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GOP plans to upend Biden win for Trump rips party apart

89 Comments
By LISA MASCARO and MARY CLARE JALONICK

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89 Comments

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Imagine supporting a thug like Trump who demands election officials to change election results.

www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1252692

Trump just needs to go and these enablers aren't making this any easier.

34 ( +40 / -6 )

Without any kind of evidence the GOP has pretty much defaulted to circular reasoning:

explaining that his Missouri constituents have been “loud and clear” with their belief that Biden's defeat of Trump was unfair.

The GOP politicians and Trump spread baseless accusations of fraud, then point to opinion polls showing that Republicans don't trust the results, then say that because of the opinion polls we should delay, delay, and delay with further investigations to accommodate the fears of the American people. Which the politicians themselves created. Without evidence.

25 ( +29 / -4 )

Republican senators are following their conscience and putting country before party.

No, they are been bullied into rejecting a supposed fraudulent election for which no evidence whatsoever has been produced... Where is the proof?? Not one scrap of credible evidence has been offered....

28 ( +32 / -4 )

Salon.com has a couple of good articles today about Trump.

In one it talks about how Trump has claimed fraud in every vote he has lost, even at the Emmys when The Apprentice didn't win. It also links in the point that Trump flat-out has said dozens of times that if he loses an election then it means it's rigged.

So, literally he believes the only time he ever loses a vote is when it's rigged. It's his mindset whether it be primaries, Presidential elections, or TV shows.

https://www.salon.com/2021/01/03/dont-act-surprised-donald-trump-was-never-going-to-accept-the-election-results-if-he-lost/

The second article is pretty interesting, noting that a vast majority of Republicans feel the vote was rigged but even a higher percentage of them feel their personal vote counted, which doesn't make any sense. The writer hints that Trump fans know he lost but are just following the leader.

https://www.salon.com/2020/12/01/dont-be-fooled-trumps-conspiracy-theories-wont-discourage-georgia-republicans/

This is a point I've been curious about myself since Georgia Republicans don't seem to have any reservations about going right back into the same voting system they just claimed is rigged.

21 ( +26 / -5 )

Republican senators are following their conscience and putting country before party.

Actually, it is literally the opposite. They are putting their party (read, trying to save their jobs and not get 'primaried' by the Trumpians) ahead of not just the good of the country, but the Constitution itself.

Each and every Senator and Representative who in 3 days votes for any of these 'objections' is voting to overthrow the very Constitution, and should be considered an honorless traitor.

24 ( +28 / -4 )

Trump and his Republicans led by snakes like Cruz continue to try to steal the election in their attempt to turn the US into an even more authoritarian state. Knock wood this latest coup attempt fails. Xi, Putin, Erdogan, Kim, MbS, MbZ and other dictators laugh at the US's fading republic.

17 ( +23 / -6 )

The Washington Post released an hour long phone call recording showing Trump trying to repeatedly "persuade" Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find more votes to overturn Georgia's election results. How is this not criminal behavior?

And just 12 senators and senator-elects want to grandstand to challenge the election results. That shows you how little support Trump and his lunacy has. The sad thing is, majority of the GOP most likely just want to get this over with and accept a Biden nomination, but they have made a conscious decision not to say anything. Being silent is a deliberate strategy to show that you do not agree with overturning the election results, yet you do not want to alienate your voter base and your fellow conservatives. Typical cowardly behavior though.

17 ( +24 / -7 )

oldman_13Today  07:18 am JST

The Washington Post released an hour long phone call recording showing Trump trying to repeatedly "persuade" Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find more votes to overturn Georgia's election results. How is this not criminal behavior?

Another impeachable offense. How about kicking him out this instant? It only further shows how unsuitable he is for the job.

At the very least this is a crime that Trump MUST be charged with when he gets out.

14 ( +19 / -5 )

Is Mike Braun of Indiana in the picture above a used car salesman?

12 ( +16 / -4 )

Note that one of the Republican Senators planning to object on 6 January is Bill Hagerty of Tennessee. He was U.S. Ambassador to Japan from 2017 until he quit in July 2019 to run for the open Senate seat in Tennessee. The U.S. hasn't had a permanent ambassador in Tokyo since, and Hagerty has transformed into a full-blown Trump cultist.

