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2020 Election Results

There are plenty among the atheist community who, no longer having a god that watches over them and tells them right from wrong, turn to the government to watch over them and tell them right from wrong.
Really? Perhaps you could ask them to come here and discuss that odd approach.
 
GOP Presidential Primary: Crumbling State Republican Parties | National Review - a right-wing rag concedes that failure
On the menu today: The seemingly frozen-in-amber GOP presidential primary is getting most of the attention and headlines, but under the radar, in at least a quartet of key states, the state Republican parties are collapsing — going broke and devolving into infighting little fiefdoms. Even worse for the GOP, these aren’t just any states — Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, and Minnesota all rank as either key swing states or once-purple states that would be tantalizing targets in a good year. Meanwhile, the Georgia state Republican Party is spending a small fortune on the legal fees of those “alternate” Republican electors from the 2020 presidential election. If Republicans are disappointed with the results of the 2024 elections — for the fourth straight cycle, mind you — a key factor will be the replacement of competent, boring, regular state-party officials with quite exciting, blustering nutjobs who have little or no interest in the basics of successfully managing a state party or the basic blocking and tackling involved in helping GOP candidates win elections.

Crumbling State Republican Parties

When a political party adopts a mindset that prioritizes loyalty to a particular figure — in this case, Donald Trump — over all other traits, eventually it tends to run low on those other traits. We see the consequences of this mentality in the condition of several state Republican parties.
Then discussing Arizona, Colorado, Minnesota, Michigan, and an extra one, Georgia.
In these states, we are seeing the self-marginalization of the Republican Party. No outside force came along and forced these state parties to spend money, alienate traditional supporters and donors, pick nasty fights with their own lawmakers, turn loyalty to Trump into the preeminent litmus test on all issues and disputes, and alienate and repel once-persuadable swing voters. No, the people who took over these parties chose this path.

Yes, the pre-Trump Republican Party had its faults, and there’s no getting around that. Perhaps you remember it as being boring, stuffy, and predictable, with the state and local parties largely being run by nice old ladies who liked to wear big hats. But those allegedly boring types also tended to get the basics right: get more money coming in than is going out, pay attention to down-ballot races, and avoid infighting and messy public squabbles. Prudence, diligence, coalition-building, and cooperation — sure, those traits might not quicken your pulse, but they are required to get the job done. You cannot bellow, snarl, table-pound, and rage your way to an effective state or local party organization.
Right-wingers like to whine abut how hard they work and they like to brag about what realists they are and how prosocial they are. Yet their party acts like this.
The modern, very Trumpy Republican Party attracts certain people and repels certain people. It attracts people with passion, a sense that the fate of the country is at stake, and an eagerness to denounce any Republican official they deem insufficiently devoted to the cause. They also often adamantly insist that the 2020 election was stolen and see conspiracies at work everywhere. This same party repels the old guard and anyone with the old guard’s positive traits.
Highbrow conservatives have long admired a certain Edmund Burke, who famously criticized the French Revolution as being reckless and ideological. But the Republican Party is now resembling the French revolutionaries more than him.
 
The parties could be "weak", but their representation in State Legislatures is very strong thanks to that gerrymandering in 2010 and 2020.
 
'Everything has fallen off a cliff': Battleground state GOPs nosedive in Trump era - POLITICO - "State Republican parties across the country are struggling. Can they recover? Does it matter?"
Around the nation, state Republican party apparatuses — once bastions of competency that helped produce statehouse takeovers — have become shells of their former machines amid infighting and a lack of organization.

Current and former officials at the heart of the matter blame twin forces for it: The rise of insurgent pro-Donald Trump activists capturing party leadership posts, combined with the ever-rising influence of super PACs.

“It shouldn’t surprise anybody that real people with real money — the big donors who have historically funded the party apparatus — don’t want to invest in these clowns who have taken over and subsumed the Republican Party,” said Jeff Timmer, the former executive director of the once-vaunted Michigan GOP and a senior adviser to the anti-Trump Lincoln Project.
Talking about the state parties of MI, MN, CO, PA, MA, AZ

"But not all Republicans are concerned. In fact, some argue that modern politics in the age of super PAC make state parties relics of the past." - strikes me as wishful thinking.

