Mega-Thread: 2020 United States General Election

[Breccia]

Our Ruling

Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh pushed ahead with the false narrative that Biden’s election was illegitimate.

"With 74 million, maybe 80 million people who did not vote for Joe Biden, there is no way they can honestly say to themselves that they represent the power base of the country," Limbaugh told his millions of listeners Jan. 20. "They're going to have to take it. They're going to have to hold on to it and never let go of it. They have not legitimately won it."

He argued on his radio show that the heavy security presence and hundreds of thousands of flags lining the National Mall in place of a celebratory crowd were "replacements for people" because Biden’s camp was not "confident a bunch of people would show up."

Limbaugh also posited that Biden had too little support to welcome a large Inauguration Day crowd because "nobody showed up at Joe Biden political rallies."

Bla bla bla facts and evidence

We rate Limbaugh’s statement Pants on Fire!

Looks like the rabid fanbase are still at it. Just a reminder, Limbaugh never voted for Reagan, got hooked on drugs and lied about it, went on welfare for years, and left Twitter and deleted his account before he got permanently banned himself.

[masterhorus8]

Our Ruling



Looks like the rabid fanbase are still at it. Just a reminder, Limbaugh never voted for Reagan, got hooked on drugs and lied about it, went on welfare for years, and left Twitter and deleted his account before he got permanently banned himself.

I mean, that first sentence just continues to show they don't understand or (or pretend to not, not sure which is worse) how an election works. Congrats, your guy got a lot of votes! But the other one got more. You lost, get over it. (Not you "you", btw.)

[Breccia]

Congrats, your guy got a lot of votes! But the other one got more.

Or it could be far worse.

The number of people who didn't vote for someone in an election? Considering US voter turnout, that means nobody ever got a true majority. Maybe Washington.

[masterhorus8]

Or it could be far worse.

The number of people who didn't vote for someone in an election? Considering US voter turnout, that means nobody ever got a true majority. Maybe Washington.

I get that that is part of the freedoms allowed in the US and what our country fights for, but it's kinda bad sometimes... I think it's Australia that has a big fine if you don't vote in the major elections?

[Edge-]

I get that that is part of the freedoms allowed in the US and what our country fights for, but it's kinda bad sometimes... I think it's Australia that has a big fine if you don't vote in the major elections?

I think so, IIRC it's required for them to vote under the law.

But that's a bit of a double edged sword, especially with how woefully inadequate the voting system in the US is. It already frequently gets crushed under the weight of existing votes, and roughly doubling that number would be a logistical nightmare. Not to mention the nightmare of trying to get everyone registered to vote.

And on a personal level, I don't know how I feel about a huge influx of even more uninformed voters voting for people and issues they don't understand in the slightest and don't care about.

[Benggaul]

I get that that is part of the freedoms allowed in the US and what our country fights for, but it's kinda bad sometimes... I think it's Australia that has a big fine if you don't vote in the major elections?

Yep. But they also make it a national holiday and more of a fun event.

Too many people in the US would cry "MUH FREEDOMS!" if voting was mandatory.

[Edge-]

Too many people in the US would cry "MUH FREEDOMS!" if voting was mandatory.

It's better than that.

https://www.courier-journal.com/stor...ay/2725081002/

Mitch McConnel literally called making the election a federal holiday so people could easily go vote a, "Power grab".

It's wonderful when Republicans just openly admit that their party is a minority party and that the biggest threat to their power is people actually voting. Like, thanks for admitting that you know your "ideology" can't win enough votes if everyone can freely vote, dudes.

[PhaelixWW]

Yep. But they also make it a national holiday and more of a fun event.

Ah, yes... the Australian democracy sausage.

[Benggaul]

Ah, yes... the Australian democracy sausage.

Precisely. I mean, if polling places in the states just set up barbecues (with vegetarian options) outside then at least doing your civic duty would feel a little less onerous.

[masterhorus8]

Precisely. I mean, if polling places in the states just set up barbecues (with vegetarian options) outside then at least doing your civic duty would feel a little less onerous.

Imagine PETA then posting themselves outside of polling to rally against voting because of that, lol

[Benggaul]

Imagine PETA then posting themselves outside of polling to rally against voting because of that, lol

Does anyone take PETA seriously anymore? Does anyone even remember they exist when they're not reminded? I think those clowns have done more to hurt their own cause than any corporate advertising campaign could ever hope to accomplish.

[Corvus]

I get that that is part of the freedoms allowed in the US and what our country fights for, but it's kinda bad sometimes... I think it's Australia that has a big fine if you don't vote in the major elections?

