Coup Total Landscaping

Trump's coup attempt is bound for Coup Total Landscaping. He's so far behind electorally that he has to corrupt too many people in a coordinated way at once. Collective action problems prevent Evil from overthrowing democracy, so Good will win.

His big plan, I think, is to rope Republicans into his nonsense. Many will play along with the idea that he was robbed or say the outcome is uncertain until the Electoral College makes things official. At that point many GOP primary voters will be permanently convinced. That gives him a nice power base for the next few years.

Trump's one true business skill is winning a bankruptcy. He had six in his hotel and casino businesses. He walks away with most of what's left, leaving customers, creditors, and clients to curse their deals with the devil. We'll see how many Republicans end up in his hell.

The GOP versus the T Party? Dreams of a schism

Trump wants to overturn the election. I don't see how he could succeed. But he'll go at least as far as Republicans are willing to follow, and they could follow for a while. A president fighting such a clear election result is uncharted territory, so I can't say what happens here.

McConnell is approving Trump's move towards recounts and litigation, without criticizing his baseless allegations of fraud. Georgia's runoff-bound Republican Senators are parroting Trump's allegations of fraud in Georgia voting. But the Republican state Secretary of State says the election was clean and rejects their calls to resign. Fox News isn't trying to amplify Trump's fraud allegations -- their top headline now is about Pelosi being a socialist. We'll see how this plays out.

There's a lot I don't know. But I know what I want for Christmas: a schism in the Republican Party. On one side is Trump and his personality cult; on the other is the institutional party that preceded him. Right now he's trying to control the whole thing. But he'll be content to break off a nice big piece and hold the party hostage unless it respects his legal and financial interests.

2010-2012 saw seven Senate races where Tea Party Republicans beat moderates in primaries and lost general elections to Democrats. They included anti-masturbation crusader Christine O'Donnell of "I am not a witch" fame, Todd Akin of "legitimate rape / shut that whole thing down" fame, and Richard Mourdock who got tangled up in the Problem of Evil when answering a debate question about Akin's abortion views. I want to win that way again.

A Trump schism could undermine Republican coordination and help us win the Georgia runoffs. (I'm sorting out Georgia donation ideas. Trouble is that with maybe $100M going into this on both sides, we hit diminishing returns on any way of spending it, and I try to give you extra bang for your buck.) The incumbents could end having to take sides on intra-GOP disputes splitting their base, and the national party might not be able to unify behind them.

The big prize is 2022. Republicans are defending 20+ seats. Many are tough for Democrats to win. But if establishment GOP Senators get overthrown by T party candidates in league with their cult hero, we could clean up. That requires a deep Republican schism, so that's what I'm hoping for.

The Republican Party has been my enemy since I was 10 years old. That's when public-spirited black architect Harvey Gantt, recently mayor of Charlotte, was running for Senate as a Democrat. He lost to old segregationist Jesse Helms, who blocked federal AIDS funding because he thought gay people were disgusting. 

From Helms to Bush to Trump, that party has been the the same coalition of corrupt wealth and vicious prejudice. I don't really strategize against the politicians in it as individuals anymore. The party as an institution must be annihilated; the power of the Republican coalition must be destroyed.

Good luck, Georgia Democrats!

Joe Biden took the lead in Georgia, and I took a walk in the sunshine. Up in a tree were two hornbills, regarded as good omens by the Dayak people of the islands surrounding me here in Singapore. I thought of Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, whose double runoff election will decide control of the Senate. 

Warnock and Ossoff's task is difficult. But they have fair chances against incumbents who traded stocks on insider COVID information, and a party that a defeated Trump may drag into chaos. Our NC and Alaska candidates rightly haven't conceded due to their states' back-loaded electoral processes, so we have long-shot hopes there. But Georgia will be the live heart of the struggle.

Stacey Abrams commands the forces behind these men, which now face a great test of strength. I gave her organization $1000 about a year ago when I saw this begin to take shape. Now I hope she can win a mighty victory.