It seems to me most of the conservatives who reject the notion of a coup attempt having taken place do so for one of two reasons. First, you associate coups with images of tanks rolling through the capital cities of banana republics in the midst of a military takeover. Second, you narrow your focus on the events of 1/6, the Capital riot.
These notions do not account for the means by which the plot to steal the election, the coup, was planned to be carried out. Therefore, I'd like you folks to consider the following.
Jan. 6 Committee Subpoenas Alternate, Trump-Backing Electors
The Jan. 6 Committee on Friday issued subpoenas to fourteen people who sought to act as supposed alternate electors for Trump in 2020. The subpoenas go after a quixotic plot by Trump backers to submit fake slates of Electoral College votes — certificates and all — from states across the country.
When Jan. 6 came around, the thinking went, Vice President Mike Pence could select the “real,” Trump-supporting slates of electors — who were ready with fake certificates. In a statement, panel co-chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) said that the fake ballots came as part of the broader attempt in late 2020 to subvert the elections. “We believe the individuals we have subpoenaed today have information about how these so-called alternate electors met and who was behind that scheme,” he said.
Jan. 6 Committee Subpoenas Alternate, Trump-Backing Electors | Talking Points Memo
So what you say. Let me explain. Think of the submission of these phony sets of electors in the context of this part of John Eastman's memo detailing how the election could be stolen.
"When he gets to Arizona (that is when Pence comes to AZ in his listing of the states during the official certification process in the Senate chamber)
, he announces that he has multiple slates of electors, and he is going to defer decision on that until finishing the other States. And in the end, he announces that because of the ongoing disputes in the 7 states there are no electors that can be deemed validly appointed in those States. That means the total number of "electors appointed"---the language of the 12th Amendment---is 454. A "majority of the electors appointed" would therefore be 228. There are at this point 232 votes for Trump, 222 votes for Biden. Pence then gavels Trump as re-elected."
Now, obviously there are a number of problems with this lamebrain plan. One being the requirement that a newly elected prez get 270 electoral votes. Cuz Eastman's memo essentially does not count the electoral votes from the 7 "contested" states. For those of you who have not been following the story of the fake electors, it was a plan orchestrated by none other than Slimy Rudy Giuliani......who else?
https://www.businessinsider.com/for...he-helped-giuliani-fake-elector-scheme-2022-1
You have to be a desperately delusional moron to think something like this could be pulled off. Making it perfectly plausible Trump thought it could. Why did he do it? Was it a lust for power? The embarrassment of having lost to Biden by 7M votes? An attempt to stave off the inevitable lawsuits and investigations in to a variety of crimes the presidency had protected him from? A combination of all 3? I couldn't say.
Putting his motivation aside, we know the rationale being used was the Big Lie. The misguided......well........more like batshyte crazy........belief in widespread voter fraud. Making the entire enterprise a colossal cluster f... of complete madness. That said, it was an attempt to keep Trump in power. To steal the election. To replace the legit elected prez with Trump by casting doubt on the EC count. A coup by any other name would smell as wretched.
