In an interview this morning with CNN’s Dana Bash, Arizona Republican nominee for governor Kari Lake refused to say that she would accept the results of the upcoming election-- unless she wins. Former president Trump said the same in 2020, and now more than half of the Republican nominees in the midterm elections have refused to say that President Joe Biden won the 2020 election because, they allege, there was voter fraud. This position is an astonishing rejection of the whole premise on which this nation was founded: that voters have the right to choose their leaders.
Voter suppression, redistricting and gerrymandering, sowing doubt, and outright lying are all the GOP has. They will try to cut Social Security and Medicare, and may well succeed if our populace doesn't awaken to how dangerous this party has become and defeat them with overwhelming numbers. So many pivotal races seem close which helps the narrative that cheating is what contributes to Democratic victories. I am praying for a tsunami of Democratic turnout.
Why does the mainstream media keep asking candidates if they’ll accept the results of an election if they lose? It’s an idiotic question. Except for the case of the presidency where because of the Electoral College someone can actually lose the popular vote and still win, in all other elections, if you get fewer votes, you lose. Period. There is no requirement that the loser accept the outcome. In the case of Kari Lake, she’s not in office so she can’t refuse to leave if she loses. She can’t show up and move into the governor’s office. She can sue(and lose); she can whine; she can wail and pout. But she can’t change the outcome. Not enough votes? You lose. Don’t accept it? Too bad. Work it out with your therapist. But stop giving these people airtime, headlines and pseudo-legitimacy by asking an irrelevant question. The media - and not just Fox - are complicit.
“It was not so very long ago that historians taught the Wilmington coup as a shocking anomaly in our democratic system, but now, 124 years after it happened, it is current again. Modern-day Republicans appear to reject not only the idea they could lose an election fairly, but also the fundamental principle, established in the Declaration of Independence, that all Americans have a right to consent to their government.”
We should prepare ourselves for a world of hurt. The cancers the R party have created are hard to bare. The so-called news pundits keep repeating that the Dems will lose the House and possibly the Senate. That’s driving a stake in my heart. In the meantime, this crazy woman in AZ (Lake) is dangerous and I think Katie Hobbs has her hands full of Lake’s lies. DeSantis doesn’t take a break, does he? I read where he is planning yet another bus ride for immigrants to be deposited who knows where! Stop The Insanity!!
There is an enormous amount of hand wringing in the comments today. Much of it is driven by media political commentary by those who make money with controversy and "polls" and the emotions they can stir.
But no polls can measure the emotional fury created by the Dobbs decision. No polls are measuring the freak out by Americans who see a nation on the verge of governmental collapse. No polls can accurately measure the incredible anger of millions of Americans who have watched a NYC real estate con man make fools out of us....and mock the standards of behavior that were as basic as apple pie and a hamburg barbecue - until now.
We may lose the House. The Senate? Who knows. Regardless, we have Joe Biden as President for two more years. And I choose to believe that by the time we get to voting in 2024, the backlash against the current insanity will prevail. Younger women are NOT going to let old white farts rule their lives. LGBTQ folks and those who love them are not going to simply stand by and be told what rest rooms to use or how their identity should be defined. We are beyond that now. The recent attacks on ALL women and the millions who define themselves uniquely are not going to be ignored.
Maybe if it gets a little worse in the short run, the next generations will wake up and finally participate to a degree that will turn the tide to inclusion, tolerance and diversity as virtues. I believe we will see real human rights reassert themselves in most states. Perhaps there will always be certain locales where it is not safe to live. But I believe that most of America will reject the Neo Nazi Fascist Vomit that now serves as Republican principles and talking points.
Most young people, in general , are not bible thumpers and don't find religion of interest - especially the "excluding kind". Most young people see diversity as normal. Most young people seek truth and embrace science. Most young people are pissed that we are ignoring and denying the Climate Crisis.
We will prevail. We are the majority. I am hopeful.
“Will you accept the results of the upcoming election?” Why is asking candidates this question a thing? The very asking of it gives the concept of not accepting the results life. It should be not be a question that needs to be asked. It is a clear requirement that if you are a candidate you WILL be bound by the election results. No whining. Geez.
Thank you Professor for providing the history of our elections. The repub years of cheating and lying, of blatantly creating laws that prevent every citizen to vote, even using courts to make sure the white male vote counts more than any other in some states. White Christian Male is the ideal repub. Okay, friends get out the Vote as if our Democracy depends on Democrats retaining Power, because it does.
