# Trump Pressured Georgia Official to ‘Find’ Enough Votes to Overturn Election **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 3, 2021, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-pressured-georgia-official-to-find-enough-votes-to-overturn-election/929592 "2021-01-03T20:06:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-pressured-georgia-official-to-find-enough-votes-to-overturn-election/929592/121 "2021-01-04T15:31:40Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I’d be happy to be wrong on this and a second impeachment actually being of use. We disagree on our definitions of ‘of use.’ IMHO, impeachment for bona fide high crimes is ‘of use’ _if they actually impeach_. The Senate can do what it will, but the point is that one party cares about this shit enough to actually **do** something about it, even if the other party won’t. If both sides do nothing, then no distinction has been drawn between the good guys and the bad guys. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-pressured-georgia-official-to-find-enough-votes-to-overturn-election/929592/122 "2021-01-04T15:38:12Z")
The call is more disturbing than surprising. It’s almost refreshing to see there are still _a few_ vertebrate Republicans. The crazy thing is this should affect the run-off votes. It’s that crazy. It sure would in Canada. But it won’t. My prediction? A 50-50 split. Hope I’m wrong. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-pressured-georgia-official-to-find-enough-votes-to-overturn-election/929592/123 "2021-01-04T15:40:45Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > There is “do the right thing” and then there is “throw good money after bad”. So to speak. > > I, too, would prefer actual criminal trials and the miscreants going to jail, but I’m old enough to have acquired some cynicism. I am interested in what can actually be done. > > It’s not that the Senate Republicans _didn’t care_ , they actively threw in with Trump. There is a rotten group that are not going to change. > > I think that in the real world there may be other avenues to pursue because just repeated (and useless) impeachment. > > You are, of course, free to disagree. And I do, of course. “Throw good money after bad”??? How _much_ money? Oh, another twenty-seven cents? Oh damn, we can’t afford _that!_ I too am interested in what can actually be done. The House can actually impeach. They can’t make the Senate act, but they can put the Senate in the position of refusing to act, or put GOP Senators in the position of having to vote. Either one is good. And I guess that if the Dems fail to win both GA Senate seats tomorrow, then by your metric, the House should just close up shop, aside from the annual appropriations bill. Because any other legislation they pass will be ‘useless.’ ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-pressured-georgia-official-to-find-enough-votes-to-overturn-election/929592/124 "2021-01-04T15:44:14Z")
Predictably, Republicans including Kevin McCarthy and David Perdue are out defending the call, downplaying the “find me the votes I need” as just the President calling out irregularities and improprieties in the elect. But they are OUTRAGED that someone would leak a recording of the call to the media. There’s your real crime, lamestream media! ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-pressured-georgia-official-to-find-enough-votes-to-overturn-election/929592/125 "2021-01-04T15:45:29Z")
If only the man would’ve said, Are you thinking of paying me if I “found” the votes? Then they could’ve had him. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-pressured-georgia-official-to-find-enough-votes-to-overturn-election/929592/126 "2021-01-04T15:51:21Z")
It’s my understanding that Raffenssberger ordered the recording to be released himself. But only after Trump lied about the call in a Sunday morning tweet. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-pressured-georgia-official-to-find-enough-votes-to-overturn-election/929592/127 "2021-01-04T15:55:19Z")
My insane acquaintance texted me and said the election really was a fraud, and I don’t have logic or reason and , oh yes, anyone who voted as a democrat in 2020 should not be allowed to vote again. wow. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-pressured-georgia-official-to-find-enough-votes-to-overturn-election/929592/128 "2021-01-04T15:56:56Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > And I guess that if the Dems fail to win both GA Senate seats tomorrow, then by your metric, the House should just close up shop, aside from the annual appropriations bill. Because any other legislation they pass will be ‘useless.’ They shouldn’t “close up shop”, but they definitely need to change how they negotiate with the Senate. The last decade or more of endless cycles of “This? NO! How about _this_? NO!” needs to be broken. It’s been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the Republican Senate simply will not meet the Democratic House half-way on any issue, so no matter where the Dems start the negotiations, they’ll end up going nowhere. The House needs to insist that the **Senate** pass any bills first, so the House can then decide if “this” is good enough. One of the reasons the GOP Senate keeps getting away with their shit is they never have to actually say what they want, they only have to keep saying, “No, that’s not it, try again!” Make them put their goals in writing. At least then, even if the House decides not to support it, we’ll have the GOP’s own words on record to show why the House opposes the bill. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-pressured-georgia-official-to-find-enough-votes-to-overturn-election/929592/129 "2021-01-04T16:04:11Z")
This is one of the reasons I said Trump was stupid. He’s been savaging the governor and SoS and he didn’t think that they would protect themselves by recording the phone call? ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-pressured-georgia-official-to-find-enough-votes-to-overturn-election/929592/130 "2021-01-04T16:07:31Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > In the _specific context_ of this _specific thread_ , the phone call between Raffensperger and Trump, Raffensperger, in _@bobot_ ’s words, _did_ stand up for democracy, dignity and/or honor. I disagree, but it seems we’re at a stalemate on this, so no need for me to keep kicking the horse. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-pressured-georgia-official-to-find-enough-votes-to-overturn-election/929592/131 "2021-01-04T16:07:54Z")
