The Brits know how to do an election night.
We can't do it the same way, because we have a zillion different federal, state, & local offices up for grabs on the same day, plus ballot initiatives & referenda.
But one night with elections to a single legislative house is so pure, it's fun.
UK politics can be grim, but election night there with constituencies being largely ungerrymandered, losers standing next to winners of podiums, and the "election season is 6 weeks, not 2 years" default is incredibly wholesome
also "if/when you lose, there's no lame duck season, the next guy arrives tomorrow at 10am" is a big UK W vs the US system, we should totes get rid of that
Tbf we also have our "ask electors to pick" and "ask congress to count" cosplay, which tbqh we should really move past, because while it's all fun and games as weird cosplay, we've found out to our detriment what happens when folks refuse to dress up and act it out
tomorrow we get my favorite constitutional oddity which is that there's a ~ 1 hour period in which all UK executive authority formally vests in the King
I'm still bullish on the US vs the UK long term, but as an aside, I'll gladly take "we pretend to give this guy total authority but if he tries to use it we'll chop HM Royal Head off again" over "the president is immune from all the crimes, as long as he's abusing his official power during them."
I'm incredibly bullish on America's future. I get it's a bit hard to see these days--the death throes of unpopular authoritarianism is pretty scary and there are real problems in the immediate term--but I definitely think America's best days are still very much ahead.
As I said earlier, we have to put in the hard work and perseverance to get through this election to keep Trump out of the White House. The long term trends are very positive and there’s not much left of the true GOP. Once MAGA is defeated, that’s a totally splintered party.
I’m less concerned about the polls and the electorate than I am about Democratic leadership having their strategic plan in place to respond to all potential outcomes MAGA may create. I’m curious if MAGA already has plan in place for taking WH without winning the election.
It will be a lot harder this time because the Dems have the Executive branch and the VP counts the electoral votes. There’s no one in place to swap in alternate electors. And people are going to think long and hard before signing up to be an elector and ending up in jail.
I hope.
Here’s my suspicion. They are setting up Georgia and probably other GOP dominated states to challenge states and not send electors at all until they finish legal stuff, which will go beyond Jan 6. Thus, no candidate will have 270 electoral votes, throwing election to House and GOP.
Possible does not mean probable. I think the odds are slim to none that any steal would actually work, especially if Trump tries again. And this time, remember, he’s just a private citizen calling the governor of Georgia. He has no real power.
It’s late and I’m tired. I hope I am not coming across as belligerent. One way or another I just want Trump to lose. He just has to keep opening his mouth.😉
We already know who the military will side with if they try to steal the election this time (although it's entirely possible Trump will legitimately win).
I’m pretty sure the military is going to side with the Constitution, like they are supposed to, and prevent the steal. But like I said, Pence isn’t counting the electors this time and most of the crazy Secretary of State candidates lost in the swing states in 2022.
Trump will have to WIN to win.😉