The other Senator from Tennessee, Marsha Blackburn, also plans to object. In all likelihood, both Blackburn and Hagerty had to voice their intention to object to validating Biden's victory on 6 January in order to secure federal aid for Nashville (the capital of Tennessee, and where a suicide bombing occurred on Christmas morning). There is no bottom with Donald Trump, as we are finding out yet again today with revelations about the call to the Georgia Secretary of State.

14 ( +18 / -4 )

Let them do it. One more humiliation can’t hurt.

7 ( +13 / -6 )

Ted Cruz has completely forgotten that Trump called his wife ugly. Or perhaps he just accepts as true anything that comes out of Trump's mouth, even those about his wife.

10 ( +16 / -6 )

Republican senators are following their conscience and putting country before party.

Lol. No. They couldn't care less about "their country." They only want more power, more money and to blindly following their cult leader, who also wants the same things.

10 ( +16 / -6 )

Ah-so: Ted Cruz has completely forgotten that Trump called his wife ugly.

Well, Ted also forgot about this, when Cruz beat Trump in the Iowa caucuses and Trump tweeted:

"Ted Cruz didn’t win Iowa, he stole it. That is why all of the polls were so wrong and why he got far more votes than anticipated. Bad!"

"Based on the fraud committed by Senator Ted Cruz during the Iowa caucus, either a new election should take place or Cruz results nullified."

Like I said, when Trump loses a vote, then it's fraud. Always.

zichi: The end result will remain the same. 

True, but there is still a danger from protesters. Cruz knows he's lying. A lot of Trump supporters know he's lying. But there will be a lot of people there on Jan 6 with guns who don't think they are lying. Let's hope there's no violence. That's my only concern at this point.

14 ( +20 / -6 )

 Nashville (the capital of Tennessee, and where a suicide bombing occurred on Christmas morning)

The bomber believed in alien reptiles out to harm their Trump. Another conspiracy theory believer influenced by Qanon and others in the global wack right.

6 ( +12 / -6 )

Trump has a problem with reality. It doesn't agree with him,

14 ( +20 / -6 )

The only thing the never Trump establishment Republicans can do is just look on, that’s about it.

trump needs them a lot more than they need him. While already clear to most people, the latecomers to reality will realise this when he becomes totally irrelevant in 2 weeks.

7 ( +13 / -6 )

Trump is looking at the big picture. He understands that he lost. He is just looking to start a new political party. He wants a reality TV show. He wants and is getting followers. He is a master at me, me, me. He never thinks of what is in the best interest of America. Only of himself.

5 ( +12 / -7 )

Legally allowed to be done, and has been done in the past. However, they cannot overturn the results.

I actually am starting to feel sorry for Pence.

-10 ( +6 / -16 )

Some of these politicians are the ones who won their own seats in this very election yet can’t accept the fact that Biden won fair and square! It’s like children grabbing the ball in the playground and head back home crying “ I won’t play anymore...”! Pathetic group of politicians who are just more concerned of pleasing the Trump supporters thinking that they make up 70million when in reality they probably just make up less than 10 million. More than 60 million voted for the Republican Party rather than Trump! Americans are dying from the corona virus and suffering from job losses and financial hardship and these garbage politicians have their priorities on the wrong thing!

6 ( +11 / -5 )

I’m looking forward to see him kicking and squealing like a pig when the military forcibly removes him from the White House. That should be a show!

6 ( +12 / -6 )

Given his latest ravings from his bunker supported and enabled by a bunch of self-serving Republicans with their eye on riding to future electoral successes on a wave of their loser leader's disgruntled fan base, Trump had better get his own pardon ready because after noon January 20th he's going to need it (plus Dersh and a team of zealous lawyers).

5 ( +8 / -3 )

support from a dozen Republican senators and up to 100 House Republicans

Nice to see that there are at least 12 honest Republican senators with some integrity.

But without evidence of voter fraud or other problems

What!!!!

-19 ( +4 / -23 )

Burning BushToday  06:53 am JST

Republican senators are following their conscience and putting country before party.

Those Republican senators who recogize that Trump lost are doing so. Those senators who are still continuing to try to overturn the election results are putting their own political agendas before both the country and the party.

