# What exactly can we actually do to stop this charade? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 19, 2020, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-can-we-actually-do-to-stop-this-charade/925985 "2020-11-19T17:55:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Salem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Salem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salem)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-can-we-actually-do-to-stop-this-charade/925985/1 "2020-11-19T17:55:54Z")
I am at a loss. I don’t know what I can do to stop what is now amounting to treason in my mind. Frivolous lawsuit after lawsuit, thrown out by the courts - and now an outright power grab asking Pennsylvania to change electors votes - undermining a legal election, refusing to transition and putting the country at risk, and making unilateral decisions with the intent of making the running of this country by the next administration as difficult as possible. If ANYONE else were doing this, they’d be locked up by now! So what can we, as individuals DO to stop this craziness? The Republican Party is just as guilty as Trump. I just don’t know what to do. Who can we write to? It is THE MOST frustrating and scary thing I’ve ever seen in American politics. Any suggestions for clear action? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-can-we-actually-do-to-stop-this-charade/925985/2 "2020-11-19T18:00:22Z")
You just have to wait until 12/8 and 12/14, which isn’t that far off. Since there are deadlines, this is guaranteed to come to an end. Just chill. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-can-we-actually-do-to-stop-this-charade/925985/3 "2020-11-19T18:09:03Z")
What can we do directly? Very little. But I’ve tried something weird that came up to me about a week ago. I wrote to the financial company that maintains my 401k. I expressed a deep concern that Trump is bad for business and I wanted to express my desire that the companies involved disassociate with him and businesses in his name, and would consider transferring the 401k assets if they were involved with any future loans to Trump or his businesses. Will it accomplish anything? Probably not, but if all these companies are getting letters… maybe? If it makes it harder for Trump to manage legal challenges and bail himself out in the future, even 0.0000001% it was worth my time to write the letter. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-can-we-actually-do-to-stop-this-charade/925985/4 "2020-11-19T18:22:05Z")
Nothing will happen, because nothing is happening. Watching a toddler throw a tantrum is disturbing but intervening before they wear themselves out is usually worse than letting time take its course. The Electoral College will give the election to Biden. He will be inaugurated on January 20, 2021. You know why? Because Trump is a weenie. He knows tantrums, threats, and lawyers but he is incapable of taking real actions. He’ll run out of breath soon. Maybe he’ll just go golfing for a month. Maybe he’ll resign and ask Pence to pardon him. Maybe Pence will take office and tear up the pardon before his eyes and laugh and laugh. Think good thoughts like that. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-can-we-actually-do-to-stop-this-charade/925985/5 "2020-11-19T18:23:22Z")
Trump becomes irrelevant if he concedes, so his flailing will continue. I’m relieved that the election was not closer, which might have made things more difficult. And no civil unrest (at least none to the point of violence) has materialized. Many people were predicting much worse. So I don’t feel any immediate concern to _do_ anything about Trump and his enablers. As Velocity says, there’s a timetable that will take care of Trump. It’s just exhausting that we still face two months of this nonsense. The bigger concern is the undermining of democracy that the broader Republican Party is actively and now more openly promoting. The general rule, of course, is that anything Republicans accuse Democrats of doing is something that they are doing themselves. And any kind of reform to make the democratic process more robust will of course be blocked by a Republican Senate. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-can-we-actually-do-to-stop-this-charade/925985/6 "2020-11-19T18:25:38Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Watching a toddler throw a tantrum is disturbing but intervening before they wear themselves out is usually worse than letting time take its course. That was the exact analogy I was about to make. Sometimes you have to let the little guy cry it out. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-can-we-actually-do-to-stop-this-charade/925985/7 "2020-11-19T18:56:48Z")
We have to Ferberize the CFSG. It’ll be hard on all of us, but it’s just _what we have to do:_ > **[Ferber method](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferber_method)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > The Ferber method, or Ferberization, is a technique invented by Richard Ferber to solve infant sleep problems. It involves "sleep-training" children to self-soothe by allowing the child to cry for a predetermined amount of time at intervals before receiving external comfort. > The "Cry It Out" (CIO) approach can be traced back to the book The Care and Feeding of Children written by Emmett Holt in 1894. CIO is any sleep-training method which allows ... ---
**Author:** ![Salem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Salem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salem)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-can-we-actually-do-to-stop-this-charade/925985/8 "2020-11-19T19:02:20Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > The bigger concern is the undermining of democracy that the broader Republican Party is actively and now more openly promoting. The general rule, of course, is that anything Republicans accuse Democrats of doing is something that they are doing themselves. And any kind of reform to make the democratic process more robust will of course be blocked by a Republican Senate. This is my concern - yes, let Trump have his tantrum on one hand, however, with no consequences, there is nothing stopping a repeat of this performance art. And the flag-waving Republicans who are allowing this for their own benefit, putting party above country, need to face consequences of their actions as well. What is happening right now is NOT without consequence for our country, both in the near and more distant future. ---
**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:** [November 19, 2020, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-can-we-actually-do-to-stop-this-charade/925985/9 "2020-11-19T19:05:50Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Maybe he’ll resign and ask Pence to pardon him. Maybe Pence will take office and tear up the pardon before his eyes and laugh and laugh. - He’d have to ask Mother to give him his balls back. ---
**Author:** ![Salem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Salem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salem)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-can-we-actually-do-to-stop-this-charade/925985/10 "2020-11-19T19:06:31Z")
Rather than the toddler analogy, this is far more like a tenant facing eviction. Yes, you will eventually get them out, even if by force of the law, but they can do a helluva lot of damage to your property in the meantime that you will end up paying for. Where’s the country’s security deposit? