When Donald Trump claims he won despite the reported vote in favor of Joe Biden, he does so because, he says, the election was stolen from him and that nearly half of the electorate backed him.
This is reminiscent of the position of Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Al Gore in 2000 (when the Supreme Court narrowly upheld George W. Bush’s margin in Florida).
In each case, the losing side thought it had been cheated out of a deserved victory.
That attitude is unhealthy for our democracy. This is not to suggest that corruption and fraud are non-existent in elections. Historically, they always have been.
New York’s Tammany Hall, Chicago’s Daley machine and Lyndon Johnson’s Texas are only examples. But the legitimacy of our elections has in the past been largely accepted by the American populace.
No more.
A majority of Republicans question the accuracy of the November vote. On what basis? The President refuses to accept the outcome, citing ballot irregularities in various states. Obviously, Trump’s post-election comments have fed GOP skepticism. The effect of the President’s words are heightened by his pre-election warnings that he could lose the forthcoming vote only if the election were stolen.
Four years ago, a substantial portion of Hillary Clinton’s supporters viewed Trump’s victory as illegitimate because she won the popular vote but not the Electoral College. She has reminded us of that ever since.
In times seemingly long ago, Americans viewed themselves as united in common beliefs. Sure there were differences but those focused on alternative means to shared ends. We didn’t question the “other side’s” commitment to wanting the best for our nation and its people. We didn’t talk politics in catastrophe terms about the pending election “existential” (survival of our virtues was dependent upon our victory). We didn’t treat or castigate fellow Americans with the opposing views as being enemies, vile or deplorable.
[Note: The 1850s are a clear exception to this fond recollection of political tolerance. And we know where the internecine hostility led.]
Are the current politics sentiments a worry? Absolutely. I don’t intend to sound like the old Testament’s Jeremiah by warning of God’s wrath to come, but it does seem obvious that if people in a democracy lose faith in the system’s ability to produce fair outcomes, they will pursue other avenues to obtain their objectives.
Perceptions matter. What doesn’t are fair elections not recognized as such.
The Donald Trumps and Hillary Clintons of American politics are undermining faith in our Democracy.
STOP IT!
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