12 ( +15 / -3 )

I think Dominion and Smartmatic should do exactly what it did with all the right-wing news networks and send cease and desist letters to all these politicians, threatening a lawsuit if they don't stop lying about voter fraud. I doubt any of them are actually ready to put their own money where their mouths are.

7 ( +10 / -3 )

Those senators who are still continuing to try to overturn the election results are putting their own political agendas before both the country and the party.

Just like Sen Boxer did in 2005 when Bush was re-elected. It’s not the end of the world because of the challenge. But of course Dems do like to run around insisting the world is coming to an end.

-20 ( +4 / -24 )

Just call these Repub Senators the "Traitorous Twelve"....

Trampling over the Constitution and trying to invalidate the will of over 81 million Americans...

They are fascists - as committed to authoritarianism as Putin, Xi, and The Mullahs...

Which is where they should move to if they prefer living under tyrants and dictators...

8 ( +12 / -4 )

I'm not so surprised these days that most GOP senators put party before country. What surprises me more is that these senators above, are going one step further and putting Trump ahead of their own party. It's not only selfish, but very disturbing. They would rather let America burn and support a thug like Trump, than stand up to him and help to unite the country.

6 ( +10 / -4 )

This whole thing is going to make for a much better musical than Hamilton.

-2 ( +4 / -6 )

This isn’t and won’t be the last contested challenge, this will lag on way into the 7th or 8th of this month but to object or challenge the electoral of the States in question is constitutionally legal in every way which any party can legally do if a side feels there is a valid reason to contest a result. Will it help Shift the results of this election? Probably not, but it doesn’t mean that the opposing party can’t exercise their constitutional authority.

-17 ( +7 / -24 )

This isn't even about who you support anymore. All politicians on both sides seriously need to go. The economy is in tatters. People are starving and dying. They can't even properly vote on a stimulus plan to help people struggling yet they want to bicker and fight over this? They keep pushing back voting on things that matter but seem to always have time to bring up new election related fights. Doesn't matter if you are Democrat or Republican. The system needs to go. Both sides are failing the people they serve.

-1 ( +6 / -7 )

Hopefully, this will tear the party apart.

Corrupted and most foul; it does not deserve to exist anymore. Those spineless members who went along with the mass murderer should be locked up - they are complicit in the act.

All those hundreds of thousands of lives - let's hope that they didn't die in vain.

10 ( +15 / -5 )

Jan 5th. Eyes on the prize whilst these losers are wasting time elsewhere.

3 ( +7 / -4 )

A third world country.

6 ( +11 / -5 )

I guess all of them have calculated that there will be no personal consequences from doing this, i.e., their supporters will keep on supporting them. If denying reality is what pays the bills, many people will do it.

There are however huge public consequences. This is a complete waste of Americans' time and energy, not least because the thing they are so virulently opposing, Biden and his policies, will be little different to Trump. All the other problems, the fight against Covid-19 for starters, will be suffering as a result.

5 ( +8 / -3 )

Ted, I have to tell you....you ain't no Texan....

No Texan I know would let someone insult his wife or his Daddy - and let them get away with it - let alone then grovel at that person's feet...

Heck, Hillary is more of a Texan than you are - at least she stood up for her man....

Stop playing cowboy - it's as fake as Donald's tan...

Go back to Canada - if they'll have you...

11 ( +15 / -4 )

I'm listening to the call now... Trump actually believes he won. It's not an act or trying to willingly overturn the will of the people, he's simply convinced that he did in fact win and the election was stolen from him. He literally believes he won Georgia by hundreds of thousand of votes and that hundreds of people conspired against him to steal the state for the Democrats.

Cruz and his gang, along with going for the cash grab, know there will be a sizable chunk of Trump supporters who will believe Trump, and Cruz's bet is that that chunk is large enough to make a stunt like this worth their while. And when I mean "worth their while," I mean they they feel their gain outweighs the country's loss, which would be the loss of confidence in our election system.

11 ( +15 / -4 )

It’s not that hard to understand.

There is a crazy man at the wheel.

He just got caught trying to fix the election by pressuring the Secretary of State of Georgia.

In any other time, a president who did this would be impeached and expelled from office.

