October 1, 2020

12 Democratic governors vow that all votes will be counted

By The Associated Press


LANSING, Mich. — Twelve Democratic governors issued a joint statement on Wednesday defending American democracy, vowing that every valid ballot will be counted in the election after President Donald Trump sowed distrust during the first presidential debate.

Trump claimed without evidence Tuesday night that mail voting — surging in popularity during the coronavirus pandemic — is ripe for fraud, and he refused to say whether he would accept the results. He also called on his backers to scrutinize voting procedures at the polls, which critics said could cross into voter intimidation.

Without mentioning Trump by name, the governors noted his refusal last week to commit to a peaceful transition of power.

“Any efforts to throw out ballots or refuse a peaceful transfer of power are nothing less than an assault on democracy,” they wrote. “There is absolutely no excuse for promoting the intimidation or harassment of voters. These are all blatant attempts to deny our constituents the right to have their voices heard, as guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution, and to know the will of the people will be carried out.”

Signing the statement were Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Gavin Newsom of California, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Phil Murphy of New Jersey, Ralph Northam of Virginia, Jay Inslee of Washington, Tony Evers of Wisconsin, Tim Walz of Minnesota, Kate Brown of Oregon, Steve Sisolak of Nevada, Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico and John Carney of Delaware. ..............(more)

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/12-democratic-governors-vow-all-votes-will-be-counted-n1241645?

October 1, 2020

Trump is scared sh**less: He can't handle the truth, so he wouldn't let Biden talk

Trump is scared sh**less: He can't handle the truth, so he wouldn't let Biden talk
Trump's no strongman: He's a coward who listens to no one and hides behind the fascists he urges to "stand by"

AMANDA MARCOTTE
SEPTEMBER 30, 2020 4:30PM


(Salon) Forget the euphemistic language being used by much of the mainstream press to describe Tuesday night's presidential debate between Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. That wasn't a "contentious debate," nor were the candidates "bickering." No, Biden showed up to do normal politician things, only to find himself trapped on stage with Trump, a shit-flinging monkey whose only purpose was to prevent anything resembling truth from slipping through and touching the ears of the public.

For an hour and a half, the same thing kept happening over and over. (And over, and over.) Biden would try to talk, about literally anything — Trump's failures, his own policy ideas, the state of the nation, hell, possibly the weather — and Trump would immediately interrupt the second he heard a truth about to be stated, ranting over Biden and silencing any factual information or expression of decency under a blanket of lies and vitriol.

Trump and his supporters no doubt imagine that his performance was a triumphant display of animalistic dominance. But like all bullies, their posturing is a thin disguise for the cowardice underneath. What was really on stage was a man so incredibly terrified of being held to account, even a little, and so fearful of the facts that he lashed out like a cornered rat at even the barest hint that his opponent might say things that are true.

.....(snip).....

What's critical to understand here, however, is that none of this is the behavior of a man who thinks he's winning. Trump is lashing out because he knows he's a failure and a loser, and he's trying to hold that truth at arm's length with a torrent of lies and violent threats. He's resorting to drastic measures because he's lost control of the situation. He knows Americans want to throw him out — leaving him to face possible criminal charges and bankruptcy — and he's panicking. He's threatening people and making false fraud allegations because he wants people to give up on voting, as he knows that's how they can drive him out. ..........(more)

https://www.salon.com/2020/09/30/trump-is-scared-shless-he-cant-handle-the-truth-so-he-wouldnt-let-biden-talk/