"Democrats, for one, say they see an opening and are now doubling efforts to win back state legislatures."

"Some embattled state parties have recently gotten help from national Republicans." - seems like desperation.

In Pennsylvania, the state party sold its headquarters last year, sparking concern among some Republicans in the state about its finances. The Democratic state party’s main PAC also outraised its equivalent nearly two-to-one in 2022. One plugged-in Pennsylvania Republican said that the hard-right activists who have won state committee seats in recent years aren’t able to tap wealthy friends for cash in the same way the party’s more establishment-minded foot soldiers in the past could.

...
In a statement to POLITICO, Colorado GOP state party Chair Dave Williams, who ran on a 2020 election denial platform, said the party “has sufficient funds to finance its current operations and will have the necessary capital for the 2024 election cycle.” He said the “establishment” had “fleeced donors by the millions and created donor fatigue with their failed strategies and historic losses in Colorado.”
 
One way national parties have dealt with the weakening of state parties has been to skip around them. The Republican Governors Association, for example, ran its spending in the 2022 gubernatorial race in Arizona through a county party instead of the long-plagued state Republican Party. In Nevada, meanwhile, the remnants of the famous “Reid Machine” set up a parallel operation to the state Democratic Party, which had been briefly taken over by Bernie Sanders supporters, to help manage the midterms for Senate and gubernatorial contests there. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto won reelection, while then-Gov. Steve Sisolak narrowly lost his bid for another term.

But working around a state party has its limitations, especially if other political entities are trying to do the same. That’s been the case in Arizona, where the state party has been infiltrated by precinct committee leaders affiliated with the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA. The group is at odds with the state’s moderate-minded, establishment GOP officials and has enthusiastically backed unsuccessful statewide candidates like Kari Lake for governor and Abe Hamadeh for attorney general.
Despite this loss, TPUSA plans to expand operations in WI and GA.
Turning Point says it has recruited 3,000 state party precinct leaders around the nation since 2020, a key component of its efforts to influence state parties away from traditional GOP leadership.

“It has become quite difficult to rely on state parties,” said one national Republican operative, who was granted anonymity to speak freely. “Because people who are involved for the right reasons don’t feel appreciated and are pushed out, and now you’re stuck dealing with fringe characters who don’t know how to win elections, can’t be trusted to manage resources, and play with people’s worst instincts.”

Trump’s Endorsement Track Record: Key Statistics - The New York Times - "Herschel Walker’s loss in Georgia delivers another blow to the former president in a state that has been emblematic of his struggles when it comes to endorsements."

The numbers:
  • Trump endorsed over 250 candidates, and 82% of them won. But most of them were incumbents and likely winners.
  • Of the 10 House Republicans who supported impeaching them, only 2 survived, with 8 either retiring or being primaried. Of the 8 Trump-endorsed challengers, 6 won in the general elections, and 2 lost to Democrats.
  • In the 36 most competitive House races, Trump endorsed candidates in 5 of them. All of them lost.
  • Of the other candidates that Trump endorsed, 1 won and 5 lost.

Will establishment Republicans try to purge their party of Trumpies? IMO, it would take big losses in 2024, and maybe not even then.
 
Trump demands thousands of classified documents in his court fight to prove the 2020 election was stolen

Former President Donald Trump’s legal team is seeking a trove of classified documents from the Justice Department as it prepares to argue at his upcoming criminal trial that he was right to doubt the results of the 2020 election.

The approach will bring Trump’s continued political broadside against his loss of the presidency into court as the former president alleges a vast government conspiracy against him, all as he seeks to retake the White House.
 
Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump

THE MOST IMPORTANT POLL RELEASED IN THE LAST 20 YEARS CAME OUT YESTERDAY STATING THAT 20% OF THE MAIL IN BALLOTS IN THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION WERE RIGGED OR DEFECTIVE. THAT MEANS THAT THE ELECTION WAS A GIANT SCAM. YOU CANNOT HAVE A FAIR AND HONEST ELECTION AS LONG AS THERE ARE MAIL IN BALLOTS. CHEATING WILL ALWAYS BE PREVALENT. FRANCE, AND MANY COUNTRIES, HAVE STOPPED THE MADNESS. THE REPUBLICAN PARTY MUST DO SOMETHING NOW!!!
I have no idea WTF he's talking about and I don't understand how a "poll" can do what he says it did.
 
Okay, this is what he's talking about.


Heartland Institute and Rasmussen Reports found one-in-five voters who cast mail-in ballots during the 2020 presidential election admit to participating in at least one kind of voter fraud.

When asked, “During the 2020 election, did you fill out a ballot, in part or in full, on behalf of a friend or family member, such as a spouse or child?”, 21% of respondents who said they voted by mail answered “yes.” (Filling out a ballot for someone else is illegal in all states, although many states allow people to assist others with voting.)

Additionally, 17% of mail-in voters said they voted “in a state where you were no longer a permanent resident.” Seventeen percent of mail-in voters also admitted to signing a “ballot or ballot envelope on behalf of a friend or family member.” (Both voting in a state where you are no longer a permanent resident and forging a signature on a ballot or ballot envelope are fraudulent activities that invalidate votes, when caught by election officials.)

According to election data, more than 43 percent of 2020 voters cast ballots by mail, the highest percentage in U.S. history.

Further, 10% of all respondents — not just those who said they voted by mail — claimed that they know “a friend, family member, co-worker, or other acquaintance who has admitted … that he or she cast a mail-in ballot in 2020 in a state other than his or her state of permanent residence.”

Eight percent of all respondents said “a friend, family member, or organization, such as a political party” offered them “pay” or a “reward” for agreeing to vote in the 2020 election.

Taken together, the results of these survey questions appear to show that voter fraud was widespread in the 2020 election, especially among those who cast mail-in ballots.

The poll of 1,085 likely voters was conducted from November 30 to December 6, 2023. Among those surveyed in the poll, 33% were Republicans, 36% were Democrats, and 31% were “other”; 32% were 18-39 years old, 46% were 40-64 years old, and 22% were 65 or older.
I'd sure like the breakdown of those answers by political affinity.
 
You think the scumbag heartland institute will share any detail that is can't shoehorn into the pro-Trump/Fascist/GOP propaganda?
 
I am surprised there isn't more objection to mail-in ballots. Guaranteed secrecy is lost, for starters, and there are other reasons why voting by mail is insecure. In the olden days, special circumstances were needed before it was permitted, if at all.

And -- let's be serious -- with the present schism in America between the sincere and righteous and the Hate-drenched Bullshit machine, desperation should drive us to choose balloting which favors Democrats over Trumpsuckers. I suspect voting-by-mail favors the GOP.

For starters, males are much more likely than females to vote for the hate-drenched liars. "Honey, let's vote by mail this year. We can help each other fill out our ballots.

1 in 3 women ... have experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner. ... 1 in 7 women ... have been injured by an intimate partner.
If even a small number of wife batterers are interested in politics, the net effect on vote totals may be significant.


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I think I've mentioned Steve Curtis before, but his story is worth retelling. The story would be hilarious if it weren't so disgusting.

The 2016 election was just a month away when Steve Curtis, a conservative radio host and former Colorado Republican Party chairman, devoted an entire episode of his morning talk show to the heated topic of voter fraud.

“It seems to me,” Curtis said in the 42-minute segment, “that virtually every case of voter fraud I can remember in my lifetime was committed by Democrats.”

On Tuesday, Colorado prosecutors threw a wrench into that already dubious theory, accusing Curtis of voter fraud for allegedly filling out and mailing in his ex-wife’s 2016 ballot for president, Denver’s Fox affiliate reported.
Curtis, 57, was charged in Weld County District Court with one count of misdemeanor voter fraud and one count of forgery, a Class 5 felony, according to local media.