At this point I’m against impeachment. Even if it could happen before Trump is officially out it would make it easier for Pence to pardon him. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-pressured-georgia-official-to-find-enough-votes-to-overturn-election/929592/132 "2021-01-04T16:08:10Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > The House needs to insist that the **Senate** pass any bills first, so the House can then decide if “this” is good enough. One of the reasons the GOP Senate keeps getting away with their shit is they never have to actually say what they want, they only have to keep saying, “No, that’s not it, try again!” Make them put their goals in writing. At least then, even if the House decides not to support it, we’ll have the GOP’s own words on record to show why the House opposes the bill. I don’t think that would work. If the House tried this approach the Senate would just do nothing and them blame the Dems for _actually_ doing nothing instead of doing nothing and them blame the Dems for doing nothing when they weren’t doing nothing, so it could even backfire in that it would have more truth to it than before. So I don’t agree that it would force the Senate to pass their version of bills. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-pressured-georgia-official-to-find-enough-votes-to-overturn-election/929592/133 "2021-01-04T16:13:57Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > > [@DMC](#): > > > > “I just want to find 11,780 votes”: > > Oh, hey! I found them in the couch cushions right next to Jesus. I also found 27 cents. Elvis was there, too. And Jimmy Hoffa. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-pressured-georgia-official-to-find-enough-votes-to-overturn-election/929592/134 "2021-01-04T16:15:13Z")
> [@YamatoTwinkie](#): > > **Germany:** This is they moved back in years ago. This was not like something just before the election. So there’s something about that data that, it’s just not accurate. > > **Trump:** Well, I don’t know, **all I know is that it is certified**. And they moved out of Georgia and they voted. I really like the preceding portion of the transcript: > **TRUMP** : How may people do that? They moved out, and then they said, ‘Ah, to hell with it, I’ll move back.’ You know, it doesn’t sound like a very normal — you mean, they moved out, and what, they missed it so much that they wanted to move back in? It’s crazy. Yes Donny, people move between states and sometimes, I know this is crazy, but hear me out, sometimes they move back to a state where they previously lived. I’m not even lying. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-pressured-georgia-official-to-find-enough-votes-to-overturn-election/929592/135 "2021-01-04T16:17:22Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > It does, but what does it say about the state of things that Trump feels so bold as to phone up elections officials and threaten them the way he did? I’d say it’s another in a long list of items proving that Trump is a colossal idiot. He’s just doing what he’s always done: bully and threaten people who stand in his way. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-pressured-georgia-official-to-find-enough-votes-to-overturn-election/929592/136 "2021-01-04T16:17:23Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > The House needs to insist that the **Senate** pass any bills first, so the House can then decide if “this” is good enough. The only situations that would possibly work are situations where the Senate feels compelled to pass something. And even in some of those, it might well backfire. Say the Dems want to increase the minimum wage. The Senate will do nothing, because why should it? They haven’t experienced any consequences of leaving the minimum wage at $7.25. Or say the Dems want an election reform bill. If they let the Senate go first, it’ll be all about voter ID, being able to toss voters off the rolls more quickly if they show up on the USPS’ National Change of Address (NCOA) file, eliminating any requirements for availability of absentee or early voting, etc. And then the public debate gets centered around these: first-mover advantage and all that. So there may be an occasional situation where the House is in a position to tell the Senate to go first, but it’s not something that can be done with any regularity. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-pressured-georgia-official-to-find-enough-votes-to-overturn-election/929592/137 "2021-01-04T16:19:43Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > I’d say it’s another in a long list of items proving that Trump is a colossal idiot. He’s just doing what he’s always done: bully and threaten people who stand in his way. - Elie Honig is a regular commentator on CNN and he said that Trump sounded exactly like some of the mob bosses he’s prosecuted. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-pressured-georgia-official-to-find-enough-votes-to-overturn-election/929592/138 "2021-01-04T16:23:59Z")
There’s also the issue that under the Constitution, revenue bills MUST originate in the House. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-pressured-georgia-official-to-find-enough-votes-to-overturn-election/929592/139 "2021-01-04T16:27:22Z")
My brother just posted on Facebook that this call shows that: 1. GA SOS is admitting that there was fraud but he is unwilling to do anything about it. 2. Any disagreement between him and Trump is on extremely minor issues. The MSM is blowing it up in an attempt to divide Republicans. He was a never-Trumper in 2016 and resigned from his town Republican Committee in 2017 because he couldn’t stand the xenophobia (he’s South Asian American). But his contempt of Black people and anti-vaxx anti-science beliefs brought him back into the fold with a passion in 2020. His response to everything is “still better than Marxism” ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-pressured-georgia-official-to-find-enough-votes-to-overturn-election/929592/140 "2021-01-04T16:30:25Z")
> [@DMC](#): > > Yes Donny, people move between states and sometimes, I know this is crazy, but hear me out, sometimes they move back to a state where they previously lived. I’m not even lying. The Donald just can’t believe that anyone who escaped Georgia would go back. Yet another example of the disdain he holds his supporters in - he is the very definition of a “Coastal Elite”, yet somehow his base celebrates him while raging against what he actually is. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-pressured-georgia-official-to-find-enough-votes-to-overturn-election/929592.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-pressured-georgia-official-to-find-enough-votes-to-overturn-election/929592.md?page=8)