(12-09-2020, 09:41 AM)Black Aeronaut Wrote: Guys. Let's not beat up on Geth here. He's willing to accept the reality of the situation.
That said, I'm now a bit more concerned about what Trump might possibly pull in order to make things more difficult for Biden once he's exhausted even his Hail Marie plays.
Granted, I'm sure that Biden can reverse a lot of things through executive orders... But there's still a lot of damage Trump can do until Inauguration Day. Some of it may even be irreparable - at least, within our lifetimes.
Yes, the world will still keep turning. Life will go on. But I have a worry that it's going to be hard going if he finds the right lever to pull.
To lay it on the table, I stand by what I said before: I will accept it as an adult if Trump loses and if Biden wins despite everything Trump has done to challenge this. That in mind, I also have not discounted the evidence of the alternate possibility occurring, and I do not feel the least bit of shame I preferred Trump to have a second term, I made that choice and own it, but will again accept if that does not occur.
If Trump gets it, I will be gracious about it. If he doesn't, I promise the same. Life is bigger for me than petty political disputes. Besides, this is not without historical precedent and I mostly want to see where it goes as a student of history, regardless of the outcome, life will continue regardless.
To cover what the above-quoted reply addresses, I will be realistic, Trump could make Biden's life very hard if he does lose. John Adams signed into office a bunch of judges to frustrate Thomas Jefferson's designs in office before leaving, and if Trump so decides, there are a lot of entirely legal and consistent with the powers of the executive ways he could smash everything with a hammer and leave Biden to fix the shattered pieces. Warren Harding had a lot to fix because the outgoing Wilson administration did exactly this to him out of sheer spite.
However, that is not ENTIRELY bad. This could give Biden a chance to clean house, and thus leave less in place to be enforced that could be a long-term impediment to any Biden/future Democrat administration initiatives. Despite Wilson's team smashing everything with a hammer before they left, Harding was able to set into place the means of Republicans to hold the presidency through the 1920s anyway.
At the same time, it would be a spiteful act for Trump to pull and I would certainly consider it a dick move if he does, but regretfully, as much as I'd prefer it be as amiable as Ford was handing things over to Carter by comparison, Trump is likely to smash the fine china with a hammer on his way out if he does ultimately lose.