The case is the only voter fraud investigation related to the 2016 election that has resulted in criminal charges in the state, the Colorado secretary of state’s office told Denver’s ABC affiliate.
Note that the wife for whom Curtis voted illehally did not even live in Colorado at the time. She voted in Virginia IIRC.
Despite pretending that his crime was caused by a cognitive disability, The former chairman of the Colorado Republican Party was sentenced to four years of probation and 300 hours of community service for voter fraud.[/QUOTE]
 
We are less than one year away from Election Day and although there has been no new evidence or litigation regarding election fraud in the 2020 election, many people continue to believe that the 2020 election was flawed. In the summer, a poll by the Associated Press showed that 22% of Republicans and 71% of Democrats have high confidence in votes being counted accurately in 2024. A more recent Washington Post poll found that among New Hampshire Republicans, over 50% believe Biden’s win was fraudulent, including 85% of Trump supporters.

Chief among those who continue to believe that the 2020 election was fraudulent is the former president, Donald Trump, who can’t seem to stop talking about it. In one post, he goes after the Republican Party for not doing enough — “… the RNC, and Ronna McDaniel, must spend their time working on this, instead of meaningless Debates where I am up by more than 50 points.”

So, where’s the fraud?
 
Okay, this is what he's talking about.


Heartland Institute and Rasmussen Reports found one-in-five voters who cast mail-in ballots during the 2020 presidential election admit to participating in at least one kind of voter fraud.

When asked, “During the 2020 election, did you fill out a ballot, in part or in full, on behalf of a friend or family member, such as a spouse or child?”, 21% of respondents who said they voted by mail answered “yes.” (Filling out a ballot for someone else is illegal in all states, although many states allow people to assist others with voting.)

Additionally, 17% of mail-in voters said they voted “in a state where you were no longer a permanent resident.” Seventeen percent of mail-in voters also admitted to signing a “ballot or ballot envelope on behalf of a friend or family member.” (Both voting in a state where you are no longer a permanent resident and forging a signature on a ballot or ballot envelope are fraudulent activities that invalidate votes, when caught by election officials.)

According to election data, more than 43 percent of 2020 voters cast ballots by mail, the highest percentage in U.S. history.

Further, 10% of all respondents — not just those who said they voted by mail — claimed that they know “a friend, family member, co-worker, or other acquaintance who has admitted … that he or she cast a mail-in ballot in 2020 in a state other than his or her state of permanent residence.”

Eight percent of all respondents said “a friend, family member, or organization, such as a political party” offered them “pay” or a “reward” for agreeing to vote in the 2020 election.

Taken together, the results of these survey questions appear to show that voter fraud was widespread in the 2020 election, especially among those who cast mail-in ballots.

The poll of 1,085 likely voters was conducted from November 30 to December 6, 2023. Among those surveyed in the poll, 33% were Republicans, 36% were Democrats, and 31% were “other”; 32% were 18-39 years old, 46% were 40-64 years old, and 22% were 65 or older.
I'd sure like the breakdown of those answers by political affinity.
A question that might have been asked would be:
1. Do you know the difference between residence and domicile?
They may be confusing the two.

And what's with the "do you know someone" questions? Sounds like they are trying to stack the deck.
 
Okay, this is what he's talking about.


Heartland Institute and Rasmussen Reports found one-in-five voters who cast mail-in ballots during the 2020 presidential election admit to participating in at least one kind of voter fraud.

When asked, “During the 2020 election, did you fill out a ballot, in part or in full, on behalf of a friend or family member, such as a spouse or child?”, 21% of respondents who said they voted by mail answered “yes.” (Filling out a ballot for someone else is illegal in all states, although many states allow people to assist others with voting.)

Additionally, 17% of mail-in voters said they voted “in a state where you were no longer a permanent resident.” Seventeen percent of mail-in voters also admitted to signing a “ballot or ballot envelope on behalf of a friend or family member.” (Both voting in a state where you are no longer a permanent resident and forging a signature on a ballot or ballot envelope are fraudulent activities that invalidate votes, when caught by election officials.)

