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An Australian professor of Data Analytics from Griffith University who predicted Trump’s first win, the Australian Federal Election(when all the polls said the opposite) and Brexit has called it - Trump will be re-elected for another 4 years. You heard it here first.
Steve, I will concede that some Remainers wanted to overturn Brexit - that's a fair point. I voted Remain, but when Jo Swinson made it Lib Dem policy to revoke Article 51, I thought that was completely undemocratic and dangerous. If there was widespread support for that move, then you'd have thought it would have led to a massive upsurge in the Lib Dem share of the vote; it didn't. It worked so well, Swinson resigned, so that suggests a lack of widespread appetite for that policy.
I think most Remainers accepted the vote even if they struggled to understand it, but felt that Parliament and not just the government should have a say in determining on what terms we left the EU. And given the fact that Eurosceptics have been banging on about Parliamentary sovereignty since we joined the Common Market, maybe there was a time when they'd have agreed with that too. Except they only appear to believe in Parliamentary democracy when it suits them.
Dems didn't spend three-and-a-half years trying to throw out Trump. Given the insane amount of contacts/business dealings between key members of Trump's 2016 Campaign and Russia, and the number of those campaign staff who lied about that those contacts, and the US Intelligence's concerns about the Russian individuals involved, it would have been a bit weird if they hadn't had an inquiry, no? Every branch of the US Intelligence services has said definitively that their was Russian interference. Even a GOP-led Intelligence select committee, published a report this year stating conclusively that Russia interfered. Do you not find it a bit odd that Trump has never once taken a position against Putin? Literally never had a bad word to say about him, only praise? That he publicly said he believed Putin's word over the findings of US Intelligence? That in Helsinki, he met Putin alone, with only two interpreters and no notes were taken and that the contents of that conversation weren't recorded or published? Literally unprecedented behaviour. The Mueller report didn't exonerate him - Mueller subsequently went on the record to emphasise that point. And Mueller never interviewed Trump - his lawyers responded to written questions, and they never looked at any money trail, which senior investigators on the team still can't understand.
And Trump wasn't impeached over Russia - he was impeached over withholding military aid to Ukraine, until they announced that they were holding an enquiry into Hunter Biden, and Joe Biden - his most likely opponent in the 2020 election (as per polling at the time) - and their role in the ousting of Shokin. So, I completely disagree with you on the 2016 US election, unless it's the case that National security isn't worth worrying about?
Oh, and if you're worried about the integrity of postal ballots, call the cops, but I've voted in person for my brother when he was on holiday, and voted for a flatmate (the only time I've ever voted Tory) when he was stuck at work, so maybe it's not just postal ballots we need to worry about. I think I've only ever shown my polling card 2-3 times. There's no ID check, is there? If my neighbour has told me he's not voting, what's to stop me bowling-up, giving his name and address and having his vote? The US military, ex-pats etc, and even Donald Trump, himself, have been voting via absentee ballots without this being a big problem until Trump knows they were gonna be heavily stacked Dem, because they're the ones taking the pandemic more seriously, and therefore less likely to want to vote in person.
EDIT. And maybe if Trump-appointee, Dejoy hadn't spent months stripping out sorting capacity at USPS for unexplained reasons, and running down their services, more ballots might have arrived by 3rd Nov, although as has been pointed out, in many states, there's a window for late-arriving ballots, as long as they are postmarked Election day or before.
Trump's asking for donations to fight the election result(s) - the small print states that up to 60% of monies raised will go to clearing down his campaign debt - we probably shouldn't overlook that as another motive for stringing this out.
[Post edited 12 Nov 2020 10:08]
Think you’ll find Swinson ‘resigned’ because she lost her parliamentary seat.
It’s true Trump has supported Putin, it comes to something when you have to trust a Russian leader over your own countries opposition, but thats the position he was in on foreign affairs. Do you think the Democrats would have allowed Trump to take out ISIS by force, never in a million years. As it is, he opened the door for Putin to do a pretty good mission on that whilst distracting us all with the non threat of North Korea. Job done.
Also, if you ever find an American who said he voted for Trump because of Russian interference you must let me know.
As for Ukraine, thank god he did hold up military aid, thanks to EU politics and their part in the overthrow of the Ukrainian leader, we were getting mighty close to all out war with Russia. It’s our meddling in that part of the world that was utterly wrong.
