2020 US election - The fat lady is warming up in the wings

[robkelk]

Guys, here's a thought: Let Trump have his recounts, let the courts weigh the arguments.

Now, let's say after the recounts are done and the courts make their decision, the revised numbers still go to Biden.

In that case, you get the best of both worlds. Trump looks like a petulant manchild and loses the Oval Office, and Biden wins clean once any possible fraud (on either side) has been winnowed out. If that happens, Trump was well and truly trumped (pun intended) and Biden avoids being regarded like Rutherford Hayes was and might actually get something accomplished because he's seen as truly legitimate.

And in the meantime, the President-elect is not getting daily presidential briefings and his staff are not being allowed to take part in the transition activities that must take place before the country can be governed effectively, leaving the USA as a whole in a weakened position globally.

Now, let's examine another possibility. Trump wins, but Biden is still discovered to be personally honest, and any actual fraud, if any, is in no way tied to him and his people (at best, a few morons who decided they were going to go rogue on one or both sides), and you still get a decent consolation prize.

That prize being that Biden and the Democrats are revealed to not be what the Republicans insist (dirty as pigs) and even if Trump wins, he looks aa like a petty jackass who had to shake his fist and cry foul out of fear he wouldn't get reelected, which would long-term give the Democrats a second wind and allow them to regroup handily at the mid-terms so long as they play the nice guy to the Republican douchebags.

A precious small "prize", and only worth anything if politics is a war between enemies instead of a contest between rivals.

In the interests of honesty, let's consider the worst situation: Trump wins, Biden loses, and there is massive fraud that was used to push Biden over the finish line by a sickening degree. In this case, the best thing to do is to accept it and simply encourage the Democrats to clean house and make sure things are scrupulously honest next time, so there is no reason the Republicans could cry foul save crying wolf. The benefit of doing this is that the Democrats can still regroup if they play their cards right and the American political system can purge any hint of scandal before it leaves a cloying cloud over the losing party for very long.

That's a "why is the sky green?" question - it's possible to answer the question, but it's proceeding from a false premise.

If there was any evidence that this was the case, it would have been introduced in one or more of the currently-proceeding court cases by now, in order to strengthen the plaintiff's case.

This one's about as likely as the possibility that I might be the legitimate winner of the election. Consider it for completeness if you wish, but honesty has already been fulfilled.

Just some ideas I wanted to toss out there. I'm willing to accept whoever is decided as the legit winner, but I see several ways this could still redound to the Democrats long-term favor even if the worst occurs, but it requires showing maturity even in the face of what could be the worst outcome.

Agreed that showing maturity is important. Claiming the election was rigged without presenting any evidence is acting like a petulant child, not showing maturity.