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-can-we-actually-do-to-stop-this-charade/925985/11 "2020-11-19T19:13:38Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > I wrote to the financial company that maintains my 401k. I expressed a deep concern that Trump is bad for business and I wanted to express my desire that the companies involved disassociate with him and businesses in his name, and would consider transferring the 401k assets if they were involved with any future loans to Trump or his businesses. Why in the world do you think the company that maintains your 401k has any association at all with Trump? None of Trump’s companies are public, so none of the investments you have in those accounts are invested in Trump directly. Probably the best you could do is find out if any of the funds you are in have holdings of Deutche Bank, and avoid those. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-can-we-actually-do-to-stop-this-charade/925985/12 "2020-11-19T19:16:41Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Nothing will happen, because nothing is happening. _Now_. Nothing is happening now because the tantrum throwing tangerine toddler is still filing suit after suit and his magats/trumpeters believe his nonsense that “the election was stolen”; they believe the courts will vindicate him. Once reality sinks in, some of them will start taking what they perceive to be corrective action. The only question in my mind is will that “corrective action” occur before, on, or after 20 January 2021–or all three? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-can-we-actually-do-to-stop-this-charade/925985/13 "2020-11-19T19:21:55Z")
> [@Salem](#): > > This is my concern - yes, let Trump have his tantrum on one hand, however, with no consequences, there is nothing stopping a repeat of this performance art. There are consequences for acting like a toddler - and Trump has already faced them. We collectively voted him out of office. Hopefully that will be a lesson to the next potential toddler who seeks the presidency. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-can-we-actually-do-to-stop-this-charade/925985/14 "2020-11-19T19:25:51Z")
@Munch the point is to make the companies that buy and sell interests in various investments feel that Trump may be toxic - yeah, I’m aware of his current holdings, but he’s going to be looking for a lot more investment with hundreds of millions in personal loans coming up soon. As I said, it’s a tiny, tiny bit of influence and I made no bones about how little it was likely to be effective. But if others do as well, it may add up - that they don’t want to have their funds invested in entities that do business with Trump. And it’s something I can do personally. Well, other than what I’ve done in donating to ACLU and other groups that are going to have to deal with the aftermath of the last 4 years. All it cost me was a little bit of time, so why not? ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-can-we-actually-do-to-stop-this-charade/925985/15 "2020-11-19T20:05:25Z")
It appears that Trump’s tantrum might kill tens of thousands of people since he is refusing to allow Biden in on his plans for vaccinating Americans. The Votemaster speculates that he doesn’t want it to appear that Biden rid us of the virus that Trump could not. He doesn’t want Biden to reap what he sowed with Operation Warp Speed. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-can-we-actually-do-to-stop-this-charade/925985/16 "2020-11-19T20:12:08Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > There are consequences for acting like a toddler - and Trump has already faced them. We collectively voted him out of office. Hopefully that will be a lesson to the next potential toddler who seeks the presidency. There are two components to Trump; a toddler component and a tyrant component. And I’m not convinced America taught either any sort of lesson at all. After four years of venal incompetence, a totally botched pandemic, the worst economic downturn in a century, thousands of crass tweets, dozens of scandals, appalling ignorance, and behavior that would have gotten the likes of Obama or Hillary ejected from office had they exhibited just 1/2 of what Trump exhibited - Trump was _ **rewarded** _ with ten million _ **more** _ votes than last time, an _ **increased** _ share among almost all minorities, and saw his political party _ **gain** _ seats in the House and state legislatures while _ **keeping** _ the Senate. “Teaching Trump a lesson” would have entailed something like a 40-state landslide with 400 blue electoral votes. Nothing even remotely close happened. Either this year’s election wasn’t a lesson at all, or it was the weakest possible lesson. The toddler component may or may not have been repudiated, but the tyrant component certainly hasn’t. The takeaway lesson for Republicans isn’t, “Don’t nominate a tyrant.” It is, “Nominate a _competent_ tyrant.” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-can-we-actually-do-to-stop-this-charade/925985/17 "2020-11-19T20:48:14Z")
I think it’s the toddler aspect that lost the election for Trump. The tyrant aspect didn’t hurt him. A lot of people like living under a tyrant. Life is easier when somebody else is telling you what to do. So I agree we’ll see more tyrants in our future. But they’ll act like grown-ups. I said in a recent post that the future candidate I’m worried about is a conservative with Dick Cheney’s brain in Tom Selleck’s body. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-can-we-actually-do-to-stop-this-charade/925985/18 "2020-11-19T20:59:06Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > the point is to make the companies that buy and sell interests in various investments feel that Trump may be toxic I get that. But my point is that your broker dealer isn’t the one investing in Trump - and neither is anyone else’s. I cannot envision the way in which Charles Schwab or Vanguard would create a disincentive for Deutche Bank or some other lending institution to not do business with Trump. Or _why_ they would do that. Write all the letters you want. But if this is your area of concern, send one to the bank you do business with. You likely cannot change the company your 401k is with - but you sure can move your checking account. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-can-we-actually-do-to-stop-this-charade/925985/19 "2020-11-19T21:14:37Z")
cross our fingers and hope the judiciary and military remain independent? ~70 million Americans voted for trump and his enablers on congress. this issue isn’t going away. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2020, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-can-we-actually-do-to-stop-this-charade/925985/20 "2020-11-19T22:00:19Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’m worried about is a conservative with Dick Cheney’s brain in Tom Selleck’s body. So long as the transplant procedure is to remove Cheney’s brain _first_, before making space in Tom Selleck’s skull, I’d be pretty much okay with starting this experimental surgery to see how it goes. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-can-we-actually-do-to-stop-this-charade/925985.md?page=2)