Illegitimacy
We heard a lot from Democrats in the wake of the 2016 presidential election that Donald Trump was an illegitimate president…that’s their word, illegitimate. They repeat the mantra today, but it’s hard to tell what the basis is for that.
For example, there were no allegations of voter fraud—widespread or otherwise. There were examples of pro-Democrat elements hanging out near urban polling places intimidating folks who were not Clinton supporters, but that was the only real so-called voter suppression efforts.
And the Constitution had been in place for 227 years at that point, setting forth how presidents are elected…by the electoral college. Near as I can tell, their claim of “illegitimacy” stems from the fact that Hillary Clinton got more votes than Donald Trump. Not electoral votes, popular votes. But that’s not how we keep score, and no one changed the rules last minute. And if you take California out of the mix, Trump beat Clinton in the popular vote, too.
Contrast that with 2020. Rules were, in fact, changed…in some states, in the dead of night…in others, by illegal consent decree. There are credible allegations of voter fraud…counting in multiple states mysteriously stopping then starting again in the dead of night…ballots trucked across state lines from print shopts…no signature verification on mail-in ballots…and that’s just the tip of the fraud iceberg.
Yet anyone who dares suggest that Joe Biden didn’t win a fair election are being shouted down, criticized, or pushed to the side.
If Donald Trump is an illegitimate president…then so is Joe Biden, and so much more so. That doesn’t fit the narrative, of course…but it does fit the facts.
I have no idea if anything can be done to right this wrong, what I believe history will show to be a stolen election. And I’m sure those who criticized Trump but won’t allow criticism of Biden won’t see how hypocritical they are being.
But discussion must be had. It’s the first step toward conflict resolution. I’m also not betting on that happening, either.