As for you bowling up to vote for others at elections I’m genuinely stunned, didn’t know you could legitimately do that even. Have to say, I’ve had to show my polling card at every election since 1979, no way I could have voted for others. Mate of mine did tell me when he was doing this he’d be up and down all day long telling people they had to vote in their own compartment and not have someone leaning over doing it for them so it seems the whole voting system need firmer controls.
For the record, I hope Trump sees the light and walks but given the shit he’s had to put up with it’s hardly surprising he’s making life difficult in the run up to Bidens inauguration.
Think you’ll find Swinson ‘resigned’ because she lost her parliamentary seat.
It’s true Trump has supported Putin, it comes to something when you have to trust a Russian leader over your own countries opposition, but thats the position he was in on foreign affairs. Do you think the Democrats would have allowed Trump to take out ISIS by force, never in a million years. As it is, he opened the door for Putin to do a pretty good mission on that whilst distracting us all with the non threat of North Korea. Job done.
Also, if you ever find an American who said he voted for Trump because of Russian interference you must let me know.
As for Ukraine, thank god he did hold up military aid, thanks to EU politics and their part in the overthrow of the Ukrainian leader, we were getting mighty close to all out war with Russia. It’s our meddling in that part of the world that was utterly wrong.
As for you bowling up to vote for others at elections I’m genuinely stunned, didn’t know you could legitimately do that even. Have to say, I’ve had to show my polling card at every election since 1979, no way I could have voted for others. Mate of mine did tell me when he was doing this he’d be up and down all day long telling people they had to vote in their own compartment and not have someone leaning over doing it for them so it seems the whole voting system need firmer controls.
For the record, I hope Trump sees the light and walks but given the shit he’s had to put up with it’s hardly surprising he’s making life difficult in the run up to Bidens inauguration.
The US under Obama launched 26,171 strikes in Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The notion they would have stood by and allowed ISIS to run riot is nonsense.
Think you’ll find Swinson ‘resigned’ because she lost her parliamentary seat.
It’s true Trump has supported Putin, it comes to something when you have to trust a Russian leader over your own countries opposition, but thats the position he was in on foreign affairs. Do you think the Democrats would have allowed Trump to take out ISIS by force, never in a million years. As it is, he opened the door for Putin to do a pretty good mission on that whilst distracting us all with the non threat of North Korea. Job done.
Also, if you ever find an American who said he voted for Trump because of Russian interference you must let me know.
As for Ukraine, thank god he did hold up military aid, thanks to EU politics and their part in the overthrow of the Ukrainian leader, we were getting mighty close to all out war with Russia. It’s our meddling in that part of the world that was utterly wrong.
As for you bowling up to vote for others at elections I’m genuinely stunned, didn’t know you could legitimately do that even. Have to say, I’ve had to show my polling card at every election since 1979, no way I could have voted for others. Mate of mine did tell me when he was doing this he’d be up and down all day long telling people they had to vote in their own compartment and not have someone leaning over doing it for them so it seems the whole voting system need firmer controls.
For the record, I hope Trump sees the light and walks but given the shit he’s had to put up with it’s hardly surprising he’s making life difficult in the run up to Bidens inauguration.
Steve, To clarify, you can't legally turn up and tell the poll workers that you're voting for someone else - I just gave my brother's/mate's name and address, and was handed a ballot, and then voted on their behalf.
I completely disagree with your take on Syria/ISIS and on Ukraine/Russia, but you could probably guess that!
Russian interference - I think the point is that it's not openly done, Steve! You don't watch a video on Facebook with a chyron reading, "This video was produced by the Russian Govt with the aim of sowing discord in the US/UK". Similarly, their bots on forums etc don't have names like, "Russian Disinformation Operative", so, like you, I also think it unlikely that you'll find someone who says that their vote was influenced by Russian interference.
If you haven't got the time or inclination to read it basically Nixon's team investigated 11 states and achieved nothing, the Democrats (JFK) contested just Hawai and managed to get the result overturned.
Incidentally, would I be right in thinking that dodgy voting practice generally favours the more left of our parties in western politics?
Just curious.
I'm curious to know if your question about dodgy voting practice is related to the video that you responded to?
I ask because the video doesn't highlight dodgy voting practice but clerical errors in counting the number of votes received at the 134 absent-voter counting boards. These are the offices that check that the votes has been received from registered voters before sending them off to be opened on polling day. There is no suggestion of voter fraud anywhere in the video yet the headline would have you believe the system is in complete disarray with voter fraud rampant. I didn't bother looking into any more of the claims from that post but a quick google gave me this link
which includes the line "In 363 out of the city’s 503 precincts – roughly 72% – the number of absentee ballots counted did not match the number recorded in the precinct’s poll book".