And yet, the Republican members of both houses of Congress are gutless wonders who enable this BS to continue.

9 ( +13 / -4 )

I hope the Trump supporters here aren't naïve enough to think that these Repub Senators actually believe anything of what they're saying...

They know Trump lost, they know this staged theater they're doing is hopeless, they know Biden won and will be the next President...

This is all about power - and subverting democracy just so they can maximize their chances in their next election. They were all friends with Jeff Sessions...they saw what happened to him when he jumped on the Trump Crazy Train - and was then unceremoniously tossed off...

They don't like Trump, they want him to go away, but they know they can't win reelection without his MAGA cabal. So they are wiling to run our democracy off the rails just to ensure they can sit in their Senate seats, get money stuffed in their pockets by big corporations, and get free medical care...

This is pure, craven politics...you know....the swamp....

8 ( +12 / -4 )

I wonder if the USA Republic is on its last leg and the USA Empire is about to emerge. These are scary times for an Asian in America. Is there any foul that Trump and his minions will not commit

6 ( +11 / -5 )

I hope the Trump supporters here aren't naïve enough to think that these Repub Senators actually believe anything of what they're saying...

Exactly!

And what it’s about for most of them is money and power, either they want to get it or don’t want to take a chance on losing it.

It’s rather telling that Hawley, who has ambitions for 2024, started a fundraising campaign to coincide with his announcement. And the Cruz, another with ambitions for 2024, not to be left behind announced he would “spearhead” a push in congress on the 6th.

It’s all rather disgusting, really!

9 ( +12 / -3 )

Well, the Republican Party's pact with the Devil in 2016 will now be put to the test...

One the one hand, you have responsible, principled Repubs like Roy Blunt, Pat Toomey, Rob Portman, Richard Shelby, Mitt Romney....

And on the other you have the power-hungry, the far-right nuts, and the QAnon kooks....like these twelve fruitcakes...

Who wins and then leads the Repub Party - or will the party split and each go their separate ways?

I haven't the faintest idea - but for Team Blue, it will be fun to watch...

7 ( +11 / -4 )

Trump's tweet from yesterday:

"[Raffensperger ] was unwilling, or unable, to answer questions such as the “ballots under table” scam, ballot destruction, out of state “voters”, dead voters, and more"

After listening to the call, what Trump is saying above is a complete and utter lie. They addressed the President's points.

One funny part of the call was when Trump claimed there is video of a lady scanning the votes for Biden three times and even his own lawyer on the phone chimes in and says, "Uhhh.....I don't know about that."

Hats off to the two Georgians. They had no problem saying that what Trump was saying wasn't accurate, or that things have already been investigated and Trump was wrong, or that the facts they uncovered countered Trumps' claims.

9 ( +13 / -4 )

GumboToday  10:47 am JST

A third world country.

A Banana Republic that can't even produce bananas. Don't worry, Japan, America's got your back.

4 ( +11 / -7 )

I thought vote rigging was only peculiar to new-comer democracies, completely foreign to the U.S. So it is really mind-boggling to see that the U.S., a vowed champion of democracy trying to sell democratic principles to the world, is entangled with this shameful state of affairs.

Hey, Bill Hagerty, former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, is one of those twelve lawmakers!

7 ( +11 / -4 )

Good to that at least a few politicians have some integrity.

-19 ( +4 / -23 )

Good to that at least a few politicians have some integrity.

Ted Cruz?

Lol.

11 ( +15 / -4 )

It is shocking to see some who are offended by people exercising their constitutional right. Makes you wonder if they really, actually do believe in democracy.

-15 ( +4 / -19 )

Overturning a democratic election is the same as killing the Republic. There would no longer be any point in having elections.

7 ( +11 / -4 )

It is shocking to see some who are offended by people exercising their constitutional right. Makes you wonder if they really, actually do believe in democracy.

Sounds like a tall tale to me.

8 ( +11 / -3 )

Randy JohnsonToday  11:49 am JST

Good to that at least a few politicians have some integrity.

They just want gullible Trump supporters who really do still believe all this election fraud nonsense to vote for them when they're up for re-election.

Randy JohnsonToday  11:54 am JST

It is shocking to see some who are offended by people exercising their constitutional right. Makes you wonder if they really, actually do believe in democracy.

