Yesterday Trump stated that the recent USPS operational actions were taken to contain costs. The Postal Service had deficits under past administrations and all years of his. Given that the public depends on efficient mail delivery even more in a pandemic and elections coming up such cost concern now is actually laughable. If Trump was so concerned bout USPS costs, Jared Kushner should have made it his priority when appointed to streamline government functions. There is no other way to look at this but to say that the intent is to slow down ballot delivery. The most cited reason for mail-in ballots being ruled inadmissible is for them arriving past the due date!!!!
A Sinister Plan
When Trump suggested that the November election should possibly be delayed, he wasn’t joking or just showing his complete lack of understanding of the Constitution. The national elections have been held in November since 1788 and are set by Congress. Given that the coronavirus and associated economic hardships will not rebound sufficiently by November, an election delay can be taken as a sinister plan to buy time until things improve. All that Trump talk that mail in voting leads to voter fraud was a set up to reach this point. No doubt, he hopes that his rabid followers pick up on his idea and start a grass root movement in support of it. A few GOP Senators have already come out stating that they can’t support Trump’s delay position. What these Senators really fear is the potential push back from the public!
A Battle for Voter Turnout
Both parties realize that the key to winning elections is to get their base to the ballot box and to convert some Independents to their cause. Democrats have a larger base of supporters than Republicans and if they can get them to vote, they will win. The Republican party knows that and since they control the election boards in many states, their strategy most likely is to curtail voter registrations and trim existing voter lists. But both parties will still need cross over voters and that will be the real battle. Which party has the better candidate and message for an optimistic future. The incumbent President Trump is no longer a person who will be believed by everyone who voted for him in 2016. The Democrats can’t be too extreme with their agenda in order to have unifying public appeal. In November the election results will tell us who won this epic battle!
The Will of The People
Republicans argument is that removing a sitting President is akin to voiding the will of the people. What is lost here is that Trump received almost 3 million less votes than his opponent. That means that Trump is the President not because of the will of the people but by nature of the Electoral College. It was created because the Founding Fathers couldn’t decide if Congress or the popular vote of citizens should make that call. Hence, a compromise was reached and we have what is now, in my estimation, an imperfect way of electing our President. I am a firm believer that every vote should count and that isn’t the case in presidential elections!