Headlines can be deceiving but I believe that's the idea. The problem with the throw away world we live in today is that too many people don't have the patience to see past the headline before retweeting or forwarding it to their Facebook group. I'm not saying that's what you did but it was interesting to see the progress from a video being posted to highlight voting problems to it becoming an issue with voter fraud without the content being investigated.
I'm curious to know if your question about dodgy voting practice is related to the video that you responded to?
I ask because the video doesn't highlight dodgy voting practice but clerical errors in counting the number of votes received at the 134 absent-voter counting boards. These are the offices that check that the votes has been received from registered voters before sending them off to be opened on polling day. There is no suggestion of voter fraud anywhere in the video yet the headline would have you believe the system is in complete disarray with voter fraud rampant. I didn't bother looking into any more of the claims from that post but a quick google gave me this link
which includes the line "In 363 out of the city’s 503 precincts – roughly 72% – the number of absentee ballots counted did not match the number recorded in the precinct’s poll book".
Headlines can be deceiving but I believe that's the idea. The problem with the throw away world we live in today is that too many people don't have the patience to see past the headline before retweeting or forwarding it to their Facebook group. I'm not saying that's what you did but it was interesting to see the progress from a video being posted to highlight voting problems to it becoming an issue with voter fraud without the content being investigated.
To tell the truth I hadn’t even noticed the video, I’ll have a look back to see what it’s about.
Whilst I suspect Trump is playing silly buggers, think it’s important that any potential fraud in the voting system has to be thoroughly scrutinised. I can’t get my head around why anyone should have a postal vote unless physically unable to get down the polling station.
To tell the truth I hadn’t even noticed the video, I’ll have a look back to see what it’s about.
Whilst I suspect Trump is playing silly buggers, think it’s important that any potential fraud in the voting system has to be thoroughly scrutinised. I can’t get my head around why anyone should have a postal vote unless physically unable to get down the polling station.
Not wanting to stand in a queue for potentially several hours if you’re unlucky enough to live in a Democrat-heavy part of a swing state. Not wanting to stand in a queue for potentially several hours during a pandemic.
To tell the truth I hadn’t even noticed the video, I’ll have a look back to see what it’s about.
Whilst I suspect Trump is playing silly buggers, think it’s important that any potential fraud in the voting system has to be thoroughly scrutinised. I can’t get my head around why anyone should have a postal vote unless physically unable to get down the polling station.
I can't understand why it wasn't postal vote only this year.
It would be interesting to know how many people prove positive for Covid due to atanding in line to vote.
I think this thread is going round in circles now, but here’s another push on the roundabout from me.
Do you know how much vote rigging would have to be done to flip 5 million votes? Imagine rigging the whole of Scotland.
This is either an attempt at salting the fields or deflection away from the impending prosecution. We all have bias that blinkers us from reality sometimes, but those umming and erring about voter fraud should really just have a look at the numbers.
Who riggs a election and loses the senate? Mad, mad stuff.
The noises coming from top Republicans a lot more positive today (source: Guardian live blog). I think they’re going to humour Trump and his ‘fraud’ claims but their position will soon change once that’s been exhausted. See below.
New - Sen. Chuck Grassley, who is the most senior Republican in the Senate, told me that President-elect Joe Biden should have access to classified briefings to prepare for the transition.
“I would think - especially on classified briefings - the answer is yes,” Grassley said.
A number of Senate Republicans now say Joe Biden should receive classified briefings, even as the Trump administration refuses to acknowledge Biden’s victory in the presidential election.
“Our adversaries aren’t going to wait for you to catch up to take action,” said Marco Rubio, the Republican chairman of the Senate intelligence committee.
But Rubio still expressed support for Donald Trump, who continues to peddle baseless accusations of election fraud. “Giving them access to additional information doesn’t prejudice the president’s electoral claims,” Rubio said.
Senators Lindsey Graham, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, John Thune, Ron Johnson and Chuck Grassley have also said they believe Biden should begin receiving classified briefings.
The comments underscore the delicate balance Republicans are trying to strike, as they refuse to acknowledge Biden as the president-elect but try to prepare for the incoming administration.
Incidentally, would I be right in thinking that dodgy voting practice generally favours the more left of our parties in western politics?
Just curious.
That could be considered a libellous allegation. Unless you have evidence.
