It’s Monday, Nov. 9. Here are today’s developments:
- Trump fires a Secretary of Defense who reportedly opposed using the military to quell domestic unrest. (This may not be a crazed act by Trump, but the first step in preparing for use of military to suppress mass demonstrations against overturning the election results.)
- Majority Leader McConnell refuses to recognize Biden’s win and backs Trump’s efforts to challenge the election—legitimizing whatever plans Trump and company plan have in the works.
- Attorney General Barr authorizes U.S. Attorneys to investigate allegations of election irregularities before certification of results. (Such investigations could delay certification of results in states won by Biden and prevent the timely appointment of Biden electors before the Electoral College meets.)
- Pennsylvania GOP legislative leaders demand an audit of state’s election before certification of results. (Once again, delays of election certification due to this legislative interference could prevent timely appointment of Biden electors for PA.)
- Senators Perdue and Loeffler call for the resignation of the GOP Georgia Secretary of State, and Governor Kemp backs them up with harsh words for the same official. When have we ever seen major candidates in an election attempt to so intensely intimidate the official who in charge of running an election while votes are being counted? If Secretary of State is pushed out, will election certification be delayed in Georgia?
- There are rumors of a large public relations push by Trump—complete with rallies—pushing the message to Trump’s faithful of a corrupt election stolen by Democrats.
There are no threats in Arizona as yet, but there is plenty of time for those to come next.
Connecting the dots produces a disturbing picture. Democracy in America could be in danger in the coming days and weeks. Dems need to stop celebrating and start objecting to these GOP moves. Biden and Harris need to launch a response. Pelosi, Obama and a host of other leaders need to engage. We all need to be on alert.