Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Rigged: How the Media, Big Tech, and the Democrats Seized Our Elections
Mollie Hemingway applies her talent—rigorous and thoughtful old-school journalism—to documenting the 2020 assault against America perpetrated by the evil alliance of the progressive movement, the entrenched bureaucracy, modern “journalism”, and big technology firms. Yes, the election was rigged. But the core of Rigged is the story of years of lawfare, private takeovers of election boards by well-funded progressives, ill-considered and/or uncontested consent agreements, the flouting of long-standing election law, and the shielding thereof by a twisted judiciary.
This book does not lay out specific proof that Trump won on November 3, 2020. It does show how the unprecedented surge in mail-in voting, and the suppression of the anti-fraud measures that are supposed to accompany it, made 2020 a perfect storm for untraceable fraud. Meanwhile, the media’s four-year campaign to oust Trump by any means necessary ground on, with regular assistance from an entrenched bureaucracy willing to do anything to avoid draining the swamp. Add in a huge assist by abrupt changes in the censorship practices of big social media firms, and you have the tools to lift a mediocre basement-dweller over the most energetic and energizing politician of my lifetime. (I’m 54, fwiw.)
My copy of Rigged, pictured, is festooned with Post-It flags for the statements and quotations that were new to me or struck me as particularly significant. I can’t possibly mention them all in this review—I placed 77 of these markers. But I can hit the highlights of each chapter.
Mollie sets the stage with a brief prologue, letting you know that you aren’t crazy if you think Trump’s victory was stolen.
The first chapter is a discussion of the changes in voting laws over the history of the United States, from pre-colonial times to the present. Some of this was completely new to me, especially that the secret ballot wasn’t really all that secret until late in the 19th century, with the introduction of “Australian-style” ballots printed by the government. Fully public and partially public voting practices prior to this were shockingly prone to coercion and fraud, especially in the form of vote-buying. The reforms of the time were particularly focused on abolishing voting by mail, and eliminating long time periods for voting. Election day was established by amendment to be the Tuesday after the first Monday of November to avoid influencing the outcome of states that voted later in the calendar based on reports of the outcome in other states. Mollie’s exposition shows how we (these United States) are going backward to known-abusive voting procedures.
The second chapter discusses how Trump’s enemies were strewn through the establishment, and included antagonistic Republicans. Trump’s policies are poison for big-government enthusiasts in both parties, and those policies’ successes across a variety of topics were embarrassing to the failures that preceded him. His foreign policy successes, like Peace in the Middle East, demonstrated the bankruptcy of the establishment’s own policy preferences. Meanwhile, Trump’s economic policies were so successful, across all classes and among minorities, that re-alignment of traditional Democratic constituencies was in full swing. The establishment desperately needed to stop Trump.
The third chapter lays out the impact Covid-19 had on the presidential contest. And how every twist and turn in the course of events was portrayed in the media in the worst possible light for Trump, and the best possible light for his antagonists (particularly Cuomo in New York), regardless of the hypocrisy. The politicization of science, already a grave problem in any topic that lives on public research funds, reached new heights in 2020 (and continuing today, I might add). Mollie doesn’t really dwell on the scientific details of Covid-19, as that isn’t really relevant to the theme of Rigged. Her presentation is focused on the excuse Covid provided for activists to push a huge expansion of mail-in voting—precisely the tool needed to enable untraceable fraud on a grand scale.
Chapter four moves on to the horrifying violence that engulfed major cities in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd at the knee of Derek Chauvin. The initial impressions of Floyd’s demise, now known to be not quite so simple, were seized by anti-police activists in the black community to advance their agenda. An agenda that is Marxist to its core, and contemptuous of American standards of justice. Mollie lays out point after point showing how the progressive movement’s vested interest in stopping Trump’s gains in minority communities led its politicians, media apologists, and social media censors to do everything they could to keep tensions simmering. And to hide the truth about Antifa and BLM activist behavior.
Chapter five covers the convention season, and how the lackluster “virtual” convention held by the Democrats was outshone by a very unconventional Republican convention. Unconventional because all the usual players were unavailable, and the Charlotte host site was effectively sabotaged by North Carolina’s Democrat governor. The good news for Trump could not be allowed to stand, and the mainstream news media leveraged conveniently anonymous sources to gin up a controversy over a canceled visit to a military cemetery in France. That numerous eyewitnesses contradicted the “sources”, insisting that Trump did not defame any soldiers, was ignored. Corrections to the record were naturally held until they could help Trump anymore. No apologies from Fake News, of course.
