Most Republican senators have remained stunningly silent as defeated President Donald Trump brazenly tries to overthrow the election results, but Trump’s actions have finally become so outrageous that Mitt Romney, the most independent of the GOP senators and the only one to vote for upholding Trump’s impeachment, is now speaking out.
“Having failed to make even a plausible case of widespread fraud or conspiracy before any court of law, the President has now resorted to overt pressure on state and local officials to subvert the will of the people and overturn the election,” Romney said. “It is difficult to imagine a worse, more undemocratic action by a sitting American President,” the senator added.
On Thursday, Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell said on Fox News that the results “in all the swing states should be overturned, and the legislatures should make sure that the electors are selected for Trump.”
It’s one thing to legitimately dispute an election because of real irregularities — there’s a legal process for that — but entirely different to overthrow a valid election result. As of Thursday, the Trump campaign has lost over 30 election-related lawsuits, and hasn’t even alleged fraud in most of them, even though Trump is telling his supporters there was widespread fraud and the election was “stolen.” He’s lying.
His plan now is to delay or obstruct the certification of election results long enough to open a path for GOP-controlled legislatures to ignore the voters of their states and award their states’ electors to Trump. It’s unclear if any will go along, but Trump has summoned the GOP legislative leaders of Michigan, which Biden won by over 150,000 votes, to a White House meeting where they undoubtedly will be pressured to do just that.
Republicans asked to participate in this scheme face a choice: If they go along, that will turn the GOP into a totalitarian party, and the “Nazi” label likely will stick even if the scheme fails (legal experts say it has little chance of success).
Romney, at least, recognizes it for what it is, even if he’s unwilling to publicly utter the “N” word.
This is not a coup. This is not how Hitler took over Germany. He did so democratically. He even got all the authority to do the things he did, no one thought he would do them, and he proceeded to do those things the Reichstag gave him the power to do which included suspending the Reichstag.
Also coup is not the correct word to use. Trump is the guy in the office at this time. He cannot do a coup on himself. He may tweet that he can. but he cannot he just remains in office. In the end Trump only needs two or three challenges to be successful, and he can just run out the clock, or ultimately be successful in the Supreme Court. If the court were to invalidate two or more elections will create some screaming, but some states did take what could be unconstitutional actions before any votes were cast. What the court does if it should find there were unconstitutional changes made during the election is to read tea leaves, but should it find there were unconstitutional changes in order to make its ruling meaningful it would have to invalidate one or more elections. The legislatures of those states either act or not, and inaction means Trump remains President. Then again on December 14, 2020 the Cascadia fault could let loose with a size 10 earthquake up and down the coast and electors are unable to meet and vote in possible four states: California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. Perhaps out of sympathy for the west coast Biden would prevail in the House of Representatives, but I would not count on it. Not because Republicans are horrible people, just according to political science theory they should do what is in their best interest, and voting for Biden is not. That would be a democratic outcome from a Cascadia Earthquake preventing west coast states electoral college members from meeting.
In any case what would truly democratic in these states will not happen. In a true democratic state each major candidate would get half the electoral votes (the legislatures could do this) and all this caterwauling from Democrats and Republicans would be done.
Romney is not correct here as the process has to play out. At least there is something to steal here, and both sides want it.
You are mistaken. Trump’s term expires at noon on Jan. 20, 2021. If no one receives 270 electoral votes by then, Pelosi becomes acting president. No court has found anything “unconstitutional” about how this election was conducted, and your opinion doesn’t count.