Re: <nettime> why is it so quiet (in the US)

["Kurtz, Steven" <sjkurtz@buffalo.edu>]

>From my perspective there is very little to worry about regarding the election. There will be no coup, and the electoral college vote will not be stolen. All the generals who can speak out (because they are retired) have done so, and do not support Trump, nor do they see him as the election winner. Trump has not replaced anyone yet with operational command. 

The electorate sent to congress has to reflect the popular vote. Each state has a law that enforces this. Police, judges (at all levels), electorate members, a majority of congress, and state legislators would all have to agree to break these laws to make this theft possible. Perhaps either of these theft strategies are possible, but they are adjacent to impossible. 

When understanding Trump, the best way is to go directly to the lowest common denominator. Trump is not a complex, reflective man. What does he like to do?

1.	Loot and grift. If he were to concede the tap of funds flowing into legally challenge the election would stop. He has no intention of cutting this revenue source, since half goes to lawyers and half to his campaign.
2.	Display his power. His favorite way of doing this is to make other powerful people say things in public that they know are not true. An Orwellian autocratic favorite to be sure. He also likes to remind his party that his base will follow every order.  This is how he plans to stay a power player in the Republican party. I think a line will drawn at coup time. Thus far no post-election acts of violence from either side have been reported.
3.	Take revenge. That is part of the reason for the recent firings. He will put the knife to as many people as he can before leaving. He will also give pardons to people that he believes will make his enemies upset. (On the small up side, this may include a pardon for Snowden to get back at his “deep state” enemies. Trump has said this out loud.) He will also collect as much dirt as he can to release against his enemies (another reason for the recent firings).
4.	Undermine democratic institutions. His favorite is elections. He cried voter fraud even when he won in 2016 and has pursued this lie ever since, so its no surprise he is doing it when he has lost. He also does it by putting unqualified hacks into office and removing the competent. The former is another nother reason for the recent firings. This tendency is in part residue of Bannon’s accelerationist agenda. 

Will we see Trump run again in 2024? Yes, if he is not in jail. He has to escape prosecutors in NY state and in Manhattan first. Then, for four years he will have to resist selling state secrets. A series of actions that could make him the richest man in the world. I don’t know if he can resist that, and I am sure he is not smart enough to get away with it.

________________________________________
From: nettime-l-bounces@mail.kein.org <nettime-l-bounces@mail.kein.org> on behalf of Joseph Rabie <joe@overmydeadbody.org>
Sent: Friday, November 13, 2020 3:39 PM
To: Keith Sanborn; nettime-l
Subject: Re: <nettime> why is it so quiet (in the US)

> I wd speculate that except for the politically appointed heads

Generally, heads appointed by Trump roll sooner rather than later.

One wonders how much genuine loyalty Republican politicians will show towards him, knowing that Trump’s capacity to bully and threaten them no longer depends on his presidential position, but on their own volition to support him, or not. How many are saying "good riddance", though very softly for the moment, so long as the possibility still exists that he can prevail against Biden...

Joe.



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