# What sort of Republican cheating and foreign interference do you anticipate in the 2020 election? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 14, 2019, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-republican-cheating-and-foreign-interference-do-you-anticipate-in-the-2020-election/837067 "2019-07-14T14:20:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-republican-cheating-and-foreign-interference-do-you-anticipate-in-the-2020-election/837067/21 "2019-07-15T00:29:59Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > The USA has interfered with numerous elections abroad. Can’t complain when the chickens come home to roost. False. You can complain when the chickens come home to roost. It’s super easy. Give it a try some time. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-republican-cheating-and-foreign-interference-do-you-anticipate-in-the-2020-election/837067/22 "2019-07-15T00:44:01Z")
The Republicans will pull the same old “both sides do it!” dirty tricks and voter suppression. As for the Russians, I think they’ll troll BOTH sides, just to try to divide the country so whoever wins won’t be able to govern. In fact, I think they’re already doing it. ---
**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:** [July 15, 2019, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-republican-cheating-and-foreign-interference-do-you-anticipate-in-the-2020-election/837067/23 "2019-07-15T00:51:58Z")
That’s exactly what the Russians did last time… They don’t care who wins, as long as they sow division. That’s the point. Their dream scenario would be to provoke a civil war that would destroy the country. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-republican-cheating-and-foreign-interference-do-you-anticipate-in-the-2020-election/837067/24 "2019-07-15T01:16:49Z")
But they’ll settle for a US president who discredits NATO and sows distrust among usual American allies. Helps Vlad do his thing, globally, with less pushback. ---
**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:** [July 15, 2019, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-republican-cheating-and-foreign-interference-do-you-anticipate-in-the-2020-election/837067/25 "2019-07-15T01:41:27Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > But they’ll settle for a US president who discredits NATO and sows distrust among usual American allies. Helps Vlad do his thing, globally, with less pushback. Well that’s a bonus. I think that in 2016, Vlad would have been happy with a defeated Trump who would have spent the next several years sowing discord and heaping crap all over the Clinton administration. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-republican-cheating-and-foreign-interference-do-you-anticipate-in-the-2020-election/837067/26 "2019-07-15T01:49:43Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > mmmm. So really, we should not bother about it, since it’s “unstoppable”. So really, who cares, amIright? Whatevahs. > > Just chill out and accept whatever a foreign country does to the election. Really, nothing you can do about it anyway. Since the US govt is involved in so many aspects of life domestically and abroad, there will be those organizations that seek to influence US elections. The vast majority of these organizations are aligned against my point of view. I am not losing sleep over a foreign organization with no domestic support. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-republican-cheating-and-foreign-interference-do-you-anticipate-in-the-2020-election/837067/27 "2019-07-15T02:00:04Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > … a foreign organization with no domestic support. I’ve got bad news for you regarding Russia’s domestic (oval motherfucking office) support. ---
**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:** [July 15, 2019, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-republican-cheating-and-foreign-interference-do-you-anticipate-in-the-2020-election/837067/28 "2019-07-15T02:02:07Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > Since the US govt is involved in so many aspects of life domestically and abroad, there will be those organizations that seek to influence US elections. The vast majority of these organizations are aligned against my point of view. I am not losing sleep over a foreign organization with no domestic support. How about foreign government representatives meeting with US presidential campaign officials to promise information that they obtained from illegally hacking into servers? That’s OK right? ---
**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:** [July 15, 2019, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-republican-cheating-and-foreign-interference-do-you-anticipate-in-the-2020-election/837067/29 "2019-07-15T06:34:12Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Well that’s a bonus. > > I think that in 2016, Vlad would have been happy with a defeated Trump who would have spent the next several years sowing discord and heaping crap all over the Clinton administration. The Russians were probably just as surprised as anyone else on Election Night when the returns came in. They were probably betting on a hamstrung Hillary presidency and were slapping themselves wide-eyed when Trump surpassed 270. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-republican-cheating-and-foreign-interference-do-you-anticipate-in-the-2020-election/837067/30 "2019-07-15T09:39:50Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > I’ve got bad news for you regarding Russia’s domestic (oval motherfucking office) support. The myth of a Pro-Russia Trump administration is pervasive, yet easy to smack down by listening to the serious policy folks. > **[Redirect Notice](https://www.google.com/url?q=https:%2F%2Fwww.brookings.edu%2Fblog%2Forder-from-chaos%2F2018%2F09%2F25%2Fon-the-record-the-u-s-administrations-actions-on-russia%2Famp%2F)** ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-republican-cheating-and-foreign-interference-do-you-anticipate-in-the-2020-election/837067/31 "2019-07-15T09:43:00Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > How about foreign government representatives meeting with US presidential campaign officials to promise information that they obtained from illegally hacking into servers? That’s OK right? I wish there were collusion and cooperation like this between the big nuclear powers. Better for all of us. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-republican-cheating-and-foreign-interference-do-you-anticipate-in-the-2020-election/837067/32 "2019-07-15T12:13:07Z")
It’s not just what Russia does but how each political party interprets what they do. I suspect Russia will probably try to simply do more of what it did in 2016; however, this time they will likely not have the assistance of Wikileaks, which was a major factor in the last election. The nightmare scenario that’s crossed my mind is Russia demonstrably penetrating and changing even just a handful of voter records in several key precincts across the country. That in and of itself could torpedo the confidence Americans have in the outcome. But keep in mind that much of what Russia’s kleptocracy does takes place in the open. Much of what Russia does involves taking advantage of the openness in our political system and, to some degree, the openness in our economic system as well. Russians can legally send dark money to various corners of the political system, and they can effectively use real estate to launder money. Some elements of Putin’s regime are already deeply embedded into the American government, so I’m not sure they really need to do anything outrageous. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-republican-cheating-and-foreign-interference-do-you-anticipate-in-the-2020-election/837067/33 "2019-07-15T16:12:13Z")
“Cheating?” None, probably. “Shenanigans that are perfectly legal?” Why should this election be any different from the others? I fully expect some last-minute money being shuffled into swing states; claims about Diebold notwithstanding, I am fairly convinced that Ohio swung to Bush in 2004 because of last-minute money the Republicans had from, for example, doing zero advertising in the California Senate race (literally - even when San Francisco’s PBS station offered two minutes of **free** time to each candidate, a candidate running on a “I’ll solve our country’s problems by getting rid of Federal Reserve Notes and (IIRC) the ‘illegal’ income tax” platform appeared, but not the Republican candidate). ---
**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:** [July 15, 2019, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-republican-cheating-and-foreign-interference-do-you-anticipate-in-the-2020-election/837067/34 "2019-07-15T16:18:36Z")
Chances are, any foreign interference won’t take the form of lies, but rather, selective truth. They may play up the most unpopular aspects of a Democratic candidate as much as possible (i.e., reparations, if that becomes an issue.) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-republican-cheating-and-foreign-interference-do-you-anticipate-in-the-2020-election/837067/35 "2019-07-15T19:55:57Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Chances are, any foreign interference won’t take the form of lies, but rather, selective truth. They may play up the most unpopular aspects of a Democratic candidate as much as possible (i.e., reparations, if that becomes an issue.) Are you saying they will try a completely different tack this time? Weird, because outright lying seemed to work so well last time. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-republican-cheating-and-foreign-interference-do-you-anticipate-in-the-2020-election/837067/36 "2019-07-15T22:17:23Z")
I think there is also a pretty good chance that we will see a weaponization of the Justice Department under Barr. I think this for several reasons. 1. The Republicans realize that the main reason Trump is in the white house rather than Clinton, is the FBI investigation that was going on about her Emails. They will want to replicate this. 2. Since Rove and the swiftboaters the standard Republican playbook has been to attack your opponents strength. In this election with Trump under a giant corruption cloud it will be necessary to attack the integrity of his opponent. 3. Trump has a record of doing things that he has falsely accused his opponents of doing. Given all of the hot air he has wasted complaining about the witch hunt and spying on his campaign, you know that this is in his playbook. 4. By giving Barr the authority to declassify whatever he wants with regard to the investigations related to the 2016 campaign (ie release anything harmful to the Dems, while hiding anything harmful to Trump) This could easi ly be extended to the 2020 campaign. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2019, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-republican-cheating-and-foreign-interference-do-you-anticipate-in-the-2020-election/837067/37 "2019-07-16T15:49:23Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Chances are, any foreign interference won’t take the form of lies, but rather, selective truth. They may play up the most unpopular aspects of a Democratic candidate as much as possible (i.e., reparations, if that becomes an issue.) Chances are non-existent that you are correct about this. Your idea is somewhere between hopelessly naive and straight up bonkers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-republican-cheating-and-foreign-interference-do-you-anticipate-in-the-2020-election/837067.md?page=1)