,” after the brand of felt tip marker. 

Apparently, hundreds of people who went to the polls were specifically given the markers by poll workers instead of ballpoint pens and were concerned when they later learned their ballots may have been cancelled, spoiled, or rejected. The voting machine manufacturer purportedly had specifically advised against the markers’ use, making it appear nefarious. (It’s not clear if only G.O.P. voters got the markers, but this happened in predominately G.O.P. districts.) Not that it mattered; typically, it was all blown off as another Trump “conspiracy theory.”

Yet the Trump campaign and the R.N.C. filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit brought by the Public Interest Legal Foundation on behalf of an unhappy disenfranchised Arizona voter who used a Sharpie (and others similarly situated.) The lawsuit seeks a right for voters to “cure” their ballots’ defects and observation rights to ensure it is done. The case hasn’t been dismissed. (Read complaint here.)

These are just some examples, and whether, in the aggregate, they would make a material difference in the outcome is perhaps doubtful. When combined with errors, intentional or otherwise, was a different story. As noted, no one was all that sure how many ballots were even out there or returned legitimately. 

One major error, caught by The New York Times of all culprits, discovered a lower percentage of votes had been counted that night: the claim was 98 percent of the votes had been counted when only about 86 percent had. That was good news for the Trump camp.

One might suggest these cases go through the appropriate processes, for better or worse, so Americans, and Arizonans, would be confident about the election and their government. The president, in good faith, thought he’d win. Why not let the process play out?

But there was another player at work: big tech. Social media platforms, Facebook and Twitter in particular, decided to gag and censor anyone who dared utter words concerning voter fraud, including the President himself.  At least six of his tweets were redacted one day with a Twitter warning: “Some or all of the content shared in this Tweet is disputed and might be misleading about an election or other civic process.” Facebook totally shut down a 360,00+ member group “Stop the Steal” because it was pro-Trump. Even GoFundMe shut down a group of data analysts seeking funding to analyze what went wrong with polling in 2020.

By Friday evening, Biden’s lead was 36,835 votes with about 77 percent of ballots counted. (Cf. with election night, and no, it doesn’t add up. That’s part of the problem.) Trump carries 48.69 percent to Biden’s 49.86 percent. This differs from election night, where Biden supposedly had a full 51 percent. There are supposedly 4.2 million registered voters in the state: 1.5 million of whom are Republicans, 1.378 being Democrats, and 1.394 million unaffiliated or belonging to other smaller parties. About 74.41 percent of voters cast a ballot in this election.

Arizona was the least of President Trump’s problems, however.

Our Nemesis, the Narcissist

And they’re off to the races! The G.O.P. started its convention, virtual in part, with portions from Charlotte. Not that it’s going to be exciting, given the laid-back nature of the event, thanks to the Wuhan coronavirus. But I’d wager that the political analogue of the Triple Crown will ultimately go to the champion, Donald Trump. Not a thoroughbred stallion, really. More a stubborn woking mule. But a horse is a horse. We can call him “Narcissist” just for kicks.

In typical Trumpian style, the president has already accepted his nomination, vowing the United States will never be a socialist country. I should hope not! Also in Trump’s style is his succinctly-worded agenda: Not white papers exactly. More like a handicapping sheet.

JOBS

·Create 10 Million New Jobs in 10 Months

·Create 1 Million New Small Businesses

·Cut Taxes to Boost Take-Home Pay and Keep Jobs in America

·Enact Fair Trade Deals that Protect American Jobs

·”Made in America” Tax Credits

·Expand Opportunity Zones

·Continue Deregulatory Agenda for Energy Independence

ERADICATE COVID-19

·Develop a Vaccine by The End Of 2020

·Return to Normal in 2021

·Make All Critical Medicines and Supplies for Healthcare Workers in The United States

·Refill Stockpiles and Prepare for Future Pandemics

END OUR RELIANCE ON CHINA

·Bring Back 1 Million Manufacturing Jobs from China

·Tax Credits for Companies that Bring Back Jobs from China

·Allow 100% Expensing Deductions for Essential Industries like Pharmaceuticals and Robotics who Bring Back their Manufacturing to the United States

·No Federal Contracts for Companies who Outsource to China

·Hold China Fully Accountable for Allowing the Virus to Spread around the World

HEALTHCARE

·Cut Prescription Drug Prices

·Put Patients and Doctors Back in Charge of our Healthcare System

·Lower Healthcare Insurance Premiums

·End Surprise Billing

·Cover All Pre-Existing Conditions

·Protect Social Security and Medicare

·Protect Our Veterans and Provide World-Class Healthcare and Services

EDUCATION

·Provide School Choice to Every Child in America

·Teach American Exceptionalism

DRAIN THE SWAMP

·Pass Congressional Term Limits

·End Bureaucratic Government Bullying of U.S. Citizens and Small Businesses

·Expose Washington’s Money Trail and Delegate Powers Back to People and States

·Drain the Globalist Swamp by Taking on International Organizations That Hurt American Citizens

DEFEND OUR POLICE

·Fully Fund and Hire More Police and Law Enforcement Officers

·Increase Criminal Penalties for Assaults on Law Enforcement Officers

·Prosecute Drive-By Shootings as Acts of Domestic Terrorism

·Bring Violent Extremist Groups Like ANTIFA to Justice

·End Cashless Bail and Keep Dangerous Criminals Locked Up until Trial

END ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION AND PROTECT AMERICAN WORKERS

·Block Illegal Immigrants from Becoming Eligible for Taxpayer-Funded Welfare, Healthcare, and Free College Tuition

·Mandatory Deportation for Non-Citizen Gang Members

·Dismantle Human Trafficking Networks

·End Sanctuary Cities to Restore our Neighborhoods and Protect our Families

·Prohibit American Companies from Replacing United States Citizens with Lower-Cost Foreign Workers

·Require New Immigrants to Be Able to Support Themselves Financially

INNOVATE FOR THE FUTURE

·Launch Space Force, Establish Permanent Manned Presence on The Moon and Send the First Manned Mission to Mars

· Build the World’s Greatest Infrastructure System

·Win the Race to 5G and Establish a National High-Speed Wireless Internet Network

·Continue to Lead the World in Access to the Cleanest Drinking Water and Cleanest Air

Partner with Other Nations to Clean Up our Planet’s Oceans

AMERICA FIRST FOREIGN POLICY

·Stop Endless Wars and Bring Our Troops Home

·Get Allies to Pay their Fair Share

·Maintain and Expand America’s Unrivaled Military Strength

·Wipe Out Global Terrorists Who Threaten to Harm Americans

·Build a Great Cybersecurity Defense System and Missile Defense System

It’s ambitious and largely amplifies his 2016 agenda. What’s been added is in response to the pandemic. Or the Black Lives Matter/Antifa violence in the cities. 

Some of these things he tried in his first term and failed to get because Congress or the federal courts have obstructed him on the track.  Others are so grandiose as to be downright fanciful and narcissistic for the president to undertake. 

Noteworthy in their absence are building the southern border wall and repealing Obamacare, two of the four horsemen of his 2016 campaign. Yet it’s more than Biden, now back in his paddock, ever ponied up. 

Voter Mail Fraud Come Rain or Shine.

California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order for the state to have an all mail-in election, ostensibly due to the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic. Maybe it was a ‘dem’ in ‘pan – ic’, but he thought he’d get away with it.