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Thom's blog
Trump Discredits The Election Process
 President Obama is absolutely disgusted with Donald Trump's talk about a rigged election. He made that very clear this week during a press conference at the White House - in which he called Trump's conspiracy theories about voter fraud "unprecedented".
"I have never seen in my lifetime, or in modern political history, any presidential candidate trying to discredit the elections and the election process before votes have even taken place. It's unprecedented."
The President went on to call Trump a "whiner" and pointed out that there actually is no such thing is widespread voter fraud.
He's right, of course. A recent study found just 31 credible cases of voter fraud out of more than a billion ballots cast between 2000 and 2014.
This is something even some conservatives now admit.
For example - take a listen to what Ohio Republican Secretary of State John Husted - said the other day on NPR:
Kelly McEvers: Donald Trump has tweeted that there is large-scale voting fraud happening on and before Election Day. Is there evidence of that in your state?
Jon Husted: There is not evidence of any of that. In Ohio, we pride ourselves in making our state a place where it's easy to vote and hard to cheat. I want to reassure Donald Trump as a Republican that this is not happening across the country. He may have heard reports of it, but we need facts. And right now, there are no facts that support his claims.
Husted would know. In 2013 - he spearheaded a massive statewide investigation of voter fraud which ended up concluding what everyone else besides Republican voters already knew, that voter fraud is incredibly rare and that the instances in which it does occur are most often honest mistakes - not malicious attempts to steal elections.
John Husted isn't the only Republican who's now talking like this.
Over the past few days - Republican Secretaries of State in Tennessee - Washington - and Colorado - have all called Donald Trump's talk about voter fraud and rigged elections "irresponsible".
Obviously - it's good to see Republicans embrace reality - or at least pay lip service to it.
But this newfound appreciation for facts and "responsible" rhetoric shouldn't fool anyone.
Republicans have pushed voter fraud conspiracy theories for decades to justify everything from voter suppression ID laws to cutbacks on early voting.
And what Donald Trump is saying right now about rigged elections is no different than what right-wing politicians and pundits have said hundreds of times before -- it just happens to be Donald Trump saying it.
All the other Republicans knew it was just a scam to throw millions of minority, young, and elderly voters off the rolls, but apparently Donald Trump believed it was true.
You would have heard the exact same talk if you turned on Fox So-Called News or right-wing hate radio at any point over the past 10 years.
So if Republicans are uncomfortable with Donald Trump's election-rigging talk - they only have themselves to blame.
-Thom
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Tonight on The Big Picture on RT TV at 7pm and 10pm... Debates...climate change M.I.A. (check your local listings for stations or stream at RT or Free Speech TV, and catch past shows on Youtube)
 Be sure to check out our newest video: RESTORATION - narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio & Thom Hartmann, directed by Leila Conners / Visit GreenWorldRising.org to check out all the videos: CARBON, LAST HOURS & GREEN WORLD RISING - narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio & Thom Hartmann, directed by Leila Conners
In for Thom tonight, please welcome Sam Sacks, The District Sentinel 
Big Picture Post Debate Politics Panel:
- Brian Darling, Conservative Review/(formerly) Office of Senator Rand Paul
- Valerie Ervin, Working Families Party
- Bryan Pruitt, RedState
Best of the Rest: Debates...climate change M.I.A.
- Cassady Sharp-Craighill, Greenpeace USA
Daily Take: Time To Get Rid Of the Second Amendment |
Thursday's Daily Stack 
Quote: "When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser." -- Socrates (b.469/470-d.399 BC).
Hour Two: Hillary/Trump-Drug Prices- Ron Pollack, Families USA
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Friday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 12-3pm ET
And, the best of the rest of the news along with your calls right here on...
The Thom Hartmann Program, Occupying The Media 3 hours a day 5 days a week" for "we the people"
And don't forget...Democracy is NOT a spectator sport...it begins with you...
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Thom's Poll
Quiz: Who said last night, "Social Security is going to run out of money in the 2030s"?
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Quiz Answer
Q: Who said, “Citizens United allows corporations and billionaires to buy our political system. This must end”? A: Jill stein. Hillary Clinton said: “I would want to see the Supreme Court reverse Citizens United and get dark, unaccountable money out of our politics.” Gary Johnson said, "any restriction on campaign spending violates the first amendment". Donald Trump hired the man behind Citizens United as deputy campaign manager. |
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Watch & Listen to Thom
Watch the Full "Big Picture" Show...
Full Show 10/19/16: Schilling Shilling for Trump
Guest host Sam Sacks is in for Thom Hartmann and discusses election rigging with Democracy for America’s Neil Sroka and in tonight’s Daily Take Thom details how the Wells Fargo scandal is just the natural outcome of the "shareholder revolution" of the 1980s. Tonight’s Rumble talks the final Presidential debate, the close House and Senate races, and Marco Rubio’s bizarre comments on the leaked DNC emails.
Who Will Fix Rising Drug Prices? (W/Alex Lawson & Guest Ron Pollack)
Remember, Power Comes From WE, The People! (w/Guest Host: Alex Lawson)
Attacks on Facts Are No Better Than Attacks On Science! (w/Alex Lawson & Guest: RT Ryback)
Why Is A Billionaire-Funded Propaganda Shop Writing Debate Questions? (w/Guest Host: Alex Lawson)
Will Trump Destroy Our Legacy Of Presidential Transitions? (w/Thom & Guest Host Alex Lawson)
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