Time is not of the essence

 A new reader wonders about the timing of any potential Rubicon-crossing.

Vox, do you believe that this whole process needs to be finished before 14th December when the Electors meet and vote? If Joe Biden gets 270 electors but received electoral votes that are illegitimate, where would that lead the process? Does Donald Trump need to make his move and Cross the Rubicon before they vote on 14th December?

The very nature of the questions betrays a very different perspective than my own. My view, which may or may not be correct, is that President Trump is in full control of the situation and can choose to make his move at any time. And given my suspicions that he may be an elite strategist, I would expect him to do so after forcing everyone else to show their cards.

Now, just as there were probably Carthaginian officers who wanted to know why Hannibal didn’t order his cavalry to attack the Roman flanks after driving off the Roman cavalry, and who panicked when the Carthaginian center was driven back, there have been people demanding to know why, if he was able, the God-Emperor didn’t take action in 2016, in 2018, or before November 3rd this year.

But Hannibal knew, as I suspect President Trump knows, that if you’re going to successfully destroy an entire army, you have to look as if you’re being defeated and be extraordinarily patient in order to convince the enemy to enter the trap in its entirety. And if President Trump manages to accomplish what it very much looks like he is planning to do, he will rank with Hannibal, Caesar, and Napoleon among the all-time historical greats.

 So, in answer to the questions:

  1. No, this whole process does not need to be finished before 14 December. The election is not even potentially lost unless and until Joe Biden – or at this point, it would be more likely to be Kamala Harris – is sworn in on 20 January 2021.
  2. The process is all but irrelevant. The only thing the process will determine is who is standing by the Constitution and who is not. There are three paths to victory, and only the first two involve the process.
  3. No. In fact, he is unlikely to make any such move before then because he will want to see who has sold out and who has not.