Name: Trump has a plan to steal the election and it's not clear Democrats have a plan to stop him
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Trump has a plan to steal the election and it's not clear Democrats have a plan to stop him

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OPINIONJason SattlerOpinion columnistView Comments for the 2020 election was that it not turn out to be anything like the disaster that was&nbsp;2016. Yet&nbsp;as we head into the Democratic National Convention, we’ve already seen almost everything that made our last presidential cycle a nightmare — and worse.There are the ceaseless Russian attacks on democracy on behalf of President Donald Trump. But this time, instead of WikiLeaks, the disinformation is being laundered into our political system through&nbsp;&nbsp;and&nbsp;.&nbsp;There is Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns. But now the taxpayers will not see these documents until after the election. That's even after Trump has spent in public funds and about&nbsp;&nbsp; acting as Ronald McDonald with a putter, hawking his own businesses while running a Washington, D.C., hotel that’s more like a vacuum sucking up&nbsp;cash from&nbsp;supplicants and favor seekers.There is the voter suppression. But instead of just preventing voting in key states with needless ballot restrictions, the Trump campaign is fighting all efforts to make voting in the middle of pandemic easier and safer, including hobbling&nbsp;the U.S. Postal Service and increasing the &nbsp;And the president isn’t even hiding his goal —&nbsp; (probably so he can claim victory on election night regardless of the eventual&nbsp;results).And there’s the inflation of third-party candidates to help Trump have a chance to slip through the Electoral College, though he has no chance of ever getting near 50% of the popular vote. But this time,&nbsp; are actually trying to onto&nbsp;the ballot, with bogus signatures in some cases, in an effort to .&nbsp;You could argue that all these ploys by Trump and Republicans to rig this election are the flailing of a dying movement. What else is Trump going to do as the least popular incumbent of the century overseeing the worst job losses in U.S. history and the highest COVID-19 death count in the world? It’s not like they’re fooling voters.While it’s true that Biden has maintained a more convincing lead over Trump in national polls than Hillary Clinton did four years ago, polls of the key battleground states this month&nbsp;look almost identical to those that pitted Trump against Clinton in August 2016&nbsp;— except .&nbsp;The worst thing 2020 has in common with 2016 is this: Too many people believe that just because a guy known for bankrupting casinos and swindling veterans who sign up for his fake university should be rejected in a massive, undeniable landslide, he will be. And this leads to the greatest danger our democracy faces — underestimating Donald Trump.How to ensure a fair vote:The need to believe that Trump is a bumbling, deteriorating fool who is totally losing it and just somehow managed to avoid indictments his entire adult life is a huge reason our republic is&nbsp;the closest it has&nbsp;ever been to dictatorship. Multiply this by the fantasy that highlighting the things Trump opponents hate about Trump are&nbsp;going to win over disaffected Republican voters, and we’re headed for a repeat of November 2016.Underestimating Trump got us William Barr as attorney general, Trump’s human pardon who seems to be doing all he can to sneak in some “ before the election. Underestimating Trump has gotten us — a near religious sect centered around the belief that Trump’s opponents must be rounded up for imaginary crimes — headed to Congress. Underestimating Trump has left us with a post office we can't rely on for voting, medication or anything.Democrats didn’t hold out for more funding for USPS&nbsp;back in March when the crashing stock market gave them serious leverage over the first COVID-19 relief package. And even if that funding was secured, there’s no way to stop a Trump crony from sabotaging mail delivery right before the election. Don't forget, the consequences of losing for the president and his allies could&nbsp;be prosecution for their corruption. If they win, they keep the power to persecute their opponents and continue&nbsp;sucking up the spoils of hollowing out our government.Trump has proved he’s much better at crushing democracy than our institutions are at preserving it. And this compulsion to believe that he’s a self-destructive fool who’s finally losing it this time has real costs.Populist Dictators for Dummies:&nbsp;The only thing that has ever reined Trump in is massive, overwhelming rejection of his claim on our country in the streets, with historic marches, and at the polls in 2018, with the for his party in the history of midterms. And to march and vote in 2020, Americans might&nbsp;have to risk their lives, given Trump’s overwhelming and &nbsp;when it comes to containing to COVID-19.Am I suggesting that the president of the United States could&nbsp;be purposely sabotaging our response to a pandemic because it might&nbsp;help him “win” reelection?Well, let me ask you a question. Are you still underestimating Donald Trump?What’s undeniable is that&nbsp;the Republican president, utilizing the unqualified&nbsp;immunity he has&nbsp;been given by the Republican Senate, has a plan to swipe this election. And it’s not at all clear that Democrats have a plan to stop him.Jason Sattler, a writer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is a member of USA TODAY’s Board of Contributors and host of "The GOTMFV Show" podcast. Follow him on Twitter:&nbsp;View Comments

OPINIONJason SattlerOpinion columnistView Comments for the 2020 election was that it not turn out to be anything like the disaster that was&nbsp;2016. Yet&nbsp;as we head into the Democratic National Convention, we’ve already seen almost everything that made our last presidential cycle a nightmare — and worse.There are the ceaseless Russian attacks on democracy on behalf of President Donald Trump. But this time, instead of WikiLeaks, the disinformation is being laundered into our political system through&nbsp;&nbsp;and&nbsp;.&nbsp;There is Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns. But now...

Trump has a plan to steal the election and it's not clear Democrats have a plan to stop him

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