Chapter six describes the debate season and the journalist malpractice that surrounded it. Mollie highlights the shameful conduct of the Commission on Presidential Debates and points out that it is likely to have no future.
Chapter seven is a deep dive into Big Tech’s assistance to the progressive movement, with a particular focus on the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL), Mark Zuckerberg’s vehicle for buying elections. Specifically, CTCL gave huge sums, with strings attached, to election boards around the country. The strings were basically to push mail-in voting to the max, and eliminate the signature matches, address checks, witness requirements, and any other anti-fraud measure that normally accompanies mail-in voting. And “cooperate” with CTCL “advisors”. Mollie documents how that meant CTCL running some elections. Georgia was the biggest recipient, at $31 million. More on that in chapter ten.
Chapter eight is all about Hunter. And all the trouble he creates for the Biden family while leading the family’s worldwide grift. Trouble that reflects poorly on his father, and so must be suppressed. Especially the classic October surprise: Hunter’s abandoned laptop with oodles of embarrassing and incriminating content. The journalistic malpractice (or to be more honest, malice) was breathtaking. Major media, big tech, and bureaucrats closed ranks to silence all news about this event. At least until the election was safely in Biden’s pocket. Yes, anyone inclined to bypass major news media for more trustworthy sources knew all about it, but the general public doesn’t do this. Numerous polls, after the fact, show that earlier knowledge of this scandal would have changed many Biden voters’ minds. More than enough to flip the result.
Chapter nine is about the legal and judicial shenanigans used in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania to suppress the Green Party and candidates that would siphon voter support on the left, plus an account of similar legal and judicial misconduct to suppress poll-watchers and post-election challenges to signature verification misconduct. The election boards in both states flouted state laws with impunity, thanks to sympathetic judges. Mollie throws stones at Rudy Guiliani, too. He disrupted Trump’s legal efforts quite badly, as Mollie explains.
The tenth and final chapter focuses on Georgia’s Fulton County and Georgia’s Secretary of State, Brad Raffensburger. As a Georgia resident myself, much of this has been covered locally ad nauseam. However, one bit about Raffensburger’s stonewalling on FOIA requests, requests needed by Mark Davis, a local election integrity expert, for Trump’s legal challenges, left my jaw on the floor. I was already upset at Raffensburger for the outrageous consent agreement that changed mail-in ballot handling, but the sheer malice towards conservatism shown by the post-election conduct Mollie documents has me furious. Not to mention the mind-boggling revelation that Raffensburger’s right hand in the office is a clear Democrat activist.
Mollie adds a brief epilogue to tie it all back together.
I thoroughly enjoyed Mollie’s writing, and learned a few things I’d missed in the past year or so. I highly recommend you get your own copy.
Published in Elections
Is it taking the ants in the kitchen seriously when I make a nuisance out of myself in my efforts to fight them, filling the home with harmful airborne chemicals and in all likelihood hurting the children?
Or it is taking the ants seriously when I take action proportional to the problem, targeting the problem, and not making bigger problems in the process?
Similarly, taking Covid seriously means targeting the problem with a proportional response and not hurting unnecessarily people in the process. That means no erosion of freedoms, protecting the elderly, supporting vaccines for adults, letting people breathe plenty of oxygen, fighting for Covid treatments, and supporting education for children.
In other words, Ron DeSantis takes Covid-19 seriously.
Not that I’m dissing Mike DeWine. I don’t know a thing about DeWine. I vaguely recall something about a lottery for vaccine rewards. I don’t have a problem with that. My problem is with Democrat governors.
https://t.me/HOTWisconsin/2914
Anyone know how to look up the Wisconsin Elections Commission database and check this?
It’s been a long time since this was in the news but my opinion was he was totally overdoing it like a Democrat.
Just to point out, Mollie was on “Gutfeld!” last night.
Remember when we used to say “meet at 5 PM, that’s 1700 For You Military Types” that is FYMT.
In this case, one can say “For You Family Lawyer types” or just abbreviate it FYFL.
It is shorter.
Let’s Go Brandon!
