When asked by a Senate committee Friday if any of the 671 mail sorting machines—13 percent of the total—that he ordered dismantled in June would be reinstalled in time for the election, Post Master General Louis DeJoy declared that what had been done was done. These were not “temporary” removals, either—they were permanent removals, not to be replaced by new machines or even returned to service during peak periods, like the Christmas holiday. These machines are destined for the scrap heap. DeJoy’s previous response to accusations that he was following the bidding of Trump are not only true, but the damage he has done cannot be undone.
Let’s think about this for a moment. Why was someone like DeJoy approved by the USPS Board of Governors despite the fact that he clearly had no experience even to run a neighborhood post office? For that matter, Trump’s board appointees have no idea either, but what they do know is how to make things worse for the USPS, by embarking on a long-term project to make things so “bad” that the only way to “fix” it is to “privatize” it, in direct opposition to Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution—not that Trump and his Republican mega-donors on the board care about the Constitution if it has the bad manners of getting in the way of their power grabs.
The USPS’ Board of Governors deserves more attention than what it has been given, since the board, not DeJoy, may be the “power behind the throne.” It’s membership had been held hostage for years by the Republican-led U.S. Senate, refusing to approve Obama administration nominees until Trump officially took office, by which time there was no one sitting on the board, allowing Trump to pick anyone he wanted who would automatically be approved by “voice vote” by the Senate, since few (like Bernie Sanders) were paying much attention to who was on the board. People like Robert Duncan, a self-described “proud party man,” a one-time RNC chairman, and frequent accuser of voter fraud and election stealing by Democrats. Why would someone with Duncan’s background be considered “suitable” to sit on the USPS board?
With the pandemic making mail-in balloting the preferred method of voting this year, there does seem to be a fear that making voting “easier” than standing in line will persuade more of what Republicans would call “undesirable” voters to actually vote. This cuts both ways, of course, but Republicans apparently believe those voters leaning Democratic, but not “motivated” enough to stand in long lines made longer by social distancing rules, will more likely vote by mail.
Is Duncan the real “brains” behind the scheme to scuttle the USPS’ ability to process mail-in ballots, given his history of Republican activism and belief in voter fraud conspiracy theories? Why the sudden impulse to create “efficiency” now so close to the election—especially when we in fact are learning that exactly the opposite is happening, with postal workers reporting major delays in sorting and delivering mail now during an alleged “slowdown” period? The removal of a clearly not “normal” amount of mail boxes and sorting machines taken permanently out of service, and restrictions on the amount of hours postal workers are allowed to work, with the result significant delivery delays, is clearly not “normal” procedure.
We know this is the intent of Republicans attempting to weaken the Post Office for their own political gain, and that they—like Trump—have openly declared this to be so. When Nevada decided to allow mail-in voting, Trump and Republican Chairperson Ronna McDowell were instantly declaring that it was a “plot” to “steal” the state from Republicans, because the Post Office could “never handle” mail-in balloting without “preparation.” The USPS’ recent statement claims that it can handle an increase in mail-in ballot traffic; this must come as a “surprise” to Trump, because DeJoy was selected as Post Master because he was expected to rubber-stamp any and all efforts to insure the Post Office could not handle the traffic.
DeJoy claims that he wants to avoid making “changes” for the time being that would allow the appearance that his actions are deliberately intended to weaken mail-in balloting, and to avoid the suspicion that this is all part of a “plot” to rig the election in Trump’s favor. Of course, there is still the potential for this to backfire on Trump and the Republicans, since if it becomes even more obvious that they are trying to undermine the democratic process it might create greater urgency to stop Trump—even if anti-Trump/pro-America voters must stand in long lines to do it. But for now it is clear that “appearances” are deceiving.
The fact is that a much higher percentage of mail sorting machines—which in the past would have been transferred to other locations—have been permanently removed from service just before one of the most vital elections in this nation’s history at the behest of probably the worst and certainly the most dictatorial president this country has ever seen. The danger is of such proportions that voters are being asked to vote their conscience, about what kind of country we want this to be. It should be an easy choice for those who do not want this country to become a second-rate facsimile of Nazi Germany—but there are plenty of voters who do, or don’t care.
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