Had I been asked, I would have said that reforming the Electoral Count Act would not have been among the top 5 things we needed to do to address the complex challenges facing our voting systems today. To be clear, absent comprehensive federal voter protection safeguards, I worry that Republicans at the local and state levels simply won’t include all the ballots in the certified results, which, in a Presidential election, would come way before we got to counting electors in the House and Senate chambers.
I largely base my concerns on Democracy Docket Founder Marc Elias’s portrayal, discussed back in July, of a Republican election subversion plan he expects will be enacted as early as this fall. Admittedly, Elias is not suggesting that Republican election officials are laying the groundwork blatantly to declare their candidates the winner whether or not the candidate wins enough votes. He views the Republican election subversion plan as more sophisticated than that. Rather, Elias anticipates that Republicans will use “false allegations of fraud as a pretext to remove ballots from the vote totals and then certify those incomplete results.”
While I don’t doubt that when litigation ensues Elias and his team will mount arguments whose conclusions can be nailed to the post with confirming evidence, I am not as confident that our courts will stand for the beacons of democracy that we need them to be.
Anti women, anti Black, anti Jews. Perhaps we didn't think antisemitism would roar its ugly head in this country to the extent it has until Charlottesville. My father-in-law lost 22 first cousins in the Holocaust. I live in a town where there were many Holocaust survivors, many of whom have now died, but their children and grandchildren still live there.
It's pretty sickening what is in store for us if voters are complacent. We cannot afford it. Abortion will be the law of the land, and the rogue SCOTUS will continue to break down our democracy. We can forget Medicare and Social Security. No matter if we have paid into anything. And we can forget support for Ukraine.
(2 of 2) Then there are the ringleaders and other fascists who are intentionally doing this--mostly for their personal gain or because they were abducted as a child and forced to worship at the altar of Reagan at the expense of all other things (the Ultimate Truth in the Universe: Ronnie Reagan. Think about that deeply, Mitch and Newt. You realize how stupid you are now, right?). They simply must be stopped. Peacefully now...by force later. You choose. Yes, you, every person reading this.
Mark my words--these are the descendants of the same ethos/block that took our nation to civil war. And, as they've shown, they will outright lie to a camera and refute the laws of physics to grab/stay in power. The last step is violence. And does anyone not believe they'll do it? No, they WANT it, in part, because they believe they will have the upper hand (I've said this for 3 years now--if the military--the Army in particular--isn't reinforcing statements of oath and vetting its members for loyalty, they are making a big mistake).
But...make THEM start it, folks--don't take ANY bait (and there will be bait. Look for this in the years ahead--events and demonstrations made to spark violence that can be pinned on "immigrants and criminals"). Make them the ones who, once again, chose villainy, morally inexcusable paths to destruction. It's not a fait accompli until the day it is. Let's do EVERYTHING we can to keep that from happening. Yes, I still have hope. Get back to me in 3 weeks...
And then, possibly, we will have to finish what we never did 160 years ago. God help us if that comes to pass--but yes, I will be ready. We still have a chance to turn the Titanic next month...
This letter makes me so angry that I'm just going to have to take a virtual chill pill. I will have to debate with my conservative parents regarding how they need to vote Dem in the midterms over cribbage.
Gingrich, Falwell, Pat Robertson, Pat Buchanen, Reagan....and Rosh Limbaugh: sowed the seeds for this new Republican Party. And they considered Mitt Romney not nasty enough to be the GOP candidate in 2016.
"That Declaration rejected the idea of social hierarchies in which some men were better than others and should rule their inferiors." Well, except all women and black men.... For me, this really helps clarify what it means to be a proud "originalist."
And ever since "it set out a new principle of government, establishing that 'all men are created equal,'" we've been trying to redefine "all" and "equal."
Republicans have a sordid history of electoral fraud. In addition to Heather’s liturgy, there was the Hayes-Tilden presidential race in 1876.
There were 20 electoral votes ‘disputed’ by Republicans. The Republicans pulled a switcharoo on the special electoral commission and Hayes ‘won’ all 20 contested votes and the presidency. [Historians acknowledge that Tilden was clearly the winner.]
Rutherford Hayes was called “Rutherfraud’ and a prominent Washington newspaper referred to “Your Fraudulency” during Hayes’ presidency.
This is terrifying. The racism, antisemitism, misogyny, anti “other” of the Republican party is a threat to the values and decency of Americans. How and why the Republicans have gone down this path is clear. The fact that we Dems can’t get our message about what is at stake out more directly and forcefully is troubling and increasingly dangerous to what we hold dear.
