Alaska Republicans (!) : Dismiss Trump's "Meritless Lawsuit"

 

Another Republican state government tells the Malignant Fascist to back off his election tampering:

The Republican-led state government in Alaska implored a federal judge on Saturday to permanently dismiss the Trump administration’s lawsuit seeking to block the certification of Alaska’s Senate race if GOP Sen. Dan S. Sullivan loses.

“The United States’ opposition provides no reason for this Court to entertain this meritless lawsuit any longer,” the filing said, adding that “the relief demanded is inappropriate and not even possible given Alaskan voters’ vital right to ballot secrecy.”

The filing from Alaska officials comes just three days before Election Day and as the judge is expected to rule on whether to dismiss the lawsuit or allow it to continue.

The Trump administration has claimed that Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola’s campaign was involved in recruiting a retired teacher, Dan J. Sullivan, with the same name as Dan S. Sullivan to run in the race, creating confusion that it says will unfairly take away votes intended for the incumbent. Peltola has denied the allegations.

The Trump administration filed a lawsuit on Oct. 22 against local election officials, arguing that the results of the competitive Senate race should not be certified unless Dan S. Sullivan is declared the winner.

Alaska officials on Saturday criticized the Trump administration’s claim that it has standing to intervene in the election, as election certification is left up to the states.

The filing noted that the Alaska Supreme Court approved the second Sullivan’s name to be on the ballot months ago and that “state officials carefully designed the ballot to minimize voter confusion.”

Alaska officials also took aim at the Justice Department’s proposal for “segregating” ballots that rank Dan J. Sullivan, writing, “this unexplained idea makes no sense.”

“No matter how the ballots are physically stored, it will be easy to tell which ballots rank Daniel J.,” the filing said. “If the United States means something different — as it seems to — its ballot segregation proposal is both disturbing and impossible.”

The Alaska attorney general’s office asked the judge to “immediately dismiss this lawsuit with prejudice and allow state officials to conduct the general election — including ballot counting and certification — free from unwarranted federal interference.”

The Trump administration amended its complaint this week to cite a new story in The New York Times, which reported that Peltola’s campaign was involved in recruiting Dan J. Sullivan and that Peltola herself was aware of the situation. The Times story cited a former campaign manager who later attempted to retract her statements.

At a rally Friday night, Peltola told a crowd of her supporters that she was “so deeply offended by these accusations about having any involvement with anyone else’s candidacy.”

“I want fewer candidates in the primary. I’m not out soliciting more competition,” Peltola said, adding she did “not need any help” defeating Dan S. Sullivan... (our emphasis)

Alaskans are fiercely independent and, as the filing stresses, want to "conduct the general election — including ballot counting and certification — free from unwarranted federal interference.”  In every election, it seems there's a 2020 Georgia, where Republican election officials stand up to the Malignant Fascist's election rigging / election de-legitimatizing.  Looks like it's Alaska's turn this year -- maybe more to follow?

(Photo: Andrew Kitchenman, Alaska Beacon) 

QOTD: The Veil Lifts

 

Heather Digby Parton, writing in Salon.com, looks at the impending defeat of the vindictive and unstable Malignant Fascist in Tuesday's mid-term elections, and considers the stakes involved:

"The election’s stakes are profound. America crossed the Rubicon in 2024 when it invited Trump back into power after he tried to overturn the election, was convicted of fraud, and was revealed to have possessed and leaked classified information after he was out of office. The media and the nation’s elites interpreted that victory as a sign that Trump was some sort of magical superhero, and that it was in all their interests to join with him and reap the rewards. The result has been nothing short of catastrophic, revealing gaping holes in our constitutional order, weaknesses in our democratic system and a void in our society where moral authority used to be. America has never been perfect, and it always falls short of its professed ideals, but this political era has stripped away the belief that we have any at all. 

The corruption on display, coupled with a lack of concern for the lives of ordinary people, is breathtaking. And while it remains shocking that tens of millions of Americans still support this administration, it seems that a majority may have finally had the veil lifted from their eyes, allowing them to see the incompetence, grift and megalomania for what it is."

We'll see how many have had the veil lifted on Tuesday. 

 

Movement In Polls Toward Dems

 

NBC News reports that a majority of voters are demanding a check on the corrupt and mentally ill Malignant Fascist, giving Dems a decided advantage going in to Tuesday's election:

"Democrats have a sizable advantage in the battle for control of Congress days ahead of the midterm elections, a new national NBC News poll finds, with voters clamoring for change and voicing all-time high disapproval of President Donald Trump.

Registered voters prefer a Democratic-controlled Congress by a 7-point margin, with Democrats leading Republicans 52%-45% — 2 points more than in last month’s poll. That includes a 21-point lead among independents.

Three percent of voters remained undecided as the poll was conducted from Oct. 28 to Oct. 30, and how they shift in the final days could tilt the outcome in dead-heat House and Senate races around the country. While the overall poll suggests that Democrats are poised to capitalize on a well of dissatisfaction with the president and his policies, there are findings that complicate the favorable picture."

The poll points to the unpopularity of both parties, with the Dem's unpopularity due to their inability to thwart the MF's most egregiously bad policies, and perceived weakness in the face of his demands.

With the election now two days away, we need to imagine that we're 5 points behind and get ourselves and everyone on board with us to the polls.  Good if you've already voted by mail or early voting in person. We need to finish the job with the ballot. 

 

More Asses ... And Islamophobia

 

It was a Halloween cold open last night on Saturday Night Live with the scariest pumpkin of all, the orange Malignant Fascist (James Austin Johnson), and his men's ass fetish.  "Weekend Update" also had some quips on that oddity, and more good stuff.