Name: Rep. Louie Gohmert sees ‘revolution’ as option in face of ‘cheated election’
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Rep. Louie Gohmert sees ‘revolution’ as option in face of ‘cheated election’

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4:03 PM on Nov 16, 2020 CST — Updated at 8:43 AM on Nov 17, 2020 CSTUpdated at 8:40 a.m. Tuesday with Gohmert pressing GOP leadership candidates on concession issue.WASHINGTON — East Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert, insisting the election has been stolen from President Donald Trump, has urged like-minded supporters to consider “revolution” like the Egyptian uprising seven years ago and colonial America’s revolt against England.“They rose up though all over Egypt, and as a result of the people rising up in the greatest numbers in history, ever anywhere, they turned the country around …. If they can do that there, think of what we can do here,” he told thousands of cheering Trump supporters in downtown Washington at Saturday’s “Million MAGA March.”The tea party Republican was one of a number of speakers at a plaza near the White House, where demonstrators waving flags and Trump banners readily agreed that Trump should not concede.“This was a cheated election and we can’t let it stand,” said Gohmert, a Tyler Republican and former trial judge who easily won a ninth term this month.President-elect Joe Biden collected 77 million votes, the most of any candidate in U.S. history and 5 million more than Trump. His projected 306-232 victory in the Electoral College is the same as Trump’s projected margin was in 2016, when he lagged challenger Hillary Clinton by 3 million votes. Trump actually wound up winning the electoral vote 304-227 after several electors, including two from Texas, refused to cast their ballots for their party’s candidates.Major news outlets projected the final outcome nine days ago once Biden’s victory in Pennsylvania became clear. That gave him enough electoral votes to clinch.But Trump has refused to concede to Biden. Trump did tweet Sunday that “he won” because of alleged fraud, but quickly backpedaled, emphasizing that he had not acknowledged defeat because, in his view, Biden’s victory hinged on disputed results.On Monday night, House Republicans heard speeches from candidates for leadership posts, and , even as fellow Republicans show less and less appetite to go along.More than a dozen state and federal courts have rejected the Trump team’s legal challenges. And the White House and campaign have offered no evidence to back up allegations of anything other than sporadic error or fraud that wouldn’t come close to affecting the outcome anywhere.On Saturday, Gohmert called the rally an important way to pressure Chief Justice John Roberts and other judges who might end up handling election disputes.“It’s critical you let them know which way the wind is blowing in America,” he said.And Gohmert stirred thoughts of revolution by noting that only a minority of American colonists — “only about 30%” — supported a fight for independence. The figure comes from an estimate John Adams made in 1815.“Only about 30% of the people supported the revolution. And we have our freedom today because of that 30%,” Gohmert said, suggesting that even if Trump supporters who dispute the outcome are vastly outnumbered, they could still impose their will.He also recalled the uprising in Egypt in 2013, when mass protests led to the ouster of an elected Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi. He was replaced with secular Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, whom Gohmert has“One third of the Egyptian people in 2013 went to the streets, all over Egypt” to oust “Obama’s friend the Muslim brother,” Gohmert said. “They turned the country around, and it is not under control of the Muslim Brotherhood any longer.”Gohmert said he understands that much of the public can’t believe that Democrats “would be unfair and do something like stealing election.”But he argued, given how many crimes were committed by the FBI and others to undermine Trump — allegations that also are disputed — “Do you think that there are these same people out there that would be willing to commit crimes to steal an election and silence Republicans and conservatives from now on? Of course they would.”The congressman gave somewhat mixed signals in remarks, which drew little attention at the time, mixing admiring remarks about revolution with encouragement to follow Martin Luther King Jr.'s example of peaceful protest.“Dr. King showed you come out peacefully and you make your point and you stand on your grounds until people understand you’re not going away unless the law is followed; and it hasn’t been followed,” Gohmert told .As for the claim of election fraud, Gohmert offered several debunked allegations, including one that the U.S. Army raided the Frankfurt office of software company Scytl, where there was evidence of voting irregularities.Both the Army and Scytl, and Scytl does not even have offices or servers in Frankfurt.Gohmert also offered the misleading claim that Biden only racked up a popular vote majority because of cheating in California and New York, both longtime Democratic strongholds.Biden swamped Trump in California 2-1, collecting just over 5 million more votes than the president, out of 16 million. In New York, Biden’s margin was 914,000 votes out 6.7 million.“You take out those two states where the votes were so hideously conducted, and you have President Trump easily winning all but those two fringe states,” he said. “He won the popular vote in 48 states.”Trump did not win the popular vote in 48 states. Each won 25 states.If Biden’s margins of victory in New York and California were subtracted from the final tally — that is, if 5.9 million Democrats' ballots were somehow tossed out — Trump’s lead would be 300,000. There is no basis to toss out millions of votes, however.Gohmert lauded Trump for digging in and refusing to concede.“He is not crazy. And he is not stupid. He’s very smart, very savvy. His instincts are really good,” he said. “But I’m telling you, this is not about President Donald J. Trump. This is about the future of America.”Gohmert isn’t the only loyalist clinging to hope that the election isn’t over.Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who chaired Trump’s Texas campaign, speculated Friday that the president could win by prevailing in a Georgia recount and with final tallies in Arizona, plus a Supreme Court ruling that invalidates hundreds of thousands of ballots in Pennsylvania.Independent election experts say Trump has no plausible path to victory at this point.“[T]he president’s efforts are unlikely to move a single state from Mr. Biden’s column,” Karl Rove, an adviser to the Trump campaign and George W. Bush’s top strategist, wrote in, “and certainly they’re not enough to change the final outcome.”Receive the latest political news delivered every Tuesday and Thursday from reporters in Austin, Dallas and Washington.By signing up you agree to our

4:03 PM on Nov 16, 2020 CST — Updated at 8:43 AM on Nov 17, 2020 CSTUpdated at 8:40 a.m. Tuesday with Gohmert pressing GOP leadership candidates on concession issue.WASHINGTON — East Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert, insisting the election has been stolen from President Donald Trump, has urged like-minded supporters to consider “revolution” like the Egyptian uprising seven years ago and colonial America’s revolt against England.“They rose up though all over Egypt, and as a result of the people rising up in the greatest numbers in history, ever anywhere, they turned the country around …. If...

Rep. Louie Gohmert sees ‘revolution’ as option in face of ‘cheated election’

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