Voter suppression, redistricting and gerrymandering, sowing doubt, and outright lying are all the GOP has. They will try to cut Social Security and Medicare, and may well succeed if our populace doesn't awaken to how dangerous this party has become and defeat them with overwhelming numbers. So many pivotal races seem close which helps the narrative that cheating is what contributes to Democratic victories. I am praying for a tsunami of Democratic turnout.
Why does the mainstream media keep asking candidates if they’ll accept the results of an election if they lose? It’s an idiotic question. Except for the case of the presidency where because of the Electoral College someone can actually lose the popular vote and still win, in all other elections, if you get fewer votes, you lose. Period. There is no requirement that the loser accept the outcome. In the case of Kari Lake, she’s not in office so she can’t refuse to leave if she loses. She can’t show up and move into the governor’s office. She can sue(and lose); she can whine; she can wail and pout. But she can’t change the outcome. Not enough votes? You lose. Don’t accept it? Too bad. Work it out with your therapist. But stop giving these people airtime, headlines and pseudo-legitimacy by asking an irrelevant question. The media - and not just Fox - are complicit.
What a farce our elections are about to become!
“It was not so very long ago that historians taught the Wilmington coup as a shocking anomaly in our democratic system, but now, 124 years after it happened, it is current again. Modern-day Republicans appear to reject not only the idea they could lose an election fairly, but also the fundamental principle, established in the Declaration of Independence, that all Americans have a right to consent to their government.”
We should prepare ourselves for a world of hurt. The cancers the R party have created are hard to bare. The so-called news pundits keep repeating that the Dems will lose the House and possibly the Senate. That’s driving a stake in my heart. In the meantime, this crazy woman in AZ (Lake) is dangerous and I think Katie Hobbs has her hands full of Lake’s lies. DeSantis doesn’t take a break, does he? I read where he is planning yet another bus ride for immigrants to be deposited who knows where! Stop The Insanity!!
Hello friends,
There is an enormous amount of hand wringing in the comments today. Much of it is driven by media political commentary by those who make money with controversy and "polls" and the emotions they can stir.
But no polls can measure the emotional fury created by the Dobbs decision. No polls are measuring the freak out by Americans who see a nation on the verge of governmental collapse. No polls can accurately measure the incredible anger of millions of Americans who have watched a NYC real estate con man make fools out of us....and mock the standards of behavior that were as basic as apple pie and a hamburg barbecue - until now.
We may lose the House. The Senate? Who knows. Regardless, we have Joe Biden as President for two more years. And I choose to believe that by the time we get to voting in 2024, the backlash against the current insanity will prevail. Younger women are NOT going to let old white farts rule their lives. LGBTQ folks and those who love them are not going to simply stand by and be told what rest rooms to use or how their identity should be defined. We are beyond that now. The recent attacks on ALL women and the millions who define themselves uniquely are not going to be ignored.
Maybe if it gets a little worse in the short run, the next generations will wake up and finally participate to a degree that will turn the tide to inclusion, tolerance and diversity as virtues. I believe we will see real human rights reassert themselves in most states. Perhaps there will always be certain locales where it is not safe to live. But I believe that most of America will reject the Neo Nazi Fascist Vomit that now serves as Republican principles and talking points.
Most young people, in general , are not bible thumpers and don't find religion of interest - especially the "excluding kind". Most young people see diversity as normal. Most young people seek truth and embrace science. Most young people are pissed that we are ignoring and denying the Climate Crisis.
We will prevail. We are the majority. I am hopeful.
“Will you accept the results of the upcoming election?” Why is asking candidates this question a thing? The very asking of it gives the concept of not accepting the results life. It should be not be a question that needs to be asked. It is a clear requirement that if you are a candidate you WILL be bound by the election results. No whining. Geez.
Thank you Professor for providing the history of our elections. The repub years of cheating and lying, of blatantly creating laws that prevent every citizen to vote, even using courts to make sure the white male vote counts more than any other in some states. White Christian Male is the ideal repub. Okay, friends get out the Vote as if our Democracy depends on Democrats retaining Power, because it does.
Had I been asked, I would have said that reforming the Electoral Count Act would not have been among the top 5 things we needed to do to address the complex challenges facing our voting systems today. To be clear, absent comprehensive federal voter protection safeguards, I worry that Republicans at the local and state levels simply won’t include all the ballots in the certified results, which, in a Presidential election, would come way before we got to counting electors in the House and Senate chambers.
