Whispering Sammy
By now anyone seriously following the election knows all about 1876 and sees the possibility of it unfolding again. We see that the merit of the legal actions is irrelevant. Timing is everything. If certification deadlines pass, all bets are off.
It’s not just a new election from scratch. It’s 50 new elections from scratch.
But the voters won’t be the voters. State power brokers will decide who gets each State’s votes. Where State power is divided between Legislature and Governor, the Supreme Court will probably decide which team gets to choose the Slate of Electors.
Since I am not one of the smart, rich and powerful people many non-Trump supporters believe or at least hope are working in some mysterious way to somehow stop all this, the question is — what the heck are we supposed to do while Michael Bloomberg or whoever it is saves our ass from autocracy?
My only answer is: Stop Sneering at the Silly Lawsuits and Start Making Everyone You Know Aware of What the Actual Threat Is.
I would also suggest emotionally preparing yourself for much more Trump. I know this is a devastating thought just when we were all told that it looked otherwise. The longer anyone clings to the belief that this struggle is over, the harder it will be to face what is actually happening when it is no longer possible to deny.
I have simulated a second Trump Inauguration in my own mind. When and if it happens, I will not be reduced to a quivering mass of protoplasm because I am in the process of getting used to a reality I would not have bet on a few months ago. I am trying to make reasonable plans not as a reactive impulse when denial finally bursts, but from a place of deeply sad acceptance.
I do not believe this is a moment to announce precipitous escape plans. I believe it is a time to open our eyes and prepare for a wider range of outcomes than we care to. If scenarios then emerge that we find intolerable, we will make better action plans, not just fear-based reaction plans.