The last election made 2000, with the hanging chads, look like a romp through Disney World. Many people came forward (including personal friends) who worked the local polls in different states and reported what they saw. There was cheating and it was well planned. Remember the big garbage bags being dragged from under a table after hours when the poll workers were sent home? They even admitted cheating in the story in the NY Times and were proud of it. Obama’s people were very involved – interesting that the current administration looks like his same people – and they are also scattered throughout the World Economic Forum.
https://time.com/5936036/secret-2020-election-campaign/
Will somebody watch this for me? Thanks in advance. lol
Extreeeeeeme! Draaaaaconian! Raaaaadicals! Theeeeeeocrats! Truuuuuuuumpists! Miliiiiiiiitia (or Proud Booooooooys)!
Did Trump really do this? Maggie Haberman Notes GOP Silence After Trump’s Telling to Republicans to Skip ’22 and ’24 Election (msn.com)
“centrist Democrat” is an oxymoron today and “centrist Republican” means Democrat.
No. President Trump was warning Republicans that if they don’t restore confidence in the voting process that people who voted for him and other Republican candidates are likely to assume the election is rigged and there is no point in voting. That’s enough folks to deny the GOP what it dearly desires: not the WH but all of the grift opportunities in the Senate and House.
Spoken like Trump, see you Do like Trump, you just didn’t realize it.
Book came today!
The MAGA folks ARE planning beforehand this time: Peter Thiel Helping to Fund MAGA Primary Challenges Against Republicans Who Voted to Impeach President Trump – The Last Refuge (theconservativetreehouse.com)
There is one Republican I will vote for in 22, that’s it. That’s because I know her personally. As for 24, I don’t anticipate the GOP waking up so I don’t see why I should vote for them.
Umm, thanks, I think.
That is seventeen hundred for you civilian types.
FYI. This is in my opinion a leading never Trumper on Twitter and he’s also part of Principles First.
They whine about “morals” and then they analyze the electorate to get power back. ENDLESSLY, They never talk about novel policies, issues, or the state of our institutions. They are like robots from 30 and 40 years ago. It’s all boiler plate policy. I don’t see how this improves anything.
It’s a whole thread that I’m talking about.
What are your views?
#NeverTrump.
Good argument for bringing back the Guillotine.
That there will be no reckoning should be the shame of all the Republicans. Most have no shame though. What is reckoning when there’s work to be done getting back to a center right party without the kookballs?
If it won’t be their shame, it will likely be all our ruin.
I agree with your assessment (no policy prescriptions, just Trump-hate, is absolutely no way forward). And, I’ll add, there’s a stunning naivety — someone coming from my perspective would call it “spiritual blindness” — in the Never Trump crowd. As if we have a generation or two to take down the communists. It would be a joke if it wasn’t so deadly (and I mean that literally — commies always kill their own people) and immediate a threat.
The Republicans most freaked out about Trump either talk about the electorate, morals (which never includes how immoral our system is) or they spew a bunch of boiler plate. Every single one of them.
Yeah, and they’re captured by Reagan-nostalgia — as if we’re living in 1980’s USA and the commies haven’t taken over all our major institutions. All while neglecting the fact that Reagan was a passionate anti-communist and probably would have had similar policies to Trump if he were alive today.
If Ronald Reagan had a third term, we might not be in this mess. I completely agree with what you are saying. He would have clamped down on all of this centralization and central planning that the GOP just let go once 41 got in office.
I realize this isn’t going to do any good, but this is the most disturbing thing along those lines I have ever heard. I think you can still pay a dollar and get one weeks access or something.
https://www.realvision.com/shows/mike-green-in-conversation/videos/is-the-golden-age-of-liberal-capitalism-over?source_collection=b8bd9d62c77143f7a39513e85d310b11
Regarding the video in #265.
They still have the one dollar trial. It includes a transcript because I know most of you guys prefer reading.
If you do this, definitely watch the long interview of David Stockman. The 90 minute one.
@garyrobbins
Much the same as your views. Maybe with one exception: the GOPe never cared about power. All they wanted was to be in the office. No principles, no goals beyond the prestige of being in office.
I sometimes think that is why those NT punks hated him so much. He showed them to be the useless twits they were and still are. The contrast between them and Trump, who actually wanted to do something beyond warm the seat in the Oval Office, was too much for them.
Hey, if we can get THEM to split off into a third party, our problems may be solved!