“It really is aimed at being able to cast doubt on the results after the fact. But also, before the election itself, at being able to shape who turns out and how they turn out.” — Joanna Lydgate, chief executive of the nonpartisan States United Democracy Center.
***
You’re standing at the starting line in a three-mile race against your next-door neighbor, the result of your over-competitive nature and his continuous reminiscing about his days as a star on his high school cross country team.
It’s at this point that you realize that your chronically sore right knee — an old football injury sustained when you fell awkwardly on your way to buying a hot dog and soda at halftime — along with your sedentary lifestyle, prevents you from beating a man 10 years younger who starts his mornings with a five-mile jog around the neighborhood.
So, you try to figure out a way to cheat. Maybe you can veer off the path and onto a shortcut that will cut a couple of miles off the race. Or maybe you can have a friend waiting a few hundred yards down the road in his car so you can jump in and be chauffeured to within sight of the finish line.
No, those seem like things that could easily be detected. They have no chance of working. That leads you to resort to what appears to be the only other way to approach this problem. You go to your car, take out a tire iron, and smash your opponent’s kneecap before the race even starts.
What does this have to do with politics? Well, Republicans are trying to kneecap Democrats before voting for the general election even starts.
The New York Times reported that a network of Right-wing activists and allies of twice-impeached/four-time indicted/sexual assaulter/tax fraudster/former president Donald Trump “is quietly challenging thousands of voter registrations in critical presidential battleground states, an all-but-unnoticed effort that could have an impact in a close or contentious election.”
All-but-unnoticed? Well, I think we better start noticing them, starting now.
Musings of a Nobody 