Twitch, Quiver, and Shake Time
The Boston Globe carried a story that gave me indigestion.
President Trump would be able to dispatch Secret Service agents to polling places nationwide during a federal election, a vast expansion of executive authority, if a provision in a Homeland Security reauthorization bill remains intact.
You know how Republicans always want to turn over the duties of the federal government to the states? Well, that’s only if the states are allowing women to control their own bodies or the states are doing a poop-poor job of intimidating voters. I mean, like California or Massachusetts. Texas is handing voter intimidation and suppression quite well because they are very good at it.
What the damn hell does the Secret Service have to do with an election in my hometown? Hell, why don’t they just pull an ICE and a White Citizen’s Council for Heavy Artillery Van up to the front of every polling place?
Look, Trump is convinced that illegal voting cost him the popular vote in 2016. I would not put it passed this idiot to hold a nationwide parade of armed federal agents under his command to every polling location in America.
Damn terrorist. He’s just a damn terrorist.
Thanks to Deb T for the heads up.
I’ve been an election judge 8 to 10 times. This is a Soviet inspired way of taking the election process into a cesspool.
1Why? That just seems like a way to scare voters! Here in RI we tell campaigners to back off our space, mentally measuring the 50 feet. trump is paranoid, and just plain stupid. Seems a waste of money and resources to me.
2Maymoon, that’s the point, isn’t it? If people of color see official-looking people (probably men) or vehicles around, they might not go inside and vote. And that’s just the way the orange one wants it.
3dwj:
I think one could include the entire GOP on that point.
4Supposedly, this is to ensure that a person entitled to SS protection can enter the polling place along with their armed SS protector. Generally, weapons are not permitted in polling places, and thus a person could be forced to give up their SS protection in order to vote.
Unless that specific condition is spelled out as the ONLY permissible reason for an armed federal agent to enter a polling place, I don’t believe this for a second.
Ol’ Mangohead just likes the notion that he can command armed people to enter voting places at will to a) get off on a power trip and b) make sure that only “desirable” people vote.
5Somehow the GOP and their enablement seems worse to me than the idiot in the White House. He’s crazy. They are evil.
6Trump wants to live out his dream of being an autocratic strongman by using force to live out his fantasies. Using the Secret Service to intimidate voters has to be unconstitutional and the ACLU might want to seek an injunction if this action is attempted by the illegitimate president.
7Another step by an uncontrolled autocrat in the WH, a Congress of the same party that will give him whatever he wants, and a Judiciary branch either under the same party or too close to make much difference.
Folks, we have to fight this garbage like hell before it starts to look normal, especially to the young people who won’t know any different.
8All that for special snowflake and scared of his own shadow Scott Pruitt? Scott could vote by absentee ballot to solve one of his personal problems. To be sure he fills out his envelopes correctly, Donnie could always appoint Betsy DeVile as special tutor to Scott.
9Is this the same Secret Service that is short staffed and over worked because of the Golden Gibbon’s forced overtime use of their services overtime he plays golf somewhere? And the money to pay all that over time is yet to be found? Cannot believe the Secret Service hasn’t mutinied!
10what Nefer said. And we need the safeguards he suggested.
11Shhh. Don’t give them any ideas. Also some readers might think this is real stuff instead of people sittin’ around havin’ a beer or sumthin’.
12AK Lynne, I totally agree with your assessment.
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