Nah, it's more symbolic than anything, something like $20 for a first time offence and 50 if you are a repeat offender.

The difference here is that it is held on a Saturday to start with and it is run by a proper organisation - the Australian Electrol commission . The aec oversees all elections in Australia, from federal, state and local, down to things like union votes.

Plus democracy sausages.

[Belize]

Ah, yes... the Australian democracy sausage.

Wtf Australia, is that just a sausage in a slice of plain white bread?

Looks like English cuisine never left them...

[Felya]

Wtf Australia, is that just a sausage in a slice of plain white bread?

Looks like English cuisine never left them...

It’s free on the day of voting... I will not test this theory... but, am sure it tastes better than a sticker.

But, it is harder to stick a sausage to your shirt... life... everything is a give and take...

[some guy]

Rudy has got to be the worst lawyer ever.

[Felya]

Well, Rudy the Leaky Lawyer got himself a $1.3B defamation lawsuit courtesy of Dominion. This is gonna be a fun week.

Please make Rudy defend him self and let it be televised...

[Breccia]

Rudy has got to be the worst lawyer ever.

I have many, many, many, OH GOD INCEPTION regrets about the last four years. The downfall of Giuliani is definitely one of them.

What happened, man? You used to be a hero.

These defamation lawsuits need to succeed, even if I doubt Powell or Giuliani will be forced to pay a billion dollars. We need to enter a phase where "making up ridiculous lies and pretending they're true" is punished. Powell and Giuliani had no proof, or they would have introduced it in at least one of the sixty-plus trials. They never did.

It's pretty scummy to say things iike "Yeah, I bet they were hacked, I could totally see that" but at least that's not a statement of fact, posed as if it was true by Trump or people directly representing Trump. Both lawyers stated Dominion was complicit or hacked or something and said so, in public view, as if it was a fact. A fact for which they had no proof. It wasn't protected speech like parody or farce. It wasn't a hypothetical. And it wasn't some random no-name asshole like me.

For more info, the Oprah vs. the Beef Industry case explains a bit more about what happens when someone famous and with a large platform does something like this.

As to the numbers...I have a thought about that. What's so special about $1.3 billion? It's half of Trump's money. I think Dominion is hoping either Powell, or Giuliani, says "We said what we said because we were an official spokesperson for Trump at the time we said it". Because you know what happens then? Trump takes the stand. If either of these lawyers can prove, through paperwork, they spoke for Trump when they said those intentionally damaging lies, I'm modestly confident that Trump becomes a co-liar and therefore co-defendant.

(chuckles)

Or, they could prove they were working for Trump at the time, and said those things on the record as if they were speaking for Trump...but weren't. Basically, Trump could sell them out, sticking them with the check, and more importantly get them (both?) disbarred.

At least I think that's how it works. Hey @cubby if I hire you as a lawyer, and if as my lawyer you hypothetically say something damaging and likely false such as "Thwart once ate a horse penis and liked it, and I legally represent Breccia", and I say "WHOA! I never told you to say that!" would that be sufficient a misdeed to get you disbarred?

[Xeones]

Well, Rudy the Leaky Lawyer got himself a $1.3B defamation lawsuit courtesy of Dominion. This is gonna be a fun week.

So basically Dominion challenged him with "He said he wanted discovery on us we are giving him that chance" so they are confident the comments Giuliani made were false.

Their complaint also points out that he never once made those arguments under oath in court which indicates he knew the statements to be false in addition to whatever they find in discovery.

It seems like the suit has a decent chance of winning and they may be unwilling to settle and want to drag him to court over this which is relatively rare for this kind of case.

[Breccia]

It seems like the suit has a decent chance of winning and they may be unwilling to settle and want to drag him to court over this which is relatively rare for this kind of case.

Can you blame them? They were blamed for making a fraudulent election, and their business is honest elections. It'd be the same if Giuliani had said "Ford pickup trucks don't start and sometimes explode".

I don't even think the discovery is needed. Giuliani/Powell said Dominion was hacked or broken and they had no proof. Dominion should win without showing them anything at all, since Giuliani has no facts or evidence to present that back his highly public record.

[Xeones]

Can you blame them? They were blamed for making a fraudulent election, and their business is honest elections. It'd be the same if Giuliani had said "Ford pickup trucks don't start and sometimes explode".

I don't even think the discovery is needed. Giuliani/Powell said Dominion was hacked or broken and they had no proof. Dominion should win without showing them anything at all, since Giuliani has no facts or evidence to present that back his highly public record.

Honestly I think they are pretty eager to get discovery on Giuliani. I'm pretty sure they want to ruin him, I mean their lives are in danger because of that lie.