I'm not saying there's no fraud in Minnesota.

I'm saying this tale is a developing political story in which all the forces of the party in power are aligning to attack the image of the man they have identified as a not-so-far-future threat.

In this episode, there's no need to make a "perfect phone call" to a distant foreign leader to ask for a little favor.

Deploy the influencer troops; get the once-legitimate agencies to blow some smoke under the color of authority. Invite the public to join in, incite outrage with a tale that swipes at the face of the whole state. Bang the same drum as always, outrage over peon cheaters, stoke fury at lower class fraud.

But make sure to stick that pin in the governor.

Make that ass bray, just in case we let the peons vote some day.