I largely base my concerns on Democracy Docket Founder Marc Elias’s portrayal, discussed back in July, of a Republican election subversion plan he expects will be enacted as early as this fall. Admittedly, Elias is not suggesting that Republican election officials are laying the groundwork blatantly to declare their candidates the winner whether or not the candidate wins enough votes. He views the Republican election subversion plan as more sophisticated than that. Rather, Elias anticipates that Republicans will use “false allegations of fraud as a pretext to remove ballots from the vote totals and then certify those incomplete results.”
While I don’t doubt that when litigation ensues Elias and his team will mount arguments whose conclusions can be nailed to the post with confirming evidence, I am not as confident that our courts will stand for the beacons of democracy that we need them to be.
Anti women, anti Black, anti Jews. Perhaps we didn't think antisemitism would roar its ugly head in this country to the extent it has until Charlottesville. My father-in-law lost 22 first cousins in the Holocaust. I live in a town where there were many Holocaust survivors, many of whom have now died, but their children and grandchildren still live there.
It's pretty sickening what is in store for us if voters are complacent. We cannot afford it. Abortion will be the law of the land, and the rogue SCOTUS will continue to break down our democracy. We can forget Medicare and Social Security. No matter if we have paid into anything. And we can forget support for Ukraine.
(2 of 2) Then there are the ringleaders and other fascists who are intentionally doing this--mostly for their personal gain or because they were abducted as a child and forced to worship at the altar of Reagan at the expense of all other things (the Ultimate Truth in the Universe: Ronnie Reagan. Think about that deeply, Mitch and Newt. You realize how stupid you are now, right?). They simply must be stopped. Peacefully now...by force later. You choose. Yes, you, every person reading this.
Mark my words--these are the descendants of the same ethos/block that took our nation to civil war. And, as they've shown, they will outright lie to a camera and refute the laws of physics to grab/stay in power. The last step is violence. And does anyone not believe they'll do it? No, they WANT it, in part, because they believe they will have the upper hand (I've said this for 3 years now--if the military--the Army in particular--isn't reinforcing statements of oath and vetting its members for loyalty, they are making a big mistake).
But...make THEM start it, folks--don't take ANY bait (and there will be bait. Look for this in the years ahead--events and demonstrations made to spark violence that can be pinned on "immigrants and criminals"). Make them the ones who, once again, chose villainy, morally inexcusable paths to destruction. It's not a fait accompli until the day it is. Let's do EVERYTHING we can to keep that from happening. Yes, I still have hope. Get back to me in 3 weeks...
And then, possibly, we will have to finish what we never did 160 years ago. God help us if that comes to pass--but yes, I will be ready. We still have a chance to turn the Titanic next month...
This letter makes me so angry that I'm just going to have to take a virtual chill pill. I will have to debate with my conservative parents regarding how they need to vote Dem in the midterms over cribbage.
Gingrich, Falwell, Pat Robertson, Pat Buchanen, Reagan....and Rosh Limbaugh: sowed the seeds for this new Republican Party. And they considered Mitt Romney not nasty enough to be the GOP candidate in 2016.
"That Declaration rejected the idea of social hierarchies in which some men were better than others and should rule their inferiors." Well, except all women and black men.... For me, this really helps clarify what it means to be a proud "originalist."
And ever since "it set out a new principle of government, establishing that 'all men are created equal,'" we've been trying to redefine "all" and "equal."
Stone in a video documentary admitting it worked so well for them to steal a win in Bush v Gore in 2000 that they were tripling down on it in 2020.
How is this not a taped admission of crimes committed and the intent to commit more
https://mobile.twitter.com/cguld/status/1581673512141737989
AN ANCESTRY OF REPUBLICAN ELECTORAL FRAUD
Republicans have a sordid history of electoral fraud. In addition to Heather’s liturgy, there was the Hayes-Tilden presidential race in 1876.
There were 20 electoral votes ‘disputed’ by Republicans. The Republicans pulled a switcharoo on the special electoral commission and Hayes ‘won’ all 20 contested votes and the presidency. [Historians acknowledge that Tilden was clearly the winner.]
Rutherford Hayes was called “Rutherfraud’ and a prominent Washington newspaper referred to “Your Fraudulency” during Hayes’ presidency.
Trumpublicans are The Fraudulency Party.
This is terrifying. The racism, antisemitism, misogyny, anti “other” of the Republican party is a threat to the values and decency of Americans. How and why the Republicans have gone down this path is clear. The fact that we Dems can’t get our message about what is at stake out more directly and forcefully is troubling and increasingly dangerous to what we hold dear.