America faces a legitimacy crisis. Some 60 million Republicans deny Joe Biden’s victory. In an Economist-YouGov poll two weeks ago, 78 percent of President Trump’s voters claimed that the presidential election was unfair, 75 percent believed that the transition process should not begin and 79 percent said Trump should not concede. The president welcomes this belief and pressures local officials to reverse the outcome. Congressional Republicans support him. Parts of the country are filled with “Stop the steal” protests. Rush Limbaugh talks about secession. Will Republicans ever believe that the Biden administration rightfully holds power?
Perhaps these disputes can be regarded as a minor technical delay, generating a temporary dip in public faith in the integrity of American elections that will quickly be forgotten. After all, the courts held the line. Republican local and state officials refused to break the law. The mainstream press highlighted false claims. If Biden helps vanquish the pandemic, revitalize the economy and restore a sense of normality to public life, the “sore loser effect” — observed in many contests, especially in majoritarian winner-take-all elections — may fade. Already, liberal […]
The gut brain of most people tells them there is something wrong with this election.
Trump and the Trump regime has done enormous, perhaps irreparable, damage to American government and democracy. But what is more disturbing than this corrupt, would-be dictator’s posturing and pouting is what it shows about those who support him, and the willful ignorance of so many Americans. Where I live a Republican group is trying to impeach our Mayor – why? Because she has imposed a mask mandate on the country and city, which has demonstrably resulted in lowering the number of deaths. How is it possible that doing something to prevent deaths in an epidemic has been politicized?