According to election data, more than 43 percent of 2020 voters cast ballots by mail, the highest percentage in U.S. history.

Further, 10% of all respondents — not just those who said they voted by mail — claimed that they know “a friend, family member, co-worker, or other acquaintance who has admitted … that he or she cast a mail-in ballot in 2020 in a state other than his or her state of permanent residence.”

Eight percent of all respondents said “a friend, family member, or organization, such as a political party” offered them “pay” or a “reward” for agreeing to vote in the 2020 election.

Taken together, the results of these survey questions appear to show that voter fraud was widespread in the 2020 election, especially among those who cast mail-in ballots.

The poll of 1,085 likely voters was conducted from November 30 to December 6, 2023. Among those surveyed in the poll, 33% were Republicans, 36% were Democrats, and 31% were “other”; 32% were 18-39 years old, 46% were 40-64 years old, and 22% were 65 or older.
I'd sure like the breakdown of those answers by political affinity.
A question that might have been asked would be:
1. Do you know the difference between residence and domicile?
They may be confusing the two.

And what's with the "do you know someone" questions? Sounds like they are trying to stack the deck.
I wonder if the results would differ if they asked the same question about any election. However, I do understand that mail-in was more prevalent in 2020. I’ve not voted I person in a couple of decades.
 
So I went to Rasmussen to do a little more research.

”Among other findings of the Rasmussen/Heartland Institute survey:– Forty-six percent (46%) of those surveyed voted for Joe Biden in 2020, while 45% voted for Donald Trump. More Biden voters (36%) than Trump voters (23%) say they voted by absentee or mail-in ballot in the 2020 election. Thirty-eight percent (38%) of Democrats voted by mail in 2020, as did 24% of Republicans and 27% of voters not affiliated with either major party.

– Among those who cast mail-in ballots in 2020, nearly equal percentages of Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters admitted to fraudulent activities. For example, 19% of Republicans, 16% of Democrats and 17% of unaffiliated voters who cast 2020 mail-in ballots say they signed a ballot or ballot envelope on behalf of a friend or family member. On the question of voting in a state where they were no longer a permanent resident. more Republican mail-in voters (24%) than Democrats (17%) or unaffiliated voters (11%) admitted doing so.
Since when voter fraud is found, it's usually Republicans doing it. The above bears out what I expected about the findings of this poll. That it was more Republicans and Trump can shove it.
 
nearly equal percentages of Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters admitted to fraudulent activities. For example, 19% of Republicans, 16% of Democrats and 17% of unaffiliated voters who cast 2020 mail-in ballots say they signed a ballot or ballot envelope on behalf of a friend or family member. On the question of voting in a state where they were no longer a permanent resident. more Republican mail-in voters (24%) than Democrats (17%) or unaffiliated voters (11%) admitted doing so.
Since when voter fraud is found, it's usually Republicans doing it. The above bears out what I expected about the findings of this poll. That it was more Republicans and Trump can shove it.
'Shocking but not surprising' thing: 24% of Republicans admit to fraud? A quarter of them? And that's just the ones that admit it!
Every one of those basserds should be locked up and tortured until they confess to their crimes!
 
Okay, this is what he's talking about.


Heartland Institute and Rasmussen Reports found one-in-five voters who cast mail-in ballots during the 2020 presidential election admit to participating in at least one kind of voter fraud.

When asked, “During the 2020 election, did you fill out a ballot, in part or in full, on behalf of a friend or family member, such as a spouse or child?”, 21% of respondents who said they voted by mail answered “yes.” (Filling out a ballot for someone else is illegal in all states, although many states allow people to assist others with voting.)

Additionally, 17% of mail-in voters said they voted “in a state where you were no longer a permanent resident.” Seventeen percent of mail-in voters also admitted to signing a “ballot or ballot envelope on behalf of a friend or family member.” (Both voting in a state where you are no longer a permanent resident and forging a signature on a ballot or ballot envelope are fraudulent activities that invalidate votes, when caught by election officials.)

