It certainly is a valuable insight into the new President's character that he, 1. Is still obsessing over the vote count 2 1/2 months after the election, and 2. That he has absolutely no reluctance to tell obvious lies to further his interests.

It's a strategy, I believe.
Self-styled strongmen always cultivate a cult of personality. And that cult  necessitates constructing a myth in which the breadth of their support is wildly overstated. (I'm the leader of a vast movement. Not the bare winner in a nearly equally divided nation)

We see this all the time. Granted, we usually see this in places like Uganda, and North Korea, rather than here. But we do see it.

Today will bring the inevitable pushback. Kellyanne, over at the Ministry of Propaganda may suggest that Trump winning the popular vote is just an "Alternative Fact". Then quickly change the subject. Maybe we can talk about Hilary's emails again.

Sean and the Trumpers here will attack the media, suggesting that the press has done something wrong by reporting the words that the President utters. "Why do you have to be so negative? Give the man a chance. You are focusing on stupid s___, and letting it step on his agenda."

Hey, when the President boldly lies, it's news. Get over it.
Here is some sage advice:
If you don't want stupid S___ to step on your message,,,,,
,,,,,,,,, Stop saying stupid S___.
It isn't the press' fault if the President is undisciplined.
 

Last edited by Goose (1/24/2017 9:21 am)

tennyson wrote:

It is really hard to believe ANYTHING that comes out of his mouth. 

It raises an important question that will have consequences for all of us.
Does the President of United States believe facts?

Forget his shameless vanity and ego about the election for a second.
When advisors come to the president with intelligence assessments that might determine a military action,,,,,, will the president believe facts?
When it comes to economics, environment, human rights, foreign relations,,,,,, will the president believe facts?
Or will he be some crackpot who knows what he knows?

Last edited by Goose (1/25/2017 6:38 am)

The problem is that under the current practice there would be no evidence of illegal votes being cast because it is assumed that all registered voters are casting legal ballots.

Motor Voter demands that anyone that gets a drivers license is offered the opportunity to register to vote. Nobody checks any citizen database to verify citizenship when those forms are processed and courts have said states can't demand proof of citizenship when someone registers to vote.  Once non-citizens are registered how would "evidence" of them casting an illegal ballot be acquired?

Last year in PA, with just a couple weeks left until the registration deadline, the Secretary of State sent out 2.5 million voter registration postcards to anyone and everyone not registered to vote but who possessed a PA drivers license.  PA is a member of the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) and it seems to discover dead people on the roles and people who have moved but the discovery of registered non-citizens is left to the states (who then need to depend on the non-cooperative feds).  No matter what the process, the new applicants could not be vetted.  The registered non-citizens we know about self-reported their error in registering thru motor voter. 

So, while the "news" is repeatedly saying Trump's claims have been debunked, and liberals are enthusiastically mocking him, once non-citizens get registered to vote, how would "evidence" of them casting an illegal ballot be acquired?

Is anyone here opposed to a thorough examination of state voter registrations against a comprehensive federal citizen database?

https://www.lifezette.com/polizette/potentially-thousands-illegal-voters-pennsylvania/

Don't worry . . . We'll get to the bottom of this now. Our omnipotent supreme leader has declared that a complete investigation of voter fraud will commence.


Trump calls for ‘major investigation’ into debunked claim of widespread voter fraud


President Trump says he will call for a “major investigation” into the widely-debunked claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2016 election.

“I will be asking for a major investigation into VOTER FRAUD, including those registered to vote in two states, those who are illegal and … even, those registered to vote who are dead (and many for a long time),” Trump tweeted early Wednesday. “Depending on results, we will strengthen up voting procedures!”

The president’s call for an investigation came a day after White House press secretary Sean Spicer defended without evidence Trump’s claim that millions of people voted illegally in the November presidential election. Fact-checkers and independent analyses have found no evidence of significant voter fraud.

I will be asking for a major investigation into VOTER FRAUD, including those registered to vote in two states, those who are illegal and….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 25, 2017

even, those registered to vote who are dead (and many for a long time). Depending on results, we will strengthen up voting procedures!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 25, 2017

“The president does believe that,” Spicer told reporters at the White House during a press briefing. “He’s stated his concerns about voter fraud and people voting illegally during the campaign, and he continues to maintain that belief based on studies and evidence that people have presented to him.”

Reporters then pressed Spicer, asking whether the Trump administration would launch an investigation into the alleged massive electoral fraud.

“Maybe we will,” Spicer said. “I think let’s not prejudge what we may or may not do in the future.”

Trump, who had previously made the debunked claim, reportedly repeated it again Monday during a White House reception, where he said 3 to 5 million votes were cast by people who illegally immigrated to the United States. The president uses this assertion to argue that he would have won the popular vote against Hillary Clinton, who beat him by nearly 3 million votes overall.

Lawmakers on both sides have refuted Trump’s claims, which are striking as they appear to undermine the legitimacy his own victory.

At his weekly press conference Tuesday, House Speaker Paul Ryan was asked if he felt the need to correct the president’s baseless claim about voter fraud.

“I’ve already commented on that,” Ryan said. “I’ve seen no evidence to that effect, and I’ve made that very, very clear.”

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders called Trump’s claim of 3-5 million “delusional.”

“That is a total nonsensical statement. But what I fear about that statement and what is something we should all worry about is when Trump talks about 3-5 million people voting illegally he is sending a message to every Republican governor in this country to go forward with voter suppression. The great political and Democratic crisis we face now in this country is not voter fraud it is voter suppression.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the GOP has an “obligation” to reject Trump’s falsehoods.

“You cannot keep America safe if you don’t actually admit to the facts,” Schumer said.

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican, warned Trump not to undermine confidence in American democracy.

“If the president of the United States is claiming that 3.5 million people voted illegally, that shakes confidence in our democracy — he needs to disclose why he believes that,” Graham told CNN on Tuesday. “I would urge the President to knock this off; this is the greatest democracy on earth, we’re the leader of the free world, and people are going to start doubting you as a person if you keep making accusations against our electoral system without justification.”

Graham added: “This is going to erode his ability to govern this country if he does not stop it.”


To quote the inimitable Donald Rumsfeld:
"There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know."

Last edited by Rongone (1/25/2017 9:01 am)