So how do you feel about how a candidate can lose the popular vote and yet become President by winning the Electoral College vote, and the huge vote value disparities that exist between the most and least populous States.

9 ( +12 / -3 )

Makes you wonder if they really, actually do believe in democracy.

Pretending that a bunch of cynical politicians trying to overturn the results of a fair election with lies and conspiracy theories have some sort of moral high ground is absolutely laughable.

8 ( +11 / -3 )

We're witnessing the end of US democracy. We're witnessing the beginning of the end of The United States.

This division by right wing fanatics spells the end of democracy in the US.

It may not happen in my lifetime (because I'm really, really old) but this is the beginning of the end. All civilizations end and others take their place. The idea of American exceptionalism is nothing more than arrogance and there are countries happy to see America brought down from that arrogance.

5 ( +9 / -4 )

It is shocking to see some who are offended by people exercising their constitutional right. Makes you wonder if they really, actually do believe in democracy.

You have to look at the character of the people involved. As Superlib pointed out, Ted Cruz, and I assume his minions, were guilty of massive voter fraud in Iowa when he beat Trump according to Trump himself.

He still hasn’t come clean on this diabolical offense to democracy.

Are you sure you trust his integrity?

6 ( +9 / -3 )

The GOP are like Dinosaurs. They will eat themselves from the inside out and become irrelevant.

7 ( +10 / -3 )

The GOP are like Dinosaurs. 

This is what diversity and freedom of speech looks like. Unlike the Democrats, where all the progressives just abandoned their base and swore their fealty to an 80 year old queen who barely knows what day it is.

-13 ( +3 / -16 )

Can I just clarify something?

Trump claimed Ted Cruz was guilty of massive voter fraud in Iowa.

Trump claimed there was massive voter fraud in 2016 which deprived him of winning the popular vote.

Trump claimed there was massive voter fraud in 2020 which deprived him of the presidency and the popular vote.

Is it better to approach this as a 3-course meal or treat it like a buffet?

9 ( +12 / -3 )

This is what diversity and freedom of speech looks like.

Oh yeah, a lot of "diversity" in that picture. All kinds of shades of white.

7 ( +9 / -2 )

Sad how some people are so scared of such a pathetic individual. Trump lost, get over it. Just like many had to get over Clinton's loss in 2016. Yes, people have attacked Trump since the beginning of his presidency because they knew he was not up to the job (and he proved this throughout his term). Time to move on and accept reality as most people have.

8 ( +10 / -2 )

Hats off to the two Georgians. They had no problem saying that what Trump was saying wasn't accurate, or that things have already been investigated and Trump was wrong, or that the facts they uncovered countered Trumps' claims

> Those two Georgians who stood up to Trump are Republicans who apparently have more moral values then those in congress. I believe they taped the conversation realizing they where on dangerous ground, talking with Trump They wanted to protect themselves from his lies. Trump cannot say this was fake news. Truly this was an attempt to tamper with an election which is both a State and Federal felony. Those in congress who want to stand up and talk about election fraud better think twice because I believe this tape will be presented as evidence of election interference by the President.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

Does our biggest loser know that the election results won't change?

He is like a baby trying to make his parents buy candy for him.

Get him out of US Congress, he is a shame.

9 ( +11 / -2 )

@Northerlife

Duly noted. But the President knows that he’s not going to change the result of the election, I think more or less it’s a bigger and planned strategy and a setup for 2024 it’s not about spin. The man can do what he wants, doesn’t need my help. It’s about the long term strategy of what he’s actually planning to use this as his next campaign launch pin.

-13 ( +3 / -16 )

Excellent. Trump manages to destroy the Republican Party. Many members of the base voted for Trump based on the intention and awareness to burn the Republican Party to the ground, as it no longer represented their interests, only that of elites. A similar scenario unleashing in the party of opposition headed by Biden & tethered to Pelosi, recently illustrated in kicking AOC to the curb over a committee appointment.

Trump has amassed a small fortune in donations, supporting the lunatic notion there was voter fraud and it denied him the presidency. He will pocket the cash and move on, while the right wing crazies perform a ghost dance.

The entirety is surreal, in consideration of the two candidates: one suffering from dementia, but both candidates in varying forms demented.