According to election data, more than 43 percent of 2020 voters cast ballots by mail, the highest percentage in U.S. history.

Further, 10% of all respondents — not just those who said they voted by mail — claimed that they know “a friend, family member, co-worker, or other acquaintance who has admitted … that he or she cast a mail-in ballot in 2020 in a state other than his or her state of permanent residence.”

Eight percent of all respondents said “a friend, family member, or organization, such as a political party” offered them “pay” or a “reward” for agreeing to vote in the 2020 election.

Taken together, the results of these survey questions appear to show that voter fraud was widespread in the 2020 election, especially among those who cast mail-in ballots.

The poll of 1,085 likely voters was conducted from November 30 to December 6, 2023. Among those surveyed in the poll, 33% were Republicans, 36% were Democrats, and 31% were “other”; 32% were 18-39 years old, 46% were 40-64 years old, and 22% were 65 or older.
I'd sure like the breakdown of those answers by political affinity.
Okay... so they polled 1,085 likely voters. 30% voted by mail.

So we are already down to 325 or so polled now. What is the +/- on that, 6%? So right off the bat, they polled people who didn't mail-in ballots... to poll people who mailed in ballots.

Notably, the push poll never asks, "Did you knowingly vote illegally?" No, instead they asked questions that could be the result of any number of benign circumstances.

What this poll tells us is that we are fucked, our Democracy is dead. Rasmussen is partisan, but this is Orwellian level of partisan.
 
Okay, this is what he's talking about.


Heartland Institute and Rasmussen Reports found one-in-five voters who cast mail-in ballots during the 2020 presidential election admit to participating in at least one kind of voter fraud.

When asked, “During the 2020 election, did you fill out a ballot, in part or in full, on behalf of a friend or family member, such as a spouse or child?”, 21% of respondents who said they voted by mail answered “yes.” (Filling out a ballot for someone else is illegal in all states, although many states allow people to assist others with voting.)

Additionally, 17% of mail-in voters said they voted “in a state where you were no longer a permanent resident.” Seventeen percent of mail-in voters also admitted to signing a “ballot or ballot envelope on behalf of a friend or family member.” (Both voting in a state where you are no longer a permanent resident and forging a signature on a ballot or ballot envelope are fraudulent activities that invalidate votes, when caught by election officials.)

According to election data, more than 43 percent of 2020 voters cast ballots by mail, the highest percentage in U.S. history.

Further, 10% of all respondents — not just those who said they voted by mail — claimed that they know “a friend, family member, co-worker, or other acquaintance who has admitted … that he or she cast a mail-in ballot in 2020 in a state other than his or her state of permanent residence.”

Eight percent of all respondents said “a friend, family member, or organization, such as a political party” offered them “pay” or a “reward” for agreeing to vote in the 2020 election.

Taken together, the results of these survey questions appear to show that voter fraud was widespread in the 2020 election, especially among those who cast mail-in ballots.

The poll of 1,085 likely voters was conducted from November 30 to December 6, 2023. Among those surveyed in the poll, 33% were Republicans, 36% were Democrats, and 31% were “other”; 32% were 18-39 years old, 46% were 40-64 years old, and 22% were 65 or older.
I'd sure like the breakdown of those answers by political affinity.
Okay... so they polled 1,085 likely voters. 30% voted by mail.

So we are already down to 325 or so polled now. What is the +/- on that, 6%? So right off the bat, they polled people who didn't mail-in ballots... to poll people who mailed in ballots.

Notably, the push poll never asks, "Did you knowingly vote illegally?" No, instead they asked questions that could be the result of any number of benign circumstances.

What this poll tells us is that we are fucked, our Democracy is dead. Rasmussen is partisan, but this is Orwellian level of partisan.
Trump thought it was the smoking gun.

Agreed about Rasmussen. But at least they were honest about the details.
 
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