One way or another

Three months ago, I wrote that one way or another Trump would manage to stay in the oval office past inauguration day. I know many of you thought it was hyperbole, or, in the worst case, perhaps Trump would have to be “escorted” from the White House, like a trespasser, as Biden has suggested.

When Biden finally acquired the 270 electoral votes needed to win, most reasonable people in this country breathed a sigh of relief, imagining that the Trump era would now come to a close, with or without Tweety’s consent. And I, too, temporarily harbored hopes that my dire ruminations had been overly pessimistic and that, in the final analysis, the electoral machinery of our democracy would hold the man-baby to account. Even though congress, the courts, the military, the press, the intelligence agencies, and every other institution that we had placed our faith in over the last four years had failed to hold back the craziness, we thought the jig was finally up.

When Trump augmented his nutty Twitter pronouncements of victory with real actions, though, some doubts started to form among even the most optimistic of us. Denying the release of funds earmarked for the transition? Refusing to allow Biden access to security briefings necessary to keep us safe? Just the typical Trumpian tantrums and vengefulness, we thought.

Of course, no one really thought Trump could bring himself to concede and graciously wish his successor good luck on behalf of the American people, like every loser before him. But it wouldn’t matter, we were assured, since concession is simply a custom and not any sort of constitutional requirement. A new president would take office whether the outgoing one agreed to it or not. After all, no man is above the law, right?

Not so fast.

What no one really imagined was that the rank and file of the Republican party would fall into line with Trump’s fantasy, supported, of course, by FoxNews. With the usual exceptions of RINOs Mitt Romney and Lisa Murkowski, no sitting Republican congressperson has dared call Biden “President-Elect”. The man-baby still has them all scared to death.

And if Senators and Representatives are willing to praise the Emperor’s fine clothes, does anyone imagine that the foot soldiers out in the provinces have the integrity, fortitude, or power to speak up and point out the obvious?

And this brings me to some actual scenarios by which Tweety will attempt to complete the final destruction of our democracy and install himself and his heirs as Supreme Leader For Life.

Here are a couple of possibilities, though no one can really predict (or even imagine) what a deranged sociopath might conjure up.

Try this one out: Trump persuades Republican-controlled legislatures in key swing states to declare that, as the propriety of the counts is in doubt, they must intervene and designate new (Trump) electors, potentially changing the final vote of the Electoral College. The Electoral Count Act of 1887 gives the legislatures considerable discretion in these matters and the Supreme Court will affirm the legality of it, citing constitutional provisions authorizing state legislatures to determine the mode of selecting electors.

Sounds about right. And if you don’t believe that one, how about this one:

Why do you think Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper and several other top Pentagon officials, replacing them with “loyalists”? With only two months left to his regime, it seems pointlessly cruel and vindictive. Yes, of course it is cruel and vindictive, but not pointless. If you can remember only as far back as June (and no one will blame you if you can’t), Trump’s beef with Esper was that he refused to deploy military personnel to put down Black Lives Matter protests, thereby further infuriating the always-infuriated man-baby.

What Trump hopes is that his refusal to acknowledge the legitimacy of the elections and the wishes of the 80 million citizens who want him gone will ultimately provoke widespread protests and demonstrations. With the help of a few false-flag provocateurs and, who knows, maybe the expertise of his Russian friends, violence will ensue. Fox will amplify the chaos and assert that the country is at risk of a coup. At this point, Trump’s military will enforce some flavor of martial law, and Presto! The Reichstag is burned to the ground.

These are just two scenarios. As we’ve often noted, there is nothing that Trump will not do. Remember, he is not only desperate to hold on to power, but he is also desperate to avoid criminal prosecution in New York once he is out. No turn of events can possibly surprise us at this point.

One way or another. Buckle up.