A Mud Creek Chronicle.

I wrote this post in on December 10, 2020 from my home office. From here, I can see wetlands formed from Mud Creek. It runs for a few miles until it merges with Nooses Creek. Eventually, it meets up as a tributary of the Chattahoochee River, Georgia’s largest river. Mud Creek is a small stream about 100 meters from my backyard. I have been writing from this office since 1993. I will be sharing more as time goes on.

Visiting the past can help us navigate the future. This is especially true now. We have a wannabe dictator and a known authoritarian. They prefer meeting with leaders of authoritarian nations rather than democratic leaders.

Donald Trump and his sycophants were trying to steal the 2020 election. I wrote this nearly a month before he incited thousands to attack the United States Capitol Building. It was obvious. Or it should have been obvious. Autocrat Trump was showing the world that he was determined to stay in office, no matter what.

We didn’t learn much from this attempted coup.

The Original Post, December 10, 2020

Donald Trump is engaged in a bid to steal the 2020 election. And most of his party approves or remains silent. Recently, Senator Kelly Loeffler spoke to this issue in a debate. Dr. Raphael Warnock is challenging her in one of two U.S. Senate races in Georgia. In the debate, she was asked if Donald Trump lost the election, yes or no. She did not choose either choice. She told us that Donald Trump has every right to challenge the vote. He can guarantee every vote counts. Loeffler is a perfect example of how Trump gets away with his charade. In Georgia, every vote has been counted three times: three times 5 million or so votes. The outcome was the same: Joe Biden won by more than 10,000 votes.

Trump is using tactics that are typically used in authoritarian and dictatorial regimes. Anyone that opposes the “Trump regime” is an enemy. They will be treated as such, as if a war had been declared. Last Saturday, Trump called Georgia Governor Brian Kemp. Kemp has been a huge supporter of Trump. He opened the Georgia economy before other states. He did this because he thought it would please his boss in Washington. When Kemp opened the state in early April, Trump embarrassed Kemp. He also made him a laughing stock of governors in the media. In the phone call with Kemp on December 5, Trump asked Kemp to call the Georgia house and senate together. He wanted a special meeting to get them to change the vote. Remember Trump’s phone call with President Zelensky of Ukraine—led to impeachment. He thought by bringing the representatives of the people of Georgia that they defy the will of the people. The will of the people was that 16 electors will vote for Joe Biden because he won the election. Kemp turned the president down. It’s hard to believe Trump did this. Yet he asked Republicans in Michigan and Pennsylvania to make him the winner.

This is an outright abuse of power. Still, Trump has abused the power of his office since he arrived. He’s an authoritarian and despotic.

Coup

In a recent article in the Atlantic, Zeynep Tufekci provides insight. He explained what was happening with Trump and the Republican Party. He makes it clear but also explains that most Americans won’t recognize or realize what is happening. At one point in his article, he said:

The U.S. president is trying to steal the election. Crucially, his party either tacitly approves or pretends not to see it. This is a particularly dangerous combination, and makes it much more than just typical Trumpian bluster or norm shattering.

According to Tufekci, there is only one word in English. This word can be used to find and name what is going on. He says it eloquently with these remarks.

Trump is attempting to stage some kind of coup, one that is embedded in a broader and ongoing power grab. And if that’s hard to recognize, this might be your first.

The coup identified here involves other states. It also involves lower and higher courts, the Supreme Court, a host of lawyers, and election officials. Nevertheless, ground zero for the election of the century is the state of Georgia.

Georgia Senate Races: At Risk?

Two senate elections will be decided in a runoff election on January 5, 2021. Here are the stakes. If Jon Ossoff wins his campaign against David Purdue, the Democrats will gain an advantage. If Raphael Warnock wins against Kelly Loeffler, the Democrats will hold the advantage in the United States Senate. If the Democrats win both seats, then there will be 50 Democratic and 50 Republican senators. In this scenario, the United States Vice-President decides all tie votes. At present, Kamala Harris, a Democrat, holds the position of Vice-President.

Trump has targeted Governor Brian Kemp, a Republican. He has also targeted Secretary of State Brad Brad Raffensperger, a Republican. Additionally, he has targeted Election Chief, Gabriel Sterling, a Republican. His targeting has resulted in death threats to Secretary Raffensperger’s family. Gabriel Sterling gave an emotional speech on the steps of the State Capitol. He said that Trump and Senators Purdue and Loeffler have to stop their actions. They must do this before someone gets hurt or killed.

Loeffler and Purdue have called for the resignation of Brad Raffensperger. All three of them are republicans. The senators have not backed off, and still hold to their position that he should step down. Raffensperger has been very clear that he will not resign. He shouldn’t.

Safe Harbor

Although today is “Safe Harbor” day, I am still concerned about Trump’s attempted coup. Safe Harbor day is today, December 8. It is the day when states can “lock” in their electoral college votes. A Forbes article helps us understand the importance of this day. Alison Durkee is the author of the article. She explains that under federal law, states must complete their election results six days before the Electoral College meets. They need to resolve “any controversy or contest” involving the appointment of electors by that time. These results should be treated as “conclusive” by Congress. Lawmakers must not challenge them when they count the Electoral College votes.

Well, that day has come and almost gone. Although not set in stone, the results will be very difficult to change. Joe Biden will be the next president.

Supreme Court

Today the Supreme Court of the United States turned down a lawsuit filed by Rep. Mike Kelly claiming that mail-in ballots were illegal and the mail-in votes in Pennsylvania should be thrown out. The Supreme Court ruling was as follows:

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2020
ORDER IN PENDING CASE
20A98 KELLY, MIKE, ET AL. V. PENNSYLVANIA, ET AL.
The application for injunctive relief presented to Justice
Alito and by him referred to the Court is denied.

This was a major decision since the Supreme Court is stacked with justices appointed by Trump. Ever since Trump was elected in 2016, he has called the presidential election rigged, even when he won. He especially is paranoid about mail-in votes. But he uses his paranoia to ignite his base that the election was stolen from because of mail-in votes. This case seems to tell us that mail-in votes are legal. They can’t simply be thrown out because Trump says they should.

Watch Out for Trump

There is less than a month until the Georgia runoff election for two U.S. senate seats. Mail-in voting has begun in the state, and more than one million mail-in votes have been filed. Early voting begins next week, and runs until the end of the month. Election day is January 5.

More than 300 million dollars has been spent on advertising for the two elections. Trump plans to return to the state and hold another of his rallies of lies. In the last rally, Trump aimed to support Purdue and Loeffler’s race against Jon Ossoff and Rafael Warnock. Yet, he spent most of the time whining about how the election was stolen from him. Except that now he’s trying to steal it back. Is that possible. In Trump’s world, it is.
The tide has turned. But I heard someone on CNN say it’s not over until Joe Biden lifts his hand off the Bible.