-5 ( +3 / -8 )

It’s about the long term strategy of what he’s actually planning to use this as his next campaign launch pin.

lol. I just have no words. Only lol.

9 ( +11 / -2 )

It’s about the long term strategy of what he’s actually planning to use this as his next campaign launch pin.

Oh I see, was trying to get the Georgia Sec. or State to change lie about election results also just posturing? Absurd. Trump has no strategy, just cheat and accuse his opponent of the same when caught.

Donald should be worried more about prison than trying to run again.

8 ( +11 / -3 )

Trump continues to confirm that his desire to eliminate democracy. Trump is a tin pot dictator who is fully attempting to over throw the will of the people of America, destroy the pillars of US democracy and install himself as an illegal President against the wishes of the vast majority of American voters. That so many Republicans are on board with this brazen attempt to destroy America shows that the divide in that country is at a precipice and it needs to find common ground fast. With the US tearing itself apart like this at the direction of one man is astounding. That he has managed to hypnotize so many low IQ people in that nation almost defies belief. They just dont care about the country, only that a low IQ president who is lazy, lies for a living and is incapable of running the country for more than a third of its people and does that poorly, remains in the job he failed so badly.

Such mutinous attempts must be met with a stone wall and those responsible held fully accountable for an attempted coup.

Strip them of citizenship and expel them all for life or they can choose life behind bars. No sympathy for these idiots. They all need to be made an example of under the law and if new laws are needed for this then they should introduce them and apply them.

7 ( +11 / -4 )

Trump knows he won’t change the election, that doesn’t mean he won’t be the monkey wrench to throw into Biden’s cogs. Again, for Trump this is more about setting himself up for 2024 100%

I personally think he should just prepare for that and just let this thing run it’s course, but I’m not him. The man is far from being anything remotely over, Biden can get out there with 78 and Trump can do the exact same. Now as with the 4 years as he was President the left tried to stop him and they’ll try it when he’s a private citizen, but doubt it’ll work at all.

-15 ( +3 / -18 )

Peter14Today  01:22 pm JST

Trump continues to confirm that his desire to eliminate democracy. 

Both "sides" in the US are owned by the oligarchy. Under Obama/Trump they have doubled and doubled again their fortunes. It's pointless to talk about 'democracy' when you have oligarchy.

-8 ( +3 / -11 )

Trump is two dimensional. He has no strategy or ability to strategize. Trump says what he believes others will buy into (his low IQ followers) and ends up believing his own lies which makes him look more sincere and sucks in more low IQ followers. Trump thinks he is better than everyone else and up there with god. He thinks he knows all and has the best brain in history. He truly is the most useless president America has ever had, or will ever have. A low point in American history that will be hard to beat.

11 ( +14 / -3 )

P. SmithToday  01:39 pm JST

The idea that Trump has a long term strategy is more comedic than the election having been fraudulent.

For four years, the Democrats and much of the US media have been claiming that the RUSSIANS hacked/stole the 2016 elections, and that Trump's presidency was illegitimate. This fact has seemingly gone down the memory hole for many of the commentators here.

-14 ( +2 / -16 )

Now as with the 4 years as he was President the left tried to stop him and they’ll try it when he’s a private citizen, but doubt it’ll work at all.

if prosecutors have the evidence and present it in court then yes they will prosecute him. funny some people didnt think it would work, that Biden would beat Trump and that hed get 72million votes. lol

9 ( +11 / -2 )

How can you 'prove' anything when you can't get access to the magic voting machines (that the Democrats claimed had been hacked by the Russians in 2016) or examine the paper ballots?

how can you prove a president is guilty when no evidence of witnesses are allowed at the trial?

14 ( +15 / -1 )

I disagree. Trump is extremely calculating, he knows that he’s not going to win this, this helps motivate his base and people that weren’t happy with the outcome of this election. He has no challengers on the horizon, none! The GOP is essentially his and as AOC has a strong pull on the progressive wing of....Democrats, I guess, Trump equally has it on the Republican base. Who would challenge him? None of the people even contemplating of challenging him would win. He’s going to milk this for the next 4 years to further expand and strengthen his party and base.

-21 ( +1 / -22 )

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