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the Earth all one's lifetime." (Mark Twain)
Find me on twitter @derbyhoop and now on Bluesky
I'm firmly of the view that Trump has lost and that current developments are bad for the US and a bit scary. But my point is this. Trump has entered a contest which has a set of rules in place and has to abide by the result. If he has evidence of fraud then he obviously has the right to pursue that but we have seen none. He also has the right of recounts in tight states. What he doesn't have the right to do is question whether postal ballots should be counted. Those are the rules of the game. It's a bit like QPR saying that there should be no penalties and so not accepting the goals we concede that way. He had 4 years as president in which he could have raised this and perhaps even done something about it. Instead he waits until they are going against him. Not good enough.
He had 4 years as president in which he could have raised this and perhaps even done something about it.
He did do something about it. He installed a guy to run the Postal Service who scrapped sorting machines, stopped overtime for mailmen, removed post boxes, and made it generally harder for citizens to use postal voting.
He had 4 years as president in which he could have raised this and perhaps even done something about it.
He did do something about it. He installed a guy to run the Postal Service who scrapped sorting machines, stopped overtime for mailmen, removed post boxes, and made it generally harder for citizens to use postal voting.
I heard 250k votes were late because of the USPS. Trump’s accusations of cheating are nothing more than projection. Imagine cheating and still losing by 5-6m votes.
I heard 250k votes were late because of the USPS. Trump’s accusations of cheating are nothing more than projection. Imagine cheating and still losing by 5-6m votes.
Exactly. He did everything he could to cheat, and he STILL lost. No wonder he can't believe it.
The noises coming from top Republicans a lot more positive today (source: Guardian live blog). I think they’re going to humour Trump and his ‘fraud’ claims but their position will soon change once that’s been exhausted. See below.
New - Sen. Chuck Grassley, who is the most senior Republican in the Senate, told me that President-elect Joe Biden should have access to classified briefings to prepare for the transition.
“I would think - especially on classified briefings - the answer is yes,” Grassley said.
A number of Senate Republicans now say Joe Biden should receive classified briefings, even as the Trump administration refuses to acknowledge Biden’s victory in the presidential election.
“Our adversaries aren’t going to wait for you to catch up to take action,” said Marco Rubio, the Republican chairman of the Senate intelligence committee.
But Rubio still expressed support for Donald Trump, who continues to peddle baseless accusations of election fraud. “Giving them access to additional information doesn’t prejudice the president’s electoral claims,” Rubio said.
Senators Lindsey Graham, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, John Thune, Ron Johnson and Chuck Grassley have also said they believe Biden should begin receiving classified briefings.
The comments underscore the delicate balance Republicans are trying to strike, as they refuse to acknowledge Biden as the president-elect but try to prepare for the incoming administration.
I'd imagine traditional republicans are ecstatic right now. They've retained control of the senate (no chance the Democrats win both georgia seats) and made massive gains in the house. They are well positioned to take control of the house entirely in 2022, so they can stop anything Biden tries to do, while planning for a more traditional candidate for 2024.
I'd imagine traditional republicans are ecstatic right now. They've retained control of the senate (no chance the Democrats win both georgia seats) and made massive gains in the house. They are well positioned to take control of the house entirely in 2022, so they can stop anything Biden tries to do, while planning for a more traditional candidate for 2024.
I'm not sure the odds are with the two Republican candidates in the"run-offs". In fact, after the shenanigans Trump has set loose I believe Mitch McConnell, as leader of Senate Republicans (Current Majority) is in almost certain danger of receiving a very large Georgia boot in his arras in January. Thus effecting a Democrat clean sweep. Just saying!
He had 4 years as president in which he could have raised this and perhaps even done something about it.
He did do something about it. He installed a guy to run the Postal Service who scrapped sorting machines, stopped overtime for mailmen, removed post boxes, and made it generally harder for citizens to use postal voting.
Let's not not forget California where the Republicans deployed 50 fake dropboxes in Democratic areas in order to literally steal their votes.
I'm not sure the odds are with the two Republican candidates in the"run-offs". In fact, after the shenanigans Trump has set loose I believe Mitch McConnell, as leader of Senate Republicans (Current Majority) is in almost certain danger of receiving a very large Georgia boot in his arras in January. Thus effecting a Democrat clean sweep. Just saying!
It’s certainly a risk given that republicans performed better in the senate and House contests than the presidency. And Georgia has flipped blue subject to the vote recount.
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